Local Taekwondo Star Brings Home Gold

Last month, the city of Las Vegas saw firsthand how talented Fort Lee's Merissa Pico and the U.S. Jr. National Taekwondo Team really are.

Pico, who trains with Master Alvin Bernard at in Fort Lee, brought home the gold medal for the United States and will not soon forget the event.

“Competing at the 2011 Jr. Pan American Games in Las Vegas, Nevada was a really great experience,” Pico said. “There were countries from the North, South and Central Americas, as well as the Caribbean region. Personally, I fought competitors from Chile, Colombia and Brazil, in that order. I fought Brazil in the finals. My first fight against Chile was very close. I was down by one point in the last round with five seconds to go. In the last five seconds, I threw an ax kick, and I scored.”

For the U.S.A., The road to reaching the Jr. Olympic competition level was not an easy one. Competitors had to place first, second or third at their state competition. Pico placed first in both the New Jersey and New York state competitions, which were held in March. Another way to make it was to place first, second or third in the Regional competition, which for Pico, was held in Buffalo in April.

Those winners then qualified to compete at the Jr. Olympics in July. At the Jr. Olympics the top four finishers qualified to compete in a "fight off" at the Olympic training center in Colorado springs in August, where Pico won and officially qualified for the team.

The team in general had a great run at the event, and it was an honor for Pico to compete and finish first in her weight class.

“It was an honor to be on and compete with the USA Jr. National Team again,” Pico said. “There were 20 competitors on the team, including myself. There were 10 males and 10 females, all different weight classes. Out of 20 competitors, we brought 16 medals home: 10 gold, two silver, and four bronze. It was a very competitive tournament. It was not an open competition, which means that only national teams competed against one another.”

Pico and her teammates made the country proud yet again, and there are more events still yet to come in which they will have the opportunity to represent their country again.

In Other Sports News This Week:

The Lady Bridgemen tennis team won the league championship on Monday after a 5-0 win against Westwood. Head coach Sheri Steckler is very proud of her team.

“I am thrilled about our season,” Steckler said. “The girls all stepped up and played great all season. It was a great team all-around.”

The Bridgemen football team also concluded its season Friday night with a 42-0 to Central High School. Head coach Bill Straub was happy with his senior leadership this season.

“Despite the loss, I would like to thank the seniors for their efforts and leadership during the season,” Straub said.

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