BALLSTON SPA — Ballston Spa runner Harriet Healey placed 2nd in the girls’ 500 meter dash at the Armory Officials Hall of Fame Invitational 2024. Healey’s time of 1:17:18 was a new school record, according to Director of Coaching Gary Preece. Healey, a senior, has committed to running track at Penn State University next year.
GLENS FALLS —The Adirondack Thunder have won 11 straight games, starting with a 5-4 victory against the Newfoundland Growlers on December 30 and culminating with a 5-2 win against the Trois-Rivières Lions on January 20. The team will have an opportunity to continue its streak this weekend with three home games at the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls.
The Adirondack Thunder are in the midst of one of their most successful seasons in years. The team is atop the ECHL North Division for the first time since November 2019. Their winning percentage currently stands at 0.750.
SCHUYLERVILLE — Luke Sherman, Schuylerville High School’s varsity basketball star, is on the brink of breaking two all-time school scoring records.
As of Jan. 16, when a snowstorm canceled a scheduled home game against Queensbury, Sherman had netted 1,283 career points with the Black Horses. This placed him 35 points shy of breaking the boys’ basketball scoring record set by Eric Stover in 1978. Sherman may also surpass Carol Cheney’s 1986 boys and girls scoring record of 1,566.
Sherman’s next game is on Friday, Jan. 19 at Glens Falls. As of press time, the Jan. 16 home game had not yet been rescheduled.
BALLSTON SPA —The Ballston Spa girls varsity basketball team’s four-game winning streak came to an end last Friday. In their game against Niskayuna, the Scotties lost 41-59. They are now 8-5 this season.
Despite the loss, the team maintains a positive outlook. Head Coach David Morse’s focus is on the immense improvement from last year. Referring to last season as a year to “put a system in place, and get everything in order,” Morse said this year, the team is putting all of the pieces together.
Morse said that there was a lot of work put in during the offseason, and it paid off. “We had so many girls come in that have improved so much,” he said.
One of these girls was junior Sophia Lee. She leads the team in points, averaging 14 per game. Coach Morse said that when the team is struggling, like they were against Nisky, they will turn to her to score. She finished with 19 points in Friday night’s game.
But Morse also highlighted the team as a whole, praising them all for their talent. “It seems like every game we have someone else step up in a big role,” he said. With multiple players averaging almost double digits in both points and rebounds, every win is a team effort.
The Scotties look to use this week’s loss as a way to improve. “Our focus is moving forward,” Morse said. “We reflect on what we did poorly and we look to get better every day.” Their next game is on Friday, January 19 against Guilderland.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —The Saratoga Springs High School girls’ and boys’ cross-country teams were formally recognized and celebrated by the Board of Education at a meeting on January 11.
Dr. Michael Patton, Superintendent of Schools, said that “the teamwork and comradery and really the year-round effort that our student-athletes put into our running program is just an incredible accomplishment.” Patton said that the board meeting was “truly a special night to have both our boys and girls here together to be celebrated for this wonderful accomplishment.”
The state champion girls’ team was introduced by their coach, Linda Kranick. “This team went on to win the Federation meet, which is yet another state championship and that’s the best of the best in New York State and [the team] finished number six in the United States this year at Nike Cross-Country National Championship,” Kranick said. “I personally want to thank all the parents, both boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams, because you’re out there in the roughest weather supporting your sons and daughters and we really appreciate it.”
Boys’ coach Shane Zanetti introduced his team and praised them for setting “a culture and tradition that’s going to continue for the next few years.”
At the NYSPHSAA Class A championship in November, the girls’ team captured the team title for the fifth straight year, and senior Emily Bush won the Section 2 individual title. A week later, the girls’ team won the Federation Cross Country Championships.
The boys’ team won the Class A championship in a tiebreaker, marking their first team title since 2012. They finished third at the Nike Cross Country Regional Qualifier, just one spot away from a trip to the national championship.
East Greenbush/ New York City — The New York Yankees have signed infielder Kevin Smith, a native of East Greenbush, to a minor league deal. Smith played in 49 games with the Oakland Athletics last year, finishing with a career-best OPS of .546. He also played with the Athletics in 2022 and saw 36 plate appearances with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021.
Smith graduated from Columbia High School in East Greenbush, about ten minutes outside of Albany. After playing at the University of Maryland, College Park, he was drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 MLB draft by Toronto.
Saratoga Springs/ Atlanta — Anthony Weaver, a former Saratoga Springs High School football player and member of the Blue Streaks Hall of Fame, interviewed for the Atlanta Falcons’ head coaching position on Sunday. While at Saratoga, Weaver won the National Football Foundation scholar-athlete award. He’s also a member of the Capital Region Hall of Fame.
Weaver is currently the assistant head coach and defensive line coach for the Baltimore Ravens. He has 12 years of coaching experience, including stints with the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, and Houston Texans. Prior to coaching, he played as a defensive end for the Ravens and Texans. He was a second-round pick in the 2002 NFL Draft.
According to ESPN reporter Adam Schefter, the Washington Commanders have also requested to interview Weaver for their head coaching job.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame is overhauling its review process. Starting this year, the Historic Review Committee will only consider candidates for induction if they were active during a specific era. In prior years, the committee considered all candidates throughout racing history, as long as they had been out of competition for more than 25 years.
In 2024, only pre-1900 horses, jockeys, and trainers will be candidates for induction. In 2025, the period of 1900 through 1959 will be reviewed. In 2026, the 1960-2000 era will be up for consideration. Then in 2027, the process will cycle back to pre-1900. Each year, the Historic Review Committee is able to select a maximum of three inductees. All inductees need 75% approval from the committee.
“Based on feedback from members of the various Hall of Fame committees and the committee chairs, I believe these changes will make for a more effective evaluation process for historic candidates being considered for the Hall of Fame,” said Brien Bouyea, the Museum’s Hall of Fame Communications Director, in a statement. “These specialized review committees will no longer have to compare candidates from vastly different eras. Evaluating the achievements of a horse or human from before 1900 alongside one from perhaps a century later is an apples vs. oranges exercise that we wanted to improve upon.”
This year’s pre-1900 Historic Review Committee will include Michael Veitch, Edward L. Bowen, Ken Grayson, Jennifer Kelly, Dorothy Ours, Josh Pons, Mary Simon, and Gary West. The 2024 Hall of Fame class will be announced in late April.
For more on The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame visit racingmuseum.org.
GLENS FALLS — Adirondack Thunder All-Star Patrick Grasso has set the record for the most goals scored in team history. Grasso broke Brian Ward’s old record of 77 with his 78th goal against the Maine Mariners on January 6.
Grasso also competed in the 2024 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic on January 15. Grasso scored a goal in the third period to give the ECHL All-Stars a five-point lead. The All-Stars won the game 18 to 11.
For more about Adirondack Thunder visit echlthunder.com
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Registration is now open for spring programs at the Saratoga Springs Recreation Department. Available programs include soccer, baseball and t-ball, ice skating, pickleball, boxing, volleyball, curling, and tennis.
To learn more or to register, visit www.SaratogaRec.com and click “Programs.”
To contact the department, call 518-587-3550 ext. 2300 or email recreservations@saratoga-springs.org.
