Celebrating the mountain’s first Jiu-Jitsu tournament

The mountain’s first Jiu-Jitsu tournament – known as The King of Subs-Lake Arrowhead Open – lived up to its name on Nov. 15, packing the gym at Sandals Church in Lake Arrowhead with 87 competitors, hundreds of spectators and a full day of submission-only Jiu Jitsu.

There were divisions for gi (traditional uniform and grabbing clothing is legal) and no gi. On the scoreboards, choke finishes are logged as “kills” and joint locks as “breaks.” For everyone in the building, it simply meant that every match was built around the hunt for a clean submission.

Competitors from Lake Arrowhead Jiu Jitsu, Running Springs’ Riordan’s MMA Club and a few athletes from Big Bear all represented the mountain well.

The hometown squad, Lake Arrowhead Jiu Jitsu (LAJJ), set the tone early in the kids’ divisions.

In Kids Beginner Nogi 7–9, -65 pounds, William Halquist took gold, with teammate Jameson Makeig right behind him for silver. In Kids Beginner Nogi 9–11, -95 pounds, Ethan Serna stormed through his bracket with two quick submission wins – including one that ended in just 16 seconds – to claim gold over teammate Kayden Johnson, who earned silver.

In the teen ranks, Brookelynn Magallon delivered one of the standout performances of the day in Teen Girls Beginner Nogi 12–13, -105 pounds. She defeated Riordan’s Ciera Squires twice, first with a fast choke a little over a minute in and later with a submission around the three-minute mark, securing gold and giving the home crowd plenty to cheer about.

LAJJ’s youth success continued with podium finishes from King and Irie Crowley and Judah Ornelas in the intermediate and heavier kids’ divisions.

From the sidelines, one 7-year-old spectator summed it up perfectly: “Some of those kids were really good.”

On the adult side, LAJJ produced several headline results.

In Men Beginner Nogi, 18+, -155 pounds, Tristan Anthony made emphatic work of his bracket, first finishing with a kill in just 36 seconds, then closing the division with another submission at 1:35. After taking gold, Anthony was already looking ahead: “Next time I’ll compete at intermediate – I’m ready.”

In Men Beginner Nogi, 18+, -195 pounds, Christopher Ferrer executed some impressive submissions and claimed gold, with teammate Richard Robledo taking silver and Miles Ornelas adding a bronze in the 225+ beginner bracket.

Roman Loya put together one of the strongest campaigns of the tournament. In Men Intermediate Nogi, 18+, -185 pounds, he finished both of his bouts against Fight Lab’s Jordan Hartsfield – one a rapid choke under 30 seconds, the other a break at just over a minute – to secure gold. Later, in Men White Belt Gi, 18+, -205 pounds, he needed only 18 seconds to grab another submission and a second gold medal.

The masters divisions turned into a Lake Arrowhead clinic. In Men Intermediate Nogi, 40+, -165 pounds, Joseph Melendez took gold, with teammates Jeffrey Holmes and Brian Hall rounding out an all-LAJJ podium. Melendez’s key win resulted in a nap for his opponent: he locked on a choke that put his counterpart completely out. Afterward, he commented: “I didn’t think the choke was that tight. I only had one side of his neck, that’s probably why he didn’t realize he was going out.” Joseph “The Sandman” Melendez might have a nice ring to it after that finish.

In Men Intermediate Nogi, 40+, -195 pounds, Evan Halquist and Dan Harbuck went 1–2 for LAJJ, trading submissions before Halquist secured gold in their final meeting.

Then there was the gi showdown in Men Brown Belt Gi, 40+, -225 pounds between Jeff Bowles and Riordan’s MMA Club head coach Jason Riordan. Bowles is a blue belt who stepped into the brown-belt masters division, making him an underdog on paper, but their three-match series became one of the technical highlights of the event.

In the first match, Bowles hit a beautiful kimura armlock from underneath side control – reversing from bottom, coming up on top and finishing a submission that could be considered low percentage from where he secured it. Riordan answered in the second match with a well-timed leglock to even the score.

The rubber match went to overtime, where Bowles edged out a narrow win to secure gold, with Riordan taking a hard-earned silver.

On the women’s side, Erica Makeig captured gold in Women Beginner Nogi, 18+, -145 pounds with a mix of decision and submission wins, then fought her way to bronze in Women White–Blue Gi, -145 pounds, including a strong submission victory over Riordan’s Fatima Pena.

Riordan’s MMA Club brought a compact but dangerous team. In addition to kids’ and teens’ silver medals for Dylan O’Brien, Ciera Squires and Isabella Flynn, the biggest story came from John O’Brien.

In Men Advanced Nogi, 225+ pounds, he submitted 10th Planet’s Cole Hernandez with a joint lock before falling to the eventual champion to earn bronze. O’Brien then entered the Absolute Men Nogi division, where he submitted 10th Planet West LA’s Brian Szpyrka on his way to the final. There, he was caught by another quick choke, leaving him with silver in the absolute and a reputation as one of the toughest heavyweights on the mats.

At the center of those advanced and absolute (aka openweight) brackets was Jefferson Batista, an experienced Brazilian black belt from Checkmat La Habra down the hill, bringing an impressive competition pedigree with him. Batista secured gold in the advanced heavyweight nogi division, finishing all of his matches, and then entered the Absolute Men Nogi and repeated the feat, submitting O’Brien in the final to claim the absolute title and the event’s cash prize.

By the end of the day – from kids chaining together quick submissions to masters grinding out overtime wins – the King of Subs-Lake Arrowhead Open made one thing clear: Mountain Jiu Jitsu isn’t just holding its own; it’s becoming a destination.