Judo athletes from Masspapequa's Combat Judo Academy recently competed at the 2008 USA Judo National Championships held April 10-13 in Virginia Beach, VA. The event highlighted many prospective Olympians preparing for the 2008 Olympics Games in Beijing. Team coach Mark Staniszewski, a Garden City resident, won his third consecutive national title by earning gold medals in both the masters +100kg and Open weight divi-sions. Co-team coach John Lucas (Smithtown Judo) earned gold in the masters 90kg division. Ken Meadows earned a silver medal in the masters 90kg division and bronze in the Open. Daniel Jackson and Maria Didio earned a hard fought bronze in their respective divisions.

This accomplishment comes just a week after the team captured gold at the 2008 Naga World Grappling Championships held April 5-6 in Newark, NJ. The international grappling event featured over 2,000 competitors from the US and abroad. Combat Judo instructor Michael Arcuri and student Maria Didio earned gold medals in their respective divisions; and Mark Staniszewski won a championship belt in the men's heavy-weight expert division. John Bannon and Tom Jacoby also competed in their first ever tournament.

Team Combat Judo continues to practice as they prepare for the up-coming Empire State Games in Binghamton, NY and the World Masters Judo Championships in Brussels, Belgium.