Lawson secures British runner-up spot (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

Lawson secures British runner-up spot

11:00am Friday 15th February 2013 in Local

STOURPORT Fencing Club duo Rebecca Wakefield and Danielle Lawson excelled at the British Cadet under-17s Championships in Kent.

Lawson was runner-up, while Wakefield recorded her best competitive result with third place.

Wakefield won three of her pool matches to make the cut and qualified for the last 32 and then progressed when she stunned final year cadet Jess Gundy.

Two more wins over seeded players saw her reach the semi-finals, where she lost to Malvern’s highly-ranked Francesca Summers to seal third.

Lawson put on a solid performance in the pool, dropping one fight to finish five up and one down, which left her seeded sixth overall.

She then won the next three bouts to book her place in the final, where she lost 15-4 to Summers.

Second and third in a British Championships for Stourport was a huge success but what makes this even more remarkable is that both fencers have another two years at this age group.

On Sunday, both girls were back to compete in the British Junior under-20 Championships.

A fatigued Wakefield could only manage the last 32, a result that at the beginning of the weekend she would have considered to be just fine.

Lawson had an unfortunate start to the day in a pool containing only five fencers.

After starting with a win, she lost 4-2 and drew 4-4 and needed to defeat Gundy to ensure her progression into the knock-out stage.

However, despite defeat, she qualifield for final 32 and then set-up a last 16 clash against Summers, where she avenged her under-17s defeat with a 15-9 victory.

Up against Gundy in the quarter-finals, an exhausted Lawson led 5-3 at the break but eventually lost and she settled for a last eight place, despite being one of the youngest competitors in the age category.