Kim Carpenter (25) led the way with a magnificent showing winning all 6 of her matches by ippon with six different techniques to claim her first National medal and title. Carpenter entered the event as the #3 seed but in the semi-finals she upset the heavily-favored Jeanette Rodriguez by throwing her in the first minute. Carpenter then proceeded to dismantle #1 seed Kayla Chappell, pinning her in the final to take the 52kg National crown and earn a 2-out-of-3 fight off with Chappell for the Worlds berth. Carpenter threw Chappell for ippon in the first match of the fight off then arm-barred Chappell in the second bout to secure the World Team spot on the 2009 US World team that will compete in Rotterdam, Holland August 26-30. This marks the 4th consecutive World or Olympic team featuring at least one JMJC athlete. The streak started in 2005 when the JMJC first had athletes make the World team that competed in Cairo, Egypt. Carpenter was both enthusiastic and humble in victory saying, "Jason and Teri made me from almost nothing proving that any athlete can come to the JMJC, get good and compete for championships as long as they follow the program."

SCCC student Nick Kossor (23) collected a 60kg Nationals medal for the fourth consecutive year (1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze) by winning a 2009 silver with a 4-1 mark. Kossor was seeded #2 and seemed poised to overtake #1 Aaron Kunihiro as Nick had won the four previous Kossor-Kunihiro battles. However Kunihiro, with his hit-and-run style, was able to keep up a frenetic pace and while his attacks were of no real threat to Kossor it made it difficult for Nick get off any offense and Kossor was penalized four times for passivity handing the victory to Kunihiro.

SCCC student Hannah Martin (20) picked up her fourth consecutive Nationals medal (2 silver, 2 bronze) winning a silver at 57kg. Martin lost in the final to 2007 & 2009 World team member Marti Malloy. Martin fell behind by a yuko score in the first 30 seconds getting caught with a switch. Hannah dominated the remainder of the bout and broke Malloy's balance on a few occasions but Malloy's early lead held till matchs end giving the World team berth to Malloy.

SCCC student Kyle Vashkulat (18) earned two medals over the weekend taking a silver in 100kg and a bronze in the Open category. Vashkulat won four straight matches by ippon to advance to his first 100kg final where he faced #1 Djamal Aliev for a chance for the fight off for the World team. Vashkulat was somewhat tentative on this big occasion and got thrown for ippon with drop seionage in the second minute leaving him with the silver. Vashkulat then padded the JMJC medal count with a bronze in the Open division. His #1 status in the Open division earned Kyle a chance to compete for the World team berth against much bigger opponents. Playing for the pure joy of it Kyle competed against 2008 Olympian at +100kg, Dan McCormick in a 2-out-of-3 fight off. McCormick outweighs Kyle by 40kg and he took advantage of that fact by throwing Vashkulat with a switch. But Kyle humbled the big man in the second bout submitting the Olympian with an arm bar and sending the contest the full three matches. Kyle was very much the aggressor in the rubber match with a number of threatening attacks. McCormick was able to counter a Kyle Vashkulat ouchi gari even as he was being thrown for a desperate win. Confident even in defeat Kyle commenting that it could have easily been mine.

Natalie Lafon (28) came to San Diego as the #1 and was poised to make her first World team in front of her hometown crowd. Natalie cruised to the final where she was pitted against Katelyn Bouyssou. Bouyssou took an early lead and was able to hold on to win the title leaving Lafon with the silver. Lafon's #1 ranking earned her the right to face Bouyssou in a 2-out-of-3 fight off for the World team. The first match looked identical to the National's final fought just a few minutes earlier. Bouyssou got a small, scrappy score and held on to take a 1-0 lead. Lafon regrouped, changed strategies and came out firing in match two which she dominated scoring on a big hip throw. In the rubber match Bouyssou prevailed by scoring in her now-familiar technique of continuing a throw after it is initially thwarted. The high schooler's persistence led to a descisive ippon halfway through the five-minute bout ending Lafon's hope for a 2009 World team berth.

Burnt Hills senior Angela Creutzberger (18) won her second consecutive bronze medal at 48kg. Her loss also came at the hands of Bouyssou although Crueztbereger dominated the first half of their semi-final battle. Angela momentarily lost focus and was not expecting Bouyssou to take advantage in mat work where Bouyssou caught Angela with an armlock to make the final.

SCCC Student Brad Bolen (20) went 5-1 and collected his first National's medal taking a bronze at 66kg. The result improved Bolen's national ranking to a career-high #2.

JMJC newcomer Harry Chandler (23) made a big splash in his first Nationals making it all the way to the bronze medal match at 90kg. Harry's fifth place finish allowed him to become a nationally ranked player at #9. During Chandler's run he knocked off #3 Roger Mazella and nearly beat #2 Jake Larson in the quarterfinal. Chandler threw Larson with taio for waza-ari which many people thought should have been ippon but Larson fought back and pinnned Chandler in the closing minute to preserve the victory. Also at 90kg, SCCC student Tony Sangimino (18) beat #7 Carlos Moran on his way to the quarters and looked to be headed for a semifinal macthup with #1 Garry St. Leger but made a crucial error and was caught for a score against eventual bronze medalist Tony Comfort. A debatable scoring decision awarded the match to Comfort and led to Sangimino's elimination. Tony is all the wiser for the struggle.

Nick Carelli (28) had a spirited performance in his first Nationals and first tournament of any kind in 6 years finishing in seventh place with a 2-2 record. One of Carelli's losses was to teammate Nick Kossor in the quarterfinal. Carelli had been in a long-term recovery from a stubborn shoulder injury.

Leah Fisher (25) finished in ninth place at 70kg while Dave Carelli (20) and Paul Borodin (28) were 0-1 in 60kg and 66kg respectively and did not place.