2023 Kata National Championships Results

Scott Coleman and Fiston Kabuya won the All-Around Men's Team Award at the Kata Nationals in Spokane.

(Spokane, WA) – The nation’s best kata competitors came together on Sunday to compete at the USA Judo Senior National Championships with nearly 40 athletes competing across five katas.

2023 Kata National Championships Results

Lee Pasteris (Los Angeles, CA / Sawtelle Judo Dojo) and Frederick Dagdagan (Los Angeles, CA / Sawtelle Judo) won double gold with the 2022 Kata World Team members earning titles in the Open Ju-No-Kata and Katame-No-Kata events.

Fiston Kabuya (Fort Worth, Texas / Fort Worth Judo Club) and Scott Coleman (Fort Worth, TX / Fort Worth Judo Club) missed the podium in two of their three events at the 2022 Kata Nationals, but became a team to watch this year, earning gold in Open Goshin Jutsu and silver in Open Nage No Kata to take the All-Around Men’s Team award.

Kristin El Idrissi (Melrose Park, PA / El Idrissi Judo Academy) was a fixture on the podium throughout the day, winning four medals with two different partners – 2022 Kata World Team members Lori Latimer (Upper Darby, PA) and Christine Levine (Philadelphia, PA), both of whom train at El Idrissi Judo Academy). El Idrissi and Levine won gold in Nage-No-Kata and silver in Goshin Jutsu while El Idrissi paired with Latimer to take silver in Ju-No-Kata and bronze in Katame-No-Kata.

Joe Schultz (Sioux Falls, SD / Sioux Falls Hapkido and Judo Club) and James Sternick (Sioux Falls, SD / Sioux Falls Hapkido and Judo Club) also won gold, taking the Kime-No-Kata title.

For the first time, the Kata Nationals included Intermediate and U33 divisions to encourage new and developmental athletes to compete on the national stage.

Among the athletes competing in the new categories, 17-year-old twins Brynn Buskerud (North Bend, OR) and Haley Buskerud (North Bend, OR) swept the gold medals in each of their events, claiming four total titles in the Nage-No-Kata and Ju-No-Kata events in both the U33 and Intermediate categories.

The complete list of medalists is as follows:

Open Katame-No-Kata
1. Lee Pasteris (Los Angeles, CA / Sawtelle Judo Dojo) and Frederick Dagdagan (Los Angeles, CA / Sawtelle Judo)
2. Mary Wakabayashi (Aliso Viejo, CA) and Pam Moye (Los Angeles, CA / Sawtelle Judo Dojo)
3. Lori Latimer (Upper Darby, PA / El Idrissi Judo Academy) and Kristin El Idrissi (Melrose Park, PA / El Idrissi Judo Academy)

Intermediate Katame-No-Kata
1. Douglas Newcomer (Denton, TX / Denton Jr. Optimist Judo Club) and Nicolas Valcik (Denton, TX / Denton Jr. Optimist Judo Club)
2. Paul Ziegman (Spokane, WA / Pacific Judo Academy) and Samuel Lui (Spokane, WA / Pacific Judo Academy)
3. Matthew Suran (Portland, OR) and Robert Safranek (Portland, OR)

Open Kime-No-Kata
1. Joe Schultz (Sioux Falls, SD / Sioux Falls Hapkido and Judo Club) and James Sternick (Sioux Falls, SD / Sioux Falls Hapkido and Judo Club)
2. Gerardo Tello (Miami, FL / A. Kolychkine Judo Foundation) and Sergio Suguieda (Miami, FL / A. Kolychkine Judo Foundation)

Intermediate Kime-No-Kata
1.Katherine Norton (Portland, OR) and Martin Skoviera (Milwaukie, OR)

Open Nage-No-Kata
1. Christine Levine (Philadelphia, PA / El Idrissi Judo Academy) and Kristin El Idrissi (Melrose Park, PA / El Idrissi Judo Academy)
2. Fiston Kabuya (Fort Worth, Texas / Fort Worth Judo Club) and Scott Coleman (Fort Worth, TX / Fort Worth Judo Club)
3. Gerardo Tello (Miami, FL / A. Kolychkine Judo Foundation) and Sergio Suguieda (Miami, FL / A. Kolychkine Judo Foundation)

Intermediate Nage-No-Kata
1. Brynn Buskerud (North Bend, OR) and Haley Buskerud (North Bend, OR)
2. Kira Maeda (Bellevue, WA / Washington Judo Academy) and Sienna Horita-Nguyen (Bellevue, WA / Washington Judo Academy)
3. John Pickett (Annandale, VA / Sport Judo) and Edward Fox (Schaumburg, IL)

U33 Nage-No-Kata
1. Brynn Buskerud (North Bend, OR) and Haley Buskerud (North Bend, OR)
2. Kira Maeda (Bellevue, WA / Washington Judo Academy) and Sienna Horita-Nguyen (Bellevue, WA / Washington Judo Academy)

Open Goshin Jutsu
1. Fiston Kabuya (Fort Worth, Texas / Fort Worth Judo Club) and Scott Coleman (Fort Worth, TX / Fort Worth Judo Club)
2. Christine Levine (Philadelphia, PA / El Idrissi Judo Academy) and Kristin El Idrissi (Melrose Park, PA / El Idrissi Judo Academy)
3. Tonald Takeya (Hilo, HI) and Stephen Hall (Kamuela / HI)

Intermediate Goshin Jutsu
1. Chishiro Newman (Oakland, CA) and Olga Bakhtiarova (San Francisco, CA)
2. Ben Frech (Lake Oswego, CA) and Gregory Franz (Portland, OR)

Open Ju-No-Kata
1. Frederick Dagdagan (Los Angeles, CA / Sawtelle Judo) and Lee Pasteris (Los Angeles, CA / Sawtelle Judo Dojo)
2. Lori Latimer (Upper Darby, PA / El Idrissi Judo Academy) and Kristin El Idrissi (Melrose Park, PA / El Idrissi Judo Academy)
3. Wendy Pietronire (New Hampton, NH) and Miki Takemori (Quincy, MA)

U33 Ju-No-Kata
1. Brynn Buskerud (North Bend, OR) and Haley Buskerud (North Bend, OR)

Intermediate Ju-No-Kata
1. Brynn Buskerud (North Bend, OR) and Haley Buskerud (North Bend, OR)
2. Douglas Newcomer (Denton, TX / Denton Jr. Optimist Judo Club) and Nicolas Valcik (Denton, TX / Denton Jr. Optimist Judo Club)
3. Robert Safranek (Portland, OR) and Matthew Suran (Portland, OR)