Master Yong Chin Pak keeps the photo of the last Iowa State National Championship Tae Kwon Do team framed on the wall next to his office.

Unfortunately, it hadn’t changed since 1988, the last time Iowa State won the title.

“It will be nice,” he says as his face breaks into a wide grin, “to have a new picture.”

The new picture will be put up since Iowa State won the 1998 National Collegiate Tae Kwon Do Championships in Princeton, New Jersey. The team, consisting of all black belts, garnered seven first place, three second place and six third place finshes by its 20 members.

The Cylcones’ triumph is particularly impressive considering they do not award scholarships for Tae Kwon Do, while the University of California at Berkely, which has won the championship for the last 9 years, does.

The Cyclones have been consistently in the top five, finishing second and third repeatedly over the last ten years, and they finally managed to snare the top spot this year.

The Cyclones’ top performers were Bonnie Harrison and Miranda Hinrichs, who finished first in their weight divisions in both forms and sparring, the two aspects of the competition.

Other first-place finishers for the Cylcones were Robin Mills and Stephanie Holeman, in forms. Mills and Holeman also finished third in their divisions in sparring. Chris Thompson and Joshua LaTendresse also finished first in forms in their divisions.

In addition to these performances, the team also had several second- and third-place finishes. All of the Cyclones who placed in the top three in their divisions in either sparring or form will be invited to the United States College Team Tryouts on October 24th in Cleveland. Those who are selected for the team will attend the fifth World University Tae Kwon Do Championships in Colema, Mexico.