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03/23/2022 12:00 AMOwen Angkatavanich wanted to make his senior season with the Guilford fencing program a memorable one. A captain of the boys’ saber team, Owen led the Grizzlies to a state championship and also captured his own individual state title in the process this year.
Owen began fencing in 8th grade after his sister Anna introduced him to the sport. When he arrived at Guilford High School, Owen really started to take fencing seriously, and his efforts led to a dream season for the Grizzlies on the strip.
“I love the combination of athleticism and strategy that is required with the sport,” says Owen. “There was no better moment during my fencing career than me winning first place at the Individual Fencing Championship this year, along with the team winning a title the following week.”
Owen won all nine of his bouts on his way to taking the boys’ saber title at the Individual State Championships. Owen went 5-0 in pool play and was 4-0 in the elimination round on his way to claiming state gold. One week later, Owen helped the boys’ fencing team finish first at the Team State Championships on a day that saw the girls’ team do the same.
While Guilford has seen plenty of success through the years, Owen is the team’s first state champion in saber. Head Coach Tara Bowers describes Owen not only as one of the Grizzlies’ best fencers, but also a tremendous leader. Bowers had limited experience coaching saber when she became Guilford’s head coach last year, and she appreciates how Owen helped guide her along the way.
“Owen stepped up to lead practice, teach the new fencers, coach the team, and inspire others. His success and the success of the entire saber squad is due to his leadership,” Bowers says. “Personally, I will greatly miss Owen’s contributions to the team next year, as will all the underclassmen. He has made his mark on the Guilford fencing team.”
Owen had good relationships with the former members of Guilford’s coaching staff—Kyle Mezzi, Chris Balestracci, and Charles Schneider—before Bowers took the helm for his junior season. While the shakeup was a little jarring at first, Owen has enjoyed working with Coach Bowers and feels that the Grizzlies thrived under her tutelage, along with that of Assistant Coach Jeremy Goun.
“There was a big change at the end of that year with all coaches leaving. I am very grateful to Coach Bowers, who took over the team my junior year,” says Owen. “Coach Bowers was able to step in and allow for myself and the other fencers to continue competing. This year, Jeremy Goun, who brings great experience to the team, also joined the team.”
Last year, Owen was quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic, but still helped Coach Bowers out in any way possible. Whether or not he was there in person, Owen just wanted to be a part of the team, and Bowers was impressed with his level of dedication.
“Owen was quarantined and couldn’t fence last year. However, he was on a video phone call, coaching the kids from home. He even asked to call a timeout during one of the bouts. We handed the fencer the phone with Owen on it,” Bowers says. “Owen gave the fencer advice, and he came back and won. The team placed second, and the kids took a picture with the three fencers with their medals and held Owen up on the phone. That just shows Owen’s commitment to fencing and leading his team.”
While the pandemic affected Owen’s season last year, the senior captain had no issues during the 2022 campaign. Owen completed a happy and healthy season for the Grizzlies this winter.
“Although COVID has impacted my high school season, I did not feel worried about it too much,” says Owen. “By the time we were playing, I had already had both of my vaccination shots, as well as the booster.”
Looking ahead to next season, Owen feels confident Guilford will see continued success on the fencing circuit. Owen is unsure if he will continue fencing in college, but will definitely come back to the high school to see the team in action.
“I am very confident in next year’s team. The coaches have set the underclassmen and juniors up phenomenally, and there still is a great amount of talent and potential left on the team,” Owen says. “Overall, I think the season went great, and everyone on the team should be proud of their performance.”