The Blue Devil fencing program saw its largest turnout in many years this month. The boys’ and girls’ squads are in their second week of practices with the first competition on the horizon.
Coached by Michelle O’Brien and Burke Tomaselli, the Huntington fencers will host Half Hollow Hills on December 2 at 5 p.m. in the Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School gym.
The Blue Devil girls’ team features seventh grader Julia Goodwin; freshman Sandy Garcia Ulloa; sophomores Layna Abraham and Shaina Linker; juniors Fiona Brosnan, Emely Cruz, Aislyn Franciscovich, Allie Malone and Haileigh Smith; and seniors Madelyn Bavaro, Ally Kustera and Abigail Simon.
“The fencing season looks really promising,” Bavaro said. “Both the new and returning members all seem pumped up and ready for this season which is fantastic. I can’t wait to see the growth of my teammates and hopefully myself.”
Huntington’s boys’ squad includes seventh grader Owen Stevens; freshmen Thomas Galacia, Samuel Soric and Luka Zivkovic; sophomores Jake Amend, Benjamin Edgar-McNerney and Chase Williams; juniors Abdiel Castillo Martos, Peter Gaal, Jeffrey Garcia, Samuel James, Timothy Kusterbeck, Justin Perez, Liam Tucker and Dominick Vidota; and seniors Omar Cruz Jr., Luca D’Anna, James Kretschmer, Matthew Mead and Gian Marco Vazquez
The boys’ squad is captained by Kretschmer and Tucker. Bavaro and Kustera are the girls’ team captains.
Weapon squad captains include: Sabre: Kuster and Mead; Foil: Bavaro and D’Anna; Epee: Malone, Kretschmer and Tucker.
“We have a good amount of new people, which is very exciting because many of them are younger and will build up the program as they go through high school,” Smith said. “A lot of the older kids have taken on a mentoring role and everyone is looking forward to growing the team as one. Our returning players are hoping to get a good season in and are well adjusted to last year’s changes. All in all we are very optimistic about what’s to come.”