USA Fencing

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The 2024 Junior and Cadet World Championships wrapped up with Junior and Cadet Saber competitions. Team USA finished the competition claiming one more gold and bronze medal.

Team USA finished the week-long competition with four gold medals, two silver, and five bronze for a total of 11 medals.

On Thursday, Will Morrill (Scarsdale Fencing Center/ Fencers Club Inc.) brought home bronze in the Junior Men’s Saber competition for Team USA. “I had a lot of tough, close bouts, but ultimately I am happy to be on the podium,” said Morrill.

He talked about coming out of pools ranked 59th and how much of a climb it was to get to the podium. “I had that first bout in the top 64 against the fifth seed and it was a very tough bout. We went back and forth but I was able to make it 15-13. Then after that I had another bout with a strong Canadian fencer, we were also going back and forth. I had a little bit of a lead at the end, then it was 14-14, but I was able to win that too.”

Going into the semifinals Morrill thought to himself “I just need to give it my all.” He faced Graudyn (AIN) in the semifinal where he ultimately claimed the bronze medal for Team USA.

On the final day of competition, the men’s saber team of Colin Heathcock (Christian Bauer Academy/Manhattan Fencing Center), Cody Walter Ji (Nellya Fencers), Will Morill, and Jordan Silberzweig (Manhattan Fencing Center/Yale), came into the competition as the one seed and maintained that all the way to the top of the podium claiming the gold medal for Team USA. 

“It feels amazing, it just feels like all the work we have put in up to this point, all throughout the season, it just really came to this moment. We are all super grateful to be here and to have this amazing opportunity,” said Silberzweig.

Reflecting on the day Heathcock said “there were definitely some hard matches, but we all kept our cool and beat everyone. At the end of the day that’s all that matters.”

The gold medal for Team USA makes it back-to-back years of claiming gold in the Junior Men’s Saber team event. The squad of Ben Len Avram, Colin Heathcock, Cody Walter Ji, and Will Morrill claimed the gold in 2023.

Also on Saturday, the women’s saber team of Magda Skarbonkiewicz, Jenna Shoman, Zoe Kim, and Lola Possick claimed fifth place.