Hiyah! Karate students win championship
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Two Opp students and one Andalusia student won grand championships Saturday in the South Alabama Karate Open Championships at Straughn High School.
Cody Davis and Jeremy Lane, of the Opp Yoshukai Karate class, and Natalie Hale Richburg of the Andalusia Isshinryu Karate class, took home the top honors at the 16th annual open.
Davis won in youth black belt kata and weapons; Lane won in men’s black belt fighting; and Richburg won in the adult black belt kata and weapons categories.
Andalusia’s Isshinryu students placed in 59 divisions, including 24 first-place finishes.
There were 14 different martial arts schools who competed at the event from a four-state area.
Ashley Dolihite of Gulf Breeze, Fla., won the women’s black belt fighting grand championship.
Andalusia students placed as follows:
• Jaxxon Batson, yellow belt — first place in weapons and musical, and second place in kata;
• Josh Blackstock, yellow belt — first place in fighting, and second place in kata;
• Caleb Blackston, brown belt — second place in kata and fighting;
• Dillon Blackston, blue belt — third place in fighting;
• Garrett Blackston, brown belt — second place in weapons, and fourth place in kata;
• Reese Burkhardt, youth black belt — second place in weapons and kata, and first place in fighting;
• Allen Butler, 15-17 year black belt — first place in kata, fighting and musical, and third place in weapons;
• Landon Caldwell, green belt — first place in weapons, kata and fighting;
• Dixon Fite, yellow belt — third place in fighting;
• Thomas Hale, men’s yellow belt — first place in kata;
• Marie Josey, 13-14 year black belt — first place in fighting, and fourth place in weapons and kata;
• Christian Kime, yellow belt — fourth place in kata;
• Phillip Martin, men’s black belt — second place in weapons and kata, and fourth place in fighting;
• Tony McLaughlin, yellow belt — first place in kata, and second place in fighting;
• Kila Owens, yellow belt — first place in fighting, second place in kata and third place in weapons;
• Konnor Owens, yellow belt — first place in fighting, third place in kata and fourth place in weapons;
• Dev Patel, brown belt — first place in fighting;
• Krish Patel, white belt — first place in fighting and fourth place in kata;
• Taj Patel, brown belt — first place in weapons and musical, second place in kata and third place in fighting;
• Natalie Hale Richburg, women’s black belt — adult black belt grand champion, first place in kata and third place in weapons;
• Thomas Rudd, men’s black belt — first place in fighting;
• Dalton Spears, brown belt — second place in weapons, kata and musical, and fourth place in fighting;
• Riley Tucker, yellow belt — first place in musical;
• Abigail Walker, green belt — second place in weapons and fighting;
• Nathaniel Walker, green belt — first place in weapons and kata, and third place in fighting; and
• Sarah Williams, blue belt — second place in weapons and fighting.