If Taylor Reed, Jackson Waldher and Dakota Arndt can pull it off, it will be a rare and monumental achievement for Montana taekwondo.

All three teenagers from Big Sky Martial Arts are at the AAU U.S. Team Trials today in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Reed, 16, is in the middleweight division (150-160.9 pounds), Waldher, 16, in the light middleweight (130-140.9) and Arndt in the featherweight (112.5-121.3).

All three hold black belts and have been involved with taekwondo for at least nine years.

The team trials uses a round-robin format. The individual with the best record makes the team. 

There are 10 divisions in the junior class for boys and girls.

To qualify for the trials, individuals had to finish in the top four spots at Nationals. Current team members also earn automatic spots to the trials. 

The U.S. Team will compete in Germany in the spring.

“Each of these athletes is capable of making the team,” Master John Paul Noyes, instructor and co-owner of Big Sky Martial Arts, said.

“We are very excited for these guys. They have worked hard and have earned this opportunity.”

Taekwondo’s history in Montana dates back to 1968. Only five Montanans have made the U.S. Team. 

And if one, or all three (Reed, Waldher and Arndt) make the team, it would be a first for BSMA.

“Leaders develop leaders,” Noyes said of how their making the U.S. Team would impact his school.

“The journey of developing leaders is in the training, but winning and making the team makes a huge statement to both them and other taekwondo athletes. They will be pushed into more developed leadership roles; other athletes in the school will become even more motivated as they are training with U.S. Team members. It makes it more tangible and provides great motivation.”

Reed, a junior at Stillwater Christian School, has been to the U.S. National Taekwondo Championships seven times. He has one gold medal and two bronze to show for it.

He competed at the team trials two years ago, placing second.

“I feel very confident I can do it this year,” he said following practice at BSMA on Wednesday.

“Two years ago, I was at the bottom of my division. It was unrealistic for me to make the team. Getting experience was my goal. This year, I’m at the top of my weight class. I have an excellent chance of making it.”

Reed expects as many as five competitors in his weight class.

Waldher, a sophomore at Glacier High School, has enjoyed great success at Nationals. He’s won four gold medals, a silver (this year) and two bronze.

This is his second shot at the team trials. Two years ago he broke his ankle in a match that determined the winner in his weight class.

Waldher did not medal last year at Nationals.

“That made me even more determined this year,” he said.

“I want to make the national team.

“If I just do what I know I can do, I can make it. If I don’t get in the way of myself.

“It’s more mental than physical,” he said at this level.

“We all have the physical abilities to make the team.”

And if he makes it ...

“That means I accomplished a big step in my goal.

“I always think I can do better,” he added.

“I want to give it my best on the big stage. This is a pretty big stage.”

Arndt, 15, is a five-time Nationals competitor. He’s earned one gold medal, two silver and a bronze.

This, however, is the Flathead High School sophomore’s first trip to the team trials.

“Physically and mentally, I’m all the way there,” he said.

“It would feel pretty special (to make the team),” he continued.

“I hope the other two make it also.”

Arndt, like his teammates, says it’s been a grind the last seven months. All three have been training four to five times a week. 

“I’m starting to get pretty tired,” he said.

But he quickly said “no” to that holding him back today.

“I’m really excited,” he said.

“I feel like I’ll get nervous, but once I get in the ring my body takes over.”

Noyes is accompanying all three athletes to Florida. Master Debbie Noyes, an instructor and co-owner of BSMA, is staying behind. She has also been very instrumental in preparing all three for their supreme test.

“Perseverance, for sure,” she said of what it will take for the trio to triumph.

“They have to have that and the inner belief in themselves.

“If they feel determined and have the right mind-set, they could all make it. They all have the physical skills. It’s now a mental game.”