Once again we found ourselves back in the state of New Jersey, in search of the best grappling competition the east coast has to offer. Well, we found just what we were looking for at an event called the “Battle at the Beach.
The BATB was held in the beach town Wildwood. It’s a grappling/Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament run by the NAGA. The NAGA hosts some of the biggest and best events all over the United States. The BATB is by far one of the toughest to win.
And since we love tough competition, we decided to send a team of both kids and adult students to Wildwoon NJ in search of some hardware in the way of first place medals. All in all we ended up sending a team of 14 to the NAGA. 10 kids and 4 adults.
We’re happy to say that many of our students found just what they came looking for…
Below you’ll find the list of IL students that competed at the BATB. Those who placed 1st in their division are in bold.
- Alex Peralta – DNP
- Mike Sullivan – 4th Place
- Laith Hyal – 3rd Place
- Anthony Baret – DNP
- Bella Cates – 1st place
- Sean Garlington – 1st place
- Joaquin Marquez – 1st place
- Austin Hartman – 1st place (Gi)
- Cynthia Fowler – 1st Place
- Resten Abbot – 1st Place
- Joel Marquez – 2nd place
- Pink Schrouter-Stevens – 2nd Place
- Mouth Garlington – 2nd Place
- Trent Wittington – 3rd place
This is by far the best showing we’ve had at this tournament so hats off to these great students who stepped up their games and brought home the bacon in NJ. And for those that didn’t perform to the level they’d hoped, train hard, fix mistakes in your game and make it a top goal to return to the BATB and get that bacon!
The Young Bloods of IL Showed Up & Got The Job Done.
The students I decided to write about are a few of our newer BBC Members or “Young Bloods” if you want to call them that, and first time grappling tournament fighters.
What they lacked in tournament experience they made up for with a ton of skill, heart and toughness. It worked out just fine.
Happy Days Makes It A Very Happy Day For Ivey League…
The star of the tournament ended up being first time competitor and relatively new BBC Member Bella “Happy Days” Cates. Bella was on fire in Jersey, winning all of her matches by submission, and in dominating fashion.
Some of the moves she did I’m pretty sure I don’t have a name for! Needless to say, she amazed not just the coaching stuff but also everyone in the stands with her technique and athleticism.
If this is just the starting point then good lord I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this awesome young lady.
A Gator Gets Loose In Wildwood.
Another newer BBC Member who shined in Wildwood is a first time competitor named Resten Abbot. Or as I like to call him, “Gator”.
Resten, just like with Bella, was able to show off a variety of skills and techniques and he combined it with his amazing athleticism. Oh and when I say this kid is athletic I’m not joking, he’s the total package.
Resten is fast, strong, flexible and has the balance of a puma. Watching him compete was a real treat and pretty darn entertaining.
The most improved area of his game has been the Judo takedowns. These improvements were on full display for all to see with Resten scoring off of many different set ups and attacks. In fact, I even learned a few new tricks just from watching him!
By the days end, Resten cruised to first place honors in both gi and nogi and he made it look easy along the way.
From Swimming Pool To Grappling Mat, Cynthia “CC” Fowler Makes Her Mark
Most people don’t know that CC was already a high level swimmer before joining IL. Yes it’s true, she swims like a fish and has been competing/winning in the water for quite some time now.
Her dad decided it might not hurt if she learned some self defense skills. So he brought her to Ivey League and boy are we glad he did.
Well folks, she took winning medals in a swimming pool and traded that in (For the day at least) to winning medals on a grappling mat, two medals to be exact.
Takedowns and solid guard passing paved the way for CC, who was outstanding, placing her 1st in both the gi and nogi divisions.
CC not only showed that she’s got the skills needed to excel in grappling but we also learned that she can be coached and listens extremely well to Miss Teresa’s matside advice.
How far can CC go with all this martial arts stuff? Easy answer; as far as she wants to take it. The sky’s the limit for our favorite coffee drinking teenager, and she’s off to a heck of a good start!
Another NAGA in the books for Ivey League Mix Martial Arts
Another summer, another shot at grappling glory in Wildwood. This was our best performance to date. Congrats to our students and families who put in the time and work needed that produced these results.
It was a great time had by all and we can’t wait to return next year. In the meantime, our work is never done and both myself (Coach Danny) and the coaching staff have already started laying out the game plan for the fall season based on what we saw today at the NAGA.
We plan to hit it hard tomorrow morning (Monday) and start working on all this stuff. Be there or be square 🙂 Below you can find two more pictures from the tournament, enjoy.
