Karate Champs Kick Up Lots Of Gold

Local youths competing in last month's Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympic Games in Detroit earned high honors in the karate division, including one teenager whose three gold medals earned her an outstanding performance award.

Ansley Hanger, who finished first in three separate competitions for three styles of karate - kobudo, kata and kumite - garnered the attention of judges, who rewarded her on July 27 with the AAU Joel Ferrell Outstanding Performance Memorial Award.

Hanger, a longtime student at the Mark Pinner Karate School in Tampa, is a veteran competitor in the AAU event. She participated in the 2006 World Championships in Germany and the 2005 Goodwill Games in Japan.

The Plant City native is a 2008 Durant High School graduate.

"This is my first year being eligible for the adult team," the 18-year-old told AAU officials after her victories. "I want to make it to the 2009 Adult World Championships."

Her brother, Jordan Hanger, 17, who will be a senior at Durant High this year, won a gold medal and two silver medals in karate competitions. He, too, studies karate with Mark Pinner.

Another Pinner student, Blake Thomas, 16, who will be a junior at Plant City High, won two gold and one silver medal for his karate performances in the Junior Olympic Games.

Bryan Elementary fifth-grader Kyle Austin also competed in Detroit, winning two gold medals - first in the kata competition, then kumite, the sparring aspect of karate.

Austin began his studies as a hobby only 20 months ago at Plant City's Chris Welbon Karate School, where he is also a member of the Leadership Team. The team is made up of students who have earned the right to help their instructor.

Austin won at both the state and national levels to earn the right to compete in Detroit.

The oustanding performance award Ansley Hanger received recognizes the athletic ability and sportsmanship of an athlete representing each of the official sports at the AAU Junior Olympic Games.

The award is presented as a memorial to Joel Ferrell, who held several positions with the AAU, including the presidency from 1976 to 1978. He also was a vice president of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

He died in December 1988 in his hometown of Tullahoma, Tenn.

Joe Mizra, AAU Karate National chairperson, presented the award to Ansley on July 27, concluding the 2008 games.

Nick Rahaim, 13, of Cincinnati, was a co-recipient of the Ferrell award in the karate division.