Story by Boice Lydell
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SUPER GRANDS WORLD GAMES 20
Buffalo, New York, USA
photos by Jessica Robeson

CONTEMPORARY FORMS TITLES
9 & Under Hard Creative Forms (N-1)
It was obvious Corky Sikes’ Team Strike Force was back in action after a year’s hiatus with their spectacular forms and weapons competition this year. At his first Super Grands, Force member Hayden Smith of Jesup, Georgia ran away with the eliminations competition leaving last year’s runner-up champion, Ronny Zapata, along with Matthew Hernandez, five one-hundredths behind and tied for second. Zapata, a student of Jason Holmes in Houston, Texas, topped Hernandez, a member of Hugo Juarez’ Team Fresh of El Paso, to faced Smith in the Finale for the title. But the Finale once again proved Smith as the Judges’ choice by the same scoring margin as the eliminations and hailing him champion of his first world title.

10 to 11 Hard Creative Forms (N-2)
Wow... never has the Super Grands seen the likes of scoring as with the results of this division. The top three players included last year’s 9 and under title winner; Jesse Martinez of Laco Villanueva’s Team Alchemy of El Paso, Texas; Davis Teston of Team Strike Force, an underbelt at his last Games in 2007 and Diego Marroquin, and underbelt of Edgar Cordova’s Team Schumann in Guatemala last year. Neck to neck these three superior extreme martial artists tricked their way to a three way tie not just once but TWICE! Unbelievable! 24.94 for each player twice. A judges show of hands had to eliminate one unfortunate player that left Martinez with third. Surprisingly the Final was a run away show however, as the agile and deft ability of Teston left him an unquestionable victory by five one-hundredths of a point. He trains at World Class Karate under Corky Sikes in Jesup, Georgia and amazingly enough was second up in eliminations competition failing to have earned a national or regional first place seed in the seasons competition.

12 to 14 Hard Creative Forms (N-3)
Talk about the lack of first place seeding, Ryan Young of Team United had only a third place national seed to back-up his lowly single number one regional seeding in the Praire States conference. This however didn’t prevent his picture perfect precision from being noticed by the judges early on who gave him a slim edge over last year’s 10-11 year old champion, Peter Timmes by two one-hundredths. Despite Timmes uniqueness and his own ability at precision, Young topped him again in the third Finale 49.94 to 49.91 for his first world title. He trains under Trevor & Casey Nash in Hamilton, Canada and Timmes under Matt Mullens as a member of Team Sidewipe in California. Sean McNeil of Team Fresh under Hugo Juarez in El Paso, Texas was third.

15 to 17 Hard Creative Forms (N-4)
Two years ago I would have found it hard to picture the renown weapons champion, Jordan Simon, as a creative forms challenger, but when he was primarily a traditionalist two years prior to that, most of us wouldn’t have envisioned him as the phenomenal extreme weapons player he’s turned out to be either. This year the Californian tied Mexico’s finest, Balam Najera of Atizapan, in the eliminations. The run-off left Simon a narrow victor for the Finale seeding. In the Finale however, Simon was the clear-cut victor topping Najera by five one-hundredths. We’re waiting for Simons’ next surprise, like sparring? Simon is a protege of Butch Togisala and Escobar Karate in Malibu, California representing the number one “Team International”. Balam is a member of the DM “Marquez” Team. Third place went to long-time-no-see, Marco Villanueva of Team Tiger in Palmhurst, Texas.

11& Under Hard Choreographed Musical Forms (N-5)
Davis Teston and Diego Marroquin went head to head once again in the musical forms eliminations and again Teston entered as the underdog without a first place national seeding. In fact his best national was third. Regardless, he rose to the top in the final scoring and as fate would have it, both he and Marroquin, again, like in creative forms, tied at 29.94. This time around however, Marroquin slipped past Teston in the run-off giving him preferred placement for the Finale. However in the only junior creative forms reversal of this year’s Games, Teston retook the competition, landing a 49.93 to 49.92 finale score and his second forms world title of the 2009 World Games. Teston hails from Corky Sikes’ Team Strike Force of Georgia and Marroquin of Edgar Cordova’s Team Schumann in Guatemala. Jesse Martinez of Team Alchemy again took third place.

12 to 14 Hard Choreographed Musical Forms (N-6)
Sage Northcutt had a long standing history of winning choreographed musical forms, three years in a row in fact. Until this year... make that four in a row as the trounced his competition 29.95 to 29.90 in the eliminations and 49.95 to 29.90 in the Finale. He is trained in creative forms by champions Bear Loebe and Jerico Catura. Runner-up was Ryan Young of Canada’s Team United under Trevor & Casey Nash. Young, and first timer, Tyler Powell of Dennis Janes Karate Institute of Mentor, Ohio, tied in the eliminations with Young a narrow one one-hundredths victor in the run-off. Neither Young or Powell had any first place national seeds... nor second, or third, or fourth place either, making their playoff difficult as each was one of the first up in eliminations competition.

15 to 17 Hard Choreographed Musical Forms (N-7)
See-saw would best describe the Games competition between world champions Jordan Simon and Alex Pye. Their biggest battles would be in weapons competition, but they also had a showdown in choreographed musical forms. Simon took the eliminations with two one-hundredths over a tie between Pye and Elias Arellano of Luis Jimenez Zen Martial Arts in Mexico. Pye only won the run-off by one one-hundredth to face Simon for the title where he failed to overtake him 49.94 to 49.91. Simon hails from Malibu, California and is member of Team Karate International. Pye is a representative of Corky Sikes’ Team Strike Force.

Junior Hard Open Musical Forms (N-8)
And if the two time, three way tied scoring in 10-11 creative forms wasn’t enough, FOUR players tied for the coveted junior open musical forms world title. Alex Pye, Sage Northcutt, Tyler Powell and Anthony King all garnered scores of that magical 29.94 number. The run-off left ties as well, as Pye and Northcutt took 94’s again and Powell and King slipped to 93’s. In a rare show of hands to separate four contenders, Powell was awarded third, King fourth while Pye was awarded the top score over Northcutt for the Grand Finale seeding. Wild music, anything goes, left Pye with the title and Northcutt with the runner-up position in the Finale. Pye is a Corky Sikes protege and hails from Jesup, Georgia. Northcutt is from Katy, Texas. Third place Powell is from Mentor, Ohio.

Junior Soft Open Forms (N-9)
Magallanes, Magallanes and Magallanes. Almost sounds like a law firm or something. Siblings Jasmine, Anthony and Monique scored one for the record books winding up with first through third place in the junior soft open forms division. Jasmine trounced her siblings in the eliminations while topping the fourth place winner by more than ten one-hundredths. Again in the Finale she scored a healthy victory to give here the title. The trio trains at O’Mei Kung Fu in Milpitas, California under Ding Wei and represent Steve Cooper’s/Mo Ota’s Team International.

11& Under Female Hard Creative Forms (N-10)
I must be honest, Karina Hipolito amazes me. You see these unbelievable contortionists in shows like Cirque du Solie, well... Hipolito has to be THE contortionist of the martial arts competition world. She reigned in 11 and under with her flexibility being only one of her many assets. With 29.97 she left Ashley Middleton and Andrea Tyrrell with a tied 29.94 fight for second. By a narrow run-off win, Middleton was sent to stage against the flex princess, and while Middleton was phenomenal she trailed Hipolito to only garner the runner-up world title position. Hipolito is a lead member of Mike Tobin’s Pinnacle Martial Arts in Utah, Middleton of Corky Sikes Team Strike Force and Andrea Tyrrell of Team Everage and hails from Toronto, Canada.

12 to 14 Female Hard Creative Forms (N-11)
The tiny country of Guatemala and the Schumann Teams never cease to amaze me. Year after year they seem to turn the most unlikely candidates into World Champions. Such is the case with the shy looking, frail looking Amanda Armendariz. Don’t let this timid looking girl surprise you. Put her in the ring and she explodes. She topped Mara Hipolito by one one-hundredth in the eliminations and a whopping six one-hundredths in the Finale to take title to the 12-14 year old girls’ creative forms division. She is a member of Salvador Schumann’s Team from Guatemala City. Hipolito hails from Pinnacle Martial Arts in Syracuse, Utah. Third place was Hannah Walker from Team Strike Force in Georgia.

15 to 17 Female Hard Creative Forms (N-12)
While the relatively newly divided junior girls’ creative forms competition seemed to explode in younger divisions this year, it was rather lackluster with the older teens. But lets give an ovation to Stephanie Rosales who not only demonstrated she can fight, but she’s a good forms player as well. She went uncontested to win one of her two world titles this year. She claims Team Alchemy of El Paso, Texas as her home and trains under Laco Villanueva.

Junior Female Hard Choreographed Musical Forms (N-13)
The charismatic Ashley Middleton and flex princess Karina Hipolito met once again in junior girls’ musical forms. No matter what competition you put these two in they will share the top spoils depending on the “ene, mene, mine, mo” of the judges. This time around Middleton won the eliminations and again topped Hipolito in the Finale, 49.94 to 49.91 for her first world title. Middleton trains under Corky Sikes in Jesup, Georgia and Hipolito under Mike Tobin in Syracuse, Utah. Alexis Bricker of Hugo Juarez’ EP Karate in El Paso took third place after a tie run-off with Andrea Tyrrell.

Men’s Hard Creative Forms (N-14)
Emulating last year, NBL icon Josh Durbin of Colorado, USA and Jonathan Tale of El Salvador went head to head for the title. And while Durbin handily won both years, Tale narrowed the gap this year. Durbin won the title in 2008, but this year Tale closed within two one-hundredths as the title was determined in Grand Finale 4. Giraffe... oops... I mean Durbin, and Tale make a show for the audience with their spectacular abilities. Durbin represented Mike Tobin’s Pinnacle Team and hails from the long standing Unison schools while Tale is a student of Erick Tale’s Schumann’s El Salvador Team. Bear Loebe of the Kickstart Team in Texas took third.

Adult Hard Choreographed Musical Forms (N-15)
Ashley Artese had bizarre results at this year’s World Games. Expected to be a shoe-in to win the team forms title again, she and partner Dan Marshall did win the eliminations for that division, just as odds winner, Joshua Durbin did top Artese in this musical forms division eliminations. But in a Finale stage twist of fate not only did the tables turn, but so significantly that the Finale reversal scores wound-up 49.94 to 49.91 in in both divisions. Needless to say Artese walked away in shock both times. While Durbin displayed some off the wall aerials, Artese demonstrated picture perfect choreography along with significant difficulty. Artese represents Team SMAC and is presently attending college in South Carolina. Durbin represented the Pinnacle Team in Colorado. Bear Loebe of Kickstart Team in Texas was again third.

Adult Hard Open Musical Forms (N-16)
How’s your head feeling Jeff Doss? Now here’s one for the record book. Jeff Doss went through more bottles of water in his competition in the Finale in open musical forms than any thirsting fighting player in history. You see, Doss gets himself pumped up for competition by taking a plastic bottle of water and pummeling his head numerous times, then throws the bottle... well... anywhere. After his music failed to start some three or four times, not only must a headache ensued, but he was running out of water bottles. This author went and gathered up one of the former castaways to keep his routine in place one last time. After two ties with Durbin in the eliminations, several failed attempts to get started in the Finale and years of near misses in the Super Grands, lets all give Doss a standing ovation... he won. He hails from Lynchburg, Virginia, Durbin from Parker, Colorado and third place winner, Andrew Cabilan, from Toronto, Canada.

Adult Soft Contemporary Forms (N-17)
One thing you can count on at the Super Grands is not to count on anything. Certainly not on who is destined to win any given division. Nineteen year old Austin Jorgensen of Aurora, Colorado was a rookie at this year’s Games, unheard of in most circles, but I guarantee no one that witnessed any of his performances is likely to forget him right away. He took on several Super Grands veterans with his long-fist form where by a mere one-hundredth he won the title in the Finale. 2007 world champion Ashley Artese took the runner-up position after a tie with Jonathan Tale of El Salvador. Both Jorgensen and Artese train from prior Super Grands Chinese style champions, Jerry Silva and Li Pei Yun.

Women’s Hard Creative Forms (N-18)
For seven years previous, Ashley Artese has either won or been runner-up in her hard creative forms division. 2007 was the only year for her runner-up position where she won the eliminations but lost the Finale 49.93 to 49.92. Unfortunately for Artese this year would be a repeat, handily topping 2007’s tied runner-up Lauren Ferguson in the eliminations, but taking the loss in the Finale by the same scores as 2007. Ferguson has been on the heels of Artese for many years taking over Artese’s position as the junior winner for several years when Artese advanced to adult competition. Ferguson hails from Critz, Virginia as the prized team leader under Ron and Sharon Ferguson’s Team FX. Artese is from Sewell, New Jersey and represents Ron Cain’s Team SMAC. Third place went to another former junior girls forms champion, Clarissa Villanueva of Palmhurst, Texas.

Senior Hard Contemporary Forms (N-19)
Once upon a time there was a White Ninja... hey he’s back! Wayne Nguyen, 1997 nunchaku wielding weapons world champion and former movie star showed up representing Chuck Norris’ Kickstart Team and won the eliminations by one one-hundredth over other NBL veterans Mario Martin del Campo of Mexico and Ronnie Ferguson of Virginia. The run-off between that pair left Martin del Campo to take on Nguyen for the world title where Nguyen handily topped him 49.95 to 49.90 and put himself back into the record book for the first time since his title in 1997. Nguyen hails from Houston, Texas and has been the instructor for many other NBL World Champions. Martin del Campo is from the Okinawa Karate Do school under Antonio Marquez in Mexico City, Mexico.

Senior Women’s Hard Contemporary Forms (N-20)
Dawn Kabela had a two year run of this division winning the title in both 2005 and 2006. Then along came Christine Fisher of Ohio in 2007 topping her by a landslide in the Grand Finale. But Kabela bounced back last year winning the title and leaving Fisher in third. This year newcomer Deon Beatty was thrown into the mix upsetting both players in the eliminations and leaving Fisher in third again. But in the Finale show where it all counts, Kabela rebounded from the eliminations one one-hundredth loss to a one one-hundredth win for a fourth title. Kabela represents Team GOP and lives in Victoria, Texas. Beatty is part of Darren Cox’s All Star Karate in Murray, Utah.

TRADITIONAL FORMS TITLES
11 & Under Japanese/Okinawan Forms (N-21)
Canada has a long standing tradition of fielding traditional forms champions and this year there was assurance of a Canadian champion as the eliminations left an eastern vs westerner Canadian for the Grand Finale 1 final competition. Last year’s second runner-up Trevor Kim from Vancouver, British Columbia beat Andrea Tyrrell of Toronto, Ontario in the eliminations by only one one-hundredth. Clad in starched white, Kim performed Nipaipo to Tyrrell’s Unshu he narrowly garnering his first title after the judges vote of 49.94 to 49.92. He is trained by Kenny Lim of West River Hayashi and Terrell at New Century TKD by Mr. Chris. Diego Marroquin of Guatemala was third.

12 to 14 Japanese/Okinawan Forms (N-22)
Ties seem to be a dreaded fear at many tournaments but when world titles are at stake its a good thing in that the judges get to compare the best, side by side once again to make their final decisions. Three exceptional players tied for this division, Tan Nguyen of Vancouver, British Columbia, Sage Northcutt of Katy, Texas and Ryan Young of Hamilton, Ontario. 29.95 was the magical score that both Nguyen and Northcutt received a second time as Young fell into a respectable third place with a 29.92. For the Grand Finale both players performed Annan but the judges convincingly chose Nguyen’s rendition and awarded him his first world title bringing a second title to the West River Hayashi School in Vancouver.

15 to 17 Japanese/Okinawan Forms (N-23)
A packed division with a multitude of countries being represented was on tap in this division. The division was primarily an equally attended competition between Canada, Guatemala, the USA and Mexico, but narrowed down to the top eight, Mexico dominated. USA had only two in the top eight and they tied for first and third. Colbey Northcutt won a run-off against Lawrence Collymore of Canada to win third meanwhile Jordan Simon of the USA and Miguel Delgadillo of Mexico City had a tied run-off for the seeded position of the Grand Finale. With a win by Delgadillo they set their sites on the Finale where they displayed an easy comparison as both elected to perform Unshu. By a comfortable margin of four one-hundredths Delgadillo took the title back to Mexico. He is trained by David Marqiez of the DM Team while Simon is a protege to former world champion Butch Togisala.

11 & Under Kenpo/Kajukenbo Forms (N-24)
Guatemala’s history in the NBL has been one of domination by Kenpo schools from the tiny country. So it’s only fitting and expected that they will field great Kenpo forms stylists. Diego Marroquin of Schumann’s Cordova and Arturo Armendariz of Schumann’s Martial Arts, both from Guatemala, tied in the eliminations for the coveted title. Heading for the Finale Marroquin was the favorite winning the run-off and he didn’t disappoint, winning the title by a five one-hundredth margin. He trains under Edgar Cordova and Armendariz under Salvador Schumann both of which came from the same iconic coach – Erick Schumann. Brandon Aguilar from Schumann’s school in Mexico took third place.

12 to 14 Kenpo/Kajukenbo Forms (N-25)
When one thinks of Sage Northcutt you usually conjure up high flying aerials or fast and furious fighting, but Northcutt has always been a top contender in the more subdued traditional forms as well. He won Kenpo in 2005 and has been runner-up since then. The last four years he’s either won or lost by one one-hundredth, this year slipping past a worthy opponent Mara Hipolito, by the same amount in both eliminations and Finale play. He trains Kenpo from world champion Willie Galvan in Texas and Hipolito from Mike Tobin in Utah. Amanda Armendariz of Guatemala was third.

15 to 17 Kenpo/Kajukenbo Forms (N-26)
Keeping a Northcutt tradition alive, Colbey Northcutt won Kenpo in 2006 and has been runner-up since then as well. Unlike her brother however she ran away with the title in both the eliminations and the Finale topping rookie Maile Mendiola. Colbey trains with champion Willie Galvan and Mendiola with Jordan Pallen in San Leandro, California. Silvio Scarcella of Ontario, Canada took third.

11& Under Korean Forms (N-27)
Few 11 and under players get a chance to win their title twice as it seems they are moving to 12-14 before you know it. But for Amanda Chen she had a shot for a back to back, as she won this title in 2008. But her nemesis from last year whom she tied for the coveted position, had plans of revenge this year. Topping Chen in the eliminations, Katrina Hipolito excelled again in Grand Finale 3 performing Ul-ai to overtake Chen’s Jin-Do by a sizable five one-hundredths margin. Hipolito trains at Pinnacle Martial Arts under Mike Tobin in Utah. Chen is a student of Amerikick and trains under Mark Russo in New Jersey. Ashley Middleton of Team Strike Force took third.

12 to 14 Korean Forms (N-28)
The 2007 champion resurfaced this year to prove he hadn’t lost his touch. Gene Middleton of Team Strike Force tied Mara Hipolito giving the judges a second comparison of their forms Gae-Baek. Hipolito won the run-off by a hair but the Finale proved to be a one way street as the judges convincingly gave the title back to Middleton 49.95 to 49.90. Middleton trains under Corky Sikes and is from Ludowici, Georgia. Hipolito is a student of Mike Tobin in Syracuse, Utah. Sage Northcutt took third place.

15 to 17 Korean Forms (N-29)
Colbey Northcutt and Jordan Simon have battled each other for three years in the Korean division. Northcutt won in 2006, lost to Middleton in 2007 but topped Simon who took third that year and went to the Finale against Simon last year where she came from the underdog position to beat him by three one-hundredth. This year her nemesis was again Simon, who was as determined as ever to beat her. He was within one one-hundredth in the eliminations but with a comparison of both performances of Gae-Baek in the Finale Northcutt convincingly topped him once again to gain one of her five world titles of the Games. She trains TKD from Bear Loebe and Mike Spizzuco and resides in Texas. Simon is a member of Team International and is from Malibu, California. Miguel Delgadillo of the DM Team in Mexico took third.

Men’s Japanese/Okinawan Forms (N-30)
The final four included players from the USA, Canada and Mexico where all but one were both first place national and regional conference seeded players. The exception was last year’s winner Kenny Lim who sported neither. This didn’t seem to affect the judges vote however, as although he was up early in the eliminations, he took the top score to tie with Scott Wu 29.94. Lim won the run-off and proceeded to the Finale where for the second year in a row he topped Wu for the title. Wu who represented Team International performed Matsamura Gojushiho-Dai and Kenny Lim - Annan. Lim resides in Vancouver and runs West River Karate. Third place was won by Mike Spizzuco also of Team International who resides in New Jersey.

Adult Kenpo/Kajukenbo Forms (N-31)
I don’t know what Scott Wu did to offend the Gods but the last couple of years he’s gone into the Grand Finale as the favorite player in several divisions but come out as runner-up. Like an unbelievable repeat of last year he stood as the lone victor in the eliminations watching a tie breaking performance to see who would go to the Finale against him. Both times the run-off winner went on to top him in the Finale by one one-hundredth. Jason Cortez did the duty last year and this year David Coppock (whom for years himself took runner-up positions) did the deed. Coppock is from Colorado. Wu is from California and trains Kenpo at Solis Martial Arts. Brett Shumway of Team Everage was third.

Men’s Korean Forms (N-32)
For the first time that this author ever recollects there were more reversals of elimination winners for adult traditional world titles in the Final than were eliminations winners winning. Dan Marshall who has been a runner-up in Korean forms more times that I can recall won the eliminations handily over several times champion, Edgar Cordova. But Cordova, whose last win was in 2005, was eager to reinstate his prowess as the champion and pulled a comeback in the Finale by one one-hundredth of a point. Both players performed the popular Gae-baek. Cordova represents the Schumann schools in Guatemala while Marshall represents Team SMAC of his home state New York. Ali Al-Raisi of Team Everage in New York took third place.

Adult Soft Forms (N-33)
Austin Jorgensen pulled off some kind of a record this year but I’m not sure what category to put it in. In all three adult Chinese forms divisions he either won or lost in the eliminations by one one-hundredth of a point but advanced into each of his Finales to win by a whopping five one-hundredths or more. This division was one of those three and the only one where he actually lost in the eliminations. Veteran Julio Domingo representing the country of Belize topped him but fell victim in the Grand Finale. Jorgensen trains at National Martial Arts under Jerry Silva in Colorado. Jonathan Atiya of Salt Lake City, Utah took third.

Women’s Japanese/Okinawan Forms (N-34)
A few heads were turned when the new Casey Marks Nash showed up spectating and showing off the new Trevor Jr. But every head turned when she donned a gi and waltzed into the Japanese forms division as confident as ever. Her last competition in this division was in 2004 when she narrowly topped Ashley Artese for the title. Artese has been runner-up ever since unable to quite take the title and usually falling to Mexico’s finest, Daniela Barrientos. This year Barrientos dropped to third as Artese took the eliminations top spot by one one-hundredth. But the Finale win eluded her once more as Nash rose to the occasion to win her first of three titles at the Games. Nash represents Team United in Hamilton, Ontario, Artese - Team SMAC in New York and Barrientos - the Top Team from Mexico City.

Women’s Korean Forms (N-35)
Whatever Artese has lacked in Japanese over the years she certainly has not lacked in Korean forms. The reigning queen of Korean convincingly topped Anja Greenhalgh in both the eliminations and the Finale with her incredible sidekicks performing Gae-Baek. This was her fourth title in the division as an adult. She trains under Ray Owens and Ken Bast and represents Ron Cain’s Team SMAC. Greenhalgh represents Mike Tobin’s Pinnacle Martial Arts in Utah. Natalie King of Team Kickstart and J-Dog’s PKKA was third place.

Senior Hard Traditional Forms (N-36)
Mexico produces some of the best traditionalist player as was witnessed by this year’s senior division. Four of the top eight were Mexican including the top two. New to title contention this year were Hugo Mendoza of Cuernavaca and Hernando Hidalgo of Ecatepec. Performing Unshu, Mendoza narrowly topped Hidalgo’s rendition of Kanku-Dai in both the eliminations and Grand Finale 4 to win his first world title. He trains at the school Retarius and Hidalgo at Shikara. Ervic Aquino of Team Proper in the Bay Area of California took third.

Senior 45+ Hard Traditional Forms (N-37)
The 45 and over divisions was definitely a USA contention but players from Canada and India also placed top 8, A return by senior great, Ronnie Ferguson found him in the top spot at the end of the eliminations comfortably ahead of a tie between Christine Fisher of Ohio and Rick Johnson of Pennsylvania. Johnson won the run-off only to disappoint himself in the Finale with an acknowledged slip-up. Needless to say Ferguson won the title with his performance of Gojushiho-Dai. He leads Xtreme Martial Arts in Martinsville, Virginia. Johnson performed Torigata.

TEAM FORMS TITLES

Open Team Forms (N-38)
Ashley Artese and Dan Marshall have made history in this division over the years beating other giants and initially entering unseen and unseeded back in 2006. Again this year it looked like the team division belonged to them as they scored 29.96 to 29.92 against the worthily Chinese style Magallanes siblings. But for whatever the reason in the Finale the judges took the fresh and unusual look of the Magallanes’ kids and gave them their first team title 49.94 to 49.91. They represent Team International under Mo Ota and Steve Cooper and train in Milpitas, California. Third place went to Jonathan Tale of El Salvador.