Blue Devil Fencing Looks Sharp with New Collaboration

The Huntington High School fencing program entered a new era this year by welcoming Harborfields into the fold and forming a superteam, the sixth such squad among the 10 teams competing in Section XI.

Seven Harborfields girls and four boys have joined the Blue Devils “and the season is off to a promising start,” said head coach Michelle O’Brien, who is assisted by Vincent O’Garra.

Huntington practices and holds home meets in the gym at Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School. The new combination is expected to produce boys and girls teams capable of taking on the other five superteams as well as the standalone squads.

The rosters include 21 on the boys team and 20 on the girls squad. “Team leadership this year will be by co-captains in each sex and weapon and those six individuals will rotate as ‘team’ captains for each meet,” O’Brien said.

This year’s captains are:

Boys

Sabre: Ben Edgar-McNerney, Thomas Galicia-Martinez

Foil: Jake Amend, Chase Williams

Epee: Cole Lima, Owen Stevens

Girls

Sabre: Julia Goodwin, Chelsea Drummings

Foil: Veda Gross, Olivia Lee

Epee: Layna Abraham and Caelan Bues (Harborfields)

“We still have family ties on the teams, as fencing is known for having siblings, including Julia and Dylan Goodwin, Olivia and Cecelia Lee, Caelan and Clarissa Bues and some siblings of our alumni; Kimberley Castillo (Abdiel), Daniel Simon (Abby), Ben Edgar-McNerney (Xavier and Thomas) and Daniela Garcia (Jeffrey),” O’Brien said.

The season opens this week at Ward Melville on December 1. The program will host the Alan Kuver Memorial Relay Tournament at Huntington High School on Saturday, January 13, 2024.