BETA Academy won six gold, four silver, and two bronze medals

BETA Academy, a mixed martial arts, muay thai and Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy affiliated with Team Lloyd Irvin sent 13 athletes to the World Kickboxing Association Nationals in Hampton, Va. last weekend, and 11 came back with medals.

Battling with muay thai, mixed martial arts, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitors from all over the country, the BETA athletes stood out.

“I am so proud of what we have accomplished. Our success is not by accident. We had a game plan going into this event,” said academy head instructor Nakapan Phungephorn.

The four muay thai gold medalists were John Goldman, Mereb Andemichael, Kale Blessum, and Carrie Moskal. Andy Tran and Mike Batenga also won gold medals in mixed martial arts and grappling, respectively.

The wins didn’t come easy. For example, gold medalist Carrie Moskal got her first chance to fight in the ring, but she was also presented with another reality: after cutting nine pounds, she found out there was no one in her weight class to fight, so she had to rehydrate to bulk up again.

Carrie Moskal shares her gold medal victory with her coaches Melanie and Nakapan Phungephorn

Danny Chacon participated in the mixed martial arts event and battled with a tough opponent in the semi-finals. “I heard he was a brawler…Kru Nakapan told me to keep my hands up.” As the match went on, Chacon began to see an opportunity. “His nose was bleeding and whenever he was about to punch, he would take a big gulp,” he said. “Everytime he took a big breath, I knew he was going to punch.” Chacon won the match by decision, but suffered damage to his right elbow and was unable to continue. He was awarded the silver medal for his efforts.

Kale Blessum fought his first muay thai match a month ago at a show in Sterling, Va. and ended up losing by decision. Back then, he received a point reduction for illegal knees to the groin and was on the receiving end of a spectacular flip over the top rope when he was pushed over in the plum. Blessum used that humbling experience as motivation for putting in more work in the gym. This time, when it counted, he was able to use the plum to dismantle his opponent in the finals and win the gold medal.

Kale Blessum used the clinch to punish his opponent

Andy Tran, the youngest of the BETA competitors who juggles a schedule that includes a full load at Catholic University, teaching kids martial arts, and training in grappling and muay thai, took gold in one of the lightest weight classes. Using his wrestling skills, he used single leg takedowns to get his larger opponents on the ground to take their power away. “(They were) trying to muscle me out too much…especially since I was a lot smaller…” said Tran.

After the event, the fighters went home, licked their wounds, and took President’s Day off of training. When asked about next steps for his team, Nakapan said “This is the beginning of a legacy for BETA Academy/Team Lloyd Irvin and I assure you that you haven’t seen anything yet.”

Editing Assistance By Dan Friedell
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