Four fencers from Presidio Fencing Club (www.presidiofencing.com) competed in the Paul Pesthy Memorial Super Youth Tournament in San Jose last weekend. It was a very difficult tournament, drawing some of the top youth athletes from around the country.
Sophie Russo, who is currently ranked 25th nationally in her age group, triumphed with the bronze medal in the Youth 12 Womens Foil event. She lost in the semi-finals to the 3rd ranked fencer. Russo is a student at Crane Elementary.
Timothy Stanton and Oliver Bublitz competed in the Youth 12 Mens Foil event. This was Bublitz’s first appearance on the national scene. He won two of his six matches in the preliminary round, but was knocked out in the first round of eliminations.
Stanton, after winning four initial matches, made it to the second round of direct eliminations. Bublitz is a student at Goleta Valley Jr. High, and Stanton hails from Santa Barbara Homesteaders.
Russo, Stanton, and Bublitz’s performances in the Y12 events have earned them a chance to compete at Summer National Championships in Grapevine, TX this upcoming July.
Jake Wiener, a freshman at Dos Pueblos High, was the fourth Presidio fencer to attend.
Wiener was slow to start, winning only two of his preliminary matches. He eventually woke up and managed to upset a higher-ranked athlete in the first elimination round. He narrowly lost his second direct elimination, finishing 28th in the Youth 14 Mens Epee.
How about some kid named Keric Moore. Where does he fit in. I hear he received his “B”?