Caio Terra Academy and the overall Caio Terra Association had a strong showing at the 11th American Cup Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Tournament on the weekend of April 28th in San Jose. At the end of the day CTA athletes came home with 13 gold medals, 5 silver medals, and 4 bronze medals, but more importantly everyone had a great experience!
CTA athlete Carlos Capela fought two tough matches in the Master 2 Purple Belt Lightweight division and subsequently won both matches to take 1st place. In the Absolute division, Carlos also took 1st, submitting his opponent via cross choke within 20 seconds. Carlos is having an excellent 2018 competition season and we look forward to all of his future endeavors on the mat!
Renato
CTA brown belt Renato Tagliari also captured 1st place in both the Adult Ultra Heavy division and the Absolute.
CTA Kids!
Among the CTA kids competitors, brother and sister Joey and Joanna Escobar did an amazing job. Joanna took 1st place in the Junior 1 Yellow Belt Ultra Heavy division and Joey took 1st place in the Junior 3 Yellow Belt Light Feather division. One of their coaches, Coach Don, is incredibly proud of the resolve and resiliency these two showed in their efforts leading up to – and during – this tournament.
CTA | ONE TEAM.
Mindset Martial Arts – a CTA affiliate in Hayward, CA – also had a good showing at the American Cup with coach Manny Jeung earning 1st place in the Master 1 Brown Belt Light Featherweight division after a strong performance against a game opponent, scoring 6 – 0 for the win. His student, Keith Harper, won two matches – both by points – to take 1st place in the Adult Blue Belt Super Heavyweight division. Keith is a new father, a full-time veterinarian, and was competing in the adult division despite being over 30. It takes a lot of grit and hard work ethic to step up to a challenge like that and come out victorious.
Other CTA competitors included:
Justin Olvera – Junior 1 Yellow Belt Lightweight – 2nd Place
Nalani Jasmine Tacusalme – Junior 2 Yellow Belt Light Featherweight – 1st place
Ethan Mendoza – Junior 3 Grey Belt Featherweight – 1st Place
Lilette Santos – Junior 3 Grey Belt Middleweight – 1st place
Brandon Davis – Junior 3 Grey Belt Middleweight – 3rd place
Rachelle Riley – Female Adult White Belt Roosterweight – 2nd Place
Zandra Fountila – Female Juvenile Blue Belt Super Heavyweight – 1st Place
Kathy Zhou – Female Adult Blue Belt Light & Female Adult Blue Belt Absolute – 3rd Place
Elaine Huang – Female Master 1 Blue Belt Lightweight – 1st Place
Bryan Castaneda – Male Adult White Belt Heavyweight – 1st Place
Josue Aguirre – Male Adult White Belt Heavyweight – 3rd Place
Payton Lee – Male Master 1 White Belt Middleweight – 2nd Place
Giulio Adinolfi – Male Adult Blue Belt Heavyweight – 1st Place & Male Adult Blue Belt Absolute – 2nd Place
Professor Caio says, “Congrats to everyone who competed, everyone who came out to support and everyone who helped the team get ready. Win or lose, when we test ourselves we always win!”
Together, as a team, we win, lose, and learn! Onward to the rest of 2018!
