Cornelius Commissioner Jim Bensman takes aim at the target while Davidson Mayor John Woods (left) and Cornelius Mayor Jeff Tarte look on. (Christina Ritchie Rogers / DavidsonNews.net)

After two rounds of stiff competition, Davidson Mayor John Woods beat reigning champion Cornelius Commissioner Jim Bensman in the Battle Axe Throwing Competition at Rural Hill Friday. Mayor Woods held the winning title until Mr. Bensman stripped him of it last year.

Mayor Woods throws for the win. (Christina Ritchie Rogers / DavidsonNews.net)

The men competed, along with Cornelius Mayor Jeff Tarte and Huntersville Mayor Jill Swain, in two rounds of five throws each. The goal was to throw an axe so that it would stick in a wooden target. Mayor Woods won by a single throw, sticking eight out of 10, with Mayor Tarte close behind, sticking seven throws. Mr. Bensman stuck four out of 10, and Mayor Swain stuck two.

“The throw is like your golf swing,” Mayor Woods said. “You have to slow it down.”

The event was a promotional prelude to the Rural Hill Scottish Festival and Loch Norman Highland Games, which is scheduled April 16 and 17. Read more about the festival here.