Council Recognizes Chatham National Fencing Champions

CHATHAM, NJ — The Chatham Borough Council honored Chatham fencers and their coaches during their council meeting on Monday night, for their bronze, silver and gold medal achievements during the 2021 Fencing National Championships.

“We take our hats off to you on behalf of Chatham Borough and the Chathams in general,” said Mayor Thaddeus Kobylarz. “You’ve made us all very proud."

Among the honorees mentioned in the proclamation were brothers Darren and Preston Yen - Darren Yen with the NYU fencing team and a coach at Chatham High School - Kailing Sathyanath, Vincent Hong and Chatham High School coaches Hunter Stusnick and Jerry Duffey.

The Council updated its proclamation to include 16 participants in total that had been on Chatham High School's varsity fencing team, who were at the Fencing Nationals.

Duffey called it a “phenomenal experience” to be involved with the fencing program at Chatham High School, with many students participating who hadn’t played a sport before.

“Fencing is a very unique sport and it’s so much fun,” Duffey said.

He encouraged the public to follow the Chatham High School Fencing Team’s social media page.

Darren Yen described the sport, which he said he started practicing when he was 13 with Integrity Fencing Studio in Chatham, as “unique” and one that requires discipline.

His brother Preston Yen called it “like a dream” to have won his silver medal, having initially been in the top eight and then telling himself he “needed to do better,” he said, then rising to the second spot at the nationals.

Stusnick said he began fencing two years before he started high school and then was part of the inaugural team, with the team today with “this giant list of fencers.” He noted that multiple genders and ages were seeing success.

“I’m so happy to see fencing getting this recognition and the team getting recognized,” Stusnick said.

Sathyanath described her achievements as having taken “a lot of footwork to get there” and though she said they train with different clubs, she has spent time working with Darren Yen, with fencers from different clubs training with one another.

“I’m really glad Chatham fencing brought me into such a close-knit family with people I can still bond and connect with,” Sathyanath said.

“You have brought fencing to the forefront in Chatham,” Kobylarz told them all. “You have climbed to the forefront and are on the national stage. That’s an extraordinary achievement.”

RELATED: Chatham Fencing Coaches, Team Members Bring Home National Medals
RELATED: Chatham Fencer Takes Home National Honors In Philadelphia

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: [email protected].