October 2025 NAC, Day 1 Recap: Nerves, Comebacks and Family Pride in Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Even after five Olympics and more than two decades on the strip, Gerek Meinhardt OLY (Massialas Foundation & Bluegrass Fencers' Club) admits he still feels the butterflies.

“I still get nervous walking into the venue,” he says. “I walked in at 6:45 in the morning, and I was thinking to myself that the first time I walked into one of these venues, I was nervous. And that was probably 26 years ago.”

If one of the most decorated fencers in U.S. history can still get jittery on Day 1 of a North American Cup, the rest of us can take comfort in knowing those pre-bout nerves are universal. What’s also universal: the joy of victory.

Meinhardt claimed gold in Division I Men’s Foil on Friday — one of six champions crowned on the opening day of the October 2025 NAC at the Salt Palace Convention Center.

“If anything, it feels even more rewarding getting back on the podium,” he says. “I know how strong these events are, and it's an amazing sign of how strong the U.S. is getting. Our tournaments are so strong that we have a lot of international fencers coming that want to get good bouting. I’m very happy that I made it through some tough bouts and came out on top today.”

Another highlight of the day came from Garrett Schoonover PLY (Valkyrie Fencing Club), who is still working his way back from a partially torn biceps suffered at the Parafencing National Championships in April.

“I actually took three months off of fencing, and I was only able to get back to the gym about five weeks ahead of Worlds,” he says. “So it was a steep climb, but I felt good about my performance there.”

Schoonover, who captured gold in Parafencing Men’s Epee on Friday, is now targeting a busy season ahead with international competitions in Thailand, Hungary and Florida. The May tournament in Bradenton — hosted by USA Fencing — has special significance as a chance to grow parafencing in the United States ahead of the LA28 Paralympic Games.

“I want everybody who fences para in the United States to be in Bradenton,” he says. “It's going to be an awesome chance for all of our fencers who haven't had an opportunity to fence internationally to see what fencing at that level looks like.”

For Parafencing Women’s Epee champion Jataya Taylor PLY (Denver Fencing Center & Invictus Fencing), that Bradenton stop will also feel like a homecoming.

“It’s where I grew up in Florida, so my parents will actually be able to go and see me fence,” she says. “That’s a special component for my family and friends to be out there.”

The day’s other standout performance came from Semeon Ermakov (Fencing Academy of Denver & Nellya Fencers), who at cadet age outdueled older competitors to win Junior Men’s Saber.

“I'm really proud of me being confident and calm in my fencing,” he says. “Before this season, I didn't really feel myself, and I kind of felt intimidated. But after I was getting through the table of eight, the semifinals, and winning the finals, I felt really good about my fencing.”

Six champions on the first day — and countless stories still to come as the October NAC continues in Salt Lake City.