On Saturday April 5, 2008 five members of Team Hammer competed at NAGA Worlds in Newark NJ. The first thing that we all realized was that this was going to be the largest NAGA we have ever been to. As we heard Mr. Kipp Kollar announce that there are over 1,400 competitors on the first day of the event. The divisions were very large some as many as 30 competitors. This meant a very long day for all with a long wait between matches. The competition gets better each time out and there are only three places to be had.

We started off with a rules summary and then on to the matches. They always start with the Master, Directors, and Executive in all the weight classes. But this day we did not have any one in those divisions. The first of our team that took the mat was Kevin Papics in the 135 lbs division. He had a long wait and then was finally called up to the mat. The match was in the Novice division. Kevin had a tough competitor and fought a great match. He was the aggressor and pushed for the take down and tried many submission attempts. The match went through many transitions and ended in a 4-4 tie. So with a very controversial call by the referee Kevin lost by decision.

Next up was Anthony “TJ” Febbo in the Super Heavy Weight Beginner division. TJ had a very strong opponent in his first match but submitted him in a short time. He then had one of the largest guys in the division and finished him with an Americana submission. Then it was time for the finals and TJ was very patient waiting for the right moment to take his opponent to the mat. With less than a minute to go, he made his move only to have his opponent jump guard. With his large opponent hanging on him with legs wrapped around TJ’s legs his only choice was to drop to the mat and try to get the take down. Everything looked good until the over zealous referee stopped the match and called TJ for an illegal slam and then disqualified him. Congrats to TJ for a great match and second place over all.

Next up was Niall Gardner in the Cruiser Weight Beginner division. He had a very tough opponent who controlled him threw out the match and ended with a rear naked choke and a loss

We then saw Jesse Alston in the Cruiser Weight Novice division. He also had a very tough and talented opponent. Jesse fought a very good match but could not find a way to defeat his opponent. He lost on a decision by points after a five minute round.

Last we had Mike “Old School” Fredericks in the 135 lbs Weight Class Intermediate division. He had an opponent who walked around at about 155 lbs and lost weight for the match. He was much stronger the Mike and submitted him in a short time.

We are all proud of the guys and hope they will be back on the mat or in the cage again soon. Thank you for the support to all the members of Team Hammer who went to watch in Newark.