What would an OntheMat road trip to the East Coast be without a bit of misadventure?What would an OntheMat road trip to the East Coast be without a bit of misadventure? Well, those seeking to follow in our footsteps would be well advised to avoid the The PussyCat lounge, for no other reason than it sucks. However, if you’re cool enough I would definitely recommend either Sweet 16, Sway or Sweet and Vicious, I had an excellent time in each of those establishments (that’s about the entirety of the report you’ll get from me on the subject).
The Grappler’s Quest World Championships in Bayonne, New Jersey attracted 578 competitors and a packed house of spectators. This was despite the lack of the traditional super fights or invite only tournaments, however the tournament ran like clockwork and managed to start and finish on time.
While most of the regular big names seemed to take this particular tournament off for one reason or another they were there in force to coach the next generation of fighters, many of whom stepped on the mat to test themselves. A word of advice to the newer grapplers: RELAX! J The enthusiasm, excitement, and nervousness was definitely evident as many of the lower divisions entrants definitely gave their all in this competition, and at the same time displayed the highest levels of sportsmanship afterwards that is a trademark of our sport.
There was a bit of an unfortunate incident where Tiger Schulman’s school was displeased by a call from referee Francisco Neto and walked out of the tournament! This was unfortunate for two reasons, firstly and foremost because Neto was actually doing a good job of refereeing; he was extremely attentive and primarily watched out for the athlete’s safety. He made a few disqualifications that day, some of which were actually in favor of the Schulman school! Secondly, Tiger Schulman obviously has a very good grappling program, and the students were performing quite impressively that day. Brian, while obviously upset, did the correct thing by first standing by his referee, and secondly when Tiger Schulman expressed his intention to walk out, he promptly refunded all the entrance fees of competitors who had yet to fight, and the spectator fees of those who came to support them.
Anthony Argyros, Renzo Gracie/Mike Monica secured the fastest tapout of the day, heelhooking his opponent in nine seconds (clip of which is the last portion of the highlight video). He also pulled off a 38 second submission via heelhook at the Abu Dhabi trials a few weeks previous. Memo to Anthony’s future opponents: Watch your feet!
Special thanks go out to Steve from Sprawl Fight Shorts and Sav from Tribe FightWear for the hook up on gear, Special thanks to all my buddies at Renzo Gracie’s school, especially Shawn Williams and Alan Teo for their hospitality.
All in all, we’ve come to expect nothing less than one of the finest submission grappling tournaments held anywhere, and Grappler’s Quest once again delivered. Kudos to Brian Cimins and company for another excellent job. See you all in Las Vegas.
2002 GQ-Worlds Team Results 1st Place Team Renzo/Rodrigo Gracie/Serra/Almeida 304 Points 2nd Place Team Tiger Schulman’s Karate (TSK) 130 Points 3rd Place Team Machado USA Tai Kai/Professional Karate/Trident 127 Points 4th Place Team Royler Gracie USA Performance BJJ/Montclair Academy 115 Points 5th Place Team Linxx Academy Mike Moses and Frank Cucci 86 Points 6th Place Team Marcello Mello Jiu Jitsu 83 Points 7th Place Team End Game Eddy Rolon 73 Points 8th Place Team Hybrid Martial Arts 63 Points 9th Place Team Lloyd Irvin 56 Points 10th Place Team Academia De Brasil 40 Points
Honorable Mention:
Team Baltimore Martial Arts 38 Points Team Cabeca Tong Dragon, Integrated and Fatjo’s Martial Arts 37 Points Team Alex Wilkie 36 Points Team TNT Martial Arts 35 Points Team Jay Lally 29 Points Team Jerry Jones Ultimate Martial Arts 25 Points Team Quality Martial Arts 25 Points Team NAPS 23 Points Team Hybrid Elite 20 Points Team Kyle Saunders Jiu Jitsu 19 Points Team EMA 19 Points Team Ironlock 18 Points Brazilian Vale Tudo Academy 16 Points Asian Arts Academy 16 Points Team Sityodtang/Nobrega 15 Points Connecticut Martial Arts 15 Points Team Powell Sports 15 Points Champion Martial Arts/U.S Grappling Association 14 Points Team Sekai 12 Points San Diego Combat Club 11 Points Team Negron 7 Points Team Wrecking Crew 7 Points Team IFS 6 Points Team Extreme Jiu Jitsu 5 Points Team New York Kung Fu Academy 5 Points Team Williams 5 Points Team Mohler Jiu Jitsu 4 Points Team Bayonne Dojo 3 Points Team Trident Academy 3 Points Team Alpha Omega 2 Points Team Kioto Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 2 Points
Complete individual results: Children 49 lbs. and below: : 1st Place Calvin Harbaugh (Tai Kai Machado) 2nd Place Jeffrey Glossner (Independent) 3rd Place Arnoldo Gomez (Tai Kai Machado)
Children 50-59 lbs.: : 1st Place Jason Seo (Tiger Schulman) 2nd Place Brent Lawless (Tiger Schulman) 3rd Place Anthony Bonannd (Tiger Schulman)
Children 60-69 lbs.: : 1st Place Dudley Drake (Mohler Jiu Jitsu) 2nd Place Gianni Grippe (Independent) 3rd Place Jonathan Gonzalez (Tai Kai Machado)
Children 70-79.9 lbs. : 1st Place Billy Loftos (Alex Wilkie) 2nd Place Celeste Sangiorgio (Tiger Schulman) 3rd Place Joe Belson (Royler Gracie USA) 4th Place EJ Steedle (Academia De Brasil)
Children 80-89.9 lbs. : 1st Place Michael Trasso (Jerry Jones) 2nd Place Andrew Caballero (Tiger Schulman) 3rd Place David Rivera (Tiger Schulman) 3rd Place Anthony Carlo (Tiger Schulman)
Children 90-99.9 lbs. : 1st Place Mark Pantle (Tong Dragon/Fernando Cabeca) 2nd Place Shane Strumwasser (Tiger Schulman) 3rd Place Renee Sabatini (Fatjo’s Martial Arts/Fernando Cabeca) 4th Place Adam Levy (Tiger Schulman)
Children 100-114.9 lbs. : 1st Place Nicholas Pace (Tiger Schulman) 2nd Place Andrew Heatwole (Trident Academy) 3rd Place Liam Kerrigan (Tong Dragon/Fernando Cabeca) 4th Place Ryan Sofranko (Tiger Schulman)
Children 115-129.9 lbs. : 1st Place Paul Adam Maffei (Tiger Schulman) 2nd Place Eddie Brown (Team End Game/Eddy Rolon) 3rd Place Michael Coffey (Academia De Brasil) 4th Place Spencer Cook (Serra/Renzo Jiu Jitsu)
Children 130-144.9 lbs. : 1st Place Ben Schweitzer (Renzo) 2nd Place Josiah Sugarman (Independant) 3rd Place Stephen Gopin (Fatjo’s Martial Arts/Fernando Cabeca) 4th Place Bill Elder (Royler Gracie USA) 4th Place Jesse Reinle (Royler Gracie USA)
Children 145-159.9 lbs. : 1st Place Arseniy Grebnor (Alex Wilkie) 2nd Place Brenden Wasniewski (TNT) 3rd Place Michael Mercado (Alpha Omega)
Children 160 lbs. and over : 1st Place Derrich Doyle (Team End Game/Eddy Rolon) 2nd Place Mike Lanni (Bayonne Dojo) 3rd Place Anthony D’Angelo (Kioto BJJ) 4th Place Ariel Zucker-Brull (Independent)
Women 119 lbs. and below: 1st Place Amie Turton (Tong Dragon/Fernando Cabeca) 2nd Place Melinda Chao (Renzo Gracie) 3rd Place Chung Vo-Williamson (Machado/PKA) 3rd Place Hyaehwan Kim (Hatfield Martial Arts)
Women – 120-134.9 lbs. : 1st Place Shannon Logan (Renzo) 2nd Place Cara Mooney (Wrecking Crew) 3rd Place Maimunah Holland (Tiger Schulman) 4th Place Sharon Pray (Tiger Schulman)
Women – 135 – 149.9 lbs. : 1st Place Melissa Bopp (Tiger Schulman) 2nd Place Amanda Weiner (Tiger Schulman) 3rd Place Del Greer (Bando) 4th Place Teresa Schev (Renzo Gracie)
Women 150 lbs. and over:: 1st Place Amy Saia (TNT) 2nd Place Beth Strasnick (Independent) 3rd Place Dove Haber (Integrated Martial Arts) 4th Place Dana Eldridge (Tiger Schulman)
Women Absolute Division:: 1st Place Amy Saia (TNT) 2nd Place Maimunah Holland (Tiger Schulman) 3rd Place Teresa Scheve (Renzo) 4th Place Chung Vo-Williamson (Machado/PKA)
Executive (30-39 yrs.) – Lightweight – 159 lbs. and below: 1st Place Dennis Hayes (Hybrid Martial Arts) 2nd Place Tim Rumfelt (Hybrid Martial Arts) 3rd Place Chris Mahan (Linxx Academy) 4th Place John Siracusano (Marcello Mello)
Executive (30-39 yrs.) Middleweight – 160-179.9 lbs.: 1st Place Phil Kelly (Machado/PKA) 2nd Place Angelo Freeman (Quality Martial Arts) 3rd Place JC Indiviglio (Renzo/Rodrigo Gracie) 4th Place Bob Sayers (Extreme Jiu Jitsu)
Executive (30-39 yrs.) – Cruiserweight (180-199.9 lbs.) 1st Place Anthony Argyros (Renzo/Mike Monica) 2nd Place George Phillips (Independent) 3rd Place Scott Glossner (Independent)
Executive (30-39 yrs.) – Heavyweight (200 lbs. and over)) 1st Place Carmine Zocchi (Marcello Mello) 2nd Place Martin Fotes (Tiger Schulman) 3rd Place Rick Herman (Baltimore Martial Arts) 4th Place Floyd Wiley (Tai Kai Machado Jiu Jitsu)
Masters (40 yrs. and over) – Cruiserweight – 180-199.9 lbs.: 1st Place Mike Atkin (Renzo Gracie) 2nd Place Ray Karakas (Quality Martial Arts) 3rd Place Tom Moeller (Academia De Brasil) 4th Place Barry Greifer (Alex Wilkie)
Novice Flyweight (139.9 lbs. and below) : 1st Place Jay Cataldo (Royler Gracie USA/Performance Jiu Jitsu) 2nd Place Alvin Jenkins (Team End Game/Eddy Rolon) 3rd Place Anthony Stover (IFS)
4th Place Hisahiro Myojin (NY Kung Fu)
Novice Featherweight (140-149.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Klint Radwani (Linxx Academy) 2nd Place Krishna Mirjah (Serra/Renzo Gracie) 3rd Place Robert Guarino (Exodus Fitness) 4th Place Mike Cassesso (Sityodtong))
Novice Lightweight (150-159.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Emilio Novoa (Team End Game/Eddy Rolon) 2nd Place Joey Brown (Team End Game/Eddy Rolon) 3rd Place Brian Mayfield (NAPS) 4th Place Michael Yoders (Team Williams)
Novice Welterweight (160-169.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Joseph Thompson (Alex Wilkie) 2nd Place Vladislav Sumarokov (Negron) 3rd Place Matthew Brooks (Tai Kai Jiu Jitsu) 4th Place Robert Depalo (Tiger Schulman)
Novice Middleweight (170-179.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Christopher Jonas (Renzo Gracie/Combat Zone/Mike Monica) 2nd Place Joey Paladino (Independent) 3rd Place Ed Shebar (Rodrigo/Renzo Gracie) 3rd Place Michael Coscia (Rodrigo/Renzo Gracie)
Novice Cruiserweight (180-189.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Kirkland Campbell (Renzo Gracie) 2nd Place Matt Bridge (NAPS) 3rd Place Jeremy Sanford (Lloyd Irvin) 4th Place Michael House (Integrated Martial Arts)
Novice Light-Heavyweight (190-204.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Dan Danielvc (Tiger Schulman) 2nd Place Robert Phillips (Renzo Gracie) 3rd Place Michael Baity (Baltimore Martial Arts) 4th Place Jason Crook (Baltimore Martial Arts)
Novice Heavyweight (205-224.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Gavin Enck (Royler Gracie USA) 2nd Place Gregory Brown (Sityodtong/Nobrega JJ) 3rd Place Eric Blois (Renzo Gracie) 4th Place Martin Carr (EMA)
Novice Superweight (225 lbs. and over) : 1st Place Marc Mulford (TNT) 2nd Place Ronald Hockman (Renzo Gracie) 3rd Place Rob Orr (Renzo Gracie) 4th Place Giovanni Orsini (Renzo Gracie)
Beginner Flyweight (139.9 lbs. and below) : 1st Place Zishan Asi (Marcello Mello) 2nd Place Kevin Roddy (Renzo Gracie/Danny Ives) 3rd Place Steven Deltejo (Tiger Schulman) 4th Place Dave Ferreira (Integrated Martial Arts)
Beginner Featherweight (140-149.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Ronnie Russel (Baltimore Martial Arts) 2nd Place Joe Tabakhman (Jay Lally) 3rd Place Ted Kaouk (NAPS) 4th Place John Kim (Royler Gracie USA/Performance Jiu Jitsu)
Beginner Lightweight (150-159.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Todd Killino (Renzo Gracie-Hatfield MA) 2nd Place Robert Tabinga (San Diego Combat) 3rd Place Billy Tamburri (Jerry Jones) 4th Place Eric Lee (Linxx Academy)
Beginner Welterweight (160-169.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Karl Tyler (Tai Kai Machado Jiu Jitsu) 2nd Place Don Weibel (Jerry Jones) 3rd Place James Garzillo (Tiger Schulman) 4th Place Carlos Bedoya (Baltimore Martial Arts)
Beginner Middleweight (170-179.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Anthony Ladonna (Serra/Renzo Gracie Jiu Jitsu) 1st Place Kristopher Fox (Serra/Renzo Gracie Jiu Jitsu) 2nd Place David Pickard (Renzo Gracie) 3rd Place Trevor Rivers (Renzo Gracie)
Beginner Cruiserweight (180-189.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Ronald Stallings (Sekai) 2nd Place Jamul Jadmba (Renzo Gracie) 3rd Place Alberto DaSilva (Marcello Mello) 4th Place Song Quichocho (Renzo Gracie)
Beginner Light-Heavyweight (190-204.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Bruce Brereton Jr. (Independant) 2nd Place Mark Staniszewski (Serra/Renzo Gracie) 3rd Place Jay Simon (Linxx Academy) 4th Place Fred Lawson (Renzo Gracie)
Beginner Heavyweight (205-224.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Craig Portee (Serra/Renzo Gracie) 2nd Place Billy Rothford (Quality Martial Arts ) 3rd Place Kermit Dannell (Rickson Gracie Jiu Jitsu)
Intermediate Flyweight (139.9 lbs. and below) : 1st Place Luis Figueroa (Asian Arts Club) 2nd Place Ken Shafer (Renzo Gracie) 3rd Place Chuck Meyers (Champion Martial Arts/US Grappling) 4th Place Michael Murray (Tiger Schulman)
Intermediate Featherweight (140-149.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Gerard Ridings (Renzo Gracie) 2nd Place Corey Wecler (Renzo Gracie) 3rd Place James Brown (Team End Game/Eddy Rolon) 4th Place Jeff Lang (Renzo Gracie/Hatfield Martial Arts)
Intermediate Lightweight (150-159.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Justin Monforte (Renzo Gracie/Serra) 2nd Place Thomas Courtney (Alex Wilkie) 3rd Place James Morrison (Tai Kai Jiu Jitsu) 4th Place Adam Jacobowitz (Linxx Academy)
Intermediate Welterweight (160-169.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Eric Bentley (Academia De Brasil) 2nd Place Ernie Renn (Academia De Brasil) 3rd Place Joseph Smith (Lloyd Irvin) 4th Place Robert Crane (Renzo Gracie/Danny Ives)
Intermediate Middleweight (170-179.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Leo Rancier (Vale Tudo Academy) 2nd Place Jeff Powell (Powell Sports) 3rd Place Elipto Lavoy (Marcello Mello) 4th Place Dominick Piscirelli (Team End Game/Eddy Rolon)
Intermediate Cruiserweight (180-189.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Marc Ritorto (Royler Gracie USA/Performance BJJ) 2nd Place Raymond Halstead (Hybrid MA) 3rd Place Gregory Dodd (Hybrid MA) 4th Place Cory LaPlant (Tai Kai Machado Jiu Jitsu)
Intermediate Light-Heavyweight (190-204.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Matt Butler (Royler Gracie USA) 2nd Place Carmine Zocchi (Marcello Mello) 3rd Place Nolan Dutcher (Renzo Gracie) 4th Place Ryan Linderson (Independent)
Intermediate Heavyweight (205-224.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Tony Anyaochs (Royler Gracie USA) 2nd Place John Clarke (Connecticut Martial Arts) 3rd Place Robert Radswillas (EMA)
Advanced Flyweight (139.9 lbs. and below) : 1st Place Mike Mrkulic (Royler Gracie USA/Performance/Montclair BJJ) 2nd Place Reed Hepperly (Kyle Saunders) 3rd Place Steven Bongiorno (Renzo Gracie/Ricardo Almeida)
Advanced Featherweight (140-149.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Dennis Hayes (Hybrid Elite) 2nd Place Emile Pratt (Marcello Mello) 3rd Place Peter Lavalle (Lally)
Advanced Lightweight (150-159.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Matt Zaccaria (Tai Kai Machado Jiu Jitsu) 2nd Place Tim Rumfelt (Hybrid Martial Arts) 3rd Place Jason Cooner (Ironlock) 4th Place Marco Marvuicic (Westchester)
Advanced Welterweight (160-169.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Mark Colangelo (Renzo Gracie) 1st Place Nakapan Phungephorn (Linxx)
Advanced – Cruiserweight (180-189.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Carl Massaro (Renzo Gracie) 2nd Place Dan Simmler (Serra/Renzo Gracie) 3rd Place James Valentine (Lloyd Irvin) 4th Place Eddy Rolon (Team End Game/Eddy Rolon)
Advanced Light-Heavyweight (190-204.9 lbs.) : 1st Place Anthony Argyros (Renzo Gracie/Mike Monica) 2nd Place Jeremiah Fountain (Tai Kai Machado Jiu Jitsu) 3rd Place David Womack (Lloyd Irvin) 4th Place Vin Esposito (Renzo Gracie/Mike Monica)
Advanced Superweight (225 lbs. and over) : 1st Place Brandon Vera (Linxx Academy) 2nd Place Norm Schack (Renzo Gracie) 3rd Place Nick Caggia (Royler Gracie) 4th Place Jay White (Renzo Gracie)