Tallaght fighters set the pace in Senior Nationals
TALLAGHT Martial Arts had a number of competitors in action at the first round of the Kickboxing Ireland Senior National Championships in Citywest Hotel.
Adam Condon, competing at this level for the first time, got off to a flying start, topping the - 57kg Points Fighting section after beating Ciaran Smith from Derry.
Members of Tallaght Martial Arts at the first round of the National Senior qualifiers in Citywest Hotel
In the -74kg division David Harris finished third while Gar Ryan narrowly lost out in the final against Mark McDermot of Bushido Martial Arts.
Another Senior Championship debutant, Conor Mc Glinchey took the inside track to the -79kg title after seeing off Andrew Griffin of White Tigers Martial Arts in Mayo in the decider.
Stephen Jones was on fire in the final of the -94kg Points Fighting section, winning by a maximum score (10 points) against Emmett Flanagan from Mayo before later taking second place in the -94kg Light Contact class.
Leá Farrell, also competing in her first Senior National Championship, was pipped by Spartan’s Trina Fitzpatrick in a thrilling -50kg Points Fighting decider that had seen both contestants deadlocked even after one minute of extra time.
Keri Browne was next up for TMA in the -60kg Points Fighting section and she beat Sophie Larkin from Spartan before Nicole Bannon won the -70kg points fighting group.
Joe Dolan, fighting in the -84kg Masters section, outpointed Paddy Cullen from Elite Martial Arts while Martin Bannon fought back after a slow start to beat Simon Forde from Evolve Martial Arts in the -94kg Points Fighting Masters contest.
Indeed, after finding himself four points down, the Tallaght man made a comeback in the second round and carded a point in the dying seconds to level the fight before winning out by four in extra time.
In the +94kg Master PF field, two TMA fighters Dave Heffernan and Pat Hardiman met in the final with the former wining out.
Next up for Tallaght Martial Arts is the Irish International Open which will see more than 4000 competing over three days in Citywest Hotel from March 2.
TAGS Sport
