Michele Simms kicks her way to a win in Grand Finale 4
The fourth finale was all juniors and the young guns were excited to show off what they could do. The first division up was 11 and under Hard Choreographed Musical Forms. Zach Gaona of Team International faced off against Hayden Smith of Team Strike Force for the honor of becoming champion. Gaona came away with the close victory over Smith for the title. In the 12-14 Girls Hard Creative Forms division, wildcard Michelle Simms made it all the way to the finale against McKenna Jalley. After nearly a year off from competition, Simms would claim her second career world title. Next, Seth Boyette would make his fourth appearance on stage; this time against Alex White. After a major stumble by White, the door was wide open for Boyette to take home the win. After a couple of amazing tricks, Boyette laid claim to arguably being the best youth contemporary competitor on the circuit. Good friends Jordan Maxwell and Karina Hipolito challenged each other next in the 17 and under Female Hard Choreographed Forms division. Maxwell would fall, like many others, to the incredible flexibility and kicks of Hipolito, making her champion. The next competition was for the 9 and under Male Creative Forms world title. Hunter Orlowski faced off against Dallas Liu for the right to be crowned champion. Liu’s combination of clean strikes and Matt Emig –esque tricks allowed him to take home the victory. Next, Davis Teston and Sage Northcutt faced off for the 12-14 Hard Creative Forms title. With straight 9.99’s, Northcutt closed in on his goal of 40 world titles.
The first division on tap for continuous sparring was the 12-14 Featherweight Continuous Sparring division. Dhaire Patello faced off against Amanda Chen, but almost as entertaining was watching coaches Laco Villanueva and Raymond Daniels. With a near 25 point margin, Chen took home her second title of the tournament. Next was the female 12-14 Lightweight Sparring division. Meghan Hamilton and Karina Perea faced off in what could only be described as a sanctioned brawl. In the end, Perea would walk away with the win by a mere four points. In the 15-17 division, Courtney Leal faced off against Ashlee Grant. Grant’s ring prowess led her to yet another sparring world title. Next in the 11 and under flyweight division, Evan Brown took on Jordyn Deal. Deal’s furious and wild kicks scored her enough points to net the win. Dominic Rubalcava forced a second fight and notched the world title victory over Robert Najera for the 11 and under lightweight division. Next was the 11 and under middleweight division. Herbert Rodas faced Wilhen Jorge for the title in this one, and Jorge didn’t disappoint, winning the title as he did in his point division a few nights back. Then in the 11 and heavyweight division, Tyler Doan took home his second title of the week.
Forms took the stage yet again. Trevor Logan and Sage Northcutt battled for the 12-14 choreographed title. Northcutt’s new routine was able to oust Logan from the competition. Next, Julia Moreci defeated Mara Hipolito for the 15-17 Female Creative Forms Division title. Sean McNeil had the tall task of facing Seth Boyette for the 15-17 Choreographed Musical Forms world title and was unable to stop Boyette, who won yet again. Boyette’s teammate Hayden Smith was able to repeat his success by winning the 11 and under creative world title. Andrea Tyrell and Karina Hipolito renewed their rivalry for the 11 and under female Hard Creative title. Hipolito would take home the win this time however, splitting the series with Tyrell 1-1. The last contemporary division was the 17 and under open musical forms competition. Corky Sikes-trained Davis Teston faced the most well-built fourteen year old known to man – Sage Northcutt. With a near perfect score of 49.99, Northcutt would take home the title. Then the last traditional divisions for the juniors were contested. Adrianne Angat defeated Pinnacle’s Sofia Yubero in the 11 and under Korean division. Sage Northcutt maintained dominance in his form competitions with a win over Jacob Cleary in the 12-14 division. However, it should be noted that Cleary made his way to the stage a multitude of times this year – his first official year as a black belt at the Supergrands. First time Super Grands participant Jake Haromszeki defeated Eli Alexander to take the 15-17 Korean crown, making him the third Team United member to take home a first world title. Then the rest of the continuous fighting divisions were contested. Bobby Seronio, III won due to a David Martinez bow out. Finally in the 12-14 Heavyweight division, Alejandro Landa received a controversial and questionable win over Sage Northcutt.
