USA Fencing

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — In a tournament that brought together both our youngest and our most experienced fencers, Team USA shined.

The competition: the 2023 Pan American Youth & Veteran Championship. The setting: Montevideo, Uruguay. The lineup featured a roster of some of Team USA’s most promising youth fencers and some of our most accomplished Vets.

The final medal table had Team USA firmly at the top, with 58 total medals to lead all nations. The United States also had the lead in gold medals, winning the top prize in exactly half of the medal events — 18 of 36.

The tournament featured competition in all three weapons across six different age categories:

• Youth A: Born in 2014 and 2015 (8 or 9 by Dec. 31, 2023)
• Youth B: Born in 2012 and 2013 (10 or 11 by Dec. 31, 2023)
• Pre-Cadet: Born in 2010 and 2011 (12 or 13 by Dec. 31, 2023)
• Pre-Veteran: Born between 1974 and 1983 (between 40 and 49 by Dec. 31, 2023)
• Veteran 1: Born between 1964 and 1973 (between 50 and 59 by Dec. 31, 2023)
• Veteran 2: Born in 1963 or before (at least 60 years old by Dec. 31, 2023)

In a promising sign of the future, Team USA had a medal stand sweep in four events, winning gold, silver and both bronze medals in:

• Youth B Women's Saber
• Youth B Men’s Saber
• Pre-Cadet Men's Saber
• Veteran 2 Women’s Saber

Athletes also had the opportunity to fence up or down in certain age categories, at the discretion of the Organizing Committee.

That allowed several Team USA athletes to earn multiple medals. The United States had standout performances throughout the competition, including a stunning three gold medals for Valerie Asher (DC Fencers Club) — one in each veteran women’s epee event. In the youth competition, Team USA was led by two golds and a bronze from 7-year-old John Mazaheri (Bluegrass Fencers’ Club), who earned medals in both foil and epee.

Congratulations to the fencers, as well as their coaches, their family members, and the members of the Team USA cadre in Uruguay!

Youth A Women's Epee

Gold: Samantha Susana Custodio Wong (Peru)

Silver: Cynthia Kou (USA)

Bronze: Vania Guazzotti Cuba (Peru)

Bronze: Manuela Gálvez Idárraga (Bolivia)

5th: Lorena Iaconelli (Brazil)

6th: Maya Schneider (Brazil)

7th: Maria Luiza Garofolo (Brazil)

8th: Theodora Tengelmann (Brazil)

 

Youth A Men's Epee

Gold: John Mazaheri (USA)

Silver: Marcelo Vieira (Brazil)

Bronze: Antonio Fonseca (Brazil)

Bronze: Gabriel Polizer (Brazil)

5th: Juan Esteban Alegría Angulo (Peru)

6th: Michel Chade (Brazil)

7th: Luis Augusto Prieto Amaya (Peru)

8th: Alonso Carmona Ponce (Peru)

 

Youth A Women's Foil

Gold: Morgan Fraser (USA)

Silver: Maya Schneider (Brazil)

Bronze: Helena Machado (Brazil)

Bronze: Vania Guazzotti Cuba (Peru)

5th: Samantha Susana Custodio Wong (Peru)

6th: Anita Hofmann (Brazil)

7th: Ambar Nuñez Gonzalez (Chile)

8th: Alba Burga Goñi (Peru)

 

Youth A Men's Foil

Gold: John Mazaheri (USA)

Silver: Antonio Fonseca (Brazil)

Bronze: Antonio Wizer (Brazil)

Bronze: Juan Pablo Tapias Restrepo (Colombia)

5th: Gabriel Polizer (Brazil)

6th: Luis Augusto Prieto Amaya (Peru)

7th: Alonso Carmona Ponce (Peru)

8th: Marcelo Brasil (Brazil)

 

Youth A Women's Saber

No Team USA competitors

 

Youth A Men's Saber

No Team USA competitors

 

Youth B Women's Epee

Gold: Jane Zhang (USA)

Silver: Anne Driesen (Brazil)

Bronze: Alicia Fontenele (Brazil)

Bronze: Ifechi Olele (USA)

5th: Jessica Wu (USA)

6th: Bernardita Carceller (USA)

7th: Giulia Santos (Brazil)

8th: Fátima Pásara Zegarra (Peru)

 

Youth B Men's Epee

Gold: Julian Kim (USA)

Silver: Wesley Kropp (USA)

Bronze: Fletcher Mazaheri (USA)

Bronze: Sebastian Gonzales Baertl (Peru)

5th: Paulo José Torres Chavez (Peru)

6th: John Mazaheri (USA)

7th: Theo Kadunc (Brazil)

8th: Theodore Mazaheri (USA)

 

Youth B Women's Foil

Gold: Dina Wang (USA)

Silver: Morgan Fraser (USA)

Bronze: Romina Andrea Aramburo Murillo (Bolivia)

Bronze: Giulia Santos (Brazil)

5th: Carla Michelle Herrera Herrera (Bolivia)

6th: Eduarda Nascimento (Brazil)

7th: Samantha Susana Custodio Wong (Peru)

8th: Francesca Zeller Carbone (Argentina)

 

Youth B Men's Foil

Gold: Fletcher Mazaheri (USA)

Silver: Griffin Kingsley (USA)

Bronze: Erick Rodrigo Jeffrey Atarama Castro (Peru)

Bronze: John Mazaheri (USA)

5th: Theo Kadunc (Brazil)

6th: Julio Daniel Vilca Kunigami (Peru)

7th: Theodore Mazaheri (USA)

8th: Nicolas Chade (Brazil)

–

9th: Wesley Kropp (USA)

 

Youth B Women's Saber

Gold: Jia Qi Wang (USA)

Silver: Ashley Zhang (USA)

Bronze: Heidi Hu (USA)

Bronze: Yehna Schmidt (USA)

5th: Amanda Campusano Plaza (Chile)

6th: Ana Luiza Motta (Brazil)

7th: Bella Brimmer (USA)

8th: Marcela Ribeiro (Brazil)

 

Youth B Men's Saber

Gold: Viktor Greenstein (USA)

Silver: Lucas Kozlov (USA)

Bronze: Hagan Hwang (USA)

Bronze: Jeremy Kang (USA)

5th: Manuel Alvez (Venezuela)

6th: Theo Kadunc (Brazil)

7th: Felipe Zegarra Quiroga (Bolivia)

8th: Antonio Fonseca (Brazil)

 

Pre-Cadet Women's Epee

Gold: Adriana Ferreira de Melo (USA)

Silver: Navya Neelam (USA)

Bronze: Astrid Bravo Ortega (Peru)

Bronze: Luxi Guo (USA)

5th: Barbara Columba Ocegueda Velasco (Mexico)

6th: Giovana Komatsu (Brazil)

7th: Sophia Asquino (Brazil)

8th: Yasmin Barros (Brazil)

--

10th: Anne Kropp (USA)

14th: Gabrielle Flitman (USA)

17th: Jane Zhang (USA)

 

Pre-Cadet Men's Epee

Gold: Andres Grageda Ushak (Chile)

Silver: Pedro Louzada (Brazil)

Bronze: Rafael Hoffelder (Brazil)

Bronze: Alvaro Kalleby (Brazil)

5th: Walison Silva (Brazil)

6th: Facundo Elías Loayza (Peru)

7th: Fletcher Mazaheri (USA)

8th: Raimundo Bulnes Tapia (Chile)

–

10th: Johnny Wu (USA)

14th: Julian Kim (USA)

19th: Jeremaias Carceller (USA)

23rd: Theodore Mazaheri (USA)

 

Pre-Cadet Women's Foil

Gold: Astrid Bravo Ortega (Peru)

Silver: Sophia Asquino (Brazil)

Bronze: Yuki Wu (Brazil)

Bronze: Carol Wang (USA)

5th: Lia Cannita (Venezuela)

6th: Dina Wang (USA)

7th: Antonella Molina Rebagliati (Peru)

8th: Giulia Santos (Brazil)

 

Pre-Cadet Men's Foil

Gold: Alvaro Kalleby (Brazil)

Silver: Dalton Sheng (USA)

Bronze: Felipe Reichow (Brazil)

Bronze: Fletcher Mazaheri (USA)

5th: Bernardo Costa (Brazil)

6th: Andres Guerra (Venezuela)

7th: Pedro Louzada (Brazil)

8th: Rhys Fraser (USA)

--

23rd: Theodore Mazaheri (USA)

 

 

Pre-Cadet Women's Saber

Gold: Yehna Schmidt (USA)

Silver: Ágatha Magalhães (Brazil)

Bronze: Victoria Nieto (Venezuela)

Bronze: Gabrielle Mattos (Brazil)

5th: Nina Yamashita (Brazil)

6th: Veronica Valentina Riera Rojas (Chile)

7th: Victoria Mayer (Bolivia)

8th: Amanda Campusano Plaza (Chile)

--

11th: Bella Brimmer (USA)

15th: Emma Dorobantu (USA)

Pre-Cadet Men's Saber

Gold: Aram Clark (USA)

Silver: Mclahel Andres (USA)

Bronze: Ayden Li (USA)

Bronze: Matthew Kang (USA)

5th: Marcus Pinto (USA)

6th: Theo Baldin (Brazil)

7th: Carlos Lopez (Venezuela)

8th: Joaquim Peluso (Brazil)

--

9th: Robert Brimmer (USA)

 

Pre-Vet Women's Epee

Gold: Valerie Asher (USA)

Silver: Maria Noel De Armas (Argentina)

Bronze: Carolina Moreira (Brazil)

Bronze: Michele Bardus (Brazil)

5th: May Rowland (USA)

6th: Charlotta Bowie (USA)

7th: Teodroa Stanica (USA)

8th: Melissa Alvarenga Ramirez (El Salvador)

--

9th: Alison Frey (USA)

14th: S.S. Rachel El-Saleh (USA)

 

Pre-Vet Men's Epee

Gold: Carlos Enrique Covani (Argentina)

Silver: Martin Andres Poletto (Argentina)

Bronze: Koiti Yamashita (Brazil)

Bronze: Daniel Olivera (Uruguay)

5th: Valentin Andres Alitisz (Argentina)

6th: Shun Yao (USA)

7th: Franco De Caria (Uruguay)

8th: Nicholas Locasale (USA)

--

20th: Niul Manske (USA)

21st: Jeff Kim (USA)

29th: Thomas Mahnken (USA)

 

Pre-Vet Women's Foil

Gold: Silvia Rothfeld (Brazil)

Silver: Maria Elizabeth Reyes De Flores (El Salvador)

Bronze: Carola Federico (Argentina)

Bronze: Maria Antonia Gwynn (Paraguay)

5th: Daniela Martinez (Venezuela)

6th: Melissa Alvarenga Ramirez (El Salvador)

7th: Eleonora Navatta (Uruguay)

8th: Sara Ivette Pacheco Ortiz (El Salvador)

--

10th: Sharone Huey (USA)

11th: Alison Frey (USA)

15th: Teodroa Stanica (USA)

17th: Esperanza Alzona (USA)

18th: S.S. Rachel El-Saleh (USA)

 

Pre-Vet Men's Foil

Gold: Carlos Roberto Junco Franco (Mexico)

Silver: Carlos Enrique Covani (Argentina)

Bronze: Fabian Sales Radseca (Costa Rica)

Bronze: Rolando Balboa (Bolivia)

5th: Daniel Berke (USA)

6th: Thomas Mahnken (USA)

7th: Rafael Rivero (Uruguay)

8th: Aldo Precciozzi (USA)

 

Pre-Vet Women's Saber

1st: Luciana Peluso (Brazil)

2nd: Naomi Dahl (USA)

3rd: Jamie Wilemse (USA)

3rd: Patricia Suan (Brazil)

5th: Esperanza Alzona (USA)

6th: Jenny Yang (USA)

7th: Cynthia Santos (Brazil)

8th: Sara Ivette Pacheco Ortiz (El Salvador)

–

13th: S.S. Rachel El-Saleh (USA)

Pre-Vet Men's Saber

Gold: Mahmoud Elbakry (USA)

Silver: Rodrigo Baldin (Brazil)

Bronze: Chris Dahl (USA)

Bronze: Jhonnja Centeno (Venezuela)

5th: Ricardo Rodrigues (Brazil)

6th: Vincent Paragano (USA)

7th: Juan Fayos (Brazil)

8th: Augusto Pinto (USA)

--

9th: David Hu (USA)

 

Vet 1 Women's Epee

Gold: Valerie Asher (USA)

Silver: Cristina Leonor Ribera Michel (Bolivia)

Bronze: Laura Mangiaterra (Brazil)

Bronze: Virginie Vermeersch (Argentina)

5th: Patricia Di Cunto (Brazil)

6th: Fabiana Maluf (Brazil)

7th: Marta Sanchez Emden (Puerto Rico)

8th: Maria Elizabeth Reyes De Flores (El Salvador)

--

9th: Charlotta Bowie (USA)

11th: May Rowland (USA)

13th: S.S. Rachel El-Saleh (USA)

 

Vet 1 Men's Epee

Gold: Carlos Enrique Covani (Argentina)

Silver: Valentin Andres Alitisz (Argentina)

Bronze: Guilherme Luis Garcia (Brazil)

Bronze: Daniel Olivera (Uruguay)

5th: Bela Suveg (Canada)

6th: Koiti Yamashita (Brazil)

7th: Gustavo Ricardo Di Martino (Argentina)

8th: Ramón Román (Uruguay)

--

9th: Shun Yao (USA)

10th: David Nemazie (USA)

23rd: Thomas Mahnken (USA)

Vet 1 Women's Foil

Gold: Silvia Rothfeld (Brazil)

Silver: Esperanza Alzona (USA)

Bronze: Silvina Raquel Bierwerth (Argentina)

Bronze: Sharone Huey (USA)

5th: Vania Oliveira (Brazil)

6th: Cristina Leonor Ribera Michel (Bolivia)

7th: Daniela Martinez (Venezuela)

8th: Suzana Pasternak (Brazil)

--

13th: S.S. Rachel El-Saleh (USA)

 

Vet 1 Men's Foil

Gold: Carlos Enrique Covani (Argentina)

Silver: Fabian Sales Radesca (Costa Rica)

Bronze: Nestor Luis Grajales (Puerto Rico)

Bronze: Daniel Berke (USA)

5th: Thomas Mahnken (USA)

6th: Guillermo Mariano Colino (Argentina)

7th: Carlos Eduardo Lopez Castaño (Colombia)

8th: Rafael Rivero (Uruguay)

--

14th: Aldo Precciozzi (USA)

 

Vet 1 Women's Saber

Gold: Silvia Rothfeld (Brazil)

Silver: Jamie Wilemse (USA)

Bronze: Patricia Di Cunto (Brazil)

Bronze: Jenny Yang (USA)

5th: Esperanza Alzona (USA)

6th: S.S. Rachel El-Saleh (USA)

7th: Naomi Dahl (USA)

8th: Cristina Leonor Ribera Michel (Bolivia)

--

9th: Dede Deane (USA)

 

Vet 1 Men's Saber

Gold: Ricardo Rodrigues (Brazil)

Silver: Ramón Román (Uruguay)

Bronze: David Nemazie (USA)

Bronze: Bernardo Pedro Bacchiarello (Argentina)

5th: Rafael Rivero (Uruguay)

6th: Adrian Silva Duran (Chile)

7th: Chris Dahl (USA)

8th: Mario Martinez (USA)

--

9th: Vincent Paragano (USA)

10th: Ray Blair (USA)

Vet 2 Women's Epee

Gold: Valerie Asher (USA)

Silver: Claudia Costa (Brazil)

Bronze: Charlotta Bowie (USA)

Bronze: Virginie Vermeersch (Argentina)

5th: Maria Elizabeth Reyes de Flores (El Salvador)

6th: S.S. Rachel El-Saleh (USA)

7th: Oriete Covolan (Brazil)

8th: Carmen Amalia Morote Alvarado (Peru)

--

11th: Esperanza Alzona (USA)

 

Vet 2 Men's Epee

No Team USA competitors

Vet 2 Women's Foil

Gold: Maria Elizabeth Reyes De Flores (El Salvador)

Silver: Esperanza Alzona (USA)

Bronze: Sharone Huey (USA)

Bronze: S.S. Rachel El-Saleh (USA)

5th: Beatriz Fernandez (Uruguay)

6th: Carmen Amalia Morote Alvarado (Peru)

7th: Gladys Berardi (ISV)

Vet 2 Men's Foil

Gold: Donald Treanor (Bermuda)

Silver: Alan Buchwald (USA)

Bronze: Fernando Oscar Lupiz (Argentina)

Bronze: Guillermo Sergio Blanco (Argentina)

5th: Carlos Eduardo Lopez Castaño (Colombia)

6th: Aníbal Calcagno (Uruguay)

7th (tie): Guillermo Orsi (Argentina), Nestor Luis Grajales (Puerto Rico)

–

9th: Aldo Precciozzi (USA)

Vet 2 Women's Saber

Gold: Jenny Yang (USA)

Silver: Naomi Dahl (USA)

Bronze: Esperanza Alzona (USA)

Bronze: Dede Deane (USA)

5th: Gladys Berardi (ISV)

6th: S.S. Rachel El-Saleh (USA)

Vet 2 Men's Saber

Gold: Chris Dahl (USA)

Silver: Ray Blair (USA)

Bronze: Vincent Paragano (USA)

Bronze: Donald Treanor (Bermuda)

Source: Fencing Time Live