Air Force Fencing With Strong Performances At Junior Olympics

Air Force fencing completed competition at the USA Fencing Junior Olympics, which ran Feb. 17-20 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. The Falcons had nine competitors, with five top 40 performances.

Freshman Mira Vestel was Air Force's top finisher, placing 21st out of a field of 202 in the junior women's saber. Vestel went 7-1 overall, which included a perfect 5-0 run through pool play. She reached the round of 32 in bracket competition.

Air Force had three reach the bracket of 64 in the junior women's epee, led by sophomore Renata Russell. Russell finished 26th out of a field of 233 by going 6-3 on the day. She reached the round of 32 by going 2-1 in bracket competition. Freshman Ellie Kim finished 38th with 6-2 record and sophomore Valerie Slackman placed 53rd with a 6-3 record.

Freshman Melissa Kline was another Top-40 finisher for the Falcons, placing 35th out of a field of 231 in the junior women's foil. Kline went 8-1 overall, including a perfect 6-0 run through pool play.

On the men's side, a pair of freshmen led the way with Top-50 finishes in junior men's saber. William Barber placed 38th out of a field of 310 with a 7-1 record, including a 5-0 performance in pool competition. Mack Luebbe placed 46th with a 7-2 record.

In junior men's epee freshman Omar Emara finished 69th out of a field of 353 with a 7-1 record, including a perfect 6-0 record in pool competition. In the junior men's foil, freshman Jack Griffith finished 83rd out of a field of 319 with a 5-3 record.

"I hoped that our cadets won more 15 touches bouts, but It was a good practice for our Freshmen and Sophomores to prepare for regionals in less than three weeks," head coach Omar Elgeziry said. "I'm very happy with the five touches bouts records for all our participants. Go Falcons!"

Air Force returns to action at NCAA West Regional on March 11 and MPSF Fencing Championships on March 12, both in Palo Alto, Calif.

Junior Olympics results for Air Force

Friday, Feb. 17
Junior Men's Foil (319 competitors)
83. Griffith

Saturday, Feb. 18
Junior Men's Saber (310 competitors)
38. Barber
46. Luebbe

Junior Women's Foil (231 competitors)
35. Kline

Junior Men's Epee (352 competitors)
69. Emara

Sunday, Feb. 19
Junior Women's Epee (233 competitors)
26. Russell
38. Kim
53. Slackman

Junior Women's Saber (202 competitors)
21. Vestel

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