SPORTS

Brothers in arms and martial arts

Brighton teens Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training big part of their lives

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

WESTMINSTER – Dom and Danthony Muniz have something in common — besides a blood relationship,

Each is invested in the world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Danthony started seven years ago, and Dom began a year ago. Each train at the 303 Training Center in Westminster.

And both love what they do.

“I have always watched my brother do it since I was little,” Dom Muniz said. “One day, I was like, ‘I’ll try it out.’ And I have loved it ever since. It was also a big part in losing weight as well.”

He said he’d lost about 40 pounds in the past year.

In Danthony Muniz’s case, his interest began after watching the movie “Never Back Down,’ a fi lm about a teenager who goes to a new high school, discovers an underground fi ght club and meets a classmate who points him in the general direction of fi ghting.

While Dom Muniz played football in middle school, Danthony Muniz never had another interest before he started mixed martial arts.

Danthony Muniz’s training regimen is extensive — a fi ve-mile run and weight lifting in the morning, a training session late in the morning, then more training late in the afternoon. All told, it amounts to four to fi ve training sessions per day. He was set to fi ght Raphael Gomez (“very skilled,” Muniz said) before a rib injury caused a postponement.

“Injuries come along with this sport,” he said after a recent randori (sparring) session at 303 Training Center in Westminster. “It’s very important to have partners who will care for your well-being and not injure you. At 303 Training Center, we have a friendly environment where I’ve had some of the best partners I’ve ever trained with. Recovery is one of the most important things in the sport that I do.”

Dom Muniz isn’t sure if he wants to pursue something beyond his present BHJJ involvement. Danthony Muniz wants to join UFC.

“The difference between MMA (mixed martial arts) and BJJ is MMA is a sanctioned fi ght. You utilize all martial arts – boxing, kickboxing, Jiu Jitsu, wrestling, judo,” Danthony Muniz said. “In a jiu-jitsu match, it’s strictly submission grappling with no strikes allowed.”

He noted that training for the two is very similar.

“If you’re preparing for an MMA fi ght, you really want to sharpen your game in every aspect,” he said. “In jiu-jitsu, you focus more on wrestling and jiu-jitsu strictly.”

Dom Muniz, left and Dennis Herbach get their work in during a sparring session at the 303 Training Center in Westminster.

PHOTO BY STEVE SMITH

Eagle Ridge rolls out of the gate strong

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Shortly after Eagle Ridge Academy downed the then-No. 2 team in the state, Resurrection Christian, Dec. 6, Warriors forward Hunter Hill yelled to anyone within earshot, “We’re No. 1. We’re No. 1.”

ERA is 5-0 this season, one of a half-dozen undefeated teams in class 4A. One of those wins was against Lutheran High School, the No. 5-rated team in a recent CHSAA basketball poll. Another was against the Cougars.

However, CHSAA’s basketball poll put the Warriors in the third position, and the Ratings Performance Index put ERA at No. 6 as of Dec. 9.

“A lot of the boys and myself thought we should have started higher,” said ERA coach Jay Powell. “We beat a No. 1 team, and we beat a 5A school. We defi nitely want to keep it up.”

Even so, there was plenty to be happy about after ERA downed the Cougars 59-52 in Brighton. Cameron (CJ) Seifert led the charge for Eagle Ridge with 19 points. Isaiah Garcia added 10. Jacob Barker had 15 points for Resurrection Christian. Cade Crutcher added 12.

“We beat the No. 1 seed,” said Peyton Torres, who scored all 10 of his points in the fi rst half. “It showed where we can compete. We’re setting that bar for ourselves.”

“It’s a big win for our program,” Powell said. “The kids worked hard in the offseason, and they weren’t happy with the way the season ended.” ERA lost in the state 3A quarterfi nals at the University of Denver, the fi rst time Eagle Ridge advanced that far in the postseason.”

Crutcher and Barker seemed to have their way early in the game. They combined for 11 of their team’s 15 points in the fi rst quarter. Then it was the Warriors’ turn to turn up the defense. In the next two quarters, the Cougars made just six of 27 fi eld-goal attempts. Eagle Ridge outscored its guests 30-14 over those two quarters to take control. Seifert fi nished the game with four blocked shots.

“Teamwork. We came together as a team offensively and defensively,” Torres said. “We switched defenses so well by communicating. They were a fast team and switched on the ball. We played at our tempo and were able to communicate. It was a defi nitely a teamwork kind of win.”

Eagle Ridge stayed undefeated through Dec. 8 after beating DSSTGreen Valley Ranch 74-65 in Brighton. Despite the fast start, Powell said his team isn’t happy yet.

“It was good. We got minutes for some of our younger guys who needed minutes,” Powell said. “We also want to improve our defense, do a little better ball tracing. Last year, we had a false sense of entitlement. They realized nothing is given, that you have to earn it.”

GRIEF

by asking what you could do to help and not making assumptions.

“You probably shouldn’t assume a friend isn’t ready to go to a party because she just lost her husband,” she says. “It might be helpful for her to continue with activities and social connections.”

Coats maintains that because grief is different for everyone, it is important to be “cued in” to friends and families during the holidays and beyond.

“It’s important to allow someone the space to grieve and to know that they are sad and missing someone,” she says. “It is also important to pick up on the cues that allows people to continue processing. The holidays can be a really healing space — so long as someone feels acceptance for that grief.”

BY AMANDA HORVATH ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

When tragedy hit close to home, Faith Haug immediately looked for a way to support the victims.

“I went online to try to donate to somewhere, and there was nowhere set up. So, I set up a GoFundMe. That was it,” she said.

That was far from it.

Faith co-owns Good Judy Garage with her spouse CC Haug. Together they started this business just outside of Denver in late 2021 to create a safe space for those in the LGBTQ+ community and beyond when dealing with car repairs. Everything they do, down to the name, is intentional.

“The reference comes from Judy Garland, who was a supporter of LGBTQ rights. So, somebody that was a supporter of the community, a friend of the community, was referred to as a ‘Good Judy,’” CC explained to Rocky Mountain PBS last year. “So, we kind of took that on because … we want to be there for the community.”

They don’t take that responsibility lightly. On Saturday, Nov. 19 just before midnight, a shooter killed fi ve people and hurt 17 others at Club Q, an LGBTQ+ club in Colorado Springs. For Faith, she felt like she had to do something, especially as a queer business owner.

“If I have the platform to get something like that out, that’s my responsibility. And, you know, this is not about our shop whatsoever, but being able to spread that on our social media through the shop and all of that does have an effect,” said Faith.

So she started a GoFundMe, specifi cally for the victims and those directly impacted by the shooting.

“You know, one fund can’t meet every need. Our fund is to give direct, you know, cash check payments to the victims that were directly involved,” Faith said, pointing out there are other funds for club employees, people facing trauma but weren’t physically present and federal grants coming in for things like memorials.

Over the matter of a few days, the fundraiser quickly gained traction, garnering support from people all over the world. Just two and a half weeks after the tragedy, people have donated more than $800,000 to the fund.

“I’m amazed by it, but I’m not surprised because the community shows up,” said Faith.

From celebrities, to bars, to tattoo shops to anonymous donors, the fundraiser continues to grow every day, which, among other factors, led Faith to partner with the National Compassion Fund. This nonprofi t organization was started in partnership with victims and family members of past mass shootings, including the Aurora Theatre shooting.

Partnering with this fund, Faith said, will help make sure all money intended to directly help the victims truly benefi ts them. Over the past two weeks, she said she has spoken to many previous victims of mass shootings and many of them spoke about the diffi culties of receiving funds after a tragedy. For example, if someone is receiving federal benefi ts for something unrelated, receiving funds from GoFundMe will be seen as more income and disqualify them from that benefi t.

“The responsibility I have with this fund is to make sure that it only helps,” Faith explained. “In trying to help, I can’t … I don’t want to cause harm. And so that’s the reason that it’s being done this way.”

One of the frequently asked questions Faith addressed in the fundraiser posting is: why is the money not going to the Colorado Healing Fund? That fund was also created

Following the news of the deadly shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, a queer-owned auto shop started a fundraiser for the victims. In just two weeks, it grew to have more than

$800,000. COURTESY OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

SEE FUNDRAISER, P15

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