East County youths win at worlds

Thirteen Florida martial artists were honored Thursday at a gathering at the Florida Regional Training Center for the U.S. Martial Arts Team.

The team was part of an elite group of 84 students from across the country to defend the United States at the World Martial Arts Games held last weekend in Las Vegas. These athletes, representing a wide cross section of ages and belt levels, brought home 27 gold medals, seven silver and two bronze medals.

From the East County, four students — Paige Oswald, Andrew Winn, Kelly Machuca and Michael Santoni — all brought home World Championships in at least one of their various divisions.

The martial artists will have a few months before starting to train again for the 2012 World Martial Arts Games, which will be held in Geneva, Switzerland.