Saturday, April 11
Charlotte, N.C.
4:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
at
National Championships
Air Force Claims Five NCBA Titles, Women Repeat as Team Champions
4/11/2026 9:25:00 PM | Boxing
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Backed by four individual champions, the Air Force women's boxing team successfully defended their national title during Championship Saturday [April 11] at the National Collegiate Boxing Association [NCBA] Championships in Charlotte, North Carolina. The men added one individual title to give Air Force five national champions for the second-straight year.
The night saw three women defend their belts in unanimous fashion, while all four of their championships came from victories over their service academy counterparts.
Junior Naomi Brabham captured the Falcons' first win of the night – and her second in as many years – with a dominant 112-pound victory over Army West Point's Trinity Acuna; a win that saw Brabham earn every judge's vote in every round. Senior Elise Bell and sophomore Maya Lee also defended their championships by unanimous decisions on Saturday, taking down contenders from Navy in the process. Bell retained her 132-pound title with a decision over Emily Danford, while Lee defeated Camilla Johnson in the 147-pound title bout. Senior Malaika Ndifang completed the quartet of NCBA champions, as she decisioned Army West Point's Madeline Gibson for the first-ever NCBA title at 175 pounds.
Junior Sierra Dace, the first boxer to represent the Academy in the new 106-pound bracket, and the sophomore trio of Madei Soluren [125 pounds], Sela Panuve [156 pounds], and Nebi Tsarni [165 pounds] earned silver medal honors on Saturday, as the national runner-up in their respective weight divisions.
On the men's side, sophomore Juneau Kim captured his first national title, as he earned a split decision victory over Trinity's Prithvi Satish in the 125-pound finals. His victory marked the 44th time in as many national meets that Air Force has claimed at least one championship belt in the men's bracket.
Junior Ellison Taylor and senior Thomas Kensinger also competed in the finals on Saturday, earning the silver medal in the 165-pound and heavyweight divisions, respectively.
Four other Falcons returned to the ring to receive their bronze medals, as junior Samantha Villa [women's 119 pounds], sophomore Russell Klug [men's 132 pounds], junior Allyson Keel [women's 139 pounds], junior Noah Gilley [men's 147 pounds], and senior Neo Takazawa [men's 156 pounds] joined their teammates as NCBA All-Americans.
The women amassed 47 points to easily defend their team title and lead a service academy sweep of the top three spots in the team standings – defeating Navy [28 points] and Army West Point [25] for the second-straight year. The men earned 21 points to place third behind Washington [33] – the first non-academy team to win the men's team title since 2015 – and Navy [26].
At the conclusion of the championship, Panuve received the Sportsmanship Award – an honor voted on by the other boxers.
AFTERNOON SESSION RESULTS
106-lbs. [w]: Daisy Terrones [Army West Point] dec. Sierra Dace [Air Force]
112-lbs. [w]: Naomi Brabham [Air Force] dec. Trinity Acuna [Army West Point]
125-lbs.: Juneau Kim [Air Force] dec. Prithvi Satish [Trinity]
125-lbs. [w]: Jill Doucet [Washington] dec. Madei Soluren [Air Force]
132-lbs. [w]: Elise Bell [Air Force] dec. Emily Danford [Navy]
EVENING SESSION RESULTS
147-lbs. [w}: Maya Lee [Air Force] dec. Camilla Johnson [Navy]
156-lbs. [w]: Kieley Bateman [Navy] dec. Sela Panuve [Air Force]
165-lbs.: Oswaldo Perez [Washington] dec. Ellison Taylor [Air Force]
165-lbs. [w]: Emmanuella Ebiuwhe [Army West Point] dec. Nebi Tsarni [Air Force]
175-lbs. [w]: Malaika Ndifang [Air Force] dec. Madeline Gibson [Army West Point]
Hywt.: Ahmed Ben Kasdallah {Navy] RSC-3 Thomas Kensinger [Air Force]
The night saw three women defend their belts in unanimous fashion, while all four of their championships came from victories over their service academy counterparts.
Junior Naomi Brabham captured the Falcons' first win of the night – and her second in as many years – with a dominant 112-pound victory over Army West Point's Trinity Acuna; a win that saw Brabham earn every judge's vote in every round. Senior Elise Bell and sophomore Maya Lee also defended their championships by unanimous decisions on Saturday, taking down contenders from Navy in the process. Bell retained her 132-pound title with a decision over Emily Danford, while Lee defeated Camilla Johnson in the 147-pound title bout. Senior Malaika Ndifang completed the quartet of NCBA champions, as she decisioned Army West Point's Madeline Gibson for the first-ever NCBA title at 175 pounds.
Junior Sierra Dace, the first boxer to represent the Academy in the new 106-pound bracket, and the sophomore trio of Madei Soluren [125 pounds], Sela Panuve [156 pounds], and Nebi Tsarni [165 pounds] earned silver medal honors on Saturday, as the national runner-up in their respective weight divisions.
On the men's side, sophomore Juneau Kim captured his first national title, as he earned a split decision victory over Trinity's Prithvi Satish in the 125-pound finals. His victory marked the 44th time in as many national meets that Air Force has claimed at least one championship belt in the men's bracket.
Junior Ellison Taylor and senior Thomas Kensinger also competed in the finals on Saturday, earning the silver medal in the 165-pound and heavyweight divisions, respectively.
Four other Falcons returned to the ring to receive their bronze medals, as junior Samantha Villa [women's 119 pounds], sophomore Russell Klug [men's 132 pounds], junior Allyson Keel [women's 139 pounds], junior Noah Gilley [men's 147 pounds], and senior Neo Takazawa [men's 156 pounds] joined their teammates as NCBA All-Americans.
The women amassed 47 points to easily defend their team title and lead a service academy sweep of the top three spots in the team standings – defeating Navy [28 points] and Army West Point [25] for the second-straight year. The men earned 21 points to place third behind Washington [33] – the first non-academy team to win the men's team title since 2015 – and Navy [26].
At the conclusion of the championship, Panuve received the Sportsmanship Award – an honor voted on by the other boxers.
AFTERNOON SESSION RESULTS
106-lbs. [w]: Daisy Terrones [Army West Point] dec. Sierra Dace [Air Force]
112-lbs. [w]: Naomi Brabham [Air Force] dec. Trinity Acuna [Army West Point]
125-lbs.: Juneau Kim [Air Force] dec. Prithvi Satish [Trinity]
125-lbs. [w]: Jill Doucet [Washington] dec. Madei Soluren [Air Force]
132-lbs. [w]: Elise Bell [Air Force] dec. Emily Danford [Navy]
EVENING SESSION RESULTS
147-lbs. [w}: Maya Lee [Air Force] dec. Camilla Johnson [Navy]
156-lbs. [w]: Kieley Bateman [Navy] dec. Sela Panuve [Air Force]
165-lbs.: Oswaldo Perez [Washington] dec. Ellison Taylor [Air Force]
165-lbs. [w]: Emmanuella Ebiuwhe [Army West Point] dec. Nebi Tsarni [Air Force]
175-lbs. [w]: Malaika Ndifang [Air Force] dec. Madeline Gibson [Army West Point]
Hywt.: Ahmed Ben Kasdallah {Navy] RSC-3 Thomas Kensinger [Air Force]
Players Mentioned
132 lbs.
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112 lbs.
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112 lbs.
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147 lbs.
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147 lbs.
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HWT
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119 lbs.
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147 lbs.
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156 lbs.
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156 lbs.
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125 lbs.
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175 lbs.
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165 lbs.
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165 lbs.
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125 lbs.
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