(JULY 2) DALLAS, TEXAS - The
Junior Olympic and Prep National Championships and Youth Open
started the week with nearly 850 competitors and event concluded
on Saturday afternoon with the final 41 final round bouts. The
junior and youth divisions held center stage in the four rings
today at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center.
Three junior world champions scored final round victories in
Saturday's closing session. Junior division light flyweight
Heaven Garcia (El Monte, Calif.) claimed another national
championship win with a championship bout victory over Amy
Salinas (Las Cruces, N.M.). Garcia's junior world championships
teammate Guadalupe Gutierrez (Sacramento, Calif.) avenged her
loss from the youth national championships earlier this year in
a final round contest with Andrea Medina. Gutierrez took the
victory in the lightweight bout to win the 2016 Youth Open
championship. Bantamweight Marc Castro (Fresno, Calif.) closed
his Youth Open with a win over hometown boxer Angel Alejandro
(Grand Prairie, Texas) to take his second national championship
win of the year.
Several world championships medalists scored victories on
Saturday as well. Light flyweight Jesse Rodriguez (San Antonio,
Texas) ended a week of boxing in his home state with a victory
over Asa Stevens (Waianae, Hawaii) in the opening bout of the
day. Yarisel Ramirez (Las Vegas, Nev.) won gold in her youth
bantamweight bout with Ashlee Garcia (Dallas, Texas) and light
welterweight Gabriel Flores (Sacramento, Calif.) continued his
run on Saturday, taking a victory over Arveontae Dukes (New
York, N.Y.).
Otha Jones (Toledo, Ohio) scored a victory in one of the most
highly anticipated bouts of the day against World Championships
medalist Harley Mederos (Brooklyn, N.Y.). Jones successfully
moved up to the lightweight division with a final round win.
Christian Montano (Houston, Texas) and Richard Torrez (Tulare,
Calif.) both put a quick end to their youth division finals. The
duo scored TKO victories in their light heavyweight and super
heavyweight division finales respectively.
Over 180 weight classes were contested in Dallas with champions
named in each of them. Ten boxers stood above the rest,
receiving Outstanding Boxers of the Tournament awards. In the
PeeWee division, 70-pounder Teagan Reed (Dyersburg, Tenn.) and
65-pounder Curmel Moton (Las Vegas, Nev.) claimed the award for
the youngest age division in the tournament.
In the bantam age group, it was
85-pounder Malaysia Antoine (Lafayette, La.) and 90-pounder
Daniel Haro (Merced, Calif.) receiving the Outstanding Boxer
plaque. Jadalie Medeiros (Dothan, Ala.) and Jyran Sutton (St.
Louis, Mo.) won the tournament's highest honor for their work in
the 90-pound and 75-pound divisions respectively.
In the junior weight division,
bantamweight Avaughnda Ammons (Huntsville, Ala.) and
middleweight Lorenzo Simpson (Baltimore, Md.) took the
Outstanding Boxer awards. Flyweight Pauline Viesca (Commerce,
Calif.) and super heavyweight Richard Torrez (Tulare, Calif.)
won the final two awards in the youth division.
Saturday's Championship Results
Bantam/101 lbs: Ashton Sylve, Long Beach, Calif., dec. Joseph
Almaji, Arlington, Texas
Intermediate/95 lbs: Fernando Diaz, Jr., dec. Eron Luna,
Mesquite, Texsa
Junior female/101 lbs: Iyana Verduzco, Los Angeles, Calif., dec.
Ariana Pedraza, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Junior/101 lbs: Jorge Carlos, Kansas City, Kansas dec. Braden
Reed, Dyersburg, Tenn.
Junior/106 lbs: Jesse Rodriguez, San Antonio, Texas dec. Asa
Stevens, Waianae, Hawaii
Junior female/106 lbs: Heaven Garcia, El Monte, Calif., dec. Amy
Salinas, Las Cruces, N.M.
Junior/110 lbs: Sean Garcia, Victorville, Calif., dec. Jeremy
Adorno, Allentown, Pa.
Junior/114 lbs: Nes Tiburcio, Jr., Honolulu, Hawaii dec. Timothy
Melancon, Lafayette, La.
Junior female/11 lbs: Ismary Aquino, San Antonio, Texas dec.
Lilly Keating, Phoenix, Ariz.
Junior female/119 lbs: Avaughnda Ammons, Huntsville, Ala., dec.
Alexandra Fernandez, Splendora, Texas
Junior/119 lbs: Dominique Francis, Opa Locka, Fla., dec. Joseph
Bargeman, Lafayette, La.
Junior/125 lbs: Joricksen Galiza, Waianae, Hawaii dec. Nisaheen
Williams, Rochester, N.Y.
