(L-R) Chris Round, Jessica Irons, Nick Delpopolo, Coach Carrie Chandler and Aaron Kunihiro
Pedro's Judo Center excels at President's Cup
Duluth,Georgia: Pedro's Judo Center sent 6 athletes to the inaugural President's Cup over the weekend and came home with 6 medals including 2 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze. The President's Cup is a USA Judo "C" level event which holds the same standard and ranking as the National Championships. Because of the prestige of the tournament many of the Nationals top athletes came to play at this event.
Leading the way for the PJC team was 20 year old Nick Delpopolo. Delpopolo enjoyed a relatively easy day as he went 3-0 in the 73kg division to win gold. Delpopolo has spent the last 3 weeks at a high intensity training camp in Paris France with teammate Aaron Kunihiro. Kunihiro also looked sharp going 3-0 to win the 60kg division. Aaron is ranked #1 in the United States and has the luxury of holding a huge point advantage over the rest of the competitors.
Aaron Handy surprised everyone by dropping down a weight class from the 100kg (220lb) to the 90kg (198lb) division. Handy's first appearance at 90kg proved to be a success as he won a silver medal to earn him a US ranking of #4. He also holds a National ranking of #7 in the 100kg division.
Also winning silver was 20 year old Hana Carmichael. Hana looked sharp as she dismantled former US #1 Angelica Delgado (FL) in the semi-final setting up a gold medal match with current US #1 Hannah Martin (NY). Hana was dominating Martin in the final and seemed poised to win her first President's Cup, however she momentarily lost focus on the ground and was pinned leaving her with a silver medal.
15 year old Jessica Irons who is a long distance Team Force member enjoyed winning her first major Senior National medal by winning a bronze in the 52kg division. Jessica beat the number 1 ranked female in the United States by ippon (full point) in 20 seconds during her bronze medal match.
"Rounding" out the medal count for the Wakefield crew was 20 year old Chris Round. Chris was delighted with his bronze medal performance in the 81kg division and like Irons, also earned his first major Senior National medal. Chris was in a heated battle in the bronze medal bout and thrilled the crowd with a huge leg throw for ippon (full point). Chris is now tied for the #5 seed in the US.
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