Kayla Tyson, an incoming freshman at Deer Park High School, was selected to represent Team USA at the 2022 World Taekwondo Cadet and Junior World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. Tyson, who has practiced taekwondo since age 3, had traveled to compete in Fort Worth, Texas, where she went undefeated and earned a spot on the national team.

Competitors must pay their own fees to travel to Bulgaria, and local philanthropist Steve Castleton decided to sponsor Tyson in conjunction with New York Sportscene Children's Foundation President Fran Petito, which helped to fund her hotel and flight during the competition. 

Castleton, Petito and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone honored Tyson at a press conference on July 21 at Deer Park’s May Moore Primary School, which Tyson had attended and where her mother Alexis currently works as a teaching assistant. Petito presented the teen with a check for $2,500 in front of her family, friends and Tyson’s taekwondo instructor, Master SoonKwon Kang of Champions Martial Arts.

At the taekwondo competition, which ran from July 28 to 31, Tyson fought valiantly against Korea’s Hyang-gi Kim, the eventual gold medalist. She hopes to eventually compete in taekwondo for the U.S. at the Olympics.

“We are so proud of Kayla for representing Team USA at the Taekwondo Championships in Bulgaria,” May Moore Principal Tammy Alcalde said. “It wasn’t too long ago that Kayla walked the halls of May Moore, and this September, she will begin her high school career at Deer Park High School, and we couldn’t be prouder of her.  Kayla is a wonderful student, who knows the true definition of hard work and always puts her best effort forward in all she attempts.”

Date Added: 8/15/2022