By BRENT STUBBS
Senior Sports Reporter
bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
XAVION Johnson continues to make his presence felt in the world of judo.
Over the weekend as he competed in the Quebec Open at the Claude Robillard Sports Complex in Quebec, Canada, Johnson clinched the victory in the under-18 boys’ division of the 60-kilogram class over Luka Tsatsalashvili with a 3-0 decision in just two minutes and 49 seconds on the clock.
In the process, Johnson qualified for the Cadet World Championships.
“The competition was crazy,” said Johnson, who fought a total of five matches over Friday and Saturday. “I fought the best kid in the 60kg in Canada and won.”
Johnson, who is currently being trained by Russ Gallant in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, is coming off a bronze medal performance in the under-18 66kg division in October at the Manitoba Open at the Dakota Community Center in Manitoba, Canada where he lost to Peter Velonas. He also won the bronze medal in the senior division 66kg division after he lost to Ashton Debruyne.
“The difference was I was more focused,” said Thompson when he compared his performances in the two tournaments. “I was faster with my techniques were better. I was listening more, and my conditioning was much better.”
The 16-year-old Johnson, who attends Capstone Academy in New Providence, will be back in action this weekend in the Ontario Open Judo Championships at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Center on Friday.
He noted that he’s quite pleased with his progress made so far this season.
“I feel really good right now,” he said. “I believe I’m 10 times better than I was before Worlds and the US Open. I just need to work on how to protect my right arm because that’s my power arm.
“Once I can learn how to do that properly, I know for sure that I will be able to win a lot more competitions in the future.”
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