Green River fencer takes the gold

It was mid afternoon in May, 2012. The day started out like any other day for then Green River High School senior Devin Harrison. It was three weeks away from the state track meet, which he already pre-qualified for. His track meet started like any other track event. He started the 200-meter sprint like any other race. He was in pretty good shape with good flexibility.

"I warmed up well, like I would've any other race," Harrison said.

Harrison was running well, a typical, nothing out of the ordinary race, until about two thirds through.

At about 120-meters into the race, a sudden sharp shooting pain came rushing through the back of his right leg hamstring.

"As soon as that happened I realized it was a big issue," Harrison said. "It was a very unpleasant jolt."

Unable to continue running, from the sheer pain running through his leg, he walked to the end of the race. That day would be his last day in high school track. There would be no state track competition for Harrison that year or any year after.

"That was one of the harder realizations to come to," Harrison said. "I had qualified earlier on, and I was hoping it would be a nice culmination. I knew if I tried to push it more for state I would make it worse and wouldn't be able to go to my full potential."

Harrison bided his time, staying healthy and working through physical therapy to recuperate.

"It took the majority of the summer to heal," Harrison said.

Fall of 2012, Harrison enrolled at the University of Wyoming as a civil engineering major. His freshman year at UW was spent recovering his injury and getting back up to physical form.

One day during his sophomore year at UW, walking through campus on the way home, fencing came up in conversation with a friend. Harrison got curious and looked up the UW fencing club online. The sign up date had passed but he called the coach anyway.

Next thing he knew, he was at practices more frequently than not.

"It started as an alternative to doing track, just to stay active," Harrison said. "It was just something new to try and I'd been wanting to try for a while."

Fencing was always something that fascinated Harrison and it wasn't something he expected UW to have. The fencing club at UW is the only officially sanctioned fencing club in Wyoming. It was a unique sport to try and it gave Harrison the old familiar rush he felt from track.

"I was convinced I wanted to get back into a sport, but was pretty uncertain about track," Harrison said. "It was the first sport I tried after that. I hadn't been in a competitive sport since track and was nice I could get back into something I could physically train for. It was a pretty big deal for me."

Need for Speed

Fencing brought back his passion for a sport. The initial curiosity drove him to try the sport while other components drove him to not only stick with it but excel in the sport.

"Mostly it's this rush I get, during competing, anything competitive," he said. "Or you push that little bit extra right at the end there, and wanting to push myself more and more and doing better in tournaments."

He's always been one for speed. His need for speed was met with fencing. In any of the blade styles, there is an agility component in fencing, Harrison said. His talent for track aided him in the transition to fencing.

"It's nice to be able to move around. It's still something I can move with my feet and I really try to put my speed to work," he said.

Fencing was awkward for him at first, but slowly it became more natural.

"I was decent in track and OK in fencing," Harrison said.

State competition

It was mid afternoon in May, 2015. The day started a complete 180-degree difference from his track meet in 2012. It was the day of the state fencing competition. Harrison was ready. He wasn't going into the day over confident, but he was ready. He's back in the game, he said. He felt prepared, not over confident. He was going to give it his all.

"I stay mostly positive and try not to dwell on the past. I would be OK," Harrison said.

The fencing bouts went on through the day and Harrison continued to advance up the ladder. He finished the first five bouts, advancing onto the finals. One bout at a time, he advanced to the final bout, one win to gold.

He entered the final fencing bout facing a fellow teammate from UW. He knew she was talented and he knew it would be a close match. He expected it to be neck and neck, back and forth. He was right.

"This is the final bout. If I want to win this I will have to open up and get out there," he said.

The fencing match went into the third period, 13-13. The game ends at 15.

"I came out of the gate like a full head of steam," Harrison said. "Refreshed, I decided to take the chance and go for the opportunity. I was a little impatient rushing into it and was able to get the two (points) in a row I needed to win."

In the heat of the moment, he jousted wherever he could get the points; no holds barred. The techniques practiced many times before came into use. All set backs experienced before brought him to this culmination.

Harrison's "OK" fencing earned him a gold medal in épée fencing and a silver medal in sabre fencing. His placement at state qualified him for nationals in Lincoln, Neb., July 28 through Aug. 2.

He had been épée fencing since December 2013. The real kicker is his silver medal in sabre fencing.

"I hadn't," he said when asked when he started learning the sabre.

It was a matter of getting the equipment the week before and watching a video on sabre fencing before going. His coach suggested trying foil or sabre for the state tournament aside from his main event with the épée.

"Sabre was a 'let's just see how this goes' type of thing," Harrison said. "It was a for-fun type of deal. I was going to just try something new and did OK."

Fencing for Life

Harrison expects to graduate from UW in a couple years. Although Harrison is not sure what the future holds for him in life afterwards, he does know if possible, he wants fencing to be a part of it.

"It would be a waste to just let all the experience go. If provided the means, I would definitely peruse it," he said. "I'd join in a heart beat. I'd like to continue to compete and be a part of this sport for as long as I could. It's a sport you can do your whole life and if I have the opportunity I would like to continue doing it."

For now though, he is taking fencing and life just one step at a time, one goal at a time and then the next. He's learned a great deal through his experiences in sports and life in recent years and come away wiser from it.

"Over time I've learned not to dwell on the past and keep looking forward," Harrison said.

In fencing and in life, it's "one point at a time."

"Take things one at a time. Take things as they come. Deal with what is right now."

And right now, he's back in the game.