The SUNY Brockport Tae Kwon Do team traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana to participate in the annual Midwest Regional Tournament directed by the World Martial Arts Association (WMAA) and hosted by the Indianapolis Club. Martial artists from across the country participated and the event consisted of both individual and team competitions. The Brockport club continued its proud tradition of success by having team members win or place in the top three in every division and category that they competed in, with a total of nineteen first place trophies. The Brockport team also won first place in the college division. Junior Chandra Pankratz, Yellow belt, placed first for both forms and freestyle sparing. She was eligible to compete head to head with older students and placed third in the combined green and yellow belt division. "I met some amazing people and they have become a second family to me," Pankratz said. Sophomore Devon Starks, Green belt, placed first in form and freestyle for women's green belts. She then entered the mixed division consisting of both men and women and placed second overall. Matthew Bala, a junior and also a Green belt, placed first in forms and freestyle for men's green belts and placed first over all for the combined men's and women's division, narrowly winning against teammate Devon Starks in overtime. Junior Matthew Costello, Purple belt, tied for first in forms and placed third in freestyle in his division. Senior Meghan Leis, Brown belt, and Brockport alum Carolyn Arnold, Brown belt, swept the women's Brown belt division and ended up placing as part of a three way tie for first place in forms and a two-way tie for freestyle. The other member of the three-way tie ended up taking her Black belt test at the end of the tournament. Graduate student Merle Salisbury, 1st degree and Matthew Angell 1st degree alum, endured an intense series of matches in their division: they were undefeated in sparring and ended up in a three-way tie for first place. During the forms competition for men's first degree Black belts, SUNY Brockport showed its dominance yet again as Angell and Salisbury tied for first place. Honor's Program student and senior James Parry, second degree, continued his five-year tradition of dominating his division and ended up placing in a tie for first in both forms and freestyle. He has never lost in an Indianapolis tournament since joining the club in 2001, and was named the Tournament College Grand Champion for the fifth year in a row by his instructor. Several other members of the Brockport Team placed in their divisions and received recognition for their participation at the tournament. The club Instructor, Michael Jones, fifth degree said, "The results of the tournament speak for themselves; our students and hard-working, dedicated and have shown they can compete against nationally ranked martial artists and win. I am very pleased at the efforts of the team members and how they conducted themselves at the event." Dawn Jones, professor of mathematics, fourth degree and club advisor, said, "I am pleased that we have maintained our standing as the number 1 ranked college at the Indy Tournament." Jones also competed and has continued her long track record of being undefeated at the Indianapolis Tournament The tournament concluded with a belt test for eligible members. Four Brockport students successfully passed the tests for advancement. Pankratz became Brockport's newest green belt, both Starks and Bala received the rank of purple belt and Costello has become one of the few Brockport students to ever reach the prestigious rank of Brown belt in the WMAA. For information on the club and information on Tae Kwon Do on the SUNY Brockport Campus, e-mail Jones at djones@brockport.edu. (submitted material) May 6, 2007 |
