Port Washington Athletes Defeat International Competitors at USA Open Karate Championships

Three Port Washington athletes recently returned from the USA Open Karate Championships in Las Vegas with some serious hardware.

The Tokey Hill martial arts school students who competed in the championships “absolutely dominated,” said Sammy Santora, a Tokey Hill employee.

These athletes have trained most of their lives, and some of them have an excellent chance of earning a spot on an Olympic team, said Christina Muccini, an Olympic coach and Tokey Hill owner.

The athletes each won gold medals and defeated international competitors in the competition, which was held from April 2-5 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

About 2,000 athletes from all over the world, including some of the top athletes in karate, competed in the tournament.

Tokey Hill athlete Calog Torretta, 20, took gold in the North American Cup and made it to the finals in the U.S. Open, where he lost to a two-time world champion from Brazil.

Ashley Davis, 20, from Hicksville, earned a gold medal in the North American Cup and defeated a Mexican athlete in the finals. She also battled athletes from Greece, Canada, Mexico, Finland and Austria. Davis has been training at Tokey Hill since she was just 4 years old.

Ethan Wachsman, 11, from Roslyn, claimed a gold medal in the US Open. He fought athletes from Hawaii, Slovakia, Miami and Washington state. Wachsman also claimed two bronze medals in the tournament. Like Davis, he’s been training at Tokey Hill since he was 4.

Wachsman is a two-time national champion. Torretta and Davis are multiple-time national champions and USA team members.

Both Torretta and Davis are in the running for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team for the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo, if karate is deemed an Olympic sport, Muccini said.

“Karate is on the bidding block for the 2020 Olympics in Japan,” she said to Patch. “We have one of our best shots ever right now.”

Tokey Hill, 360 Port Washington Blvd., specializes in high-level Shotokan Karate, as well as kids karate, personal training, boxing and fitness boxing.

Images via Tokey Hill

• Photo 1: (l-r) Ashley Davis, Calogero (Calog) Torretta, Brian Ramrup, Christina Muccini (Tokey Hill owner), Ethan Wachsman and Billy Finegan (Tokey Hill owner).
• Photo 2: (l-r) Tokey Hill and Ashley Davis.
• Photo 3: The main tournament mat at the USA Open Karate Championships
• Photo 4: Ethan Wachsman pictured second from right wearing a blue jacket.

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