THE young martial artists of Trench Tech Purebred Saipan won six medals in the Patgon (Kids) Jiu-Jitsu Tournament Spring 2023 on Saturday, April 22, at the Univesity of Guam.
Gabe Mitchell, 13, won a total of two medals after he was bumped up from the teen 2 to the teen-juvenile division. Mitchell won bronze in the Gi category and silver in the No Gi category.
Winning a silver medal were seven-year-old gray belt Jacqueline Iris Quitugua who competed in the heavyweight category of the junior 1 division; and 10-year-old Tate Manglona in the heavyweight junior 2 division.
Also earning medals were 11-year-old gray belt Justo Quitugua and seven-year-old white belt Jordan Camacho.
Quitugua bagged a bronze medal in the ultra-heavyweight junior 2 division while Camacho shared the spotlight with a bronze in the super-heavyweight peewee 2 division.
The rest of the participating Trench Tech martial artists were 10-year-old white belt Alexander Diaz who competed in the middleweight junior division; nine-year-old gray belt Kaiya Pangelinan, junior 1; 11-year-old gray belt Raymond Earl Hazlett, super heavyweight junior 2; nine-year-old gray belt Reiden Travilla, middleweight junior 1; 10-year-old white belt Tate Manglona, heavyweight junior 2; six-year-old white belt Hani Reyes, middle and heavyweight peewee 2; and eight-year-old white belt Brian Reyes, featherweight junior 1.
“This is the 2nd Patgon Jiujitsu Tournament in six months. The last one was in October 2022. Prior to that, our kids were training for a few months prepping for the first tournament,” said Trech Tech owner Cuki Alvarez. “We always have goals of winning medals; however, because the competition was so strong, realistically, we knew we wouldn’t medal in all our divisions. But five kids medaling is a plus in our books and we are proud of their accomplishments. But to us, they are all winners in the competition!”
He added, “They did great! The competition was fierce, and all our kids were as prepared as they could have been, but there is always room for improvement. So, we need to work on a lot of things for the next tournament because all the competitors from Guam…were good and well trained!”
He said the team would like to thank their sponsors: former Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, for his huge contribution that paid for all the kids’ flights; Bridge Capital for providing rooms at the Perlas Courte Condos for all the competitors; the Saipan Mayor’s Office for its monetary donation; Hardt Eye Clinic for its monetary donation; Tangs Corporation; and the Senate president’s office.
Cuki Alvarez and the Trench Tech kids pose for a photo. The young martial artists competed in the Patgon (Kids) Jiu-Jitsu Tournament Spring 2023 on Saturday, April 22, at the University of Guam.
