STATEN ISLAND — Four athletes from Saratoga Springs teamed up to capture the NYSPHSAA Indoor Track State Championship in the 4×800 relay, capping off a weekend full of strong finishes.
The team of Alycia Hart, Sheridan Wheeler, McKinley Wheeler, and Emily Bush took home the state championship in the 4×800 relay with a time of 9:06.63, a new meet record. All four runners also helped Saratoga capture the cross country national championship at the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon on Dec. 3.
“Just when you think you’ve done everything, something else pops up,” said coach Linda Kranick. “It’s been a very exciting year for them.”
Kranick has served as the longtime coach of the Saratoga girls track and cross country teams alongside her husband Art Kranick.
“These girls, they work so well together,” Kranick continued. “They’re so focused. We didn’t even think about the record ahead of time. It was a very exciting race. They led from the gun to the wire, the whole time.”
McKinley Wheeler also placed second in the 3000-meter run (9:37.50), with Sheridan Wheeler in third (9:37.67). Kranick said the times are two of the best in the event in team history.
“Those were just outstanding times that they ran,” Kranick said. “Number three and four all-time for our team, so that says a lot. … It was an amazing race, and they run so well together.”
Kranick also said it was “impressive” to see Bush, McKinley Wheeler, and Sheridan Wheeler all compete in multiple events over the weekend.
Bush finished third in the 1500-meter run (4:29.42), setting a new personal best. Anya Belisle also placed eighth in the 1500 (4:40.63). Amelia McBain placed fourth in the pole vault (12’ 0”).
“That was a personal best for Emily. To break 4:30 is something to be proud of,” said Kranick. “Amelia is just a super athlete, a super person. We’re so proud of her in the pole vault.”
McBain set the school record in the pole vault earlier in the season, Kranick said.
Next, the team will head to another national championship meet: The Nike 2023 Indoor Nationals from March 10 to 12 at The Armory in New York City. Kranick said the indoor season has been “very successful,” to this point, with the team looking to continue that success this weekend.
“We’re quite pleased with all the girls’ performances,” said Kranick. “There are other girls, not just the ones you see at the state meets and the headlines. But we have many other girls who are out there working hard. It makes it enjoyable for us.”
SCHENECTADY — The Stillwater varsity boys bowling team capped off its season by winning the Section 2 Class C Championship, posting a team-high score of 5,870.
The Warriors edged out rival Hoosick Falls to win the sectional title, concluding a season that saw the team win the Wasaren League Championship, the Wasaren League Tournament, and the Indian Pin over Mechanicville. Led by the league’s top scorer and captain Connor Julian, was co-captain Adam Conklin, Alex Mell, Steven Berry, Evan Coe, Aden Wickham, Anthony Miller, and Jacob Smith.
Taylor Beaury (far right) stands at the podium after finishing in seventh place in the 126-pound weight class at the 2023 NYSPHSAA Division 1 wrestling championships. Photo provided by Jake Zanetti.
ALBANY — Eight local wrestlers competed at the NYSPHSAA Division 1 State Championships over the weekend at MVP Arena in Albany, concluding their seasons against the top wrestlers in New York State.
Ballston Spa’s Darrien Insogna finished as the NYSPHSAA Division 1 runner-up at 215 pounds, falling to Minisink Valley’s Ethan Gallo in the state championship match. Connor Gregory earned a third-place finish at 160 pounds for the Scotties, while Ralph Keeney placed fourth at 110 pounds. Also competing for the Scotties was Cameron Hinchcliff.
Saratoga Springs’ Taylor Beaury earned a seventh-place finish at 126 pounds, while Lorenzo Palleschi battled to an eight-place finish at 189 pounds. Also competing for the Blue Streaks were Vito Spadafora and Patrick McKinley.
Ballston Spa head coach Harvey Staulters said it was “great to get them out there a second time,” noting that Insogna, Gregory, and Keeney all wrestled at last year’s state championships as well.
“Because of their experience, they were a little more at ease, and had a little higher expectations, a little higher goals,” said Staulters. “It was great to watch them compete.”
All three of the Scotties’ returning wrestlers improved on their finishes from the 2022 state championships.
Saratoga head coach Jake Zanetti said the weekend was “a nice culminating event” for Spadafora and Palleschi, who are seniors. Zanetti added that it was great experience for Beaury, a sophomore, and McKinley, a junior.
“Definitely a great opportunity for all four of them for different reasons,” said Zanetti.
For Ballston Spa, Insogna opened his tournament by pinning Longwood’s William Francois, then pinned Central Square’s Rocky Files in the quarterfinals. Insogna pinned Bellport’s Jaiden Green in the semifinals, dropping an 11-4 decision to Gallo in the state title match.
Gregory earned a 17-6 major decision over Horseheads’ Liam Levantovich in his opening match, rallying to earn a 6-4 sudden victory decision over Iona Prep’s Sean Dagl in the quarterfinals. Gregory fell in the semifinals, dropping a 5-3 decision to Cornwall’s Tyler Reed, before winning a consolation match over Churchville-Chili’s Coy Raines to advance to the third-place finals. There, Gregory beat Degl again, earning a 3-2 decision.
Keeney opened the tournament with a 15-2 major decision over Brady Judd of Warwick Valley, dropping a 9-0 major decision to Valley Central’s Luke Satriano in the quarterfinals. Keeney earned consolation round victories over Jason Euceda (Brentwood), Ryan Cielinski (Spencerport), and Ryan Ferrara (Chenango Forks), before dropping the third-place finals in an 8-4 decision against Long Beach’s Dunia Sibomana.
Hinchcliff defeated Hilton’s Tyler Simons in the first round, falling to Niagara Falls’ Amarfio Reynolds in the second round. In the consolation rounds, Hinchcliff earned a 9-5 decision over Horseheads’ Cody Dale, and a win by fall over Carthage’s Landon Copley before dropping a 5-0 decision to Pittsford’s Samson McKissick-Staley.
Staulters had praise for his wrestlers, saying they “exceeded expectations” over the weekend.
“They were inspirational, to continually fight and move forward, despite some of the adversities,” said Staulters. “Sometimes they lost, and they just kept coming back. It was really a great experience.”
For Saratoga, Beaury opened the tournament with a victory by technical fall over West Babylon’s Billy Colloca. He fell to Calhoun’s Ray Adams by an 8-2 decision in the quarterfinals. Beaury won his first consolation match over Fox Lane’s Justin Gierum, falling to Nikolas Massero of St. Joe’s Collegiate in the second. Beaury earned a 4-2 decision over Bellport’s Camryn Howard in the seventh-place match.
Zanetti said that Beaury “did really well,” noting that the 126-pound weight class was particularly strong.
“The seeds don’t really matter much at states,” Zanetti said. “He’s a tenth-grader, he battled a lot of older kids than him.”
Palleschi beat Canandaigua’s Mason Depew in the opening round, avenging a loss to Depew earlier in the season on Jan. 21. Palleschi fell to top-seeded Zack Ryder of Minisink Valley in the quarterfinals, and bounced back by winning his opening consolation match over Bethlehem’s Quincy Bonville. Palleschi lost to Pine Bush’s Braydon Pennell in the second consolation match, and dropped a 6-2 decision to Orchard Park’s Jack MacDonald in the seventh-place match.
Zanetti said it was nice to see Palleschi avenge his earlier loss to Depew, which came in sudden victory during the King Bison Invitational at Shaker High School.
“For him to get a ‘W’, that was really nice,” said Zanetti.
Spadafora lost his opening round match to Nyack’s Sam Szerlip, defeating Lancaster’s Mikey Schaefer in the consolation rounds. Spadafora fell to Clarke’s Justin Soriano in the third consolation round.
“(Vito has) been a key program guy for a long time, so for him to get to the state tournament was really fun for him,” said Zanetti.
McKinley earned a 5-3 sudden victory decision over Davit Abjandadze of Edward R. Murrow High School, falling to Gallo, the eventual state champion at 215 pounds, in the quarterfinals. McKinley beat Josh Amiel of John F. Kennedy (Bellmore) by 4-3 ultimate tiebreaker in the first consolation match, falling to MacArthur’s Ben Velasquez by 7-2 decision in his second consolation match.
Zanetti described McKinley as “a total Cinderella story,” saying he emerged as one of the team’s top wrestlers midway through the season.
“Once he started showing signs of that, it was great for him to get out there,” Zanetti said.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Karate, judo, jiu-jitsu, wrestling, Muay Thai. You name it, and Don Walton likely utilized it during his professional MMA debut on Feb. 18.
Walton, a coach and trainer at the Saratoga Academy of Elite Martial Arts, defeated Jason LaPage as part of the Battle in Barre 9 in Barre, Vermont. The match was Walton’s first professional fight.
“It hasn’t become real yet,” said Walton of his victory. “It still is kind of sinking in a little bit. But it’s just nice to be able to watch all the years of suffering and hard work that I’ve been through finally come to fruition, and show something.”
Walton has been training at the Saratoga Academy of Elite Martial Arts since 2012, beginning as a student. Walton is a black belt in Kyokushin karate, a four-stripe brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a yellow belt in judo, and will be receiving his jiu jitsu black belt soon, said Saratoga Academy of Elite Martial Arts head instructor Jim Bruchac.
Eventually, looking to increase his skills, he headed west to advance his training at Kings MMA in Huntington Beach, California. There, he worked with highly acclaimed trainer Rafael Cordeiro, who has trained fighters such as Anderson Silva, Maurício Rua, Wanderlei Silva, and more.
“It just was really amazing,” said Walton of the experience. “I just fell in love with it, I loved everything about it.”
After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, however, Walton ultimately moved back to the Capital Region. Initially, Walton was unsure if he wanted to continue fighting, but said the itch eventually returned.
Walton’s professional debut would not come without its hurdles, however. His initial opponent dropped out due to an injury, and Walton’s first professional opportunity did not come until a year later.
Walton said in order to stay prepared, he simply tried “not to focus too much on the fight.”
“I tell people, if all you do is focus on trying to be a fighter, you’re going to burn yourself out,” said Walton. “You physically and mentally cannot be focused on fighting all the time.”
That’s where his role as a teacher comes in. Walton said he focuses most of his time on being a martial artist and a teacher at the Saratoga Academy of Elite Martial Arts, saying it is “more rewarding” to watch another person develop their skills.
“I really enjoy teaching more than anything else. Fighting is really fun, don’t get me wrong,” Walton said. “But it’s more rewarding to me to watch someone else develop themselves in a way, where I get to play a role in that myself.”
Walton runs the Academy’s muay thai programs for both adults and children, and is a camp instructor at the martial arts school at Ndakinna Education Center, Bruchac said.
“We have some very competitive kids in both those arenas,” said Bruchac. “Right after winning his fight, he was helping us run one of our youth camps, our nine-year-old group.”
Eventually, the day of Walton’s fight came, and saw him utilize a wide variety of moves in order to capture a win via leg lock in the second round. Walton said the skill learned from a variety of styles has been invaluable.
“In this fight, I got to use muay thai. I used karate, I used judo, I used wrestling, I used jiu-jitsu. Just everything that we do here,” said Walton.
Bruchac said Walton is ultimately fighting “for his students,” providing a real-world example of the moves and methods that the Academy teaches.
“To highlight what we teach at our school, to show things come to fruition in a real situation like a sports situation, and then be able to pass that on to his students,” said Bruchac. “He fully illustrated all that we offer at the school in brilliant fashion.”
“For me, I like to say this is the example,” Walton said. “You see now why I require you to understand judo, why I require you to understand wrestling. … It’s not just about punching people, you have to also be able to deal with every possible scenario.”
As for the future, Walton said that while he has been offered more professional opportunities, he will likely only fight “once or twice a year.”
“At the end of the day, my career is a coach and a martial artist,” Walton said. “I hope to get back in there again before the end of the year. But right now, we’ve got other guys on our team that I’m trying to help bring up. I’ve got some guys that might be fighting in March and April, so I want to help those guys first.”
Walton said that ultimately, professional fights are a way for him to test himself.
“For me, I like to push myself to the limit and just be able to find out, how far can I go? How far can I push my body?” said Walton. “Win or lose, I don’t care. It’s all about me testing myself and my skills. It’s not about me proving anything to anyone other than myself.”
QUEENSBURY — The Saratoga Springs varsity boys’ alpine ski team captured the Section 2 Championship for the fifth consecutive year on Wednesday, placing first overall out of 13 teams at West Mountain.
Nick Verdile enters the court during the Scotties’ senior night ceremony on Jan. 11. Photos by Super Source Media Studios.
BALLSTON SPA — Nick and Olivia Verdile, senior twins for the Ballston Spa varsity boys’ and girls’ basketball teams, have each emerged as stars for their respective Scotties teams. But while the duo will move on to college in the fall, they will still be representing the same school.
The Verdile twins have each committed to play basketball at Suffolk University in Boston. Ironically, they did not discuss their decisions with each other, with Nick saying, “We just happened to pick the same school.”
“During the whole recruiting process, we didn’t really talk much until the end,” said Nick Verdile. “I kind of had my schools that I was focusing on, and she had hers.”
Olivia Verdile said part of Suffolk’s appeal was its location in Boston, saying she “always wanted to go to Boston.”
“I thought it would be really cool to experience that when I was still younger,” Olivia Verdile said. “That was kind of what drew me there.”
Nick echoed this, adding that he felt he could be a good fit with the Rams’ offense.
“When I was being recruited, I felt like I connected with their coach very easily,” Nick said. “And just seeing how they run their offense, I felt like I could fit in there.”
Both twins said they grew up around the game, noting that their family is “a big basketball family.”
“My dad really got me into basketball at a young age,” said Nick. “He’s just been such a big fan of it, he would take me to all the high school games in our area growing up. So I always thought that was cool, and I wanted to play at that level.”
The game has helped bring the duo closer together, especially during the COVID-19 quarantine, they said.
“She was like really my only friend at home,” Nick said. “I couldn’t see anyone else. The only person I played basketball with was her, so I feel like that definitely brought us closer together and helped both of us out.”
“We never really like argued or anything a lot,” added Olivia. “We were always in the gym together.”
Nick Verdile, the leading scorer for the Scotties’ boys team, has helped guide Ballston Spa to one of the best regular seasons in team history, finishing 18-1 and winning the Suburban Council Championship for the first time. The Scotties will play the winner of #8-seed Colonie and #9-seed Albany in the Section 2 Class AA quarterfinals on Sunday.
“It’s a great feeling, obviously,” said Nick of the team’s regular season. “Except now, that doesn’t really matter going into the playoffs. Every team has the same record. We’ve just got to focus on winning every game.”
Olivia Verdile is also the leading scorer for the Ballston Spa girls’ team, who finished the regular season at 8-12. The Scotties fell to #8-seed Guilderland, 57-47, in the opening round of the Section 2 Class AA playoffs on Feb. 18.
Olivia credited first-year head coach David Morse for “changing the environment” around the team, saying he has provided a boost of positive energy to the program.
“We hadn’t been the most successful team over the years, but I think he stresses the idea of getting girls to come back, and just positive energy all-around,” Olivia said. “Even if we’re not succeeding at our final outcome, maybe in a game, we’re still finding little things that we’re improving upon every game.”
Nick also credited Ballston Spa boys coach Ben Eldridge for his trust in the Scotties’ boys’ team, saying many of their players have been playing together for a “very long time.”
“I feel like it’s great that he really just allows us to play our game,” said Nick. “We’ve been playing for so long, so he kind of understands that we’ve built a pretty good chemistry. He says he does most of his work in practice. He talks and prepares us for the games, and then in the games, hopefully he doesn’t have to coach that much, and we know what to do, the right things, and the right situations.”
And the goal for the Ballston Spa boys’ team is simple: a sectional championship.
“I’ve been thinking about that since fourth grade,” said Nick. “Ever since I started playing, that was the end goal. All the work that we put in the offseason was to win a sectional championship, win those games. It would definitely be cool, especially winning it with all my buddies.”
“Like he said, that’s always been the end goal and always been the talk in our family,” added Olivia. “I think it would just be really awesome to see.”
The duo also said it has been great to see each other’s work pay off over the years.
“I think it’s just cool to see her hard work, and just making the people around her happy, making our parents proud,” said Nick.
“It’s awesome to see his hard work has paid off,” Olivia said. “It’s just nice to see each other be successful after all that we’ve put into it.”
LATHAM — The Saratoga Springs varsity gymnastics team continued their remarkable run last week, capturing the team’s 21st consecutive Section 2 Championship on Feb. 15.
The Blue Streaks will send six competitors to states: Olivia Allen, Maddie Austin, Gia DiMaggio, Lily McKinley, Ellie Ott, and Charlie Gleeksman.
Bethlehem’s Kate Browne was the top all-around finisher. Austin placed second all-around, while Ott placed third, powered by a first-place finish in vault events.
Browne took first overall in the uneven bars, while Guilderland’s Addison Seebode placed first in both the balance beam and floor events.
UTICA — The final result wasn’t what they had hoped for, but it’s difficult to imagine a much better inaugural season for the Adirondack United varsity girls’ hockey team.
United fell to Section III’s Clinton, 2-1, in the NYSPHSAA Regional Final on Saturday, coming up just short of a state championship. Head coach Jeff Willis said it was an “incredible accomplishment” to reach the final game of the year.
“We’ve really made a name for ourselves,” said Willis. “More importantly, looking at things long-term, I wanted to develop a culture. Not only a team culture, but an attitude, a winning culture. We successfully did that.”
United finished their first season with an overall record of 19-2-0. The team advanced to Saturday’s final after defeating Canton (Section X) 4-1 in the regional semifinals on Friday.
United got out to a quick start in the semifinals, taking an early 2-0 lead on goals by Emily MacAuley and Lillian Willis. The Bears responded, with a 5-on-3 powerplay goal by Anna Hoose making it 2-1, but United answered with a goal by Bayley Duffy to take a 3-1 lead after the first period.
Neither team was able to score again until the final minute, when an empty-net goal by Duffy locked up a 4-1 final score and a spot in Saturday’s title game.
Saturday saw United take on a familiar foe in Clinton. The two teams played twice during the regular season, splitting a pair of meetings on Jan. 2 and Jan. 20.
Similar to Friday’s win, United jumped out to a strong start, taking a 1-0 lead just over five minutes in after Lillian Willis danced around a defender and beat Clinton goaltender Casey Clausen.
“We were trying just to convince Lillian that she needs to walk in and shoot more,” said Willis of the game’s opening goal. “In the latter part of the season, especially the last two weeks, she’s done a lot more of that and been really successful.”
But the Warriors responded, tying the game just over a minute later. MacKinley Ronan threw a shot on goal that deflected off an Adirondack defender and past goalie Ava Reynolds.
Adirondack settled in and outshot Clinton 25-9 in the game but couldn’t crack Clausen for another goal. Willis referred to the Warriors’ netminder as “one of the best goaltenders in New York State.”
“We just didn’t move the puck fast enough or release the puck quick enough to beat her,” said Willis. “When you look at the 5-0 game that we had against Clinton (on Jan. 20), we did an excellent job of that. They took away our time and space and didn’t give us as many opportunities.”
With under two minutes remaining, an Adirondack shot was blocked and turned into a 2-on-1 rush for Clinton, with Drew Kopek beating Reynolds to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead. United threw several chances on net in the final minutes but were unable to even the score.
Despite the tough loss, Willis said “there were a ton of successes,” to take away from the season, and emphasized the future of the program.
“It’s not just about this season, it’s about what this turns into,” said Willis. “There was a whole 12U Northstars team that showed up because they were playing out in the area, and they stopped in to watch and support this team. That’s where I start to see the impact.”
And while the championship loss is still fresh, Willis said he and the rest of the team’s coaching staff have already begun looking to next year. Though the United team was mostly unknown around the state before the start of this season, they are likely to deal with some high expectations in the fall.
“Next year will be a little bit different, because there will be expectations,” Willis acknowledged. “It’ll be up to the kids as to how much they develop over the summer, as to where we start next season. But we have every intention of hopefully coming out just as strong next year.”
The Ballston Spa varsity wrestling team, pictured at the 2023 Section 2 Championships at Cool Insuring Arena on Feb. 4. Photo provided by Harvey Staulters.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Five local wrestlers earned Section 2 Division 1 Championships over the weekend, with eight wrestlers in total clinching their spots at the NYSPHSAA State Championships.
Ralph Keeney, Connor Gregory, and Darrien Insogna all captured Section 2 Division 1 Championships in their respective weight classes for Ballston Spa. Saratoga’s Taylor Beaury won the Section 2 Division 1 Championship at 126 pounds, while teammate Lorenzo Palleschi won the Section 2 Division 1 title at 189 pounds.
Saratoga’s Vito Spadafora and Patrick McKinley each finished as runner-ups in their weight classes, clinching a spot at the NYSPHSAA State Championships. Cameron Hinchcliff also finished as a runner-up for the Scotties and earned a spot at states.
Both Saratoga and Ballston Spa will send four wrestlers each to the NYSPHSAA State Championships, held Feb. 24 at MVP Arena.
Saratoga head coach Jake Zanetti had praise for his champions, saying Palleschi and Beaury both lead by example for the Blue Streak squad.
“It means a lot. These two have done everything right as far as setting themselves up to be successful on the mat,” said Zanetti. “This is not an easy sport, and those who’ve done it know that best, and for a young wrestler to be able to reap the benefits of their hard work, it’s a beautiful thing.”
Zanetti said he was “really proud” of Palleschi, a senior. He added that Beaury, a sophomore who also appeared at the state championships last season, has his sights set high this year.
“(Lorenzo is) an awesome young man, and he deserves all the recognition and respect his peers, teachers, and coaches give him,” Zanetti said. “Taylor getting to day two of states last year as a freshman was great, but he was not satisfied. He’s a sectional champ as a 10th grader, but again, he has much bigger goals in another week.”
Ballston Spa head coach Harvey Staulters said while it was great to see his wrestlers win section titles, all three have “much higher” goals this year. The trio of Keeney, Gregory, and Insogna also competed at the state championships last season.
“It’s a stepping stone now, for the next step,” said Staulters. “It was great to see that, but you could tell they have a little more to prove when they get to the next level.”
Beaury beat Shaker’s Alex Polsinello by technical fall in the quarterfinals, pinning Shen’s Brandon Deuel in the semifinals. Beaury earned a 6-4 decision over Ballston Spa’s Cameron Hinchcliff in the championship match.
Palleschi earned pins in each of his first two matches, defeating Schenectady’s Anthony Paradine and Burnt Hills’ Santino Mareno before earning a 3-2 decision over Quincy Bonville (Bethlehem) in the championship.
Spadafora beat Averill Park’s Elias Goosmann in the quarterfinals and Shaker’s Malachi Moore in a tiebreaker in the semifinals, falling to Shen’s Arman Hashimee in the championship match at 172 pounds.
At 215 pounds, McKinley defeated Shen’s Caleb Janikas in the quarterfinals and earned a sudden victory decision over Colonie’s Jaydon Aquirre-Hamlin in the semifinals. McKinley fell to Insogna in the championship match.
On the Scotties’ side, Keeney earned wins by fall in all three rounds, pinning Queensbury’s A.J. Spero, Schenectady’s Xavier Vargas, and Niskayuna’s Drew Schiavo to win the Section 2 Div. 1 title at 110 pounds. Gregory pinned Alwalid Bourkia (Scotia-Glenville/Galway) and Matthew Hoxie (Columbia) in his first two matches, winning the sectional title at 160 pounds after earning an 11-3 major decision over Queensbury’s Lucas Schell.
Wrestling at 215 pounds, Insogna pinned his first two opponents in a combined 1:02, defeating Shaker’s Nicholas Whyte and Guilderland’s Antonio Cipollo. Insogna pinned McKinley in the championship match.
Hinchcliff earned his spot at states after advancing to the championship at 126 pounds with wins over Shen’s Arcangelo Losee and Averill Park’s Jacob Hanlon. Hinchcliff fell to Beaury in the championship match.
The head coaches of both teams also received honors, as Zanetti was named Section 2 Class A Coach of the Year, and Staulters was awarded Section 2 Class B Coach of the Year.
“It is an honor, but I keep telling people it should be ‘Coaching Staff of the Year,’” Zanetti said of his award. “No programs get to the top-tier of the section or state with one solid coach. … We’ve still got a long way to go on where we want to be, but it has been a lot of fun to put in the work on our end as a coaching staff.”
Staulters said it was “a wonderful honor,” noting it was made even more special by the fact that Scotties’ JV coach Gene Staulters, Harvey’s brother, was awarded Class B JV Coach of the Year.
“That’s special,” said Staulters. “We’ve worked together for a long time. Just a great working relationship, and of course, being brothers, a friendship too. For him to get the award with me is fantastic.”
The Ballston Spa team was also awarded the Section 2 Division 1 Team Sportsmanship award, the second straight year the Scotties have received the honor. Staulters said this speaks to the character of his athletes, saying the team has “wonderful young men and women.”
Keeney, Gregory, Insogna, and Hinchcliff will be the Scotties’ representatives at states on Feb. 24. Staulters said that the team will “take advantage of every opportunity we have,” in the days leading up to state competition.
“We are going to spend the time wisely when we’re together,” Staulters said. “The three that we had last year, they understand the situation they’re in. So they know that there’s a little more expectation, but also, they have higher expectations for themselves.”
Beaury, Palleschi, Spadafora, and McKinley will head to state competition for Saratoga. Zanetti said he is emphasizing to his athletes “that they cannot be happy with just qualifying and being there.”
“The seed number next to their name is no longer relevant, and all that matters is the next match, and doing what it takes to survive and advance,” said Zanetti. “The work is never done for these high-level guys, and they’ve got to know that they belong amongst the best in the state.”
Burnt Hills/Ballston Spa varsity hockey seniors pose for a photo with their families prior to the team’s senior night game against the GMSVS Storm on Feb. 11. (Dylan McGlynn photo).
GLENVILLE — The Burnt Hills/Ballston Spa varsity hockey team honored its nine seniors with a senior night ceremony prior to the team’s regular-season finale on Saturday.
BH/BS has nine seniors: Parker Caswell, Will Mehling, Noah Pickard, Thomas Pustolka, Alex Shear, Joseph Spade, Bernie Townsend, Aidan Trask, and Jeffrey Tuccillo.
BH/BS fell to the GMSVS Storm by a 2-1 final score. A.J. LeBlanc scored for BH/BS, while Gavin Tribley and Jacob Boni had assists.
Shane McKone stopped 52 shots in goal for GMSVS. Dylan Bzdell and Keegan McGovern scored goals in the win for the Storm.
