Axsom's Army Antagonizes AAU Field with #1 ranking and Top-20 AAU Recognition

In its most recent event, the old and new fighters of Axsom dojo of Newport News competed in the 2021 AAU Karate National Championships, which were at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, SC. 

This year's competition was the first major comeback event since the COVID outbreak, which pushed last December's Nationals to an online format. 

Yet, the break away from live mat competition didn't leave Axsom's martial artists worse for wear. In fact, a whole new group of 15 beginners competed in Short and Long Kobudo (weapons forms), Kata (empty hand forms), and Kumite (sparring), and the advanced division had opportunities at different styles of kumite as well.

Axsom's dojo had 32 athletes participate this year, and six coaches, who brought home a total of 81 Medals, 37 were GOLD, and 40 of the team's medals were in the kumite division! 

Likewise, three of the athletes made the AAU National Team Pool for international travel and competition. 

An added bonus this year was that the Bull-Moose Dojo was named the #1 Participating Dojo at the National Championships and a "Top 20 AAU Club" in the country. 

Advanced Division (Black Belts):

Austin Galeski (18-34 Male): Silver Short Weapons (Tonfa); Silver Open Weight Kumite; GOLD, National Champion, Ippon Kumite; Selected for the AAU 2021-2022 National Team Pool traveling to Romania for the WUKF World Championships.

Jessica Sigsbee (18-34 Female) did not place in her events, but did win a $1,000 AAU Scholarship to William and Mary.

Ryan Sigsbee (16 Male): Bronze Ippon Kumite; Silver in ISF Olympic Rules Kumite; Silver in Team Rotational Kumite; GOLD in Sanbon Weight Class Kumite; 

Selected for the AAU 2021-2022 National Team Pool traveling to Romania for the WUKF World Championships.

Jaylen Nicholson (14 Male) 

Amiyr Gordon (12 Male) Silver in Kata; Silver in Long Kobudo (B0); Bronze in Kumite; Selected for the AAU 2021-2022 National Team Pool.

Intermediate Division (Brown Belts):

Brett Fallen (16 Male) GOLD in all 3 Divisions -- Kobudo, Kata, and Kumite! Silver in Team Rotational Kumite.

Alex Tomaino (16 Male) Silver in Kobudo and Kata; Bronze in Kumite; Silver in Team Rotational Kumite.

Joe Fuscia (13 Male) Bronze in Kumite.

Chris Gordon (7 Male) Silver in Kobudo; GOLDS in Kata and Kumite!

Novice Division (Green Belts);

Miranda Martinez-Chellis (15 Female) GOLDs in all three events--Kobudo, Kata, and Kumite, GOLD in Team Rotational Kumite

Daniella Martinez-Chellis (14 Female) Silvers in Kobudo and Kata; GOLD in Kumite!

Dakota Parnell (13 Male) GOLD in Kumite!

Ryan Wartell (12 Male) Bronze in Kumite.

Conner Strickland (11 Male) Silver in Kobudo and Kata; Bronze in Kumite.

Lucas Gardner (8 Male) Bronze in Kumite.

Shianne Medlin (8 Female) GOLDs in Kata and Kumite!

Isaiah McClain (8 Male) GOLD in Kumite!

Beginner Division (White Belts):

Hudson Burns (18-34 Male) Bronze in Kata and Kumite; GOLD in Kobudo!

Emily Galindo (15 Female) Silver in Kobudo; GOLD in Kata and Kumite!

Jasmine Elsayyad (14 Female) Silver in Kobudo; GOLD in Kumite!

Brodee Blackwell (12 Male) Silver in Kata; Bronze in Kumite; GOLD in Kobudo!

Nate Carney (12 Male) GOLDs in Kata and Kumite, Silver in Team Family Kobudo.

Coley Carney (10 Female) Silver in Kobudo; GOLDs in Kata and Kumite, Silver in Team Family Kobudo.

Robert Gibson (9 Male) Bronze in Kumite!

Cristiano Perez (8 Male) Bronze in Kata; Silver in Kumite.

Reagan Strickland (7 Female) Silver in Kumite; GOLDs in Kobudo and Kata!

Billy Lamping (7 Male) Bronze in Kumite.

Kylah Johnson (6 Female) Silver in Kumite; GOLDs in Kata and Kobudo!

Xavier Johnson (6 Male) Bronze in Kobudo and Kumite; Silver in Kata.

Daniel Carney (6 Male) Silver in Kobudo; GOLDs in Kata and Kumite! + Team family Kobudo.

Mia Blackwell (5 Female) GOLDs in all 3 divisions- Kobudo, Kata, and Kumite

Alana Humber (5 Female) Silvers in all 3 divisions-Kobudo, kata, and Kumite.

Axsom's Army Finishes Out 2020 Virtually

We have fallen woefully behind on updates from the Axsom dojo. In fact, Sensei "Moose," as he is affectionately called, just sent a fourth one today. So, we're going to dedicate the month of July as Martial Arts Month here at VPS. It will be a good month to promote the dojo as McGrath Educational will be posting a big announcement on July 15, and hopefully steering extra traffic to Virginia Peninsula Sports.

Here's how Axsom's Army ended the 2020 campaign, as reported by the good Sensei himself.

As a result of Covid19, the 2020 AAU National Championships and Team Trials were cancelled. They were supposed to take place in July and then in October of 2020 at the ESPN Wild World of Sports in Orlando, FL. Despite the cancellation, the AAU organized a Virtual Online National Championships where competitors and coaches could video submit entries for the following categories: Kata (Empty Hand Forms), Kobudo (Weapons Forms), Team Kata, Family Kata, and Team Kobudo. Our dojo competed in this first ever virtual national championships, and below are the results of our competitors hardwork and determination. Our dojo fielded four Teams for Team Kata.

TEAM Kata:

18-34 year olds Will Whitaker, Austin Galeski, and Shaun Coles (SILVER Medal/Cup); Ryan Sigsbee, Anna Deller, and Jabari Smith (GOLD Medal/Cup); 15-16 year olds Brett Fallen, Alex Tomaino, and Braeden Monroe; Miranda ChellisMartinez, Daniela Chellis Martinez, and Maimouna Ouattara; 13-14 year olds Hunter Feicht, Matthew Thomas, and Joe Fuscia (GOLD Medal/Cup); 9-10 year olds Conner Strickland, Amari Mathews, and Jalyn Wilks (Bronze Medal/Cup).

Kata Results:

18-34 year old Male - Austin Galeski (Bronze Medal)

15-16 year old Male - Alex Tomaino (Silver Medal); Brett Fallen (Bronze Medal)

5-6 year old Male - Daniel Carney (Bronze Medal)

Kobudo Results:

18-34 year old Male LONG Kobudo Advance (Bo and Eaku) - Austin Galeski (Silver Medal); Will Whitaker (Bronze Medal)

18-34 year old Male SHORT Kobudo Advance (Sai, Tonfa, Kama, Nunchaku) - Austin Galeski (Bronze Medal)

18-34 year old Female LONG Kobudo Advance - Jessica Sigsbee (Bronze Medal)

18-34 year old Female SHORT Kobudo Advance - Jessica Sigsbee (Silver Medal)

15-16 year old Male Novice - Brett Fallen (Silver Medal); Alex Tomaino (Bronze Medal)

13-14 year old Male Intermediate - Joe Fuscia (Bronze Medal)

11-12 year old Male Beginner - Ryan Wartell (GOLD Medal)

9-10 year old Male Beginner - Moustapha Ouattara (Bronze Medal)

9-10 year old Female Beginner - Coley Carney (Bronze Medal) 

7-8 year Female old Beginner - Shianne Medlin (GOLD Medal)

5-6 year old Male Beginner - Daniel Carney (GOLD Medal)

In total, our dojo had 23 total competitors compete. Not everyone medaled. The dojo brought home a total of 30 Medals for team and individual events.

Osborne, Spector Win Joe-Zilla 5 Miler

                                                                        2021 Joe-Zilla 5 Miler

              Final event of the Trailzilla Trail Run Series

                   Sandy Bottom Nature Park, Hampton, VA

                      Saturday, July 10, 2021 9:00 AM

                  Benefitting the Friends of Sandy Bottom

     A PENINSULA TRACK CLUB GRAND PRIX EVENT

Place O'All Name                       Age City State           Time   Pace

===== ===== ========================   === ===================  

TOP OVERALL MEN

    1     1 ANDREW OSBORNE              27 YORKTOWN VA          28:09  5:40     

    2     3 CHRIS LAWS                  45 NEWPORT NEWS VA      31:44  6:24 *   

    3     4 JOHN PIGGOTT                56 WILLIAMSBURG VA      33:07  6:40     

TOP OVERALL WOMEN

    1     2 BETHANY SPECTOR             32 VIRGINIA BEACH VA    31:11  6:17     

    2     9 MEGAN SCHULZE               38 GLEN ALLEN VA        35:48  7:13 *   

    3    11 SVETLANA GONCHAROVA         23 WILLIAMSBURG VA      36:18  7:19     

MASTERS MEN

    1     8 JUAN CORTES                 45 ELIZABETH CITY NC    34:55  7:02     

    2    10 JASON GLENN                 44 WILLIAMSBURG VA      36:02  7:15     

    3    13 JIM DUFFY                   69 POQUOSON VA          37:43  7:36 *   

MASTERS WOMEN

    1    15 MAY CARLSON                 45 HAMPTON VA           38:21  7:43     

    2    26 SUSAN HAGEL                 48 NORFOLK VA           42:20  8:31 *   

    3    30 JENNIFER CORNETTE           50 NORFOLK VA           43:41  8:48 *   

MEN:  14 AND UNDER

    1    37 BRAXTON LEE                 11 QUINTON VA           45:08  9:05 *   

MEN:  25 - 29

    1    12 ADAM DEMHARTER              25 WILLIAMSBURG VA      36:44  7:24     

    2    16 TREVOR UHL                  26 NORFOLK VA           38:32  7:46     

MEN:  30 - 34

    1     5 JORDAN SPECTOR              34 VIRGINIA BEACH VA    33:38  6:46     

    2     6 DEXTER MOORE                34 HAMPTON VA           34:13  6:53 *   

    3     7 DAVID HARTMANN              33 NORFOLK VA           34:15  6:54     

MEN:  35 - 39

    1    22 AYAZ SAHIBZADA              39 VIRGINIA BEACH VA    40:36  8:11     

    2    57 BEN MACKIN                  35 WILLIAMSBURG VA      51:21 10:20     

MEN:  50 - 54

    1    25 JOSE TORRES                 52 SUFFOLK VA           42:00  8:27     

    2    52 MARK KONST                  52 NEWPORT NEWS VA      50:42 10:12 *   

    3    55 PAUL CLARK                  52 HAMPTON VA           50:54 10:15     

MEN:  55 - 59

    1    18 WALT BRUCE                  59 YORKTOWN VA          38:53  7:50 *   

    2    23 KEVIN GRIERSON              55 WILLIAMSBURG VA      40:49  8:13 *   

    3    24 MARK YATES                  56 SUFFOLK VA           41:06  8:17     

MEN:  60 - 64

    1    17 TIMOTHY WESTFALL            63 NORFOLK VA           38:34  7:46 *   

    2    28 BILL PRICE                  61 CHESAPEAKE VA        42:47  8:37     

    3    39 DWIGHT STARKS               60 VIRGINIA BEACH VA    45:29  9:09     

MEN:  65 - 69

    1    19 ED ELMORE                   69 GLOUCESTER VA        39:29  7:57 *   

    2    27 RICK HARTUNG                67 HAMPTON VA           42:25  8:32 *   

    3    29 FRANK SCARINGELLO           67 NORFOLK VA           43:00  8:40     

MEN:  70 - 74

    1    34 JOSEPH VERDIRAME            71 SUFFOLK VA           44:07  8:53 *   

    2    38 JIMMY C BLOUNT              70 WILLIAMSBURG VA      45:11  9:06 *   

    3    77 STEPHEN SCUDDER             72 VIRGINIA BEACH VA  1:09:08 13:55 *   

MEN:  75 AND OVER

    1    50 RONALD KELLUM               77 HAMPTON VA           49:25  9:57 *   

    2    72 JOHN MUNDAY                 81 CHESAPEAKE VA      1:04:35 13:00 *   

WOMEN:  25 - 29

    1    20 ABBY HANKINS                25 NORFOLK VA           39:29  7:57     

    2    56 CARLY BOWEN                 28 HAMPTON VA           51:18 10:20     

WOMEN:  30 - 34

    1    21 JENNIFER ZANGHI             30 WILLIAMSBURG VA      39:55  8:02     

    2    63 ASHLEY MORROW               33 SMITHFIELD VA        53:24 10:45     

WOMEN:  35 - 39

    1    14 ERIN MACHIE                 36 NEWPORT NEWS VA      38:08  7:41     

    2    31 JAIME LAWSON                39 HAMPTON VA           43:57  8:51 *   

    3    48 SARA LEONE                  36 NEWPORT NEWS VA      48:23  9:44 *   

WOMEN:  40 - 44

    1    40 SAMANTHA DEMYANYUK          44 HAMPTON VA           46:23  9:20     

    2    49 AMANDA COLLIER              41 YORKTOWN VA          48:46  9:49 *   

    3    59 JENNIFER LITTLE             41 YORKTOWN VA          52:22 10:33 *   

WOMEN:  45 - 49

    1    47 CRYSTAL DAVENPORT           46 YORKTOWN VA          47:36  9:35 *   

WOMEN:  50 - 54

    1    65 TARA DRESS                  53 YORKTOWN VA          53:58 10:52 *   

    2    68 MARIE PRICE                 53 CHESAPEAKE VA        57:54 11:39     

    3    73 TERESA MARKLEY              52 NEWPORT NEWS VA    1:05:36 13:12     

WOMEN:  55 - 59

    1    35 CHRISTINE SCHAFFNER         58 YORKTOWN VA          44:40  9:00 *   

    2    36 VALOR FOY JONES             58 NEWPORT NEWS VA      45:01  9:04 *   

WOMEN:  60 - 64

    1    33 NORMA PHILLIPS              60 WILLIAMSBURG VA      44:03  8:52 *   

    2    45 GLORIA FREEMAN              60 HAMPTON VA           47:15  9:31 *   

    3    61 MARY GIBBS                  62 POQUOSON VA          52:52 10:39 *   

WOMEN:  65 - 69

    1    46 HELEN WORTHINGTON           66 BENA VA              47:29  9:34 *   

WOMEN:  70 AND OVER

    1    66 BARBARA BIASI               73 YORKTOWN VA          54:09 10:54 *   

    2    75 MARY HARMAN                 70 NEWPORT NEWS VA    1:06:18 13:21 *  

Place O'All Name                       Age City State           Time   Pace

===== ===== ========================   === ===================  =====  ====

TOP OVERALL MEN

    1     1 ANDREW OSBORNE              27 YORKTOWN VA          28:09  5:40     

    2     3 CHRIS LAWS                  45 NEWPORT NEWS VA      31:44  6:24 *   

    3     4 JOHN PIGGOTT                56 WILLIAMSBURG VA      33:07  6:40     

TOP OVERALL WOMEN

    1     2 BETHANY SPECTOR             32 VIRGINIA BEACH VA    31:11  6:17     

    2     9 MEGAN SCHULZE               38 GLEN ALLEN VA        35:48  7:13 *   

    3    11 SVETLANA GONCHAROVA  23 WILLIAMSBURG VA      36:18  7:19     

MASTERS MEN

    1     8 JUAN CORTES                 45 ELIZABETH CITY NC    34:55  7:02     

    2    10 JASON GLENN                 44 WILLIAMSBURG VA      36:02  7:15     

    3    13 JIM DUFFY                   69 POQUOSON VA          37:43  7:36 *   

MASTERS WOMEN

    1    15 MAY CARLSON                 45 HAMPTON VA           38:21  7:43     

    2    26 SUSAN HAGEL                 48 NORFOLK VA           42:20  8:31 *   

    3    30 JENNIFER CORNETTE           50 NORFOLK VA           43:41  8:48 *   

MEN:  14 AND UNDER

    1    37 BRAXTON LEE                 11 QUINTON VA           45:08  9:05 *   

MEN:  15 - 19

    NONE

MEN:  20 - 24

    NONE

MEN:  25 - 29

    1    12 ADAM DEMHARTER              25 WILLIAMSBURG VA      36:44  7:24     

    2    16 TREVOR UHL                  26 NORFOLK VA           38:32  7:46     

MEN:  30 - 34

    1     5 JORDAN SPECTOR              34 VIRGINIA BEACH VA    33:38  6:46     

    2     6 DEXTER MOORE                34 HAMPTON VA           34:13  6:53 *   

    3     7 DAVID HARTMANN              33 NORFOLK VA           34:15  6:54     

MEN:  35 - 39

    1    22 AYAZ SAHIBZADA              39 VIRGINIA BEACH VA    40:36  8:11     

    2    57 BEN MACKIN                  35 WILLIAMSBURG VA      51:21 10:20     

MEN:  40 - 44

    NONE

MEN:  45 - 49

    NONE

MEN:  50 - 54

    1    25 JOSE TORRES                 52 SUFFOLK VA           42:00  8:27     

    2    52 MARK KONST                  52 NEWPORT NEWS VA      50:42 10:12 *   

    3    55 PAUL CLARK                  52 HAMPTON VA           50:54 10:15     

MEN:  55 - 59

    1    18 WALT BRUCE                  59 YORKTOWN VA          38:53  7:50 *   

    2    23 KEVIN GRIERSON              55 WILLIAMSBURG VA      40:49  8:13 *   

    3    24 MARK YATES                  56 SUFFOLK VA           41:06  8:17     

MEN:  60 - 64

    1    17 TIMOTHY WESTFALL            63 NORFOLK VA           38:34  7:46 *   

    2    28 BILL PRICE                  61 CHESAPEAKE VA        42:47  8:37     

    3    39 DWIGHT STARKS               60 VIRGINIA BEACH VA    45:29  9:09     

MEN:  65 - 69

    1    19 ED ELMORE                   69 GLOUCESTER VA        39:29  7:57 *   

    2    27 RICK HARTUNG                67 HAMPTON VA           42:25  8:32 *   

    3    29 FRANK SCARINGELLO           67 NORFOLK VA           43:00  8:40     

MEN:  70 - 74

    1    34 JOSEPH VERDIRAME            71 SUFFOLK VA           44:07  8:53 *   

    2    38 JIMMY C BLOUNT              70 WILLIAMSBURG VA      45:11  9:06 *   

    3    77 STEPHEN SCUDDER             72 VIRGINIA BEACH VA  1:09:08 13:55 *   

MEN:  75 AND OVER

    1    50 RONALD KELLUM               77 HAMPTON VA           49:25  9:57 *   

    2    72 JOHN MUNDAY                 81 CHESAPEAKE VA      1:04:35 13:00 *   

WOMEN:  14 AND UNDER

    NONE

WOMEN:  15 - 19

    NONE

WOMEN:  20 - 24

    NONE

WOMEN:  25 - 29

    1    20 ABBY HANKINS                25 NORFOLK VA           39:29  7:57     

    2    56 CARLY BOWEN                 28 HAMPTON VA           51:18 10:20     

WOMEN:  30 - 34

    1    21 JENNIFER ZANGHI             30 WILLIAMSBURG VA      39:55  8:02     

    2    63 ASHLEY MORROW               33 SMITHFIELD VA        53:24 10:45     

WOMEN:  35 - 39

    1    14 ERIN MACHIE                 36 NEWPORT NEWS VA      38:08  7:41     

    2    31 JAIME LAWSON                39 HAMPTON VA           43:57  8:51 *   

    3    48 SARA LEONE                  36 NEWPORT NEWS VA      48:23  9:44 *   

WOMEN:  40 - 44

    1    40 SAMANTHA DEMYANYUK          44 HAMPTON VA           46:23  9:20     

    2    49 AMANDA COLLIER              41 YORKTOWN VA          48:46  9:49 *   

    3    59 JENNIFER LITTLE             41 YORKTOWN VA          52:22 10:33 *   

WOMEN:  45 - 49

    1    47 CRYSTAL DAVENPORT           46 YORKTOWN VA          47:36  9:35 *   

WOMEN:  50 - 54

    1    65 TARA DRESS                  53 YORKTOWN VA          53:58 10:52 *   

    2    68 MARIE PRICE                 53 CHESAPEAKE VA        57:54 11:39     

    3    73 TERESA MARKLEY              52 NEWPORT NEWS VA    1:05:36 13:12     

WOMEN:  55 - 59

    1    35 CHRISTINE SCHAFFNER         58 YORKTOWN VA          44:40  9:00 *   

    2    36 VALOR FOY JONES             58 NEWPORT NEWS VA      45:01  9:04 *   

WOMEN:  60 - 64

    1    33 NORMA PHILLIPS              60 WILLIAMSBURG VA      44:03  8:52 *   

    2    45 GLORIA FREEMAN              60 HAMPTON VA           47:15  9:31 *   

    3    61 MARY GIBBS                  62 POQUOSON VA          52:52 10:39 *   

WOMEN:  65 - 69

    1    46 HELEN WORTHINGTON           66 BENA VA              47:29  9:34 *   

WOMEN:  70 AND OVER

    1    66 BARBARA BIASI               73 YORKTOWN VA          54:09 10:54 *   

    2    75 MARY HARMAN                 70 NEWPORT NEWS VA    1:06:18 13:21 *