Trench Tech Saipan to compete in Guam Marianas Open

About 15 competitors from Trench Tech Mixed Martial Arts Academy are gearing up for the Guam Marianas Open Gi & No-Gi International Championship from Oct. 24-25 at the University of Guam Calvo Field House.

The competitors are Kier Agda in the Adult Super Heavyweight and Open Weight, Purple Belt (No-Gi); Bonnie Sagana in the Adult Heavyweight and Open Weight, White Belt (No-Gi); Clayton Izuka in the Adult Super Heavyweight and Open Weight, White Belt (No-Gi); Marben Obando in the Adult Middleweight and Open Weight, White Belt (No-Gi); Ernest Licop competing in the Adult Lightweight and Open Weight, White Belt (No-Gi); Woong Choi is in the Master 41, Light Featherweight, White Belt; Drey Aldan of the Adult Division, Rooster Weight, Blue Belt (Gi and No-Gi); Vince “The Clinch” Masga in the Men’s 3, Featherweight Division, Brown Belt; and Justis “Cuki” Alvarez in the Master Black Belt division.

The young grapplers include Umatalaf Naputi in the Kids 4, Light Featherweight, Grey Belt (Gi and No-Gi); Gerard Naputi competing in the Kids 6, Light Weight, Grey Belt (Gi and No-Gi); Athena Barbara Quitugua Feger in the Kids 3, Female, Rooster Weight, White Belt (Gi and No-Gi); Jordan Kendrick Quitugua Camacho in the Kids 4, Male, Ultra Heavyweight, Grey Belt (Gi and No-Gi); and Justo Jeremiah Quitugua competing in the Kids 6, Male, Heavyweight, Grey Belt (Gi and No-Gi).

Trench Tech professor Justis “Cuki” Alvarez said that the academy has been competing in this event for the past 10 to 15 years. With the event in the region, he said, “now that it’s close to our region, this gives us the opportunity to compete at an international level that is super close to home.”

“The significance with the one on Guam of course certainly, it gives our kids the opportunity to compete against other kids from all over the region—Japan, Korea, the Philippines, the United States—I’m sure there’s going to be some Brazilians there,” said Alvarez. “In preparation for this event, since last year actually. So you know, we competed in last year’s event, myself included, we all medaled, so we’re looking to go and continue doing our best to test our skills against the best grapplers in the region.”

Before this competition, several competitions were held throughout the year across different countries to prepare for this main event. The first was the Copa de Marianas in Guam on Jan. 31; the Marianas Pro Nagoya on Mar. 14; the Marianas Pro Manila on April 25-26; the Marianas Pro Taiwan on May 30-31; the Marianas Pro Korea on June 6; the Marianas Dumau Open on June 20 in Guam; and the Marianas Pro Hong Kong on July 18-19.

Another jiu-jitsu academy from Saipan, Saipan Submissions, is also sending a team to compete. Stay tuned for that story.