USA Fencing

COLUMBUS, Ohio —  Shining bright at the top of the podium is Jacob Gilshteyn (LA International Fencing), not only did he win a national title, but he claimed his first national medal.

Jacob is one of four gold medals earned on Monday, July 8 at the USA Fencing National Championships & July Challenge, also known as Summer Nationals.

“I've never felt better in my life honestly like I finally got a national medal,” he says. Now that he’s reached the top of his division, what’s next?

“Obviously medal in higher divisions, you know, division two, division one. I qualify for that now because I got a rating so yeah, just step it up.”

Wesley Kropp (Elite Fencing Academy) was just as excited saying “it feels very good. It was very hard so I feel very accomplished how I did this good!” 

Starting at 8 am required a lot of focus from Wesley, he says “there were a couple of bouts that were very close, but I just had to stay focused and not like lose my mind and not keep rushing. I need to take my time.”

Another first time national medalist, Yao Pincheng (Team Touche Fencing Center/ LA International Fencing), claimed the Division III Men’s Foil national title. 

“It feels good because it's my first medal at Summer Nationals,” he says. 

He continues saying “I was surprised because I thought I was in the top four. But like, my friends were like, encouraging me to text and like stuff. And like my dad was helping me, my coaches were coaching me well, and like yeah, I was surprised because like Summer Nationals is a big event.”

Y-10 Women’s Foil

Gold and 2024 National Champion: Lydia Chang (Silicon Valley Fencing Center)

Silver: Vivian Zhang (LA International Fencing)

Bronze: Kayla McSherry (Fencers Club Inc.)

Bronze: Miranda Lai (Fencing Institute Of Texas)

5th: Deanna Ge (Star Fencing Academy)

6th: Keeva Lu (Rain City Fencing Center)

7th: Akira Thota (Massialas Foundation)

8th: Rachel Roujia Chen

 

Y-10 Men’s Epee

Gold and 2024 National Champion: Wesley Kropp (Elite Fencing Academy)

Silver: Austin Liu (Alliance Fencing Academy)

Bronze: Evan Du (LA International Fencing)

Bronze: Alexander Luo (New Jersey Fencing Alliance)

5th: Jonathan Zhang (Ataba Fencing Club)

6th: Evan Tubaltsev (Academy Of Fencing Masters)

7th: Ian Lu (Kaizen Academy LLC)

8th: Jerry Sun (Yang Fencing Club)

 

Division III Men’s Foil

Gold and 2024 National Champion: Yao Pincheng (Team Touche Fencing Center/ LA International Fencing)

Silver: William L. Gordon (Bay Area Fencing Club)

Bronze: Zhaocheng Qiu (Prime Fencing Academy)

Bronze: Dillon Miller (Brooklyn Fencing Center)

5th: Kovas Uzgiris (West Berkeley Fencing Club)

6th: Naveen Jimenez (Fencing Academy Of Westchester)

7th: Jayden Lee (Rain City Fencing Center)

8th: Jonas Howland (Youth Enrichment League Fencing Club)

 

Division III Men’s Saber

Gold and 2024 National Champion: Jacob Gilshteyn (LA International Fencing)

Silver: Viren Bollu (Globus Fencing Academy)

Bronze: Kendrick Kim (Globus Fencing Academy)

Bronze: Kevin Yuan (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

5th: Henry Chan (Cardinal Fencing Club)

6th: Kenneth Kwon (Sabio Fencing Academy)

7th: Cyrus Contractor (Phoenix Fencing Academy)

8th: Max Wang (Midwest Fencing Club)

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