CAMAS — Over President’s Day weekend, coach Julia Tikhonova led Alexander Holcomb (13, Liberty Middle School), Marshall Golden (14, Skyridge Middle School), Benjamin Schumann (13, Skyridge Middle School), and Emily Holcomb (17, Camas High School) to Salt Lake City Utah to compete in USA Fencing’s Junior Olympics.
Despite all students starting fencing in the past year, they all qualified and competed, gaining valuable experience. The fencers competed in various foil events. At the Cadet level, where fencers must be 17 or younger at the start of the season, Alex, Marshall, Benjamin, and Emily competed. All three boys also competed in the junior division, where fencers had to be 20 or younger at the start of the season. Alex, Marshall, and Benjamin also competed in the junior men’s team event, doing well against a number of collegiate fencers.
Their coach, Julia Tikhonova, has been fencing since she was 9, and was six-time member of the Israeli national fencing team and a two-time national champion before accepting a full scholarship to Ohio State. While there she was a three-time NCAA All-American and Midwestern Collegiate Conference Champion. Other notable accomplishments include: ranking top 23 in the world in 2004, 2nd place in Junior World Cup in 2004, 8th place in Junior world Cup in 2005, NCAA Champion in 2008 (team event), Top 8 in Senior NAC (North American Cup), and honored at the annual NCAA Day of Champions ceremony at the White House.
