Justin finished 10th out of 40 in the Y-14 men’s epee division at this weekend’s tournament at the University of New Hampshire.  According to Coach Bob, who knows how this works, this means he’s qualified to compete in the national tournament, which this year is in scenic Columbus Ohio.   He had 3 rated fencers in his pool of six, and finished the pool at 5-1 (the one kid who beat him ultimately placed 5th).  This was good enough for a first round bye.  In the Direct Elimination (DE) round, he won his first match handily, but lost in the round of 16 to the eventual 7th place winner.  Of the seven kids he faced, five of them were left-handed, which defies all statistical probability.

In case you think I’m making this up, results are posted here.  I got every bout on video, but will probably just upload a couple of select ones, Justin was particularly happy with his come-from-behind victory in the second bout after being down 4-1.  This was his first tournament since last spring, and has given him new motiviation to fence in more local tournaments.