Eastchester Martial Arts School Turns Out Winners at NAGA

Pictured with WMAA martial arts coach Ron Barrone at the NAGA Championships in Morristown, N.J., from left: Gracie Rivera, Alexa Grassi, Amanda Monteleone and Frankie Rivera.

Students from the Westchester Martial Arts Academy in Eastchester returned from the North American Grappling Association World Championship in Morristown, N.J., April 26 with four first-place and three second-place awards.

WMAA’s mixed martial arts instructor Ron Barone was responsible for training the competitors prior to the event, which was held in the Mennen Arena over two days, on April 25 and 26. NAGA hosts the world’s largest mixed martial arts grappling tournament, with competitors coming from across the nation and around the world to compete.

The students competed in the Gi and No-Gi grappling divisions for children, which differ in the type of clothing that is worn by the competitors and in their technique and tactics.

The first-place winners included: Alexa Grassi, who also received a large NAGA grappling belt for coming in first in her division; Amanda Monteleone, Gracie Rivera and Jonathan Theano. Second-place awards were handed out to Owen Reich, Frankie Rivera and Matt Sidoti.

“You guys all trained very hard,” said Barone. “It just shows that hard work does pay off.”