Alliance Taekwondo participated in the 2016 Capitol City Championship Invitational on January 23rd with a crew of fifteen solid competitors. The Alliance team included blackbelts Caleb and Logan Olson, junior blackbelts Austin Hunt and Braden Fritel, and underbelts Cameron Lemere, Logan King, Madison and Mason Rud, Andrew Burger, Alex Hamilton, Camden Archambeau, Ben and Gavin Fryhling and Addy and Keith Smette. The team took home forty-two awards, including seventeen first place finishes, fourteen second place finishes and six third place finishes.
At the jr blackbelt level, Mr Braden Fritel earned a second place finish in a very competitive forms division; he also placed second in weapons with an underpracticed but still strong staff set. In underbelt forms, Logan King earned an honorable mention at the advanced level. In the intermediate divisions, Ms Madison Rud took first in forms and Mr Mason Rud took third. In the junior divisions, Mr Andrew Burger took second, and in younger divisions Mr Alex Hamilton took first while newcomer Camden Archambeau took second. In the beginner divisions, Mr Gavin Fryhling took first while twin brother Ben earned an honorable mention. Ms Addy Smette took second place with brother Keith taking third.
In breaking, red belts Cameron Lemere and Logan King took second place in their respective advanced divisions. Siblings Mason and Madison Rud took first and third respectively in separate intermediate divisions. Mr Andrew Burger took first in his juniors breaking division, while Mr Alex Hamilton took third in a younger division. At the beginner level, Ms Addy Smette took first, Mr Gavin Fryhling took second, Mr Keith Smette took third and Mr Ben Fryhling won an honorable mention.
In the jr blackbelt breaking divisions, brothers Austin Hunt and Braden Fritel struck hard and fast to claim the top two spots, earning first and second respectively.
In the underbelt sparring divisions, Mr Logan King and Mr Cameron Lemere battled through two sides of the same advanced bracket to end up facing each other for the top placement. In a fast but friendly bout King took first, edging out the younger Lemere who was relegated to a very respectable second place finish. Madison and Mason Rud competed in separate adult intermediate divisions, both denying all comers to take first place each. In the younger intermediate divisions, Mr Andrew Burger waded through opponents to take first; Mr Alex Hamilton had a similar showing, netting first in a separate division. In the beginner rings, Ms Addy Smette, Mr Ben Fryhling and Mr Gavin Fryhling all took first place in separate divisions. After being defeated by teammate Ben Fryhling in the second heat, Mr Keith Smette won his final match and claimed third place in his division.
In the jr blackbelt division fighting divisions, Mr Braden Fritel cleared his opponents until being matched against Roughrider rival Wyatt Hermanson; in a virtually scoreless match that went into a second overtime, Hermanson won a single point to claim first, with Fritel taking home second place.
Mr Logan Olson competed in the adult blackbelt men’s sparring division, battling two Roughrider opponents and taking third after the dust cleared.
Alliance also saw five competitors finish in the power challenge; Logan Olson, Austin Hunt, Cameron Lemere and Alex Hamilton all took home gold for their age groups, and Braden Fritel took home silver in his 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.
