Nashua South's Ian Lewis led the Panthers to a Bass Fishing win over North in the Battle of the Bridge. (Courtesy photo by Tori Rondon)

In the first ever Battle of the Bridge Bass Fishing Tournament, the Nashua South Panthers recently came away with the win over the Nashua North Titans.

The Nashua School District high school athletes kicked off the fall Battle of the Bridge this past weekend with North and South taking to the waters of Otter Lake in Greenfield for a fishing tournament between the two schools’ varsity bass fishing teams. It is a historic year for the city’s programs with both teams’ rosters growing to a record 31 students each.

While the fish were slow to bite, over the course of three hours, student anglers measured, photographed and released numerous fish. After the final horn sounded across the lake, the coaches tallied up all the points, with each angler earning points for their school based on number of bass caught, biggest bass caught and the total length of their top four bass.

Coming out on top were the Nashua South Panthers by a score of 35-7, taking the top spot in the 2025 Battle of the Bridge Bass Fishing Tournament. The Panthers were led by sophomore Ian Lewis who captured 14.5 points for South by taking first place in number of bass caught (4) and total length (42.5 inches) as well as taking second place in the biggest bass category.

Thomas Sawyer added to the point total by snagging 11 points, tying Lewis with the most bass caught, taking second in total length (41 inches) and third in the biggest bass. Catching the biggest bass of the day was freshman Jack Speidel, landing a 17 inch largemouth, and, combined with his fifth place finish in total length, earning South 5 points. Senior Ian McCubrey rounded out South’s total, adding his 4.5 points for a fourth place finish in total length and a tie for third in biggest bass.

Panther Coach Brendan Martin said this about his team’s performance: “It was awesome to give the kids an opportunity to compete in a Bass Fishing tournament. This was the first time most of the students have been given an experience like this. All in all, it’s great to see student involvement in Bass Fishing in Nashua growing, and we are looking forward to continuing to grow in the years to come.”

North’s Colin Scribner earned all 7 points with a third place finish in the total length, measuring 30.25 inches, and a third place finish in number of bass caught with 3.

Rebecca Pelletier, Nashua North Assistant Coach said after the event, “We didn’t get the results we wanted out on the water today, but our team fought hard and learned a lot. Every tournament teaches us something new, and we’ll use this experience to come back stronger next time.”

This tournament wraps up the Nashua high school’s bass fishing seasons with both coaches agreeing that it has the makings of an annual event.

BRIDGE STANDINGS

Including the Bass Fishing, boys and girls cross country from the North Invitational, plus varsity and JV field hockey, and varsity and JV golf, the Battle of the Bridge currently stands at 5-4 in favor of North.

South has two field hockey wins, JV girls cross country, and the Bass Fishing while North took both golfs, both boys and girls varsity and JV boys cross country races.

(Telegraph Staff Writer Tom King contributed to this report.)