(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Team USA concluded the Pan American Championships with a gold medal in women’s foil and a silver in men’s epee in Cancun on Wednesday.
The results brought Team USA to a 10 gold and 19 overall medals at the Olympic seeding tournament.
Three-time individual champion Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.) led the U.S. women to three straight wins, including an opening victory over Colombia, 45-12.
Team USA went on to defeat Venezuela in the semifinals, 45-16, and, in a rematch of the 2011 Pan Ams, Kiefer, Nzingha Prescod (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Doris Willette (Lafayette, Calif.) andNicole Ross (New York City, N.Y.) won the gold medal bout against Canada, 45-22.
The U.S . Men’s Epee Team included three of the four athletes who won gold at the World Team Championships in April.
World Champions Soren Thompson (New York City, N.Y.) and Seth Kelsey (Colorado Springs, Colo.) won gold and bronze, respectively, in the individual event and were joined in the team competition by Cody Mattern (Colorado Springs, Colo.) who elected only to fence the team tournament. First time Pan Am Team member Jason Pryor (Colorado Springs, Colo.)rounded out the squad.
Team USA won the quarter-finals against Argentina, 45-22, and the semis against Chile, 45-32.
In the final bout, Venezuela outscored the Americans, 45-43.
Top eight results are as follows:
Women’s Team Foil
1. USA
2. Canada
3. Venezuela
4. Mexico
5. Argentina
6. Colombia
7. Brazil
8. Puerto Rico
Men’s Team Epee
1. Venezuela
2. USA
3. Canada
4. Chile
5. Argentina
6. Mexico
7. Colombia
8. Panama
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