Menomonee Judo Club / Wolf Judo

While we are proud of the accomplishments that our members achieve on the mat, they are secondary to the pride we have for what they accomplish in the community. Three club members recently graduated and we want to send our congratulations.

Elwyn Geisert graduated from Benedictine University Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science

Austin Lawrence graduated from the University of New Mexico Law School with honors, earning his J.D.. Austin also received the Clarence Darrow Award for the student others would want to represent them if they needed an attorney

Nicky Kurtz graduated from the University of Miami Law School earning his J.D.

Congratulations, gentlemen - we are extremely proud of your accomplishments!

Great having Max Antoniou, one of the best and most accomplished players we’ve ever had at the club, back on the mat yesterday! Max is currently living and working in Connecticut, but Wolf Judo is always home. Not only did Max do rounds of randori, he also demonstrated and taught his highly effective Ouchi Gari to the crew. It was a productive and fun day for all!

What a day! Our team spent Saturday competing at the Indiana Open Judo Championships in Portland, IN. 24 of our players fought like warriors from the very beginning to the last match of the tournament. The tournament included over 330 athletes and 46 top clubs from around the region. At the end of the day Wolf Judo players earned

16 Gold Medals
8 Silver Medals
12 Bronze Medals

and with 116 total points, the overall team Championship!!

We are so proud of everyone who competed, as well as their families, for making the commitment to attend.

Historic day for our club that none of us will soon forget.
Way to go Wolf Judo!!!

We had an extremely successful tournament last Sunday, April 19th at the Cohen Brothers Classic in Vernon Hills. Our group of young and in most cases, inexperienced athletes, fought their hearts out! 11 of our 22 players were competing in their first or second ever tournament. In spite of that lack of experience and taking into account that our main goal was to have the kids get comfortable with the idea of competing, our group won and won and kept winning! 14 players won at least two matches, a truly encouraging sign for the club. Overall a very worthwhile, productive and successful day. Congratulations to everyone who competed! We’re extremely proud of you!
Cohen Brothers Classic
Sunday, April 19th, 2026
Vernon Hills, IL
Results:
Gold Medals:
David W
Jude M
Iris F
Johnny M
Vasara E
Silver Medals:
Poppy M
Jovie G-R
John L
David W
Rafi F
Neleis E
Caleb A
Umang B
Grant K
Jason W
Zackary G-R
Bronze Medals:
Johnny M
Milly G
Stas Z
Oliver E
Oliver H
Luc M
Henry E
Emile F

Fantastic practice last night with more than 25 players on the mat for the advanced class, many of whom are highly decorated. Great preparation for our group competing at the Cohen Brothers Tournament tomorrow in Vernon Hills. Wonderful having Joe DeFrino, multiple time national medalist and home grown black belt, back at the club. Fun night for everyone!

Last Thursday we held our first in-club tournament of 2026. 40 young athletes, all ages 12 and under, showed off what we’ve been working on at the dojo over the last few months. These events are a great learning tool for the players to gain necessary and valuable experience. Everyone competed hard and showed great promise. Thank you to those who supported the event and congratulations to our young players!

Congratulations to Emile and Rafi F on their recent promotions to Yellow Belt! The boys are two of our top up and coming athletes at the dojo. Emile and Rafi have shown great promise since they started training with us. They’re good athletes and even better kids! Congrats to both boys. We’re proud of you!

Congratulations to Eric M on his recent promotion to Green Belt. It’s a well deserved accomplishment and trust me, it’s only the beginning. Eric, who started training just a couple of years ago, has quickly moved up the national ranking roster and is fighting for medals in elite divisions. As I said, only the beginning. Way to go, Eric!

Congratulations to Poppy Moore on her recent promotion to Yellow Belt! Poppy, who followed her two brothers into Judo, has gained the respect of her teammates for the hard work and focus she puts into her training. Capping off a big month for her on the Judo mat, Poppy earned a silver medal in Wichita at the USA Judo Youth National Championships. Which happened to be her first ever Judo tournament! Way to go, Poppy! Well deserved!

We are far behind on congratulating our players on recent belt promotions, but we’ll catch up in the coming days.

Big congratulations to one of our most improved and dedicated athletes, Axel S, on his recent promotion to Green Belt. No one takes their Judo any more seriously than Axel does and the fruits of his labor are right around the corner. Congrats, Axel - well done and well deserved!