WKA Nationals 2024

Jalen Willis and Odin Peters take Gold at WKA Nationals

With heavy hearts but determined minds and sharpened tools, we rolled into Delaware for the 2024 WKA Nationals. It has been about a month since we lost our beloved friend and coach, Jason Peters to a heart attack at 41 years old. His son Odin stayed the course along with the team to honor Jay because it is what he would have wanted.

Day 1 had the young lions up. Reid made his debut at 6 years old with Brian and Odin coming back for their 2nd year. All did amazing, taking on their fears like little men. Reid and Brian represented the Killer B way with determination and spirit with both taking Silver in their respective divisions. Odin dominated his division with an inspired performance to take 1st place. To say Jay would have been proud is an understatement. 

Day 2 had the adults stepping into the arena. Jalen and Rambo got moved to Sunday but stayed the day to support their squad. Jenn, Chris, and Spencer were up and ready to go. 

Jenn had a hard weight cut that we cut short to bump her up a class in order to stay healthy. At 132, she was one of the smaller athletes but undeterred in any way. Fight 1 was a strong performance that showcased the huge improvements made since last year. Winning on the decision put Jenn in the Semi Finals.

Up next was Chris. With only 10 months of training this wildman entered the 125 pound brackets ready to go. He was matched against a very experienced fighter with an international level of MMA experience and multiple Kickboxing bouts. It was a tall task he took on well. Unfortunately Chris took a shot that had his nose bleeding excessively. The ref couldn’t see past the nose and stopped the bout in the 2nd round. It was an unfortunate incident that obviously happens in this sport. His day was done but Chris was good after a hard fight that showed that he has dog in him!

Spencer stepped up next with a solid opponent in an 8 man bracket. Over 3 rds he picked his opponent apart with solid combos. It was a major improvement from the prior year, which is all we really look for. 

Jenn was back in for the semi finals against a well trained opponent. It was a solid back and forth battle where Jenn had to overcome a hard knee to the liver at the close of round 2. She could have taken or knee or quit, but that wasn’t what she was here to do. With Jay’s voice echoing in her head, she pushed on and finished all 3 rds. It was a close dec that went to her opponent. 

It was a great tournament for Jenn. She picked up a W, got some great experience, and is moving onto the next fight more prepared. In her proper class and another year of experience has Jenn in position to take the top spot next year.

Day 3 was the final day for survivors and the remaining brackets. Jalen was 1st fight of the day. A big thanks to the WKA organization for starting the day with a 10 count to honor Jay as a member of the WKA community. Unfortunately for the guy facing Jalen in rd 1, that count grounded Jalen and inspired him to bring a level of firepower we have not seen in him prior.

Jalen marched his opponent down and finished him in 2 rds.

Rambo made his kickboxing debut against an athletic opponent with good range control and hard kicks. Rambo did well, scoring with solid punches and low kicks. Over 3 rds he fell just short of his opponent’s volume and lost the decision. The intention coming in was to win it all but as many 1st timers find out, reality is different from what we see in our minds. We are confident that this experience will bring Rambo to another level and many future victories!

Every tournament has its war. Spencer was the one to find himself in the big battle this year. Facing a young but experienced competitor from a Russian caucus, he had a big task on his hands. To add to the tension we had to deal with an aggressive cameraman from the other squad that coach had to physically remove from our corner. Everything was lined up for a big fight and it for sure was one!

3 rds of hard back and forth with both fighters rocking each other and the crowd going nuts found Spencer on the losing end of a split decision that honestly could have gone either way. Spencer had to push past an empty tank to keep the fight going. He pushed, he scored, and he finished strong for sure. With a gas tank to match the determination, Spencer is hard to beat. 

Spencer’s tournament ended but he put out 2 aggressive and performances that demonstrated a much higher level of skill and will than the year prior. Can next year be the breakthrough year where we go from challenger to champ?

Jalen was the last man standing with 2 fights in the way of gold. 

Fight 2 was much like the 1st but over in less than a round. Jalen was clearly on a different trip than everyone else. Confident, calm, and looking to hurt people… Got it done in 1 with another KO.

Headed into the finals with no damage, less than 4 minutes of work, and a title on his mind Jalen was basically unstoppable. Facing another Russian fighter from the same gym Spencer scrapped with, we had a title to win and a point to make. Not going to say bad blood, but we definitely had unfinished business to attend to.

In less than a minute, Jalen dispatched his opponent with superior firepower to be the 2024 WKA 155 pd Kickboxing National Champ.

What an ending to a great weekend. Jalen walked out the year prior mad at himself for not being ready and barely surviving. This year he stole the show by making it look easy. Learning from the past losses, he is building himself into a true champion that is hard to beat.

2 National Champs and 3 Runner Ups with 1st timers getting into the mix, it was a great tournament for the team. Everyone stayed to support each other each day and worked together to have each other’s backs all weekend. Killer B is different and it was obvious to everyone in the room. 

Onto the next one…