Ben Kendrick returned to his position atop the junior Canadian judo world with a dominant showing at the 2017 Canadian Elite Junior Championships on Jan. 8 in Montreal.
The Grade 11 Louis-Riel high school student earned praise for his “spectacular” victory in the men’s under-18 90 kg weight class from the national team’s junior/cadet program coach.
Kendrick downed three challengers by a 10-0 score and the other 7-0 en route to a repeat national junior crown.
Last year’s Cadet Pan American champion and the back-to-back Ottawa Sports Awards winner as the city’s top judo athlete will now get the opportunity to wear the maple leaf again in international competition this season.