Columbia High School Fencers: The Road So Far

MAPLEWOOD, NJ - Since its inception, fencing at Columbia High School has been a popular sport and this year the teams are continuing that storied tradition.

The fencing season began with a quad meet, an all-day contest featuring four schools, on Saturday, Dec 15. This year both the boys and girls teams faced Livingston, Millburn, and Montclair.

The Columbia boys won against Montclair and Millburn and the Columbia girls beat Millburn and Livingston:

BOYS TEAM

• 14-13 (clinched at 14-8)

• 19-8

• 11-16

GIRLS TEAM

• 17-9 (clinched at 14-3)

• 18-9

• 9-18

Since the quad meet, both teams have been extremely busy.

The boys have faced Oratory Prep, St. Benedict’s Prep, Montclair Kimberly Academy, West Essex, St. Peters, and Christian Brothers Academy, and have beaten all but St. Benedict’s. The win against St. Peter’s (clinched at 14-10) was the first time Columbia has beaten the two-time State Champion in two years. The boys defeated Christian Brothers Academy, a squad that has been higher ranked for the last two years. The they clinched this win at 14-7.

Meanwhile, the girls have faced Kent Place, Montclair Kimberly Academy, West Essex, and Oak Knoll and have won all of their meets.

Over the weekend of Jan. 12-13th, the Varsity Boys and Girls teams also competed at the biggest high school fencing tournament in the country. For the boys, the tournament is called Cetrulo and for the girls it is the Santelli Tournament. More than 50 schools competed in the contest. The girls finished 3rd overall and the boys 8th, including a 2nd place finish for the Girls Foil squad and a 3rd place finish for the Boys Foil squad.

The Columbia High School Boys starting line up has included Sabre fencers: Ethan Fisk, Jeremy Giles, Stephen Olaode, Jacinto Torrente, and Aaron Waldner; Foil fencers: Massimo Arana, Nicholas Goguen-Compagnoni, Hikaru Hayakawa, Timothy Rohan, and Jack Woods; Epee fencers: Jeffrey Bryant, Ben Goldberg, and Anthony Jackson. The overall captain for the Boys’ team is Jeremy Giles, with Stephen Olaode and Jacinto Torrente being the Sabre squad co-captains, Nicholas Goguen-Compagnoni leading the Foil squad; and Anthony Jackson and Ben Goldberg as co-captains of the Epee squad.

The Columbia High School Girls starters have included Sabre fencers: Janine Bacchus-Joseph, Tyanna Dove, Shaine Hammarberg, Lena Skagerlind, and Mia Zuckerberg; Foil fencers: Taylor Brooks, Vivienne Clarke, Sara Kasler, Hanna Lee, and Zander Rhodes; Epee fencers: Olivia Brash, Jasmine Dallison, Maya Greenstein, Phoebe Hill, Jasmine LeCount-McClanahan, and Allison Wisniewski. The overall captain of the Girls’ team is Janine Bacchus-Joseph, with Mia Zuckerberg as Sabre squad captain; Taylor Brooks, Sara Kasler and Hanna Lee leading the Foil squad; and Jasmine LeCount-McClanahan as the captain of the Epee squad.

(Photos courtesy of Khristina Fordham)

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