Steele students seize state titles
The karate team from Gary Steele Karate Studio brought home six state titles from the state karate tournament in Cookeville recently.
The karate kickers had wins in karate fighting, forms, weapons and team fighting, competing against tough squads from across the southeast.
First-place finishes in fighting went to Richard Bennett, Ken Sydenstriker, Roy Tucker and Jacob Lawrence, while forms championships went to Peyton Webb, Bonnie Higgins and Dexter Wiley.
Bennett, a black belt, won his division of the fighting competition for the third straight year, and was also third in team fighting along with Josh Davenport and Aaron Thomas.
Sydenstriker brought home a second-place finish in forms, while Webb was second in weapons. Higgins added a fourth-place finish in fighting to her forms title, while Tucker was third in forms.
Davenport, Bob Croyle and Josh Barnes each finished second in fighting, while Doug Thomas and Aaron Thomas were each third. Alex Newton took fourth in fighting and third in weapons, while Josh Cosminsky was third in forms.