Coach Fiege: " This time we had a group of 3 and came home with 2 golds. Roland Garcia (49) fought well but did not place. Hiram is peaking right now, he returned to competition last year and won the World Masters and 3rd place in the US Open. Now he beat the #1 ranked player in the USA 3 times for the national title and a place on the US National team. He had some spectacular throws for instant wins. His specialty is the groundwork with pins, chokes and armbars, but his stand up game was so dominant he did not even get to use them."

John Fiege took first place in the Masters division. Three opponents were thrown for instant wins in less than 2 minutes.

Next up for Cruz is next weekends Puerto Rico Open, in which a win would mean a selection for the Puerto Rican judo team as well. Major tournaments after that are the Pan American championships in Argentina and the US Open later this year in Miami.

Hiram Cruz and John Fiege train and coach daily at the Judo Ryu Jacksonville dojo at 

1245 Mayport Rd, Atlantic Beach, FL 32233. 

For more info: (904) 241-4112, email sensei@judojax.com or on the web at http://www.judojax.com.