Team Lloyd
Irvin Shines at Grapplemania
The 4-man
advanced lightweight division featured Gustavo
Machado black belt Jonathan Wertz, as well as Team Lloyd Irvin’s
own Seph Smith
and Ryan Hall. In the opening round,
Ryan would face off against his second black belt opponent in
competition. Having gotten the scouting
report from Master
Lloyd and some good advice from Team Balance Black Belt Rick Macauley,
Ryan was
aware of Wertz’s excellent guard game, and he stepped onto the
mat ready to
force his own game on his opponent. After
shaking hands, Ryan immediately sat down to guard, forcing Wertz to
play into
his guard. After being admonished by the
referees for backing away, Jonathan engaged Ryan’s guard and the
two began hand
fighting for control. Showing his
competition savvy and athleticism, Jonathan cartwheeled over his
opponent’s
guard and took a surprised Ryan’s back.
With only one hook in, Ryan worked hard to defend against
his opponent’s
second foot. It was no use, though, as
Wertz secured the back and was awarded four points.
Just when it looked like it might
end quickly, Ryan
escaped! Clearing a foot, turning in,
and recovering his half guard, Ryan immediately began attacking without
regard
for position. After Wertz backed away
for a second time, he was again warned by the referee.
As he engaged again, Ryan sucked Wertz into
his closed guard and began furiously attacking his opponent with
submission
after submission until…RYAN SLAPPED ON A TRIANGLE.
From here on was a rapid exchange of defense
and offense as Ryan attempted finish after finish, switching rapidly
from
standard to reverse triangle configurations while his black belt
opponent
skillfully defended. After about a
minute and a half of being in Ryan’s triangle, Jon was able to
posture out
during a figure four switch, forcing Ryan to recover his closed guard. With only seconds remaining, Ryan attempted
hip bump sweep after hip bump sweep in an attempt to reverse his
opponent, but
Wertz was able to hold on tight for the remaining half minute and
secure the
4-0 victory. What a barnburner!
On the other end of the bracket, Seph Smith,
sporting a Team
USA wrestling singlet, would work his passing and positioning game to
perfection, defeating his brown belt opponent by a comfortable margin
to
advance to the finals against Jon Wertz.
In the finals, Seph and Jon Wertz squared
off, with the
Gustavo black belt immediately sitting to his dangerous guard. The match continued with Seph working to pass
while always setting up for his dangerous leglock game.
As Wertz secured a sweep, Seph recovered his
butterfly guard on the bottom. Almost
immediately, Seph kicked his right leg through, grabbed his foot with
his hand,
placed it in position, and locked in his ankle lock position. His opponent immediately realized the danger
and attempted to spin away. Down on
points, would Seph be able to finish?
Just as it looked as if Wertz might escape, Seph coolly
adjusted his
grip from the standard heel hook to one that he has been working on
with Master
Lloyd, and TAPPED HIS BLACK BELT OPPONENT WITH A HEEL HOOK!!
Ryan was looking forward to the 3rd
place match,
but his opponent bowed out, leaving Ryan the bronze.
In the advanced middleweight
division, Phil Weslow would
represent Team Lloyd Irvin admirably, defeating his first opponent on
points
and submitting his second, earning him a place in the finals against
Richmond
BJJ purple belt, Andrew Smith. The
deciding points would be scored early on in this match, as Phil hit a
picture-perfect armdrag single leg takedown in the opening minute. From this point on until the end of the
match, Phil would pressure to pass while Andrew attempted sweep after
sweep,
coming close to a triangle on more than one occasion.
Phil would defend everything that his
opponent could throw at him, however, even showing some incredible base
and
athleticism in executing a front flip into a back bridge to escape a
butterfly
sweep attempt and remain on top. After
the time expired, Phil was the advanced lightweight champion, defeating
his dangerous
opponent by a score of 2-0!
Kirk Jackson fought in the intermediate
light-heavyweight
division, defeating his first opponent on points to advance to the
finals. In the finals, he would face off
against a
solid wrestler. After a battle on the
feet, Kirk was forced to the bottom, but was able to get a reversal. In transition, Kirk had his guard passed, and
now down 5-0 with little time left, he was forced to abandon the
position game
in favor of a submission onslaught. He
reversed his opponent, attacked with a kimura from north/south, and
then
smoothly transitioned to an armbar, but was forced to the bottom, where
his
opponent attempted to stack and escape.
This was where time would expire, with Kirk attempting an
armlock and
his opponent defending to win on points.
In the purple belt lightweight division,
Seph defeated his
first opponent on points to advance to the finals where he split the
division
with Andrew Smith???
In the blue belt lightweight division, Ryan
Hall would
continue his winning streak with the gi, submitting all three of his
opponents
with his signature triangle choke on his way to the gold medal. In the finals, Ryan would win a war with
Alex, a very experienced Kazakhstani Greco-Roman wrestler out of the
Yamasaki
academy. Alex had Ryan in trouble a
couple of times from the side headlock, but Ryan fought off his
opponent’s
submission attempts, regained his guard, and immediately slapped on a
triangle
for the win in the finals against a tough opponent.
Upon winning the lightweight
division, Ryan ran one mat over
to jump up a weight class into the middleweight division.
Fighting on only a few minutes rest, he
stepped back onto the mat. After
exchanging grips on the feet, Ryan sat to his half guard and began to
work for
a kimura, but was forced to transition to his inverted guard when his
larger
opponent pressured a pass. From here,
Ryan secured his grips and transitioned at lightning speed to a
spinning
triangle choke on his opponent. With his
opponent’s knee still blocking the full lock, Ryan adjusted his
hips,
transitioned to a reverse triangle, then an arm crush from within the
reverse
triangle, and finally back to a standard triangle to secure his
figure-four and
get the tap. With this win, Ryan made
his way to the finals for the second time of the day.
On the other end of the bracket,
Phil Weslow defeated his
opponent after an absolute war! With the
score tied 2-2 at the end of regulation, a 3-minute overtime period
ensued. After consulting with his
teammates, Phil elected to pull half guard and work his strong sweep
game. Executing his gameplan to
perfection, Phil
pulled half guard and immediately went to work on his grips, securing
both of
his opponent’s lapels and setting up for a sweep taught to him by
Jared
Weiner. Upon setting his grips, Phil
rocked his opponent’s base and put him down for the two points
and the
lead! From here, Phil’s heavy
passing
pressure and control would earn him the victory, as his opponent was
unable to
mount anything that Phil could not adeptly defend.
The overtime period ended with Phil winning
2-0, earning him a spot in the finals.
Following their wins, Ryan and Phil closed
out the division,
sharing 1st place.
