Alliance Taekwondo participated in the 2015 Capitol City Championship Invitational on January 24th with a crew of twelve solid competitors. The Alliance team included blackbelts Dale Schneibel, Lynsey Eberle and Logan Olson, junior blackbelts Justin Story and Austin Hunt, and underbelts Eddie Lin, Zach Miller, Cameron Lemere, Logan King, Justin LaFavor, Andrew Burger and Alex Hamilton. The team took home forty awards; Alliance came away from the tournament with seven first place finishes, eight second place finishes and seven third place finishes.
Mr Dale Schneibel, Mr Lynsey Eberle and Mr Logan Olson competed in blackbelt forms; Schneibel took third in his division while Olson claimed second and Eberle claimed third in a separate division. Jr blackbelts Justin Story and Austin Hunt took first and third with solid showings of Koryo in a juniors division.
In underbelt forms, seven juniors competed; Mr Zach Miller, Mr Eddie Lin, Mr Cameron Lemere, Mr Logan King, Mr Justin LaFavor, Mr Andrew Burger and Mr Alex Hamilton. In three separate advanced divisions Mr Zach Miller – in his best forms showing to date – Mr Eddie Lin and Mr Cameron Lemere all earned first place wins from the judges. In separate intermediate divisions, Mr Logan King took home second and Mr Justin LaFavor took home first. In the beginner divisions, both Mr Andrew Burger and Mr Alex Hamilton came away with first place. It was a strong day for Alliance underbelt forms competitors!
Mr Dale Schneibel, Ms Lynsey Eberle, Mr Logan Olson and Mr Justin Story also competed in weapons. In the adult blackbelt division Alliance almost secured a clean sweep, with Olson taking second, Eberle taking third and Schneibel earning a fourth place honorable mention. In a separate juniors division, Story secured first place with a sharp showing of traditional Hapkido bo-staff.
In breaking, most of the Alliance underbelts placed. Eddie Lin and Cameron Lemere both took first in their respective advanced divisions. Mr Logan King and Mr Justin LaFavor took first and third respectively in separate intermediate divisions. Mr Andrew Burger and Mr Alex Hamilton both took first in their beginner divisions as well.
Junior blackbelts Justin Story and Austin Hunt took third and first respectively, Hunt with a solid, confident performance and Story showing that he meant business. In adult blackbelt breaking, Schneibel took second and Olson took third behind him; in a separate division Eberle earned third.
In the sparring divisons, the underbelts had a solid run. Mr Zach Miller fought well and earned his way into the first place match, after which he came away with second. Training brothers Eddie Lin and Cameron Lemere were in a tough division with an experienced fighter from Minnesota. Lemere came away with second place after a good showing in the match for the top spot; Lin was awarded a fourth place honorable mention for his performance.
In a tough junior blackbelt division, Mr Justin Story faced off against a seasoned opponent in what should probably have been the match for first and second; in what was arguably the match of the day, Story pulled ahead in overtime and sealed the win. It was smooth sailing from there, and Story ended up facing training brother Austin Hunt; Story took first and Hunt placed second.
In a separate division, Ms Lynsey Eberle faced off against a seasoned Master for first place in a match which rivaled Story’s earlier bout for match of the day. After both competitors scored points, including Eberle ceding a point to her opponent for leaving the ring, the match went to overtime; Eberle fought well but was edged out by the more experienced fighter and claimed second place.
Mr Logan Olson competed in the adult blackbelt men’s sparring division, taking first in an energetic match with a second degree blackbelt in which he showcased some excellent kicking skills with a number of accurate techniques to the head.
Alliance also saw four competitors finish in the power challenge; Mr Logan Olson finished with gold, while Lynsey Eberle, Justin Story and Cameron Lemere all took home silver. Power challenge is a contest in which a competitor performs three elementary striking techniques to a padded target, which electronically measures the force delivered.
Finally, both Lynsey Eberle and Justin Story would secure the Grand Championship awards for their age groups due to their strong and capable performance throughout the tournament. Congratulations to them on strong showings and achievement after training hard to prepare and improve.
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.
