Connecticut Post (Sunday)

‘I feel like I proved a lot of people wrong’

Hamden teen takes national boxing title

- By Chatwan Mongkol chatwan.mongkol@hearstmedi­act.com

STRATFORD — A Hamden High School junior who found her voice through boxing came back from a second-place win last year to claim the National Silver Gloves title.

After finishing in second place at the same competitio­n last year, Brianna Alers this week said she felt “really relieved and accomplish­ed.”

“I was super proud of myself because I fought three days in a row,” said Alers, 16. “But I just really wanted that national title really badly, so that kept me going.”

To be in the national match, Alers had to win both state and regional competitio­ns. The National Silver Gloves this year took place Feb. 8-11 in Independen­ce, Mo., about 10 miles east of Kansas City. Alers was classified in the 101pound, 15-16 age category.

Alers said that during the tournament she woke up around 4 a.m. every day for a workout before a weigh-in, then would start her day with oatmeal and a meal of salmon, vegetables and fruits before her fight at 10 a.m. The toughest one was her final match against the California state champion, who gave her a nosebleed.

“I feel like I proved a lot of people wrong and I feel really accomplish­ed,” she said.

Training six times a week at a Stratford-based gym, Alers said her next goal is to win the 2023 National Junior Olympics for boxing, which is set to take place in June in Texas.

Her father, Isaac, said his daughter really “worked her butt off ” for the title and now she knows if she puts an effort into pursuing something, the outcome she expects will come.

Alers started boxing when she was 11 years old, and her father said she has come very far in terms of improvemen­t.

“Before, she couldn’t even throw punches. Now, she’s taking it to another level,” he said. “For a father, I’m really, very, very proud of her.”

The Hamden teen is a part of the Chick Rosnick Boxing Club, which puts anti-bullying messages as its main focus. Martin Chisholm, a coach, said Alers has become a role model for girls her age.

She, along with other club members, have spoken out against bullying in school, pointing to her own experience, at different youth programs including a talk with Stratford students at Frank Scott Bunnell High School on Thursday afternoon.

“Whatever happens to you, boxing and martial arts is a platform for you to gain confidence,” Chisholm said to a room of about 25 students.

Alers shared her story, too. She said she was picked on and bullied in elementary school and she said boxing helped her overcome that.

“Boxing keeps me out of trouble,” she said.

 ?? Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticu­t Media file photo ?? Brianna Alers, 16, of Hamden, trains with her coach, Martin Chisholm, at the Chick Rosnick Boxing Club in Stratford in December.
Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticu­t Media file photo Brianna Alers, 16, of Hamden, trains with her coach, Martin Chisholm, at the Chick Rosnick Boxing Club in Stratford in December.

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