Mendham High School Fencing

Wallace Sisters Dominate Y14 Qualifier For Nationals

May 10, Colts Neck - Freshman Megan Wallace and incoming freshman Kaitlyn Wallace dominated the women's Youth-14 girls' epee qualifier for the USFA Summer Nationals held in Colts Neck, NJ.  Kaitlyn went 6-0 in the preliminary pool and drew a bye in the first DE.  Megan won her first DE 15-11 and then met her sister Kaitlyn in the semi-finals.  They fought a hard bout with Kaitlyn winning 15-10.  Kaitlyn then breezed through the final, winning 15-4.  Megan then fenced off for third place, which was the last qualifying spot for Nationals.  Fencing under pressure the same as she when she clinched the Final Four spot for the Mendham HS Girls' Team this past season, Megan won 15-11 to qualify for Nationals.  The complete tournament results are available on the Fencing Results and Events Database(FRED).

The deadline for submitting your entry to the US Summer Nationals is this coming Friday, May 16.  Here's the entry form.

Agenda for Thursday's Parent Meeting Posted

The agenda for this week's meeting of the Mendham High School Fencing Parents' Association has been uploaded to this weblog. Download the agenda now:

• Download Agenda as a Microsoft Word document (.doc)
• Download Agenda as an Adobe Portable document (.pdf)

Please read it carefully and prepare your section for presentation at the meeting.  The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 15, 7:00 PM at the Chester Library.

The agenda for this week's meeting of the Mendham High School Fencing Parents' Association has been uploaded to this weblog. Download the agenda now:

• Download Agenda as a Microsoft Word document (.doc)
• Download Agenda as an Adobe Portable document (.pdf)

Please read it carefully and prepare your section for presentation at the meeting.  The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 15, 7:00 PM at the Chester Library.

Seniors' Plans Posted

The Mendham HS Fencing Program graduates 14 seniors this year.  Please click here to see the 2006, 2007 and 2008 graduating classes.  The plans after graduation of some of this year's graduating seniors are still up in the air.  If you know any information that can fill in the blanks, please leave a comment.

Chris Bonner Qualifies For Summer Nationals at Senior Sectionals

Pittsburgh, PA, May 3, 2008 - Chris Bonner continued to seek out heights no Mendham High School Fencer has reached before.  Traveling to Pittsburgh, he competed in the toughest qualifying division of all, the Senior Mid-Atlantic Sectionals.  Chris went 6-1 in the pools with a plus 15 touch indicator.  He drew a bye in the round of sixteen.  He won his first DE, 15-10, in the round of eight to move into the semifinals.  He won the semifinal solidly 15-5 against the third seed out of pools.  He lost the finals bout 15-11, taking the silver medal and qualifying to the Division I-A Individual Men's Sabre event at the USFA Summer Nationals in California.

Jacobson, Jung, Krannich Achieve NJIFA All-State Team Honors

April 16, East Hanover - The New Jersey Interscholastic Fencing Association honored their All-State Teams at the Annual Awards Banquet held at the Hanover Manor.  Three Mendham High School fencers were selected and were the guests of the NJIFA at the banquet: Alice Jacobson, 3rd Team All-State Girls' Foil; Andrew Jung, 3rd Team All-State Boys' Foil; Janelle Krannich, 3rd Team All-State Girls' Sabre.  The three Mendham fencers were among the best fencers in the state to receive their NJIFA trophies.  Please click on the photograph to the right.

Each season, the NJIFA coaches vote for the best fencers in the state and name the NJIFA All-State Teams.  The selection process is based on an athlete's performance in four events: the NJIFA's Santelli or Cetrulo Relays, the NJSIAA's District Championships, State Squad Championships and Individual State Championships.

Genele Streitz Earns An E-rating

Friday, April 18, Maplewood - Genele Streitz joined the ranks of Mendham's USFA-rated fencers at an unclassified sabre tournament held at the New Jersey Fencing Alliance.  Genele has stepped up her fencing by going to one USFA tournament after another.  Her persistence and dedication have paid off.  Genele went 3-2 in the pool and was seeded 7th of 17 competitors going into the direct elimination round.  She won her first DE 15-10 to move into the round of 8.  Then she fenced for her E-rating, drawing the second seed in the tournament, a very significant challenge.  Once more Genele won 15-10, this time earning her E-rating.  She lost a very close 15-13 bout in the semi-finals to the eventual winner of the tournament.

Congratulations to Genele!  The Observer-Tribune picked up the story in the April 24th edtition.

Minutes from April's Parents' Meeting Posted

The minutes from the April 2 meeting of the Mendham High School Fencing Parents' Association are available in either Microsoft Word format(.doc) or Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format(.pdf) 

The next meeting of the Parents' Association is Thursday, May 15, 7:00 PM at the Chester Library.

Mendham Fencers Honored at Awards Banquet

Thursday, March 27, Mendham – During the MHS Fencing Awards Banquet, numerous fencers received awards for their outstanding performance during the 2007-08 season. The awards were presented by the coaching staff: Laura Pelizzoni, Tom Tishman, Steve Dultz and Meimee Persau.

Coach Laura Pelizzoni was named "Girls' Coach of the Year” by The Star-Ledger.  Jill Mahen, co-founder of the Fencing Club/Team and ex-girls’ captain, presented the congratulatory card to Coach Pelizzoni and the MHSFPA presented her with a gigantic bouquet of flowers.

Most Improved Rookie Fencers were selected by the coaching staff: Kyle Doyle, Bea Jacobson, and Sophie Kaplan.

Most Improved Returning Fencers were selected by the coaching staff: Dan Chin and Kim Morsch.

Most Improved Squad was selected by the coaching staff: Girls’ Foil, led by the girls’ team captain Alice Jacobson and foil squad captain Shannon Cooley.

Most Dedicated Fencers were selected by the team: James Flanagan, Sarah-Emma Graham and Megan Wallace.

The PJ Verona and Jillian Mahen Scholarships were awarded to: Dan Chin and Kelly Rafferty.

Fencers receiving Varsity Letters for first time were: Will Bruno, Eugene Fasano, Alexis Grant, Lauren Ide, Daphane Kolios, Dina Krannich, Alex Levielle, Julia Melvin, Kimberly Morsch,  Ben Morris, Katie Ricculli, Issac Rizzo, Genele Streitz, Megan Wallace, Ryan Western and Mitch Wetherington.

Julia Melvin and Andrew Jung were elected Captains for 2008-2009 season.  They were chosen by their teammates.  Both won the election by a landslide.

Congratulations to all and our dedicated coaching staff for a job well done. It has been a fantastic season. Keep on fencing!

Chris Bonner Leads Mendham Fencers Into Off-Season

Many of the Mendham High School team members are actively fencing in the off-season. Chris Bonner has had incredible success in the past couple of weeks and has qualified for Nationals in two different events.

On April 5th and 6th the New Jersey Division held its Division 2 Qualifying Tournament for Summer Nationals.  In women's epee Megan Wallace, Kim  Morsch and Meghan Brennan fenced.  Megan had the best finish, placing 25th of 45 fencers.  Kim was 38th.  And future Mendham High School fencer Kaitlyn Wallace took 5th and qualified for Nationals.  Ryan Western was 16th of 29 in foil.  Chris was 3rd of 43 in men's saber, qualifying for Nationals in Division 2.  Chris went 4-2 in the pool to be seeded 13th going into the DEs.  He drew a bye in his first DE.  He won his next DE 15-8 and then had a close call in his next DE winning 15 - 13 to move into the final 8.  He won his next DE 15-11 and lost in the semi-finals 15-13.

On March 30th Chris and Janelle Krannich traveled to the New York Athletic Club for the toughest saber tournament they could find on the East Coast. The first tournament was a mixed event.  Chris finished 22 of 85. Janelle took 60th.  In the women's event, Janelle placed 14th of 35.

On April 12th Lilov held a mixed saber tournament in Maplewood.  Genele Streitz and Julia Melvin fenced in the mixed event. Genele took 16th and Julia 17th of 22 fencers.  They each won two bouts in the pool and Genele won her first DE 15 - 6.

On April 12th and 13th, Chris, Genele and Salim Short traveled to Williamsport, Pennsylvania for the Mid-Atlantic Under-19 Sectional Qualifier for Nationals.  This qualifier brings together the best high school and the younger college fencers from throughout the Mid-Atlantic States.  Once more Chris was on top of his game.  He placed 7th in men's saber and qualified for Summer Nationals.  Sal went 4-2 in an A-rated epee tournament, but lost in the DEs 15-11.

Don't Forget to VOTE on Tuesday!

The school board/budget elections are this Tuesday, April 15.  The polls are open from 7am to 9pm, longer hours than most school board elections of the past.  Here are the locations to cast your vote:

Chesters - Black River Middle School Gym

Mendham Boro - Mendham Boro Fire House

Mendham Township - Brookside Fire House or Old Ralston Fire House

Please exercise your right to vote!