TWO DAYS OF FENCING PROVE:
EXPERIENCE CAN MAKE UP FOR YOUTHFUL ENERGY

SALEM, OREGON -- On October 15 and 16, Blanchet Catholic School
co-hosted its first-ever fencing tournament with help from Salem
Classical Fencing. Competing were 23 fencers from eight different
Northwest fencing clubs. The fencing was visually judged in accordance
with the rules of the American Fencing League (AFL). The tournament
marked the beginning of the second season of AFL events.

In the individual AFL Novice foil competition on Saturday, the gold
medal went to Joel Klepper, 26, of Sword & Mask Fencers in Ashland, who
fenced a nearly perfect day, winning all 12 of his bouts and only
giving up an average of 1.25 touches per bout. Klepper also earned
promotion from Novice to Junior classification in the American Fencing
League with his victory.

And 46-year-old Mike Fear from Salem Classical Fencing out-fenced a
tough field that was mostly under the age of 18 to take the silver
medal in his first fencing tournament in more than 15 years. He also
earned promotion from Prep to Novice classification.

Tiffany Le Brun of the University of Oregon fencing club won the bronze
medal for the third tournament in a row. She nearly tied for the
silver, but gave up two more touches than Mike Fear, which put her in
third place.

( complete results available at http://salem.classicalfencing.us )

On Sunday, AFL Novice team foil was contested, although not without
some drama. Only three teams were registered, which is the minimum for
a tournament event. Disaster nearly struck when Blanchet's team had one
member not show up and team captain Lindsay Pirelli had to withdraw due
to fever and chills so severe that the sophomore couldn't hold her
foil. The officials had no choice but to disqualify the Blanchet team
for having an insufficient number of fencers, but they allowed the two
remaining Blanchet fencers, Sarah Olafson and Ethan Syron (both
freshmen) to join forces with 12-year-old Jesse Allen, who was there as
a spectator, to form the Musketeers. Allen, a homeschooled student who
fences for Salem Classical Fencing, quickly went home and got his
equipment in time for the next match, thus preventing the cancellation
of the entire event.

The composite SCF-Blanchet team of Olafson, Syron, and Allen lost both
its matches, 35-9 and 45-14, but made a valiant effort and gained
valuable experience. Olafson was unexpectedly thrust into the role of
team captain for the Musketeers and did a good job, despite no previous
team experience. The Musketeers certainly lived up to the motto of
their namesake, "All for one and one for all," showing great spirit
despite overwhelming odds.

Another composite team, Beth's Bombers, comprised of three fencers from
Salem Classical Fencing and one from Sword & Mask Fencers in Ashland,
took the gold medal, winning both of its matches. First-time team
captain Beth Lampert led her clubmates Steve Schneider and Jason
Parker, along with the previous day's individual gold medalist, Joel
Klepper to win both of their matches. Lampert made good use of her
four-person team configuration and was able to get her team to work
together to win gold.

The only non-composite team of the day, the Salem Homeschool
Byzantines, took silver. Veteran team captain Alex Kohan led Joshua
Keatley and Charles Allen to beat the Musketeers 45-14. One of the best
bouts of the match was when Charles Allen came up against younger
brother Jesse, whom he beat -- but not without a hug at the end. But
even Kohan's leadership couldn't overcome the juggernaut of Beth's
Bombers, to whom the Byzantines lost 34-29. The Byzantines were
handicapped without their fourth member, Gary Girod, who, as a
Junior-level fencer is ineligible for Novice-level events. The
Byzantines needed Girod not just for his offensive abilities but to
enable them to make strategic use of a reserve fencer as the Bombers
were able to successfully do with their four-person team.

Complete results at: http://salem.classicalfencing.us

-Michael Heggen, president
American Fencing League
354 Belmont Street NE
Salem OR 97301
503-375-9209
http://www.americanfencingleague.org
michael@americanfencingleague.org



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