Vassar Bradford of Anchorage captured his fifth national championship last week at the U.S. Karate Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a victory that will send him to the world championships later this summer in Paris.

Bradford, 25, took first place in the men's elite kata competition, successfully defending his title. Kata does not involve direct competition against an opponent; instead, it is a series of detailed moves, including kicks and turns, that must be executed while maintaining perfect form.

Bradford is a 2005 West High graduate who trains at Tanaka Martial Arts Academy. He has competed in two previous world championships, which are held every other year. At the 2010 world meet, he finished in the top 16.

Three other Alaskans brought home medals from the national championships. All were competing in age-group divisions.

Kevin Chen brought home two gold medals, one in 7-year-old male novice kata and another in 9-and-under male beginning bo. Sarah Chen won gold in the 12-13-year-old intermediate bo and bronze in the 11-year female novice kata. Jessica Roberts took bronze in 11-year-old female novice kata.

disc golf

Anchorage man places third in world disc championships

Will Harrison of Anchorage made the most of his pro debut as a disc golfer.

Offered a last-minute chance to fill a cancellation in the pro division at the Professional Disc Golf Association's world championships in Charlotte, N.C., Harrison claimed third place in the men's skill shot competition.

He finished behind two of the sport's top competitors -- first-place Avery Jenkins and second-place David Feldberg, both of them past world champs.

Jenkins scored 846 points, Feldberg 800 and Harrison 784. Harrison was 35 points ahead of the fourth-place finisher.

Harrison was the only Anchorage player at the competition, which attracted more than a thousand professional and amateur players from all over the world. He hadn't competed outside Alaska until this summer, when he played in tournaments in Las Vegas, Delaware and Virginia in preparation for the world championships.

running

Raines, Moronell top 10-K

Lloyd Raines and Tina Moronell took home victories in the 10-kilometer race and Scott Clemetson and Patty Clem triumphed in the 5-K Thursday in the Masters 5-K and 10-K footrace at the Chuck Albrecht Fields.

Men's 5-K -- 1) Scott Clemetson 18:28; 2) Bob Davis 21:19; 3) Ron Downey 22:01; 4) Rob Clem 23:13; 5) Tom Downey 25:28; 6) Chuck Kopp 26:07; 7) Keith Harvey 28:10; 8) Ed McComb 28:57; 9) Rich Hull 31:57; 10) Max Kitchens 35:08; 11) Greg Bline 48:03.

Women's 5-K -- 1) Patty Clem 29:10.9; 2) Kim Baldwin 29:26.6; 3) Tami Wheeler 29:31.3; 4) Suzanne Hull 30:36.2; 5) Fay Ondelacy 30:42.8; 6) Diane Clemetson 30:42.8; 7) Michelle Semerad 31:02.4; 8) Teresa Hull 33:49.2; 9) Donna Pedersen 34:20.5; 10) Vicki Caldwell 43:20.2; 11) Laura Saslaw 46:21.0; 12) Carol Pazdernik 47:33.0; 13) Gloria Strickler 48:02.3.

Men's 10-K -- 1) Lloyd Raines 38:41.5; 2) Brad Benter 39:35.5; 3) Terry Lewis 41:17.4; 4) Greg MacDonald 44:01.1; 5) Mark Dent 45:58.9; 6) John Brewer 47:08.8; 7) Michael Stahl 48:09.7; 8) Dan Baldwin 48:40.2; 9) Raj Choudhury 53:31.5; 10) Jim Leonard 55:57.6; 11) Paul Schrooten 56:58.8; 12) Todd Heverling 61:02.2; 13) Charles Utermohle 70:29.4.

Women's 10-K -- 1) Tina Moronell 46:23.4; 2) Veronica Beagan 49:34.9; 3) Julie Michels 50:41.6; 4) Bonnie Lind 53:34.6; 5) Janet Petersen 54:43.1; 6) Kathryn Kurtz 56:01.0; 7) Pam Barbeau 57:02.7; 8) Julie Harvey 57:37.9; 9) Celia Rozen 58:54.5; 10) Anna Maria Parkinson 65:53.9; 11) Ayako McComb 67:01.6; 12) Carrie Erickson 87:26.0; 13) Louanne Lum 89:15.0.

Orienteering

Lee, Joliff find their way

Andrew Lee and Jen Joliff took victories in the long-course competition at Thursday's orienteering meet at UAA.

Lee edged Cory Smith by 22 seconds on the 3.5-kilometer course, which featured 20 controls. The shorter event was 2.2 kilometes with 12 controls.

Short course

Women -- 1) Ellyn Brown, 11:40:00; 2 )Dela Grey, 13:31:00; 3) Alicia Leggett, 13:43:00; 4) Anne Billman, 13:52:00; 5) Ruth Kvernplassen, 18:38:00; 6) Kathy Faryniarz, 25:14:00; 7) Giselle Bergeron, 28:09:00. Men -- 1) Ivan Hodes, 11:45:00; 2) John Fritz, 16:55:00. Team -- 1) Steph Brown and Josh Perry, 15:46:00; 2) Piper, Dana, and Shirly Orr, 21:32:00; 3) Jessie and Terry Donahue, 27:39:00; 4) Vivian and Brady Tokar, 28:10:00; 5) Dick, Liska, Snyder, and Corbin Smith, 32:00:00; 6) Petrash Team 2, 38:00:00; 7) Vebjorn Flagstad/Springer Moore, 43:00:00

Long course

Men -- 1) Andrew Lee, 13:35:00; 2) Cory Smith, 13:57:00; 3) Trond Flagstad, 14:41:00; 4) Ian Moore, 15:12:00; 5) Regan Sarwas, 16:00:00; 6) Steve Gruhn, 16:06:00; 7) Kevin Teschendorf, 16:10:00; 8) Trond Jensen, 16:31:00; 9) Toby Schwoerer, 16:38:00; 10) Dan Billman, 17:24:00; 11) Mike Robinson, 18:00:00; 12) Bill Johnson, 21:05:00; 13) Darren Hull, 23:00:00; 14) Ivan Hodes, 28:00:00; 15) Erik Carlson, 28:06:00; 16) Greg Galonas, 31:01:00. Women -- 1) Jen Joliff, 16:22:00; 2) Keri Koger, 24:35:00; 3) Margaret Hillhouse, 25:35:00; 4) Stephanie Kesler, 64:00:00. Team -- 1) Tom Novak and Paula Novakova, 21:25:00; 2) Trudy and Lia Keller, 23:05:00; 3) names not available 23:23:00; 4) Derek and Jill Roger, 36:00:00; 5) Petrash Team 1, 38:00:00; 6) Kathleen Barrow and Lynn Sage, 44:00:00