Alliance Taekwondo fielded a team of seventeen competitors for the 2026 Central Plains Taekwondo Invitational. A team lead by Mr Kristofer Huck included junior blackbelts Mr Braxton Standaert and Mr Carter DelaBarre and underbelts Ms Bethany Just, Mr Zachary and Ms Elliot Ziegler, Mr Luke and Ms Emmalie Hartl, Mr Ellis Price, Mr Thatcher and Mr Judah Kerzman, Ms Annabelle Griffin, Mr Harris Papalichev, Mr Rojohn Elassus Mr Camden Standaert and Mr Declan Kraft.
Alliance took home a total of thirty-seven awards, including fourteen first place finishes, eight second place finishes, seven third place finishes, and seven fourth place honorable mention finishes.
In the blackbelt forms divisions under eighteen, Alliance blackbelt and team leader Mr Kristofer Huck took third in a sizeable division. In a separate junior blackbelt division, Mr Carter DelaBarre took first and Mr Braxton Standaert took second.
In underbelt forms, fourteen juniors competed. In an advanced division, Ms Bethany Just took first. In a separate division, Mr Luke Hartl took first with teammate Mr Ellis Price winning a fourth place honorable mention. At the intermediate level, Mr Harris Papalichev took first, with Ms Annabelle Griffin taking third and Mr Thatcher Kerzman taking fourth, in a fifth grade division. In younger divisions, Mr Rojohn Elassus and Ms Elliot Ziegler took second in their respective age groups, and Mr Judah Kerzman took third. In the beginner divisions, Mr Camden Standaert earned a third place finish.
In underbelt breaking, Mr Luke Hartl Mr Zachary Ziegler and Ms Bethany Just took first, third and fourth in three different advanced age divisions. At the intermediate level, Mr Thatcher earned a third place finish with Ms Annabelle in fourth. In the beginner ring, Mr Camden earned first place in his age group.
In the advanced underbelt sparring divisions, both Mr Zach and Mr Maxon Frederick dominated their respective rings, each coming away with a first place win. In the intermediate rings, brothers Thatcher and Judah earned very respectable second and third place finishes in their rings. Mr Rojohn, in his first tournament appearance, fought his way to a second place finish. Ms Annabelle earned a fourth place honorable mention, as did Ms Emmalie Hartl in a younger division. In the beginner ring, Mr Camden also came away with a fourth place honorable mention.
In a rare exhibition, the sparring side of Kumdo was included in this competition. Alliance fielded one new Kumdo student in an exhibition match with Master Bobby Cisco of the Bozeman Taekwondo Academy. They had a fun series of exchanges that was an excellent learning opportunity for Mr Carter.
Blackbelt breaking was the second to last event of the day. The junior blackbelt boys were up first, with Mr Braxton coming out on top in the first place spot, with Mr Carter earning fourth. The adult blackbelt divisions consisted of breaking sequences of up to ten boards and five stations each. In a close contest in which Mr Kristofer Huck debuted his flash kick breaking technique, he finished in second place, narrowly edged out by Master Bobby Cisco.
In the adult blackbelt fighting rings, Alliance’s team leader for the event competed in the under eighteen men’s division. Mr Kris showed tenacity and energy as he comfortably lead the score sheet in both rounds and claimed a clear victory to land in first place.
Alliance would like to thank Washburn Taekwondo and Master Ken Sorenson for hosting the tournament. 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.
