Everett fighter Dexter Morgenstern won the Pan American Heavyweight Championship in Santiago, Chile, representing Team USA after three fights in three days.
Morgenstern and WildStyle Gym teammate Bret Cruver, of Snohomish, each captured heavyweight titles the same August weekend, Snoho.com first reported. Cruver, a former youth champion, won his first adult title at the World Kickboxing Association (WKA) National Championship. Both train at WildStyle Gym in Snohomish under coach Jason Morris.
Morgenstern competed at the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) Pan American Games. Getting to Santiago took more than 30 combined hours of cars, planes, layovers and buses, Morgenstern said. Once there, he faced a bracket that included the previous Pan American Games champion and titleholders from Chile and Guatemala. He won three fights over three days to claim the heavyweight crown.
Morgenstern credited the Team USA coaching staff with building a tight team atmosphere. He said coaches gave immediate feedback and delivered motivational speeches on the first day to make sure fighters "treated each other like family and represented our country well."
Morris said the weekend tested his nerves. He had two fighters chasing major titles in different locations, hundreds of miles apart, and could not be in both corners at once. He said both fighters won multiple tough bouts against strong opponents.
The twin titles extend a run for the small Snohomish gym. Morris, who described himself as a newer coach, said it was rewarding to see a small gym compete at both the national and international levels. Morgenstern said WildStyle has produced four world titles, six national titles and a Pan American title for Washington state in just a few years.
Cruver's WKA national heavyweight title marks his first championship at the adult level.
