Local Jiu-Jitsu climbs the national ladder
Xander Blackstad shows off his accomplishments.
Declan Pauly placed second in both gi and no-gi classes.
Courtesy photos Sofia Brown stood proudly on the winners podium after placing second in the gi class.
Courtesy Photo Dean Glazer placed first in gi, first in no-gi, and third in the adult bracket of no-gi, and Declan Pauly placed second in gi and no-gi.
Coach Sam Brown stood proudly next to Eric Bender, who placed first in gi.
Courtesy Photo Sam Brown’s son, Sammy Jr., is following in his fathers footsteps, winning his gi class with a first place medal.
On March 3 and 4 in Tacoma, Wash., the Tri-Annual Revolution Jiu-Jitsu Tournament was hosted at the Pacific Lutheran University.
Bonners Ferry Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) was once again very well represented by the competitors who made the trip. Taking only a small group to this tournament still produced big results. All but three of the competitors won either a gold or silver medal, with some winning multiple brackets.
Here is a list of all who competed and their results:
Youth competitors:
- Sam Brown Jr placed first in gi
- Sofia Brown placed second in gi
- Benjamin Hollabaugh did not place
- William Hollabaugh did not place
- Xander Blackstad placed second in gi and second in no-gi
- Declan Pauly placed second in gi and second in no-gi
- Dean Glazer placed first in gi, first in no-gi, and third in no-gi (adult bracket)
Adult competitors:
- Eric Bender placed first in Gi
- Keith Thompson did not place
Coach Sam Brown had the following to say about the tournament. “I’m always excited about these tournaments because it gives our team a chance to go out and test our skills against much bigger schools from other areas and over the last few years, I’ve just been blown away by the results. It seems like each time we take a trip, our team does better and better.”
Declan Pauly and Dean Glazer competed in the same bracket for gi and no-gi and they came out of the competition in first and second place for both classes.
“To have our guys close out and be the top two of their brackets is just awesome. I couldn’t of been happier for them, they have definitely put in the work necessary to do what they did,” said Brown.
Next week the team will be traveling to Irvine, Calif., for the Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Championships, and the local competitors are pumped.
“This is Jiu-Jitsu on the biggest stage and I can’t wait to see how everyone does,” exclaimed Brown. “With all of the traveling that we’ve been doing, it gets expensive, so I’d like to give an extra special thanks to the 3 Mile Corner Store and Woody’s Gun & Pawn for helping out our athletes. You help make it all possible!”