Justin Guo praises teammates as undefeated Syosset wins Nassau crown in fencing

When Syosset’s Justin Guo stepped onto the strip for his first bout of the Nassau team championships, a chant of “MVP” erupted from the team’s bench.

It’s true that Guo has been sensational this winter, both as a leader and as a fencer for Syosset’s undefeated 12-0 team. Yet as fast as his teammates are to praise him, he’d be just as quick to tell you that Syosset doesn’t lift the Nassau County title for the second time in program history without the fencers around him.

“I love my boys on the team,” Guo said. “They’re the best team I’ve ever been on, and I have just the best experiences with them.”

No. 1 Syosset defeated No. 4 Herricks in the county semifinals, 14-6, before beating No. 2 Great Neck South, 14-3, in the championship Saturday at Manhasset High School. Syosset took a 7-0 lead over the Rebels and never looked back.

Although, at least metaphorically for inspiration, Syosset did take a glance in the rear-view mirror. The team never forgot last year’s Nassau championship where Great Neck South won a 14-13 nailbiter.

“It means everything,” sabreist Sajan Shah said. “It was nice to close it out, especially after last year.”

Shah won both of his bouts by two touches over Great Neck South’s Brendan Chen and Jason Wang. When he’s not fencing, the senior can be seen coaching up the sabre team which includes his brother, Sohan, who does the same for him.

“We’ve been our biggest supporters,” Sajan Shah said. “It was really nice to get the win today with him because it’s going to be our last year together. I’m really proud of how everyone fenced, but especially him because I know he was really nervous.”

Syosset sabres more than did their part, winning all six of their bouts against Great Neck South. But the ability to add wins elsewhere helped Syosset pull away, most notably from foilist Derrick Xiang and epeeist Jade Li. Both went 2-0 in key spots, with Xiang defeating Dylan Kim 5-1 and Li earning the championship’s deciding point in a 5-4 win over Amir Karimov.

“It was really nice, before I graduate, to be a Nassau County champion,” Xiang said.

But Xiang and Sajan Shah aren’t the only ones leaving the program. This is coach Robert Moon’s last season coaching for Syosset, which gave his team some added motivation to go out atop the county.

“In a sense it’s like the whole team is graduating,” epeeist Jaysukh Singh said.

But graduations and goodbyes are for another day. For now, Syosset will celebrate county titles for both its boys and girls fencing teams, a feat that’s only been accomplished seven times since 2000.

Moon and his county-winning fencers will keep the ride going into Cold Spring Harbor High School Tuesday, Feb. 11, to take on Suffolk champion Newfield/Miller Place for the Long Island championship game.