AAU Team Trials

Well, we all arrived safely in Fort Lauderdale! Hurricane Hanna was on her way out and Hurricane Ike is expected to hit in a few days. WHEW - that was close! Emily Pearn and her dad, Tim along with Kacey Anderson and her mom, Kim were anxiously awaiting the Amateur Athlete Union’s Team Trials for the 2009 season! The girls weighed in on Friday evening without any trouble and found out who was in their division.

Kacey Anderson had two other girls in her division; Emilia Morrow, a former USAT and AAU National Team member and Devon Lewis, Arlene Limas’ student. Arlene Limas is an old friend of Master Al’s and a 1988 Gold medalist in the Seoul Olympics.

Emily Pearn had two other girls in her division as well. Selina Tubbs is a former World Champion and National Team member, and Natalia Correa, the girl Emily competed against at the AAU Nationals in Madison. Selina Tubbs was disqualified because she was not able to make weight. She later received a special exception to enter the higher weight class. That left Natalia Correa in Emily’s division and Emily would need to beat her twice to make the 2009 Team!
Competition started promptly at 9am on Saturday morning. This was an incredibly special event for ABBC and for all Illinois athletes. This is the first time Illinois has had ten athletes competing for a spot on the National team and this was the first time ABBC had black belt athletes old enough to qualify for Team Trials! It was a round-robin format and we were excited about the opportunity for Illinois to make its mark on a national stage!

Emily was the first to spar in match number 28 and she gapped Natalia 7-0 in the middle of the second round! Go Emily! She needs to win one more time in the finals to secure her spot on the team!

Kacey was up next with match number 30 and sparred Devon Lewis. Kacey went the full two rounds and fell short with a score of 2-4. It’s not over for Kacey; round robin format gives her two more chances to make the finals if she wins her next match!

Kacey and Emilia Morrow competed in match number 99. Emilia had already beaten Devon by point gap in an earlier match. Kacey needed a win to give herself a chance at the finals. Master Al and Kacey decided to try a new strategy against the very experienced and ring savvy Morrow. The strategy was very successful! Kacey threw Emilia’s rhythm off and made her work for every point! Kacey scored the first point, and at the end of the first round, Kacey was up by one point. Kacey competed well and challenged Emilia. With less than a minute remaining in the match, Kacey was down by one and stepped out of the ring losing one point. Although the victory went to Morrow with a score of 3-5 in the second round, this match was by far Kacey’s best performance against her. Emilia Morrow will remember Kacey Anderson when they meet next year at Team Trials! Excellent job Kacey – you made us proud!

Emily’s next match was in the finals. If Natalia wins, they spar each other again! You must win the best of three. Emily listened to Master Al and performed extremely well! Emily went the full three rounds and wins the match 7-3! When she turned to face Master Al, she ran and jumped into his arms with elation! Her father, Kacey, Kim and the entire Champion team were all cheering for her! Emily Pearn is the first ABBC student to make a National Taekwondo Team! Congratulations to Emily and to every athlete that spars – you helped prepare her for this level of competition, this is a victory for us ALL!