Army Martial Arts Takes 1st Place in the National Collegiate Championships

The Army Martial Arts team competed in the National Collegiate Taekwondo Association National Championships at the University of Colorado Boulder. The competition was a two-day individual’s tournament. Cadets Eli Eichenberger and Taylor Wing took first and second respectively in Red Belt Heavyweight sparring. Cadets Ellis Valdez, Cimingmao Lor, and Jackson Darash placed first, second and third in the Blue Belt Division. Cadets Bradley Harrison and Jason Viyar earned second place medals and Cadet John Mueller took first in Men’s Beginner sparring. In the Women’s Color Belt Divisions, Cadets Kristel Guino and Jennifer Huntley earned second and third in Women’s Beginner sparring. Cadets Alexandra Baker and Kayla Johnson both took first place in their respective Women’s Beginner weight classes. Additionally, Cadet Ellis Valdez won third place in Blue Belt Forms and Cadet Sarah Juhn won third place in Women’s White Belt Forms. In the Black Belt divisions, Cadet Wonha Kim took second in Women’s Heavyweight, Caleb Lim took 2nd in Men’s Heavyweight, and Matthew Galea took 2nd in Men’s flyweight. Cadets Alexandra Baker, John Mueller, Ellis Valdez, and Eli Eichenberger all won NCTA National Champion titles and the Army Team won five gold medals, eight silver and three bronze. West Point won 1st place in the Color Belt divisions and 1st place overall beating out 72 colleges in the competition. Story