2006 Individual Foil Championship Results

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SALEM - This year's Individual Foil Championship was held at Blanchett High School in Salem. The Salem Homeschool Byzantines definitely dominated the championships, taking four of the top five individual places.

North Salem fencers chose not to compete individually. West Salem was very under-represented, as they have a roster of more than 15 fencers. Unfortunately, only two of them competed, which was not enough to form a team.

Titan freshman Josh Collins fenced well in his first-ever competition, and teammate Teague Watson showed more of the continued improvement that he has been showing all season. And Blanchet's squad also showed continued improvement -- especially amongst the first-year fencers.

Alex Kohan and Gary Girod both emerged from the elimination pool undefeated. Teammates Charles Allen and Joshua Keatley each lost only one bout in the elimination bout, with Allen's loss a 5-4 squeaker to teammate Alex Kohan. Lindsay Pirelli and Teague Watson each had two defeats in the elimination round, which was good enough to get them into the final six. First-year fencers Syron, Shannon, Mendzer, Collins, and Olafson did not make the cut, but all fenced well.

In the final six, Alex Kohan beat teammate Gary Girod in a 5-4 brawl in the first bout of the pool. Kohan went on to win all four of the rest of his bouts, as did Gary Girod. But Girod's loss to Kohan cost him the gold medal. Lindsay Pirelli could not win against Girod (5-2) or Kohan (5-2), but she beat Allen (5-4), Keatley (5-3), and Watson (5-4) to earn a bronze medal -- a personal best for her.

Byzantines Charles Allen and Joshua Keatley, each of whom is winding up their second year of fencing, both fenced well, but simply could not keep up with the more experienced fencers. For first-year fencer Teague Watson, making it to the final six was cap on a great day,

Cavalier fencer Sarah Olafson received a special award called a "Julie", which was awarded for the first time in honor of the late Julie Shinn, who displayed tremendous courage in her four-month battle with cancer). Sarah did not win a single bout all season -- in fact, she only scored one touch during the entire season. Despite this, Sarah always maintained a positive attitude and clearly just loved to be out on the strip fencing. Saturday, Sarah won her first bout ever and went on to score numerous touches throughout the day, fencing like a different person.

*20**06 Team foil championship* results (complete round robin):

1. Salem Homeschool Byzantines (Joshua Keatley, captain; Charles Allen; Gary Girod; and Alex Kohan)

2. Blanchet Catholic School Cavaliers (Lindsay Pirelli, captain; Scott Mendzer; Sarah Olafson; Ethan Syron)

3. North Salem HS Vikings (Travis Neidig, captain; Ariana Dunning; Kris Lancaster; Ethan McMahon)

4. West Salem HS Titans (Teague Watson, captain; Josh Collins -- disqualified for incomplete team)

Team match results:

BCS vs. NSHS, 45-37

SH vs. NSHS, 45-3

SH vs. BCS, 45-14

SH = 3 wins, no losses

BCS = 1 win, 1 loss

NSHS = no wins, 2 losses

The Byzantines take custody of the championship trophy -- a replica of Napoleon's court sword -- until next year's championship. As they do not have a "school", they have graciously offered to have it displayed at Salem Classical Fencing for the year.

Captain Joshua Keatley had a perfect bout (5-0) and probably would have set some new personal bests had he not substituted in his reserve fencer for himself after just one bout in each match. Gary Girod had four perfect 5-0 bouts, as well as his first-ever perfect match (no hits against him in a match), which was also the best defensive record of the tournament.

Alex Kohan had one perfect 5-0 bouts. Charles Allen also had two perfect 5-0 bouts. Kohan, Girod, and Allen all had superb defensive game. Josh Keatley, who is usually weaker on defense, also did much better.

Cavalier team captain Lindsay Pirelli had her first perfect bout (5-0) in high school fencing, as well as the high scoring bout for the tournament, scoring 12 points in less than three minutes. She also matched her personal best of 25 points in one match.

Sarah Olafson had her first victory in a team bout and set new personal bests of 6 points in a match, as well as 6 points in a single bout. And Ethan Syron set two new personal bests by scoring 14 points in a match and 8 points in a single bout.

Viking team captain Travis Neidig also had his first perfect bout (10-0) in high school fencing, as well as beating his personal best by scoring 22 points in a match. Ethan McMahon set new personal bests of 3 points in a bout and 3 points for the match.

Senior Ariana Dunning ended her high school fencing career Saturday. She began fencing as an 8th-grader at the Salem Family YMCA, then took three years off. She resumed fencing last fall and earned a varsity letter for her efforts.

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