Alliance Taekwondo supported and competed in the Ehrmantraut’s Academy Capitol City Championship Invitational on January 28th, 2012, with seven underbelt competitors, five black belt competitors, and a black belt alumnus. Alliance juniors Caleb and Logan Olson, Lynsey Eberle, Ashton Madche, Tanner Olson, Austin Hunt and Justin Story took home thirteen trophies and five honorable mentions. Adult underbelt competitors Mr. Isaac Eberle, Ms. Kelsey Madche and Ms. Justine Hulm took home five trophies. Two adult black belts, Alliance instructor Devon Waldron and assistant instructor Tammy Fairbanks, as well as Alliance alumnus Charles Smith, competed in five separate divisions and took home six awards and an honorable mention.
The black belts started the day with forms, competing in two separate divisions. Mr. Devon Waldron took third in the men’s division with alumnus Mr. Charles Smith taking second just ahead of him. Later in the day, Mr. Devon Waldron also competed in the weapons division, and came in 2nd after winning a bo-staff run-off with Mr. Ben Erhmantraut Jr., who consequently took third in his first appearance at the adult black belt level. Ms. Lynsey Eberle, in her first appearance at the jr. black belt level, secured first place in forms, with teammate Mr. Logan Olson coming in behind her in second place.
In underbelt forms, three juniors competed; Mr. Justin Story claimed a third place spot, while teammate Austin Hunt received an honorable mention in a separate division. Three adult underbelts also competed; Mr. Issac Eberle claimed second place in his advanced forms division, and Ms. Kelsie Madche claimed 1st in her division. Newcomer Ms. Justine Hulm took second in her forms division.
In breaking, Mr. Caleb Olson took first in the jr. black belt boys division, and teammate Ms. Lynsey Eberle took first in the jr. black belt girls division. In the underbelt divisions, Mr. Justin Story took first in his division, Mr. Ashton Madche took third in a separate division, and Mr. Tanner Olson and Mr. Austin Hunt received honorable mentions.
In the sparring divisons, the underbelts had a rough and tumble day. Mr. Ashton Madche 
showed power and control and fought his way to a second place finish. In the same division, Mr. Tanner Olson battled harder than ever and earned third place. In an intermediate division, Mr. Austin Hunt and Mr. Justin Story again faced off, this time in an earlier round. For a second time, Story came away with the win. After another tough match, Hunt received an honorable mention. Story went on to defeat his final opponent and take first place. In the 
adult divisions, Ms. Justine Hulm fought her way to a very respectable second place in her first tournament appearance. In the advanced ring, the fight for first place saw Mr. Issac Eberle connect with a beautiful roundhouse that prevented his opponent from continuing the match, and so took first place. In a display of sportsmanship and generosity, he declined the first place trophy and gifted it to his injured opponent.
In the jr. black belt divisions, Ms. Lynsey Eberle fought two close matches, squeezing out wins in both by a single point, to take first place in the girls ring. The boys ring was stiff competition; Mr. Caleb Olson was denied the chance to fight for first by one point, and won his final match to claim third. Mr. Logan Olson made it to the first place match, and clinched it in overtime to take the win.
In the black belt fighting divisions, Alliance alumnus Mr. Charles Smith secured another first place in a round robin series of matches, culminating in one of the best fought matches by both competitors that the local circuit has seen in recent memory.
Ms. Sheri Geiss, an Alliance special needs student, had the opportunity to participate in the tournament. She did an exhibition form and an exhibition breaking routine, and received awards for both.
Alliance Juniors Team captain Mr. Caleb Olson took the prize in the power challenge for his age group. Power challenge is a contest in which a competitor performs three elementary striking techniques to a padded target, which electronically measures the force delivered.
Alliance would like to thank the Ehrmantraut’s Academy 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.
