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2009 Cadet and Junior World Fencing Championships
For Immediate Release
April 30, 2009
U.S. Cadet and Junior Fencers Illuminate a Bright Future for U.S. Fencing, Bringing Home 11 Medals from the 2009 Cadet and Junior World Fencing Championships in Belfast, Ireland
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The 2009 Cadet and Junior World Fencing Championships in Belfast, Ireland concluded as one of the most successful ever for the U.S. Fencing Association. Overall the U.S. Team brought home an astonishing 11 medals.
The U.S. Cadets got the World Championships off to a fast start for Team USA winning six medals in their portion of the competition. Nzihgha Prescod (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Lee Kiefer (Versailles, Ky.) set the tone for the U.S. Team as they won the gold and silver medals respectively in the Cadet Women's Individual Foil division on the first day of the competition April 5th. Day two of the competition saw Team USA's Diamond Wheeler (Portland, Ore.) and Nicole Glon (State College, Pa.) win gold and bronze in the Cadet Individual Women's Sabre category. In keeping with tradition, the U.S. closed out the Cadet competition with two more medals on the final day. Katharine Holmes (Washington, D.C.) won silver in the Cadet Individual Women's Epee division, while Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.) garnered bronze in the Cadet Individual Men's Foil competition.
Picking up where the cadets left off, Daryl Homer (New York, N.Y.) kicked off the junior portion of the event by winning bronze in the Junior Individual Men's Sabre competition on Tuesday, April 8. The U.S. squad went without a medal on April 9, but found the medal stand again on Friday, April 10 with 2008 U.S. Olympian Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif./South Bend, Ind.) winning the bronze medal in the Junior Individual Men's Foil competition. Meinhardt was expected to do well at this competition and did not disappoint. Just eight months earlier he reached the round of 16 at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China at the age of 18 years-old. Meinhardt is currently a freshman at the University of Notre Dame.
Team competition for the Junior level began on Saturday, April 11 and once again the U.S. squad found itself on the medal stand, this time on the top stop with the U.S. team winning the gold medal in the Junior Team Women's Foil competition. Bringing home the team gold for the U.S. was Prescod, Kiefer, Nicole Ross (New York, N.Y.) and Epiphany Georges (Brooklyn, N.Y.).
Sunday, April 12 was only the second day of the Championships that Team USA did not reach the medal podium, but as Team USA began the 2009 Cadet and Junior World Fencing Championships, Team USA won two medals on the final day of competition on Monday, April 13. The U.S. Junior Men's Foil team of Meinhardt, Massialas, Miles Chamley-Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Zain Shaito (Garland, Texas) won the silver medal and the U.S. Junior Women's Epee team of Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas), Susannah Scanlan (St. Paul, Minn.), Francesca Bassa (Houston, Texas) and Hannah Safford (San Francisco, Calif.) won the bronze medal.
Prescod, Kiefer, Meinhardt, Massialas were multiple medalists for the United States at this event. Prescod won two golds; one in Cadet Individual Women's Foil and one in the Junior Team Women's Foil. Kiefer was also on the gold medal winning Junior Women's Foil Team and was second only to Prescod in the Cadet Individual Women's Foil. Meinhardt and Massialas both won the silver medal in the Junior Team Men's Foil competition. Meinhardt won bronze in the Junior Individual Men's Foil competition and Massialas brought home the bronze in the Cadet Individual Men's Foil.
Four members of Team USA competed in both the Junior and Cadet categories. Prescod and Kiefer represented the U.S. in Junior and Cadet Women's Foil; Wheeler (Portland, Ore.) competed in both Cadet and Junior Women's Sabre and Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.) in Junior and Cadet Men's Foil.
Please see below for U.S. results from the 2009 Cadet and Junior World Fencing Championships, April 5-13 in Belfast, Ireland.
For complete brackets and results from the 2009 Cadet and Junior World Fencing Championships, please visit the official website of U.S. Fencing at www.usfencing.org or www.worldfencing2009.com, the official event website.
U.S. Results:
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Cadet Women's Individual Foil
Nzihgha Prescod (Brooklyn, N.Y.) - Gold Medal
Lee Kiefer (Versailles, Ky.) - Silver Medal
Margaret L.C. Lu (Greenwich, Conn.) - 12th Place
Cadet Men's Individual Sabre
Michael Mills (Milburn, N.J.) - 20th Place
Alexander Ryjik (Alexandria, Va.) - 33rd Place
Will Spear (Wynantskill, N.Y.) - 67th Place
Monday, April 6, 2009
Cadet Individual Women's Sabre
Diamond Wheeler (Portland, Ore.) - Gold Medal
Nicole Glon (State College, Pa.) - Bronze Medal
Celina Merza (Wayne, N.J.) - 18th Place
Cadet Individual Men's Epee
Peregrine Badger (Providence, R.I.) - 18th Place
Jake Harbour (Santa Fe, N.M.) - 48th Place
Gavin Medley (Santa Fe, N.M.) - 88th Place
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Cadet Individual Men's Foil
Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.) - Bronze Medal
Wilfred Curioso (Barrington, R.I.) - 12th Place
Jeremy Goldstein (Westport, Conn.) - 22nd Place
Cadet Individual Women's Epee
Katharine Holmes (Washington, D.C.) - Silver Medal
Sarah Collins (Palm Harbor, Fla.) - 51st Place
Grace Neveu (San Francisco, Calif.) - 61st Place
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Junior Individual Men's Sabre
Daryl Homer (New York, N.Y.) - Bronze Medal
Avery Zuck (South Bend, Ind.) - 16th Place
Barron Nydam (Solano Beach, Calif./South Bend, Ind.) - 33rd Place
Junior Individual Women's Foil
Nzihgha Prescod (Brooklyn, N.Y.) - Eighth Place
Nicole Ross (New York, N.Y.) - Ninth Place
Lee Kiefer (Versailles, Ky.) - 18th Place
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Junior Individual Women's Sabre
Caroline Vloka (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) - 10th Place
Monica Aksamit (Matawan, N.J.) - 29th Place
Diamond Wheeler (Portland, Ore.) - 49th Place
Junior Individual Men's Epee
Corwin Duncan (College Park, Md.) - Ninth Place
Kevin Mo (Irvine, Calif.) - 26th Place
James Kaull (Washington, D.C.) - 28th Place
Friday, April 10, 2009
Junior Individual Men's Foil
Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif./South Bend, Ind.) - Bronze Medal
Miles Chamley-Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.) - 10th Place
Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.) - 24th Place
Junior Individual Women's Epee
Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas) - 11th Place
Susannah Scanlan (St. Paul, Minn.) - 16th Place
Francesca Bassa (Houston, Texas) - 49th Place
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Junior Team Men's Sabre - Seventh Place
Barron Nydam (Solano Beach, Calif./South Bend, Ind.)
Avery Zuck (South Bend, Ind.)
Daryl Homer (New York, N.Y.)
Bryan Cheney (Team Event)
Junior Team Women's Foil - Gold Medal
Nzihgha Prescod (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Lee Kiefer (Versailles, Ky.)
Nicole Ross (New York, N.Y.)
Epiphany Georges (Brooklyn, N.Y./Team Event)
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Junior Team Women's Sabre - Eighth Place
Monica Aksamit (Matawan, N.J.)
Caroline Vloka (Upper Saddle River, N.J.)
Diamond Wheeler (Portland, Ore.)
Lian Bianca Osier (Battle Ground, Wash./Team Event)
Junior Team Men's Epee -11th Place
Kevin Mo (Irvine, Calif.)
Corwin Duncan (College Park, Md.)
James Kaull (Washington, D.C.)
Adam Watson (Richford, Vt./Team Event)
Monday, April 13, 2009
Junior Team Men's Foil - Silver Medal
Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif./South Bend, Ind.)
Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.)
Miles Chamley-Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Zain Shaito (Garland, Texas/Team Event)
Junior Team Women's Epee - Bronze Medal
Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas)
Susannah Scanlan (St. Paul, Minn.)
Francesca Bassa (Houston, Texas)
Hannah Safford (San Francisco, Calif./Team Event)
Please see below for the listing of Cadre/Team Staff for the U.S. Fencing Team Roster for the 2009 Junior and Cadet World Championships:
Cadre/Team Staff:
Coaches:
Men's Sabre: Alex Ryjik (Cadet) and Dmitriy Guy (Junior)
Women's Epee: Maureen Griffin (Cadet) and Ro Sobalvarro (Junior)
Women's Sabre: Ed Korfanty
Women's Foil: Mike Pederson
Men's Foil: Michael Itkin
Men's Epee: James Odom (Cadet) and Boris Vaksman (Junior)
Head of Delegation: Andrea Lagan
Team Captain: Jim Carpenter
Team Manager: Alan Kuver
Armorers: Scott Harkey and Bill Murphy
Athletic Trainers: Nick Tobianski and Brian Hardy
For more information please contact Cecil Bleiker, NGB Media Services Director for U.S. Fencing at 719-866-4608. This press release is also available on the USOC's media specific website at www.usocpressbox.org.
