13-Year-Old Basking Ridge Fencer Wins National Championship

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — 13-year-old athlete Veronika Mika of Basking Ridge took the fencing stage by storm winning National Champion in Y14 and Cadet during the U.S. Fencing National Championship.

Mika now ranks 1st in the nation in Women’sSaber for Y14.

Mika who trains with Garwood's Advance Fencing & Fitness Academy (AFFA) competed at the U.S. National Championships in Philadelphia, PA, which ran from July 3 to 12.

• Want to win Six Flags Great Adventure Season Passes? Here's how.

Along with Mika, several other athletes at AFFA also took home winning titles. Her clubmates Kailing Sathyanath of Chatham, Abby Parker of Westfield, Lola Possick of Weehawken, and Jadeyn Williams of Metuchen, joined with stellar performances, each bringing home a national championship title for the Women’s Saber Team.

Kailing, Lola, Jadeyn and Veronika also all won silver for the Junior Women’s Saber Team. For the men, Kuba Jaskot of Poznan, Poland, Konrad Cyzewski of Caldwell, Malcolm Fields of Green Brook, and Aleks Ochocki of Clark, each secured national championship titles for the Men’s Saber Team.

AFFA athletes with additional winning performances include:

• Anika Sinha, Watchung, NJ | silver in Division 2
• Konrad Czyzewski | bronze in Cadet
• Malcolm Fields | 5th place in Division 1
• John Morreale, Wall, NJ | 6th place in Division 1A
• Lola Possick | 8th place in Division 1
• Kailing Sathyanath | 8th place in Division 1A

"I am incredibly proud of all our athletes and coaches for these amazing National results. Even during a crazy year, everyone continued working hard through it all. We finished at the top of the leader board as a single weapon club with no veteran fencers competing," said Aleks Ochocki, Owner and Coach of AFFA.

For additional information about AFFA, its classes or how to get started in fencing, visit affafencing.com or call 908-290-5055.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.

Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here. Don't miss local and statewide announcements. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.