The excitement continued with the kids divisions. In all of the fights a great enthusiasm for the competition and jiu-jitsu was displayed. All of the kids displayed skills that would make any jiu-jitsu black belt jealous.
Finally, it was the adults turn to show what they had. There were many great matches but several stood out. Chad DeFraine, a blue belt and Jun Jun Dycoco a one stripe white belt had an all out war with both displaying a refuse to lose attitude but eventually Chad’s experience won out and he submitted Jun Jun with an armbar.
In the heavyweight division, the championship came down to Lee Mateer and Mike Hallam. Lee is a formidable opponent for any one being well over six foot tall, strong, fast, a former wrestler who coaches high school wrestlers, and with good technique. However, Mike was not intimidated in the least and the ensuing battle was a joy to watch for anyone with even a miniscule understanding of jiu-jitsu. Eventually, Lee’s size and strength won out and submitted Mike with an arm bar.
In the women’s division, the fight of the night had to have been the engagement between purple belt Dorothy Winter and blue belt Kathy Martin-Mohn. Escapes, counters, and submission attempts abounded but in the end Dorothy’s quickness allowed her to land a choke on Kathy forcing her to tap.
In the open division, the cream of the crop arose. Blue Belt Greg Tobin and 4 Stripe White Belt Gabe Neibergall battled showing speed and accuracy. For the second time, Kathy Martin-Mohn had a memorable fight. This time the fight was against fellow blue belt Christy Schattschneider. These two women put up a fight that would make most UFC fighters cower in fright. Both were aggressive yet controlled but eventually Kathy won the fight.
In another great second fight Dorothy Winter faced off against fellow purple belt, Bill Hunt. This fight demonstrated a technical excellence but after many sweeps, submission attempts, and escapes, Bill eeeked out a narrow victory.
However, the final moment belong to Brick Welch. Brick won both his weight division and the open division by displaying about a dozen different variations on the triangle choke.All in all this in house tournament highlighted not only the talent on offer but the solidified the Gracie Barra motto of “Organized like a Team, Fighting like a Family.”
