Tae Kwon Do Hosts First Pan American University Championship

From 23-25 Oct., the Army West Point Taekwondo Team hosted the First Pan American University Championship in Cristl Arena. Many of the worlds best fighters competed and put on a great event. The cadets came out on fire Friday night for the first ever United States Collegiate Taekwondo team fights, winning all of their matches against other universities, leading them into the weekend’s individual events with great momentum. The colored belt members of the team put together a great effort, winning almost every division, and in many cases, setting up all West Point finals. CDT Alexandra Baker kept her collegiate undefeated streak alive en-route to a Gold Medal; she has not had a match go the distance this year, ending every round early by domination. On the way to his Gold Medal, CDT John Mueller had a knockout victory over RMC in the semifinals, setting up an all West Point final match. CDTs Will Xu and Chloe Smith both showed what hard work can achieve, both winning Gold in both forms and fighting. The highlight for the black belts was CDT Matt Galea winning the Men’s Gold in Fin weight and earning a berth in the Pan American Senior Championship next year. Many of the team’s black belts had great matches against some of the world’s top fighters, gaining valuable experience for the collegiate circuit. The team won best male team and best female team, edging out Liberty University (2nd) and RMC (3rd).