Suffice it to say myself and Grappler`s Quest promoter Brian Cimins, who was also graciously playing referee that day, were stunned at the level of competitors we saw that day.
SouthWest Submission Grappling Challenge
Okahoma City, OK
August 20th, 2005
After years of seeing Raphael Lovato Jr. competing on the West Coast, on the East Coast, and even down in Brazil we finally decided to take the time to check him out on his home turf at the SouthWest Submission Challenge…
…Well almost his home turf. Who knew Oklahoma had two major airports? Not me apparently, as I booked a flight into Tulsa, where as Rafael lives in Oklahoma City. Still Rafael was gracious enough to give me a ride to and fro the airport, about a two hour drive away.
Still Rafael Lovato Jr. (and Rafael Lovato Sr.) were playing host to SouthWest Submission Challenge, not competing in it, so it was an opportunity to see how good Oklahoma grapplers in general.
Suffice it to say myself and Grappler`s Quest promoter Brian Cimins, who was also graciously playing referee that day, were stunned at the level of competitors we saw that day. It stands to reason of course, that Oklahoma has a proud tradition of grappling from the outstanding wrestling programs that have around for years and years before jiu jitsu appeared, and that was evident all day long as competitors pushed the pace of the action and scored spectacular takedown after spectacular takedown all day long. Smooth jiujitsu was the order of day as well, as the impressive displays of skill did not end with the stand up action.
The tournament itself was split between Advanced and Beginner divisions and run on two mats which were active at all times. Rafael Lovato Sr. certainly runs a tight ship when it comes to running a tournament and he had competitors (and referees) moving all day, and everyone knew where they were supposed to be at all times. Coupled with the fact that most of the matches of the day ended in submission and the action was pretty much non stop.
The best match up of the day had to be between Lovato`s Justin Rader and state rival Team Titan`s Mike Jackson both of whom displayed superior skills in the their matches. When these two met seemingly the whole gym was there to cheer one competitor or the other on. Both displayed excellent stand up technique, ground skill and heart but Rader won the day with a choke. However, we`re looking forward to seeing both of these up and comers in the future.
The highlight of the day was to be the Absolute division, which had a $300 cash prize up for grabs. What wound up happening was that host team Lovato closed out the division with 10 competitors after they all won their respective matches, so placement was decided on order of seniority and Advanced Super heavyweight division winner Justin Jacobs was awarded first place.
Afterwards the Lovato`s showed some very gracious hospitality as they showed off some of Oklahoma`s sites, I got the chance to roll with Jr. and some of his students at their academy, which has a neat array of medieval armor and the like on display, and narrowly missed experiencing an actual tornado (stupid California tourist in me was actually hoping to see one). With the talent level displayed at the tournament, and the fun I had overall, you can bet OntheMat will definitely be back for the next edition of this tournament! See you then!
SouthWest Submission Grappling Challenge
Full Results
Children Lightweight
1st Lauren Magdeleno - Vaghi
2nd Pat Sharp - Lovato
3rd Morgan Oathout - Lovato
Children Heavyweight
1st Jeremy Taylor - USA Stars
2nd Zac Huggins - Lovato
3rd Wes Tranckino - Lovato
Men`s Beginner Roosterweight
1st David Henderson - Renato Tavares
2nd Craig Descateaux - Triton
3rd Bethany McKee - Renato Tavares
Men`s Beginner Featherweight
1st Brian Fleeman - Gracie Barra
2nd Jon Combs - Lovato
3rd Jared Rader - Lovato
Men`s Beginner Lightweight
1st Fletcher Hoffman - Lovato
2nd Connery Lawther - Lovato
3rd Colin Pierce - Pittman
Men`s Beginner Middleweight
1st Jaime Steichen - USA Stars
2nd Ben Shriver - Lovato
3rd Eric Goforth - Renato Tavares
Men`s Beginner Light-Heavyweight
1st Brad Celestin - Gracie Barra
2nd James Daniels - United Jiu-Jitsu
3rd Brandon Peck - Lovato
Men`s Beginner Cruiserweight
1st Story Gotti - Gracie Barra
2nd Michael Parker - Renato Tavares
3rd Scott Torrence - Apollo
Men`s Beginner Heavyweight
1st Nathan Palma - Lovato
2nd Jeremiah Hanks - Lovato
3rd Ervin Miller - Lovato
Men`s Beginner Super-Heavyweight
1st John Nash - Lovato
2nd Jeremy Moore - Gracie Barra
3rd Lars Bieberstein - Academy of Martial Arts
Men`s Advanced Featherweight
1st Jason Sampson - Lovato
2nd Brandon Mullins - Pittman
3rd Isaac Magdeleno - Renato Tavares
Men`s Advanced Lightweight
1st Robert Harper - Lovato
2nd Justin Rader - Lovato
3rd Joe Wilk - Gracie Barra
Men`s Advanced Middleweight
1st Gabe Campbell - Lovato
2nd Jose Baeza - Lovato
3rd Chase Stalcup - Renato Tavares
Men`s Advanced Light-Heavyweight
1st Logan Gulick - Lovato
2nd Johnny Nimmo - USA Stars
3rd David Durnill - Gracie Barra
Men`s Advanced Cruiserweight
1st Piet Wilhelm - Triton
2nd Jordan Phillips - Pittman
Men`s Advanced Heavyweight
1st Russ Schwettmann - Lovato
2nd Brian Beard - Texas Self-Defense
3rd Ruben Zamarron - Academy of Martial Arts
Men`s Advanced Super-Heavyweight
1st Justin Jacobs - Lovato
2nd Kyle Rogers - Tulsa Judo
3rd Jason Howell - Academy of Martial Arts
Men`s Absolute
1st Justin Jacobs
2nd Justin Rader
3rd Logan Gulick
Team Points were awarded as follows:
Beginner Divisions - 1st - 5 points
2nd - 3 points
3rd - 1 points
Advanced Divisions - 1st - 7 points
2nd - 5 points
3rd - 3points
Teams
1st Lovato`s BJJ Oklahoma City - 82 points
2nd Gracie Barra Wichita, Kansas - 24 points
3rd Renato Tavares Norman, Oklahoma - 16 points
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