Ridge Boys Fencing Wins State Championship

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — It was not an easy path to a state title, but for the 2nd time in 3 years, the Ridge Fencing Team is back on top.

Coming in as the 12th seed in a field of 18 teams from around the state, they had their work cut out for them. Ridge (16-1) started off by taking down #2 seeded Montgomery in a thrilling 14-13 road win. This was followed by a 17-10 victory on the road against #4 seeded Don Bosco Prep in the quarterfinal round.

Next up was a trip to Millburn to take on the top rated Millers in the semifinals. This matchup was filled with drama as Ridge was down by a score of 10-13 with four bouts to go (in a fencing dual, the first team to win 14 bouts wins). They dug deep to sweep the final four bouts, winning the dual by a final score of 14-13 and punching their ticket to the state finals.

The State Championship on Feb. 27th had Ridge facing #2 seeded Bergen Tech (12-0) at Morris Hills High School. Ridge jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with the sabre squad of junior Ben Schuchman, junior Tadas Vilemaitis, and senior Tristin Orthmann getting the sweep.

Next up was the foil squad, going 0 for 3. The epees were 2 for 3 with junior Reid Kokenge and sophomore Alex Yang getting wins. After the first round, the score stood at 5-4 with Ridge in the lead.

In the second round, Ridge notched one sabre win from Vilemaitis, one foil win from senior Girish Arul, and a sweep from the epee squad of Kokenge, Yang, and senior Ethan Zhang. After the second round, the score stood at Ridge 10, Bergen Tech 8.

In the final round, the sabres picked up wins from Vilemaitis and Orthmann, a foil win from sophomore Christopher Zheng, and two more epee wins from Kokenge and Zhang to clinch the state championship with a final score of 15-12.

Additionally, after more than six hours of fencing at the New Jersey State Individual Fencing Championships at Hunterdon Central High School on Saturday, Ridge junior Reid Kokenge walked away with his second state title as a high school fencer. Kokenge won the state epee title as a freshman and finished in 5th place as a sophomore.

Battling a field of 44 qualifying fencers from across the state through 3 rounds of pools, it came down to the final pool of 8 fencers to determine the state champion. Kokenge went on to dominate the field, defeating all seven of his opponents and taking the epee gold medal.

The Ridge Fencing Team showed a tremedous amount of grit and heart with their run this year and were led by an amazing group of senior fencers who will be missed. The program is a model of excellence having reached the state finals in 9 of the last 11 years. They hope to continue this winning tradition for years to come.

For the latest news on Ridge Fencing go to www.ridgefencing.com.

— Submitted by Ridge Fencing