Two Grade 9 Wellington Heights Secondary School students from Mount Forest both won first place at the Canadian National Kickboxing Championships, held May 1-3 at the Toronto International Centre, in different categories.
Kennedy Ray competed in her title fight in kick-light kickboxing in the under 50kg category against another athlete from Ontario. The first round had high intensity, bust since Ray had watched her opponent fight before she knew that she had to adapt to her opponent's intensity. The first round saw Ray behind 2-1, but in the second round, Ray continued to battle while her opponent ran out energy, and Ray dominated the second round winning 3-0 and claimed the national championship belt.
After her fight, the CEO of the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) Canada reached out to Ray's coaches to see if she would join Team Canada and travel to Italy in September for the international championships. Kennedy is still deciding whether or not to accept the invitation: "It's pretty great...especially good because I was personally asked and didn't have to try out [for Team Canada]." She added, "It meant that I seemed deserving to be asked."
Reflecting on her national championship, Ray stated, "Winning was great. The national title has been the thing that I have always been going for. I have been competing at the nationals for 4 years, and this is the first time I have won it. It's like I've finally proved something. I've been so close before, often winning 2nd or 3rd, so it's really great to finally win the national title. Now that I have the national title, I can take it further to the world level."
Taylor Krueger competed in her title fight in kick-light kickboxing in the under 65kg category against an athlete from the Northwest Territories. Krueger was behind in the first round 2-1 and went back to her corner where her coaches gave instructions and feedback for the next round. Krueger applied what her coaches instructed her to do in the second round where she performed much stronger, won the fight 3-0, and claimed the national championship belt.
Krueger was also supposed to have a low-kick belt fight on Sunday, May 3rd against a competitor from Newfoundland; however, Krueger injured her knee in the previous fight, so the low-kick belt fight has been rescheduled for a later date.
This kick-light kickboxing national championship win secured Krueger's spot on the Team Canada National Kickboxing Team. Krueger will compete in the Youth World Kickboxing Championships in Jesolo, Italy (near Venice) from September 18-27, 2026.
Krueger's coaches are Blair West and Tom Stewart, who both work at the Golden Tiger Gym, in Hanover.
When interviewed about her time at the national championships, Kreuger stated, "It was a really good experience. It was the first time to have Blair in my corner; he prepared me mentally and physically for the fight. Tom also really helped he a lot with my technical movements leading up to nationals and preparing me well for this moment."
When asked about the upcoming international kickboxing championships, Kreuger said, "I'm pretty excited to go to Italy. I've never been there. I'm a little nervous because some of the other fighters don't go to school - they simply train all day. So, my aim is to make it on the podium. Even to say I'm representing my country is pretty crazy to think about."
Reflecting on what has brought Krueger to this moment, she said proudly, "Ever since I went to watch the nationals in 2021, I always said I wanted to be wearing one of those belts. And now that I'm actually wearing one of those belts is insane to think about."