Judo athletes from Massapequa's Combat Judo Academy recently competed at the 2008 USA Judo National Championships held April 10 to 13 in Vir­ginia Beach, Virginia. The event highlighted many prospective Olympians preparing for the 2008 Olym­pic Games in Beijing. Team coach Mark Staniszewski won his third consecutive national title by earning gold medals in both the masters +100kg and open weight divisions. Co-team coach John Lucas (Smithtown Judo) earned gold in the masters 90kg division. Ken Meadows earned a silver medal in the masters 90kg division and bronze in the Open. Daniel Jackson and Maria DiDio earned a hard fought bronze in their respective divisions. This accomplishment comes just a week after the team captured gold at the 2008 NAGA World Grap­pling Championships held April 5 and 6 in Newark, New Jersey. The international grappling event featured over 2,000 competitors from the US and abroad. Combat Judo instructor Michael Arcuri and student Maria DiDio earned gold medals in their respective divisions; and Mark Staniszewski won a championship belt in the men's heavyweight expert division. John Bannon and Tom Jacoby also competed in their first ever tournament.

Team Combat Judo continues to practice as they prepare for the up-coming Empire State Games in Binghamton, New York and the World Masters Judo Championships in Brussels, Belgium.

The Combat Judo Academy is located at 14 Central Ave. Massapequa, by the LIRR-Massapequa Train Station, or you can visit their website at www.com­batjudo. us Shown in the photo is Combat Judo at the NAGA World Champions