Taekwondo team competes in ECTC meet at Princeton, preps for NCAT championships at UC Berkeley

Sunday, February 25

Princeton, NJ

7:30 AM

Liberty University Club Sports

Princeton Tournament

Sophomore Ericson Lehmann was part of a black belt trio that advanced to the quarterfinals at the ECTC competition at Princeton last month. (Photo by Reyna Collazo)

Taekwondo team competes in ECTC meet at Princeton, preps for NCAT championships at UC Berkeley

3/25/2024 4:52:00 PM | Taekwondo

The Flames will send 12 athletes (nine color belts and three black belts) to the University of California Berkeley for the April 12-14 nationals.

Liberty University's taekwondo team concluded its regular-season competition with a trip to Princeton (N.J.) University for an East Coast Taekwondo Conference (ECTC) tournament late last month.

The Flames and Lady Flames fared well in both the men's and women's sparring and Poomsae (forms) divisions at the Feb. 25 event. The women's black belt sparring team of senior Jenna (Greene) Gonino and sophomore Xena Sawyer reached the semifinals despite having only two athletes, meaning both had to win their matches in order to advance after forfeiting one match. Meanwhile, the men's black belt sparring trio of sophomores Ericson Lehmann and Joseph Kim and junior Jackson Hale advanced to the quarterfinals.

The women's sparring tandem of senior Sophia Varrati and junior Stephanie Yuen and trio of sophomores Khara Pastean and Hannah Wharton and senior Ioanna Munteanu were both eliminated in the round of 16.

In Poomsae, the women's team of Pastean, Wharton, and freshman Emily Sloane reached the round of 16.

"I was proud of the way everyone's pulled together," said Liberty Head Coach Tom Childress, who was not able to make the trip due to having knee replacement surgery last month. "Jim Scott and Cameron Connelly ('22) were chosen for their ability to do what they do, to pick up and run the team, and they do a great job."

Scott and Connelly will travel with 12 team members — three black belts and nine color belts — to the April 11-15 National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) National Championships at the University of California Berkeley. Seniors Chyanne Armes, Paul Bearchell, Felicity Bendever, Noah Butcher, and Varrati; juniors Gonino, Hale, Katherine Rioux, and Yuen; and sophomores Julia Eesley, Lehmann, and Pastean will represent Liberty at the four-day competition.

"They'll compete for individual championships divided into three parts," Childress said. "We know there is more to it than just going to compete. If all of our guys go and do well individually, we could place well as a team. For me, all I care about is that they stay safe and have fun with it."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer