(JAN 16)  (ALEXANDRIA, VA.) - Seventeen-year-old Iesha Kenney reached new heights in her amateur boxing career this past week in Reno, Nev. The T.C. Williams student captured her third straight national title at the 2015 Junior Open and Youth National Championships. Kenney is now an eight-time national champion with gold medal victories in the National Police Athletic League (PAL) tournament, Golden Gloves, Silver Gloves and Junior Olympics. She’s also tested her skills against the best in the world, winning a bronze medal at the 2013 Junior World Championships.

Kenney clinched her first berth on the U.S. National Team in January of 2013 at the inaugural Junior and Youth Open Tournament in Reno, Nev. She went on to represent Team USA at the Pirkka Tournament in Finland, where she won her first international gold medal. Later in 2013, Kenney competed in the first-ever Women’s Junior and Youth World Championships in Bulgaria where she earned bronze after a controversial loss to Turkey in the semifinal round.

Kenny continued her winning ways last year, reclaiming her position on Team USA at the 2014 Youth Open before taking gold the National PAL Championships in October. International competitions for the women’s non-Olympic weight classes in the junior and youth categories weren’t contested in 2014, but will resume this year at the 2015 Junior and Youth Women’s World Championships in Taipei, Taiwan in May.

Now a regular presence on the USA Boxing national team, the teenager is well-known on the domestic international scene and she looks forward to returning to international action later this year. A proud member of the Alexandria Boxing Club, Kenney enjoys the chance to train alongside fellow national champions Troy Isley, Kavon Robertson and Dara Shen. Her coaches Kay Koroma, Dennis Porter and Ron Simms will make sure to have ready to face the world’s best when she takes the ring in Taiwan later this year.

Outside of boxing, Kenney maintains a 3.9 GPA at T.C. Williams High School, where she is enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) and “Dual Enrollment” courses, which double as college credits. Kenney was recognized by the City of Alexandria’s Mayor Bill Euille in May 2013 for her outstanding achievement in boxing. Boxing isn’t Kenney’s only talent outside of the classroom, she’s also an accomplished violinist and softball player.