White Dragon Judo Club

The 33rd annual North South Judo Tournament took place at the Family Sportplex in Belleville, Illinois on Saturday, May 6, 2017. The legendary Randy Pierce officiated this awesome event. David Burke assumed the head coaching duties for Team White Dragon. No member of White Dragon Judo Club was in the team competition. Team South fell to the North in convincing fashion. In the junior division, Mason Moore fought against superior competition in his category. Moore was relentless in his attacks winning bronze for the day. Trevor Judge was impressive in his second tournament of his short but promising judo career. The third generation grappler won gold going 3-0 on the day. Manareldeen Fajor won his second consecutive Fighting Spirit Award for his gold medal performance in this tournament. The senior division saw Byron Helmrich fight to a bronze medal in the lightweight division. Jay Baker won silver with a nice uchimata in the preliminary round. Phillip Vojta was splendid against a tough bracket and won silver. The MVP of the tournament was Derek Clardy. Clardy was tested facing some formidable opponents. The extra practice and dedication paid huge dividends as Clardy cranked out his third consecutive gold medal of the year.