The AKF Spring Grove Flying Dragons was among 16 martial arts schools with students participating in the Spring Tournament of Champions recently. To say they were successful is an understatement. In particular, the students from Spring Grove dominated in the Forms category, where they had eight first-place finishes and two seconds. They also had a first in Free Fighting and another in Ju-Jitsu.

“All of our students (who participated) received trophies,” said Master Bonnie Thiel of the Spring Grove school. “In a tournament, only the top three competitors in each group receive a trophy. We earned 22 trophies that day.”

The students competed at their individual levels, from white belt to black belt. Here is a rundown of Spring Grove’s results:

      Cliff Benz: 2^nd Place Forms, 3^rd Place Free Fighting, 1^st Place Ju-Jitsu

      Chloe Benz: 1^st Place Forms, 4^th Place Free Fighting

      Conor Benz: 1^st Place Forms, 2^nd Place Free Fighting, 2^nd Place Ju-Jitsu

      Julia Frys: 1^st Place Forms

      Tilak Patel: 1^st Place Forms, 3^rd Place Free Fighting, 3^rd Place Weapons, 3^rd Place Breaking

      Sam Sobin: 1^st Place Forms, 3^rd Place Free Fighting

      Austen Lonergan: 3^rd Place Forms

      Luke Dowell: 1^st Place Forms

      Maddie Malek: 3^rd Place Forms

      Darlene Williams: 4^th Place Forms

      Frank Williams: 3^rd Place Forms, 4^th Place Free Fighting

      Kaleb Williams: 2^nd Place Forms

      Keegan Williams: 1^st Place Forms, 1^st Place Free Fighting

      Braiden Williams: 1^st Place Forms

Master Thiel said the event was a great opportunity for students to test themselves against other students from other schools. While the recognition of a trophy is nice, the real goal is to see improvement.

“An event like this helps the students to recognize how much they’ve learned,” she said. “Even if you don’t win first place, when you compete at a tournament, you realize that your training really is making a difference.”

She said the school will next attend a tournament up in Eau Claire, Wis., in August.

For more information about AKF Spring Grove Flying Dragons, call 815-675-3504 or visit http://www.sgflyingdragons.com.