Last weekend Cohen Brother's Judo Club based out 400 Corporate Woods Parkway in Vernon Hills took 6 athletes to Reno, NV to compete in the USA Judo Sr. National Championships.
Leading the way was veteran Scott Rice, who made the finals by defeating 3 other opponents fairly quickly. Scott lost a very close match in the final by just getting countered at the halfway mark. Scott was a 1997 National Champion and also took silver in 2005. This is a fun event for Scott to come out of retirement and prove that he is still a threat at 39 years old.
15 year old Sophia Kontos made her way to the podium taking a bronze medal and climbing her rank to number 5 in the country in the sr division. This is a huge factor for Sophia and it will give her the confidence to start her journey to compete around the world and focus on qualifying for the 2020 Olympics in Japan.
Adam Brozer also claimed a silver medal in the brown belt division gaining more experience. By next year he should be in the mix for a medal in the black belt division.
Coach RJ Cohen also came out of retirement and decided to compete the day before the competition. RJ last competition was in 2008 at the USA Judo Olympic Trials to earn a trip to the Beijing Olympics at 73kg, where he just fell short. RJ decided to fight up a weight class going 3-2 on the day and taking 7th place. His only 2 losses were on penalties. It was a very exciting day for RJ and is not quite use to the new rules of the sport.
Also, Jeff Mason & Nick Potts competed in their first national championships fighting extremely well but just didn't have enough experience to make it to the podium.
Next up for the team is the AM CAN International in Buffalo, NY where over 15 athletes of all ages will go and compete against kids from around the country.
For more information go to www.cohensjudoclub.com
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