Ishida and Healy Earn Gold and Bronze Medals at 2017 Universiade
Days 3 through 5 of taekwondo competition at the 2017 World University Games (Univeriade) in Taipei featured 12 USA athletes competing in sparring, culminating in a gold and bronze medal for the team on Day 5.
Jaysen Ishida (-74kg, University of Hawaii, Manoa) won the first gold medal for taekwondo at the Games and the 5th gold medal among all sports for Team USA. Ishida won 16-10 over Muhammed Emin Yildiz (TUR) in the round of 32, won 23-6 over Marcos Vinicius Dantas A Reis (BRA) in the round of 16, won 12-9 over Jack Marek Marton (AUS) in the quarterfinals, won 12-6 over Tsung-Yeh Yang (TPE) in the semifinals, and over Ramin Hosseingholi Zadeh (IRI) 18-9 in the finals for the historic win.
Jonathan Healy (+87kg, Liberty University) earned a bronze medal. He won 23-3 over Ravi Kadyan (IND) in the round of 16, won 9-1 over Tzu-Yi Tseng (TPE) in the quarterfinasl, before going out to Maicon De Andrade Siqueira (BRA) 3-3 (3-0) in golden point in the semifinals.
Also competing on Day 5 were Makayla Gorka (-62kg, University of Central Oklahoma) and Morgan McGarvey (+73kg, Northeast Iowa Community College). Gorka advanced over to Rahaf Ismail (JOR) by penalty disqualification (12-15) in the round of 32 before falling to Daniela Rotolo (ITA) 5-25 in the round of 16, and McGarvey lost to Ting-Hsia Ma (TPE) 6-18 in the round of 16.
Four sparring athletes competed on Day 4. Connor Wilson (-80kg, University of California, Los Angeles) won 8-7 over Aktan Sabuov (KAZ) in the round of 32 before going out 10-10 (SUP) in golden point to Ismael Bouzid Shouihli (FRA) in the round of 16. Kendall Yount (-67kg, Centre College) lost 5-19 to Eva Calvo Gomez (ESP) in the round of 32. Isaac Weintraub (-58kg, University of Central Oklahoma) lost 6-12 to Gulzhigit Kochkorbaev (RUS) in the round of 32. Jancee Ro (-49kg, Polk State University) lost by DSQ to Seema Kannaujiya (IND) in the round of 32.
Day 3 also featured four sparring athletes. Abbey Ardiana (-57kg, Utah Valley University) won 12-3 over Akbota Ismagulova (KAZ) in the round of 32 before going out to Paulina Armeria (MEX) 4-8 in the round of 16. Alondra Venegas (-46kg, DePaul University) advanced over Haiqiong Huang (CHN) in the round of 32 by DSQ before going out 9-17 to Rukiye Yildirim (TUR) in the round of 16. David Kim (-54kg, Pikes Peak Community College) lost to Chen-Yu Wang (TPE) 5-9 in the round of 32, and William Jackson (-68kg, University of Texas, Dallas) lost to Seyedhossein Ehsanipetroudi (IRI) 1-27 in the round of 64.
Two days of competition remain with four individuals remaining on Day 6 and team sparring on Day 7. Team USA Taekwondo currently holds one gold, one silver and two bronze medals and will seek to add to that count during the last two days of competition.
Taekwondo Earns First Two Team USA Medals of Universiade
The first two days of taekwondo competition at the 2017 Summer World University Games (Universiade) finished with two medals for Team USA. On day one, Edward Jeong (University of Bridgeport) earned a silver medal in male individual poomsae, and Adalis “AJ” Munoz (Tarrant County College) earned a bronze medal. The medals were the first among all sports for Team USA at the Universiade. In this year’s new format, athletes had to perform one recognized poomsae and one freestyle poomsae in the final round.
On day two, the team continued its strong performance with all divisions reaching the final (top 8) round in deep fields. The men’s team of Jeong, Albert Jong (San Jose State University) and Kody Han (University of California, Berkeley) earned close 5th place, missing the podium by a score of just 0.01. Kelsey Ha (Evergreen Valley College) and Jong also finished in 5th place. The female team of Christina Castillo (Austin Community College), Samery Moras (Utah Valley University) and Munoz finished in 7th place on the back of a strong performance. Said head poomsae coach Long Nguyen, “Everyone left everything on the mat but most importantly, we represented Team USA in the best manner possible.”
The next 5 days of competition will feature sparring competition from 16 USA athletes.
Team USA Departs to Taipei for Summer World University Games
The National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) is fielding 22 athletes for Team USA at the 2017 Summer World University Games (Summer Universiade) in Taipei, Taiwan. The NCTA president is Dr. Russell Ahn, who is also serving as the International Sports University Federation (FISU) delegate for taekwondo at the event. The team will participate in opening ceremonies on August 19, followed by 7 days of competition from August 20-26.
The first two days of competition will feature poomsae, or forms competition. The poomsae events will be contested according to a new format that required contestants to perform both recognized poomsae as well as freestyle poomsae in the final round. Representing Team USA in poomsae at the 2017 Summer Universiade will be Adalis “A.J.” Munoz (Tarrant County College) in the Female Individual category, Edward Jeong (University of Bridgeport) in the Male Individual Category, Albert Jong (San Jose State University) and Kelsey Ha (Evergreen Valley College) in the Mixed Pair Category, Munoz, Samery Moras (Utah Valley University) and Christina Castillo (Austin Community College) in the Female Team category, and Jeong, Jong and Kody Han (University of California, Berkeley) in the Male Team category.
Returning poomsae members to the poomsae team are Edward Jeong, Albert Jong, Kelsey Ha and Kody Han. Samery Moras was a former member of the sparring team as well.
Over the next four days, individual sparring competition will be contested, with four athletes competing each day. Individual sparring will be followed one day of male and female team sparring.
Our women’s sparring team for the 2017 Summer Universiade will be Alondra Venegas (-46 kg, DePaul University), Jancee Ro (-49kg, Polk State University), Aziza Chambers (-53kg, Barry University), Abbey Ardiana (-57kg, Utah Valley University), Makayla Gorka (-62kg, University of Central Oklahoma), Kendall Yount (-67kg, Centre College), Madelynn Gorman-Shore (-73kg, Arapahoe Community College), and Morgan McGarvey (+73kg, Northeast Iowa Community College).
The men’s sparring team at the 2017 Summer Universiade are comprised of David J. Kim (-54kg, Pikes Peak Community College), Isaac Weintraub (-58kg, University of Central Oklahoma), (-63kg, George El-Chemali (Sierra College), William Jackson (-68kg, University of Texas, Dallas), Jaysen Ishida (-74kg, University of Hawaii, Manoa), Connor Wilson (-80kg, University of California, Los Angeles), Drew Thompson (-87kg, Washington State University), and Jonathan Healy (+87kg, Liberty University).
Returning members to the sparring team include Aziza Chambers (2011 bronze medalist), William Jackson (2015 bronze medalist), Jayson Ishida and Jonathan Healy.
The team leader is Wonro Lee, the male team director is Jinseob Kim, the female team director is Sanghee Kim, and the team manager is Rex Hatfield. The sparring coaches are head coach Changwon Choi, Jacky Baik, Christina Bayley and Steven Rosbarsky. The poomsae coaches are head coach Long Nguyen and Haksung Kim. The team doctor is Sherri Lashomb.
The USA referees appointed to work the event are Raymond Hsu and Jaime Schulte.
NCTA Sends Team to Taekwondowon in Muju, Korea
The NCTA sent a team of thirteen athletes to the Taekwondowon Park in Muju, South Korea on July 2, 2017 for a 7-day training camp. The athletes are training with members of the Korean University Sparring Team under top collegiate Korean coaches. The athletes are training every day, twice per day with their Korean counterparts. Many of the athletes are preparing for the Summer World University Games this August in Taipei, Chinese Taipei. This trip was made possible through collaboration with the Korean University Taekwondo Federation (KUTF).
Athletes on the trip include the following 2017 National Collegiate Team Members, 2017 National Collegiate Team Alternates, and 2016 National Collegiate Champions: Zachery Budde, Rae Drach, Anja Gardziola, Makayla Gorka, Amanda Gotschall, David Kim, Morgan McGarvey, Joseph Ong, Andrew “Drew” Pluemer, Blanca “Jenny” Quezada, Philip “Vincie” Ripepi, Alondra Venegas and Isaac Weintraub.
The team leader for the trip is NCTA President, Dr. Russell Ahn. The team director is Jin Kim. The coaches are Christina Bayley and Jacky Baik. The Team Doctor and Manager for the trip is Dr. Sherri Lashomb.
The NCTA would like to specially thank James Kim of Mooto USA for his generous sponsorship of the team jackets and T-shirts.
42nd NCTA National Collegiate Taekwondo Championships and National High School Championships Held April 1-2, 2017
8 years
The National Collegiate Taekwondo Association held the 42nd National Collegiate Taekwondo Championship and 4th National High School Championship at the University of California, San Diego on April 1 and 2, 2017. The championship also served as the team trials for the 2017 Summer World University Games, in Taipei, Taiwan in August 2017. The NCTA president is Dr. Russell Ahn, the tournament director was Rex Hatfield, and the tournament host was Jacky Baik.
The first day of competition on April 1 featured the black belt collegiate poomsae team trials. The black belt team trials poomsae divisions were contested according to a new format that required contestants to perform both recognized poomsae as well as freestyle poomsae. Earning berths on the 2017 Summer World University Games team in these poomsae divisions were Adalis Munoz (Tarrant County College) in the Female Individual category, Edward Jeong (University of Bridgeport) in the Male Individual Category, Albert Jong (San Jose State University) and Kelsey Ha (Evergreen Valley College) in the Mixed Pair Category, Munoz, Samery Moras (Utah Valley University) and Christina Castillo (Austin Community College) in the Female Team category, and Jeong, Jong and Kody Han (University of California, Berkeley) in the Male Team category.
The black belt collegiate sparring team trials were held on the second day of competition, April 2. The winners in the female division were Alondra Venegas (-46 kg, DePaul University), Jancee Ro (-49kg, Polk State University), Aziza Chambers (-53kg, Barry University), Abbey Ardiana (-57kg, Utah Valley University), Makayla Gorka (-62kg, University of Central Oklahoma), Kendall Yount (-67kg, Centre College), Madelynn Gorman-Shore (-73kg, Arapahoe Community College), and Morgan McGarvey (+73kg, Northeast Iowa Community College). The men’s winners were David J.W. Kim (-54kg, Pikes Peak Community College), Isaac Weintraub (-58kg, University of Central Oklahoma), (-63kg, George El-Chemali (Sierra College), William Jackson (-68kg, University of Texas, Dallas), Jaysen Ishida (-74kg, University of Hawaii, Manoa), Connor Wilson (-80kg, University of California, Los Angeles), Eric Mastrolonardo (-87kg, Duke University), and Jonathan Healy (+87kg, Liberty University).
Returning members to the US National Collegiate Team include Jeong, Jong, Ha, Han and Moras on the poomsae side, and Chambers, Jackson, Ishida and Healy on the men’s side. Chambers and Jackson are both past World University Games sparring bronze medalists at the 2011 and 2015 Games, respectively.
Special recognition was given to Isaac Weintraub, who earned Freshman of the year, Abbey Ardiana, who earned Female Athlete of the Year, and Jaysen Ishida, who earned Male Athlete of the Year. Coach Christina Bayley was named Coach of the Year.
Team awards were given based on the total number of gold, silver and bronze medals earned. In the Championship Division (black belts), first place went to the University of California, Berkeley. Second place in the Championship Division was shared between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Davis. In the Combined Division (black belts and color belts), first place was earned by the University of California, Davis, with the United States Military Academy in second place and Brown University in third place. In the Novice Division (color belts), first place was again earned by the University of California, Davis, with the United States Military Academy and Brown University again taking second and third places.
This year featured increased participation in the high school divisions, with athletes competing for the title of high school national champion. In poomsae the high school champions were Rikki Jao (Rancho Cucamonga High School) in the individual female division, Kelvin Tran (Murrieta Valley High School) in individual male poomsae, Paige Karpinen and Derrick Kwong (Oak Ridge High School) in mixed pair poomsae, and Natasha Mai, Taylor Mai, and Jasmine Trinh (Great Oak High School) in female team poomsae.
Female high school sparring champions included Faith Forster (-42kg, Boiling Springs High School), Marissa Mabanag (-49kg, Santa Teresa High School), Maria Lopez (-52kg, Rio Linda High School), Karla Perera (-55kg, Chapparal High School), Stephanie Douglas (-59kg, Oakville High School), Skylar Farrell (-63kg, Dana Hills High School), and Andraya Wilson (+68kg, MT Miguel High School). The male high school sparring champions were Dylan Pabo (-48kg, Santa Teresa High School), Philip El-Chemali (-51kg, Roseville High School), Brandon Vistiacion (-55kg, Silver Creek High School), Derrick Kwak (-59kg, Oak Christian High School), Brian Jo (-63kg, Woodgrove High School), Andrew Heiati (-68kg, High Bluff Academy), Nathaniel Kim (-73kg, Aliso Niguel High School), and Noah Kim (+73kg, Aliso Niguel High School).
For full results, please click here. Press release written by Dan Chuang, NCTA Secretary General.
