Valley fights in Junior Nationals

By STEVEN NIX
Valley Press Sports Correspondent
 

Alexis Lorenzana of Palmdale competed as a blue belt in the 8-9 year old, 55-67 pound elite open division.

Lorenzana and her opponent, Kiera Dillon of Pennsylvania, were evenly matched throughout the three regulation rounds with a tie score of 5-5. Going into sudden death Lorenzana defeated Dillon 1-0 to move on to the gold medal round.

Lorenzana had a 6-5 lead against Jasmine Clark of Georgia in the final round, but a holding penalty in the final 10 seconds by Lorenzana tied the score, pushing the match into overtime.

Clark struck first in the overtime round, which gave her the 1-0 edge and the gold medal, while Lorenzana settled for the silver.

"She has very strong potential," Victory coach Ramil Abratique said. "She is very motivated and strong-willed."

Roseary Serrano of Lancaster also medaled for her team, picking up the bronze after a 4-4 tie forced her semifinal match against Izzamar Arias of California into overtime.

Arias won 1-0 in the extra time and Serrano went on to pick up the bronze in her 14-15 year old female red belt elite division.

"Roseary is very enthusiastic about coming here," Abratique said. "She is enjoying the competition."

Alexis' older brother Chris Lorenzana brought home the family's second silver medal, losing in the gold medal round to Trumann Walker of Colorado in the 12-13 year old over 125-pound blue belt elite open division.

Lorenzana found it hard to make it to the final round, but Walker was able to slide away with a 3-2 win.

"Chris used to do other sports, but this challenges him and he likes it," Abratique said. "(Alexis and Chris') parents are devoting a lot of time to this for them."

Samantha Braun of Lancaster was the final competitor from the Valley and she faced off against her longtime rival from Thousand Oaks, Veronica Garcia, in the 14-17 light weight female black belt world class division.

Braun suffered a broken left arm in March, and a broken left hand in a match in June in a scrimmage fight. With the cast coming off just before the junior nationals, she wasn't able to train properly.

Braun fell in the opening round to Garcia by a score of 6-5. A top-four finish would have given Braun the chance to compete in a fight-off this month in Colorado Springs for a spot on the USA Junior National Taekwondo team.

"She fractured her hand and that really hurt her but she is looking forward to next years nationals," Abratique said.