SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Racecourse will return to the national stage this summer thanks to FOX’s “Saratoga Saturday” TV coverage. Starting Saturday, July 20, FOX will broadcast some of this season’s biggest races, including the Travers Stakes and the Whitney Stakes.
Below is the schedule for this year’s “Saratoga Saturday” program on FOX.
GLENS FALLS — The Glens Falls Dragons, a collegiate baseball team with a number of players from Saratoga County, has had a rough start to the 2024 season. As of June 19, their record stood at 3-10-1. Despite this, a number of players have stood out for their individual performances.
Justin Gouveia, a sophomore outfielder, is hitting .313 with 4 doubles and a triple in 11 games. Cody Meier, also a sophomore, is batting .300 with 5 stolen bases.
On the mound, southpaw starter Alfonso Lombardi has a 2.57 ERA across 14 innings, tallying 11 strikeouts and only 2 walks. Senior Orlando Leon has also impressed, with a 3.17 ERA in 11.1 innings.
Where the Dragons really seem to shine is on defense, where they have two players who rank within the top six league leaders in fielding percentage. Caden Bernardo, from Glenmont, New York, and Zowen Collins, from Cobleskill, both have a 1.000 fielding percentage on the year. Bernardo also has 46 putouts in 45 innings of play.
Elsewhere across the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL), East Greenbush native Zach Eldred has been doing his best Shohei Ohtani impression, hitting .367 and maintaining a 1.84 ERA in 3 starts. Reliever Jesse Kuzmich, from Greenwich, has a perfect 0.00 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 12 innings. And Troy’s Jacob Lapham has a 1.63 ERA and 16 K’s in 11 innings.
Another PGCBL team, the Amsterdam Mohawks, who were league champions in both 2023 and 2022, also feature a number players from the Saratoga region, including Zach Eldred (East Greenbush), Parker Aikens (Niskayuna), Manny Santos (Amsterdam), James Redick (Clifton Park), Mason Veronezi (Burnt Hills), and Ben Huckans (Amsterdam).
The Mohawks and Dragons will face off on Friday, June 21 at the East Field in Glens Falls at 7 p.m., and again on Saturday, June 29 at the Rao Family Stadium in Amsterdam at 6:35 p.m.
The Catie Hoch Foundation’s Teeing Off On Cancer Golf Classic will take place at the McGregor Links Country Club. Photos via the foundation’s website.
WILTON — When nine-year-old Catie Hoch was alive, she wanted other kids battling cancer to find ways to have fun. Shortly before she passed away, she made a list of her favorite “fun” places that other kids could go to. It was this list that led to the creation of the Catie Hoch Foundation, which for decades has been raising money for kids with cancer, in part via events like the upcoming Teeing Off On Cancer Golf Classic.
“It’s a great day,” said Gina Peca, Catie’s mom and a co-founder of the foundation. “It’s just so much fun, and you can see the golfers’ commitment to our cause.”
Nearly 200 people attended last year’s event, which typically raises between $85,000 and $100,000 annually. The funds are sent to families with children being treated for cancer, in the form of cash or gift cards for basic necessities such as gas, groceries, and shopping.
“Our golfers know that they’re truly making a difference,” Peca said. “This money isn’t going to go into the atmosphere. It’s directly helping the kids and their families.”
In keeping with Catie’s desire to have fun, the tournament includes prizes for closest to the pin, longest drive, and best foursome. There’s also a putting contest and a golf ball launcher.
The action all takes place at the McGregor Links Country Club in Wilton, which shuts down the entire course for the event. A morning flight begins at 7:30 a.m. and an afternoon flight starts at 1 p.m.
Launched more than two decades ago, the Catie Hoch Foundation has attracted nationwide attention, thanks in part to a 2003 “Time” magazine cover story about the Harry Potter book series, and its author J.K. Rowling.
“A friend of mine somehow got in touch with [Rowling] and she and Catie emailed back and forth,” Peca said. When Rowling heard that Catie had about two weeks left to live, she called and read to her from “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” which at the time hadn’t yet been published. A year later, Peca said, Rowling donated $100,000 to the foundation.
“It was just amazing,” Peca said. “This [foundation] is a way to keep Catie’s memory alive and to really make a difference for these poor families. Having been there, we know what they’re facing.”
The Teeing Off On Cancer Golf Classic will take place at the McGregor Links Country Club in Wilton on Saturday, September 7. For more information or to register, visit www.teeingoffoncancer.org. Those not interested in playing golf can also contribute by being a sponsor, sending a gift, or donating funds.
The Ballston Spa girls relay team of Gabrielle Bozeth, Harriet Healey, Tatiana McCray, and Petrina Zborovszky pose in front of Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania. Photo via Assistant Coach Matt Germann’s @CoachGermann X account.
BALLSTON SPA — The Ballston Spa High School girls track and field team put together an impressive showing at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor 2024 meet at the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field in Philadelphia last weekend.
The relay team of Gabrielle Bozeth, Harriet Healey, Tatiana McCray, and Petrina Zborovszky finished 14th in the 1600 sprint medley, 18th in the 4×200, and 23rd in the 4×100. According toAssistant Coach Matt Germann, the results included two new school records. “These four continue to amaze me,” Germann wrote after the event.
Ballston Spa runners also made appearances in elite boys events at the Adidas Track Nationals in Greensboro, North Carolina last weekend.
Devin Hemraj placed 20th in the 110m hurdles prelims. Kala’i Makanani was 50th in the 400m dash finals, and 106th in the 200m dash prelims. Michael Stamper also finished 128th in the 100m dash prelims.
Headshot of Jackson Hornung via the Vancouver Canadians website.
VANCOUVER — Jackson Hornung, the first Skidmore College alum to be drafted by a professional sports team, socked a two-run homer in the first inning of a Vancouver Canadians game on Sunday. The game went into extra innings, although the Canadians (the High-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays) fell short in the contest, 5-4.
The ex-Thoroughbred has continued to bolster his numbers throughout his first season in High-A. His .630 OPS in May improved to .668 by mid-June, and his fielding percentage at the catcher position this season was .996. He’s also played nine games at first base.
Flutters of Hope Pickleball Classic logo via the organization’s website.
WILTON — Flutters of Hope, a nonprofit that helps people from the Capital Region battle eating disorders, is holding a charity pickleball tournament at the McGregor Links Golf Club on Saturday, June 15 and Sunday, June 16. More than 100 players are expected to participate.
For more information or to support the event, visit www.fluttersofhopeinc.org/pickleball-classic.
Kyle Tran throws an opponent during the Tahiti Open on June 2. Photo provided by Jason Morris.
TAHITI— Burnt Hills High School graduate Kyle Tran from the Jason Morris Judo Center (JMJC) in Glenville went 3-1 to earn a 60 kg bronze medal at the Tahiti Open on June 2.
Tran became the youngest JMJC athlete to win a World Cup medal on the International Judo Federation World Tour. He now debuts on the world rankings at #222, becoming the youngest JMJC athlete to enter the world rankings. The JMJC currently has 11 athletes on the world ranking list.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Skidmore College unveiled its Fall 2024 sports schedules last week.
Opening days for each program are as follows:
Field hockey – August 30 (at home)
Women’s volleyball – August 30
Men’s soccer – August 30
Women’s soccer – August 30
Women’s tennis – September 13 (at home)
Men’s golf – September 14
Men’s tennis – September 21
Rowing – October 19
Some local highlights include the Head of the Fish Regatta rowing race on October 26; the men’s golf Skidmore Invitational on October 12 and 13; men’s tennis Skidmore Invitational October 12-14; and the women’s tennis Battle of the Northway September 13-15.
Runners participate in the 2023 Firecracker4 road race. Photo by Super Source Media.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Eighteen years ago, the Firecracker4 was a modest race on July 4th with about 150 runners that raised money for high school running programs in Saratoga Springs. Now, it’s an ever-evolving event with thousands of participants and grand plans for the future.
“We can put 10,000 people on that course, and we’re going to before this is all over,” said Charles Woodruff, one of the race organizers and a co-owner of the Fleet Feet running stores in Albany and Malta. “It’s a very compelling race to be involved in.”
This year, Woodruff and fellow race organizer Peter Goutos, president of CASmith LLC, are aiming for around 3,000 participants, which would be 900 more than last year.
The race advertises itself with its appealing four-mile course that winds through downtown Saratoga Springs and the east side of the city, past historic homes and dozens of musical acts that range from singers to saxophone players to percussionists. But growing the race necessitates new initiatives every year, as well as continued community engagement.
This year, Woodruff is inviting local schools to put alumni teams together. An area in the parking lot has been set aside for alumni team tents, which could house both younger and older graduates. Saratoga Springs, Colonie, Bethlehem, and East Greenwich school districts are already lined up to participate, though Woodruff is still recruiting more.
More runners of course means more funds raised for the community, and the Firecracker4 has supported a number of running and health-related projects, including the Saratoga Regional YMCA, local running clubs, the Railroad Run trail in Saratoga Springs, and the Pitney Meadows Community Farm trail system, which Goutos and Woodruff designed and built. All told, $400,000 has been raised for the community over the race’s 18-year history.
Part of Goutos and Woodruff’s mission is not just to expand the number of local trails, but to connect them. Goutos helped put together the Saratoga Greenbelt Trail, a planned 24-mile path that will connect residential neighborhoods to the downtown area, allowing pedestrians and bicyclists to easily get around the city.
“This has gotten much more involved than I ever dreamed it would,” Woodruff said.
As the race continues to grow and expand its influence on the region, there’s one simple message that the organizers like to emphasize: running is for everyone.
“I don’t even call running ‘running’ anymore. I call it just simply moving with purpose,” Woodruff said. “That’s what we’re trying to do, attract all of those people that we can of every demographic that you can possibly think of that just want to come out for an hour on July 4th in the morning and move with purpose.”
The four-mile Firecracker4 road race begins at 9 a.m. on Thursday, July 4th outside the Saratoga Springs City Center at 522 Broadway. This year’s sponsors include Death Wish Coffee, Fleet Feet, and Greenwich Ford. For more information or to register, visit firecracker4.com.
The Ballston Spa Central School District’s Wood Road Archery Club had 30 participants this spring. Students were instructed with National Archery in Schools Program (NASP) guidelines. They competed in the annual Wood Road Archery Tournament, and are now eligible to participate in any NASP tournaments within New York State. Photo via the Ballston Spa School District website.
