Alliance Taekwondo fielded a team of sixteen competitors for the 2022 Greenquist Championship Invitational. Four adult competitors including Master Tammy Fairbanks, Mr Mason Rud, Mr Eddie Lin and Mr Justin Lafavor were joined by a juniors team led by Mr Tanner Lafavor; jr blackbelts also included Mr Kenyon Meissel, Mr Kristofer Huck, Ms Dyllan Heidt, Ms Reese Spadgenske and Mr Braxton Standaert, and the underbelt roster consisted of Mr Austin Heidt, Mr Mason Hager, Mr Zachary Ziegler, Mr Carter DelaBarre, Mr Ben Hovland and Mr Luke Hartl.
Alliance took home a total of thirty-three awards, including ten first place finishes, nine second place finishes, five third place finishes, four fourth place honorable mention finishes and two additional non-standard contest wins; Alliance also shared the “spirit” award with Full Circle Martial Arts Academy.
In the blackbelt forms divisions Master Tammy showed finesse and polish with Pyongwan at the master level. Under the master level, Mr Mason took second place and in a separate division Mr Justin and Mr Eddie took first and third respectively. In the junior blackbelt divisions, Mr Tanner claimed a number two spot. For adult blackbelt weapons, Mr Mason took home second place, Mr Justin won first and Mr Eddie also won first, all in separate divisions; among the jr blackbelts, Ms Dyllan took second ahead of Mr Kenyon and Mr Kristofer, who claimed third and fourth respectively.
In underbelt forms, six juniors competed. In an advanced division, Mr Austin came away with third. Mr Carter took second in his intermediate division, while Mr Zach placed third in a separate intermediate division. In two separate beginner divisions, Mr Ben Hovland claimed the number one spot and Mr Luke took home third.
All juniors breaking and underbelt breaking was up next. In a stiff jr blackbelt division, Mr Braxton claimed the number one spot in his first appearance at the jr blackbelt level; Mr Kristofer and Mr Tanner earned fourth place honorable mentions. In a large advanced division, Mr Austin took third; at the intermediate level.
In a fun set of non-standard events unique to the Greenquist Invitational, competitors participated in belt tying competitions and jump rope competitions. Each division was large and only one award was presented to the top competitor in each category. In jump rope, Mr Kristofer and Mr Austin beat the odds in their respective divisions to take home the award.
In the advanced underbelt sparring divisions, Mr Austin Heidt battled through older and larger opponents to win second place. In a younger division, Mr Mason Hager fought three matches and came away with a well-earned third place win.
In the jr blackbelt divisions, Alliance fighters had some interesting matches. There were three divisions, and in the youngest division Mr Braxton Standaert and Ms Reese Spadgenske battled against tough fighters but came out on top; they made their way through the bracket and ended up clashing with one another in the match for first place, with Standaert winning for a first place finish and Spadgenske taking second. In the middle division, the majority of the fighters were Alliance fighters; when the dust cleared, Mr Kristofer Huck and Ms Dyllan Heidt had to face off against each other for the number one spot. In triple overtime, Huck scored a head kick to claim first with Heidt consigned to second place; Mr Kenyon Meissel earned a fourth place honorable mention. In the oldest division, Mr Tanner Lafavor faced off against national silver medalist Ms Maddie Volesky out of Detroit Lakes in a match that should have probably been the fight for first; edged out, Lafavor was relegated to the third place match which he dominated to claim a bronze medal.
Adult blackbelt breaking was the second to last event of the day, and consisted of two rings of black belts setting up breaking sequences of up to ten boards each. In the men’s division, Mr Eddie Lin ripped through his breaking with flash and energy to take home first place.
Alliance had two adult blackbelts fighting in a single division; in the final match for the division, Mr Eddie Lin and Mr Justin Lafavor ended up facing off for first place. After no points were scored in their second overtime the judges called the match by decision; Lafavor went home with 1st place and Lin took second.
Of additional note, Alliance Taekwondo was recognized for the “spirit” award, in appreciation of the competitors and their support for the event. This award was shared this time around with our sister school, Full Circle Martial Arts Academy out of Rapid City, SD.
Alliance would like to thank the Greenquist Academy for hosting the tournament and providing a wonderful environment for competition and both team and personal growth. We would also like to congratulate the entire team on all the hard work, and thank the parents, instructors and coaches who have supported them. As always, our gratitude goes out to Grandmaster Eric Greenquist for his many years of dedication and instruction, and Great Grandmaster Moo Young Yun for his tireless efforts in the promotion of Korean martial arts.
