January 9, 2016
11 Titan wrestlers came back from Kinnick high school with the champion plaque for the 1st place team with 4 individual champions, 2 bronze medalists, and 1 fourth place. It was an impressive and, perhaps, unprecedented performance by the Titans to win the second largest tournament of the season with 2 weight classes empty (at 141lb and 275lb) while the runner-up and third place teams, Kinnick and Kadena respectively, had full lineups. Led by individual champions Rio Lemkuil, 115lb, Chang Young Lee, 122lb, Ryo Osawa, 129lb, and Kazuho Kawashima, 148lb, St. Mary’s had the most number of champions for the tournament. Chang Young, Ryo, and Kazuho successfully defended their Beast titles from last season and Rio Lemkuil, won his first major title as a sophomore to qualify for the Wall of Fame. “I have nothing to critique for the way these guys (the 4 champions) wrestled their finals; they went out and did everything right,” commented Coach Yabui reflecting on the dominating performance by the 4 champions of winning their finals by a technical fall or fall. It was a great way to start the new year and the beginning of the latter half of the season as the Titans look forward to capturing the 4 major season titles: Kanto League, Kanto Tournament, Far East individual, and Far East Dual.
Team Results
- St. Mary’s 53
- Nile C. Kinnick 49
- Kadena 43
- Shonan Military Academy 40
- Kubasaki 31
- Robert D. Edgren 30
- Zama 23
- Seoul American 17
- Yokota 15
- Christian Academy Japan 14
- E.J. King 10
- Matthew C. Perry 0
Individual Results
Champions – Rio Lemkuil, 115lb, Chang Young Lee, 122lb, Ryo Osawa, 129lb, and Kazuho Kawashima, 148lb
Third Place – Eshan Singhi, 101lb and Shane Koslow, 215lb
Fourth Place – Tatsuo Tanaka, 135lb