She runs countless miles before dawn, spends hours in the gym honing body and mind into a well-oiled machine.

That routine for Army Reserve Spc. Sherica L. Redrick, daughter of Larry and Winiferd Redrick of Waco, helped her qualify as a competitor in the 2011 Armed Forces Boxing Championships. She had been training for this moment for what seems like a lifetime.

“When I was in middle school a guy and a girl told me about how much fun it is and that I should try it,” said Redrick, a 2005 graduate of Waco High School. She boxes in the 112-pound, flyweight class. “Since I was already involved in other sports it was easy for me to try boxing. After I found a gym I began training and ended up being pretty good at it. I’ve been in love with this sport ever since.”

Sherica L. Redrick

Some are in it for the competition, some like being a part of the team and others just like to box.

“My favorite part of being here is that I get to learn more about something that I love to do,” said Redrick, a human resources specialist assigned to the 961st Engineering Battalion in Seagoville.

The 2011 Armed Forces Boxing Championships featured 35 service members from duty stations around the world in bouts arranged to see who the top fighter is in each of 10 male and four female weight divisions.

Redrick and her fellow athletes battled members of their own service to prove they were the top of their weight class before being chosen to compete at these championships.

“I would have tried out for the team in 2010, but I was completing my training at the time,” said Redrick, who has been in the Army Reserves for a year. “I’m grateful to have coaches and teammates who can give good constructive criticism.”

Redrick was uncontested in her weight class, and so did not have to fight at the championships to take home the gold medal. But, she plans to continue to train and fight, both at home and for the Army.