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2022 Summer Nationals: Day 4 Recap

07/06/2022, 1:00am CDT
By Bryan Wendell

Twelve years after he started fencing at age 72, Bianchini is still coming back to the strip. And he’s still winning. On Tuesday in Minneapolis, he walked away with another gold medal and a national title — this time in Vet-80 men’s saber.


Judge Vic Bianchini (Spartak / Golden Sabre Academy) greets Dick Dunlop after their gold medal match in Vet-80 men's saber on July 5 in Minneapolis. (Photo by Serge Timacheff)

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Judge Vic Bianchini (Spartak / Golden Sabre Academy) was just 72 years young when his daughter’s fencing coach approached him with an observation.

“Hey, you look like you could fence,” the coach told Bianchini, who hadn’t yet tried his hand at the sport. 

“And I said, ‘really?’ And he said, ‘yes,’” Bianchini remembers. “And I started with a coach and had immediate success. And it just kept me coming back.”

Twelve years and nine world championships later, Bianchini is still coming back to the strip. On Tuesday in Minneapolis, he walked away with another gold medal and national title — this time in Vet-80 men’s saber.

Did it matter that, at 84, Bianchini is the tournament’s oldest fencer? Not a bit.

“First of all, I love fencing. It's been such a gift to me,” he says. “And I keep doing it because it's it's good physical exercise and I succeeded in it. You know what they say about golf: It's that great ball that you hit straight down the fairway that keeps you coming back? Well, that's what fencing is like for me.”

Bianchini’s gold medal was one of a whopping 16 medals awarded on the fourth day of the 2022 USA Fencing National Championships and July Challenge, or Summer Nationals.

That included Veteran national championships won in all age classifications for men’s saber and women’s epee. In the Vet-50, Vet-60 and Vet-70 age categories, the tournament was the last opportunity to earn qualifying points toward the Veteran World Championships this October in Croatia. 

When the men’s saber and women’s epee competitions concluded, fencers learned who had earned one of those four coveted spots on each team. (See the lists here.)

In Division I competition, Magda Skarbonkiewicz (Oregon Fencing Alliance) secured gold in women’s saber while Brandon H. Li (Marx Fencing Academy) earned the top prize in men’s foil.

The Division IA classification saw two new national champions: Owen Jin (Cavalier Fencing Club) in men’s epee and Ishani S. Sood (California Fencing Academy) in women’s foil.

And in cadet action, gold medals were won by Cody Walter Ji (Nellya Fencers) in men’s saber and Leehi Machulsky (Academy Of Fencing Masters (AFM)) in women’s epee. 

That was a repeat gold for Machulsky, who earned the top prize in the same event at the April North American Cup in Charlotte. 

Day 4 Results

Division I Women’s Saber

Gold: Magda Skarbonkiewicz (Oregon Fencing Alliance)

Silver: Lola P. Possick (Advance Fencing and Fitness Academy)

Bronze: Kara E. Linder (University of Notre Dame)

Bronze: Elizabeth Tartakovsky (Manhattan Fencing Center/Harvard University)

5th: Francesca Russo (Bergen Fencing Club)

6th: Siobhan R. Sullivan (Oregon Fencing Alliance)

7th: Maia C. Chamberlain (Manhattan Fencing Center/Advance Fencing and Fitness Academy)

8th: Atara R. Greenbaum (University of Notre Dame/Alle Fencing Club)

 

Division I Men’s Foil

Gold: Brandon H. Li (Marx Fencing Academy)

Silver: Jonas Winterberg-Poulsen (Denmark)

Bronze: Samarth Kumbla (Silicon Valley Fencing Center)

Bronze: Adam Mathieu (Fencers Club Inc.)

5th: Allen Chen (Bluegrass Fencers' Club)

6th: Joon K. Paik (Fencers Club Inc. / Columbia University)

7th: Augusto Servello (Moe Fencing Club LLC)

8th: Farr R. Dickson (Space City Fencing Academy)

 

Division IA Men’s Epee

Gold and National Champion: Owen Jin (Cavalier Fencing Club)

Silver: Brayden H. Gyure (International Fencers Alliance of Dallas)

Bronze: Maximilian A. Shah (Olympia Fencing Center)

Bronze: Tyler H. Cho (Elite Fencing Academy (GA))

5th: Ajit Sivakumar (Cardinal Fencing Academy)

6th: Ziad N. Khayat (Central California)

7th: Ethan C. Insler (Rhode Island Fencing Academy and Club)

8th: George K. Fuller (Fencers Club Inc. / New Mexico Fencing Foundation)

 

Division IA Women’s Foil

Gold and National Champion: Ishani S. Sood (California Fencing Academy)

Silver: Katherine Kim (Golubitsky Fencing Center)

Bronze: Jaelyn A. Liu (Fencing Institute of Texas / Star Fencing Academy)

Bronze: La Cruz Eden De (Orange County Fencing Center)

5th: Anna Biasco (Northwestern University / RedStar Fencing Club Chicago)

6th: Naomi E. Miller (Marx Fencing Academy)

7th: Claire Teresa Galavotti (The Ohio State University / RedStar Fencing Club Chicago)

8th: Rachel Y. Li (Star Fencing Academy)

 

Cadet Men's Saber

Gold: Cody Walter Ji (Nellya Fencers)

Silver: Silas Choi (Globus Fencing Academy)

Bronze: Lev Ermakov (Fencing Academy Of Denver)

Bronze: Charles Wang (Platinum Fencing Academy)

5th: Samuel Zubatiy (Spartak)

6th: Vasil V. Atanassov (Oregon Fencing Alliance)

7th: Jason I. Bae (Boston Fencing Club)

8th: Andrew Xu (PDX Fencing)

 

Cadet Women’s Epee

Gold: Leehi Machulsky (Academy Of Fencing Masters (AFM))

Silver: Sarah Gu (Medeo Fencing Club)

Bronze: Kyle R. Fallon (Fencing Academy Of Westchester)

Bronze: Sophia N. Jakel (DC Fencers Club)

5th: Ruien Xiao (Canada)

6th: Yasmine A. Khamis (Alliance Fencing Academy)

7th: Anousheh Reid (Medeo Fencing Club)

8th: Julia Yin (Canada)

 

Vet-40 Men’s Saber

Gold and National Champion: Ivan J. Lee (Long Island University/Long Island Fencing Center)

Silver: Jeffrey E. Kallio (Forge Fencing Teams)

Bronze: Andrew T. Anfora (Team Touche Fencing Center)

Bronze: Derek Plonka (Avant Garde Fencers Club Inc (CA) (AGFC))

5th: Li Li (Peninsula Fencing Academy)

6th: James Chen (LA Fencing Academy of Pomona)

7th: Heath B. Winer (The Fencing Center)

8th: Christian Dudnick (Fencing Academy of Denver)

 

Vet-50 Men’s Saber

Gold and National Champion: William L. Becker

Silver: Ronald J. Thornton (Capital Fencing Academy)

Bronze: Kim V. Phillips (Houston Sword Sports)

Bronze: Stephen Dashnaw (Lilov Fencing Academy)

5th: Matthew Zoller (Fencing Academy of Denver)

6th (tie): Mariusz Dolegiewicz (Midwest Fencing Club)

6th (tie): Michael F. Bacon (Manhattan Fencing Center)

8th: Louis V. Montorio (Sheridan Fencing Academy / Sheridan Fencing Academy of Westchester)

 

Vet-60 Men’s Saber

Gold and National Champion: Joshua Runyan (Spartak)

Silver: Joachim Creten (PDX Fencing)

Bronze: Dmitri Kopylov (Lilov Fencing Academy)

Bronze: Steven D. Heck (Nazlymov Fencing Foundation/Rockville Fencing Academy)

5th: Todd Bukowski (Nazlymov Fencing Foundation/National Capital Fencers Club)

6th: Mark R. Lundborg (Washington Fencing Academy)

7th: Brent M. Myers (Southwest Florida Fencing Academy/Manhattan Fencing Center)

8th: Robert Grainger (North Florida Fencing Club)

 

Vet-70 Men’s Saber

Gold and National Champion: Joseph S. Streb (Royal Arts Fencing Academy)

Silver: Keith L. Baker (Nazlymov Fencing Foundation)

Bronze: C. David Seuss (Fencing Academy of Boston)

Bronze: Ted Smith (Hangtown Saber Club)

5th: Philip V. Reilly (Oregon Fencing Alliance)

6th: Philip (Doc) D. Kath (Knights of Siena (SC))

7th: Alexander M. Libers (Southwest Florida Fencing Academy/Naples Fencing Academy)

8th: Victor (Vic) E. Bianchini (Spartak/Golden Sabre Academy)

 

Vet-80 Men’s Saber

Gold and National Champion: Victor (Vic) E. Bianchini (Spartak / Golden Sabre Academy)

Silver: Richard (Dick) M. Dunlop (Illinois Fencers Club)

Bronze: Tung-Shan (Fritz) Chang (NEMA Fencing Center)

 

Vet-40 Women’s Epee

Gold and National Champion: Nicole P. Polanichka (Lancaster Fencing Academy / Williamsport Fencing Club)

Silver: Valerie A. Hutchinson (Denver Fencing Center)

Bronze: Alexandra Swenson (Ataba Fencing Club / Madison Fencing Academy)

Bronze: Marie A. Lawson (DC Fencers Club)

5th: Michele Chimienti (No Fear Fencing / Fortune Fencing)

6th: Kundry E. Haberkern (Salle Auriol Seattle)

7th: Heather Rhea (Central Iowa Fencing Academy)

8th: Ida Choy (Seacoast Fencing Club)

 

Vet-50 Women’s Epee

Gold and National Champion: Sharrie A. Zafft (Marx Fencing Academy)

Silver: Yuliya Ganser (Medeo Fencing Club)

Bronze: Toby Tolley (NMFC/Duke City Fencing)

Bronze: Ann M. Totemeier (Northern Colorado Fencers / Denver Fencing Center)

5th: Sandra M. Marchant (Rogue Fencing Academy / The Phoenix Center)

6th: Monica M. Exum (Salle Auriol Seattle)

7th: Jeannine A. Prokop (Nova Fencing Club)

8th: Cheryl A. Paine (Red Door Fencing)

 

Vet-60 Women’s Epee

Gold and National Champion: Cynthia E. Glover (Rain City Fencing Center)

Silver: Amy C. Montoya (Battle Born Fencing Club)

Bronze: Pay Simone La (Northwest Fencing Center / Golden Gate Fencing Center)

Bronze: Cristina G. Gordet (South Florida Fencing Club)

5th: Valerie Asher (DC Fencers Club)

6th: Louise N. Leighton (Escrime Du Lac)

7th: Christine M. Tadlock (Fencing Institute Of Texas)

8th: Suzanne Bloomer (Academy Of Fencing Masters (AFM) / University Alaska Fairbanks Fencing Club)

 

Vet-70 Women’s Epee

Gold and National Champion: Elizabeth (Liz) R. Kocab (Plymouth/Ann Arbor Fencing Academy)

Silver: Bonnie Aher (Salle Auriol Seattle)

Bronze: Erica Julien (Cape Fear Fencing Association)

Bronze: Jann L. Ream (Iowa City Fencing Center)

5th: Mary A. Turzillo (On Target Fencing Team / Cyranos Place)

6th: Muriel C. Cawthorn (Rhode Island Fencing Academy And Club)

7th: Bettie J. Graham (Chevy Chase Fencing Club)

8th: Cynthia J. Runyon (High Desert Fencing Alliance)

 

Vet-80 Women’s Epee

Gold and National Champion Bettie J. Graham (Chevy Chase Fencing Club)

Silver: Mary A. Turzillo (On Target Fencing Team / Cyranos Place)

 

Find full results at Fencing Time Live.

Tag(s): Updates  2022 Summer Nationals