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About 10 people from Monroe Martial Arts and New Glarus Taekwondo, including local residents, will be participating in the National Taekwondo tournament in Omaha, Nebraska, at the end of this month. This tournament will be the largest participant sporting event in the United States this year with about 19,000 competitors and only three states not represented.

The team, the largest from Monroe Martial Arts and New Glarus Taekwondo to qualify, hopes to bring back gold. The national tournament is a bi-annual event, and competitors from this area have been there three times over the last six years.

To qualify for the national tournament, a competitor has to place in the top three of a state games sanctioned program.

"This is not easily done," stated Gregory Bowles, Master of Taekwondo. "There's a lot of training and class time that goes into getting ready for these tournaments. Some people have trained the entire two years for this; however, there has to be a balance between studying and practice."

Two purple belts that will be competing in the national tournament include Carrie Quinn, 10, and Wyatt Emmerton, 12. Both of these students joined in October and have peaked at the right time; this isn't something that everyone can do.

"Quinn has one grand champion award that she won against much older competitors, including black belts; her form is flawless," explained Bowles. "Emmerton is very gifted, and he is doing phenomenal."

Both Quinn and Emmerton are excited to compete and their goal is, of course, "to take first place," they said.

Janelle Mathews

Carrie Quinn, Master Gregory Bowles, and Wyatt Emmerton wil be heading to Nebraska for the National Taekwondo Tournament at the end of July.

"At this tournament, I hope the athletes will have a positive experience that they will never forget. I hope they do the best that they can do; instructors have given them everything that they know and want to see their students give 100 percent in the ring," Bowles explained.

So far this season, the athletes have competed in 13 tournaments, racking up quite a bit of hardware, and they have shown heart and dedication in each tournament.

For the national tournament, there will be three returning veterans from previous national tournaments.

"I'm thrilled to be coaching the quality of students that I have been," Bowles stated. "These guys are so good, and I feel really blessed to be their coach."

Classes for New Glarus Taekwondo meet at the fitness center on 2nd Street on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., while classes for Monroe Martial Arts meet upstairs in Turner Hall on Monday and Wednesday nights from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Both schools are instructed by Master Gregory Bowles.