US Juniors stormed Europe this weekend, winning three of the six Junior “A” level World Cups in which US teams took part.

Hannah Safford (19, San Francisco, Calif./Golden Gate Fencing) won the Ciudad de Borgos Junior “A” Women’s Epee in Burgos, Spain, and USA Fencers took up half of the top eight spots overall as Ashley Severson (17, Franklin Lakes, N.J./NYAC), Francesca Bassa (19, Houston, Texas) and Grace Neveu (18, San Francisco, Calif./Golden Gate Fencing) all placed in the top eight. Plus, five MORE US women reached the top 16. Bassa is now ranked ninth in the FIE’s World Under-20 Epee standings.

Lee Kiefer (16, Lexington, Ky./Bluegrass Fencers) won yet another Junior “A” Cup, this one in Waldkirch, Germany. Teammate Luona Wang (18, Birmingham, Ala./Birmingham F.C.) earned a bronze, as well. Kiefer is now ranked fourth in the World Under-20 Foil standings, and teammates Nzingah Prescod (18, Brooklyn, N.Y./Westbrook Found.) and Margaret Lu (16, Greenwich, Conn./Empire United) are ranked ninth and sixth, respectively. In Waldkirch, Lu was sixth and Prescod fifth, making this the second World Cup in which US fencers crowded out all other nations in the top eight.
And in London, Race Imboden (17, Brooklyn, N.Y./Empire United) won the Junior “A” Men’s Foil Eden Cup and Jeremy Goldstein (18, Westport, Conn./Fenc. Acad. Westchester/Penn State) placed seventh. Imboden defeated Evgeniy Filippov (RUS) in the final, 15-9.

Finally, with his 13th place finish in London, David Willette (19, Lafayette, Calif./Massialas) rose to the top spot of the World Under-20 Foil rankings