Arndell Anglican College’s Sebastian Van Der Eyke fought off fierce competition to clinch a gold medal in the Under 15 Foil Championships, while Richmond High’s Reagan Clarke defeated six opponents to finish in third position.

Newington College hosted the championships, which attracted 41 competitors from around the State, and was held over three weekends to encompass the individual championships in under 15, over 15, and the teams events.

Van Der Eyke, 15, smashed his opponents in the preliminary rounds before moving onto the direct elimination, which saw him play for the gold medal.

With each competition consisting of three three-minute bouts, each with a 60 second break in between, Van Der Eyke’s medal bout came down to the wire, with the Year 10 student only securing the top place in the closing minute of the competition.

“At the first break the score was five-all, then it was eight-all after the second, and eventually it tipped 13-11 in my favour in the third,” he said.

“Considering I wasn’t feeling that well on the day, I’m very happy with how I performed.”

Van Der Eyke qualified for the national championships in July with his win; an event he is looking forward to greatly.

“It’s being held at Lidcombe, so it’s pretty close to home, but I’m quite excited about going up against competitors from around the country,” he told The Gazette.

Van Der Eyke has been fencing for five years, originally taking up the sport after seeing an advertisement for it in the paper.

“It was a choice of soccer or something else, so I choose something else,” he said.

The Windsor Downs resident trains twice a week at Penrith Academy of Fencing along with Clarke, who also trains at Sydney University.

“I saw fencing being done of television and thought ‘that’s something I’d really like to try’,” Clarke said.

“I’ve only been doing it for three years now, but I’m enjoying it a lot.”

Clarke, 13, made it into the final four of the Under 15 Foil Championships after defeating four opponents in the preliminary rounds.

He lost his first semi-final round to the eventual runner-up, but bounced back to secure the bronze medal with a 5-all/9-8/12-10 final score.

“It takes a lot of concentration to maintain your focus for each three minute block, but that challenge is one of the things I enjoy about fencing,” Clarke said.