Alliance Taekwondo participated in the 2014 Capitol City Championship Invitational on January 25th with a crew of fourteen solid competitors. The Alliance Juniors Team, captained by jr blackbelt Caleb Olson was twleve competitors strong, composed of eight junior blackbelts and four underbelts. Jr blackbelt competitors included Caleb Olson, Logan Olson, Lynsey Eberle, Shauna Fairbanks, Austin Hunt, Tanner Olson, Justin Story and Steven Weigel. Juniors Team underbelt competitors included Zachary Miller, Braden Fritel, Emily Frieze and Cameron Lemere. The Juniors Team took home thirty eight awards and two honorable mentions. Two adult black belt competitors, Alliance assistant instructor Tammy Fairbanks and Alliance alumnus Kyle Sanford also competed and took home three trophies and an honorable mention, bringing the full count up to forty-one awards. Alliance came away from the tournament with twelve first place finishes, fourteen second place finishes, fourteen third place finishes and three honorable mentions.
Ms Tammy Fairbanks and Mr Kyle Sanford competed in adult blackbelt forms for Alliance, and secured third place and an honorable mention respectively. Logan Olson outperformed older brother Caleb Olson in their forms division with a sharp and powerful Kumgong, with Logan taking first place and Caleb taking third behind him. Lynsey Eberle delivered a first class exhibition of Koryo to take first place in her division. Austin Hunt, in a separate junior blackbelt division, took first place with his own Koryo. Training brothers Justin Story and Steven Weigel took second place in their respective divisions. Ms Shauna Fairbanks took third in yet another division.
In underbelt forms, four juniors competed; Mr Braden Fritel, Ms Emily Frieze, Mr Zach Miller and Mr Cameron Lemere. Fritel and Frieze each placed third in two separate divisions, with Mr Zach Miller earning an honorable mention in his division as well. Cameron Lemere earned second place in an intermediate division.
Four junior blackbelts also competed in weapons, and all of them placed. Mr Logan Olson, for the second time that day (but not the last), upset older brother Caleb and took first place; Mr Caleb Olson took third. In a separate division, Ms Lynsey Eberle placed second. In a final division, Mr Justin Story also placed second.
In breaking, underbelts Braden Fritel and Emily Frieze both took home trophies in the advanced division. Both brown belts, Fritel placed first and Frieze, in her first tournament appearance, took second place in a separate division.
Ms Lynsey Eberle claimed first in her jr blackbelt breaking division, showing focus and power in a display of skill and commitment. Logan Olson also took first in his division, crushing all of his targets with excellent delivery. Jr blackbelts Steven Weigel and Tanner Olson both placed second in their respective divisions, with their training brothers Justin Story and Austin Hunt taking third behind them in their respective divisions. In the final jr blackbelt breaking division of the day, Caleb Olson claimed second place with a single successful knifehand through five boards. In the adult blackbelt divisions, Mr Kyle Sanford showed excellent power and energy, slamming through all of his boards with precision to claim first place.
In the sparring divisons, the underbelts had a solid run. Mr Braden Fritel, with some excellent coaching from an older teammate, slammed through several opponents and would not be denied in his bid for first place. Ms Emily Frieze, in her first sparring competition, tested out her skills and was rewarded with a third place finish. Mr Zach Miller fought his best, but a contestable point in overtime was scored against him and he was denied a chance to fight in the first place match; he won his final match to claim third place.
In the junior blackbelt divisions, brothers Caleb and Logan Olson fought a round robin with another quality second degree junior blackbelt. The brothers fought with more ferocity when they faced off against one another than when they fought their other challenger; as a result, they were both edged out of first place with Mr Logan Olson taking second and Mr Caleb Olson taking third. Ms Lynsey Eberle showcased how hard work and dedicated training can really pay off, scoring twice in her first match with techniques she had been training diligently. Eberle was on fire, fighting through multiple opponents with good timing, excellent techniques and wicked combinations to claim first place. Justin Story had a solid run and in his fight for first place he made two errors that allowed his opponent to score, handing him his second ever tournament defeat and relegating him to a still very respectable second place. Mr Steven Weigel also fought well but was too tentative against an aggressive opponent and, outscored, was relegated to the third place match, which he won. Mr Tanner Olson, Mr Austin Hunt and Ms Shauna Fairbanks all stepped up to the plate, fought hard and, though frustrated, demonstrated perseverance in their sparring; all three came away with third place finishes in separate divisions.
Mr Kyle Sanford competed in the adult blackbelt men’s sparring division, which turned into a round robin. Sanford fought well, and finished in second place after a challenging match that confirmed Mr Ben Ehrmantraut Jr as the first place winner.
Alliance saw four Juniors Team members finish in the power challenge; all three of the Olson brothers took home prizes for their age groups, with Mr Logan Olson taking first and Mr Caleb Olson taking second in their age group, and Mr Tanner Olson taking third in his age group. Mr Braden Fritel also placed, taking first in his age group over many larger kids. 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.
