A hard-fought day at the West Point regional boxing tournament on Saturday, March 14, resulted in a school-record six fighters qualifying for nationals.

A long but successful season saw a number of Raider fighters knocking on the door of the national tournament on April 10-12 from Sunrise, Florida, and many of them made the cut thanks to hard work and detailed preparation.

Two Raiders picked up standout wins at the event: sophomore Brett Pastore and 2013-14 national qualifier Tylik Guilford. Pastore impressed in his first fight, beating Lock Haven University’s Tahari Gravesande by unanimous decision. The 165-pounder, in his first year with the Raiders, ultimately fell in the final round against Army’s Will Estes, who is a very tough fighter with a near-perfect record according to Shippensburg coach Travis Wylie.

“There were some mistakes I made, but I’m going to work on them in the next four weeks,” Pastore said. “My fight against Army was a tough match, but I’m going to break that down and I think I can come back and beat him at nationals.”

Guilford, fighting at 156 pounds, took on one of the toughest weight classes of any Raider, according to Wylie. He fell in his first fight to the eventual 156-pound champion, Penn State’s Peirce Hessinger, in a fight that could have been decided either way. Facing elimination from the national tournament, he took on LHU’s Zack Brown, who took third place at nationals last year. Guilford ultimately picked up the win, and looks to improve his performance from last year when he travels to Florida.

“The Rice fight went much better than the day before,” Wylie said of Guilford’s second fight. “He came prepared to fight, in a do-or-die situation, and he came through when it counted.”

“I feel like I did okay at regionals, but I could have done better,” Guilford added. “I need to get back to the basics and get back to what I know I can do. It’s good to have a lot of support from the team and from coach; that’s what motivates me at practice and to get the W’s I got.”

Other national qualifiers for the Raiders include freshman Haziz Self, first-year fighter Ada Ibe, senior Emily Appleman and freshman Nate Sanders.

Self has a number of impressive knockouts in his debut season for Shippensburg, and looks like a true contender at 119.

“Haziz Self fought the former national champ,” Wylie said. “He lost the decision, but I think it proved to him that he’s at that level. I am hoping it will give him that extra spark and motivation to push himself in these next few weeks heading in to nationals.”

Ibe took the mat at 132 pounds in her first regional appearance for Shippensburg. The Lady Raider ultimately fell to Coast Guard’s Kiana Keoka, who she beat on February 28 for her first ever win.

Sanders has compiled a solid season for the Raiders at 147 pounds. The tall boxer ran into trouble in his Saturday matchup, losing by TKO in the final seconds of the first round, in a stoppage that Wylie described as “premature, in my opinion.” He still qualified for nationals however, and looks to make his mark for Shippensburg at Florida.

Appleman, a national runner up at 139 pounds last year, lost her match to Coast Guard’s Mary Hazen in an uncharacteristically poor performance, according to Wylie.

“I definitely could have performed a lot better at regionals,” Appleman said. “I lost the fight and there are so many things that I would do better. I’m definitely more motivated to win now though. I’m going to get that belt.”

Look for the young Shippensburg squad to make a name for itself at the national tournament in Sunrise, Florida from April 10-12.

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