Congratulations to our recent medalists!
NJFA Regional Youth Circuit (RYC):
And click here for NYFA Youth and Macaron Open medalists
Go NYFA!
NYFA fencers are going strong throughout the US and the world! Congratulations to all who achieved these recent top results:
INTERNATIONAL
NATIONAL
North American Cup in Cleveland, Ohio:
REGIONAL
LOCAL
Click here for top 8 results at recent NYFA tournaments
Go NYFA!
Click here to see the last touch in Y14 men’s team 🙂
Brooklyn, NY (March 20, 2017) – Brooklyn teens who compete for the New York Fencing Academy (NYFA), earned two team gold medals at the largest North American Cup (NAC) of the year. Over 1,600 top fencers converged on Cleveland, Ohio last week, including the #1 seeded Y14 (14 year old age category) boys epee team from NYFA. Mark Dolgonos and Ethan Kushnerik from Mill Basin, Jack Kambeseles of Bay Ridge, and Skyler Liverant from Prospect Heights, won their opening match 45-32 against Hooked on Fencing from Northern Ohio. Next they faced a very strong team from Canada that included a NAC silver medalist. They strategically went into deep defense against Canada’s leader and gained points off of Benedek Szabo and Alexander Androsyuk. The boys from Brooklyn held a consistent lead and won 45-41. They were unstoppable going into the final match where they confidently scored 45-31, earning the club’s first gold medal of the weekend.
The NYFA Y14 girls team also entered their competition seeded first in the US. Bensonhurst sisters, Jaclyn and Caralina Khrol, Nadia Gaberkorn from Mill Basin, and Jordan Liverant of Prospect Heights, took the opening match against San Diego Fencing Center with a decisive win of 43-25. Next, they faced the second-tier team from Alliance Fencing Academy of Houston, Texas. Alliance is their biggest competition, but the NYFA girls didn’t give them a chance, beating them 45-26. In the final match, NYFA faced a real challenge with Alliance’s first team, which included Ariana Rausch, a Junior Olympic silver medalist, and two more strong fencers. NYFA’s anchor, Jaclyn Khrol, who was the Summer Nationals Champion and North American Junior finalist, started off with a tough loss of 2-5. Then Caralina Khrol also lost her match 2-5 against Rausch, putting the team in a dangerously weak position at 4-10. Liverant picked up the fight and won her match 8-5, reducing the deficit to 12-15. Next, Gaberkorn lost her match 2-3, putting the team score at 14-18. This is where anchor, Jaclyn Khrol, proved her mettle, winning her next match 11-3 and pulling the team ahead to 25-21. Liverant faced Alliance’s anchor, Rausch, and held the team’s lead at 30-28, despite losing 5-7. With a slim two point advantage, NYFA’s girls moved into the last three matches – the most important and final round. Caralina Khrol was up first and since neither fencer wanted to risk an attack, no points were scored. Now the pressure was on Liverant to try to widen their lead in the second to last match, knowing that teammate, Jaclyn Khrol would have the final showdown against Rausch whom she previously lost to in individuals. Liverant delivered a 10-5 win which put team NYFA seven points ahead of Alliance at 40-33. Finally, Jaclyn Khrol faced off against Rausch and won 5-4, for a final team score of 45-37 and NYFA’s second NAC gold medal.
NYFA students also earned four individual NAC medals:
Skyler Liverant – silver in Y12 out of 96 fencers
Mark Dolgonos – bronze in Division 2, an adult competition. Dolgonos is only 13 years old.
Ian Goldfine – 5th in Y10. Goldfine also earned top 16 in Y12 even though he is only 10 years old.
Jaclyn Khrol – 6th in Y14
For full results, visit USA Fencing: www.usfencing.org/mar2017nac
New York Fencing Academy (NYFA) was founded in 2010 by owner and head coach Misha Mokretsov and is located in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. NYFA has quickly become a center for excellence in epee, with one of the strongest competitive epee programs in the country. NYFA has already produced National and World Champions, and has members on the French junior national team and the USA cadet national team. NYFA provides private lessons, group classes, and camps for students of all ages and all levels, beginners to advanced. Visit www.fencenyfa.com for more info.
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Contact: Misha Mokretsov
Company: New York Fencing Academy
Address: 2896 W 12th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11224
Club Phone: (718) 996-0426
Cell Phone: (347) 741-1343
http://bklyner.com/coney-island-fencing-champ-wins-gold-dramatic-final-bout/
BKLYNER
March 2, 2017
Carly Miller
Alan Temiryaev wins 2017 Junior Olympic National Championship
in Junior Men’s Epee. pc: USA Fencing
Victory moment for 16-year-old Alan Temiryaev.
A disciplined but fun-loving sophomore at James Madison High School is setting records for fencing and laser-sharp focus — from the fencing academy in Coney Island to championships around the world.
In February, Alan Temiryaev, back from a debilitating knee injury, nabbed the Gold in the Junior Olympics in a spectacular and dramatic bout. And at 16 years old, he is one of the youngest to win the Junior (under-20) age category, beating out 301 competitors this year.
This young fencer has quite the accolade list already: The event, held in Missouri, earned Temiryaev a National Championship medal and locked his spot on the USA National Team to compete in the World Championships. (He already won two bronze medals at World Cups in Austria and France.)
The winning moment
Over the long day, Temiryaev faced many challengers in multiple bouts, including previous champions. But by the final match, both competitors were exhausted and cramping, said Temiryaev. “It was all about willpower. We were both tired, we woke up at 6am and it was 6pm already and competing for this last touch.”
Temiryaev started off this bout losing and couldn’t catch up — until the very last moment.
With just 20 seconds left and trailing 4-6, Temiryaev pulled out his skillful combination of touches and a unique perseverance and won in overtime seconds with a score of 7–6.
“They both couldn’t move anymore. Most people thought it was over. But he’s famous for bringing bouts back from bad situations,” said Coach Misha Mokretsov. “With Alan, I never know what’s going to happen!”
Alan Temiryaev (center), Coach Misha Mokretsov (left) (Photo via NYFA)
And Temiryaev was flying solo, since the final bout took place far from the coaches seating area. “The students cannot hear and you can coach only in the break. He was on his own. It was his own willpower,” he said.
A unique blend of strategy, confidence, and courage
Temiryaev has been fencing since he was 10 years old, under the tutelage of Coach Misha Mokretsov of Coney Island’s New York Fencing Academy.
“At first, I had no idea it would be this much fun,” Temiryaev told BKLYNER, detailing the skills for when to attack and how, using the different rules of each weapon. “It’s strategic and competitive, with discipline involved.”
“Most of the time I observe a fencer before I fence them, and if he’s aggressive I’ll use that to my advantage,” he said. “But sometimes, I react in the moment.”
Alan Temiryaev wins 2017 Junior Olympic National Championship in Junior Men’s Epee. (Photo via NYFA)
Temiryaev loves to win but also sees great value in losing. “Last year at the nationals I lost to some crazy guy from the college level world team,” he said. “I got destroyed, but this year it was fun to realize I’m the one who’s winning in that age group.”
Coach Mokretsov saw something special in Temiryaev right away, he said. “He started like a regular kid, but in little less than a year he got second place at Summer Nationals for 10 and younger — which was surprising because he was a beginner,” said Mokretsov, whose Coney Island-based fencing academy (NYFA) has one of the strongest competitive epee programs in the country.
He attributes some of that to technique and skill, but even more so to mental strength.
“He managed to overcome pressure and scored complex actions, which requires fine execution and takes a lot of courage — even without pressure,” said Mokretsov.
“I’ve been coaching for 10 years and have had a lot of good kids,” said Mokretsov. “But usually they are tense when it comes to close bouts. But Alan does better under pressure. That’s what makes him unique. Many people can have a good day when it’s easy, but when you’re not having a good day — which happens a lot in our sport — it’s psychological, and opponent matches play a big role,” he said.
Before coaching, Mokretsov fenced on the Ukranian National Team and came to the US to attend St. John’s University on the NCAA team. “I still know how it feels to be an athlete,” he said. “And I love working with kids because they always raise my mood. They’re always positive and open to the challenge.”
Next, Temiryaev will travel with his coach, Misha Mokretsov, to compete at the World Championships in Bulgaria in April.
For young fencers, Temiryaev has this advice:
“Definitely keep trying no matter what. I lost so many times before I won.”
Brooklyn, NY (February 23, 2017) – Alan Temiryaev, a sophomore at James Madison High School in Brooklyn, NY, won gold in the Junior Olympics in Kansas City, Missouri last weekend. This final competition of the season earned Temiryaev a National Championship medal and locked up his spot on the USA National Team to compete in the World Championships. Temiryaev had a very strong season, including two bronze medals at World Cups in Austria and France. At just 16 years old, he is one of the youngest to win the Junior (under-20) age category at the Junior Olympics, which also includes a Cadet (under-17) competition.
This year, the Junior Olympics had a record breaking number of athletes with 301 participating in the Junior event, including reigning World Champion, Sean Wilson, from Houston, Texas. In the preliminary round, Temiryaev scored five wins and one loss. In direct eliminations, he won against Syed Haider to make top 128, then scored 15-6 against New Jersey fencer, Finn Miller to make top 64. The next bout for top 32 was very tough since Temiryaev had to face a USA Junior National Team anchor, Wesley Johnson. Temiryaev took an early lead of 9-4 and never let Johnson make a come back. He won 15-9. For top 16, Temiryaev faced another very experienced fencer from Colorado, Henry Lange. Down 10-13, Temiryaev managed to pull off a skillful combination of touches and won 15-14. For the medal round, Temiryaev was up against his New York Fencing Academy clubmate, Nathan Vaysberg. It is always hard for clubmates to compete because they know each other very well, but this time Temiryaev was stronger and won 15-8. To make semifinals, Temiryaev confidently won against Harrison Kimatian, 15-8. Next, he faced a very strong contender, Isaac Herbst from Houston, Texas, who was competing for a National Team spot with Temiryaev for World Team. There are only three spots each year to make National Team. Temiryaev was unstoppable in this bout, making almost no mistakes, and winning 15-6.
In the bout for gold, Temiryaev faced a very experienced fencer from Columbia University, Mick Yamanaka. After a long day of competition, both athletes were very tired and had little energy left, so it was a battle of strategy and willpower. Temiryaev started off losing and couldn’t catch up — until the end of the bout. With 20 seconds left and trailing 4-6, Temiryaev scored two points to tie at 6-6. In overtime. the fencers had one minute to score one point for the win. The referee flips a coin to determine who has priority and the fencer with priority wins if one minute passes with no touches scored. Temiryaev got priority, so Yamanaka had to attack, but while he was preparing to attack, Temiryaev made his own attack. Yamanaka wasn’t ready and lost the touch. With a score of 7-6, Alan Temiryaev became the Junior Olympic Champion in junior men’s epee.
Temiryaev has been selected for the USA World Team and will travel with his coach, Misha Mokretsov, to compete at the World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria which will be held April 1-10.
For full results, visit USA Fencing: http://www.usfencing.org/feb2017jo
New York Fencing Academy (NYFA) was founded in 2010 by owner and head coach Misha Mokretsov and is located in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. NYFA has quickly become a center for excellence in epee, with one of the strongest competitive epee programs in the country. NYFA has already produced National and World Champions, and has members on the French junior national team and the USA cadet national team. NYFA provides private lessons, group classes, and camps for students of all ages and all levels, beginners to advanced. Visit http://www.fencenyfa.com for more info.
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Contact: Misha Mokretsov
Company: New York Fencing Academy
Address: 2896 W 12th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11224
Club Phone: (718) 996-0426
Cell Phone: (347) 741-1343
