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Unbeaten
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Huntington Boys and In a day of what has been termed physical chess, Suffolk County high school fencers dueled in three weapons – foil, epee, and sabre – for the Section XI (www.sectionxi.org) championship at Centereach High School on Saturday, February 9th. The top-seeded Huntington boys and Ward Melville girls, unbeaten in the regular season, remained true to form as they captured the respective team titles. The 39th annual championship tournament was dedicated to the late James A. Nelson, a Centereach fencing alumnus who went on to become a Port Authority Police officer. Officer Nelson, whose older brother Bob Nelson coaches the Centereach girls’ team, perished in the September 11th rescue efforts at the World Trade Center. In fitting tribute, the Ward Melville fencers – appropriately known as the Patriots – made their mark in both the team and individual competitions. The Ward Melville team, carrying an unblemished 12-0 regular season record in to the championships, took the girls team title with 26 victories, followed closely by Centereach, with 25, and Brentwood, with 24. The Ward Melville boys finished fourth in the team standings. Patriot fencers also took home a number of individual medals: gold medals in girls foil and epee, silver in boys epee, and bronze in boys saber. Patriot foilist Kerry Keegan and epeeist James Partridge, were the recipients of special individual honors. Keegan won one the first annual James A. Nelson Hero Memorial Award, for exhibiting the highest standards of character, teamwork, sportsmanship, courage, and commitment. Partridge was voted by his fellow competitors as “Fencer’s Fencer.” “We were confident coming in to the championships,” said Ward Melville girls’ coach Jennifer Dhondt, “but the county tournament is different than the rest of the year. Centereach or Brentwood certainly could have upset us. We have a lot of respect for them.” “My girls had to overcome a lot to win,” Dhondt continued. “Kerry Keegan was injured and had her arm in a sling when she wasn’t fencing, for example. And another girl had the flu. Still, Kerry and Hallie Morrison went undefeated. The girls did a terrific job.” The Huntington boys, also with a 12-0 regular season finish, won the team title with 34 victories over Centereach and Newfield which were tied with 33 victories. Huntington went head-to-head with Centereach in the final round of the team competition to cement their win. Entering the round tied in victories, Centereach gained a 4-2 lead over Huntington through the sabre and foil competitions. The fourth victory came in a battle of left-handers as Centereach’s Matt Juvet, the eventual individual foil champion, defeated Huntington’s Mike Fabio, this year’s silver medalist. Though one misstep would have given Centereach the title, all three Huntington epee fencers won their bouts. Junior James Kelly, who later finished fourth in the individuals, won handily over Andy Stein. After Alex Palmer recovered from two touches down to beat Joseph Olivieri and even the teams at four bouts apiece, Huntington senior Brendan Lawrence scored the first three touches against Anthony Cresser and never lost control, with his 5-2 victory ensuring the team title. “This tournament really rewards the team that’s deepest,” said Alan Kuver, Huntington boys coach. “In the regular season, one or two good fencers make the difference. Here [in the county’s] it comes down to the other kids who have to step up and face the pressure. My third kid in epee went 6-0. That’s a reason why we were able to win. But Centereach took us right to the end.” Host Centereach also had a strong showing, placing second in the girls team standings, and tied for second with Newfield in the boys event. The Cougars also gained the gold and bronze medals in foil. Junior Matt Juvet repeated as county foil champion for the second year and senior Andy Stein took third. Stein was edged out on touches by Huntington’s Mike Fabio for the silver medal. Senior Kevin Gordon, another Cougar foilist, was selected for the other James A. Nelson Hero Memorial Award. “I had to learn some new combinations of attacks this year,” said Juvet, who compiled 24-9 record in the regular season after having been undefeated the entire previous year. “I’m sure they’ll be looking to try to beat me next year.” Newfield, in addition to its tie for the boys team silver, showed why they could not be discounted in the tournament even after a disappointing regular season. Senior Rob Piraino won the final bout of the epee individuals to clinch the gold medal outright. His junior teammate, Mike Olsen, took the bronze; he missed the silver medal only by a couple of touches. All three Newfield foilists – senior Anthony Mattera, junior Steve Pampinella, and sophomore Andrew Lomeli – qualified for the individual finals, although none medaled. Piraino, 26-8 in the regular season, switched from foil to epee as a sophomore. “I was never an athlete,” said Piraino, “until a friend suggested I join fencing. I fell in love with the sport. Now I’m looking forward to being involved in fencing for the rest of my life.” Piraino, who hopes to fence for Ohio State University in the fall, was not surprised by Newfield’s strength in the tournament. “I felt we were the most skilled all season,” he explained,” but we lost some close matches. We just didn’t execute.” Jeremy Simpson of Commack won the boys saber competition. This was Simpson’s third time in the county finals, having finished fourth two years ago and second last year. “I’ve been waiting four years to do this,” said Simpson. “It was a tough tournament. A lot of fencers got better this year.” He hopes to fence for New York University, a perennial collegiate fencing power, after graduation. Behind Simpson, John Cornwell of Huntington took the silver and James Caston of Ward Melville tool third. In the girls foil finals, Ward Melville’s Angela Louison defeated Angelica Miranda of Brentwood, the defending county champion, in a one-bout fence-off. Eve Overton of Centereach took the bronze. Ward Melville’s other two foilists, Hallie Morrison and Kerry Keegan, who had fenced so well during the tournament, managed to take fourth and sixth in the individuals. Miranda was selected by her fellow fencers for the “Fencer’s Fencer” Award. In girls epee, Ward Melville’s Katie Cook went undefeated in the finals for the gold medal, followed by Jackie Schramm of Commack for the silver and Erica Galarza of Brentwood for the bronze. In the individual girls saber finals, another fence-off determined the champion. Kristen Heinz of Walt Whitman defeated Remi Coker of Commack, 5-3, to take the gold medal. Diana Chicchiaro of Newfield captured the bronze. Jennifer Dhondt of Ward Melville was named girls Coach of the Year. In a tie, Jeff Salmon of Ward Melville and Robert Raeihle of Commack shared the boys Coach of the Year honors. Salmon was also the recipient of the James Castello Award, presented by the Long Island Division of the United States Fencing Association (www.usfa.org), in recognition of service to the sport of fencing and the fencing community.
A Star Athlete The attack on the World Trade Center was a national tragedy that has deeply affected the Centereach community. The impact of the events of September 11 are felt more deeply in our ‘fencing family’ due to the loss of Jimmy Nelson, younger brother of Centereach Coach Robert Nelson and the uncle of senior Sean Grinnell. Jimmy Nelson was a graduate of Centereach High School and an outstanding varsity fencer for our team in the 1970’s. Years ago, Jimmy competed in our Suffolk County Championships. Always smiling, and doing the ‘right thing,’ Jimmy was loved and respected by everyone he met. Jimmy received an athletic scholarship and went on to study criminal justice at St. John’s University where he competed in their renowned intercollegiate fencing program. After graduation from St. John’s, Jimmy fulfilled a lifelong dream and became a police officer for New York City’s Port Authority. As the attacks of September 11th unfolded, Jimmy was immediately called to the World Trade Towers. Although miles away, Jimmy was one of the first to arrive at the scene and enter the burning building. Jimmy was always a little faster, cared a little more, did his work a little better, and was a little braver than most. He was already up to the twenty-third floor when the building collapsed. Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers go out to Jimmy’s wife, his two children, and his extended family. Jimmy will always be a hero. He will be forever remembered in the fencing community as a very special star! Click
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February 11, 2002
