Willa Galvez, left, and Hagia del Castillo face off in the Under-15 women’s foil category in the Admirals Fencing Invitational 2023 on Saturday at The Palms Country Club in Alabang, Muntinlupa City. –CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Yuri Canlas won two gold medals in the Admirals Fencing Invitational last Saturday by dominating the girls’ under-10 and U-8 foil divisions even as Willa Galvez fought through the pain of a sprained ankle for the girls’ U-12 title at posh The Palms Country Club in Alabang.
Canlas conquered Christine Morales and Morganne Uy, respectively, to emerge as the only double gold winner in the one-day event, while Galvez fought Yuna Canlas in the finals with a heavily bandaged right ankle before pulling out a 6-1 win. The Grade 6 student at University of the East (UE) was forced to pull out of the U-15 division, though.
Opao Catantan, the 13-year-old sister of reigning Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Samantha Catantan, defeated Hannah Belarmino 15-13 in the girls’ U-15, even as Antonio Manuel, Iñigo Divinagracia and Teo Canlas came through with solid performances in the boys’ men’s foil.
Opao Catantan, Shy Catantan, Willa Galvez, Yuri Canlas, Teo Canlas, Ayce Olarte and Inigo Divinagracia show their gold medals in the Admirals Fencing Invitational 2023 on Saturday at The Palms Country Club in Alabang, Muntinlupa City. –CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Catantan edged out good friend and UE teammate Aubrey Fernandez in another thrilling finish by scoring a 15-14 decision in the semifinals.
In the boys’ foil, Manuel came through with a masterful 15-8 win over UE’s Brynt Gale in the U-17 finals. In the semis, the 14-year-old Paref Northfield Grade 9 student dispatched of UAAP gold medalist James Lim of UE with a similar 15-8 score, while Gale downed Francis Obzunar 15-11.
Some 200 U-8 to U-17 fencers participated in the event, which served as a relaunch of the CF South in partnership with the SR Fencing Club and a precursor of the 3rd Paref Southridge Admirals All-Men’s Fencing Championship in January 2024.
Divinagracia scored a 10-2 win over Lucas Palafox that also avenged a bitter loss in the CF ranking last week, while Teo Canlas ruled the U-10 by scoring an 8-5 triumph against CF teammate Elijah Timbol.