Believe it or not, there is an impressive fencing culture here in Woodbury. We spoke to three local athletes making waves in the fencing community and learned more about what makes the sport so special. (Spoiler: You may just see one of them in the Olympics someday.)
Katie Penvose
Growing up in Canada, Katie Penvose loved horseback riding. She turned that love into quad-competitions that combined riding with swimming, running and pistol shooting—a more common phenomenon in Canada than here in the U.S.
Penvose’s family moved to Woodbury when she was in eighth grade, and she looked for a way to continue competing in the sports she love. She found pentathlon, a five-sport competition that combines swimming, running, pistol shooting, horseback riding and fencing into one competition. She had never fenced before, but she wanted to be great at pentathlon, so she joined Minnesota Sword Club in Minneapolis.
Fencing quickly became one of her favorite parts of competition. “I like how it’s both a mental and physical challenge,” Penvose says. “A lot of people compare it to a game of chess. Your opponent makes moves and you have to respond appropriately.”
Now a senior at East Ridge High School, Penvose has competed in four national pentathlon competitions and three international competitions. Her experience makes her one of the top youth competitors in the country, which has set her sights on one lofty goal: “I really want to qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo,” Penvose says.
Matthew Klein
Like Penvose, Matthew Klein is an East Ridge senior who fences. Like Klein, he also started in eighth grade. Unlike Penvose, and by his own admission, Klein is not an elite fencer. He competed the last four years, including in a national competition two years ago, but fencing is more recreational for Klein. “My brothers fenced growing up and I looked up to them,” Klein says. He remembers going to their meets with a little red sword, and mimicking their moves. He loved watching the best competitors, and he still does to this day.
Klein practices at Twin Cities Fencing Club in St. Paul, where he works with Olympic coach Roberto Sobalvarro. He watches elite fencers every day and cherishes the experience. Although his competition days are likely over, he looks forward to joining a fencing club next year at the University of Minnesota. He clearly still has a passion for the sport.
“For a while I was really good at hitting people on the hand and it just frustrated people,” Klein says. “It was hilarious. You have to have a lot of strategy to see what your opponents are doing and counter their moves.”
John O’Brien Schroeder
More seasoned than the other two, John O’Brien Schroeder has been fencing for 12 years at Twin Cities Fencing Club. He joined a fencing camp the summer before high school and liked it so much that he’s stuck with the sport. “Fencing can be lifelong,” O’Brien Schroeder says. “Competitions are broken into age categories so people can do it their whole life.”
Like the other fencers of our story, O’Brien Schroeder, who is a repair technician at Team Technology in Woodbury, has competed around the country. He made it to national Junior Olympics competitions when he was younger, but never placed in the top eight, a requirement to advance to the next round. Although he loved to compete, fencing has also been a great way for him to explore new places. “One of the things I like most is traveling to different places,” O’Brien Schroeder says. “It’s a really neat way to see the country.”
He continues to compete, but jokes that he needs to get in better shape to take the sport seriously again. For now, he continues to work on his skills and enjoy his favorite sport recreationally.
For more information on the sport of fencing and classes, visit twincitiesfencing.com and mnswordclub.com.
