Local resident ‘judo-chops’ competition

Grunts, moans and bodies slamming on floor mats are familiar sounds to thirteen year-old Fort Frances resident Jared Catholique-Bruyere.
He is a Judo competitor with the Fort Frances Judo Club.
Catholique-Bruyere recently travelled to the U.S. National Jr. Judo Championships in Charlotte, NC and brought home a bronze medal.
There were a total of 450 competitors in all weight and age groups.
“[Jared] competed in the juvenile competition, which is the 69 kg + category. There were 13 other kids in the same category,” said Jared’s father Wallace Catholique-Bruyere during a Thursday afternoon phone interview.
Jared began the competition with a win against Georgia’s Patrick Sturdevant.
Unfortunately he lost his next match against Indiana’s Joshua Karrer, which put him on the ‘B’ side of the competition.
“After losing to Joshua Karrer, he had to fight his way back to get to the medals,” said his father.
And he did, winning his third match against Kyle Days with an Ilpon.
In his fourth round he beat Brandy McKinney of Georgia on a choke.
He then defeated Bob Wearer from Nebraska with an Ilpon, putting him up against local and long-time competitor Christian Zilinski.
Zilinski and Catholique-Bruyere met in the sixth and final match. Zilinski beat Catholique-Bruyere to a second place finish.
“In order to get the silver medal, Jared had to beat Zilinski,” said his father. “These two have been long time rivals … they have been competing against one another since they were seven years old.”
“He has been traveling since he was about seven years old and he enjoys it. He has travelled all over the country to compete,” he enthused.