Penn State freshman fencers Marten Zagunis and Chris Miller took a step away from the dual meet circuit to step into the national spotlight last weekend.
Zagunis and Miller certainly got their share of the spotlight, turning in solid performances at the Junior Olympics held in Colorado Springs, Colo.
"They did a pretty good job," Penn State fencing coach Emmanuil Kaidanov said of Zagunis and Miller in a press release.
"In general, it was a satisfactory result."
Zagunis tore through a field of 185 other competitors to claim a bronze medal in the men's saber event.
The medallist performance is one of Zagunis' strongest finishes this season.
In November, Zagunis nearly nabbed the gold medal at the Penn State Garret Open, but fell to teammate Alex Weber, an All-American in 2002, in the final bout.
Zagunis is enjoying remarkable success in his rookie season, as his 30 dual meet wins is tops on the Penn State men's squad.
Zagunis and Miller could not be reached for comment.
Despite fighting through a field of 230 competitors, Miller finished just out of medal contention, placing eighth.
Miller is also enjoying remarkable success in his rookie season as he leads the men's foil squad with a 24-8 record.
At the North American Junior/Cadet Open last November, Miller came in 26th, a slot behind Zagunis.
Days later, at the Penn State Garret Open, Miller turned in a sixth place finish in the men's foil.
That placed him just behind teammate Ian Schlaepfer, who led the Nittany Lions in the event.
Schlaepfer, 21-11 in dual meet competition, did qualify for the Junior Olympics.
However, he chose not to compete because of personal reasons he chose not to disclose.
Zagunis and Miller, along with the rest of the No. 2 Nittany Lions (11-1) and No. 1 Lady Lions (13-0), will return to dual meet action this weekend.
Penn State will travel to Columbia University-Barnard College to take on Columbia, Penn, and St. John's. Cornell and Temple will also be competing, but only in the women's competition. They will not send men's squads.
