South Minnesota Fencing Alliance sending 11 athletes to USA Fencing Summer Nationals – Post Bulletin

Last July, the South Minnesota Youth Enrichment League Fencing Alliance opened its new studio, the first brick-and-mortar studio of its kind in this part of the state.

Now, just more than 10 months later, the SYFA will send 11 of its athletes to a national meet later this month. They have qualified for the 2025 USA Fencing Summer Nationals, set for June 28-July 7 in Milwaukee.

According to the SYFA, this is the largest group (spanning competitive divisions from Youth-10 through Division 1A) the organization has sent to nationals, and the only group from Rochester that will compete at the event.

“It’s more than just getting to Nationals,” said SYFA coach Kamau Wilkins. “It’s about the culture we’re building. These kids train together, challenge each other, and grow together. That’s why this is so special—not just for them, but for everyone who’s been part of the journey.”

SYFA officials added that “this achievement marks a high point for the organization, a club built on community, discipline, and the belief that every student, with the right support, can rise to national caliber. The qualifiers have trained relentlessly, often alongside teammates who may not be competing but have been instrumental in pushing them to succeed.”

The USA Fencing Summer Nationals is the largest fencing tournament in the USA, attracting thousands of top athletes from across the country. SYFA’s presence on that stage signals not only competitive achievement, but the strength of a program deeply rooted in community values—and a fierce commitment to youth development.

Among the standouts who qualified from Rochester is Mateo Wilkins, a John Marshall graduate who recently completed his freshman season at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., where he earned All-Central Collegiate Conference honors and qualified for the NCAA national meet.

The athletes are coached by Rochester’s Kamau Wilkins.

The 11 Summer Nationals qualifiers include Mateo Wilkins, Aviella Wilkins, Aiden Wojtalewicz, Landon DeBoth, Jamie Zinser, Ardella Walsh, Rio Takahashi, Julian Rieger, Therese-Margaret Woerter, Emilia Leggett and Graham Randall.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}