Alliance Taekwondo attended the 2024 Roughrider Invitational Championship on October 19th. Alliance fielded a team twenty-one total competitors, including Master Tammy Fairbanks 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, Eli Molzahn, Luke Hartl and Emmalie Hartl, Ryker Colling, Maxon Frederick, Grady Griffin, Thatcher and Judah Kerzman and Camden Standaert. The Alliance team claimed thirty-four 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, Ms Dyllan Heidt took 3rd with a consistent Koryo. In a competitive jr blackbelt division, Mr Kristofer Huck took third with Keumgang with teammate Ms Reese Spadgenske taking second with Koryo. In the jr blackbelt weapons forms division it was an Alliance sweep with Mr Kristofer taking first with an impressive double daggers performance, and Ms Reese and Mr Braxton taking second and third respectively with two distinct staff forms.
In underbelt forms, Alliance had another sweep in the advanced young teens division; Mr Austin Heidt took first, Mr Carter Delabarre took second and Mr Mason Hager claimed third. In a separate advanced division Mr Eli Molzahn took first, with Mr Elijah VanVoorhis taking third. In a younger advanced division, Mr Zach Ziegler claimed first and Mr Nathan VanVoorhis took second. In an intermediate division, Mr Maxon Frederick won the first place spot. At the beginner level, in three separate age divisions, Mr Thatcher Kerzman took first, Mr Judah Kerzman took second, and Mr Camden Standaert took second.
In breaking, Mr Braxton Standaert took second in the jr blackbelt divisions behind teammate Ms Reese Spadgenske in first. In the advanced divisions, Mr Carter took first with Mr Austin behind him in second. In a separate advanced division, Mr Zach took third. At the beginner level, Ms Emmalie Hartl took third; in a separate division, Mr Camden Standaert took second.
Alliance enjoyed success in the underbelt sparring divisions. In the beginner divisions, Mr Camden battled his way to third place. At the intermediate level, Mr Ryker Colling fought hard and earned first. In the advanced rings, Mr Zach and Mr Nathan battled fiercely and claimed first and second respectively. In a separate division, Mr Eli Molzahn slammed through three matches to secure the first place position. In an older division, Mr Carter Delabarre had his best sparring showing to date and came away with a first place finish.
In the junior blackbelt fighting divisions, juniors captain Kristofer Huck had to stick to coaching due to a prior injury; teammate Braxton Standaert put in work for both of them, winning two out of three fights and taking third. In the under 18 women’s adult blackbelt fighting division, Ms Dyllan Heidt battled larger opponents and came away with second place.
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.
