2011 US Sumo National Championships Report June 24, 2011 The ...

2011 US Sumo National Championships Report
June 24, 2011
The 2011 US Sumo “Nationals” took place in Las Vegas, Nevada for the first time since 2004. The
competition was in affiliation with another existing martial arts event, at the Riviera Hotel & Casino,
on June 24, 2011.
In the Men's Lightweight division, Trent Sabo was dominant, going undefeated to take the gold medal.
Likewise, in the Men's Middleweight division, Kena Heffernan went undefeated for gold. Both Trent
and Kena are virtually perennial champions in their respective weight classes.
In the Men's Heavyweight division, the local Las Vegas contender, Terrence Hairston took the field by
storm, going undefeated to take the gold medal, and his first medal ever in the event! In the process,
Terrence defeated three-time US Heavyweight Champion, Kelly Gneiting.
Kelly made a strong effort to come back in the Openweight division, but lost in the final match to
Middleweight Champion Kena. So, Kena grabbed both Middleweight and Openweight titles!
Both the Men's Heavyweight and Openweight divisions had many more competitors, so instead of
round robins, there were repechage brackets, resulting in two third place finishers each.
In the Women's competition, Natasha Ikejiri won the Middleweight by default, but proved her ability
by also winning the Openweight division against a powerful field of three Heavyweights. Earlier,
Natalie Burns took gold in the Heavyweight competition, but after several three-way tie-break sets
between Natasha, Natalie, and Taunia Arave, Natasha prevailed.
So, in impressive fashion, both of the Middleweight champions – Kena (men) and Natasha (women)
ended up defeating a string of Heavyweights, to also win their respective Openweight divisions!
In Men's Masters competition (age 40+), Andrew Freund (Lightweight), Robert Daniel (Middleweight
and Openweight), and Kelly Gneiting (Heavyweight) won gold medals.
Several last-minute cancellations due to injuries reduced the field to under 30 competitors, but those
that did show demonstrated excellent technique and intensity.
Medallists
Men's Lightweight
GOLD: Trent Sabo
SILVER: Bradley Sutton
BRONZE: Art Morrow
Men's Middleweight
GOLD: Kena Heffernan
SILVER: Robert Daniel
BRONZE: Michael Graves
Also competing: Reza Momeni, Packy Bannevans

Men's Heavyweight
GOLD: Terrence Hairston
SILVER: Kelly Gneiting
BRONZE: Randy Jimenez
BRONZE: Leon Arave
Also competing: Devon Kobashigawa, Mark Reiman, Thomas Zabel, Joshua Peterson, Americus
Abesamis
Men's Openweight
GOLD: Kena Heffernan
SILVER: Kelly Gneiting
BRONZE: Devon Kobashigawa
BRONZE: Robert Daniel
Also competing: Mark Reiman, Bradley Sutton, Trent Sabo, Packy Bannevans, Americus Abesamis,
Michael Graves, Reza Momeni
Women's Middleweight
GOLD: Natasha Ikejiri
Women's Heavyweight
GOLD: Natalie Burns
SILVER: Taunia Arave
BRONZE: Heather Colton
Women's Openweight
GOLD: Natasha Ikejiri
SILVER: Taunia Arave
BRONZE: Natalie Burns
Also competing: Heather Colton
Men's Master's (40+) Lightweight
GOLD: Andrew Freund
SILVER: Art Morrow
Men's Master's (40+) Middleweight
GOLD: Robert Daniel
SILVER: Packy Bannevans
Men's Master's Heavyweight
GOLD: Kelly Gneiting
SILVER: Thomas Zabel
BRONZE: Americus Abesamis
Men's Openweight
GOLD: Robert Daniel

SILVER: Americus Abesamis
BRONZE: Packy Bannevans
Also competing: Thomas Zabel