March 2026 NAC, Day 4 Recap: Big Stories, Home-State Wins and Final-Day Gold in Cleveland
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by Bryan Wendell
CLEVELAND, Ohio — April Wang (LA Fencing Academy of Pomona) missed school Monday. But she’s got a pretty good excuse — and a great story ready for her classmates.
“I'll be like, ‘Guys, I went to Ohio,’” she says. “And then they're gonna be like ‘What? You went to Ohio?’ And I'll be like, ‘Yeah. I went for a fencing competition. I did really good. I got my E in Y-12 and I got gold in Y-10.’”
April’s gold medal in Y-10 Women’s Saber was one of six titles awarded Monday, the final day of the March 2026 North American Cup in Cleveland.
She says fencing is special not only because of the competition but also because of the friendships she’s made along the way. And when she gets home, her newest medal already has a place waiting.
“ Actually, my dad installed new shelves and he put a special place at the top trophies and medals,” she says. “And I'm gonna put my medal up there.”
Max Gerstmann (Ohio Fencing Center) will be finding a prominent place for his NAC medal, too. The Division II Men’s Saber champion calls the victory the highlight of his fencing career — at least so far.
“I've been working on it for a long time,” he says. “I'm 17. I got my C when I was 14 and was going to a lot of tournaments, trying to get that result to get the B. This year, every NAC I've been doing better and better. I have just been learning a lot.”
Gerstmann trains in Columbus, making the Cleveland NAC something close to a home event. Even with that familiarity, he says his coach delivered the same reminder he hears before every competition.
“He tells me this every NAC, every competition I go to: don't rush,” he says. “You're at a tournament. You're so excited. Usually if I lose it's because I'm rushing.”
Patience also proved valuable for Beata Jubilee (Tampa Fencing & Tennis Academy), the Y-10 Women’s Epee champion. Asked to sum up her day in a single word, she didn’t hesitate.
“Extravagant,” she says.
Her strategy throughout the day was simple: stay calm and focus on fencing her best.
“I was thinking I'm just gonna go out and do my best and don't like stress or anything,” she says.
That approach helped her navigate the pressure of the finals stage — even if the moment itself was a little nerve-wracking.
“I was really, really anxious, but it was really worth it,” she says. “I loved it because all the attention is on you. And everybody's cheering for you.”
Day 4 Medalists
Y-10 Women’s Epee
Gold: Beata Jubilee (Tampa Fencing & Tennis Academy)
Coaches: Boyko Krastevitch, Enrique Claro, Beatrice Fernandez
Silver: Evelyn Chaney (Elite Fencing Academy & EFA)
Bronze: Nina Yang (Yang Fencing Club)
Bronze: Yenna Chung (Elite Fencing Academy & EFA)
5th: Julianna Uricheck (Tampa Fencing & Tennis Academy)
6th: Crystal Zhao (Guanyi Fencing Academy)
7th: Selena Erata (Wanglei International Fencing Club)
8th: Hailie Wang (Elite Fencing Academy & EFA)
Y-10 Women’s Saber
Gold: April Wang (LA Fencing Academy of Pomona)
Coaches: Coach Roger, Coach Wang
Silver: Alyssa Liu (Yi Fencing Center)
Bronze: Wanning Li (North York Fencing Club)
Bronze: Maya Menon (Fencing Academy of Boston)
5th: Christabel Luc (Southern California)
6th: Yihan Zhou (Hangzhou Absolute Fencing Club)
7th: Zoe Radell (Capital Fencing Academy)
8th: Sophie Grace Ku (Globus Fencing Academy)
Y-10 Men’s Foil
Gold: Terrance Xu (Gold Fencing Club & Jovanovic Fencing)
Coaches: Zeng, Li, Ye, Wang, Alberto
Silver: Brandon Lyu (Golubitsky Fencing Center)
Bronze: Wallace Wu (Fencers Club Inc.)
Bronze: Lucas Lin (Tim Morehouse Fencing Club (Port Chester))
5th: Lucas Sun (Silicon Valley Fencing Center)
6th: John Mazaheri (LA International Fencing)
7th: Ethan Yu (Dynamo Fencing Club)
8th: Nolan Moon (Tim Morehouse Fencing Club (Port Chester))
Y-14 Women’s Foil
Gold: Enjia Sherry Liu (Mountain Fencing Club)
Coaches: Jie Zhang, Jacob Lee
Silver: Sophie Duan (Team Touche Fencing Center)
Bronze: Lola Brown (Space City Fencing Academy)
Bronze: Kayla Mcsherry (Fencers Club Inc.)
5th: Charlotte Bing (Star Fencing Academy)
6th: Ann Tao (Silicon Valley Fencing Center)
7th: Lottie Orringer (Empire United Fencing)
8th: Hai Gong (Gutkovskiy Fencing Academy)
Y-14 Men’s Epee
Gold: Michael Zhao (Dynamo Fencing Center)
Coaches: All Dynamo Coaches!
Silver: Joey Wang (Swords Fencing Studio)
Bronze: Gene Kim (Olympian Fencing Club & Penta Olympic Fencing Club)
Bronze: Daniel Dodin (New York Fencing Academy)
5th: Isaiah Mittelstaedt (Supreme Fencing Academy)
6th: Alexander Luo (Wanglei International Fencing Club)
7th: Destin Deng (Yang Fencing Club)
8th: Noah Gacioch (Academy of Fencing Masters)
Division II Men’s Saber
Gold: Max Gerstmann (Ohio Fencing Center)
Coach: Dimitry Lapkes
Silver: Viren Bollu (Globus Fencing Academy)
Bronze: Trey Brimmer (Zeta Fencing & Laguna Fencing Center)
Bronze: Daniel Khotline (Dynamo Fencing Center Inc.)
5th: Zihou Dai (Z1 Fencing Club)
6th: Ethan Hublall (Globus Fencing Academy)
7th: Cooper Li (Globus Fencing Academy)
8th: Graham Jones (Badger Fencing Club & Nazlymov Fencing Foundation)
Day 4 Photos
See the Day 4 gallery of Serge Timacheff photos on Facebook.
