Plateau judo club piles up plenty of first-place finishes

Enumclaw’s Ki Haku Judo Club kicked off its spring season with several first-place finishes Saturday at the NAS Whidbey Island Judo Tournament.

Logan Thomas earned another first-place in the 8-year-old division and Garret Severson dominated the 11-year-old division with his first-place finish.

Gavin Severson, 14, kept first-place finishes in the family by earning the top spot in the 14- to 15-year-old division. He also placed third in the senior novice division and performed well in the senior open division.

Anthony Pontelandolfo, 15, and AJ Petrenchak, 16, met in the final round of the 15- to 16-year-old division. Experience edged out and Petrechak captured the title while Pontelandolfo earned runner-up honors.

Chance Mitchell, 17, won the 16- to 17-year-old division. He placed second in the senior novice division and competed in the senior open division as well.

Thirteen-year-old Jade Paterson moved up to the senior division only to meet her older sister Jennifer in the semifinals. Jennifer took control, winning the women’s senior division. Jade finished third.

Jennifer and Jade met up again in the finals of the women’s open division. Jade scored in the final seconds to win.

The Ki Haku Judo Club will travel to many tournaments in the next couple of months.

The Enumclaw High School Judo Team starts its league matches this week and will also compete in many tournaments leading up to the state championships in May.

Reach Brenda Sexton at bsexton@courierherald.com or 360-802-8206.

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