Nine competitors from Alliance Taekwondo made the trip out to Detroit Lakes the first weekend of June to compete in the Detroit Lakes Invitational Tournament. The team for this event was captained by jr blackbelts Austin Hunt and Braden Fritel, stepping up to show leadership in the absence of some of the more experienced blackbelts; joining them were underbelts Cameron Lemere, Logan King, Tristian Glass, Andrew Burger, Alex Hamilton and Gavin and Ben Fryhling. Together they claimed seventeen top three placements and four honorable mentions.
Alliance’s only junior blackbelt competitor, Mr Braden Fritel, earned a fourth place honorable mention in blackebelt forms with Koryo. In underbelt forms, Mr Cameron Lemere and Mr Logan King competed in separate advanced divisions, earning third place each in their respective divisions. In the intermediate divisions, Mr Tristian Glass took first place in his first ever tournament performance. In three separate beginner divisions Andrew Burger placed third, Alex Hamilton took first place and twins Gavin and Ben took fourth and second, respectively.
In an enormous breaking division of nearly twenty competitors, Mr Braden Fritel took third place, breaking quickly using difficult techniques. With speed and power, Mr Cameron Lemere took first in a younger advanced division. In separate beginner divisions, Burger claimed the first place position and Mr Alex Hamilton also secured first place in his division, while Gavin earned third place in yet another division.
It’s very important to note here that support for Mr Caleb Olson has not dwindled. Through the facilitation of Grandmaster Ted Fitzsimmons and Roughrider Taekwondo, the Hermanson family was generous enough to donate several sets of hand made nunchaku, which Master Lucas Holzhueter allowed us to include with his booster club’s silent auction at the tournament. We sold all of the sets of nunchaku but one, which the Roughrider crew gifted directly to Mr Caleb. A special thanks goes out the Roughrider, the Hermanson family, Master Lucas and everyone who bought a pair of the nunchaku and supported Mr Caleb.
In the underbelt sparring divisions, Mr Cameron fought hard in a tough division; he took a bad fall early on but persevered to finish with a fourth place honorable mention. Mr Logan King’s bracket was incorrectly adjusted in the ring after being written out correctly at the head table; as a result, Mr Logan was denied a chance to fight for third place despite being told he would get that opportunity. In an intermediate division, Mr Tristian fought well in his first ever tournament showing and claimed third place. In the beginner divisions, Mr Andrew Burger fought well in multiple matches; in a very intense final match, Mr Andrew had his only loss in four tournaments and claimed second place. In a separate, younger beginner division, Mr Alex Hamilton reprised his two and one record from the last tournament, claiming the second place spot. In another young beginner division, twins Gavin and Ben Fryhling ended up battling each other for first place after eliminating the competition; in the end, Ben beat out his brother and claimed first place with Gavin taking second right behind him.
In the jr blackbelt divisions, which were two rounds of continuous fighting per match, Mr Austin Hunt and Mr Braden Fritel competed in separate divisions. Hunt showcased some of his best fighting to date and took second place. Fritel also fought well in one of the most competitive jr blackbelt divisions of the year, and finished in fourth place after six hot, intense minutes of combat.
Alliance would like to thank Master Lucas Holzhueter for hosting the tournament and providing a solid environment for competition where Alliance students experienced both team and personal growth. 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 martial arts.
