Keenan Cornelius dominated actions at the 2014 WPJJC West Coast Trials
The 2014 WPJJC West Coast Trials were held this Sunday, September 22, at the Walter Pyramid, in Long Beach California.
It was the first of only two chances for athletes to win the right of competing next year at the 2014 WPJJC, in the UAE, with all expenses paid.
A total of 23 travel packages were at stake for the weight divisions of the black belt (black/brown belt in the female division) and also for the winners of both heavy and light absolute divisions for the brown, purple and blue belts.
The big name of the event was Keenan Cornelius, which was in his first ever competition as a black belt.
Keenan came into the new rank with a bang and submitted all his four opponents, both in the -207lb division and the open class.
In the weight division, Keenan first beat Morris Ayala and then choked Gustavo Pires from the back in the final to secure his free pass to Abu Dhabi.
In the absolute, where $1,000 were at stake, Keenan again had two matches.
First he choked Eliot Kelly from the back and then caught Magid Hage IV with an armlock from the closed guard.
Mackenzie Dern overcame a knee injury for absolute gold
The other high point of the day was the female brown/black belt open class division final between Mackenzie Dern and Tammy Griego.
After sweeping Griego in the beginning of the match, Mackenzie got injured with a twisted knee while she tried to escape from a single leg takedown attempt from Tammy.
Mackenzie pressed on and managed to finish the fight still ahead in the score board to guarantee her $1,000 prize.
The winners of the travel packages in the black belt division were:
Female Brown/Black
-119lb – Patricia Santos (Check Mat)
-132lb – Mackenzie Dern (GH)
-145lb – No Contest
+158lb – Tammy Griego (GB)
Male Black belt
-141lb – Samir Chantre (Caio Terra)
-167lb – Osvaldo Moizinho (Caio Terra)
-180lb – Carlos Diego Ferreira (Atos)
-207lb – Keenan Cornelius (Atos)
+220lb – Carlos Farias (Carlos Farias BJJ)
For full results, go to apjj.homestead.com/West-Trial
