March 2025 NAC Recap, Day 1: Hard-Earned Golds and Unforgettable Moments in Cleveland
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by Bryan Wendell
Friday’s opening day in Cleveland featured fencers turning months of intense training into gold-medal moments, proving that camaraderie and dedication go hand in hand in fencing.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — All those nights and weekends at the club can feel like a grind sometimes. But as Benjamin Mao (Medeo Fencing Club) proved on Friday, they often pay off.
“I’ve been going to Medeo five times a week,” he says, “and it just means so much to me as my first Cadet gold medal.”
Benjamin won gold in Cadet Men’s Epee on Friday, the first day of the March 2025 North American Cup. He attributes his success to consistent training at Medeo and focusing on the bout instead of outside distractions. At a NAC, the number of spectators gets larger as the number of fencers remaining in an event gets smaller, which can be intimidating.
“I was just trying to not think about the crowd,” he says. “I was just trying to think about touch by touch. And I was thinking about my friends and my clubmates.”
That’s one of the best things about the sport of fencing, says Sophie Hwang (LA Fencing Academy of Pomona). At tournaments, you battle against great fencers. When the masks come off, you make great friends.
“I like that it’s fun and competitive at the same time,” says Sophie, who won the Y-10 Women’s Saber event on Friday. “I got first in a big event, and I came out on top.”
Even though fencing is about far more than winning, the victories always feel good. Just ask Hanson Chen (Gutkovskiy Fencing Academy), the Y-12 Men’s Foil gold medalist who shared that it’s been two years since his last national medal.
Patience paid off, and now Hanson’s hungry for more success. He’ll get the opportunity soon with the Y-14 Men’s Foil event on Sunday and the Cadet Men’s Foil competition on Monday.
“If you don't go for more,” Hanson says, “you never improve.”
Anna Li (Academy of Fencing Masters) showed impressive focus throughout the day as she battled for gold in Y-10 Women’s Epee. She says the day’s highlight was the final — on the big stage in front of a crowd of AFM fans and teammates.
“It was very intense, and a lot of people were watching,” she says. “I just kind of block the noise and think about the bout itself, like the people aren’t actually there. Then I breathe in and out.”
Day 1 Medalists — The Top 8
Y-10 Women’s Epee
Gold: Anna Li (Academy of Fencing Masters)
Silver: Arianna Choi (Space Coast Olympic Fencing)
Bronze: Andrea Xie (Arena Fencing Academy)
Bronze: Allison Li (Academy of Fencing Masters)
5th: Joanna Sun (Yang Fencing Club)
5th: Chelsea Du (Dynamo Fencing)
7th: Alice Viller (New York Fencing Academy)
8th: Emma Franger (Escrime Du Lac)
Y-10 Women’s Saber
Gold: Sophie Hwang (LA Fencing Academy of Pomona)
Silver: Sophia Cord (Premier Fencing Academy)
Bronze: Isabel Liu (Rebel Fencing Club)
Bronze: Jordanna Daniels (Allegro Fencing Center)
5th: Sana Sarath (North Texas)
6th: Abigail Qiu (Oregon Fencing Alliance)
7th: Maxine Shi (LA Fencing Academy of Pomona)
8th: Maya Menon (Fencing Academy of Boston)
Y-12 Men’s Foil
Gold: Hanson Chen (Gutkovskiy Fencing Academy)
Silver: Chenqiao Zhou (Dynamo Fencing)
Bronze: Gaven Hou (Star Fencing Academy)
Bronze: Brando Fukuda (Massialas Foundation (M Team))
5th: Fletcher Mazaheri (Bluegrass Fencers' Club)
6th: Derrick Zhai (East Coast Fencing Club)
7th: Aaron Liu (Dynamo Fencing)
8th: Nathan Zhao (Bluegrass Fencers' Club & Queen City Fencers Club)
Cadet Women’s Foil
Gold: Ella Calise (Tim Morehouse Fencing Club)
Silver: Renee Chen (Gutkovskiy Fencing Academy)
Bronze: Emma Yang (Star Fencing Academy)
Bronze: Ella Zou (Team Touche Fencing Center)
5th: Ceana Oh (Maximum Fencing Club)
6th: YiXi Wang (Star Fencing Academy)
7th: Emilia Shen (Star Fencing Academy)
8th: Audrey Yang (Golden State Fencing Academy)
Cadet Men’s Epee
Gold: Benjamin Mao (Medeo Fencing Club)
Silver: Andy Zheng (Guanyi Fencing Academy & Twin Cities Fencing Club)
Bronze: Ravin Singh (ASER International Fencing Academy)
Bronze: Boden Lai (Marx Fencing Academy & Cavalier Fencing Club)
5th: Simon Shan (Dynamo Fencing)
6th: Daniel Rubin (Dynamo Fencing)
7th: James Boudreaux (Elite Fencing Academy (VA) & Elite Fencing Academy (GA))
8th: Christopher Davoodian (Swords Fencing Studio)
Cadet Men’s Saber
Gold: Alex Huang (Lilov Fencing Academy)
Silver: Samuel Wang (LA Fencing Academy of Pomona & Avant Garde Fencers Club)
Bronze: Semeon Ermakov (Fencing Academy of Denver & Nellya Fencers)
Bronze: Luke Vaid (Nellya Fencers)
5th: Connor Chung (Tim Morehouse Fencing Club)
6th: Ethan Kim (Tim Morehouse Fencing Club)
7th: Andrew Sun (Manhattan Fencing Center)
8th: Alex Gong (Scarsdale Fencing Center)
Day 1 Photo Gallery
Find all the Friday photos here.
