Y athletes champs at Tae Kwon Do

BANGOR – Three members of the Bangor Y Tae Kwon Do team were crowned state champions at the 30th annual Massachusetts State Tae Kwon Do Championship held in Marlboro, Mass. Bryant Watson, Spencer Stowe and Jonathan Daniels placed in all three categories within their divisions, and accounted for six first-place awards.

This is the first time the Bangor Y has been represented at the annual event, which this year attracted athletes from all over New England. The contingent from Bangor represented the only entry from Maine.

Watson, a 17-year-old who will be entering the U.S. Marine Corps in May, was crowned champion of his division in breaking. He also secured a third-place finish in the traditional forms category, and second in sparring.

Stowe, 14, received first-place awards in traditional forms, breaking and sparring.

Daniels, 37, placed first in both breaking and sparring, and third in traditional forms.

The three champions work under the tutelage of Ryan Keezer, a second-degree black belt and Tae Kwon Do instructor at the Bangor Y.

“I am proud of the level each of the athletes achieved in the tournament,” said Keezer. “It shows the great strength of the martial arts program at the Bangor Y.”

The group works under Olympic Tae Kwon Do standards, which translated into full-contact sparring during the daylong competition.

The forms portion of the session allowed the athletes to be judged by black belt practitioners on traditional movements of the martial art.

The breaking part of the competition allowed the participants to show a strength and artistic side to their performances as each utilized a variety of jumping and spinning kicks, and hand routines to break boards set up in stations.

The next step for the athletes is the possibility of participating in the regional qualifier held in Buffalo, N.Y. Their goal is to reach the national Tae Kwon Do Championship.

For more information, call Sandy Fuller, Bangor Y group exercise coordinator, at 941-2815.