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Author: Jonathon Norcross

Coach with Saratoga Connections Hired to Lead Siena Men’s Basketball Team

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Sports.

Image via Siena University.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Nevada Smith, Siena University’s new men’s head basketball coach, appears to be fond of the Spa City.

According to the Times Union, Smith lived in Saratoga Springs for a time while coaching in the NBA’s G League (Smith also lists Saratoga as his current location on his LinkedIn page). Smith and his wife Lindsay celebrated their wedding at both St. Mary’s Church in Ballston Spa and the Saratoga National Golf Club. A Jan. 2024 article about Smith on Paint Touches, a Marquette basketball website, stated that Smith would “eventually love to find a spot somewhere in Saratoga Springs, where he spends time in the offseason, getting to simply be dad and husband.”

Smith was recently appointed the 20th head coach in Siena men’s basketball history after the previous head coach, Gerry McNamara, left Siena for Syracuse University. Last month, McNamara led the Saints to their first NCAA Division 1 “March Madness” appearance in 16 years. The No. 16 seed Siena were ousted by the No. 1 Duke in the first round of the tournament.

Smith was formally introduced at a press conference on April 7 in the MVP Arena atrium. He mentioned his time living in Saratoga. He also mentioned marrying his wife in Ballston Spa eight years ago before being corrected (apparently, it was closer to nine years ago). “It’s gonna be nine,” he said at the presser, to laughter from the audience.

“My family and I could not be more excited to arrive in the Capital Region and become a part of the Siena community,” Smith said in a statement. “I am honored and humbled to be able to lead this program, and build upon the momentum created by Gerry McNamara, his staff, and the great players who have proudly worn the Siena jersey throughout the years.”

The 45-year-old Smith has more than 22 years of coaching experience on his resume, with stints at both the collegiate and professional levels. He previously served, for eight seasons, as a head coach in the G League and at the NCAA Division III level. He spent the past six seasons working on staff at both Marquette (2021-26) and Texas (2020-21).

Saddle Up! Saratoga Bike Rodeo Returns

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Featured, Sports.


Photo provided by Jake Zanetti.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Got a buckin’ bronco that you’re itching to ride? Grab the reins and mosey that boy on over to the Saratoga Springs School District’s annual Bike Rodeo on Thursday, May 7 (4:30-6:30 p.m.) at the East Side Recreation Field’s track and in-field off of Caroline Street—the rowdiest, rootinest, tootinest street of them all.

Kids with bicycles can get everything checked out before Bike-to-School Day on May 15. Mechanics will be on site for minor maintenance. The rodeo will include a helmet-fitting station, bike safety stations, games, a bike obstacle course, and a relay race contest. All kids participating in the event can fill out a raffle ticket for a chance to win a new kids’ bike from Trek Saratoga Bicycles (up to $350 value).

Registration tables will be at the Caroline Street side of the park entrance. Parents should plan to accompany their kids for the duration of the event. Participating cowboys and cowgirls should wear their helmets (a limited supply of helmets will also be donated when in need). Parking may be limited, so plan to bike over, or check for excess parking at the Caroline Street School and St. Clement’s School.

Those interested in volunteering to help out at the rodeo can do so at the link below.

“The more volunteers we get, the smoother the event runs, and we’re hoping to make this year’s rodeo the best ever,” said Lake Avenue Physical Education Teacher Jake Zanetti.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4FABAA2FA6F85-48542953-2024

The Saratoga Singers Who Comfort the Dying

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Entertainment, Featured.


The Saratoga Threshold Singers rehearse inside a studio space at the SPAC School of the Arts on March 23. Photo by Jonathon Norcross.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — What do the final moments of a person’s life on Earth sound like?

For those with the Saratoga Threshold Singers at their bedside, it could sound like the ethereal acapella music that drifted down the echoing halls of the SPAC School of the Arts one recent Monday afternoon.

“Oh, fold thy wings and seek thy nest now; Oh, shine the berry on the bright tree; The bird is home from the mountain and valley,” sang the choir, rehearsing the Gaelic lullaby “Hush Thee My Dove.” The folk song concludes with “Cadul gu lo,” which translates to “sleep on.”

The Threshold Choir operates more than 200 chapters across the globe, each of which offers bedside singing to those on the threshold of life and whatever may follow. The Saratoga Springs-based chapter has nine members and rehearses weekly at the SPAC School of the Arts.

“Six weeks ago, we sang at the hospice for a family where the wife and adult children were there, and they had all said their goodbyes and ‘you can go now’ to their father,” recalled Saratoga Threshold singer Avena Ward, a retired United Church of Christ minister. “We were asked to come in, and we sang several of our songs about being able to release and lay down your burdens. As we left the house, we found out that he had taken his last breath. To be able to communicate something that was needed in the moment is just a beautiful gift that we have with music that you can’t accomplish with words.”

“We sang, via telephone, to my sister as she was dying,” said Threshold singer Lizzie Mehrtens. “She was a Catholic nun, and she had just expressed to people, her friends, that she wasn’t feeling connected to God… That was in the afternoon, and she died the next morning. That, to me, was so special because I couldn’t be there with her.”

“We sang for a woman who was unconscious, or she didn’t appear conscious, but after we sang, she let out an [exhale], a beautiful sound, clearly relaxing with our music,” said Abigail Reid. “I think that [moment] really stuck with me.”

Reid initiated the Saratoga chapter of the Threshold Singers after she stopped teaching. She caught wind of the international Threshold organization, got in touch with them, and was soon provided with a mentor. Reid then found a handful of locals, all of them women, who were interested in volunteering. For about a year, this small coalition worked on a musical repertoire with their mentor. Then they officially launched, and in the past three years, they’ve sung for about 30 different individuals or families.

“The beauty of the greater Threshold community is, if you want, if you’re part of this community, you can travel to anywhere there’s a chapter, and you can sit in on a rehearsal and connect,” said Donna Sardone, a hospice volunteer and massage therapist. “It’s such a wide community of connection, and that’s what I love about it.”

Threshold Singers arrive at their respective chapters with different sets of skills and life experiences. But all members seem united in their willingness to, as ancient philosophers once phrased it, “Memento mori,” or “remember that you must die.” For some, thinking about death is not merely an unpleasant subject; it’s a way to make the most of their finite lives. 

“I am a proponent of talking about death,” said Elizabeth Conant, a professional musician who has also hosted local Death Cafes in which participants gather to discuss life’s final departure.  “[The Saratoga Threshold Singers] is a lovely combination of the two things I do… What we do here with this group is—I’m not a religious person, but I say it’s God’s work in the world. It really is. We’ll all nod to that. It feels like that. It really does. It’s a beautiful thing that we’re able to do. I feel so honored to be a part of it.”

Those interested in either joining the Threshold Singers or requesting their services can do so by emailing saratoga@thresholdchoir.org.

To learn more about the worldwide Threshold organization, visit thresholdchoir.org.

Christian Music Festival Coming to SPAC

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Entertainment.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A one-day Christian music festival, Worship in the Pines, will be held at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) on Friday, Sept. 11. 

The inaugural event, announced via social media on Tuesday, will unveil its lineup on Thursday, April 16 at 10 a.m.

“One night. Thousands of voices. Proclaiming one name, together,” read a brief description of the festival.

As of press time, few details about the event were available.

Those interested in receiving updates can sign up for notifications on the festival’s website, www.worshipinthepines.com.

The Diehard Volunteers Maintaining Saratoga’s Hiking Trails

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Business.

Photo  of the Monday steward volunteers at work provided by Saratoga PLAN.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Drenched for hours in the pouring rain. Splitting fallen trees with chainsaws. Traipsing through the snow. Building a bridge over a bog.

Saratoga PLAN’s stewards might be the most dedicated, and perhaps underappreciated, volunteer group in the Spa City.

“They’re so sociable and they work together so easily; they’re just great people,” Magnolia Roosa, Saratoga PLAN’s stewardship coordinator, told Saratoga TODAY. “They come from all different backgrounds and areas of expertise, so bringing everyone together into a common goal, and seeing how everyone interacts and problem solves together, it’s a really nice way to start the week, and they’re a great group to work with.”

The stewards meet on Monday mornings, and last month they gathered for a volunteer appreciation breakfast at Saratoga PLAN’s headquarters on Spring Street. It was easy to notice their camaraderie, despite a foreboding weather forecast that threatened to derail their planned trail maintenance expedition later that day. But these stewards didn’t need sunny weather to maintain a sunny disposition.

“After having worked all my life, I’ve discovered that the best thing to do at the beginning of the week is go outside and do trail work,” said volunteer steward Lorraine Skibo. “It’s just phenomenal.”

Another steward, Bruce Klion, agreed. “Setting an alarm, getting up, and being somewhere outdoors throughout all four seasons at nine o’clock in the morning, it just feels great,” he said.

The precise number of people who participate in PLAN’s volunteer steward program fluctuates, but Roosa estimates that the nonprofit land conservation group has about 75 active volunteers, with new applications arriving every week. 

The stewards are primarily responsible for maintaining hiking trails, which can involve tasks as straightforward as sweeping debris or replacing signs, to jobs more complex and labor intensive, such as building bog bridges and kiosks. As more people have joined the team, bringing their own skillsets with them, the stewards have been able to monitor property boundaries, collect data, write reports, perform mapping and Geographic Information System (GIS) work, fight the spread of invasive species, and lead educational walks.

“We have one volunteer, he helped build the Finger Lakes trail. He’s been doing trail work all his life,” Klion said. “There’s a high level of expertise among a lot of these people.”

The work brings together those with common interests, such as hiking and the outdoors. But there’s also a social component to the volunteer program, which is comprised of many retirees and transplants.

“Most of the time, it’s people moving into the area that have come from backgrounds of either working with an outdoor organization or they had a career in the environmental field, and they wanted to get more involved,” Roosa said. “Sometimes, people that are new to the area just want to join a group of friends.”

A number of volunteers have joined Saratoga PLAN through the steward program, and then expanded their involvement to other volunteer opportunities or even board appointments. Klion joined the board of directors in September of 2024, and currently serves as co-chair of the development committee. Skibo is also a board member, and once served as its chair for two years. But regardless of their titles or the extent of their involvement, PLAN’s volunteers seem passionate about what they do.

“I have to be careful about how much detail I put in my emails because sometimes they’ll want to start working before I even get there, so I have to make sure that I show up early to get there before all the other volunteers,” Roosa said. “They’re such outdoorsy people that just love being outside, the fact that the program is getting them outside to these different preserves and being in a very social group, they’re happy to do those types of tasks. They’re really happy to do whatever task is at hand.”

Those interested in becoming a Saratoga PLAN Monday stewards volunteer can do so by submitting an application form here: saratogaplan.org/volunteer-application-form.

Season Preview: State Champion Saints Back for More 

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Sports.

The Saratoga Central Catholic baseball team celebrates after winning their first-ever state title åin 2025. Photo by Holden Goodridge, 8th grade student photographer at SCC.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Spa Catholic is one of two Saratoga high school baseball teams to have won a state title last season, and just like the crosstown Saratoga Springs Blue Streaks, the Saints have retained much of their championship-winning talent.

The squad lost five players from their 2025 roster: Four seniors who graduated and one player who transferred to Shenendehowa. Among the notable departures: Hunter Fales, 2025’s New York State Class C Player of the Year, is now a starter at St. John Fisher University; Ronan Rowe is at Oswego State; Ryan Gillis is at SUNY Adirondack, where early in the season he earned an impressive slash line of .289/.386/.579; and Tyler Weygand is pitching at Barton College.

Joining the defending champion Saints are a few fresh faces: Sophomore Joey Lindner was called up from the JV team and will start at second base; junior Sandy McDonald is another call-up who plays shortstop; sophomore Kingston David will pitch and back up the outfield; junior Mark Mahay will play first base off the bench; and freshman Cole Cefalu, who was called up from the modified team, will play the hot corner.

Recently, the team joined the Blue Streaks at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida for spring training at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Baseball Complex.

“It’s fun,” said senior Carson Moser about the trip to Florida. “It’s just a good time for all the guys to go out there. It’s good team bonding. Everyone hangs out together 24/7. We’re all at the pool. We’re all at the field together. I think it’s good to see reps from different schools, higher quality arms, higher quality bats, and it’s good for our overall development.”

Head Coach Alphonse Lambert, per usual, likes his team to take things one day at a time. Nonetheless, he told Saratoga TODAY that the Saints want to “get back to meaningful games.”

“I think we have a really good team dynamic,” said senior Jason Pescetti, who recently committed to Alfred State University. “Everybody wants to work hard for each other. Everybody wants to have fun. We all want the same goal in the end. We want to bring back another championship to this town, to our school.”

Pescetti, despite batting towards the bottom of the Saints’ lineup last year, finished with a batting average above .400 and racked up 38 hits and dozens of RBI. At a recent signing day celebration, Lambert said that Pescetti would move up in the order this season. “His production last year was key to our success,” he said.

In 2025, Spa Catholic won the Class C State Championship after defeating Deposit-Hancock 4-0 at the SUNY Binghamton Stadium. It was the first baseball title in the school’s history, and only the second state championship for any sport in the school’s history.

In that state title game, Pierce Byrne (who has committed to Siena University) had a stellar performance on the mound, racking up 11 strikeouts and allowing only one hit in 7 innings of work. Byrne told Saratoga TODAY that the biggest thing in the 2026 season will be “building a relationship with everybody and taking it game by game.”

The Saints will begin their regular season with a game on Monday, April 6 against Shaker at Veterans Memorial Park.

Saratoga “Psycho” Killer: New Thriller Features Spa City

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Entertainment, Featured.


“Marion” book cover via St. Martin’s Press.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Could the quaint city of Saratoga Springs produce a serial killer?

In “Marion,” a forthcoming novel that reimagines the plot of the classic horror film “Psycho,” the protagonist is a Saratoga native cast in the Marion Crane role. But rather than succumb to the knife-wielding, mother-obsessed, shower-stalking Norman Bates, this Marion fights back.

Author Leah Rowan (a pen name) used “Psycho” as the basis for her plot but altered much of the original story. What emerged is an unpredictable, twist-heavy thriller in which Saratoga Springs plays a key role.

“I think it’s an interesting location because it is very far from New York City, but then it’s got its own culture and all these hotels,” Rowan told Saratoga TODAY. “It’s a destination in its own right.”

The book’s Marion character, much like her movie counterpart, steals a large sum of cash and boards an Upstate-bound bus in Manhattan. But the bus breaks down in New Paltz, where the Norman character operates an aging motel that he insists is on the brink of major renovations. When Marion finds that the handsome and seemingly friendly Norman isn’t quite right in the head, her anger towards the abusive men she’s encountered in her life suddenly gushes forth, much like the blood that spills out of certain characters’ bodies.

“Psycho” was set in Arizona, and as Rowan noted in her interview with Saratoga TODAY, the exact location of the story isn’t terribly crucial. But since the author splits her time between Brooklyn and the Catskills, her familiarity with New York State helped inform Marion’s movements and destinations. Although only a relatively small percentage of the novel takes place in Saratoga, the city looms large in the story, right up until the final sentences.

Attentive readers will spot references to the Times Union newspaper, the Saratoga Springs train station, the Children’s Museum at Saratoga, and the Saratoga Casino Hotel. But it may be hard to focus on these details when absorbed in the story, which manically twists in all directions like a killer’s knife plunged into a victim.

“I don’t know what this says about me, but I had so much fun writing this book,” Rowan said. “Literally, more fun than I’ve ever had… I think horror is really having a moment. I think it’s because there are a lot of horrors in the world. I think writing about them in a way that’s fun and almost absurd, at times, helps us process things.”

Of course, the idea of a psychotic killer running amok in Saratoga is absurd. Why, Saratogians wouldn’t even harm a fly.

Saratogians Vie for Visionary of the Year

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Business, Featured.

Photos of Saratoga Springs Police Lieutenant Angela McGovern and Chef Noah Frese via Blood Cancer United’s Visionary of the Year Albany.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Lieutenant Angela McGovern of the Saratoga Springs Police Department and Chef Noah Frese, of Noah’s Italian and Siro’s fame, are both vying for Blood Cancer United’s Visionary of the Year honor for the Albany area.

Visionary of the Year is a 10-week philanthropic challenge. Each of the ten candidates is tasked with forming a fundraising team that will compete to earn the most donations between the dates of March 6 and May 15. The funds will be used by Blood Cancer United to support patients and their families, support research efforts and clinical trials, and advocate to break down barriers to accessing care.

“When I was nominated to do this, I instantly thought of a few people: One is my grandmother, who has multiple myeloma, and the other is retired Troy Police Sergeant Jim O’Brien, who lost his life to blood cancer,” McGovern wrote to Saratoga TODAY. “Our law enforcement officers spend most of their lives sacrificing for others and deserve to live long, healthy retirements. Jim was only 47 years old and had been in law enforcement from 1984 until 2010, when he had to retire due to his illness. He would pass away in December of that same year.”

“I want to use this opportunity and this campaign to show the local community who police really are,” McGovern continued. “We are kind-hearted, caring, and compassionate people who truly love and want to protect our little slices of the world.” 

McGovern’s fundraising efforts include several local events, such as the Big Hole Golf Tournament at the Saratoga Lake Golf Course on May 9, and a “Jail for Bail” event during which McGovern will build cells at the Saratoga Springs City Center and arrest some local “VIPs” who will have to bail themselves out before the other cellmates.

Those interested in supporting McGovern’s fundraising campaign can follow along with her Instagram account (@inpursuitofacure) or her Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/inpursuitofacure).

In his Visionary of the Year profile, Chef Noah Frese detailed the impact that cancer has had on his busy life, much of it spent in kitchens. 

“This past fall, I lost my Mimi to cancer,” Frese wrote. “She was my inspiration, always there to support me and make sure I had every opportunity in life. Losing her made me realize how precious health and time are and how important it is to fight for a future where no family has to endure the pain of this disease. Now, as a father, I feel an even deeper purpose to help find a cure, so that children like my own can grow up healthy and full of opportunities.”

To support Frese’s campaign, visit pages.lls.org/voy/uny/alb26/nfrese.

Season Preview: State Champ Blue Streaks Run it Back

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Featured, Sports.

A trolley transports members of the state champion Saratoga Springs baseball team from Congress Park to City Hall during a downtown parade in 2025. Photo by Aidan Cahill.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — In the majors, the New York Yankees have faced criticism for essentially running back their 2025 team, which fell in the American League Division Series to the Toronto Blue Jays. But for the Saratoga Springs Blue Streaks, who capped off last season with their first-ever Class AAA state title, running it back is a blessing.

15 of the 22 members of last year’s championship Saratoga squad will return in 2026. 

On March 26, the Blue Streaks headed to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida for spring training at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Baseball Complex. Regular season play begins on April 4 at Baldwinsville. 

Before opening day, two starting roles will be decided: left field and first base. But the rest of the starters will return, and their morale, said Head Coach Andy Cuthbertson, is high.

“The team chemistry is kind of where it was when it left off last year,” Cuthbertson told Saratoga TODAY. “In terms of the cohesiveness of the team, what they went through last year, a lot of guys are bringing that same energy into the preseason right now. And the new guys that are joining the squad, although they might have been on JV last year, I think they understand what a monumental season that we had last year, and they understand what the culture is that’s already in place. They’ve jumped right in, and it feels natural.”

Last year’s historic season was notable not just for how it ended, but also for how it took shape. The Blue Streaks lost 6 of their first 12 games before then winning 15 straight. To reach the state championship, Saratoga battled Niagara Falls in an extra-innings contest decided by just one run. In the title game, they defeated Ketcham, a team appearing in its third-straight state championship.

The road to a state title is long, arduous, and unpredictable. In 2026, the Blue Streaks will take it one game at a time.

“We’re not coming right out and saying, ‘Hey, let’s be state champions again,’” Cuthbertson said. “There’s a mentality of one inning at a time, one game at a time. You’ve got to fall in love with the process, and the outcome will fall in place if that happens.”

Saratoga Celebrates Siena

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Sports.


A packed house at Bailey’s watches the Siena vs. Duke “March Madness” game on March 19.
Photo by Jonathon Norcross.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Siena University was about to ruin the March Madness brackets of countless Americans, and Saratogians couldn’t have been happier.

It had been 16 years since the Saints made an appearance in the NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball tournament, and at Bailey’s on Phila Street last Thursday afternoon, a core group of diehard fans clad in green and gold rapidly expanded to a robust audience of hoop lovers as the No. 16 seed Siena took on No. 1 Duke.

Anticipation turned to delighted shock when the underdog Capital Region locals bested the Blue Devils in the first half. Bailey’s erupted in cheers when two consecutive triples put Siena ahead 22-16 in the opening half. From there, the Saints piled on: 6 of 7 successful field goal attempts, an 8-0 run, a lead that stretched to as many as 13 points. For more than 28 minutes, the Saints appeared to be on the brink of eliminating one of college basketball’s most storied programs. At halftime, the Saints held a 43-32 lead.

But the second half was a different story. Duke steadily closed the deficit, shutting down Siena’s offense and, at one point, going on a 13-3 run. An entire 6 minutes passed without the Saints scoring so much as a single point. They lost out on rebounds and couldn’t find the bottom of the bucket. In the end, the Blue Devils took the W, 71-65, and advanced to the next round of the tournament.

Despite the loss, Siena’s heroic effort did not go unnoticed. “5 Guys from Siena Playing 40 Minutes and Taking The #1 Duke Blue Devils Down to The Wire Should Go Down in History as an All-Time Tournament Performance,” proclaimed a Barstool Sports headline. Indeed, Siena’s starters played either the entire game or nearly the entire game. Gavin Doty led the squad with 21 points, Francis Folefac had 18 points and 7 rebounds, Brendan Coyle added a dozen to the scoreboard, and Justice Shoats dished out 7 assists. All of them were officially credited with 40 minutes of playing time (only Christian Jones came off the bench to tally a few seconds).

The consequences of the contest were immediate and perhaps not entirely in Siena’s favor. Their head coach Gerry McNamara, who joined the team just two years ago and led it to a MAAC tournament championship, was quickly scooped up by his alma mater Syracuse University, which recently finalized a deal to bring him aboard as their new head coach.

Despite losing their skipper, Siena will nonetheless enter next season with high hopes after an historic 2025-26. No doubt, Saratogians will tune in.