McGrade to represent U.S. in taekwondo

Mary Warner, Contributor
McGrade (in red) with Cornell team in March at the University of Vermont tournament where they were named Division 1 champions.

Charlotte resident, Anna McGrade, 21, will represent the United States in taekwondo at the Pan American University Games in Cali, Colombia, this November.

McGrade is captain of the Cornell taekwondo team that swept the University of Vermont at a tournament on March 30, where Cornell was also named Eastern Collegiate Taekwondo Conference Division 1 champions and McGrade was named Division 1 women’s MVP.

She had previously been selected for the Eastern Collegiate Taekwondo Conference 2024 sparring all-star team.

The Pan American games, also known as the International University Sports Federation America Games, are held every two years.

McGrade at the 2024 National Collegiate Taekwondo Association championships in Berkeley, Calif., after winning a place on Team USA for the Pan American University Games.
McGrade at the 2024 National Collegiate Taekwondo Association championships in Berkeley, Calif., after winning a place on Team USA for the Pan American University Games.

McGrade is a 2020 graduate of Champlain Valley Union High and was a member of the Open Water Rowing team which won the Northeast Regional Youth Open Water Rowing Championship in 2019 and 2020.

When she matriculated to Cornell during the pandemic, team sports had been canceled so she joined cardio kick-boxing, which was led by the Taekwondo coach, launching her into a new sport.

After graduating from Cornell in May, she will train in Charlotte and other locations in the months leading up to the Pan American University games.