Trench Tech kids win gold, 3 silvers in Guam tourney

They were indeed small but terrible as despite only a small delegation of Trench Tech Purebred Saipan martial artists competed, they managed to bag a gold medal and three silver medals in the Patgon (Kids) Jiu-Jitsu Tournament Fall 2023 held at the University of Guam Fieldhouse last Saturday.

Over 240 competitors from Guam, Nevada, Hawaii, and the CNMI took to the mat for a chance at podium finishes, and Trey “King Koa” Manglona gave the CNMI its only gold medal after trouncing Elias Cantu via the armbar submission just 20 seconds into the match of the Gi/Teen 1 (114 lb) division.

Manglona, who competed in the Spring 2023 tourney, said this time around, he felt like he prepared himself mentally and physically. On winning gold, he said “It feels good representing my family, friends, Trench Tech Purebred, and the CNMI.” He added, “my strategy was to attack first and be aggressive, hopefully getting a submission.”

Gabriel Mitchell won a silver medal in the Teen Gi No Max weight division and another silver in the Teen No Gi No Max weight division.

Mitchell, on his third time competing in Guam, said he was “a little more confident competing here in Guam this time around.”

It was a rematch from Mitchell’s first competition as he battled Tana Adamos again—but it was a tough four-minute battle on the mat when Adamos beat him once again for the gold medal via points.

Mitchell said he tapped out to Adamos last time but this time, “I fought her till the end and lost by points not submission. She tried to submit me with a rear neck choke, arm bar, and kimora (three main moves I can remember) but I managed to get out of those situations so I’m pretty proud of myself even if I came out second.”

On his strategy, Mitchell said, “Honestly, I didn’t really have a strategy this time. I just had to go with the flow, listen to my coach on the sideline and apply what I learned. I feel I did so much better than my previous Patgon comp.

The third silver medal came by way of first-time competitor Mateo “El Guapo” Almada in the Kids (115 lbs) division.

Almada fought Michael Paul for the gold medal—a giant compared to him, and fell short after three grueling minutes and lost by key lock submission. In his first match, Almada defeated Noel-Kai Fejeran who won bronze.

Almada said he felt nervous competing in Guam for the first time. In the first competition on Saipan, he said he had a feeling he would do well because he knew his opponents and trained with everyone all the time. But this time on Guam, he said it was scary because he didn’t know anything about his opponents’ skills and that his opponents “would be like pros in kids’ bodies.”

He said his strategy was “to listen through all the voices in the crowd to hear coach Justis “Cuki” Alvarez and coach Ken Tanzawa for their advice.”

The fourth competitor, Sophia Choi, fought valiantly but settled for a loss in the Peewee 2 division.

In the Peewee 2 division Choi started off a little slow and her opponent scored eight points early with two takedowns and a sweep. Her match was only two minutes long and she charged back—but with only 20 seconds left, she was able to secure position and got the pass for three points. She was about to go for the full mount to get four more points, but time ran out. “Guarantee if one minute left, she would’ve caught up! But it was a good fight,” said Alvarez.

Choi said of her first Guam competition that she was scared and nervous, but also excited to compete in a bigger venue. Her biggest lesson that she learned, Choi said, was to be quicker and to keep training.

Alvarez was asked how the competition went and said, “Of course, we all were a little nervous, but we managed to stay composed and implemented our game plan to the best of our ability! I am super proud of all our kids for just getting on the mats and competing their hearts out!”

“Here in the Patgon Jiu Jitsu Tournament, it’s a single elimination so you have to win your first match in order to advance to the quarterfinals and semis. So, the pressure to perform well was high! But despite all the tough competition, we made our mark today and all our kids performed well. We are coming home with three silver and one gold, so I am super proud of their accomplishments today, and look forward to the Spring competition next April.”