Le Mars Students Earn State Champ Titles, Compete at Districts

Three local Taekwondo students earned top honors at the North District Championship, May 31.Participants included Becky Kinney, Angela Von Hagel and Jennifer Bockelmann.

Kinney, Von Hagel and Bockelmann were among the top 10 in their divisions to compete in the district tournament.

They had compiled enough points in their divisions throughout the year to be eligible for the invite-only tournament.

District results included:

• Kinney, district champion in first degree black belt women's traditional weapons and third in form, sparring and combat weapons sparring.

• Von Hagel, district champion in second degree black belt women's form, second in traditional weapons and third in sparring and combat weapons sparring.

• Bockelmann, second in first degree black belt women's sparring, form and combat weapons sparring.

Kinney and Von Hagel, as district champions in their category, are invited to compete at the world championship in Little Rock, Ark., in July.

Since July 2013, the local Taekwondo members have been competing in various events.

If they place first, second or third in any category, for example, weapons, they receive points.

At the end of the tournament year, those points are added up and the person in each state with the most points wins state champion, she said.

State results for the Le Mars team include:

• Kinney, champion in first degree black belt women's traditional weapons.

• Mike Slota, champion in fourth-degree black belt sparring.

• Von Hagel, champion in women's second-degree black belt form, traditional weapons and combat weapons sparring.

• Bockelmann, champion in first degree black belt women's sparring and combat weapons sparring.