Junior Olympics!
At the Fencing Junior Olympics, Rachel Buhay (right, on the attack) faced the country’s number 19 ranked fencer in Cadet Women’s Saber (under 17). After the pool rounds, Rachel was at 36 out of 188
By Susan Helton; photos courtesy of the Buhay family
A little scared but excited, Rachel Buhay (14), daughter of Rene and Tina Buhay of The Village at Castle Pines, competed in her first Fencing Junior Olympics February 15-18 in Denver. Rachel was among 21 fencers who qualified from her club, Fencing Academy of Denver. She qualified for three events: Cadet Women’s Saber (under 17), Junior Women’s Saber (under 19), and Junior Team Women’s Saber (under 19).
In Cadet Women’s Saber, Rachel finished 70 out of 188 fencers, an exemplary performance according to her coach. In Junior Women’s Saber, she finished 144 out of 196. In Junior Team Women’s Saber, Rachel was the anchor fencer of a three-fencer team that finished in the top 16. With several more years in both Cadet and Juniors before she ages out, Rachel’s fencing future looks bright.
Rachel was nervous yet all smiles before the start of her event.
Excited to see her sister and teammates compete, Rachel’s younger sister Kirsten (10) now practices harder so she can qualify for Junior Olympics in the future. Kirsten is currently ranked third in the country in Women’s Saber (10 and under).
To read the sisters’ story from the August 2018 issue of The Connection, visit www.castlepinesconnection.com and type “Buhay” in the search function.
