Eleven months ago, the OSU club boxing team welcomed its first-ever National Collegiate Boxing Association (NCBA) national champion, Eddie Song.
Eddie's victory was an eye-opener. Although he was a regional runner-up who was the underdog, he defeated boxers from all three military academies (Army, Air Force, and Navy) on three consecutive days to win the 185-pound belt. Eddie didn't just bring home a championship; he helped push OSU Boxing's team into the national conversation. The club, and by extension the competitive team, continues to grow in participation and experience.
From March 15-17 of this year, the team sent multiple fighters to the NCBA Midwest Regionals in Cincinnati. The regional tournament will serve as one of three qualifying tournaments for the NCBA National Tournament, which will be held April 11-13 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Buckeye pugilists had a great performance at regionals, with four boxers qualifying for nationals, three regional champions and one third-place finisher qualifying for all bouts. . Team captain Eddie Kvit (7-6) not only won the region, but was also named the tournament's “Most Outstanding Boxer.” Eddie is the first OSU boxer to receive this prestigious award and will compete in the 165-pound weight class at nationals.
The other three Buckeyes competing at nationals this year are Nicoleta Durlesteanu (5-0), the Midwest Region champion in the 112-pound women's division; at-large qualifier in the 132-pound women's division; Ella Yee (3-4), Midwest Regional Champion. Cammen Pape (3-1) is regional champion in the 156-pound women's division.
Because boxing is a club team, there is little funding from universities. As a result, players must raise their own funds to support their trip to compete at Nationals. If they wanted to, they set up a GoFundMe to raise money to cover their travel expenses. The team is about $1,000 away from their goal, so every little bit helps.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/ohio-state-boxing-get-to-nationals
who knows? You just might be able to help the next Buckeye National Champion achieve his dream and bring another belt back to Columbus.
(Chase – Thanks for mentioning it in Skull Session last Friday?)
