Category Archives: girls sports

High School Athletics Remain on Hold

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This past Friday, around 4:30 in the afternoon, I got the feeling I should be packing up the laptop and headset for a trip to Mechanicville and the call of a Red Raider football game.  Obviously there was no said game to cover as things are shut down on the high school sports landscape and will remain that way throughout the fall.

I have to say I was a but surprised this past week when the Wasaren league decided to push the boys and girls soccer season to the spring.  It seemed like there was a chance that soccer would be played this fall but the powers that be, decided not.  The league officials made that decision, taking into account many factors with the most important being the safety of everyone involved. I’m sure it was a difficult decision to make and equally difficult for the coaches, players and their families to accept.

Sports are such a bit part of our society, and one could argue the biggest impact comes at the high school level. That impact reaches well beyond just players and coaches, extending to the people filling the stands.  Family and extended family of most players are game-day fixtures throughout the fall, winter and spring seasons. Day game, night game, home or away, inclement weather or a hot, humid June afternoon those proudest fans wouldn’t miss.

They’ve checked the schedule on the refrigerator door, and have planned accordingly regarding departure time, directions if needed, food, and weather along with wearing/packing appropriate apparel.  Really a way or big part of life for many.  Our home at one time housed three high school athletes and a coach.  It was at times crazy, chaotic, you pick the adjective, but it was a big part of our family as I know it is, or has been for many families throughout the Wasaren.

But this past winter everything changed with the onset of the pandemic.  Honestly few of us truly knew what the word meant, but we do now and make no mistake, gaining control of Covid-19 is real life, while sports is simply the candy store well down the list in terms of importance.  Hopefully our medical experts can produce a vaccine that sometime soon will allow us to unlock that door to the candy store so players can compete, coaches can coach, and fans can show out in support.  Here’s hoping.

 

 

Waiting on High School Sports

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Today I was looking back at the last post on our website and it had to with basketball all-stars.  It was a March post, the month when everything changed.  Fast forward to the end of July and Covid-19’s impact remains ever present.

Over the past four and a half months the high school sports scene has gone dark and with Section II’s announcement that the start to the fall season would be delayed into September, with the possibility that fall sports could actually play out in the spring, the only thing certain about high school sports is the uncertainty.

When play came to a halt this past March, the Cambridge and Mechanicville girls basketball squads were in pursuit of a state title having advanced into regional play after earning Section II championships.  I wouldn’t have bet against either group being the last team standing in their respective classifications, something obviously we’ll never know.

All athletes this spring were also forced to take a knee, and with the fall schedule on hold all three high school seasons have been compromised by the uncompromising virus.

Over these past few months we’ve missed the many special and unique things that sports has to offer.

How about the roar of a crowd when a player rises and buries a go-ahead jumper with seconds remaining, watching a centerfielder run down a ball in the gap on a warm May afternoon, or the sound of a fast ball from a hard throwing lefty popping the catchers mitt.

We’ve missed momentum swings and come-from-behind W’s, squads that understand the meaning of teamwork, a packed house for a rivalry game, and players with a high level of “want to”.

Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for a header, off a perfect corner, that finds the back of the net, or a tight spiral finding a receiver in stride on a go route for six.

And while those are some things we’ve gone without and look forward to seeing again real soon,  we realize that sports is just the candy store relative to the bigger picture, where individuals in our country and around the world continue to fight the virus.

Here’s hoping that through our science and medical communities efforts, we soon will have an answer for Covid-19 and safely restart activities on and off the athletic fields.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All State Girls Basketball Selections; Phillips Class C Player of the Year

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The New York State Sportswriters Association released it’s Girls Basketball All State selections on Wednesday and a number of Wasaren players were recognized, including Cambridge’s Sophie Phillips who was selected as the New York State Class C Player of the Year.

Class C

Sophie Phillips         Player of the Year          Cambridge        Jr.

Lilly Phillips             First Team                     Cambridge        Jr.

Fiona Mooney          Fifth Team                    Cambridge         Jr.

Sami Dickinson        Tenth Team                  Hoosic Valley    Sr.

Stasia Epler              Honorable Mention       Cambridge        Soph.

 

Class B

Charlie Goverski       Fourth Team                Mechanicville   Sr.

Logan Thayne           Eighth Team                 Hoosick Falls     Sr.

Amy DiSiena             Honorable Mention       Mechanicville   Jr.

Molly Brophy            Honorable Mention       Greenwich        Jr.

 

Wasaren Girls Basketball All-Stars

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MVP –  Sophie Phillips       Cambridge

First Team

Lilly Phillips              Cambridge

Molly Brophy            Greenwich

Logan Thayne           Hoosick Falls

Charli Goverski        Mechanicville

Syrita Faraj                Tamarac

 

Second Team

Fiona Mooney           Cambridge

Stasia Epler                Cambridge

Marley Mueller         Stillwater

Sami Dickinson         Hoosic Valley

Amy DiSiena              Mechanicville

 

Honorable Mention:  Cambridge – McKayla McLenithan,   Ruth Nolan       Greenwich – Adrianna Rojas,   Tess Merrill,   Norah Niesz      Spa Catholic – Ashley Upson,   Molly O’Reilly,   Lauren Maher      Hoosic Valley – Samantha Lanoue,   Ashlyn Chartier,     Hoosick Falls –  Molly Walker      Mechanicville – Jada Brown,    AJ Joseph        Tamarac – Jordyn Sorel,    Gabby Cellucci,   Katie Machnick      Berlin/New Lebanon – Aaliyah

 

Mechanicville Runs Past Canton

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The Mechanicville girls basketball team checks all the boxes.  The Raiders have an experienced, athletic and skilled roster, that is well coached and shows toughness and a high level of compete.  Add to that the revenge factor that they carried into Tuesday night’s regional run in Saratoga against Canton, who eliminated Mechanicville in last years Class B regional final in Potsdam, and this Raider squad simply would not be denied, posting the 58-43 “W”.

Mechanicville started slowly, misfiring on their first dozen shots, but slowly gained traction and held a 14-10 advantage after the first period.  With the game knotted at 19-19 midway through the second, the Raiders finished the frame on an 11-0 run to take a 30-19 lead into the break, and never looked back.

A trio of seniors led the Mechanicville attack with Charli Goverski scoring a game-high 21 points, Jada Brown 11 points and AJ Joseph adding 10 for the 20-5 Raiders.

Mechanicville now looks ahead to a Friday night matchup in Beekmantown where they’ll face Northeastern Clinton in the Class B Regional Final at 5 p.m., with the winner advancing to the state final four.

 

 

Wasaren Teams March To The Finals

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We made the case on Sunday with six Wasaren teams playing in Section II semifinals that with the exception of the Hoosick Falls Mechanicville boys matchup where someone had to fall, that all others could win and advance to championship games.

On Tuesday night, while Maple Hill eliminated the Hoosic Valley girls, needing overtime to do it, Cambridge and Mechanicville girls teams and the Waterford boys all earned “W’s” and will play in title games this weekend.

Cambridge 84   Berne-Knox 36

Leading Scorers:  Indians – Sophie Phillips 25 (7 3’s)        Lilly Phillips 19       Stasia Epler 16         Fiona Mooney 15              BK – Alexis Wright 13          Taylor Meacham 11

Cambridge put 28 points on the board in the opening period and hung 31 more in period number three, routing Berne-Knox in their Class C semifinal Tuesday night at Colonie.  The top-seeded Indians bottomed 16 triples and put four players in doubles, as they ready for the title game against #2 Maple Hill on Saturday at 11 a.m. at HVCC.

 

Mechanicville 53   Schalmont 48

Leading Scorers:  Red Raiders – Charli Goverski 20        AJ Joseph 12          Chloe Goverski 9 Schalmont – Payton Graber 17        Karissa Antoine 14        Haley Burchhardt 11

The Raiders built a 35-17 halftime advantage, weathered a Schalmont comeback effort in the third, and closed things out over the final frame to post the victory in their Class B semifinal at Averill Park on Tuesday.

The #4 Raiders and defending Class B champs will face Mekeel Christian Academy on Saturday at HVCC.

 

Waterford 54  Fort Plain 52

Leading Scorers:  Fordians – TJ Kelley 27        Jake Houle 9        Fort Plain – Troy Butler 20     Robert Jordan 11       L. Thomas 11

Waterford trailed 32-21 at the break, but used a 22-8 third period to take the lead and held off Fort Plain for the Class C semifinal win.

The #11 Fordians will face Lake George in the championship game Friday night at the Cool Insuring Arena at 5 p.m.

 

Maple Hill 49   Hoosic Valley 45      No other info at this time.

 

Six Wasaren Squads Eye Semifinal Runs

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With the Section II basketball tournament down to the semifinal round in all the classifications the Wasaren league will be well represented where they live, in classes B and C.

Three boys teams remain with Mechanicville and Hoosick Falls in the class B final four and Waterford in the C’s.

On the girls side Cambridge and Hoosic Valley have semifinal berths in the C classification while Mechanicville plays in a class B semifinal run.

The 11th seeded Fordians of Waterford have dropped #6 Schoharie 57 – 33 and #3 Granville on Saturday, 64 -50.  TJ Kelley and Michael Talavera have led the way over the first two rounds averaging 40 points combined .

Waterford will face #7 Fort Plain on Tuesday at the Cool Insuring Arena.  Fort Plain owns wins over Stillwater and Berne-Knox coming into the semi’s on Tuesday.

In the B’s #9 Hoosick Falls will face #4 Mechanicville in the semifinal round on Monday night at the Cool Insuring Arena.  The Panthers blew out Fonda 74-43 in round one and eliminated the number one seeded Catskill squad in the quarters, 60-58 with Isiah Burnett and Jon Kempf scoring 19 points

#4 Mechanicville has given the Raider faithful their monies worth with a pair of overtime victories over Greenville 66-63 and Broadalbin-Perth 46-45.  In the Greenville “W” Devin Garland with 18 points and Anthony Attala with 14 led the way, while in the defensive themed Broadalbin game Tyler Dion led the Raiders with 12 points.

On the girls side, #1 Cambridge put 38 points on the board in the first period, cruising to a 63-30 win over Salem in their only sectional outing.  Three players scored doubles and the Indians connected on nine triples with Ruth Nolan bottoming five.

Cambridge faces #5 Berne-Knox on Tuesday in their C semifinal, Knox coming in off a 67-59 win over Warrensburg.

Also in the C’s #6 Hoosic Valley will play in a semifinal run at Colonie taking on #2 Maple Hill.

The Valley has posted wins over Chatham and Duanesburg with Sami Dickinson scoring 20 and 30 points respectively in the two outings, and Emaleigh Peckham knocking back three triples in both games.

Maple Hill has blown out Voorheesville and Mayfield to get here and owns a 58-37 win over Hoosic Valley back in December.

In the B’s #4 Mechanicville comes into their Tuesday night semifinal with #1 Schalmont off a 62-28 victory over Broadalbin Perth and a 62-48 win over Ichabod Crane.  The Raiders put four players in doubles in the Broadalbin “W” while Charli Goverski with 24 points and AJ Joseph with 16 led the way in the Crane win.

Schalmont got here with a 57-46 win over Cobleskill, with Payton Graber scoring 25 points including five makes from beyond the arc.

Who moves on to the championship game?

For the girls Cambridge absolutely will advance while Hoosic Valley and Mechanicville will have their work cut out for them.

The Valley lost to Maple Hill back in December, look for the Indians to gain revenge and post the “W”.

Mechanicville faces the #1 seed in Schalmont, but the Raiders have been here before and are the defending Class B champions.  I like the Raiders in the upset.

For the boys I think Waterford continues it’s march from their 11th seed, handling their business with Fort Plain.

As for the Hoosick Falls / Mechanicville matchup the saying goes it’s hard to beat the same team three times in a season.  Not sure I agree with that thought but that is just what Mechanicville would have to do having defeated the Falls twice this season.

Obviously no secrets between the two squads and both are excellent basketball teams.  Depth goes to Mechanicville and that could be the difference here.

So I guess I picked every Wasaren team to advance with the exception in the all Wasaren affair between Mechanicville and Hoosick Falls where I think the Raiders win close.    Sure I’m biased, but all five teams have a realistic shot at playing for sectional titles come next weekend.

 

 

Sectional Hoops

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Mechanicville 66   Greenville 63 OT

Leading Scorers:  Raiders – Devin Garland 18        Anthony Attala 14          Greenville – Damien Fiducia 26 (5 3’s)

In a close game throughout the Raiders trailed by two at 40-38, entering the final frame. but forced overtime where they secured the Class B opening round “W”.  Next up for Mechanicville is a quarterfinal run with Broadalbin – Perth and Shen on Friday night.

 

Hoosick Falls 74   Fonda 43

Leading Scorers:  Falls – Jon Kempf 37 ( 16 of 16 from line)        Tristan Williams 23        Fonda – Jackson Atty 17

The Panthers ran away over the middle two periods outscoring Fonda 39-16 in their Class B opening round victory.  The Falls advance to face Catskill at HVCC on Friday.

 

Waterford 57   Schoharie 32

Leading Scorers:  Fordians – TJ Kelley 20 (5 3’s)       Michael Talavera 15         Schoharie – Shane Helmstadt 11

After a close first period the Fordians held Schoharie to single numbers in each of the final three quarters, pulling away for the Class B opening round win.  Waterford moves on and will meet Granville at HVCC on Saturday morning.

 

Granville 65   Cambridge 61

Leading Scorers:  Horde – Jarett Williams 25 ( 5 3’s)       Josh Oakman 18        Indians – Brian Hall 16      Jeff Burke 10

Cambridge led 31-28 at the break, but Granville used the long ball, drilling 11 triples on the night to notch the Class B “W”.

 

Voorheesville 62   Hoosic Valley 45

Leading Scorers:  Blackbirds – Zaveon Little 23       Anthony Puma 19       Matt Paccini 12 Indians  – Tyler Eddy 14        CJ Bassett 11       Logan Reilly 10

The Indians trailed 27-14 at the half, trimmed the deficit to 41-33 after the third but fell short in their comeback attempt in a Class C opening round run.

 

Fort Plain 65    Stillwater 59

Leading Scorers:  Forts Plain – Troy Butler 21     L. Thomas 16        Robert Jordan 12          Warriors – Brian McNeil 28

Fort Plain led 35-25 at the break after which the Warriors outscored the Forts 35-30 but came up short in Class C play.

 

Girls

Ft. Edward 53   Spa Catholic 20

Leading Scorers:  Forts – Gabby Thomas 18        Haleigh Condon 10

The Forts held the Saints to single numbers in every quarter on their way to the Class D quarterfinal win.

Wasaren Bowlers Headed to States

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Three Wasaren bowlers will represent Section II in the New York State Public High School Bowling Championships next month at Strike N Spare Lanes in Syracuse.

Hoosic Valley’s Emily Cumo and Leigha Henkel earned spots on the Section II six member composite team.  Cumo rolled a six game total of 1242 while Henkel totaled 1227 in the six game set.  It will be Leigha’s second time at the state competition while Emily will be making her first apperance.

On the boys side of things Mechanicville’s Jacob LaFountain rolled a six game block of 1356 earning his spot of the six member boys team.  It will be Jacob’s first time going to the states, after last year missing but just two pins.

Congratulations to Emily, Leigha and Jacob.

Second Season Results

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Class C

Hoosic Valley 44   Chatham 25

Leading Scorers:  Valley – Sami Dickinson 20        Emaleigh Peckham 9 (3 3’s)           Chatham – Hannah Taylor 8

The Indians held Chatham to single numbers in three of the four periods and offensively scored 34 of their 44 points after the break.  The Valley with face Duanesburg in a road quarterfinal on Wednesday.

 

Mayfield 50   Stillwater 41

Leading Scorers:  Mayfield – Lindsay Hampton 16       Cloey Dopp 15        Kelcey Mecca 11  Warriors – Marley Mueller 16        Molly Sheehan 11

Mayfield used a decisive advantage at the foul line in the victory, converting on 24 of 43 attempts, while Stillwater connected on 8 of just 16.

 

Class B

Mechanicville 68   Broadalbin-Perth 26

Leading Scorers:  Red Raiders – Jada Brown 16      Charli Goverski 14      AJ Joseph 13     BP – Makenzie Smith 12

Leading 31-12 at the break, the Raiders used a 27-8 third period to close out Broadalbin.  Mechanicville will entertain Ichabod Crane on Wednesday in a quarterfinal run.

 

Cobleskill 83   Greenwich 75

Leading Scorers:  Cobleskill – Jessica Meade 21      Sabrina Pressley 18      Emma Osterhout 14      Isabella Lucear 14              Witches – Molly Brophy 31      Tess Merrill 14      Faith Hewitt 13

The Witches trailed 47-29 at halftime and despite scoring 46 second half points they couldn’t run down Cobleskill in Class B opening round action.

 

Johnstown 69  Tamarac 49

Leading Scorers:  Sir Bills – Abby Vanderwalker 26      Jaden Wilson 17          Bengals – Jordyn Sorel 17        Syrita Faraj 16

The Sir Bills used a 21-7 second period to talk control, on their way to the victory over the visiting Bengals.

 

Mekeel Christian 57   Hoosick Falls 31

Leading Scorers:  Mekeel – Avery Mills 16      Mikayla Mitchell 14        Maraya Davis 11      Panthers – Logan Thayne 13

Mekeel allowed the Panthers just 20 points through the first three quarters in posting the win Class B’s opening round.