Three county women excelled recently at a regional taekwondo event.

Making the trip to the Chicagoland ATA Taekwondo
Championships in April from ATA Blackbelt Academy
in Traverse City were (from left) Robin Smith, Kira
Boyd, Judy Pline, Dawn Russell, and Hayley Pline

Judy Pline, Dawn Russell, and Kira Boyd of Suttons Bay, and Robin Smith of Traverse City all earned top rankings at the Chicagoland ATA Taekwondo Championship in April. Judy Pline, who with her husband Christopher owns ATA Blackbelt Academy in Traverse City, is a third degree blackbelt and placed first in sparring and second in forms. According to a press release about the event, Pline is ranked among the top 10 in forms, sparring and weapons in her age/rank category, and will compete at the ATA World Championships in Little Rock, Ark., next month.

Boyd, Pline’s oldest daughter, is a fourth-degree blackbelt and took third in sparring. In the “colored belt rings” Russell was first in forms and second in sparring, and Smith placed third in both events.
Hayley Pline, Pline’s youngest daughter, and a first-degree blackbelt, did not compete but worked as a judge and scorekeeper.

Pline, Boyd and Russell, along with Russell’s husband Jim and their son, Connor, also competed recently at a tournament in Fort Wayne, Ind. Pline took first in forms, sparring and weapons in her age/ranking; Boyd was first and second in forms and sparring; Dawn Russell was first in forms and sparring in her age/ranking; James Russell was first in weapons; and Connor Russell took second in forms.