Another great day in Newberry. Noah fenced the Y10 epee and Y12 epee events today at the April Fools Duel.
The Y10 event was another quick affair--just one competitor. Noah wins the gold medal 5-3, 5-1. A good warm up for the day.
The Y12 epee event proved to be the most challenging event of the weekend. The pool bouts were tough--Noah won two by the narrowest margin (5-4) and lost one hotly contested bout 4-5. He was seeded third going into the direct elimination bracket.
Noah's first DE bout was easily won (5-1, 5-3), but then things got very difficult. In the semifinal bout Noah fought hard to a 3-3 tie at the end of the first encounter. He won priority for the one-minute overtime period, but lost the encounter as his opponent scored the first touch. The second encounter was also a nail-biter. Noah just pulled out the win 5-4 to stay alive. The third and deciding encounter was also very close, but after some tenacious dueling Noah emerged victorious with a 4-3 victory.
The gold medal bout proved equally as challenging. Noah lost the opening encounter 3-5 and fell behind in the second encounter, but he managed to rally in the final minute to win the encounter and prolong the duel. In the final confrontation Noah's opponent started strong, but Noah was able to rise to the challenge and win the bout to earn the gold medal.
Noah is looking forward to the national competition in Richmond next weekend.
