LIMA, PERU — Nate Keeve from the Jason Morris Judo Center earned the 100kg title at the Peru Open. Keeve was 4-0 on the day and earned valuable points on the world ranking list towards qualifying to the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
This result qualifies Keeve for the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile, October 28-31, along with JMJC teammates Kell Berliner and Nicole Stout.
FARGO, ND — Ballston Spa rising junior wrestler Mia Collins returned to Fargo, North Dakota this summer with a goal in mind.
Collins had competed at the USA Marine Corps 16U & Junior Nationals in 2022, and entered the tournament again this year looking to improve on her results from the previous summer.
“Last year, I got into the blood round and I lost, so I didn’t end up placing,” said Collins.
In her second appearance at the tournament this July, Collins earned a third-place finish, posting an overall record of 9-1.
“I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself before matches,” she said. “I think the biggest challenge at Fargo this year was being able to kind of separate myself from the outcome of the match, and be able to focus on just going out and scoring points more than anything.”
Collins overcame a talented slate of opponents in order to earn her third-place finish, opening the tournament with victories over Aleiya Cullinan (North Dakota), Avery Losiewicz (Wisconsin), and Millie Bradley (Oklahoma), according to results posted by FloWrestling.
Collins lost in the Round of 16 to the eventual champion, Isis France of Arizona, but responded with six consecutive wins in the consolation bracket to finish in third place.
Collins opened her portion of the consolation bracket with wins over Hayden Bratland (Iowa), Savanna Franklin (Missouri), and Emma Chacon (Arizona).
She then defeated three wrestlers who are nationally ranked in Lilliana Banks (Wisconsin), Timberly Martinez (Colorado), and Cassandra Gonzales (Minnesota) on her way to a third-place finish.
Collins said that while the final three matches were the most stressful, the key for her was “just focusing.”
“You can’t get caught up in the worry and anxiety that comes before those matches,” said Collins. “You really have to get yourself in the right mindset to be able to go out there, do your moves, and score points.”
Gonzales, who Collins beat to earn third place, is ranked 18th in the country in the 132-pound weight class in national rankings released in early July by USA Wrestling, FloWrestling, and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum.
Martinez ranked 28th, while Banks ranked 29th. Isis France, the eventual champion who gave Collins her only loss of the tournament, ranked ninth.
Collins said her time in Fargo this year was “a really good experience.”
“It was super nice for me to be able to have my third-place finish this year,” Collins said.
She noted her results from this summer’s tournament were meaningful after falling in the blood round at the 2022 tournament.
“It also makes me more confident as a wrestler, because now I know how I rank,” said Collins. “So I think, having achieved it, I can now set my goals even bigger.”
In addition to competing with the Ballston Spa varsity wrestling team, Collins also said she recently began training at Curby Training Center in Troy.
Now entering her junior year of high school, she said she is hoping to continue her wrestling career in college, adding that it is “exciting” to see more opportunities arising in girls wrestling.
“There’s more and more opportunities opening up as I’m progressing through high school, so that’s pretty exciting,” said Collins. “I’d definitely like to wrestle at the collegiate level.”
FORT EDWARD — Saratoga Catholic rising junior Ryan Gillis was perfect on the mound on July 18, throwing four perfect innings for the Saratoga Stampede 16U before the team earned an 11-0 mercy-rule victory over the 17U Northeast Hurricanes.
While the game was shortened due to mercy rule, Gillis showed no shortage of dominance, striking out 10 consecutive batters across four innings en route to the victory.
Gillis said he was “excited to go out there” entering the game, noting that he formerly played travel ball in the Hurricanes’ organization and was facing several of his former teammates.
“I used to play for that organization, and I knew some of the kids on that team,” said Gillis. “My mindset was just staying focused, locking in. It just kind of gave me a boost going out there.”
The first batter Gillis faced was retired on a groundout to shortstop, with the second batter popping out to third base. Gillis then struck out the next 10 batters in a row.
He said the key was “staying focused,” noting that his teammates helped pick him up on the offensive side.
“Not letting anyone get in your head, and just doing your own thing basically,” Gillis said of his mindset. “Just locking in. My teammates picked me up hitting-wise, and they gave me a comfortable lead. We just stayed focused.”
Gillis, who competed in his first season with the Saratoga Catholic varsity team in the spring, said the Stampede squad has been enjoying its summer season thus far. The 16U Stampede team features many of the Saints’ varsity players from this past spring.
“Everyone’s hitting the ball pretty well,” said Gillis. “We’re having a good time, just having fun playing ball in the summer.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Springs High School has introduced a computerized TouchWall to the SSHS Sports Hall of Fame, according to a Facebook post from Rich Johns, president of Act With Respect Always.
“In January 2022 I worked closely with the Athletic Director at Saratoga Springs to bring the newest, state-of-the-art, computerized TouchWall to the Saratoga Springs High School’s Sports Hall of Fame,” said Johns in the Facebook post. “I was given permission and I gladly accepted to raise the necessary funds. In four months, with the generosity of so many friends, $20,000 was raised to buy the best of the best.”
“I was personally able to use the wall as a tool to educate myself on all of the past accomplishments of the former student-athletes, coaches and teams that have excelled while attending the prestigious school and athletic programs,” said SSCSD Athletic Director John Goodson via email.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — It has been another successful summer for the Saratoga Springs Little League, with both its 11U and 12U All-Stars teams qualifying for the New York State Little League Tournament yet again.
The Saratoga Springs 12U squad made its return to states in grand fashion, allowing just nine runs total across 11 games en route to the state tournament. Head coach Chris Lansing said the team’s pitching and defense were “fantastic” on the way to states.
“We did really well. My pitching was fantastic, my defense was fantastic,” said Lansing. “We kind of struggled to hit early in a lot of games, but came on in the fourth or fifth inning.”
Lansing, who said he began coaching the team during the fall of their 10U season, said that the current group of 12U players is the first from Saratoga Springs Little League to qualify for the state tournament for three consecutive years.
“We’re actually the first Saratoga Little League team to go to states with a group at (ages) 10, 11, and 12,” Lansing said. “And in fairness, there were a couple teams a few years ago that could’ve done it, probably had a good shot, but the COVID year kind of wiped that out for them.”
He said it was “meaningful” to be able to return to states with the team.
“I’m so proud of the boys,” said Lansing. “It was really important to me to come back here, and let them soak it in that last year. … I really felt like they deserved it.”
The 12U team opened pool play of the state tournament on Monday, falling 5-2 to Massapequa. Lansing said despite the loss, he felt the team “hung in there.” The squad bounced back on Tuesday, defeating Penfield 5-3.
The Saratoga 12U team finished pool play Thursday with a game against East Greenbush that ended after press time. Check saratogatodaynewspaper.com for updates on Thursday’s results.
Lansing said he emphasized to the team to “have fun,” noting one of his main goals was for the team to enjoy the experience.
“I really just have been preaching for them to have fun and soak it in, because this is obviously the last time they’re going to come here,” said Lansing after Monday’s game.
The Saratoga 11U team finished 5-0 in district play, defeating Mechanicville-Stillwater in the District Championship to advance to the state tournament.
While the 11U All-Stars were eliminated following an 8-2 loss to Harrison District on Sunday, head coach T.J. Jordan said the experience was ultimately a chance for the team to “enjoy the moment.”
“It’s like life,” said Jordan. “You live it one day at a time, and enjoy it, because the next day’s not guaranteed.”
Jordan said the team enjoyed their time at states, saying, “These kids are great.”
“We drew that late game the first day, so we kind of just hung out, playing cards,” Jordan said. “I enjoy spending time with them, and they love hanging with each other.”
The 11U squad earned wins over Mechanicville-Stillwater, Rotterdam-Carman, and Scotia-Glenville en route to the district title. Jordan highlighted the matchup against Scotia-Glenville, noting that Saratoga trailed 3-2 before rallying to take a 4-3 lead in the top of the sixth inning.
“We have this weird tradition where we take away on the coin flip,” said Jordan. “Win or lose, we take away. In that particular game, we were down 3-2 going into the top of the sixth. It was our last ups, we laid a bunt down and ended up coming back and winning 4-3 that game.”
The team opened its state schedule with a matchup against Penfield, falling 12-0, prior to its elimination matchup against Harrison.
While the team was unable to come away with a win, Jordan said it was “great” to be able to bring the squad back to states after coaching the Saratoga Springs 10U team to the state tournament last summer.
Lansing said the Saratoga Springs Little League program as a whole is “super strong right now.”
“I think that says a lot, and I think the program is incredibly strong,” Lansing said. “I think baseball in Saratoga is really strong right now.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Camp Abilities Saratoga, a week-long summer camp offering adaptive sports and recreational opportunities for children and teens who are blind or visually impaired, returns July 30 to celebrate its 10th anniversary.
Hosted at Skidmore College, the camp is a service project of the Saratoga Springs Lions Club, and initially began in the summer of 2014, said Immediate Past President John McDonald.
McDonald described the camp as “an active educational sports camp” for blind or visually impaired children and teens. The camp is open to ages 10 to 17, and has hosted roughly 215 campers in its 10 years, McDonald said.
“It’s multi-faceted, really, what we offer to them,” said McDonald. “It helps build their self-esteem, their confidence, introduces them to the world of adaptive sports, and all of the things and opportunities that sports bring to them.”
The camp also offers kids an opportunity to experience a week away from home in a college-like setting, with McDonald noting the camp may also be the first time that many younger campers are spending time away from home.
“With that whole week together, they’re spending time with their peers, who have the same challenges that they do,” McDonald said. “They’re on a college campus for a full week, so it gets them that opportunity to kind of feel like what it would be to go away to college. It’s just huge, what those offerings are for the campers.”
Campers participate in a wide variety of adaptive sports throughout the week, including soccer, baseball, track and field, tandem biking, judo, swimming, and more. McDonald emphasized that all sports offered at the camp are adaptive.
Campers also travel off-campus for activities around the city, with McDonald listing examples such as bowling at the Saratoga Strike Zone, kayaking on Saratoga Lake, and visiting the Saratoga Ninja Lab in Malta.
McDonald emphasized that the camp is free to attend, with a variety of fundraising efforts that help campers attend at no cost to them or their families.
“Through our fundraising and grant-writing, the camp is 100% free for campers,” said McDonald.
McDonald said the camp receives strong support from businesses in the local community.
“Locally, we get a lot of support,” said McDonald. “We do a program at the Ninja Lab. We do skating at the ice rink. In the past, we’ve done golf at Saratoga National.”
McDonald also noted that Jason Morris of the Jason Morris Judo Center initially began working with the camp in its first year, saying judo is “a very popular event with the campers.”
While the camp is a service project of the Saratoga Springs Lions Club, McDonald also said many other area Lions Clubs step up to offer their support each year, including the Ballston Spa, Greenfield, Duane, and Glens Falls Lions Clubs among others.
“A number of them do dinners for us in the evening,” McDonald said. “There’s probably 20 clubs that, in some way, either financial or hands-on, help support the camp.”
The camp’s nightly dinners are also donated by local businesses and organizations, with McDonald saying Mama Mia’s, P.J.’s BAR-B-QSA, and the Ballston Spa and Greenfield Lions Clubs are among those who are providing meals this year.
Campers are set to arrive Sunday, July 30. The camp runs throughout the week, with campers staying in dorms on the Skidmore College campus. A majority of camp activities are held on the Skidmore campus, with transportation arranged for the off-campus activities.
The camp will hold a picnic in the Saratoga Spa State Park on Friday, McDonald said, and conclude on Saturday, Aug. 5, with a closing ceremony where parents can arrive to observe their children participating.
“We do a closing ceremony, and then the parents get to see the kids in some of the sports they’ve participated in,” McDonald said. “Another big part of the camp is (that) we do an assessment of the camper’s skills, and how they’ve progressed.”
McDonald said the assessments are sent to both the children’s parents and their school.
“Lots of times, kids don’t get the opportunity. They may be in a school system that doesn’t provide the opportunities for them,” said McDonald. “That assessment … it shows that these students, while they might be blind or visually impaired, it doesn’t mean they can’t participate.”
McDonald said it is reaching 10 years is “a huge milestone” for the camp.
“This just fits perfectly with what we’re looking to do as Lions,” McDonald said. “To reach that milestone, it’s a huge accomplishment that we’re very, very proud of.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The City of Saratoga Springs celebrated new renovations to the East Side Recreation Skatepark on Thursday, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking improvements to the park.
The park has been updated with concrete, replacing the former metal ramps. It features a concrete bowl, mini-ramp, manual pads, ledges, flat bars, and more, said Brad Siedlecki of Pillar Design, who designed the park.
Benj Gleeksman, vice president of local nonprofit ON DECK Saratoga, said it was “amazing” to see skaters at the upgraded park on Thursday.
“Just to finally see it done, I don’t know how to describe it. I’m so excited,” said Gleeksman. “But the thing that I’m most excited about is seeing how happy it makes other people. I love skating it, but I love sitting on the bench and just watching kids enjoy it.”
The renovations were priced at just under $446,000, according to a presentation by John Hirliman, the city’s Administrative Director of Recreation. ON DECK Saratoga raised and contributed roughly $70,000 to the project through fundraising and support from the local community.
The park was constructed by Artisan Skateparks. While speaking to those in attendance, Gleeksman noted that the park features pink and brown colors, in a nod to the Silly Pink Bunnies, which he said is an international skateboard community that began at the East Side Rec skatepark in the early 1990s.
“So it’s been over 30 years of Silly Pink Bunnies. They started here,” said Gleeksman to those in attendance. “There’s hundreds of them skateboarding all around the world.”
He offered thanks to Siedlecki and Pillar Design, and to Artisan, who he said completed the park’s construction a month ahead of schedule.
Belinda Colón, president of ON DECK and Gleeksman’s wife, thanked the Saratoga Springs City School District, which owns the property, as well as the Mayor’s Office, City Council, the Saratoga Institute, Spring Street Gallery, and the local artist community.
Gleeksman offered thanks to local businesses such as Stewart’s Shops, Darling Doughnuts, and Death Wish Coffee, who he said provided $25,000 of matching donations.
He also thanked Scotia-based Town and Country Skateboards and Albany-based Seasons Skate Shop, as well as Fran Love-Aveta, who ran Jah Skate Shop on Caroline Street and was in attendance at Thursday’s ribbon-cutting.
Hirliman offered thanks to ON DECK, the school district, and to the City Department of Public Works, who demolished the former metal bowl. He said it was “great to see” skaters enjoying the updated park.
“It’s pretty surreal,” said Hirliman. “It’s amazing to see it completed, and see how many kids are skating right now.”
Gleeksman said construction took roughly two months to complete. He noted that ON DECK held numerous events to help raise awareness and funds for the skatepark.
“As the fundraising started to gain momentum, we started to grab the attention of the business community,” said Gleeksman. “Darling Doughnuts stepped up, Smashburger stepped up, Death Wish stepped up huge.”
He noted it was meaningful to see the support from the local community, saying that to him, the skatepark is “more than just a place to come and go skate.”
Gleeksman said the park can attract tourism, and also hopes it will inspire other local communities to follow Saratoga Springs’ lead.
Andrew Cecala, a local skater who said he has been coming to the park for 20 years, noted the updated park is “very smooth.”
“I’m ecstatic,” said Cecala. “It’s like having a skatepark in your backyard. It’s awesome.”
20-year-old skater Reymond Garcia said it was “really exciting” to see people of all ages enjoying the park.
“The renovation just brought everybody,” Garcia said. “It makes me so happy to see, because there’s just all ages here. … It’s what you want to see out here. It’s really exciting.”
The opening weekend of the Saratoga racing season can be broken into three distinct stories – weather, winning and wistfulness.
As is often the case in Saratoga, the weather played havoc with the racing surfaces resulting in races moved to the main track with many entries scratching and depleted fields over wet tracks; Linda Rice continued to win at an extraordinary rate and the racing world noted the passing of Saratoga’s own Funny Cide. Each of those evoked feelings of familiarity and nostalgia for long-time racing fans.
Weather
The propensity for sudden strong downpours in Saratoga in July and August, has vexed racing officials for decades, as racing on the grass courses have grown in popularity with racing participants and fans. When the rains come the grass courses are protected from long-term damage by switching those races to the main track. This results in numerous horses scratching to await another day and the resulting small fields present limited betting opportunities.
Varied solutions to this pattern have been tried over the years without much success, including the addition of the Wilson Chute last year at great expense. This intractable problem remains unsolved. One approach that this writer has proposed (to no avail) is to group the grass races together at either the beginning or end of the racing card so that a short window of dry weather could accommodate all the day’s grass racing rather than the current practice of spreading them out over the seven-hour race day and hoping for extended dry weather. This is once again proposed for a trial period to see if it works – it might even be popular with fans and bettors who prefer one surface over the other.
Winning
Trainer Linda Rice, freshly off a successful legal appeal of a three-year suspension, continues to win at a remarkable rate thereby continuing the success she had at the recently concluded Belmont meet. Her five wins from thirteen starts during the opening few days is an astounding 38% and her in-the-money finishes are approaching 80%. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, her performance is evoking memories of her 2009 season when she was Saratoga’s leading trainer. Rice’s recent winners have won with much in reserve indicating multiple wins at the meet are a possibility for each of them. For handicappers in the next few weeks, Linda Rice-trainees are simply automatic contenders in any race you find them.
Wistfulness
This weekend saw the passing of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide. Born, raised, and owned by local Saratoga connections, Funny Cide captured the racing world in 2003 by upsetting the regally bred and owned Empire Maker in the Kentucky Derby. His follow up win in the Preakness led to his attempt to become a triple crown winner in the Belmont where he ran admirably in defeat. He was the first New York bred to win the Kentucky Derby, being foaled at McMahon’s Thoroughbred Farm here in Saratoga. His owners were also locally based – going by the name Sackatoga Stable, led thoughtfully by Jack Knowlton.
The ownership group showed little pretention and travelled together to and from his races in a rented school bus. The eschewing of the conspicuous consumption that winners often succumb to resonated with fans. His plebian connections contrasted with those of his main rival – Empire Maker. The little guy competing with and besting the privileged opponents reminded many of why racing is so fascinating. His connections obliged the desire of fans to see him by running him often and making him widely accessible. Even the attempts to market Funny Cide items such as beer, hats, shirts etc. was done gently and with good humor rather than exploitation.
As a gelding, there was no breeding shed for him to run off to and he competed in races until age seven. His retirement to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington Kentucky allowed fans to continue to visit him in retirement and he made numerous appearances at tracks throughout the years.
The wistful feeling his passing evokes is one of good sportsmanship, good humor, humility from winners, a sense of limitless possibility for underdogs and generosity of one’s time and luck. In a sport where winning often brings out the worst in people (no need to name them but there are many) the Funny Cide crew remained a good story from beginning to end. As a bettor who was beaten by Funny Cide more often than I care to admit (I was a big Empire Maker fan) I salute him and has connections as representing racing at its best.
Cheers.
NEW YORK — The Jason Morris Judo Center’s Nicole Stout, who is the #1 US player at 78kg, showcased Judo to a crowd of over 500 people on June 23, taking on former top-five professional sumo wrestler Somoyama at the Sumo and Sushi event held in New York City.
Along with being invited to this distinctive event, Nicole Stout got to meet a sumo legend, Konishiki, the first foreigner and US citizen to reach Ozeki, the second highest rank in professional sumo.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Skidmore College alum Jackson Hornung was selected in the 16th round (484th pick) of the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Hornung is the first Thoroughbred athlete to be drafted by a professional team, according to a release on the Skidmore Athletics website.
“We couldn’t be happier for Jackson, as this is an incredible accomplishment for him and our entire program,” said Skidmore baseball coach Ron Plourde in the release. “He’s done everything the right way and is in this position because of his abilities, work ethic and great attitude. We wish him continued success in his professional career!”
Hornung was an NCAA Division III All-American, and was twice named Liberty League Player of the Year, the release states. In 98 career games, Hornung recorded a batting average of .430, with 22 home runs, 106 RBIs, and a .540 on-base percentage, according to his profile on the Skidmore Athletics website.
In his senior year, Hornung hit .424 with 12 home runs and 41 RBIs, leading the Liberty League in slugging percentage and on-base percentage, the release states. A native of Ashland, Massachusetts, Hornung has played for both the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod League and the North Shore Navigators of the New England Collegiate Baseball League this summer.
