Noah wins three gold medals in the Central Florida (Region 6) Regional Youth fencing tournament today!
Another busy day of fencing for Noah as he left home at 6:30 am and returned at 9:30 pm. Today's events were hosted by the Dunedin (FL) Fencing Academy. Noah participated in two ten-and-under events (Y10 epee and Y10 foil), and one event for competitors aged 12 and under (Y12 epee).
Fencing was fast and furious in the morning as Noah competed in two events that were scheduled at the same time. Running between Y10 foil and Y10 epee meant many equipment and clothing changes, no rest between bouts, and quite a bit of stress (at least for his parents). Nonetheless, Noah was able to perform spectacularly. He won all his pool bouts in both events, and cruised through his DEs to win the first two gold medals of the day.
The Y12 epee competition proved a bit more challenging. He won two of his pool bouts by the smallest of margins (5-4), but did secure the number two seed for the direct elimination rounds (DEs). Noah met a formidable challenger in the semifinal bout. Noah lost the first encounter, and came from behind to win the second encounter by a score of 5-4. The third and final encounter played out to the last second with Noah winning 3-2 as time expired.
The gold medal bout pitted Noah against one of his fencing friends from another city. This is the first time they have faced each other in a final bout, so it was a very welcome moment for them both. Noah was able to pull off a bittersweet two-encounter win to secure the Y12 epee gold medal.
A long, but rewarding day of fencing for Noah!!
