Team Champions 2 Years running
Get out the broom - this division was swept by Team Peloton.
Team Peloton attended the Rochester Grappling Tournament on June 8 and came away with some big hardware. Team Peloton repeated their feat of last year by taking home the team trophy with 7 first place finishes!
Here some of the results:
Austin Lamb – 4th place Children’s Gi – Austin competed with much older kids in his division and managed to put on a clinic in the first round of his first match. Had points been scored in the first round he would have been up by as much as 15 – 0 as he mounted/knee on belly at will. In the second round he gave up a takedown and got caught in a headlock/choke. Nice work Austin, much to look forward to.
Casey Lamb – 1st gi and 1st No gi – Surprise, Surprise - The usual… unstoppable takedowns, dominant positions, etc. A demolition from start to finish. 5 fights = 5 submission victories. It’s a good problem to have when your biggest concern is trying to win by choke instead of armbar. After 3 armbar wins Casey changed up to 2 chokes to finish the day off.
Josh Brongo – 1st Gi (Peloton sweeps the division – Josh gets 1st because his victory en route to the finals was by submission.) 3rd no gi (due to injury) Josh was a crowd pleaser in Gi when he landed a beautiful rolling lapel choke in his first match. In no gi Josh and teammate Eric battled each other and one other opponent in a small division. After one full round robin each competitor had one once and lost once. Because Josh was the only one to finish his match by submission (triangle over Eric) he should have been awarded the division. For some reason the tournament folks didn’t recognize that???? and had them all fight again. In the rematch bracket Josh’s game opponent was saved by the bell from a straight knee bar to end round 1 and then Josh blew his back out as his opponent struggled to escape Josh’s triangle in round 2. Losing on points, Josh was done for the day with his injury. Great heart Broda! Read more on Eric’s battle for 1st/2nd….
Eric – 1st no gi/did not compete Gi. With a limited background on submissions and competing in his first submission tournament, Eric was simply outstanding. Eric’s takedowns were unstoppable and his takedown defense was 100% effective. He went on to avenge Josh’s loss/injury by beating the opposing player from a different school for a second time in the rematch battle and capturing 1st place.
Don Carlo – 2nd or 3rd Gi/1st no gi - Don had an impressive debut for Peloton. He was part of the sweep of his gi division with Josh and Chris Harrington. He will battle Chris for 2nd/3rd in an exclusive dojo match. In no gi Don shined with impressive takedowns and a top game.
Steve Georger – 3rd gi / 2nd no gi – In another impressive debut performance for Peloton Steve, Josh’s cousin, fought well in all his matches and was thrown in against some bigger competitors due to small divisions for his weight class. Some more submission work combined with Steve’s stellar wrestling should equate to a bright future.
Chris Harrington - 2nd or 3rd Gi /1st no gi – Competing in his first submission tournament…. Can you say Brabo? Chris finished all of his opponents with slick brabo chokes set up from his solid Greco background. It was a showcase. Great job.
Donny DiManno – 1st Gi/Did not compete no gi – Donny gave up 20 lbs to his final opponent due to a small division and still managed the victory on points. Way to go Donny.
Corey – 4th Gi/4th No Gi In his submission debut, Corey fought some outstanding battles. He put up some tremendous fights and almost beat those who would eventually win his divisions. Had points been awarded in the first rounds, some very different outcomes may have played out against guys who had 2+ years of training vs Corey’s two weeks.
For the second straight year Peloton takes home the overall team trophy despite fielding fewer guys than the next best team. That’s an impressive win/loss ratio per competitor! With so many new guys competing and so many regular competitors unable to attend made the team victory even more meaningful. Casey, Josh and Donny, the wiley vetrans, were great leaders and all the new guys stepped it up.
