NAGA Virginia Results

** = split division with teammate; no losses.

Another dominating performance for Crazy 88 and Team Lloyd Irvin!  We had a 1:1 GOLD MEDAL to COMPETITOR ratio at this tournament.

The numbers don’t lie!

Great performance guys!

NAGA Virginia Results (Childrens)

It was the first tournament of the season for the kids at 88, and they didn’t hold back!

Kai Atanasoff made a great debut, winning 11-0 in his first Jiu-Jitsu match ever.  He showed that he could stay composed and perform the techniques that Mr. Danny has been working on with him.

On mat 1 we had our leading medal winner for the kids, Brendan “Spike-a-Doodle” Bill set to start his run at some gold medals (or swords). Spike had to play it a bit safer then what we would have liked but he was coming back from the flu so Mr. Danny told him to play more strategy and pick and choose his moves wisely. Spike like always is very coachable and did just that, winning his first match 6-0 and his second 2-0 to win the beginner No-Gi division and another sword. In the gi is was much the same, winning his first match 2-0 and his second 4-0 for another sword to add to his growing collection. We are very happy that Spike was willing to step up to the plate and do his best even though he was not feeling great. Way to go!

Madeline Donnely, like Austin, has been spending her time over the winter working on submission skills and staying sharp. Also like Austin, she dropped her first match; a tough loss to a girl that was 3 years older. She was upset and Coach Rodeo talked with her and told her the same thing he told Austin, go out there and just have fun. Because she was in a 3 kid bracket, that means she would have to wrestle for 2nd or 3rd place. In that match, she laid down the law, winning on points and picking up the Silver medal. In the gi, Madeline was all over her first opponent, winning the match on points to advance to the finals. She came up short losing on points, but did pick up another silver medal. For her first time in the submission division she did very well for herself.

Austin Ferguson. He hadn’t been on the mats in a while but was training very hard in the winter months and learning many new skills to add to his already smooth and technical style. He was in a 3 kid bracket for the No-Gi beginner division (also his first time competing with submission holds) and lost in the first round on points. He took the loss very hard so coach Rodeo spoke with him and told him to go out there and compete the same way he does in class, and that’s just what Austin did. He went out and won his match for 2nd place by submission. In the Gi division, Austin was back to form and submitted both opponents very fast to claim first place and the sword, one of many swords and first place medals that Austin will be collecting in the future!

Seth Fillers started off having to compete against a kid that had beaten him twice at US Grappling. But that was when Seth had 2 months of experience and now he has 7 months, moving from novice without submissions to beginner with submissions. This time things were different and Seth won the first match 18-2, scoring big with double legs and slick guard passing. In the finals it was pretty much the same, with a score of 22-2, Seth scooped up 1st place sword and gained many fans in attendance with his all out attacking style! In the gi, Seth got a bye in the first round to get right into the semi’s and faced the same young man that he has faced first in the No-Gi. It was a closer match but Seth came out on top 4-2 to advance to the finals. In the finals, it was closer but Seth was never in trouble, he went on to win the whole thing, and got another sword. Boy did it mean a lot to him and his family!

It was an amazing performance for a kid that took 3rd place in novice and then came back to nab 2 first place swords in a higher skill division and with submissions.

Elijah Romaine got off to a slow start in the No-Gi, dropping his first match 0-6. Since he like some other kids that day was in a 3 kid bracket he got to compete for 2nd/3rd place. He used a beautiful hip toss to score early and get the mount, winning his match 4-0 for 2nd. In the gi, he lost his first match but came back in his second match and beat the kid with another throw and crossbody holddown to take 2nd. Awesome job by this fine young man!

Madeline Donnelly Picks February Cause

Environmental issues seem to be on the minds of our Kids as Madeline Donnelly chooses Conservation International to receive the February donation of $100.   The mission of Conservation International is to “conserve the Earth’s living heritage – our global biodiversity – and to demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature.”

AZ Open 4 Results

Two of Crazy 88′s Blue Belts flew out to Arizona for Gustavo Dantas’ Arizona Open of BJJ.  The AZ Open follows the format of the IBJJF events (complete with bad Portuguese-only referees) and it turned out to be a great warmup tournament for the Pan-Americans.

Jon “Devastator” Delbrugge made his Middleweight debut.  It is amazing to see how little this guy is compared to 6 months ago when he stepped into Crazy 88 at 225+ lbs.  Devastator came out a bit flat in his first match against a grappler from LA Boxing but was able to pass his guard for the victory.  The second match was a barn-burner, complete with arguments with the referee and threatened disqualifications; Devastator managed to take the match 5-4.  The finals was all Crazy 88; Jon racked up 12 pts before submitting his opponent with a cross-choke from mount.

“Lawyer” David Zwanetz bumped up a weight class and competed well.  He notched his first Blue Belt victory – a quick triangle from the top before coming up short in the finals.  Lawyer Dave locked on a triangle early but his opponent toughed it out, forcing him to turn to his knees, and eventually working in the choke from the back.

Great performance guys!