The High School North fencing team kicked off its 11th season successfully at the Santelli and Cetrulo Tournaments in January. The tournaments’ results decide the state ranking of each squad.
Of the 48 schools traveling to Drew University to compete in the Santelli, the girls’ epee squad (Tianna Kwok, Kristina Khaw and Lillian Chen) won the gold on January 16.
Nikita Nangia, the girls’ epee squad leader, said after the victory, “after coming so close last year, [and] knowing that we had improved enough to come in first, made the victory even more rewarding.”
The next day the boys’ team fenced at the Cetrulo, where the epee squad (William Zhang, Amit Sarma, and Prashant Baliga) also brought home the gold. The boys were undefeated at the tournament, defeating all the schools in their pools.
“Our epee squad has been getting better each year,” Baliga said. “Last year we placed second at the Cetrulo, and this year we knew we had to work harder to win the gold. Even the substitutes on our squad are strong so we hope to continue the tradition next year.”
