A trio of Old Town-Orono YMCA taekwondo students will have a chance to showcase their talents on the world stage in January of 2019.
Caitlyn Moeykens, 13, and her brother Connor Moeykens, 9, of Orono and Mikhail Prostatin, 7, of Old Town, have all qualified for the YMCA/Traditional Martial Sciences Association Cancun Open Martial Arts championships in Mexico.
“I’m very excited about it,” Tristan Creeley, who instructs taekwondo at the Old Town-Orono Y and has mentored the youngsters bound for Mexico, said.
To qualify, the trio competed and placed and their respective age groups at a national championship competition in Gardiner last month.
Caitlyn Moeykens claimed first place in sparring and second place in forms. Connor Moeykens stood atop the podium in sparring and Prostatin captured first in sparring and fourth place in forms.
The Old Town-Orono Y program has 19 students.
To compete in the international competition, the trio must hit the ground running to raise funds for the trip to Cancun.
Creeley did not disclose how much money needs to be raised but noted “we will definitely need some support for all of us to go.”
In addition to teaching the youngsters Creeley, who has a black belt in taekwondo, teaches semi-private lessons and sparring lessons to students as young as 6 and as old as 64.
Creeley’s trio of qualifiers had to come in first place in their respective age groups at the Gardiner tournament to qualify for the event in Cancun.
“They have similar qualifying tournaments in different countries around the world,” Creeley, who last September began teaching taekwondo at the Old Town-Orono Y, said.
Creeley said some students even train on their own time at home when not under his watch, while Prostatin will often receive assistance from his mother.
“I couldn’t ask for better students,” Creeley said. “They’re hardworking and have a lot of good talent.”
Most of Creeley’s students train with him three times a week. They also compete once a month, and Prostatin recently came in first in his age group in fighting and forms in a tournament at Gorham.
Caitlyn Moeykens competes in the 11-13 age group, Connor among 8-10 and Prostatin in a 7-8 division, in which he is ranked No. 1 in the state.
If there’s one thing Creeley hopes, it’s that the discipline aspect of taekwondo prepares his students for life beyond the performance mat.
“There’s a lot of sacrifice, a lot of discipline, a lot of respect, a lot of hard work,” he said. “All my kids are well-behaved and respectful.”
