March 2026 NAC, Day 3 Recap: Commitment, Curiosity and Confidence Lead to Gold in Cleveland
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by Bryan Wendell
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Down 14–13 in the final of his very first Division II North American Cup, Yassin Shousha (Elite Fencing Academy) faced the kind of moment that can rattle even experienced fencers.
Truthfully, it rattled him, too.
“I was definitely panicking,” he says, “but I did my best to not let my opponent know that. And then I just committed.”
Earlier in the bout, Shousha says he hesitated at times. With the championship on the line, he chose a different approach — trusting his instincts and attacking decisively.
“That decision was important — to be able to do it and get the single touch,” he says. “It was the most important part of the day for me.”
The gamble paid off. Shousha secured the final point and the Division II Men’s Epee gold medal — one of six titles awarded Sunday at the March 2026 North American Cup in Cleveland.
His family didn’t need a post-bout text to know how things were going. They had been watching the livestream from their home in Atlanta, cheering him on throughout the day.
“And after every bout I won they kept texting me — ‘Good job. Good job. We're watching you. Proud,’” he says.
When he returns home, the medal will have a special place waiting for it.
“This gold medal is going in a big case on the wall,” he says.
Family support also played a role in the journey of Chloe Jiang (Star Fencing Academy), who captured gold in Division II Women’s Foil.
Jiang first discovered fencing through saber when she was 8 years old before making a pivotal switch two years later.
“And then I switched to foil at age 10,” she says. “Originally it was because my mom told me to. But after a while, I found it really fun — how you have all the different tactics and it's not just speed.”
Working with her coaches helped her appreciate the strategic side of the weapon even more.
“All of the weapons are special in their own way, but definitely foil sticks to me the most,” she says.
And when the lessons practiced in training show up exactly when needed in competition?
“It’s really satisfying to see it all come together,” she says.
Royce Zhao (Z1 Fencing Club), the Y-14 Men’s Saber gold medalist, says the key to his success lies in focusing on fundamentals rather than forcing speed.
“If you think too much about speed, it's gonna get to your brain,” he says. “You just have to focus on the footwork.”
That mindset — trusting the basics and letting the results follow — helped Zhao finish the day atop the podium and cap another exciting round of competition in Cleveland.
Day 3 Medalists
Y-12 Women’s Epee
Gold: Ifechi Olele (Elite Fencing Academy)
Coaches: Ayman Fayez, Nada Mostafa
Silver: Anna Li (Bida Fencing Academy)
Bronze: Allie Andrus (Alliance Fencing Academy)
Bronze: Jessica Wu (Yang Fencing Club)
5th: Hannah Yang (Guanyi Fencing Academy)
6th: Shannon Fu (Swords Fencing Studio & Harvard-Westlake Wolverines)
7th: Laila Chen (Medeo Fencing Club)
8th: Arianna Choi (Space Coast Olympic Fencing)
Y-12 Women’s Saber
Gold: Sana Sarath (Frisco Fencing Academy)
Coaches: Hector Florencia, Christopher Slaughter
Silver: Ashley Hu (LA Fencing Academy of Pomona)
Bronze: Chloe Long (West Coast Fencing Academy)
Bronze: Inara Muller (Fencing Academy of Boston)
5th: Kai Osminkina-Jones (Manhattan Fencing Center)
6th: Brigitte Kania (Midwest Fencing Club)
7th: Grace Cheng (West Coast Fencing Academy)
8th: Kim Cao (West Coast Fencing Academy)
Y-12 Men’s Foil
Gold: Mendy Wang (Future Stars Fencing)
Coaches: Junjie Wang, Fabian Parra, David Ospina
Silver: Andrew Park (Silicon Valley Fencing Center)
Bronze: Tiger Wang (Dynamo Fencing Club)
Bronze: Nathan Zhao (Bluegrass Fencers' Club & Queen City Fencers Club LLC)
5th: Matthew Huynh (Fencing Sports Academy, Inc.)
6th: Tian Zhong (Canadian Fencing Academy)
6th: Derrick Zhai (East Coast Fencing Club)
8th: Brandon Lyu (Golubitsky Fencing Center)
Y-14 Men’s Saber
Gold: Royce Zhao (Z1 Fencing Club)
Coaches: Ziad Elsissy, Zeyad Nofal, Yassin Agamy
Silver: Matthew Kang (Premier Fencing Academy)
Bronze: Andrew Gu (LA Fencing Academy of Pomona)
Bronze: Jayden Hu (Manhattan Fencing Center)
5th: Blake Vo (Premier Fencing Academy)
6th: Alex Wang (Globus Fencing Academy)
7th: Tino Tani (Southern California Fencing Academy (Socalfa))
8th: William Lucas (Z1 Fencing Club)
Division II Women’s Foil
Gold: Chloe Jiang (Star Fencing Academy)
Coaches: Kai Zhao, Shuang Meng, Anthony Zhang, Siarhei Byk, Mohamed Hassan, Tamer Tahoun, Bin Huang, Sasha Budenko
Silver: Christina Li (Moe Fencing Club LLC)
Bronze: Nicole Wu (Edmonton Fencing Club)
Bronze: Chloe Yin (Star Fencing Academy)
5th: Samyuta Mummaneni (Renaissance Fencing Club)
6th: Brielle Levesque (Elite Fencing Club)
7th: Alice Li (Silicon Valley Fencing Center)
8th: Kai De Castro (Tim Morehouse Fencing Club (Port Chester))
Division II Men’s Epee
Gold: Yassin Shousha (Elite Fencing Academy)
Coaches: Ahmed Fayez, Sherif Fayez, Ayman Fayez, Mahamed Shousha, Nada Ashraf
Silver: Peter Gordeev (Toronto Fencing Academy Sword Players)
Bronze: Elias Kaba (Rhode Island Fencing Academy and Club)
Bronze: Adrian Cho (Arena Fencing Academy LLC)
5th: Robby Tarchichi (Pittsburgh Fencers Club)
6th: Matthew Wu (New York Fencing Academy)
7th: Jonathan Zhang (Allez Fencing)
8th: Anthony Betts Jr (NKY Fencing Academy & Hudson Centers for the Martial Arts)
Day 3 Photos
See the Day 3 gallery of Serge Timacheff photos on Facebook.
