CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A group of boxers from Ingleside have brought home some impressive hardware after recently competing at the Junior Olympics in Wichita, Kansas.
The kids went up against other fighters from across the U.S. and they're crediting their hard work and their coach for the big win.
You could say Elite Fitness Gym in Ingleside is where winners are made. After all 11-year-old Mia Pinney has plenty to smile about. When she puts on the gloves and steps in this ring that means it's time to get to business.
"We trained really hard for this tournament, trained harder than we usually do. We had to cut weight sometimes, trained super hard," Mia Pinney said.
She competed on the national stage against the best of the best in youth boxing and secured the silver medal.
Her 8-year-old brother Jax won gold.
"I was very surprised that I won," Jax Pinney said. "My first fight I stopped the fight in round two and in the second I won unanimous!"
"He did a really good job, he did really good," Mia said.
The siblings are among a dozen kids from the non-profit the Mustang Boxing Club who brought back multiple medals including one gold, three silver, and four bronze.
- Jax Pinney-Gold
- Mia Pinney-Silver
- Diamond Tristan-Silver
- Julian Valadez-Silver
- Caleb Garza-Bronze
- Jinna Adame-Bronze
- Jandel Adame-Bronze
- Analee Valadez-Bronze
It was an impressive count the athletes said wouldn't have been possible without all the hours they've spent training. They also credit their coach who has always been in their corner.
Jordan Pinney owns Elite Fitness and pushes the young athletes to be the best they can be, but the kids must show up too.
"I did pretty well, I was proud of myself," said 13-year-old Diamond Tristan, who also won silver.
He added that hard work and dedication made all the difference.
"We worked hard the past couple of months way before the fight, got here, trained hit the bag, trained spared," explained Tristan.
Pinney adding that when it came down to it, the boxers actions spoke for themselves.
"Lot of sacrifice. Kids missed their birthday parties, weekends they travel, getting them out of their comfort zone," said Jordan Pinney.
Hard work and focus that is paying off for the young fighters who have their sights set on their next national competition in December.
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