Commack/Northport boys fencing, combined Ward Melville girls team win Suffolk titles
From left: Commack boys fencing team members Kevin Sugrue, Seth Schwartz and Luca Innocenzi embrace, and Ward Melville’s Allie Harrison, right, wins her match at the Suffolk team fencing championships on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, at Centereach High School. Credit: Kathy M Helgeson
Epeeist Luca Innocenzi of Commack/Northport steadied himself on the strip, shaking off the sudden swarm of teammates that had flocked to his side to shake the hand of opponent Jonah Weisman.
Just like the bout he had completed, the moment wasn’t too big for Innocenzi to ignore good sportsmanship. And the moment was indeed a massive one after he had just given his team its first boys fencing Suffolk title since 2021-22.
No. 4 Commack/Northport lifted the county championship plaque at Centereach High School Thursday night, defeating No. 2 Ward Melville/Port Jefferson/Rocky Point/Comsewogue, 14-11.
Across the gymnasium, the top-seeded Ward Melville/Port Jefferson/Rocky Point/Comsewogue girls team completed a three-peat, beating No. 2 Huntington/Harborfields, 14-5. Both teams will face the Nassau champion at 6 p.m. on Feb. 12 in the Long Island championship meet at Half Hollow Hills East High School in Dix Hills.
Innocenzi headlined a Commack/Northport (10-4) epee team that won all seven of its bouts against Ward Melville (10-4). Innocenzi forced a simultaneous touch with 14 seconds remaining before taking the winning touch, 5-3.
“We finished it off, but there were 13 wins before that final bout,” Innocenzi said. “It wasn’t just the epees; it was everyone working together. If we lost one of those bouts, we may not have made it.”
Foilist Seth Schwartz provided what felt like a dagger, having lost his two prior bouts only to top Ward Melville’s best foilist, Yannik Reyes, 5-0, before the final round of epees.
“When I lost the first two, I knew I was really anxious going in, and my epees kept coming in clutch,” Schwartz said. “Getting that last one for them, that was the best part because I won it for my team, not just for myself.”
“With every yell, every scream, every celebration, we’re there to support each other,” said epeeist Austin Salzburg, who went 2-0. “And that’s what makes us who we are as a team. It’s beautiful that we can be confident in Luca, Seth, everybody, because we have that bond as a team.”
Along with a 2-0 day from epeeist Anthony Barone, sabreist Alexander Amisano and foilist Jayden Hausler both went 2-1. Foilist Kevin Sugrue added a timely 5-3 win over Colby Medina.
Amisano was on Commack/Northport’s last county championship team as an eighth- grader, something that didn’t mean as much to him, as he didn’t fence. That isn’t the case this time.
“Seeing how we progressed over the last four years, working our way back to that point, it means so much to win right now,” Amisano said. “Now that my name is on that plaque, I can look at it and say, I actually did something for this team.”
The Ward Melville girls (13-1) featured a host of impressive performances. Junior sabreist Allie Harrison has been a starter, and a county champion, since her freshman year.
She won both her bouts against Huntington/Harborfields (10-4) sabreists Nora McCloskey and Mary Padovani by a combined touch total of 10-1.
“It feels pretty great,” Harrison said. “Fencing is my favorite thing, and winning feels great too. It feels like all the hard work really pays off.”
A dominant foil team of junior Victoria Lachko, Kayla LaMedica and Skylar Stuart completed an undefeated day on the strip, winning all seven of their bouts by a combined score of 30-15.
Now a multiyear county champion, Lachko noted how cheering on her teammates can make an impact despite being off the strip.
“Trying your hardest to support your teammates whenever you can [matters], even if you’re not feeling the best,” Lachko said. “Because at the end of the day, cheering when they’re on the strip helps a lot.”
Epeeist Chloe Leibstein won both of her bouts, 5-4 against Ariana Zavala Nunez and 5-2 against Cierra Bues. The final touch came courtesy of junior sabreist Magdalena Layne-Stasik, who recorded five consecutive touches to defeat Padovani.
Layne-Stasik lost her first bout of the night to sabreist Julia Goodwin, who went 2-0, before rebounding with a 5-1 win over McCloskey.
“At least for sabre, you have to have a lot of instinct when you fence,” Layne-Stasik said. “I was like, if it’s working, just keep going . . . It was like a rush of relief. I was really overcome [with emotion] because I knew this was a really big deal.”
“We work really hard every day — last year we lost so many seniors — and I’m really proud of us for sticking through and still making it through counties this year,” Harrison said.
Michael Sicoli covers high school sports for Newsday. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and left with a master’s degree in sports journalism in 2023.
