UNC Wrestler Kenny Hashimoto Places 9th at Judo Junior World Championships

BUDAPEST, Hungary - University of Northern Colorado freshman wrestler Kenny Hashimoto placed 9th in the world at the Judo Junior World Championships last Friday. Hashimoto tallied the best finish for the USA squad.

No USA athlete advanced to the Sunday's final session the second day of the Junior World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. The Junior World Championships are for athletes under 20 years of age. This year's event saw a total of 61 different countries, 224 men and 172 women.

Hashimoto (Thornton, Colo., Northglenn Judo Club) competed in the men's 60 kg category. Hashimoto went 2-2 beating Yulin Li of China and Dan Fasie of Romania before falling to Pavel Petrikov of the Czech Republic in the quarterfinal. In the consolation round, he needed one win to advance to Sunday's final session, but lost to Rza Aliyev of Azerbaijan.

Hashimoto will wrestle for the Bears this winter at 133 pounds.