RESULTS
WINNER
Ryan McKenna
Tony Zaldua Jr. (KB)
Chris Stadther (RV)
Vincent DelVecchio
PROMOTIONS & RE-GRADES
Ryan tentatively earns his C
Chris re-earns his D
Vincent earns his D
Daniel Moss earns his E
Riverbend’s This is the Way II tournament doubled in size from last year’s tournament—the first in the series—with Lightspeed members traveling from across the country to compete. With 21 competitors, there were members from Riverbend and Rockville, members from Krait Base and Knight Club who flew out from Southern California, and local unaffiliated clubs who made their first appearance with Lightspeed. So many competitors meant that they were broken into four pools—three with 5 competitors each and one with 6 competitors. The top 16 competitors made it into the brackets.
Two pools ran at a time, and opening the Purple box was Dinah Kolasa vs. Asher Trask. The two fencers were evenly matched with D ratings, though for Kolasa this would be her last chance to re-earn that grade before she drops to an E. It was a close match that in the end saw Trask pull ahead. He would go on to win all five of his pools matches. Emily Watson, from Riverbend, had similar aspirations of advancing her rating. She was the only dedicated Dyad user in the tournament. However, Watson was not the only competitor to break out alternative Lightspeed styles. Preston Pomery was the only committed Ren Saberist at the tournament. But not the only Ren Saberist: Brent Kieth, competing in his first official tournament, switched between Dyad and Ren styles throughout tournament, which added versatility to his game.
Daniel Moss, the leader of the nascent-formation Wildcats, favored a rear guard style and struck swiftly, but unfortunately took a fall during a match. Despite this setback, Moss had the most returns at 9. There were four total members from his group, including his three students Daniel Coates Jr, Cullen Self, and Tavish Self, who all represented their team well at their first Lightspeed tournament.
Other Lightspeed newcomers included Ryan McKenna, a Saber Legionnaire, who made his introduction with great ferocity, attacking his opponents with spins and uppercuts. He had a knack for tiptoeing out of range, making it difficult for his opponents to counterattack. Vincent DelVecchio, another Saber Legionnaire competing for the first time in Lightspeed, displayed exemplary defensive stances that made it challenging for his opponents to approach him. Closing out the Saber Legionnaire ranks was Brooks Baseler, who initially struggled to adjust to Lightspeed methods, but found success with swift rising attacks. Madison Moreyra, who displayed a surprising level of aggression in the box despite her calm demeanor outside of it, Benjamin Brokawlski, and Alexis Martinez, all from the tournament’s home-base of Riverbend, made their tournament debuts as well.
Cang Snow and John Mullins, both fencers from Southern California’s Knight Club, remained undefeated in the pools. Tony Zaldua Jr, Lightspeed’s former champion, who also traveled from SoCal to represent LA’s Krait Base, came determined to reclaim his title. He fought with characteristic precision and skill, scoring 11 headshots.
In the end, newcomer Ryan McKenna dominated the brackets, fighting against Zaldua for gold and ultimately winning first place. Tony Zaldua took second place, and Chris Stadther third, who fought hard and re-earned his D-rating in the process.
Thank you to Josh Blum for acting as tournament director and running the event. Thank you to Patricia Bauler and Kevin Fournier for acting as head referees, as well as our many secondary referees and those that helped to score-keep. Thank you to Aedan Stadther for running the stream, and Chris Stadther for programming our score-keeping system and helping to teach that to the tournament staff. A special thanks to Jessica Trask who found a new location for the tournament at the last minute. And finally, thank you to all of our fencers and spectators for coming out and supporting us. Lightspeed is built on community and this tournament would not have happened without all of you.
