USA Judo Senior National Champions to be Crowned in Albuquerque

More than 370 athletes will fight for titles at the USA Judo Senior National Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., on Saturday, May 9. Additionally, two of the four members of the USA Judo Olympic Team that competed at the last Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 (Maria Laborde and Jack Yonezuka) are expected to be among the competitors.

Future Olympic hopefuls for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles will compete for $500 in prize money.

In addition to the senior elite and visually impaired events, athletes also will fight for titles in brown belt, veterans, novice and IJF-Junior categories. The Kata National Championships will take place on Sunday, May 10.

Competition begins at the Albuquerque Convention Complex at 8:15 a.m. with preliminary rounds. Gold medal finals will be held 30 minutes after the conclusion of all regular and/or bronze medal senior matches.

Tickets are $15 for ages 13 and up and $12 for children 9-12. Children ages 8 and under are free.

Thirteen of the 14 reigning champions will be in Albuquerque to defend their 2025 Senior National titles, including:

Karlee Carrouth (Oklahoma City, Okla. / NYAC / USA Stars / 78 kg), two-time Cadet Pan American Championship medalist

Maria Holguin (San Antonio, Texas / Universal Judo / 57 kg), three-time Senior Pan American Championship medalist

Nicole Stout (Schenectady, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center / 78 kg), three-time Senior World Team member and five-time Senior National Champion

Oleksandr Nyzhnyk (Los Gatos, Calif. / USA Judo National Resident Team / 90 kg), two-time Junior Pan American Championships medalist

Daniel Liubimovski (Staten Island, N.Y. / NYAC / Colton Brown Training Center / 100 kg), six-time Cadet and Junior Pan American Championships medalist

Jonathan Yang (Los Angeles, Calif. / NYAC / USA Judo National Resident Team / 60 kg), 2024 Cadet World Champion, 2025 Junior World bronze medalist

Nancy Nguyen (San Jose, Calif. / NYAC / 70 kg), 2024 Junior Pan American Championships silver medalist

Lenny Sheynfeld (Staten Island, N.Y. / NYAC / Pedro's Judo Center / 66 kg), 2025 Junior Pan American Championships silver medalist

Alex Semenenko (Staten Island, N.Y. / NYAC / Generation Judo Club / +100 kg), 2026 Senior Pan American Championships silver medalist, three-time Cadet and Junior World Team member

Toni Pepia (Staten Island, N.Y. / NYAC / Colton Brown Training Center / 52 kg), five-time Continental Open medalist

Jack Yonezuka (West Long Branch, N.J. / NYAC / Cranford JKC / 73 kg), 2024 Olympian, two-time Junior World medalist, five-time Pan American Championships medalist

Johan Silot (Salem, Mass. / NYAC / Pedro's Judo Center / 81 kg), 2026 Senior Pan American Championships bronze medalist

Maria Laborde (Kenosha, Wis. / NYAC / Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center / 48 kg), 2024 Olympian, 2023 Masters World silver medalist, six-time Pan American Championships medalist