Eastchester Martial Arts School Students Win Awards At World Championship

EASTCHESTER, N.Y. -- Westchester Martial Arts Academy (WMAA) students earned four first-place and three second-place awards at the North American Grappling Association (NAGA) World Championship in Morristown, N.J., on Saturday and Sunday.

Westchester Martial Arts students students earned honors at the NAGA conference.
Photo Credit: *Contributed*

by Alesha Hanson

04/29/2015 5:00 a.m.

The first-place winners were Alexa Grassi, who also received a NAGA grappling belt for coming in first in her division; Amanda Monteleone, Gracie Rivera and Jonathan Theano. Second-place awards were won by Owen Reich, Frankie Rivera and Matt Sidoti.

WMAA’s mixed martial arts instructor Ron Barone was responsible for training the competitors prior to the event, which was held in the Mennen Arena over two days, on Saturday and Sunday. NAGA hosts the world’s largest mixed martial arts grappling tournament, with competitors coming from across the nation and around the world to compete.

The students competed in the Gi and No-Gi grappling divisions for children, which differ in the type of clothing that is worn by the competitors and in their technique and tactics.

“You guys all trained very hard,” said Barone. “It just shows that hard work does pay off.”

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