SAN ANTONIO — Fifteen medals and an international win is a good yield for Reagan Hale, who started fencing two and half years ago.
"She's a girl who works super hard. She is very focused," Oksana Samorodova said. "She is very driven."
Samorodova is one of Reagan's coaches at the Alamo Fencing Academy. In a sport she describes as physical chess, Samorodova said the young fencer is an aggressive competitor.
"It's a full-package sport," she said. "You have to be super smart, outthink them. Outplay them, be a little quicker, be a little stronger."
Reagan and her older sister Avery dropped most of their activities due to COVID. A family friend's daughter did fencing and ignited the sisters' interest.
"It's easy to support them when they love what they're doing and when the results follow their passion. How can you complain?" Willie Hale.
He saw an intrinsic ability in his girls. Reagan, though, earned the nickname "The Honey badger." She's won 15 medals wearing colorful socks and international gold.
"She's always just been sort of get in there and rough and tumble kind of kid," he said.
Diane Hale, their mother, said the family had no depth of knowledge of fencing until the girls got involved.
"I didn't even know what fencing was until we met their friend who was like, Oh, guess what? We do fencing," Diane said. "And I was like, like building a fence?"
But she caught on as her daughters started competing. Diane also learned to give Reagan space if the matches didn't go her way.
"There's a lot of emotion that comes out when you when she doesn't do well or doesn't do as well as she expects," Diane said.
Reagan is an animal lover, so sometimes they even bring a dog to her matches to provide comfort.
Before Spring Break, her little girl needed comforting at a tournament in North Texas.
"She was at the North American cup in Fort Worth, and she didn't have the result that she wanted," Samorodova said.
Reagan admittedly likes winning the epee fencing matches, which allows competitors to strike an opponent anywhere to score. She is not undefeated.
"I learned when I lose; I can't throw a big fit. I can't be mad when I lose," Reagan said.
It didn't take the young fencer long to get her esteem pumping again. Reagan participated in the Ben Gutenberg Memorial Sports Youth Circuit and placed second. The next stop was Poland for Challange Wratislavia, where 95 girls stood between her and the prize.
"it was really fun, exciting," Reagan said.
After 13 matches, she won.
"I was just like,really? Is this my little baby? Like, is that really her?" Diane said.
According to her mother, she's pretty sure Reagan slept with her award that night.
When the family returned to San Antonio, the sisters wanted to compete in Houston.
"And I was like, Are you sure?" Diane recalled. "She's (Reagan) like, Yes, 100%."
Besides fencing and loving animals, Reagan likes orchestra too.