MAPLEWOOD, NJ — It was a nail-biter at the first meet of the season on Saturday, Dec. 21, but the Columbia High School fencers came out roaring and won all of their meets. It was a quad meet in which the girls faced Livingston and then Millburn, and the boys fenced against Livingston, Millburn, and St. Benedict’s Prep.
The girls handily defeated their opponents, scoring 18-9 against the Livingston girls, clinching at 14-8, and 19-8 against Millburn, clinching at 14-3.
The boys had a tougher time, coming down to the very last bout in two out of three wins. The boys began the day against Livingston, as junior epee fencer Tristen Reynolds won the last bout, putting an end to a strong comeback from Livingston.
The boys ended their day with junior epee fencer Stanley Finlayson eking out a win after a very close match-up against St. Benedict’s. In between, the boys easily defeated Millburn 15-12, clinching at 14-4.
On Saturday, Dec. 28, CHS’ freshmen and sophomore fencers showcased their immense talents at the Morris Knolls 2019 Freshman/Sophomore Invitational. CHS brought home 17 medals, including five gold, three silver and four bronze medals. All of the results can be found at this link:
https://fencingtimelive.com/tournaments/eventSchedule/D3B58FD770814310A6180EE1AF6B775E#today.
Individual results for CHS fencers are as follows:
Girls Freshmen Epee: Eleanor Vandevusse, bronze
Girls Freshmen Foil: Harumi Garrison, gold; Bonney Donachie, fifth
Boys Freshmen Epee: Hudson Tyler, gold; Jess Leger, sixth
Girls Sophomore Epee: Devin Wiggins, gold; Evalyn Rhody, silver; Lillian Bak, bronze
Girls Sophomore Foil: Susanna Mann, gold; Maia Sinkler, silver; Kate Spangler, bronze
Girls Sophomore Sabre: Emma Lorman, eighth
Boys Sophomore Epee: Aiden Haley, silver; Ryan Thomas, bronze
Boys Sophomore Foil: Stephen Elias, gold; Jesser Pilato, fifth; Anthony Florio, eighth
In all, it marked a fantastic beginning to what the coaches and athletes hope will be a winning season.
Photos Courtesy of Randi Mandelbaum