Nanaimo’s Island Top Team lived up to its name this past weekend. The local jiu-jitsu club won the team competition in no gi at the Canadian Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation B.C. championships Saturday in Burnaby.
Island Top Team took five gold medals to finish atop the team standings for the first time in club history.
“To say this was the most significant single day in my coaching career would be an understatement,” said Robert Biernacki, instructor, in a press release. “This was a year’s worth of achievement in one go.”
Simarjit Kaur made club history as the first woman to win gold representing Island Top Team as she won the beginners’ division. Her victory in the final was a quick triangle choke submission win.
Sean Wilton won the medium heavy division after a rear naked choke submission victory in the final. The masters athlete defeated competitors 20 years his junior.
Umesh Thillaivasan took gold in his advanced featherweight division, winning his final via a rear naked choke submission.
Chace Rosychuk placed first in intermediate featherweight, ending with his signature guillotine choke in the final.
Jamie Gow took gold in the beginner heavyweight division with two dominant points victories and Fraser Smith won via rear naked choke to take the peewee white belt gi division.
Also at provincials, Parker Friesen won a silver and Cody Kirby took bronze in adult competition and Quaid Harrison earned a silver in teen beginner no gi.
At the same time that provincials were taking place, two Island Top Team students competed in professional grappling events elsewhere. At the Submission Series Pro in Edmonton, Matt Kwan won the no gi open weight championship. At the Onnit Invitational in Austin, Texas, Kyle Boehm, another of Biernacki’s students, won a $2,500 cash prize by winning his division.
