Next Generation Breaks Through at Senior Nationals
by Nicole Jomantas
(Ontario, CA) – With the 2028 Olympic Games on the horizon, the next generation of Olympic hopefuls made a statement at the Senior National Championships in Southern California on Saturday.
2024 Senior National Championships Results
Eight of the 14 gold medalists in the Olympic weight divisions are all still junior athletes, including two athletes who won their first Senior National Championships while still being age eligible as U17 cadet athletes.
Sixteen-year-old Daniel Liubimovski (Staten Island, NY / Colton Brown Training Center) became one of the youngest Senior National Champions in history with his gold medal win in the 100 kg category. The win came in a new weight for Liubimovski who moved up from 90 kg earlier this year and claimed his first title at the Junior Pan Am-Oceania Championships last month.
The 100 kg final featured a battle of youth vs. experience as Liubimovski met 47-year-old Tokuzo Takahashi (Los Angeles, CA / LA Tenri Judo). For Takahashi, the match would be his chance at a ninth Senior National title after winning eight gold medals in the open division while Liubimovski was fighting in his first Senior National final after a fifth place finish at 90 kg last year.
Liubimovski entered the final coming off a win by ippon over three-time Senior Nationals silver medalist Kedge Zawack (Denver, CO / Denver Judo). Meanwhile, Takahashi bested 2023 Junior World Team member Jared Causse (Los Angeles, CA / LA Tenri).
The finals would roll through regulation without a score for either athlete before Liubimovski threw Takahashi for ippon just under a minute into the sudden death overtime period.
Fifteen-year-old Malia Manibog (San Gabriel, CA / San Gabriel Judo) won back-to-back Cadet Pan Am Championships silver medals in the 44 kg division where she is ranked No. 6 in the world as a cadet, but the Senior National gold would be her greatest win as a 48 kg athlete.
Manibog went 3-0 at her first Senior National Championships, ending the day with a throw for ippon in the finals against two-time Senior World Team member Anne Suzuki (San Jose, CA / San Jose State University Judo).
Four of the five U.S. athletes who won titles at the Junior Pan Ams in April all won Senior National titles in Ontario as well with Liubimovski being joined by Ki-Itsu-Sai teammates Dominic Rodriguez (Lehigh Acres, FL / NYAC / 81 kg), Chris Velazco (Coral Springs, FL / NYAC / 60 kg) and Emily Jaspe (Hialeah, FL / 63 kg).
A standout at 73 kg, Rodriguez made history in 2022 when he became the youngest U.S. man to win the Senior Pan Am title at just 17 years old. Last year, Rodriguez won his first Senior National title, but this year he has made a move to 81 kg that has paid off so far with a titles at the Senior Continental Open, Junior Pan Am, Youth National and now Senior National levels.
Rodriguez won his first four matches of the day by ippon, including two wins over both of the athletes who fought at the Senior World Championships in the division in Abu Dhabi earlier this week. Rodriguez’s longest match of the preliminary rounds would be just over a minute before a threw 2021 Senior National Champion Nick Yonezuka (West Long Branch, NJ / NYAC). In the semifinals, Rodriguez continued his dominance with a 12-second win over two-time Senior National Champion Kell Berliner (Schenectady, NY / Jason Morris Judo Center).
The finals pitted Rodriguez against Johan Silot Suse (Salem, MA / NYAC / Pedro’s Judo Center) – another rising star in the sport. Suse won the 2023 Senior National title as a junior last year and battled Rodriguez into Golden Score before Rodriguez took the win on penalties.
Velazco won the 2022 Senior National title as a 16-year-old. This year, he was favored to return to what has become a fan favorite frequent final between him and his 2023 Junior World teammate, Joshua Yang (Los Angeles, CA / LA Judo Club). The two have battled on the junior and senior level for recent years with Yang winning gold at the 2023 Senior Nationals while Velazco took bronze. Every match is known for being a long, grueling fight with dozens of teammates from both clubs cheering loudly on both sides of the mat. This final would test the cardio of both athletes again with 10 minutes of fighting before Velazco won on penalties, falling to his knees in celebration.
Jaspe, a fifth-place finisher at the 2023 Cadet Worlds and bronze medalist at the 2022 Senior Nationals, took her first Senior National title at just 17 years old with three wins by ippon in her round robin 63 kg division.
Seventeen-year-old Nicole Cancela (Coral Springs, FL / Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center) also reached the podium at both Junior Pan Ams and Senior Nationals in the 57 kg division, winning bronze at Junior Pan Ams and gold at Senior Nationals. Cancela, a former Junior Pan Am Champion at 52 kg, won three matches to advance to the finals against 2023 Senior National Champion Noran Elmahroukey (New Providence, NJ / NYAC / Colton Brown Training Center) who entered this year’s competition as the top seed. Elmahroukey won each of her first two matches by ippon in less than 30 seconds, but round herself scoreless against Cancela through regulation and three minutes of overtime. At the start of the eighth total minute of competition, Cancela forced Elmahroukey into one final penalty to take the win.
A 2021 Junior World Team member at 48 kg, 19-year-old Monica Reyes (Aiea, Hawaii / Hawaii Judo Academy) also won her first Senior National title on Saturday. Reyes won her first three matches by ippon, including a quarter-final victory over 2023 Senior National Champion and two-time Senior Pan Am Team member Jenna Schurr (Torrance, CA). In the finals, Reyes controlled her match against 2019 Cadet Pan Am Team member Emily Sway (San Diego, CA / San Diego Judo Club) from the start, throwing her for ippon in the opening minute.
Nineteen-year-old Alex Semenenko (New York Athletic Club) qualified for his first Junior World Team last year and made the step to the top of the senior podium in the +100 kg division on Saturday. Semenenko went 2-0 in his first two rounds to advance to the finals against El Mehdi Malki (Norwalk, CT / El Idrissi Academy) – a 2012 Olympian for Morocco. The match remained close until the fourth minute when Semenenko threw Malki for a waza-ari and held him off from scoring for the remainder of the match.
While Team USA’s juniors made established themselves as ones to watch in the years to come, Ari Berliner (Schenectady, NY / NYAC / Jason Morris Judo Center) and Nicole Stout (Schenectady, NY / Jason Morris Judo Center) continued their dominance in their divisions where each won a fourth straight Senior National title.
After competing at the Senior World Championships in Abu Dhabi on Monday, Berliner returned to the mat just five days later to take the gold in the 66 kg division with four straight wins in a field of 23 athletes. In the finals, Berliner armbarred two-time Junior Pan Am Championships bronze medalist Jacob Yang (Los Angeles, CA / LA Judo Club).
Stout came into the 78 kg division as the top seed and earned a bye into the semifinals where she defeated 2015 Senior National Champion Alyssa Zawack (Denver, CO / Denver Judo) by ippon. In the finals, Stout was thrown by 2022 President’s Cup Champion Madeline Solis (Duncanville, TX / High Noon BJJ Team) for a waza-ari score in the opening minute. Stout came back, however, to throw Solis twice – first for a waza-ari and then for ippon – to close the match.
Melissa Myers (Burnt Hills, NY / Jason Morris Judo Center) fought in the 70 kg division at Senior Worlds in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. By Thursday, she was in California and had made weight on Friday evening in order to compete on Saturday. Despite the quick turnaround, Myers successfully defended her 2023 Senior National Championship gold and added a third Senior National title to her resume. Myers won her first two matches by waza-ari scores and took the final match against 2023 Cadet World Team member Chloe Williams (Stafford, VA / Wall 2 Wall Martial Arts) into Golden Score before throwing Williams for a waza-ari in the opening minute of the sudden death overtime period.
Twenty-two-year-old Alexander Knauf (Yorkville, IL / New York Athletic Club) came into Senior Nationals looking for a fourth straight Senior National title in the 90 kg division, but his run was thwarted by two-time Senior Nationals bronze medalist Issei Barefoot (Charlotte, NC / Pedro's Judo Center). Barefoot came into the final off a semifinal win over 2024 Junior Pan American Champion Oleksandr Nyzhnyk (Los Gatos, CA / Nakano Judo Academy). In the gold medal final, Barefoot scored the winning waza-ari in the final minute to upset the 2023 Pan Am Games bronze medalist.
Twenty-one-year-old Emiliano Saucedo Goldschmied (Becerra Judo Club) won the day’s largest division, taking gold at 73 kg in a field of 31 competitors. Saucedo won four preliminary rounds to set up a final against 19-year-old Weston Uyekawa (San Jose State University Judo). Saucedo threw the 2024 Youth Nationals bronze medalist for a waza-ari in the opening minute and ippon in the third to win his first Senior National title after taking bronze in 2021.
After a silver medal win at the 2023 Senior Nationals and six bronze medals in the +78 kg category, Anna Atkinson (Tacoma, WA / Ippon Judo Dojo) broke through with a gold medal in Ontario, winning all four of her matches by ippon.
In the non-Olympic Open weight categories, Juliana Marquez (La Puente, CA / Guerreros Judo Club) and Avtandili Bogveradze (Brooklyn, NY / Denver Judo) won the women’s and men’s titles, respectively.
Medalists in all senior categories are as follows:
Senior Women’s 48 kg
1. Malia Manibog (San Gabriel, CA / San Gabriel Judo)
2. Anne Suzuki (San Jose, CA / San Jose State University)
3. Liann Yamamoto (Hilo, HI)
3. Anat Tsyrlin (Fair Lawn, NJ / Colton Brown Training Center)
Senior Men’s 60 kg
1. Christopher Velazco (Coral Springs, FL / NYAC / Ki Itsu Sai National Training Center)
2. Joshua Yang (Los Angeles, CA / LA Judo Club)
3. Conor Uyekawa (San Jose, CA / San Jose State University Judo)
3. Jonathan Yang (Los Angeles, CA / LA Judo Club)
Senior Women’s 52 kg
1. Monica Reyes (Aiea, HI / Hawaii Judo Academy)
2. Emily Sway (San Diego, CA / San Diego Judo Club)
3. Malia Soberano (Aiea, HI)
3. Aubrey Genereux (Port Saint Lucie, FL / Ki Itsu Sai National Training Center)
Senior Men’s 66 kg
1. Ari Berliner (Schenectady, NY / NYAC / Jason Morris Judo Center)
2. Jacob Yang (Los Angeles, CA / LA Judo Club)
3. Lenny Sheynfeld (Staten Island, NY / Pedro's Judo Center)
3. Joshua Terao (Arlington, VA / Shobukan Judo Club)
Senior Women’s 57 kg
1. Nicole Cancela (Coral Springs, FL / Ki Itsu Sai National Training Center)
2. Noran Elmahroukey (New Providence, NJ / NYAC / Colton Brown Training Center)
3. Mayu Wise (San Jose, CA / San Jose State University Judo)
3. Jasmine Macias (La Puente, CA / Guerreros Judo Club)
Senior Men’s 73 kg
1. Emiliano Saucedo Goldschmied (Wylie, TX / Becerra Judo Club)
2. Weston Uyekawa (San Jose, CA / San Jose State University Judo)
3. Steven Boldbaatar (Bellevue, WA / Washington Judo Academy)
3. Antonio Alvarado (La Puente, CA / Pedro's Judo Center)
Senior Women’s 63 kg
1. Emily Jaspe (Hialeah, FL / Ki Itsu Sai National Training Center)
2. Nina Seoane-Scheitermaier (San Jose, CA / San Jose State University Judo)
3. Regina Arias (Elizabeth, NJ / Tech Judo)
Senior Men’s 81 kg
1. Dominic Rodriguez (Lehigh Acres, FL / NYAC / Ki Itsu Sai National Training Center)
2. Johan Silot Suse (Salem, MA / NYAC / Pedro’s Judo Center)
3. Davit Aghasaryan (Sunland, CA / Los Angeles Tenri Judo Dojo)
3. Nicolas Yonezuka (West Long Branch, NY / New York Athletic Club)
Senior Women’s 70 kg
1. Melissa Myers (Burnt Hills, NY / Jason Morris Judo Center)
2. Chloe Williams (Stafford, VA / Wall 2 Wall Martial Arts)
3. Nancy Nguyen (San Jose, CA / San Jose State University Judo)
3. Carla Genao-Butler (Seattle, WA / Seattle Dojo)
Senior Men’s 90 kg
1. Issei Barefoot (Charlotte, NC / Pedro's Judo Center)
2. Alexander Knauf (Yorkville, IL / New York Athletic Club)
3. Oleksandr Nyzhnyk (Los Gatos, CA / Nakano Judo Academy)
3. Ian Bouton (Garland, TX / Becerra Judo Club)
Senior Women’s 78 kg
1. Nicole Stout (Schenectady, NY / Jason Morris Judo Center)
2. Madeline Solis (Ducanville, TX / High Noon BJJ Team)
3. Alyssa Zawack (Denver, CO / Denver Judo)
3. Lydia Coleman (Elizabeth, NJ / Cranford JKC)
Senior Men’s 100 kg
1. Daniel Liubimovski (Staten Island, NY / Colton Brown Training Center)
2. Tokuzo Takahashi (Los Angeles, CA / Los Angeles Tenri Judo Dojo)
3. Jesse Butler (Westminster, CO / Hyland Hills Judo)
3. Geronimo Saucedo Goldschmied (Wylie, TX / Becerra Judo Club)
Senior Women’s +78 kg
1. Anna Atkinson (Tacoma, WA / Ippon Judo Dojo)
2. Racquel Richardson (Hollywood PAL Martial Arts)
3. Juliana Marquez (La Puente, CA / Guerreros Judo Club)
Senior Men’s +100 kg
1. Alex Semenenko (New York Athletic Club)
2. El Mehdi Malki (Norwalk, CT / El Idrissi Academy)
3. Kanta Ueyama (Burbank, CA / Los Angeles Tenri Judo Dojo)
3. Armen Babayan (Glendale, CA / Valley Judo Institute)
Senior Women’s Open
1. Juliana Marquez (La Puente, CA / Guerreros Judo Club)
2. Madeline Solis (Duncanville, TX / High Noon BJJ Team)
Senior Men’s Open
1. Avtandili Bogveradze (Brooklyn, NY / Denver Judo)
2. Daniel Barboza (Larkspur, CA / Griffin Judo)
3. Adham Ramadan (Oakland, CA / Griffin Judo)
3. Geronimo Saucedo Goldschmied (Wylie, TX / Becerra Judo Club)