Western Wayne Today

Several former and current fencers, along with incoming student-athletes, recently participated in the USA Fencing Summer Nationals held in Columbus, Ohio. The event took place from June 29 to July 8 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, drawing over 6,200 fencers from across 45 states and 10 countries. It featured a total of 83 individual events and 12 team events.

Brendan Goeddeke represented the Renaissance Fencing Club in the junior men's sabre but did not secure any wins in his pool matches. Lance Miller, an incoming freshman from Grand Rapids Fencing Academy, competed in the junior men's epee with a record of one win and five losses.

Current Warrior Sam Garrett participated in Division 1 men's epee. He won two out of five bouts but was eliminated by Alexander Liu in direct elimination. Carlos Santos and Kuba Oronowicz, both incoming freshmen, competed in junior men's foil with mixed results. Santos advanced to direct elimination before losing to Murad Mohamed.

Wayne State alumnus Charlie Schneider showed strong performance in veteran-70 men's epee by finishing twelfth overall after being edged out narrowly in the round of 16.

Mitchell Gatrell competed in Division 1 men's foil but faced challenges during his bouts. Both Garrett and Miller also took part in Division 1-A men's epee with Garrett advancing further than Miller.

Inga (Wallrabenstein) Cho claimed first place in women's veteran-40 foil after winning all her pool matches and subsequent elimination rounds. She was also recognized as the Veterans-40 Female Fencer of the Year for 2023-24.

Sam Gneuhs and Mitchell Gatrell represented Wayne State Warriors again in Division 1-A men's foil but were unable to advance past early rounds. Michael Cho placed sixth out of 44 competitors in veteran-50 men's foil after a strong start.

Hunter Battisfore competed successfully through initial rounds of Division II men's saber before being eliminated by Jake Gonzalez. He later participated alongside Goeddeke in Division III men's sabre where both were defeated early on.

For any omissions or corrections regarding participants, Jeff Weiss can be contacted via email at jeff.weiss@wayne.edu