The Moose Jaw Koseikan Judo Club saw a number of athletes hit the road to Saskatoon on the weekend for the first provincial competition of the year.

The local club put together a strong weekend with 12 athletes bringing home some hardware from the tournament.

The top performers were Justin Wiens, Damien Wiens and William Markon, who each brought home two medals. Markon captured gold in both the under-29.8 kilogram and under-31.8kg division of Ne Waza (ground work only).

Justin Wiens and Damien Wiens both picked up medals in two different age divisions.

“It was the first time for both of them for competing in the age group that's one older than they actually are,” said head coach Jim Wiens. “They were both very intimidated at first, but once they got in there and saw that they're people that they've competed against in years past, they actually had a pretty good showing.”

After winning gold in the U14 Male -40kg division, Justin Wiens picked up a bronze medal in the U16 Male -38/42kg division.

Damien Wiens came away with a silver in the U14/U16 Male -55kg division and then moved up to the U18 Male -55/60kg division and captured a bronze medal.

Caleb Kirkby, Liam Shaw and Macy Litzenberger also won gold during the event, while Abby Dore and Jim Wiens claimed silver in their respective divisions. Sara Wiens won a bronze as well to complete the local medal run.

Jim Wiens said this event is always a good gauge of where each athlete is at early in the season, so this was a strong start for the club.

“At the beginning of the year, this is always the best place to set your goals for the year, get a taste of what the other clubs are going to bringing for the season and basically it's a starting point for what you hope to accomplish,” Wiens said.

“Our younger age group is very strong this year, lots of athletes and lots of interest in getting in and competing.”

The next tournament will be held in two weeks in Watrous.