Great Neck South boys, girls fencing teams win second Long Island title in three years
The Great Neck South boys fencing team reacts after winning the Long Island team championship on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, at Half Hollow Hills East High School. Credit: Kathy M Helgeson
For the Great Neck South’s boys and girls fencing teams, it’s time to party like it's 2024 all over again.
The boys team defeated Commack/Northport, 14-9, and the girls team completed an undefeated season with a win over Ward Melville/Port Jefferson/Rocky Point/Comsewogue, 14-6, Thursday night to lift Long Island titles.
“Our school is on top,” Great Neck South foilist Ryan Zhao said. “It feels great that the boys and the girls are doing equally as well. It’s not just one side doing better; we’re equally sharing the trophies and the happiness together.”
Great Neck South’s boys fencing team (12-2) held a 12-6 lead after epeeist Jasper Zheng defeated Austin Salzberg, 5-2. However, Commack/Northport (10-4) proceeded to win four of the next five bouts courtesy of Luca Innocenzi, Alexander Amisano, Jayden Hausler and Seth Schwartz to force a tight finish.
South sabreist Brendan Chen set up the winning bout with his third win of the day, giving the Rebels a 13-7 lead. Coach Josh Baravarian spoke with Zhao, who won his two prior bouts, during a timeout, patting him on the chest as he left the strip.
The freshman then completed a 5-0 win over Kevin Sugrue to hand South a Long Island title.
“He was like, ‘You got this,’ ” Zhao said. “All the practices, all the meets, it all culminated in this event. I could finish right here, and he believed in me.”
The Rebels were without star epeeists Max Tse and Amir Karimov but still managed to find the wins needed. Foilist Qinrui Zheng went 2-0 after getting cut on his right cheek in his first bout.
“We did this today without two of the best fencers on Long Island,” Baravarian said. “It just shows our depth.”
South girls foilist Emma Kandalaft watched the boys team win alongside her teammates, having gone 2-0 herself to complete the Rebels' 14-0 season.
Did she envision an undefeated season back in November?
“I would say that I believe it,” Kandalaft said. “I had complete faith in my team.”
Sabreist Josephine Wong handed South the title with a 5-4 win over Violet Fortner, finishing 3-0. The Rebels led just 5-4 at the end of the first rotation against a strong Ward Melville (13-2) team that featured a 3-0 performance from Magdalena Layne-Stasik.
But South, aided by 2-0 days from epeeist Ashley Nguyen and foilist Annabelle Qi, won nine of the final 12 bouts to take the title. Coach Catie Sagevick praised her team captains in epeeist Justina Hom, Nguyen and Qi.
“It’s not a group of individuals competing for themselves; they’re pulling everyone up with them,” Sagevick said.
Michael Sicoli covers high school sports for Newsday. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and left with a master’s degree in sports journalism in 2023.
