By Caroline Willian ’13, Staff Writer

In recent years, Newark Academy has been the home to several extremely accomplished athletes, such as Andrew DelColle ‘09, who pitched for Boston College, or Maya Hayes ‘10, a current Penn State soccer player, who played in the women’s under-20 World Cup. These names should be recognizable to most – our sports heroes always garner extra attention in the halls at NA.  Yet while we support and appreciate skilled athletes in the higher-profile sports at NA, some of the other sports athletes’ are relatively unknown.

Newark Academy is home to several fencing stars, including two dedicated captains, a tandem of talented siblings, several Junior Olympians, and a World Cup Attendee. These athletes have had outstanding achievements, but due to their excessive modesty as well as a lack of morning meeting announcements on the topic, their accomplishments are seldom recognized within our community.

Jimmy Damiano ‘11 is the boys team captain. Now a senior, Jimmy had never fenced before high school, but his skill makes him seem far more experienced. When asked when he started fencing, a teammate interjected, “since he was born!”, but Jimmy humbly corrected him, stating he began in ninth grade. He is a member of the epee squad, which qualified for the squad state tournament last year. Jimmy aspires to qualify once again, and he hopes the team will finish with a winning record this season. On a more personal level, he is striving to improve his agility and the strength of his attacks during his bouts.

Jimmy’s counterpart on the girls squad is captain Nyasia Jones ‘11.  Like Jimmy, Nyasia was new to fencing in ninth grade, but her opponents would find that surprising. She is an epee as well, and this season she is looking forward to having fun and leading the girls squad to a winning record. She missed the first few meets, but now she is back and “excited to join the girls again this season”.

Besides the leadership however, both the boys and girls squads are ripe with talent in all sorts of forms and sizes. You know those families where all the kids are just crazy about one sport? Meet the Iversons – Newark Academy’s own super fencing family. Junior Tucker Iverson has been fencing foil since fifth grade, making him the most experienced fencer

on the NA team. He fences with Lucchetti Fencing USA, a club team that practices in the Cetrullo Family Sallé after school. Fencers on club teams are rated by skill using letters A through E, A being the highest, and Tucker currently boasts an outstanding B-rating. Last year, Tucker won the State Prep tournament, and in his freshman year he finished in second place. His personal goal for this year is to come in the top five at the state tournament, and his goal for the team is to qualify for States.

Tucker’s sister, Kasey Iverson ‘14, may be tiny, but she is a force to be reckoned with. She has been fencing since fourth grade, and like her brother, she is a foil. She is also a member of Lucchetti Fencing USA and is currently a C-rated fencer.

She has had many accomplishments to date, including several visits to the summer nationals. Still beginning to understand the structure of interscholastic fencing, Kasey just hopes for a positive first high school season. Her coaches and teammates are excited to have such a young talent entering the program.

Like a younger version of his captain, Jimmy, fellow epee squad member Alistair Murray ‘12 is a relatively new fencer with a lot of promise. Alistair started fencing with Newark Academy in ninth grade, but until recently he only fenced interscholastically. This year he joined Lucchetti, the same program teammates Tucker and Kasey fence with. He’s a B-rated epee fencer, and will be participating in the Junior Olympics this year. Alistair is excited about his first season on a club team and looks forward to being a major contributor to the Newark Academy program as well.

Many great athletes have discovered hidden talents through Newark Academy sports, but few success stories are quite as astonishing as that of Annabel Sharahy ‘13.  As a Newark Academy sixth grader, Annabel was forced to join one of the middle school sports teams, so she decided to give fencing a try. She immediately discovered that she possessed an incredible natural facility for fencing, and her career took off from there. Annabel, a sabre, fences with Bergen Fencing Club and is currently B-rated. She’s hoping to “get her A” at a tournament this weekend.  As a sophomore, she has been to the Junior Olympics four years in a row, and she has attended the Arizona World Cup three times as well. Not bad considering she has only been fencing for five years. As a freshman, Annabel won the State Prep tournament and came in the top five at the State tournament. For interscholastic fencing, Annabel’s goals are to win the State tournament as well as the Prep State tournament. While Annabel is humble about her ambitions, her teammates claim that her goals are beneath her. (“That’s a joke!” a friend exclaimed when Annabel told me her high school season goals.) Annabel also hopes to qualify for Arizona World Cup for the fourth time, and to improve her performance there as well.

The Newark Academy fencing program may lack notoriety – particularly on the girls side – but they make up for it with incredible talent.  Despite losing nearly a dozen seniors last year, the teams are looking forward. Their records last season were 5-5 for boys and 3-7 for girls, but head coach Ivanka Lucchetti hopes for an equally good or potentially better season this year. A sizeable group of eager and talented freshmen will help build the program, and improvements among upperclassmen should guarantee lots of wins. Positive leadership and a commitment from all team members should secure both teams a winning record, while dedication, talent, and skill will lead individuals through the State tournament and beyond.

Scenes from a bout against Governor Livingston 1/28/11

(click to enlarge)