Alliance Taekwondo attended the 2023 Roughrider Invitational Championship on October 21st. Alliance fielded a team twenty-two total competitors, including Master Tammy Fairbanks and adult blackbelts Mason Rud, Justin Lafavor, Tanner Lafavor and Dyllan Heidt; the youth team was lead by second degree junior blackbelt Kristofer Huck and included junior blackbelts Braxton Standaert and Reese Spadgenske; underbelt competitors included Austin Heidt, Mason Hager, Carter Delabarre, Zach Ziegler, Eli Molzahn, Elijah and Nathan VanVoorhis, Luke Hartl and Emmalie Hartl, Ellis Price, Brayden Gietzen, Santiago Romero, Annabelle Griffen and Maxon Frederick. The Alliance team claimed forty-one trophies in total, including thirteen first place wins, fifteen second place awards and nine third place finishes.
The competition started – as usual – with blackbelt forms. In the adult divisions, Mr Mason Rud claimed first despite an error, competing for the second time with Taebek. In a separate division Mr Tanner Lafavor secured a second place finish with a strong Koryo. In a competitive jr blackbelt division, Mr Kristofer Huck claimed first place with a strong if unpolished Keumgang. In adult blackbelt weapons, Mr Tanner and Mr Mason showed up with a strong performances and took second and third respectively. In the jr blackbelt weapons forms division it was Alliance all the way – Ms Reese beat out her teammates to take first, with Mr Braxton in second and Mr Kristofer claiming third due to clear hesitations.
In underbelt forms, Mr Mason Hager claimed a second place finish in his advanced division; Mr Carter Delabarre took third. In the intermediate divisions, Mr Eli Molzahn claimed first place with Mr Elijah VanVoorhis taking second; in a separate division, Mr Nathan VanVoorhis took first, with Mr Luke Hartl taking second; in a third intermediate division, Mr Ellis Price claimed second in his first tournament appearance. At the beginner level, Mr Santiago Romero claimed first place in his first competition appearance.
In breaking, Mr Eli Molzahn won second place in his intermediate division. In a younger intermediate division, Mr Luke Hartl took third. In two separate advanced divisions, Mr Mason Hager and Mr Austin Heidt both claimed first place. The jr blackbelt divisions, Mr Kristofer Huck slammed his way to a first place finish with teammate Mr Braxton Standaert on his heels in second. In the adult breaking divisions, Alliance third dan blackbelt Mason Rud displayed power, precision and energy to claim first place, with Mr Tanner Lafavor taking second with strength and creativity.
Alliance enjoyed success in the underbelt sparring divisions, even with a handful of fighters making their first tournament appearances. In the beginner divisions, Mr Maxon Frederick fought three matches and took home third place; in a teen division Mr Brayden Gietzen also took third after three bouts. At the intermediate levels, Mr Zach Ziegler took first place; in a separate division, Mr Eli Molzahn and Mr Elijah VanVoorhis took second in third respectively; in a younger division, Mr Nathan VanVoorhis claimed second place. At the advanced level, in two separate divisions, Mr Carter earned a fourth place honorable mention, with Mr Mason Hager taking third and Mr Austin Heidt winning second place.
In the junior blackbelt fighting divisions, teammates Kristofer Huck and Braxton Standaert fought their way up through a stiff bracket, with Mr Kristofer decided to fight in spite of a migraine. At the end of the division, they faced off for first place with Mr Braxton coming away with the win and Mr Kristofer earning a respectable second place finish.
Blackbelt fighting was split into under 18 and over 18. In under 18 women, Ms Dyllan Heidt – fighting for the first time as an adult blackbelt – fought an experienced opponent in the match for first and she came away with the win. In the men’s divisions, the Lafavor brothers showed up well, with Mr Tanner Lafavor owning his ring and earning first place in the under 18s, and Mr Justin Lafavor fighting older, experienced opponents – including a fourth dan – to take third overall in the over 18s.
After all the dust settled and all the competitor points had been tallied, Alliance first dan competitor Tanner Lafavor and second pum competitor Kristofer Huck came out on top to claim both the adult and junior grand championship titles. Congratulations, Mr Tanner and Mr Kristofer!
Alliance would like to thank the Roughrider Academy and Grandmaster Ted Fitzsimmons for hosting the tournament and providing these opportunities. 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.
