HE DID IT: Princeton High sophomore fencing star Larry He, center, flanked by PHS head coach Sam Blanchard, left, and volunteer assistant coach Jake Silverman enjoy the moment after He won the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) boys’ individual épée title last month. He’s triumph marked the first-ever state title for the PHS fencing program and highlighted an historic season for the Tigers.

By Bill Alden

Coming into the winter, Sam Blanchard wasn’t expecting his Princeton High fencing program to make history this season.

“We had a bunch of strong freshmen show up, that was a bit of a surprise,” said PHS head coach Blanchard. “I had no idea how strong they were going to be.”

It was a sophomore, Larry He, who produced the strongest performance, winning the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) individual boys’ épée title, the first state crown for the PHS fencing team.

“Larry is a solid fencer, he works really hard, he is fencing a lot of tournaments,” said Blanchard, who got a 25th place finish in the épée from junior Theodore Kopaliani.

“I think he started when he was about 11, 12, maybe as early as 10. Going into the day of the championships, if you were making book, he would not be your top pick for winning the event. He is a very good long day fencer and that made a big difference, he had a couple of fortunate coincidences that happened. It is all Larry and his preparation, he is very good.”

He combined with Joseph Wong and Kopalianito help the épée team finish seventh in the State Squad final.

Another young PHS fencer, freshman Noah Zeng, also excelled at states, taking 15th in the saber.

“Noah is a very strong fencer,” said Blanchard, whose boys’ saber team of Gary Dai, Chris Bao and Bence Molnar-Somogyari, and Daniel Zhang placed 18th in the State Squad final. “I think we will see him in the top rankings in the future years.”

Senior Oliver Cai led the boys’ foil squad. “My foil captain Oliver has been a very strong performer over his entire career with the team,” said Blanchard of Cai who placed 11th in the state individual competition. “He is an exceptional fencer.”

The PHS girl fencers also excelled this winter with the foil team of Eleni Staikos, Emilia Avalos, Wendy Jin, and Isabel Wong leading the way as it took 13th in the State Squad competition.

“Eleni was a fantastic captain, a really good leader for the girls,” says Blanchard. “She was great at keeping them on track, she was definitely a standout.”

The girls saber team of Shira Kutin, Sky Jo, Molly Schwarz-Manocchio and Anusha Vangala placed 17th in their State Squad tourney.

“Shira did a great job holding the girls saber squad together, she was our one girl who qualified for individuals,” said Blanchard of Kutin, who finished 35th individually.

Camille Lambert and Maja Janas led the épée group. “I have some really strong épéeists, Lambert is a very good épée fencer,” said Blanchard.

“I am hoping to see her in the state championships next year. Maja is also a very strong fencer, she was struggling with some health issues so she wasn’t able to hit her peak this year. They have a strong chance of going all the way next year.”

Blanchard has no doubt that this was the best year ever for the PHS fencing program.

“Overall, the season was fantastic; absolutely, this is very much the best season we have had,” said Blanchard, noting that having a dedicated practice site at Westminster Choir College helped the team excel.

In Blanchard’s view, the squad’s success exemplifies the growth of the sport across the state.

“The resources of New Jersey fencing in general, the quality of fencing in the state is always improving on the high school level,” said Blanchard.

“It is just getting better and better. Fencers are getting involved younger, they are getting very serious and competing nationally fairly early without necessarily burning out which is a compliment to the quality of coaching in the state.”

With most of its top fencers returning, PHS should keep getting better and better.

“The high school program is in excellent shape, we have several incoming freshmen who are very good fencers that are going to round out the team,” said Blanchard.

“We have some holes that we have to plug up, that is true every year. I expect to see some really good performances out of the boys’ squad next year. I think the girls’ squad will have a much stronger year next year. I am looking forward to the season.”