Manatee County shooters help FishHawk Dynasty claim national title

With the help of two Manatee County residents, the FishHawk Dynasty rookie breezed to a national title in the sporting clays division of the 2016 Scholastic Clay Target Program National Team Championships in Marengo, Ohio, last month. Myakka City’s Holden Pollock was FishHawk’s No. 2 shooter with 145 points for the Lithia club based out of FishHawk Sporting Clays.

The Dynasty also had help from the division’s No. 1 rookie shooter. Riverview’s Trevor Hinton led all shooters with 152 points and FishHawk finished with a final score of 431. The Dynasty edged the second-place Cumberland County Clay Crushers of Tennessee, who finished with 346 points.

Tanner Pollock also gave FishHawk a top competitor in the intermediate division from the county. The local shooter finished sixth in his age group at the Cardinal Center Campground.

Muay thai fight comes to Palmetto

Mehrdad Kham Moayedi, the biggest Muay Thai promoter in Florida, views Palmetto as the perfect destination for one of his fights. The St. Petersburg and Tampa area where he is based is saturated with frequent smaller fights and larger boxing and mixed martial arts fights which can fill some of the area’s larger venues. The Bradenton Area Convention Center fits the 3,000-person attendance number he views as ideal for his Muay Thai bouts.

On Saturday, he will bring one of his fights to Manatee County for the first time. Strykerz Shin Do Kumate XVII begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Bradenton Convention Center with seven bouts on the card.

The card is highlighted by a pair of co-main events. The headliner is the co-main event between Alex Berrios, a 27-year-old fighter competing in his 15th professional bout, and Cyrus Washington, a 34-year-old with 74 pro wins and 50 knockouts under his belt. The other main event is between a pair of less experienced fighters. Tony Leone won his pro Muay Thai debut and will go for a 2-0 start against Pedro Cassoma, who enters with a 4-1 record.

Moayedi is the most experienced martial arts promoter in Florida having hosted the first state-sanctioned bout in 2002. He now regularly promotes fights i the Tampa Bay area while operating his Clearwater gym, Master Mehrdad’s Martial Arts and Muay Thai.

Suncoast Travel Ball fall season begins

Suncoast Travel Ball kicks off its fall season Saturday with an End of Summer Classic in Clearwater. The United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) qualifier is a two-day tournament and only open to 12U, 11U and 8U teams.

The rest of the league will have to wait another week until Bradenton and Sarasota host their first tournament of the year. The Back 2 School Bash from Aug. 26-28 is another USSSA qualifier with a three-game guarantee and a larger field, which includes 13U, 14U and 16U teams.

This story was originally published August 15, 2016 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Manatee County shooters help FishHawk Dynasty claim national title."