Ranney School Fencer Wins State Prep Championship

Ranney School fencer Steven Jow scored another big win this month, taking home a first place finish in Boy’s Foil at the New Jersey Independent School State Fencing Championships in Princeton on February 18. Jow, a senior, won every bout, ending the day undefeated.

Jow’s win comes on the heels of his second place finish in boy’s foil at the New Jersey Schools Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) District Two Fencing Championship in January, which was the first time Ranney School competed at that level. The NJSIAA meet was also a qualifier for the individual championships. Jow and freshman teammate Patrick Glodkowski, who took third place in men’s saber, will move on to the NJSIAA individual state championships on March 14 at Rider University.

Ranney also showed two strong team finishes at the NJISS meet, placing 2nd in the Girls’ Team Epee and 4th in the Boys’ Team Foil. Other individuals to place were:

Girls’ Epee
5th Place - Marielle Cartagena (’09)
7th Place – Stephanie Moser (’10)

Boys’ Epee
6th Place – Sam Tkach (’12)

Ranney fencing coach Agota Balot says compared with many of the school’s Ranney competes against, this fencing team is relatively small and young. What began as a club sport six years ago has evolved into a competitive varsity team consisting of eight girls and 15 boys. Ms. Balot says she sees tremendous potential in the Ranney team. “At the end of this year, we will lose six experienced fencers,” Ms. Balot says,” but we are bringing in students who are very enthusiastic about the sport, making it possible to build an even stronger team for the future.” Ms. Balot credits the Middle school fencing club for contributing to the strong freshman performance.

This Sunday, the Varsity fencing team will participate in the Prep School Freshman/Sophomore Individual Championships at Princeton Day School. Ms. Balot expects great results from that meet as well.

For additional information on all Ranney School news, please contact the Communications Department at communications@ranneyschool.org.