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Lewisville, Carrollton ATA claim national titles: Showing progress in third season
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
With more than 2,000 schools across the nation, the American Tae Kwon Do Association boasts the largest single-system martial arts program in country.
Recently, the top performers from throughout the states descended upon Little Rock, Ark. for the 2012 ATA World Championships and many local competitors had strong showings, including athletes from Lewisville ATA and Carrollton ATA.
Athletes qualified for nationals by placing in the top 10 in their respective events at previous qualifiers.
"It's pretty unheard of for a new school like ours," said Cody Coleman, instructor. "But we have great students and experienced instructors that do a great job."
Leading the way for Lewisville was the father-son combination of Kevin Engel and Brandon Engel, who combined to take two national titles apiece, including the defense of a title last year for Kevin.
Kevin -- a second-degree black belt -- competed in the 50-59 age grouping in traditional weapon, sparring, extreme form, extreme weapon, creative form and creative weapon.
Brandon -- a first-degree black belt -- took part in boys 9-11 in traditional form and traditional weapon despite having his training halted three weeks before the event after receiving multiple stitches when a and-break on a bike jammed into his thigh.
In girls 8-and-under, Natalie Smith rose to the top in traditional forms and traditional weapon, while Ralph Manuel did the same on the boys side to go with performances in extreme form and extreme weapon.
In girls 9-11, Michelle Aguilar participated in traditional form, traditional weapon and creative weapon.
"It's pretty cool with the wide array of ages that compete," Coleman said. "Last year, we actually had a 73 year old and a 74 year old compete and win titles. It really can be a great family event."
First-degree black belt Christian Williams, meanwhile, competed in the men's 18-29 division and took first in creative form and creative weapon in addition to participating in traditional forms, traditional weapons and sparring.
"It's a fascinating story because Christian is actually a special needs student who had to overcome a lot of anxiety to get out there and compete in front of everyone," Coleman said. "He did a great job and now he is thinking about starting a satellite program for other special needs athletes."
While the World Championships signify the end of the season for Lewisville and Carrollton ATA, there isn't much time to celebrate or dwell on previous results as the new season was up and running just a day later.
"We finished Friday and were able to get right back out there on Saturday if we wanted to," Coleman said.
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