November 2025 NAC, Day 2 Recap: Repeat Champions, Redemption Bouts and a Resilient Return

FORT WORTH, Texas — After winning gold in Cadet Men’s Foil at the October NAC, the highest goal Borys Budovskyi (Dynamo Fencing) could set for himself a month later was simply: do it again.

On Saturday — Day 2 of the November 2025 North American Cup in Fort Worth — Budovskyi delivered on that ambitious aim, blending grit, focus and trust in his coaches to secure back-to-back Cadet Men’s Foil titles.

“Coach told me a few things, like, I wasn't squeezing my fingers, wasn't ready off the line,” he says. “He told me to be ready off the line, and everything will be good from there.”

And he certainly was ready. Budovskyi closed out his semifinal and final by identical 15–6 margins, powering his way to the top of the podium.

“I feel happy and tired at the same time,” he says. “I've been winning here and there, but not all events. It feels good to be back on the podium again here.”

For Joey Wang (Swords Fencing Studio), Saturday brought a different kind of quest — redemption. After a result he wasn’t proud of at the October NAC, Wang attacked the Y-14 Men’s Epee field with renewed determination.

“I trained pretty hard since October NAC because I did really bad during that tournament,” he says.

That renewed focus paid off. Wang outdueled 197 competitors to claim gold, and now he’s looking ahead to the Junior Olympics in Kansas City.

“I'm going to be training harder than I did during the previous weeks,” he says. “Five days a week, four to five hours a day.”

In Cadet Women’s Foil, Ella Calise (Tim Morehouse Fencing Club – Port Chester) showed a different kind of strength — the kind that comes from fighting back after injury.

“Throughout the day, I just tried to remain focused,” she says. “I had a really rough injury all summer, so I tried to come back from that and pull out a win today. I just had to rest all summer, so I couldn't train. It was a rough recovery, but I just tried my best to win.”

A fractured hip kept Calise sidelined for months, making Saturday’s victory even more meaningful. Throughout the day, she worked to maintain her energy, stay disciplined in tough moments and lean on clear tactical guidance.

“I just tried to keep my energy level high throughout the day and just try to eat as much food as possible and just stay energized,” she says. 

Now healthy again, Calise is already preparing for her next challenges: international cadet and junior events in Slovakia and Nuremberg.

From repeat golds to comeback stories, Day 2 of the November NAC proved that resilience — whether mental, physical or both — can turn a long season into a breakthrough moment.