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Team USA Earns 36 Medals, Including 13 Golds, at 2022 Junior & Cadet Pan-American Zonal Championships in Peru

03/30/2022, 2:15pm CDT
By Bryan Wendell

Every podium in every event — 18 of 18 — included at least one athlete sporting the stars and stripes.

Four saber fencers hold the American flag.

Cadet women’s saber was one of two events where Team USA swept the podium. The other was cadet men's foil.

The United States dominated the 2022 Junior & Cadet Pan-American Zonal Fencing Championships in Lima, Peru, winning a total of 36 medals, including 13 gold, 11 silver and 12 bronze. 

Every podium in every event — 18 of 18 — included at least one athlete sporting the stars and stripes. Two events — cadet women’s saber and cadet men’s foil — saw Team USA sweep all four podium positions.

Team USA took home gold medals in five of the six team events — winning titles in women’s and men’s foil, women’s and men’s epee, and women’s saber. That success continued in the individual events, as well, where Team USA fencers took home gold medals in eight of the 12 solo competitions.

It was a strong showing for Team USA at the 21-nation tournament, held from March 21–27 for athletes from North America, Central America and South America. The pool of competitors came from as far north as Canada and as far south as Chile and Argentina.

For many Team USA athletes, the chance to compete on the international stage had a different feel from domestic tournaments. Caleb Jeon (Sunnyvale, Calif./Silicon Valley Fencing Center), who won gold in cadet men’s foil, called the chance to represent the United States “a thrilling and memorable experience.”

“The competitive aura of fencing with people from other countries was unique because I felt as if I was competing as a team,” Jeon says. “Compared to national competitions where they’re more individual and club-based, fencing internationally gave me the motivation to fence even harder knowing I had teammates who supported me.”

For Michaela Joyce (Sterling, Va./Elite Fencing Academy), who won silver in junior women’s epee and gold in the junior women’s epee team event, fencing hard meant powering through a tough semifinal bout. Trailing by three touches, she found the resolve to eke out a 15-14 win and advance to the finals.

“I was able to remain focused and resilient while listening to the National Team coach’s outstanding advice and guidance,” she says. “I learned that I can overcome adversity and use my strengths.”

While she’s proud to secure an individual medal, Joyce says she’s equally thrilled to compete against other young women from around the world and, ultimately, to bring a team gold to the United States.

“I am extremely grateful to have the opportunity to become friends with fencers from all over the world,” she says. “Being able to represent my country on an international stage is an amazing and beautiful experience.”

Team USA: How They Finished

Below, we’ve compiled an overview of Team USA’s performance at the 2022 Junior & Cadet Pan-American Zonal Fencing Championships. In the individual events, we’ve shared the top eight finishers as well as any Team USA fencers who finished outside the top eight. For team events, we’ve included the medalists.

For complete results, including round-by-round details, go here.

Junior Women’s Saber

1. Natalia Botello (MEX)
2. Alexandra Lee (USA)
3T. Pietra Chierighini (BRA)
3T. Kaitlyn Pak (USA)
5. Mariana Guzman (MEX)
6. Luana Pekelman (BRA)
7. Regina Pedraza (MEX)
8. Kunling Tong (USA)
22. Charmaine Andres (USA)

Junior Men’s Saber

1. Sean Moon (USA)
2. William Morrill (USA)
3T. Alejandro Pinzon Guerra (COL)
3T. Adam Lai (USA)
5. Leo Chen (CAN)
6. Adrian Figueredo Suliveres (PUR)
7. Samuel Gualtero Cruz (COL)
8. Connor Bryce Woodward (PUR)
12. Elden Wood (USA)

Cadet Women's Saber

1. Katherine Andres (USA)
2. Audrey Lin (USA)
3T. Madeline Engelman-Sanz (USA)
3T. Charmaine Andres (USA)

5. Julie Xiao (CAN)
6. Alejandra Beltran(MEX)
7. Ashley Chen (CAN)
8. Florella Peng (CAN)

Cadet Men's Saber

1. Shaun Kim (USA)
2. Esteban Mayer  (BOL)
3T. Julian Mayer  (BOL)
3T. Leo Chen  (CAN)
5. Matthew Chin (USA)
6. Ansh Ghayalod  (USA)

7. Roel Rodriguez  (MEX)
8. Jonathan Morales  (COL)
21. Gabriel McCarthy (USA)

Junior Women’s Team Saber

1. USA (Charmaine Andres, Alexandra Lee, Kaitlyn Pak and Kunling Tong)
2. Mexico
3. Brazil
 

Junior Men's Team Saber

1. Mexico
2. USA (Matthew Chin, Adam Lai, Sean Moon and William Morrill)
3. Canada
 

Junior Women's Foil

1. Katina Proestakis (CHI)
2. Jessie Chen (CAN)
3T. Katherine Kim (USA)
3T. Arianna Cao (USA)

5. Talia Calazans (BRA)
6. Jimena Torres (MEX)
7. Ana Sofia Calderon (MEX)
8. Rafaella Gomes (BRA)
9. Rachel Koo (USA)
13. Daniella Davia (USA)

Junior Men's Foil

1. Chase Emmer (USA)
2. William Kelly (USA)

3T. Bogdan Hamilton (CAN)
3T. John Griffin (USA)
5. Alessio Fukuda (PER)
6. Sanjay Kasi (USA)
7. David Alarcon (CHI)
8. Nicholas Ze-Wei Wu (CAN)

Cadet Women's Foil

1. Katherine Kim (USA)
2. Sophie Zhao (USA)

3T. Jessie Chen (CAN)
3T. Arianna Cao (USA)
5. Elizabeth Upton (CAN)
6. Hailey Eyer (USA)
7. Sofia Gordoa  (MEX)
8. Rafaela Santibañez (CHI)

Cadet Men's Foil

1. Caleb Jeon (USA)
2. Spencer Burke (USA)
3T. Dayaal Singh (USA)
3T. Dylan Hooshi (USA)

5. Adam Wong (CAN)
6. Maximo Azuela (MEX)
7. Maximo Murray (MEX)
8. Blake Degroot (CAN)

Junior Women's Team Foil

1. USA (Arianna Cao, Daniella Davia, Hailey Eyer and Katherine Kim)
2. Brazil
3. Mexico

Junior Men's Team Foil

1. USA (Chase Emmer, John Griffin, William Kelly and Charles Oursler)
2. Canada
3. Brazil

Junior Women's Epee

1. Grace Hu (CAN)
2. Michaela Joyce (USA)
3T. Carmen Andrea Correa Santa (COL)
3T. Victoria Vizeu (BRA)
5. Sarah Gu (USA)
6. Maria Fernanda Morales (MEX)
7. Ruien Xiao (CAN)
8.  Alejandra Piedrahita Gomez (COL)
10. Hadley Husisian (USA)
15. Amelia Wu (USA)

Junior Men's Epee

1. Noah Silvers (USA)
2. Kent Iyoki (USA)

3T. Lucio Perez Ondarts (ARG)
3T. Skyler Liverant (USA)
5. Nicholas Candela (USA)

6. Kruz Schembri (ISV)
7. Rafael Gerado Rojas (MEX)
8. Daniel Ojeda Buitrago (CRC)

Cadet Women's Epee

1. Grace Hu (CAN)
2. Leehi Machulsky (USA)
3T. Mia Smotritsky (USA)

3T. Emma Ning (CAN)
5. Lauren McCutchen (USA)
6. Paula Isabella Castro Niampira (COL)
7. Janine Hanspach (PAR)
8. Ruien Xiao (CAN)

Cadet Men's Epee

1. Joseph Wu (USA)
2. Kent Iyoki (USA)

3T. Isaac Dorati (PAN)
3T. Adam Wong (CAN)
5. Kozmo Rhyu (USA)
6. Eduardo Goncalves (BRA)
7. Sergio Garces Mafla (COL)
8. Kruz Schembri (ISV)
15. Daniel Gao (USA)

Junior Women’s Team Epee

1. USA (Sarah Gu, Hadley Husisian, Michaela Joyce and Amelia Wu)
2. Canada
3. Colombia

Junior Men’s Team Epee

1. USA (Nicholas Candela, Kent Iyoki, Skyler Liverant and Noah Silvers)
2. Chile
3. Argentina

Tag(s): Updates