USA Fencing announced the 32 athletes named as members of Team USA for the Junior and Cadet World Championships that will be held from March 29 – April 6 at the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre at the Dead Sea.
The U.S. Team includes 15 veterans of the 2010 Junior (U20) and Cadet (U17) World Teams, including seven medalists from last year’s event in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The junior men’s foil team includes two members of the squad that won gold in 2010. David Willette (Lafayette, Calif.), a silver medalist in the individual junior event, and Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.), the Cadet World Champion who also competed at the Senior Worlds as a 16-year-old last year, will return to help the team defend its title. Race Imboden (Brooklyn, N.Y.), a 2010 Cadet World medalist, will compete in the junior division for the first time.
Massialas, who made his first Cadet Worlds podium finish with a bronze in 2009, also will compete in the cadet division where he will attempt to win his second straight title and third Cadet World medal overall.
The junior women’s foil team also includes a trio of veterans. Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.) and Nzingha Prescod (Brooklyn, N.Y.) are both former Cadet World Champions while junior Margaret Lu (Greenwich, Conn.) also competed at the 2010 Cadet Worlds. Kiefer and Prescod, a five-time Junior World Team member, won gold in the team event in 2009 and joined with Lu to place fourth as a team at the 2010 Junior Worlds. Kiefer and Lu also will be competing in the cadet divisions where Kiefer will attempt to defend her 2010 title and Lu aims to improve on her 16th place finish from 2010.
In the women’s epee, Katharine Holmes (Washington, D.C.) is the lone returning member from the team that won a silver medal in 2010. A Cadet World silver medalist in 2009 and Youth Olympian in 2010, Holmes is seeking her first individual podium finish in the junior division and could help lead Team USA to its fourth straight medal in the women’s epee team event after a bronze medal finish in 2009 and a silver in 2008.
Evan Prochniak (Hudson, N.Y.) placed 16th in individual competition in the men’s saber event at the 2010 Junior Worlds, but helped Team USA earn a bronze medal in the team competition and will return as the veteran on this year’s saber team.
Seven additional athletes are returning members of Team USA who are seeking their first Junior and Cadet World medals.
Michael Raynis (Chatsworth, Calif.) lost a close bout in the table of 16 in the junior epee event in 2010 and placed 12th overall.
In the women’s saber, two-time Junior World Team member Lian Osier (Battle Ground, Wash.) will be competing at her final junior event after placing 19th in 2010. Skyla Powers (Decatur, Ga.) placed 14th at the Cadet Worlds in 2010 and will compete in both the junior and cadet divisions. .
Alexander Eldeib (Burke, Va.) will be returning to his second Cadet World Team after placing 10th in 2010 and also will compete as the fourth member of the junior saber team.
Will Spear (Wyantskill, N.Y.) and Brian Kaneshige (Maplewood, N.J.), both members of the 2010 Cadet World Teams, will serve as the fourth athletes in the junior men’s saber and foil events, respectively. Celina Merza (Wayne, N.J.), a 2010 Cadet World Team member, has been named as the fourth athlete on the junior women’s saber team.
The competition schedule is as follows:
March 29
Cadet Men’s Saber
Cadet Women’s Foil
March 30
Cadet Women’s Saber
Cadet Men’s Epee
March 31
Cadet Women’s Epee
Cadet Men’s Foil
April 1
Junior Men’s Saber
Junior Women’s Foil
April 2
Junior Women’s Saber
Junior Men’s Epee
April 3
Junior Women’s Epee
Junior Men’s Foil
April 4
Junior Men’s Team Saber
Junior Women’s Team Foil
April 5
Junior Women’s Team Saber
Junior Men’s Team Epee
April 6
Junior Women’s Team Epee
Junior Men’s Team Foil
All athletes will compete in both the individual and team events, except the team fourth who will only compete in the team tournament. The team roster is as follows
Junior Men’s Epee
James Kaull (Washington, D.C.)
Michael Raynis (Chatsworth, Calif.)
Edward Kelley (San Antonio, Texas)
Team Fourth: Alexander Eldeib (Burke, Va.)
Junior Men’s Foil
Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.)
Race Imboden (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
David Willette (Lafayette, Calif.)
Team Fourth: Brian Kaneshige (Maplewood, N.J.)
Junior Men’s Saber
Evan Prochniak (Hudson, N.Y.)
Sean Buckley (Secaucus, N.J.)
Rhys Douglas (Apache Junction, Ariz.)
Team Fourth: Will Spear (Wyantskill, N.Y.)
Junior Women’s Epee
Katharine Holmes (Washington, D.C.)
Jessie Radanovich (Tollhouse, Calif.)
Audrey Abend (New York City, N.Y.)
Team Fourth: Jessie Radanovich (Tollhouse, Calif.)
Junior Women’s Foil
Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.)
Nzingha Prescod (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Margaret Lu (Greenwich, Conn.)
Team Fourth: Jacqueline Dubrovich, (Riverdale, N.J.)
Junior Women’s Saber
Lian Osier (Battle Ground, Wash.)
Skyla Powers (Birmingham, Ala.)
Francesca Russo (Wayne, N.J.)
Team Fourth: Celina Merza (Wayne, N.J.)
Cadet Men’s Epee
Alexander Eldeib (Burke, Va.)
Raymond Schorr (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Brian Ro (Scarsdale, N.Y.)
Cadet Men’s Foil
Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.)
Nobuo Bravo (San Francisco, Calif.)
Jerry Chang (Mountain View, Calif.)
Cadet Men’s Saber
Eli Dershwitz (Sherborn, Mass.)
Geoffrey Loss (Orange Coast, Calif.)
Peter Pak (Roslyn, N.Y.)
Cadet Women’s Epee
Anna Van Brummen (Houston, Texas)
Audrey Abend (New York City, N.Y.)
Jessie Radanovich (Tollhouse, Calif.)
Cadet Women’s Foil
Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.)
Margaret Lu (Greenwich, Conn.)
Jacqueline Dubrovich (Riverdale, N.J.)
Cadet Women’s Saber
Skyla Powers (Decatur, Ga.)
Francesca Russo (Wayne, N.J.)
Margaret McDonald (Atlanta, Ga.)
