North Salem Falls to Cross-River Rival West Salem, 26-45

On Friday, February 24th, rivals North Salem High School and West Salem High School met for the first time. The West Salem Titans were represented by veteran fencer Benjamin Bond (captain) and newcomers Teague Watson and Andrew Carlson. Fencing for the North Salem Vikings were Travis Neidig (captain), Kris Lancaster, and Ariana Dunning, .

In the 45-point relay match (score is cumulative), the results were as
follows:

1. Lancaster vs. Carlson: 0-5 bout, 0-5 match
2. Neidig vs. Watson: 6-2 bout, 6-7 match
3. Dunning vs. Bond: 3-8 bout, 9-15 match
4. Neidig vs. Carlson: 2-4 bout, 11-19 match
5. Lancaster vs. Bond: 0-6 bout, 11-25 match
6. Dunning vs. Watson: 3-5 bout, 14-30 match
7. Neidig vs. Bond: 2-5 bout, 16-35 match
8. Dunning vs. Carlson: 4-5 bout, 20-40 match
9. Lancaster vs. Watson: 6-5 bout, 26-45 match

Ariana Dunning and Travis Neidig shared the scoring honors for the Vikings, with 10 points apiece. Kris Lancaster contributed 6 points on the offense. Defensively, Travis Neidig held the line, only giving up 11 points. Lancaster and Dunning gave up 16 and 18 points, respectively.

The Titans' offense was led by Benjamin Bond with 19 points. Andrew Carlson and Teague Watson turned in 14 and 12 points, respectively. Carlson and Bond each had a perfect bout apiece in which they were not touched once while scoring the maximum possible number of touches. Overall, Ben Bond led the defense, only yielding 5 points to the Vikings. But Andrew Carlson right behind him with 6 points given up -- a very good showing for a first competition. Teague Watson was hit 15 times.

The win solidifies West's undefeated record for the season (4-0). Two of West's fencers had never competed before, so they gained valuable experience under the leadership of captain Ben Bond. North Salem, in turn, was able to compete against less experienced fencers, which was valuable for them, as well.