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Bragg powers its way to Combatives title

FORT BENNING, Ga. — Soldiers representing Fort Bragg, N.C., took top honors Sunday at the third-annual All-Army Combatives Tournament here, winning the championship title in four of the seven weight classes.

Soldiers from 1st Infantry Division of Fort Riley, Kan., came in second. The 101st Airborne Division of Fort Campbell, Ky., and Fort Benning tied for third place.

VIDEO FROM THE TOURNAMENT

Check out all the results and videos from all the finals

The final fights took place Sunday afternoon, and they did not disappoint.

Staff Sgt. Tim Kennedy, of Fort Bragg, easily won the light heavyweight title for the third year in a row.

Pfc. Joshua Poblete proudly represented the Guam National Guard in the championship fight in the flyweight class, the best showing by the Guam team. He lost to Sgt. James Tomko of Fort Bragg, but Poblete “did very well. We’re very proud of him,” said 1st Sgt. Allen Blend, who brought the team from Guam to Fort Benning for the tournament.

“He’s down on himself [for not winning] but it’s a great achievement for a PFC from Guam,” Blend said.

Poblete said he was aiming to win the championship, but “anything can happen.”

“I’m still proud,” he said. “I represented my island, my unit and the Guam National Guard. Where we’re from, we all have big pride.”

Sgt. Aaron Cooper of Fort Benning, and Sgt. Yuriy Fomin, Illinois National Guard, fought the only fight that lasted the full three rounds. Each round lasts five minutes. Cooper, his top lip swollen after the fight, was named the winner of the middleweight class by the judges.

Special Operator 1st Class Dale Wooden, representing Fort Bragg, was the only sailor to fight in the tournament. He finished third in the middleweight class. Last year, Wooden came in second place.

“Anytime I can get a [mixed martial arts] fight, I’m happy,” Wooden said. “The quality has definitely increased. Our team, I think we brought a very solid team.”

Wooden, who is assigned to the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, said he hopes to get more sailors involved in combatives. Last year, no one in the Navy knew he competed in the combatives tournament until he was featured in Navy Times, a sister publication to Army Times, he said. This year, SEAL recruiters provided him with his gear, which was emblazoned with the words “Navy” and “SEAL.”

“I want when that kid is sitting on the side and he wants to be a Green Beret or a SEAL or a Ranger, he is what he thought he would be,” Wooden said when asked about the edge combatives gives to those who practice it. “He’s the tip of the spear, but at the same time humble and centered.”

Combatives and the courage it takes to fight fits perfectly into the warrior ethos, Wooden said.

“You’ve got to be willing to take pain once in awhile and not be afraid of it,” he said.

Here are the final standings for each weight class:

Flyweight (125 pounds or less)

1. Sgt. James Tomko, Fort Bragg, N.C.

2. Pfc. Joshua Poblete, Guam National Guard

3. Staff Sgt. Rudy Romero, 1st Infantry Division

Lightweight (140 pounds or less)

1. Pfc. Matthew Bray, 1st Infantry Division

2. Sgt. Dustin Portillo, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

3. Pfc. Brandon Sandefur, Fort Hood, Texas

Welterweight (155 pounds or less)

1. Sgt. Jason Kwast, Fort Bragg

2. Spc. Nathaniel Nelson, Fort Sill, Okla.

3. Staff Sgt. Marcos Gutierrez, Fort Benning

Middleweight (170 pounds or less)

1. Sgt. Aaron Cooper, Fort Benning

2. Yuriy Fomin, Illinois National Guard

3. Special Operator 1st Class Dale Wooden, Fort Bragg

Cruiserweight (185 pounds or less)

1. Staff Sgt. Jacob South, Fort Knox, Ky.

2. Pfc. Gary Tate, Fort Campbell

3. Spc. Guillermo Villa, Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii

Light heavyweight (205 pounds or less)

1. Staff Sgt. Tim Kennedy, Fort Bragg

2. 1st Lt. Carpaccio Owens, Fort Bragg

3. Staff Sgt. Benjamin Bradley, Fort Gordon

Heavyweight

1. Master Sgt. John Long, Fort Bragg

2. Sgt. Jeff Yurk, Fort Bragg

3. Spc. Darril Schoonover, Fort Hood

Team standings

1. Fort Bragg

2. 1st Infantry Division

3. (tie) 101st Airborne Division

3. (tie) Fort Benning

5. Fort Hood

6. Fort Knox

7. Fort Sill

8. Illinois National Guard

9. Guam National Guard

10. Fort Jackson

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Final fights set at Army combatives tourney

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