The NCTA USA National Collegiate Taekwondo Team competed at the 2024 FISU America Games from November 8 to November 10th in Cali, Colombia. Nineteen NCTA athletes represented the Uni-USA Team with a 2nd place overall finish among all countries in competition. The team earned 20 medals, including 5 Gold, 6 Silver, and 9 Bronze medals.

Congratulations to all athletes, coaches, and staff for a stellar week of competition! Thank you, also, to the families and friends who traveled with the team and provided on-the-ground support.

Full list of athletes’ results are below:

Poomsae Athletes

Female Individual Kaitlyn Reclusado (Skyline College) – BRONZE
Male Individual Gavin Zhao (Cornell University) – BRONZE
Mixed Pair Kaitlyn Reclusado (Skyline College), Gavin Zhao (Cornell University) – GOLD
Male Team Ryan Real (University of Pennsylvania), Gavin Zhao (Cornell University), Brandon Cho (UCLA) – GOLD
More pictures here

Female Sparring Athletes

-46kg Auryon Duque (Los Angeles Pierce College) – SILVER
-49kg Amber Avroya (Broward College) – SILVER
-53kg Kayla Shanahan (Queens College) – SILVER
-57kg Bella Morrissey (Grand Canyon University) – BRONZE
-62kg Jessica Gniedziejko (Bard College) – GOLD
-67kg Anna McGrade (Cornell University)- BRONZE
+73kg Naqiya Caderbhoy (Moorpark College) – SILVER

Female Team Sparring

Anna McGrade (Cornell University), Jessica Gniedziejko (Bard College), Kayla Shanahan (Queens College), Amber Avroya (Broward College) – BRONZE
More pictures here

Male Sparring Athletes

-54kg Zardo Villanueva (Mount San Jacinto College) – BRONZE
-58kg Alejandro Rayas (University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley) – BRONZE
-63kg Ian Hong (Rutgers University) – BRONZE
-68kg Jason Lee (University of Michigan) – SILVER
-74kg Fergus Curran (Edmonds College) – BRONZE
-80kg Aidan Chan (University of Virginia) – GOLD
-87kg William Smith III (UCLA) – GOLD
+87kg Luis Espinosa (Broward College) – SILVER

Male Team Sparring 

William Smith III (UCLA), Aidan Chan (University of Virginia), Zardo Villanueva (Mount San Jacinto College), Alejandro Rayas (University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley) – QUARTERFINALS
More pictures here

Management Team & Coaches

Daniel Chuang, NCTA President
Sung Kim, Team Director/Head of Team
Sherri Lashomb, Team Doctor
David Lee, Head Sparring Coach
Russell Beneby, Sparring Coach
Cheyenne Lewis, Sparring Coach
Fabricio Rodriguez, Sparring Coach
Catherine Tong, Poomsae Coach/Team Manager