Jericho fencing's Ilana Cai, Wheatley/Roslyn's Charles Lee knock off defending champs at Nassau finals

Jericho freshman Ilana Cai stood at the ready on the strip, facing defending girls foil champion Gabriella Sherlock. On the back of Cai’s lamé were signatures, mementos she obtained from Olympic fencers during her time as a sixth grader competing in the U.S. Fencing Summer Nationals tournament.

She seemed to channel that talent inscribed on her back Saturday at Oyster Bay High School as she lifted gold at the Nassau individual fencing championships, beating one of Long Island’s best in Sherlock, 14-5.

“It was exciting, I was happy that it was finally over,” Cai smiled. “I get to go home and sleep.”

After the first two three-minute periods, Cai led just 4-2 before winning five of the next six touches to take a commanding lead. It forced Sherlock to go on the offensive as she battled both Cai and the clock.

“I tried to go attack and then bait her into coming in,” Cai said. “Me personally, I feel like my attacks are weaker than my defense, so I tried to feign and get her to attack me so I can parry and riposte.”

Cai wasn’t the only one to defeat a defending champion as Wheatley/Roslyn’s Charles Lee defeated Syosset’s Justin Guo, 15-9, in a thrilling rematch of the gold-medal foil bout a year earlier.

And finally: your boys foil champion has been named…

Charles Lee of Wheatley/Roslyn wins 15-9, over Justin Guo of Syosset.

Joshua Oh of Wheatley/Roslyn wins bronze, 15-14, over Ryan Zhao of GNS.

A look at the touch that made Lee this year’s Nassau foil champion… pic.twitter.com/gSXiItY4ZW

— Michael Sicoli (@Michael__Sicoli) January 31, 2026

“My mentality was off last year,” Lee said. “This year I was definitely more locked in. That’s what I took away, focus more and be in the moment.”

Freshman Olivia Voskov also brought a gold medal to Wheatley/Roslyn’s fencing program, defeating Herricks’ Jenya Bawa in epee, 15-9. After Voskov and Bawa exchanged a hug, Voskov’s teammates stormed the strip to celebrate alongside her.

A look at the final touch: Voskov hugged Bawa seconds after this video ended, followed by Wheatley/Roslyn fencers storming to celebrate. pic.twitter.com/bpbBJ4ZT5m

— Michael Sicoli (@Michael__Sicoli) January 31, 2026

“That final touch is almost better than actually receiving the medal,” Voskov said. “It’s like, ‘That’s it. You won. You can calm down now.’”

It came after a wildly competitive semifinal against Great Neck South’s Ashley Nguyen, which featured a tie at 11 touches at the conclusion of three periods with the next touch determining a trip to the gold-medal bout.

When Voskov secured her berth, she fell to her knees as emotion flooded her face.

“I knew exactly what I had to do. It was a matter of whether I could execute it,” Voskov said. “She’s an amazing fencer … But I kind of envisioned that one touch right beforehand. I knew how I was going to do it, I saw the moment and just went for it.”

Syosset’s fencing program joined Wheatley/Roslyn with a pair of gold medals itself, as senior sabreist Brandon Lim beat teammate Gavin Berkowitz, 15-7, and eighth grader Winona Zheng beat Manhasset’s Adriana Chan, 15-11.

Lim took silver in 2024 and placed fourth in both 2023 and 2025. But in his senior season, he’ll leave with a gold atop the county.

A look at the final touch that made Lim a champion. pic.twitter.com/CE7h7AXmKI

— Michael Sicoli (@Michael__Sicoli) January 31, 2026

“I feel like I’ve come full circle as a fencer,” Lim said. “I made a bunch of mistakes before, and this year I put all the work in to learn from that.”

Zheng debuted in the tournament as a seventh grader in 2025, placing sixth. Still not yet a high schooler, she won four consecutive touches to secure gold.

“I remember last year, I was so scared,” Zheng said. “I wasn’t thinking it through. This year I calmed down a lot.”

For boys epee, Great Neck South’s Max Tse credited his improved “mental maturity as a fencer” for his jump from a fifth-place finish a year ago to taking gold over teammate Matthew Wu, 15-8.

Tse, who took a 9-7 lead with a nifty touch while simultaneously ducking, highlights the Rebels' epee team that saw Wu take silver and fellow teammate Amir Karimov take bronze.

“I feel very lucky to have all my boys with me,” Tse said. “We’re all very strong, we practice hard together and we all have a lot of dedication to the sport.”