SARATOGA SPRINGS — An unprecedented moment in Saratoga Springs history did not go unnoticed by city officials, who celebrated the dual state champion Saratoga Springs and Saratoga Central Catholic varsity baseball teams with a downtown parade last week.

The team’s players were ferried from Congress Park to City Hall via a police and fire-escorted pair of red trolleys. Once delivered to the steps of City Hall, the players and their coaches were honored with proclamations courtesy of Mayor John Safford. The date of the parade, June 25, was officially named both Saratoga Springs Central Catholic Varsity Baseball Day and Saratoga Springs High School Varsity Baseball Day.

In his proclamations, Mayor Safford said “we are all extremely proud of them, and we join with their fellow students, their teachers, and their coach in celebrating this great achievement,” adding, “may their legacy and spirit continue to serve as an inspiration for all of us.”

The Saratoga Central Catholic Saints won the Section 2 Class C Championship on June 14, defeating Deposit-Hancock 4 to 0. On the same day, the Saratoga Springs Blue Streaks capped off a 21-6 season by capturing the Section 2 Class AAA state championship, vanquishing Ketcham 8 to 5. It was the first time both teams had won state baseball titles.

A press release from the mayor’s office announcing the parade called the feat an “extraordinary achievement” and an “historic moment for our community.”

The championship Spa Catholic Saints team included the players:

• Max Britten
• Kihl Kelly
• Pierce Byrne
• Carson Moser
• Luke Dejnozka
• Jason Pescetti
• Nacy Devincenzo
• Ronan Rowe
• Martin Elie
• Brian Selig
• Hunter Fales
• Zach Streicher
• Ryan Gillis
• Tyler Weygand

And the Saratoga Springs
Blue Streaks team consisted of:

• Jack Collier
• Matthew King
• Jackson Covell
• Alexander Landau
• Shea Crotty
• Colin Mack
• Braeden Crowe
• Thomas McNamara
• John Dunne
• Brady Mills
• Owen Fear
• Elliott Moglia
• Charles Greiner III
• Jack Rigabar
• Macklan Harris
• Raul Rodriguez
• Michael Kakaty
• Dillon Jay Trautner
• Brendan Kantscheidt
• Cooper Villiere
• Peyton Keegan
• Adam Weiss

BALLSTON LAKE — Stevo Poulin, a Shenendehowa alum and native of Ballston Lake,  announced his transfer to Iowa State University last week on his Instagram.

Poulin is a 2025 All-American wrestler who spent the past three years at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC). He finished 8th in this year’s NCAA Tournament, where his victory over Rutgers University’s Dean Peterson earned him All-American honors for the first time in his career.

The Iowa State Cyclones wrestling team are 8-time national champions, 17-time national runners-up, and have accumulated 45 trophy finishes.

In his 2024-25 season with UNC, Poulin finished with an 18-1 record, recording four tech falls and three major decision wins. He was the 2025 Southern Scuffle 125 Champion and placed fifth at the Big XII Championships.

In 2023-24, Poulin earned a 22-6 record and became only the fourth individual in UNC history to win the Southern Scuffle title. He also placed seventh at the Big XII Champions and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the second time in his career.

In his first season with UNC, Poulin had a 31-7 record and was crowned the Big XII Champion at 125 pounds. He qualified for the NCAA Tournament as the No. 6 seed and finished the season ranked No. 18.

Prior to competing at UNC, Poulin wrestled at North Carolina State University, where he had an undefeated 6-0 record as a freshman.

While attending Shenendehowa High School, Poulin took home the state title his freshman, junior, and senior years, finishing with a remarkable record of 132-1.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Regional YMCA announced last week the successful completion of the Spring 2025 session of the LIVESTRONG at the YMCA program, with 25 cancer survivors graduating after completing the 12-week program. The session was the first time the association has been able to offer the program at all of its six branches.

Since launching the LIVESTRONG at the YMCA program in 2013, the Saratoga Regional YMCA has served 538 cancer survivors, helping individuals reclaim their health, rebuild their strength, and connect with a supportive community after a cancer diagnosis.

LIVESTRONG at the YMCA is a free, research-based physical activity and wellness program designed to help adult cancer survivors regain their physical, emotional, and social well-being. Taught by specially trained YMCA instructors, the program focuses on strength training, cardiovascular endurance, and balance, while also providing a supportive environment for survivors to connect and heal together.

For more information about LIVESTRONG at the YMCA or to register for a future session, please visit SRYMCA.org or contact Tara Westervelt, Healthy Living Coordinator, 518-583-9622, ext. 161

Photos of D.G. Van Clief and Josh Pons provided.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame has named D.G. Van Clief as chair of the Hall of Fame’s Contemporary Nominating Committee and Josh Pons as chair of the Pillars of the Turf Committee.

With the new Hall of Fame committee chairs in place, museum leadership is beginning an evaluation of the overall Hall of Fame nomination and election process, including a review of the contemporary Hall of Fame voting panel.

Van Clief, who previously served as chair of the Pillars of the Turf Committee, succeeds the late Edward L. Bowen as chair of the Nominating Committee. Bowen chaired the Nominating Committee from 1987 through 2024 before passing away in January.

Van Clief is a member of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority Board of Directors and an advisory trustee of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. His leadership in racing has included stints as President and CEO of Breeders’ Cup; CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association; Chairman of Fasig-Tipton Co.; and CEO of Nydrie Stud (his family’s thoroughbred breeding and sales business). Other racing industry roles have included serving as a commissioner for the Virginia Racing Commission, including as chair; member and Board of Stewards for The Jockey Club; managing trustee for The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation; and BloodHorse Publications trustee and audit committee chair.

Pons is a third-generation Maryland horseman who owns and operates Country Life Farm and Merryland Farm with his brother, Mike Pons. He has served on the Pillars of the Turf Committee for the past two years and is a Museum advisory trustee. A two-time Eclipse Award-winning writer (1982, 1992), Pons is the author of three books about the thoroughbred industry. He is also a monthly contributor to BloodHorse magazine. His service to the industry includes two terms as president of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association. Pons is currently the head of the Maryland Horse Library and Education Center, and a board member of  the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The list of things Bernie Williams hasn’t accomplished in his 56-year-old life grows shorter by the day; four-time World Series champion, Latin Grammy Award-nominated jazz musician, five-time MLB All-Star with his number retired by the New York Yankees, “Seinfeld” guest star, winemaker.

If you’re a Yankees fan, you’re likely familiar with all these feats, save one: since when does Bernie Williams make wine?

In 2021, Williams stumbled upon the Millbrook Winery in Upstate New York while cruising around on his motorcycle. His visit led to a chat with David Bova, the winery’s vice president and general manager, which in turn led to a collaboration: a 2022 vintage called “Bernie’s Blend.”   The red wine is a mixture of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc. Williams also had a hand in blending the winery’s 2023 chardonnay and 2021 pinot noir varietals.

These wine bottles are wrapped in a custom label created by Williams’ daughter, Beatriz Williams, a Brooklyn-based artist. The artwork features a symbolic guitar held by two sets of hands, representing the passing of musical knowledge from one generation to the next.

It’s a fitting piece of symbolism. Williams has not only collaborated with Millbrook on the wines, but he’s also returning to the vineyard for a summer jazz concert on Saturday, June 28 at 6 p.m. $10 from every concert ticket sold (as well as a portion of wine sales that evening) will be donated to the music programs at Dutchess Community College. Members of the school’s jazz ensemble will also open for Williams and join his band during the concert’s second act.

Ahead of this event, Saratoga TODAY was able to chat with Williams about a range of topics, including Saratoga, baseball, wine, and music. Without further ado, here is our Q&A with the Yankees legend, edited for length and clarity.

Saratoga TODAY: Your manager said Saratoga is one of your favorite cities, and I know you’ve visited a few times. Can you tell me what you like about the city, and if you have any fond memories of your time here?

Bernie Williams: I’ve been there a few times. I used to go more often. I remember bringing one of my daughters there for basketball tournaments. After that, I remember playing a couple of music gigs downtown. The one thing that I enjoyed the most about Saratoga is going to the Roosevelt Baths and getting some treatments there. The water there is just amazing. And especially in the summer, there’s a lot of things to do and have a great time.

ST: Pretty much everyone knows you were a baseball player and that you’re a musician, but I don’t think a lot of people knew that you were also a wine guy. Can you tell me a little bit about how you got into wine?

BW: Well, the whole wine situation with Millbrook was not planned at all. I mean, we literally stumbled upon the winery one Sunday afternoon. We were just kind of cruising around in my motorcycle, and we ran into the winery and decided to stop. We really fell in love with the place. It was so beautiful and [I] ended up talking to the manager at the time, which put us in contact with the marketing department, and then next thing I knew, I was blending my own wine and playing a concert there. [laughs] So it was something that was not really premeditated. It was something that kind of happened over time. I definitely have developed a great appreciation for the process [of making wine], and the people that have that responsibility, because there’s a lot of things that have to come into place. Some of them are within our control and some of them are not. So it’s kind of like where work meets art, as far as being able to find a place where you can find that level of appreciation about making a good bottle and [making] something that could last for years and still be drinkable.

ST: If you could share a bottle of wine with any member of the New York Yankees, living or dead, who would it be and why?

BW: I probably think somebody like Joe DiMaggio. His whole persona beyond the baseball field was a cool thing. I would say Babe Ruth, but if I would have chosen that, I probably would’ve had to hang out until three or four in the morning. [laughs] I think Joe DiMaggio, I would pick his brain about playing centerfield. He carried himself with so much class that I think it would be cool to have a bottle of wine with him.

ST: This concert is going to benefit music education programs. Can you tell me why you think it’s important for younger people to be educated about music?

BW: I think it’s really important for young people to be educated about music, first of all, to have a greater appreciation for the process of making good music. It’s something that a lot of people take for granted, but it’s a very intricate process and it’s an art form. It might be a little polarizing to say this, but I just don’t think that young people these days have an opportunity to really experience the process of making music and they may not have an appreciation for how hard it is to make music that touches your heart and your spirit. You don’t have to become an instrumentalist, but you can definitely be able to appreciate how hard it is to be able to do that and be in a better position to support live arts and live music. It seems to be sort of a lost art. I do know for a fact that especially young kids that are exposed to music, it enhances their learning capabilities. They do better in other subjects like math and writing and all the things that have to do with the creative part of the mind. I think music and having the opportunity to learn music, it’s a really important part of that process.

Tickets for the June 28 Bernie Williams concert are now on sale at the Millbrook Winery website (https://www.millbrookwine.com/bernie-williams/). The winery is less than 2 hours away from Saratoga. 

BALLSTON SPA — Six games into the debut season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL), Ballston Spa native Ana Gold was among her team’s leaders in a number of offensive stats, including hits, batting average, and OPS. The numbers tell a tale familiar to those who have followed Gold’s exceptional career at the high school, college, and now professional levels.

With the AUSL’s Blaze, Gold has thus far earned a .444 batting average and 1.085 OPS in 18 at-bats. On June 7, she smacked a double and drove in her team’s lone run. On June 14, the Duke University grad hit a triple, earning 2 RBI. Her fielding, meanwhile, has been flawless, with no errors recorded across all six games.

Despite the rookie’s best efforts, the Blaze have struggled collectively in the early going, ranking last among the league’s four teams with a 1-5 record.

Since April, when Gold was one of a handful of the top college softball players in the nation to be awarded a golden draft ticket by the AUSL, the nascent league has received the backing of Major League Baseball (MLB), which made a first-of-its-kind “strategic investment” in the organization. The AUSL also landed an impressive broadcasting deal, which includes televised games on ESPN2, ESPNU, MLB.com, and the MLB Network. Kim Ng, the former general manager of the Miami Marlins and a former assistant general manager for the New York Yankees, was also named commissioner of the AUSL shortly after presenting Gold with a golden ticket.

Gold was drafted 9th overall by the Blaze after an impressive college career at Duke, where she had a career slash line of .306/.408/.614. She hit 54 homers, 7 triples, and 29 doubles for the Blue Devils. She also stole 53 bases and totaled more than 200 hits in 666 at-bats. 

In 2024, she set a number of Duke softball records, including smashing two grand slams in one game and knocking in 8 runs in a single game. She also set the program’s all-time career home run record while helping to lead her squad to the NCAA Women’s College World Series.

At Ballston Spa High School, she was ranked the No. 39 prospect in the country (according to Extra Innings Softball), was named three times to the Suburban Council’s First Team, and was a two-time Second Team All-Stater. She batted .411 with 12 home runs and 33 RBI as a freshman before improving to .418 with nine home runs and 34 RBI as a sophomore.

Gold’s older brother Luke was an All-ACC baseball infielder at Boston College before being selected in the fifth round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers. Another brother, Joe, currently pitches for the Amsterdam Mohawks.