(Dallas, Texas) – Christofer Ahn (Houston, Texas) won his first Junior Olympic gold medal while being helped by an unlikely coach – 16-year-old Kaito Streets (Los Angeles, Calif.) – at the Dallas Convention Center on Sunday.
Ahn won each of his five pool bouts, plus another five in the main draw of the U17 saber division to advance to the semifinals where he defeated Daniel Wolfson (Marietta, Ga.), 15-14. The win moved Ahn into his first Junior Olympic final where he would face Geoffrey Loss (Laguna Beach, Calif.) who won a silver medal in the U20 saber division on Friday.
“In juniors two days ago I lost to Geoffrey Loss, 15-9. He’s beaten me several times. So I went into this and planned. I watched videos and I wrote in my notebook plans, tactics and what to do. So I had my friend who beat Geoffrey Loss in juniors, Kaito Streets, coach me,” Ahn said. “I had a lot of preparation for this bout, so going into it I didn’t know exactly what to do, but I knew kind of what I was going to do.”
Ahn stuck to his strategies and led thughout the bout before winning, 15-10.
“I think in juniors on Friday I let him get him into my head and this time I blocked him out because I was so focused for the whole tournament,” said Ahn after winning his first gold medal in a major event.
Audrey Abend (New York City, N.Y.) became a first-time Junior Olympic Champion on Friday in the U17 epee division, but the 15-year-old looked like a seasoned veteran as she moved through both the pools and the bracket undefeated to win the U20 epee.
After a close, 15-14, win over Anna Van Brummen (Houston, Texas) in the semifinals, Abend took the lead and never trailed against Courtney Dumas (Shaker Heights, Ohio) to win the gold, 15-7.
Abend’s win meant not only a second gold, but invitations to compete in both the U17 and U20 age groups at the Cadet and Junior World Championships in Jordan next month.
“It’s sort of surreal right now, but I’m honored. It’s amazing. I’m just really looking forward to going and fencing my heart out at the Worlds,” she said.
In the day’s final bout, 17-year-old Michael Dudey (Bellaire, Texas) won his first Junior Olympic title in the U20 men’s foil after placing seventh in the U17 event on Saturday.
Dudey gave up only one loss in the pools and went on to defeat the division’s #1 seed in the semifinals Jeremy Goldstein (Westport, Conn.), 15-8, and second seed Brian Kaneshige (Maplewood, N.J.), 15-12, in the finals to win his first Junior Olympic gold.
“I’ve been winning a lot of silvers and bronzes and it’s finally good to get the gold,” said Dudey who placed second in Dallas last month at the North American Cup. “I just wanted to stay relaxed and have fun. I’ve lost to Brian so many times before and I just figured ‘what the heck, I’ll give it my best and I just stayed calm and knew I could do it.”
In the women’s team foil event, Mona Shaito (Garland, Texas) competed alongside sisters Mai and Malak Shaito as well as teammate Bryce Koester (Colleyville, Texas) with the hopes of winning gold for the Texas Institute of Technology.
The foursome advanced to the finals against Gutkovskiy Fencing Academy where Mona, a 2010 Youth Olympian, had one of the day’s most impressive performances when she went on a 15-touch run against Jennifer Yamin (Allendale, N.J.) Mona defeated Yamin, 15-9, in the semifinals of the U17 individual foil on Saturday, but this time Mona reeled off 15 unanswered points to close a 25-9 deficit to 25-24.
The GFA team regained control of the bout, though, as Audrey Lee (Saddle River, N.J.) scored two touches to one against Koester and Yamin increased the lead to 30-27 against Mai Shaito. The final exchange included a flurry of fast touches as Jacqueline Dubrovich (Riverdale, N.J.) ended the bout against Mona Shaito with a score of 40-36.
Earlier in the day, the GFA, including Rachel Viqueira, competed against a second team from the club, winning the bout against GFA 2 by a score of 45-26.
In the bronze medal match, the GFA 2 squad defeated a three-person team from Rhode Island Fencing Academy, 45-30. GFA 2 included Anasasiya Muravyeva (Allendale, N.J.), Liana Yamin (Allendale, N.J.) and Sarit Kapon (Fair Lawn, N.J.). The RIFAC team included Quin Crum (Providence, R.I.), Morgan Partridge (Swansea, Mass.) and Caroline Mattos (Cumberland, R.I.)
Competition continues on Monday with the schedule as follows:
8:30 a.m.
Men’s U17 Epee
Women’s U17 Saber
11 a.m.
Women’s U20 Foil
1 p.m.
Women’s U20 Team Epee
1:30 p.m.
Men’s U20 Team Saber
Top eight results are as follows:
Men’s U17 Saber
1. Christofer Ahn (Houston, Texas)
2. Geoffrey Loss (Laguna Beach, Calif.)
3. Daniel Wolfson (Marietta, Ga.)
3. Eli Dershwitz (Sherborn, Mass.)
5. Michael Costin (Culver City, Calif.)
6. Andre Herczak (Randolph, N.J.)
7. Martin French (Plano, Texas)
8. Vincent Argenzio (Revere, Mass.)
Men’s U20 Foil
1. Michael Dudey (Bellaire, Texas)
2. Brian Kaneshige (Maplewood, N.J.)
3. Jeremy Goldstein (Westport, Conn.)
3. Robert Moore (San Jose, Calif.)
5. Michael Woo (Wayne, N.J.)
6. Eli Schenkel (Los Angeles, Calif.)
7. Jacob Stein (San Francisco, Calif.)
8. Rodney Chen (Dallas, Texas)
Women’s U20 Epee
1. Audrey Abend (New York City, N.Y.)
2. Courtney Dumas (Shaker Heights, Ohio)
3. Katharine Holmes (Washington, D.C.)
3. Anna Van Brummen (Houston, Texas)
5. Amanda Sirico (Bowe, Md.)
6. Isabel Ford (Salem, Ore.)
7. Diana Tsinis (Little Neck, N.Y.)
8. Karalina Collins (Houston, Texas)
Women’s U20 Team Foil
1. Gutkovskiy Fencing Academy
2. Fencing Institute of Texas
3. Gutkovskiy Fencing Academy
4. RIFAC
5. Boston Fencing Club
6. Atlantic Fencing Academy
7. Connecticut Fencers’ Club
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