Humble is a good way to describe Wes Waldron. Almost two weeks after fencing to an astonishing win at the Junior Olympics at Little Rock, Ark., Waldron is still downplaying his performance.

"I guess I did pretty well," he said. "My goals increased as I went. I wanted to make top eight, but the further I got, I realized I could win it."

And win he did. The freshman from West Hills, Calif., seeded seventh after fencing five preliminary seeding bouts, swept through the competition en route to the finals.

"When I got to my final bout, Wes (Glon) came up to me and psyched me up," Waldron said. "He told me he knew I could win."

Waldron knew too. Knowing that the Junior Olympics was an individual tournament, Waldron felt a little more comfortable heading into it, but said he still remains indifferent to team or individual competition.

"(Junior Olympics) you're doing for yourself," Waldron said. "Individual competition has a little less pressure, but I like them both about the same."

Waldron and the rest of the men's and women's fencing teams will have to focus their attention on both sides of team and individual performances as they prepare for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional beginning at 8 a.m. tomorrow and Saturday in the White Building.

"We're strong and we've prepared," Coach Emmanuil Kaidanov said, pointing out that only two men's teams from the region quality for the NCAA Tournament, while four women's teams go. "I hope we'll fulfill our task to qualify."

Kaidanov said that 16 Penn State's fencers have qualified for the individual tournament at the NCAAs, and a couple more fencers still have a shot at it.

Standing in the their way is a host of schools with the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton and Temple topping the list.