Fencers test their mettle in Junior Olympics
Seven students from the Fencing Academy of Nevada, 1220 S. Rainbow Blvd., competed in the 2012 Junior Olympic Fencing Championships Feb. 17-20 in Salt Lake City.
The studio is operated by Yves Auriol, fencing master and head coach. A four-time U.S. Olympic team coach, he knows what it takes to compete at the higher levels. What kind of advice did he give the youngsters?
"Win," he joked.
He said it was very intimidating to participate in a big competition.
"What I’d tell them is … to have fun," he said. "It’s hard to see a 14-year-old kid with a long face and not enjoying it. I like them to win, but you have to go through the growing. I like to see them with a smile on their face and enjoying it. When they go to the competition, they realize that if they don’t train, they will fall behind. So, work hard and enjoy it."
No one took home a medal, but some of the Las Vegas group placed. The girls did themselves proud.
Alexandra Keft, 17, began fencing when she was 9. This was her second year at the Junior Olympics. She took 11th out of 145 contestants in Cadet Women’s Foil. She also took 44th out of a field of 151 in Junior Women’s Epee.
"The atmosphere is definitely more competitive than at other competitions," Keft said of the Junior Olympics. "There’s a feeling in the air. Everybody’s in their own bubble."
Cassandra Dilibero, 14, placed 87th out of 154 in Cadet Women’s Foil. In Cadet Women’s Epee, she took 87th of 154. In Junior Women’s Epee, she took 15th of 145.
She has her sights set on a fencing scholarship when it comes time for college. Knowing she was competing in the Junior Olympics, she said, kept her on her toes.
"Every bout you really have to fight for," Cassandra said. "It’s not like you’ll have a bout where you can relax."
Cassandra’s twin sister Andrea also qualified but pulled a hamstring the week before and had to forgo competing.
Amanda Han, 14, said she enjoys the mental aspect of the sport. She goes to California about once a month for fencing meets. A student at The Meadows School, she said her classmates know her as the girl who fences.
"My other friends play volleyball, so they are like, ‘Look at my muscles,’ " she said. "So I go, ‘Oh, yeah? Look at my arm, my fencing arm’ because it’s a lot larger than the others’ (arms)."
Amanda took 41st out of 151 in Junior Women’s Epee and 49th out of 145 in Cadet Women’s Epee.
The boys fenced individually and as a team. Dylan Brown, 18, was the team captain and qualified earlier in the year.
"I was calmer … I was really looking forward to the event," he said of this year’s effort.
He led the Junior Men’s Team to placing 12th out of 33.
In Junior Men’s Epee, the boys took the following spots: Patrick August placed 38th out of 187; Brown took 40th out of 187; Zachary Zeller, 44th out of 187; and Nathan Lee, 161st out of 187.
Lee, 16, qualified for the Junior Olympics for the first time. He said it was an experience just to see all the other fencers and witness different techniques. He said part of how well one did depended on different factors.
"It’s a lot on who you get paired with," Lee said. "My first event, I wasn’t so lucky, but my second event, I got paired with a fairly easy group."
For Cadet Men’s Epee, Lee placed 45th out of 214, August took 46th out of 214 and Zachary Zeller was 100th out of 214.
Zachary, 14, travels as often as once a month to fencing meets as far away as the East Coast. He said he was not nervous, despite all that was riding on the event.
"It didn’t feel too different to me because the venue was set up sort of the same, and there were a lot of people that I personally know, from my age group, that I saw there," he said.
August, 16, went to last year’s Junior Olympics. Afterward, he got a coach and added conditioning workouts to his regiment.
"The physical part of the game, I got that down," he said. "The mental part, that’s where I mess up. My coach tells me to stay calm, but I get tunnel vision."
Auriol expressed concern over the lack of experience the students had if they competed only locally. Las Vegas is in a bubble when it comes to matches, he said.
"We had a difficult time competing at the higher level," he said. "We have to go compete in California, and that’s four hours of driving and all that, so … considering that, our kids are doing very well.
"But after the Junior Olympics, we realized something. If we don’t compete more at the higher level, it’s going to be difficult to keep up with the best fencers in California. But we did all right. We did well."
For more information about the Fencing Academy of Nevada, visit fencing academyofnevada.com.
Contact Summerlin/Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.
