What a weekend! This past weekend Lightspeed had three separate tournaments in three days. LS Georgia and LS Long Island both hosted stand-out inaugural tournaments and LS Academy in Westminster, CA hosted a 3-part Halloween tournament.
LS. GEORGIA
LS Georgia started off the first of the three on Saturday, October 26th. They had 10 total competitors from their base (plus Lightspeed’s Director of Formations Kevin Fournier!) making it an E2 level tournament. This would mean the top four competitors would all walk away with their E rank. In a tournament made up almost entirely of fencers new to the League, it’s hard to say who might come out on top—but two names presented themselves as strong contenders by the end of the pools matches: Jacob Wachtel and Alvaro Erize who both won all of their pools matches.
Left to right: Alex Zielenski, James Wallace, Jake Wachtel, & Alvaro Erize
Wachtel and A. Erize both earned byes past the first round of brackets, along with Mason Huffmaster, James Wallace—LS Georgia’s captain—Alex Zielenski, and Malik Purefory. Wachtel and Erize quickly climb the bracket, until semi-finals halts progress. James Wallace’s match against Alvaro Erize turns the tide as Wallace overtakes Erize and moves on to fight Wachtel for first place. That medal, ultimately, is taken by Jacob Wachtel, with James Wallace taking second place and Alvaro Erize and Alex Zielenski tied for third.
LS. ACADEMY
Over on the other coast, Lightspeed Saber Academy in California was hosting their own tournament, this one starting with a younglings & cadets event in the morning and an adults mixed weapon event in the afternoon.
YOUNGLINGS & CADETS
Each event had four competitors, and it was the very first tournament for all of them, finally giving them a chance to put the skills they learn at practice each week to the test. The younglings event had fencers ages 7 to 10 and the cadets were ages 11 to 13. First and second place for the younglings went to Alex P. and Liam P., while the cadets’ first place medal went to Zach P. and the cadets’ silver medal went to Loc L. After just one tournament, everyone is already planning when they can get their revenge or defend their title at the next cadets & younglings tournaments!
Alex P. (left) and Liam P. (right)
Loc L. (left) and Zach P. (right)
MIXED WEAPON
Left to right: Phoebe Camilletti, John Mullins, & Kevin Degnan. Medals brought by Will Alonzo.
In the afternoon was the mixed weapon tournament and costume contest. With 10 competitors, the youngest being 14, and fencers ranked from U to B, this was an A2 event. Meaning whoever won gold would be walking away with an A ranking in addition to their medal.
Things started off rocky with two competitors running late—one for each of the two boxes running. All their matches would be shifted to the end in the hopes that they would show up in time to compete, which would happen for Mary Kimseng, but not Will Alonzo who ended up forfeiting all of his pools matches. Luckily, he made it in time for brackets which had a 100% promotion, still allowing him to compete. He made it past the first round of brackets, before getting ousted by Phoebe Camilletti who recently earned her B grade at the Academy’s beach tournament event. Camilletti then got eliminated by Kevin Degnan—fighting in only his second tournament—while Dinah Kolasa fought in a neck-in-neck semi-finals match against John Mullins. In the end it was Mullins vs. Degnan in the finals, with Mullins taking gold (and an A ranking), Kevin Degnan taking silver (and a B ranking), and Phoebe Camilletti taking bronze.
LS. LONG ISLAND
Left to right: Mike Novembre, Chris Cueto, & Perry Tiu
Monday came and with it, Long Island’s long awaited inaugural tournament. Their Halloween themed tournament was held at Smithtown Landing Country Club with its stunning views, festive scenery, and even more festive pumpkin piñata. With fencers belonging to the Long Island base and welcoming first-time competitors from the surrounding area, they had a great crowd to help celebrate their first tournament and the Halloween season.
First place went to Chris Cueto, while Perry Tiu took second, and Mike Novembre took third.
Congratulations to all of our fencers, tournament directors, and base captains on a very successful weekend of tournaments. We can’t wait to see you at the next ones!