FORT HOOD, Texas — The III Corps combatives team defended its 2010 title, landing as the top team in the 2011 U.S. Army Combatives Championship by nearly 100 points while playing host to the tournament finale Saturday.

With five fighters heading into the final day of competition, the most of any team, the III Corps team produced champions at two weight classes — bantamweight and flyweight.

David Mason, the bantamweight champion, remained undefeated in combatives competition, defending his 2010 title at that weight class. Jesse Thorton, the III Corps noncommissioned officer-in-charge of combatives, dethroned the 2010 champion from Fort Bragg, N.C., Francisco Mercado, to win the flyweight title.

Among those from the home crowd to congratulate the III Corps team on its second straight title was Don Campbell Jr., III Corps and Fort Hood commanding general.

“I know how hard they’ve been working,” Campbell said. “They’ve really put a lot of effort into it, and they showed the warrior ethos, the values and the creed; they really lived it. They practiced hard. They trained hard. They won it as a team. I’m exceptionally proud of the III Corps combatives team.

“Last year, we won it at (Fort) Benning. This year, we won it on our turf, and next year, we’ll get an opportunity to defend (the title) again. We don’t know where, but we’ll do it.”

Thorton agreed the hard work paid off, and with the support of the chain of command, anything is possible. In his flyweight championship bout, Thorton landed a heavy right hand to the head of Mercado, resulting in the fight stopping after only 20 seconds.

After the fight, Thorton told the crowd, “I’m 36 years old, and I’m still putting it down.”

“Last year, I knew Thorton was the best 125-pounder in the Army, and I wanted him to never doubt himself,” said III Corps Combatives Director Kristopher Perkins of why he talked him into fighting another year. “Not only that, Thorton is a sergeant first class, he’s 36 years old. I wanted him to show those other guys who say, ‘I’m too old,’ or ‘It’s a young man’s sport,’ that no, you just have to put your heart into it.”

Heading forward, Thorton said he plans to step away from Army combatives, but said he’ll always have a connection with this III Corps team.

At the 110-pound weight class, Mason earned his second bantamweight title by defeating teammate Larry Jackson in a unanimous decision.

“Lieutenant Mason is a great asset to the team,” Perkins said. “Not only is he a great fighter, he is a great officer in the Army. He provides that level head and the leadership. He’s become a great friend of mine.”

Also defending his 2010 title, heavyweight fighter Spc. Aaron Jackson from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., defeated the Minnesota National Guard’s Braden Simonet in the last fight of the 2011 tournament.

The bloodiest bout of the night came in the lightweight championship bout between two newcomers to combatives: 1st Infantry Division’s Joseph Sandstrom from Fort Riley, Kan., and 3rd Infantry Division’s Hanlin Liu from Fort Stewart, Ga.

Sandstrom, the clear aggressor in the fight, repeatedly landed heavy punches throughout the three five-minute rounds.

“His hands were down, and I was beating him to the punch right off the bat,” Sandstrom said. “My coaches were telling me to stick with the jab and to keep (the fight) standing up, so I kept utilizing the jab and trying to throw the one-twos.”

Despite copious amounts of Liu’s blood being spilled on the mat, the 3rd Inf. Div. Soldier refused to quit, throwing punches until the final bell.

“I’m feeling relieved because I feel I did my best,” Liu said after the fight. “There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to keep pushing 100 percent no matter what round it was. No matter how tired I am, I’m going to push, push, push.”

“He was just tough as nails,” Sandstrom added. “He would not go down.”

In the final team standings, III Corps finished with 462 points, ahead of Fort Riley, who finished second with 385 points and the 3rd Inf. Div., who finished third with 328 points. Perkins said the win was thanks to a total team effort.

“On the very first day, my guys were going for the submission,” he said noting that the team’s first 22 bouts were ended by submission. “The reason they were going for those points was because they were competing as a team. Even though they could have stalled out, won the match, and moved themselves forward, they knew the team needed those extra points, and they kept putting them on for all three days.”