Enso Athletes Earn National & International Honors
This summer was an incredibly busy season for the Enso Elite Tournament Team, which had more than 40 athletes attending the AAU National Championships in July, as well as more than a dozen representatives on the AAU National Team, which traveled to Hungary and Slovakia in June. Here is a brief summary of our travels and results!
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL SPORT FEDERATION (ISF) HIGH SCHOOL COMBAT GAMES – BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
AAU US National Karate Team brought just nine athletes to this competition, and three were from Enso Karate: Christine Conanan, Maile Nacu, and Zachary Gin. Christine and Zachary both earned bronze medals in kumite. They qualified for the games based on their impressive performances at the ISF USA Team Trials in March 2019. The International School Sport Federation (ISF) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and promotes the values and interests of education through sport.
WORLD UNION OF KARATE-DO FEDERATIONS (WUKF) WORLD KARATE CHAMPIONSHIPS – BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA
Twelve Enso students competed at this year’s WUKF world championships as members of the AAU US National Karate Team. They qualified by either earning an individual medal at the 2018 AAU National Championships or through a rigorous team trial event held in Ft. Lauderdale earlier in 2019. Enso’s athletes earned 10 medals at this highly competitive international event, including:
- Christine Conanan — bronze kumite
- Sensei Denise — gold kata
- Maile Nacu — silver team kumite
- Mateo Nacu — gold kata, bronze kumite, silver team kumite
- Maxine Ivey — silver team kumite
- Victoria Gin — bronze team kumite
- Zachary Gin — gold kumite, silver team kumite
Sensei Jay, Sensei Katie, Kepler Boonstra, Pam Wolf, and Ryan Daly also competed with the U.S. Team in Slovakia.
AAU NATIONAL KARATE CHAMPIONSHIPS – FT. LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA
Enso was recognized as the largest team participating at AAU’s 2019 National Championships! Our athletes competed in many divisions, from beginner to advanced and from age 6 to “senior.” In total, we earned 78 medals — 24 of them gold!
We set many records this year, but more importantly our athletes continued to learn many lessons about karate and about themselves. We are always humbled by the love and support shared between our athletes, coaches, senseis, parents, and siblings as we undertake this intense experience. Beyond that, the friendships shared with dojos across the country adds a dimension of camaraderie and sportsmanship that makes the entire experience just so special.
Thank you to all who were part of our journey this season.
