The fencing team ended its season with a first-place medal won by the boys épée team in the final Great Lakes Conference Team Championships on Feb. 3.
A contributor to the team’s success was the boy’s épée team, which includes juniors Tate Nguyen and Ben O’Donnell, and sophomore Leon Dahl, who were all successful in their performances.
This season, Ben got to be on a team with Tate and Leon, whom he also plays with in a separate travel program.
“It was fun to be with, you know, the people who were, like, at Lab who also fence at my club. It was cool to do that this year,” Ben said.
Leon remarked on the performance of his team.
“We medaled in every single tournament that we participated in, so I thought it was a huge success for not only me but the entire U-High program,” Leon said.
Because the Great Lakes High School Conference Championship was during U-High’s senior retreat, some JV players had to play up in place of the missing seniors.
Leon and Ben both concluded that the season showed improvement from previous seasons.
“It went pretty successful throughout, like, the entire season from the first tournament to the last to the championships, like, we showed consistency,” Leon said.
Though the tournaments are long and hard, they help to bond the team.
“These tournaments take up our entire day. We start at, like, eight, and then we probably get back to school or our houses around like five,” Leon said. “It’s almost like a sort of second family if you will.”
