62 Illinois Shotokan Karate Athletes Compete at Championships

For sixty-two Chicagoland karate athletes, it is an exciting time to be a competitor representing their home dojo. This weekend, 6o Illinois Shotokan Karate Club (ISKC) athletes will compete in Spokane, Washington at the 2022 USA Karate Nationals for the chance to earn the coveted title of National Karate Champion. Elite competitors also have a chance to earn a spot to compete at the US Team Trials in Colorado Springs, CO.

These competitive Illinois Shotokan Karate Clubs (ISKC) athletes train year-round and some have more than 20 years of training under their belt. The National Championships begin June 30th and run through July 3rd, 2022. ISKC athletes competing this weekend in Spokane, WA range from ages 6 through 57 years old.

The following weekend, two Illinois Shotokan Karate sisters and ISKC instructors, Cirrus and Skylar Lingl, will travel to Birmingham, Alabama to compete at the 2022 World Games - a competition that only happens every four years and includes only the highest ranked competitors from across the globe.

The Lingl sisters have consistently trained with ISKC for years and exemplify serious commitment, discipline, and self improvement - requisite qualities to become highly ranked on the world stage. “Cirrus and Skylar continuously put in the hard work and make the sacrifices needed to train at an elite level. I couldn’t be prouder of them and what good role models they are for all the young ISKC students they teach in their own classes,’’ says ISKC Coach Brian Mertel.

Students competing at the championships in Spokane, WA are from several Chicago suburbs, and attend one or more of the 70+ park district locations where ISKC provides instruction.

2022 National Competitors, their age, hometown and instruction location(s) are listed below:

• Luka Bajic, 6, Hoffman Estates. Mt. Prospect Park District.
• Vincent Baker, 25, Waukegan. Schaumburg and Hoffman Park Districts.
• Liam Beavers, 13, Plainfield. Naperville, Bolingbrook and Plainfield Park Districts.
• Palak Bhargav, 14, Buffalo Grove. Gurnee, Schaumburg and Huntley Park Districts.
• Kalyan Bogdanov, 8, Mount Prospect. Des Plaines and Mt. Prospect Park Districts.
• Tiffany Chu, 17, Hoffman Estates. Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates Park Districts.
• Eoghan Conlon, 16, Naperville. Schaumburg and Naperville Park Districts.
• Lily Conlon, 14, Naperville. Naperville Park District.
• Santuthi Edirisinghe, 15, Hinsdale. Burr Ridge and Darien Park Districts.
• Lakitha Edirisinghe, 8, Hinsdale. Darien Park District.
• Enzo Floresca, 18, Bolingbrook. Schaumburg, Naperville and Bolingbrook Park Districts.
• Alyssa Floresca, 15, Bolingbrook. Morton Grove, Schaumburg and Naperville Park Districts.
• Geoffrey Gian, 12, Buffalo Grove. Gurnee, Buffalo Grove and Vernon Hills Park Districts.
• Lorenzo Gonzales, 17, Round Lake Beach. Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg Park Districts.
• Jordan Gragasin, 16, Lemont. Bolingbrook and Naperville Park Districts.
• Alex Grosvenor, 20, Bolingbrook. Morton Grove Park District.
• Jhaeden Hoffmeyer, 17, Bolingbrook. Bolingbrook and Naperville Park Districts.
• Jordan Hunter, 14, Geneva. Geneva Park District.
• Ellora Jaggi, 24, Oak Park. ISKC Dojo.
• Alexa Jocic, 15,Hoffman Estates. ISKC Dojo, Morton Grove and Hoffman Estates Park Districts.
• Pawanpreet Kaurm 13, Libertyville. Gurnee, Vernon Hills and Hoffman Estates Park Districts.
• Liam Krater, 17, McHenry. Grayslake, Vernon Hills, Mount Prospect and Hoffman Estates Park Districts.
• Gavin Krater, 14, McHenry. Grayslake, Vernon Hills, Mount Prospect and Hoffman Estates Park Districts.
• Yash Kumar, 17, Vernon Hills. Vernon Hills Park District.
• Sam La Palm, 14, Glen Ellyn. Glen Ellyn Park District.
• Kasside Leasure, 16, Oswego. Mount Prospect, Naperville, Hoffman Estates Park District.
• Mark Lingl, 56, Carpentersville. Schaumburg and Arlington Heights Park Districts.
• Sathmi Liyanage, 15, Naperville. Naperville and Schaumburg Park Districts.
• Bihan Liyanage, 9, Naperville. Naperville Park District.
• Desiree Lott, 16, Sleepy Hollow. Dundee and Hoffman Estates Park Districts.
• Allison Mack, 27, Vernon Hills. ISKC Dojo, Vernon Hills and River Trails Park Districts.
• Schuyler Maguigad, 19, Carpentersville. Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates Park Districts.
• Kassidy Mahoney, 23, Lakewood. Morton Grove, Hoffman Estates and Park Ridge Park Districts.
• Mihika Mehta, 15, Inverness. Arlington Heights, Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates Park Districts.
• Juliana Milano, 12, Roselle. Medinah and Arlington Heights Park Districts.
• Artur Mullagaliyev, 14, Buffalo Grove. ISKC Dojo, Buffalo Grove and Schaumburg Park Districts.
• Chris Pagan, 18, Carol Stream. Schaumburg and Naperville Park Districts.
• Avery Pagan, 15, Carol Stream. Bolingbrook, Schaumburg and Naperville Park Districts.
• Lena Pekaj-Mertel, 31, Chicago. ISKC Dojo, Morton Grove and River Trails Park Districts.
• Casey Sophia Quiroz, 11, Arlington Heights. Mount Prospect Park District.
• Julia Rodriguez, 16, Bolingbrook. Naperville and Schaumburg Park Districts.
• Michael Ross, 61, Evanston. ISKC Dojo, Salt Creek and River Trails Park District.
• Adrian Sabani, 12, Plainfield. Naperville Park District.
• Eliza Salvado, 20, Bolingbrook. Bolingbrook Park District.
• Emma Salvado, 15, Bolingbrook. Bolingbrook Park District.
• Amish Shah, 33, Morton Grove. Mount Prospect and Arlington Heights Park District.
• Avyukta Shirahatti, 10, Vernon Hills. Vernon Hills Park District.
• Pradyumna Shirahatti, 42, Vernon Hills. Vernon Hills Park District.
• Katrina Sholeen, 31, Morton Grove. ISKC Dojo and River Trails Park District.
• Adalyn Shum, 12, Roselle. Schaumburg Park District.
• Jujhar Singh, 9, Libertyville. Gurnee, Vernon Hills, and Hoffman Estates Park District.
• Shaza Thahir, 18, Bolingbrook. Naperville and Bolingbrook Park Districts.
• Landon Turney, 8, St. Charles. St. Charles Park District.
• Yumi Yamaguchi, 13, Elk Grove Village. Arlington Heights, Hoffman Estates, Roselle and Bartlett Park District.
• Anita Yamaguchi, 57, Elk Grove Village. Bartlett and Elk Grove Park Districts.
• Hikaru Yasohama, 15, Wilmette. ISKC Dojo, Wheeling and Morton Grove Park Districts.
• Noriko Yasohama, 53, Wilmette. Wheeling, Morton Grove Park Districts.
• Sean Zhang, 16, Naperville. Bolingbrook and Park Ridge Park Districts.
• Arianna Zhang, 6, Naperville. Bolingbrook Park District.

2022 World Games Competitors, their age, hometown and instruction location(s) are listed below:

• Skylar Lingl, 22, Carpentersville. Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg Park Districts. Skylar is also an ISKC Instructor at the Plainfield, Geneva, Hoffman Estates and Huntley Park Districts.
• Cirrus Lingl, 23, Carpentersville. Hoffman Estates and Schumburg Park Districts. Cirrus is also an ISKC Instructor at the Oswego, Geneva, Lombard, River Trails, and Schaumburg Park Districts.

ISKC karate classes are enrolling now. If you are interested in giving your child a gift that can benefit them for a lifetime, please visit www.ISKC.com or call 847-359-0666.