FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. -- A Pennsylvania National Guard Soldier won his weight class, and another Pennsylvania Guard Soldier finished second in her weight class at the Lacerda Cup All-Army Combatives Championships, held recently at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Staff Sgt. Alexander Myers won the heavyweight division, and Spc. Sandy Chheng finished second in the bantamweight division.
Myers and Chheng are both members of the Combat Engineer Company - Infantry, 56th Mobile Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania National Guard.
Myers, originally from Horsham, Pennsylvania, has competed in combat sports for much of his life, wrestling for most of his youth into adulthood, and training in Jiu Jitsu and kickboxing for over a decade.
“It is as much of my life as being a member of the Guard,” Myers said.
Myers almost didn’t compete at the Lacerda Cup, but was ultimately glad he did, giving credit to his wife for pushing him to enter the competition.
“It was incredible to end my fighting career representing the Pennsylvania Guard, my unit and myself,” he said.
Myers credits his coaches as well as his personal preparation for his win.
“We were lucky enough to have a two-week training camp with both coaches to get everyone up to speed on the rule set and sharpen our skills before we set off for Fort Benning,” Myers said.
“In this sport it is you or them," he added. "Don’t let it be you. Be aggressive but intelligent."
Myers said he is interested in transitioning into a coaching role for future Lacerda Cup teams. He urges all Guardsmen to attend combatives training if they can.
“Just do it,” he said. “It is such a physical and mental boost to learn this skill set that will help in all aspects of your Soldier and civilian life.”
Chheng, originally from Philadelphia, has several years of martial arts training outside of the Army, specifically in Jiu Jitsu.
“I thought it would be useful to apply that skillset in the military, through combatives training,” Chheng said.
Chheng received the same training that Myers did leading up to the tournament. She credits coaches, Staff Sgt. Todd Bevan and Sgt. First Class William Dougherty for their guidance and how they helped shape her through combatives.
“Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to be a part of this historical event for the Guard,” she said.
Chheng said second place wasn’t her overall goal, however, she said it felt ultimately felt great to participate.
“The most challenging part was in the final, where I lost against my teammate,” Chheng said, referring to Spc. Isaiah Castellanos of the District of Columbia National Guard. “He and I dominated our weight class the entire tournament. I spent the previous month training with him, and he did a great job combating what he knew my strategy was going to be.”
Chheng said she hopes to attend combatives level 2 and 3 training. Like Myers, she is also open to coaching and sharing her knowledge with other Soldiers.
“It felt great representing the National Guard, especially as a female in a combat MOS,” Chheng said. “I was especially excited to compete alongside my fearless squad leader who won the heavyweight championship, Sergeant Myers. It’s an honor to make history with the team by having the strongest performance to date at the Lacerda cup.”
This was the first time the National Guard entered teams in the Lacerda Cup. The two teams, compromised of Soldiers from the Pennsylvania, Ohio, District of Columbia, Guam and Nevada National Guards, claimed three championship belts and a second-place medal. The teams placed third and sixth overall out of 21 total teams that attended.