September 20th, 2003

      On Saturday, September 20th, the Army Judo team traveled to Newark, New Jersey to start the 2003-2004 season.  With the boost of its newly increased twenty-cadet roster, the team brought a strong presence to the 37^th Annual East Coast Championships.  Always being a challenging benchmark, the first tournament of a season is a time to remove the rust collected over the summer. The Team saw challenging competition from notable regional clubs Spartac and Jason Morris as well as Penn State.

 Men

The Men’s Team had some outstanding victories. Don Kanase took third after fighting some of the toughest competitors at the tournament. Michael Kolton took 2^nd in the 132 lbs weight class. Dave Pierce had to fight an unusually high number of 7 matches and ended with a 5-2 standing. Chane Jackson and Nick Simpson both fought continuous bouts in their weight divisions and took some striking victories.

 Women

The Women’s team faced some the fiercest competition seen in the past 2 years. Particularly, Jason Morris Judo Club brought a very competitive women’s team. Notwithstanding the difficult contest, Senior Shea Nero took 2^nd and freshman Jennifer Lichty placed 3^rd in the under 154 lbs weight class.

 Novice

The novice fighters fought remarkably well.  White belt freshman, Jordan Bellamy left with a 3-2 record, which includes victories over two green belts. Bellamy’s classmate, white belt Chris Behm fought to a 4-2 standing, including victories over two green belts.