Fencing
Morris Catholic has been proud to offer a fencing team since 2008 and is one of 60 schools that have a three weapon program. Each year the team attends the Santelli/Cetrulo tournament, the largest high school tournament in the world with over 3000 fencers in competition. We do not require training to be part of our team, however many of our varsity fencers train off season at local fencing clubs.
The Morris Catholic Fencing Team Tradition is to ensure that all people can fence while at Morris Catholic. Our Varsity team is competitive and usually consists of the best fencers at the school, but we do not cut from our JV squad.
Recent Accomplishments:
- The 2023-2024 Season featured stellar performances, growth and accolades. Girls Fencing placed 8th in the State Team Tournament.
- The Girls Fencing team qualified for the State Tournament, placing 3rd in District 2. The Epee team were District 2 Champsions and the Sabre team placed second.
- Ava Insinga, Ella Mizeski, and Lauren Colella qualified for the State Meet of Champions.
- Lauren Colella placed 4th in Women's epee for the 2023-2024 State Individuals, and was selected for 2nd team All State.
- Coach Mike Malecki, the Head Fencing Coach at Morris Catholic, has been named 2023-24 NJIFA Girls Coach of the Year with 52% of the vote.
College & Beyond:
- Jessica Murphy, Class of 2024, will be fencing at Sacred Heart University, Division I.
- Peter Ross, Class of 2024, will be fending at Drew University, Division III.
- Christopher Cortez, Class of 2021, currently fences for NJIT and fenced for Ecuador at the Pan-American Championships.
About the Head Coach: Mike Malecki
Contact: mmalecki@morriscatholic.org
Coach Malecki is the founding coach of the Morris Catholic Fencing team. He has coached the team for 8 years. Coach Malecki specializes in the instruction of Foil and Epee. Before coaching at Morris Catholic, Coach Malecki was a fencer with West Virginia University fencing club, started the Seton Hill University Fencing Program, and was a safety marshal for a historical fencing society and achieved an Award of Arms in that group. He is a life member of the US Fencing Association, a member of the US Fencing Coaches Association and holds a Moniteur de Epee Classification. In 2024 he began the Paterson Diocese Middle School Fencing team as well. Mr. Malecki also teaches Social Studies for Sophomores through Seniors at Morris Catholic.
Angela Cullen, Foil Coach
Angela started fencing at Randolph High School in 2007. She became the varsity foil captain as a Senior. After graduation, she went on to study Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at Pennsylvania State University where she continued to fence competitively with the Penn State Fencing club as part of the Southern Atlantic Conference. She has participated in several team tournaments, including the Holy Grail and the SAC North Meet. She is a member of the USFA and continues to fence competitively.
Chris Brizek
Chris Brizek is USFA High School Coach trained and has also helped coach foil for the middle school Diocesan team. He is newer to fencing but has taken to it with enthusiasm and dedication. He is also a member of the faculty at Morris Catholic in the religion and social studies departments.
