Ninja Labs Send Athletes to National Ninja League World Championships

MALTA — The Ninja Labs (Saratoga Ninja Lab in Malta and Albany Ninja Lab in Crossgates Commons) will be well represented at the National Ninja League World Championships in Greensboro, NC next week (February 21-32, 2020) when 18 ninjas from the Capital District will join competitors from all over the world to vie for the title of National Ninja League
World Champion.   

Each of the local youth ninjas, ranging in age from 7 to 15, along with three of the Saratoga Ninja Lab coaches (some of whom have competed on the hit show American Ninja Warrior), qualified for the World Championships by swinging, climbing, jumping and parkouring their way through various  NNL obstacle course competitions throughout the season, including one held at the Saratoga Ninja Lab back in December.  Many of the athletes not only qualified at these competitions, but many also podiumed at some of these events, finishing in the top three for their age divisions.

Inspired by NBC’s hit television show American Ninja Warrior, Saratoga Ninja Lab (saratoganinjalab.com) opened in August of 2018 and has taken the region by storm. Driven by its success, less than a year later a second location was opened in Crossgates Commons – Albany Ninja Lab (albanyninjalab.com). 

Ninja has become a new way to train and at the Ninja Labs, it’s understood that fitness should always be fun! 

The Ninja Labs also provide summer camps, birthday parties, and competition teams.

The National Ninja League (www.nationalninja.com) is a nonprofit formed by a collection of the nation’s top Ninja facilities.  Their goal is to promote the sport of Ninja obstacle courses across America and provide an opportunity for all ages to get more involved in this rapidly growing sport. 

For more information visit saratoganinjalab.com or albanyninjalab.com 

YOUTH ATHLETES

Joseph Barr • Fort Plains
Keegan Daly • Saratoga Springs
Lucas Davis • Schaghticoke
Jason Hagglove • Mechanicville
Annika Kilinski • Ballston Spa
Jaazib Ismail • Guilderland
Avery Mackenzie • Albany
Jackson Mackenzie • Albany
Ryder Mackenzie • Albany
Jackson Marshall • Clifton Park
Megan May • Delmar
Peter Ruscetta • Rensselaer
Sophia Salmon • Saratoga Springs
Abby Snyder • Scotia
Aiden Snyder • Scotia

ADULT ATHLETES / COACHES

Emily Holmes • Albany
Shelby Mack • Heuvelton
Geoff Snyder • Scotia

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Eric Griskowitz, a senior on the varsity wrestling squad at Saratoga Springs CSD has been wrestling since he was five-years-old after his dad, Greg, found him “climbing up the banisters” in his house.

“Then my dad just brought me to wrestling one day and I wrestled this kid named John Roux. I had no wrestling shoes, I was so nervous, but I went and it wasn’t too bad so I kept going back, although I didn’t want to continue at first,” Griskowitz continued.

And it’s a good thing for Saratoga Springs that he did decide to continue: Griskowitz recently placed first at 145 lbs. in the Section II Championships, securing his 200th win in his varsity career in one fell swoop. He will be competing in the State Champions in two weeks.

The last two and a half years has not been easy for him, though. 

First, he tore his ACL/Meniscus during wrestling his sophomore year and then his rotator cuff during lacrosse last season. For 14 months, he was out of sports and recuperating with PT.

“That transition from wrestling to lacrosse is hard. I’m a goalie, I need to gain my weight back, which I can do pretty fast. I’m in shape already which is pretty good, but it’s a hard transition because I’m already in the wrestling mindset and I haven’t picked up a lacrosse stick in months,” Griskowitz explained.

Despite the ACL/Meniscus injury, he forged on and managed to place in the second sectional that season. 

This year is his comeback.

This is his first year as a Section II champion, and the 20th to ever come from Saratoga Springs.

“It was my biggest goal this season,” he said.

“I was so happy, I walked up to the stands, gave my parents a hug, and then I started to get teary,” he laughed.

“After that, I came home and hung out with a couple of my closest friends and we ordered Domino’s and had some fun,” he stated.

“States is next. I’m hoping to place, I have no clue what seed I’ll be. Last year I was a 4-seed, which was shocking to me,” he continued.

A “seed” is when players and teams are “planted” into a bracket in a way that uses statistics so the “best of the best” do no meet until later in the competition.

The team consisted of a lot of freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, with only five seniors.

“It’ll be a great team, just won’t be big for a couple of years until they start developing and getting better. It’s a very individual sport so our team, I would say, struggled this year. We were a very young team and that definitely played a role in the lineup. There was a couple kids on our team that we had to rely on for wins and I was one of them. It put a lot of pressure on me but I still got it done a lot of the time,” Griskowitz said candidly.

Griskowitz did bounce from a few different weight categories this season but he did so with ease, barely losing any energy in the process.

“Basically, it’s two times working out a day. I have my practice and then I might go to the YMCA or for a run. Then, I cut back a lot on what I eat. I try not to eat anything that’s too unhealthy or as dense, that would cause me to gain a lot of weight,” he said, explaining his process.

His favorite foods when he isn’t wrestling? Bagels from Uncommon Grounds, yogurt, and sandwiches from the place his mom Gloria owns, Putnam Market.

He cites his father, Greg, as his biggest supporter and Patrick Egan.

“Pat was rooting for me all year. He knew exactly how many wins I had at every point in the season, just waiting for me to get to 200,” he said.

With his high school wrestling career coming to a close in two weeks, he took time to reflect on what his favorite part was: “Oh the victories, I love the victories. Making waves is always good but so is diving into my cooler and eating all the food,” he laughed, “but also the friendships I made along the way were insane.”

State Championships take place February 28 and 29 at the Times Union Center in Albany.

Good luck, Eric!

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Regional YMCA Springettes Gymnastics Team hosted five teams, with 240 gymnasts at the Wilton Branch for their Winter Invitational on February 8 and 9. The teams that attended were the Glens Falls YMCA, The Cortland YMCA, the Watertown YMCA, the Oneonta YMCA and the Glow YMCA. The Springettes Recognized three graduating seniors at their final home meet of the year- Level 8’s: Brynne Wright from Greenwich, and Camilla Greene and Kaylee Ferro from Saratoga. All three girls have been on the Springettes gymnastics team for between 8-10 years. Overall the Springettes had 10 individual allaround winners including: Katie Elder (level 7,
junior age group), Erin Ward (level 5, senior age group), Katherine Woods (level 5, junior age group), Allison Fuller (level 4, junior age group), Paige Cassidy (level 4 youth age group), Lily McKinley (level 3 youth age group), Andi Schiffer (level 3, senior age group), Evelyn Dunn (level 2, junior age group), Amelia Covey (level 2 youth age group), and Alexandra Crombach (level 2, child age group). Three of the girls winning the all-around swept their age divisions winning all of the events and the all-around including Katie Elder, Paige Cassidy and Lily McKinley. The Springettes also had 47 individual event champions at the competition (winning vault, bars, beam or floor in their age group).
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS • TOP 6 FINISHERS:
Week of February 21 – February 27, 2020 35 Sports Sports
Photo provided.
Springettes
LEVEL 8 SENIOR: Brynne Wright finished 5th on vault, 4th on bars, 1st on beam, 1st on floor and 2nd all-around. Camilla Greene placed 2nd on vault, 6th on bars, 3rd on beam, 2nd on floor and 4th all-around. Kaylee Ferro placed 5th on floor. LEVEL 7 SENIOR: Maggie Granger placed 2nd on vault, 4th on bars, 1st on beam, 4th on floor and 3rd all-around. Brooke Giacchetta placed 4th on vault, 3rd on bars, 5th on beam, 2nd on floor and 4th all-around. LEVEL 7 JUNIOR: Katie Elder swept the age group with a 1st on vault, 1st on bars, 1st on beam, 1st on floor and 1st allaround. Olivia Allen placed 3rd on vault, 3rd on bars, 3rd on beam, 3rd on floor and 2nd all-around. Sydney Crombach placed 2nd on vault, 5th on bars, 2nd on beam, 2nd on floor and 3rd all-around. Samantha Tennyson placed 5th on beam. LEVEL 6 SENIOR: Annie Munn placed 2nd on vault, 2nd on bars, 2nd on beam, 4th on floor and 2nd all-around. LEVEL 6 JUNIOR: Lia Mahar placed 1st on vault, 4th on bars, 4th on beam, 1st on floor and 3rd all-around.
LEVEL 6 YOUTH: Ava Peruffo placed 3rd on vault, 2nd on bars, 2nd on beam, 1st on floor and 3rd all-around. LEVEL 5 SENIOR: Erin Ward placed 2nd on vault, 3rd on bars, 1st on beam, 1st on floor and 1st all-around. Alyssa Glaser placed 3rd on vault, 2nd on bars, 2nd on beam, 2nd on floor and 2nd all-around. Alexi Glaser placed 1st on vault, 1st on bars, 5th on beam, 3rd on floor and 3rd all-around. Emily Bailey placed 5th on vault, 4th on bars, 4th on beam, 4th on floor and 4th all-around. LEVEL 5 JUNIOR: Katherine Woods placed 1st on vault, 3rd on bars, 2nd on beam, 1st on floor and 1st all-around. Annabelle Schuck placed 3rd on vault, 4th on bars, 3rd on beam, 2nd on floor and 3rd all-around. Adeline Ballou placed 4th on vault, 2nd on bars, 4th on beam, 3rd on floor and 4th all-around. LEVEL 5 YOUTH: Hannah Carpenter placed 3rd on vault, 3rd on bars, 2nd on beam, 1st on floor and 2nd all-around. LEVEL 4 SENIOR: Allison Fuller placed 1st on vault, 3rd on bars, 1st on beam, 6th on floor and 1st all-around. Katie
Henry placed 3rd on vault, 1st on bars, 4th on beam, 4th on floor and 2nd all-around. Grace Agati placed 6th on vault, 6th on bars, 3rd on beam, 5th on floor and 5th all-around. Aislin Noonan placed 4th on vault, 5th on bars, 1st on floor and 6th all around. Madilynn Austin placed 4th on bars. LEVEL 4 JUNIOR: Meghan Lynch placed 2nd on vault, 3rd on bars, 4th on beam, 2nd on floor and 2nd all-around. Gianna DiMaggio placed 5th on vault, 5th on bars, 2nd on beam, 3rd on floor and 3rd all-around. Roisin Finnegan placed 4th on bars, 1st on beam, 6th on floor and 4th all-around. Tessa Olechowski placed 6th on vault, 2nd on bars, 6th on beam, 4th on floor and 5th all-around. LEVEL 4 YOUTH: Paige Cassidy swept 1st place on vault, bars, beam, floor and 1st in the all-around. Elsie-Anna Williams placed 4th on vault, 3rd on bars, 2nd on beam, 2nd on floor and 2nd all-around. Fiona Mulcahy placed 3rd on vault, 4th on bars, 3rd on beam, 5th on floor and 3rd allaround. Alexis Britten placed 2nd on vault, 5th on bars, 5th on beam, 4th on floor and 5th all-around.
LEVEL 3 SENIOR: Andi Schiffer placed 1st on vault, 2nd on bars, 4th on beam, 2nd on floor and 1st all-around. Juliet McCaughey placed 3rd on vault, 1st on bars, 6th on beam, 1st on floor and 2nd all-around. Alexandra Endres placed 3rd on bars, 1st on beam, 3rd on floor and 3rd all-around. Emma Gaidasz placed 4th on bars, 3rd on beam, and 5th all-around. Julia Brobston placed 4th on vault, 5th on bars, 4th on floor and 5th all-around. LEVEL 3 JUNIOR A: Lola Ferrillo placed 1st on vault, 2nd on bars, 3rd on beam, 3rd on floor and 2nd all-around. Madalynne Seguin placed 4th on beam, 5th on floor and 5th all-around. Isabella Barrett placed 5th on beam, 6th on floor and 6th all-around. LEVEL 3 JUNIOR B: Emmi Shaw placed 6th on vault, 1st on bars, 3rd on beam, 2nd on floor and 2nd all-around. LEVEL 3 YOUTH B: Leigha McCanney placed 5th on vault, 3rd on bars, 2nd on beam, 3rd on vault, and 3rd all-around. LEVEL 3 CHILD A: Lily McKinley swept 1st place on vault, bars, beam, floor and 1st in the all-around.
LEVEL 3 CHILD B: Avaleigh Glaser placed 4th on vault, 1st on bars, 4th on beam, 3rd on vault and 2nd all-around. LEVEL 2 SENIOR: Vivienne Whitney placed 2nd on vault 1st on bars, 3rd on beam, 3rd on floor and 2nd all-around. Kaira Rawert placed 4th on vault, 3rd on bars, 2nd on beam, 1st on floor and 3rd all-around. LEVEL 2 JUNIOR A: Evelyn Dunn placed 2nd on vault, 2nd on bars, 1st on beam, 2nd on floor and 1st all-around. LEVEL 2 JUNIOR B: Amelia Covey placed 3rd on vault, 1st on bars, 1st on beam, 1st on floor and 1st all-around. Carissa Doherty placed 1st on vault, 3rd on bars, 6th on beam, 2nd on floor and 2nd all-around. Kendall Cicardi placed 6th on vault, 3rd on beam, 5th on floor and 6th all-around. Virginia Kirchherr placed 5th on vault, 6th on bars, and 3rd on floor. LEVEL 2 CHILD: Alexandra Crombach placed 5th on vault, 1st on bars, 3rd on beam, 2nd on floor and 1st allaround. Carson Cicardi placed 6th on bars, 1s ton beam, 1st on floor and 3rd all-around.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Regional YMCA Springettes Gymnastics Team hosted five teams, with 240 gymnasts at the Wilton Branch for their Winter Invitational on February 8 and 9.   The teams that attended were the Glens Falls YMCA, The Cortland YMCA, the Watertown YMCA, the Oneonta YMCA and the Glow YMCA. 

The Springettes Recognized three graduating seniors at their final home meet of the year- Level 8’s:  Brynne Wright from Greenwich, and Camilla Greene and Kaylee Ferro from Saratoga.  All three girls have been on the Springettes gymnastics team for between 8-10 years.   

Overall the Springettes had 10 individual all-around winners including:  Katie Elder (level 7, junior age group), Erin Ward (level 5, senior age group), Katherine Woods (level 5, junior age group), Allison Fuller (level 4, junior age group), Paige Cassidy (level 4 youth age group), Lily McKinley (level 3 youth age group), Andi Schiffer (level 3, senior age group), Evelyn Dunn (level 2, junior age group), Amelia Covey (level 2 youth age group), and Alexandra Crombach (level 2, child age group). 

Three of the girls winning the all-around swept their age divisions winning all of the events and the all-around including Katie Elder, Paige Cassidy and Lily McKinley. 

The Springettes also had 47 individual event champions at the competition (winning vault, bars, beam or floor in their age group). 

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS • TOP 6 FINISHERS:

Level 8 Senior: 
Brynne Wright finished 5th on vault, 4th on bars, 1st on beam, 1st on floor and 2nd all-around.  Camilla Greene placed 2nd on vault, 6th on bars, 3rd on beam, 2nd on floor and 4th all-around.  Kaylee Ferro placed 5th on floor. 

Level 7 Senior: 
Maggie Granger placed 2nd on vault, 4th on bars, 1st on beam, 4th on floor and 3rd all-around.  Brooke Giacchetta placed 4th on vault, 3rd on bars, 5th on beam, 2nd on floor and 4th all-around.   

Level 7 Junior:  
Katie Elder swept the age group with a 1st on vault, 1st on bars, 1st on beam, 1st on floor and 1st all-around.  Olivia Allen placed 3rd on vault, 3rd on bars, 3rd on beam, 3rd on floor and 2nd all-around.  Sydney Crombach placed 2nd on vault, 5th on bars, 2nd on beam, 2nd on floor and 3rd all-around.  Samantha Tennyson placed 5th on beam.

Level 6 Senior:  
Annie Munn placed 2nd on vault, 2nd on bars, 2nd on beam, 4th on floor and 2nd all-around. 

Level 6 Junior:  
Lia Mahar placed 1st on vault, 4th on bars, 4th on beam, 1st on floor and 3rd all-around.

Level 6 youth:  
Ava Peruffo placed 3rd on vault, 2nd on bars, 2nd on beam, 1st on floor and 3rd all-around. 

Level 5 Senior: 
Erin Ward placed 2nd on vault, 3rd on bars, 1st on beam, 1st on floor and 1st all-around.   Alyssa Glaser placed 3rd on vault, 2nd on bars, 2nd on beam, 2nd on floor and 2nd all-around.   Alexi Glaser placed 1st on vault, 1st on bars, 5th on beam, 3rd on floor and 3rd all-around.  Emily Bailey placed 5th on vault, 4th on bars, 4th on beam, 4th on floor and 4th all-around. 

Level 5 Junior:  
Katherine Woods placed 1st on vault, 3rd on bars, 2nd on beam, 1st on floor and 1st all-around.  Annabelle Schuck placed 3rd on vault, 4th on bars, 3rd on beam, 2nd on floor and 3rd all-around.  Adeline Ballou placed 4th on vault, 2nd on bars, 4th on beam, 3rd on floor and 4th all-around. 

Level 5 Youth: 
Hannah Carpenter placed 3rd on vault, 3rd on bars, 2nd on beam, 1st on floor and 2nd all-around.   

Level 4 Senior: 
Allison Fuller placed 1st on vault, 3rd on bars, 1st on beam, 6th on floor and 1st all-around.  Katie Henry placed 3rd on vault, 1st on bars, 4th on beam, 4th on floor and 2nd all-around.  Grace Agati placed 6th on vault, 6th on bars, 3rd on beam, 5th on floor and 5th all-around.  Aislin Noonan placed 4th on vault, 5th on bars, 1st on floor and 6th all around.  Madilynn Austin placed 4th on bars. 

Level 4 Junior: 
Meghan Lynch placed 2nd on vault, 3rd on bars, 4th on beam, 2nd on floor and 2nd all-around.  Gianna DiMaggio placed 5th on vault, 5th on bars, 2nd on beam, 3rd on floor and 3rd all-around.  Roisin Finnegan placed 4th on bars, 1st on beam, 6th on floor and 4th all-around.  Tessa Olechowski placed 6th on vault, 2nd on bars, 6th on beam, 4th on floor and 5th all-around. 

Level 4 Youth:  
Paige Cassidy swept 1st place on vault, bars, beam, floor and 1st in the all-around.  Elsie-Anna Williams placed 4th on vault, 3rd on bars, 2nd on beam, 2nd on floor and 2nd all-around.  Fiona Mulcahy placed 3rd on vault, 4th on bars, 3rd on beam, 5th on floor and 3rd all-around.  Alexis Britten placed 2nd on vault, 5th on bars, 5th on beam, 4th on floor and 5th all-around. 

Level 3 Senior: 
Andi Schiffer placed 1st on vault, 2nd on bars, 4th on beam, 2nd on floor and 1st all-around.  Juliet McCaughey placed 3rd on vault, 1st on bars, 6th on beam, 1st on floor and 2nd all-around.  Alexandra Endres placed 3rd on bars, 1st on beam, 3rd on floor and 3rd all-around.  Emma Gaidasz placed 4th on bars, 3rd on beam, and 5th all-around.  Julia Brobston placed 4th on vault, 5th on bars, 4th on floor and 5th all-around. 

Level 3 Junior A: 
Lola Ferrillo placed 1st on vault, 2nd on bars, 3rd on beam, 3rd on floor and 2nd all-around.  Madalynne Seguin placed 4th on beam, 5th on floor and 5th all-around.   Isabella Barrett placed 5th on beam, 6th on floor and 6th all-around. 

Level 3 Junior B: 
Emmi Shaw placed 6th on vault, 1st on bars, 3rd on beam, 2nd on floor and 2nd all-around.    

Level 3 Youth B:  
Leigha McCanney placed 5th on vault, 3rd on bars, 2nd on beam, 3rd on vault, and 3rd all-around. 

Level 3 Child A: 
Lily McKinley swept 1st place on vault, bars, beam, floor and 1st in the all-around.   

Level 3 Child B:  
Avaleigh Glaser placed 4th on vault, 1st on bars, 4th on beam, 3rd on vault and 2nd all-around. 

Level 2 Senior: 
Vivienne Whitney placed 2nd on vault 1st on bars, 3rd on beam, 3rd on floor and 2nd all-around.   Kaira Rawert placed 4th on vault, 3rd on bars, 2nd on beam, 1st on floor and 3rd all-around. 

Level 2 Junior A:  
Evelyn Dunn placed 2nd on vault, 2nd on bars, 1st on beam, 2nd on floor and 1st all-around. 

Level 2 Junior B:  
Amelia Covey placed 3rd on vault, 1st on bars, 1st on beam, 1st on floor and 1st all-around.  Carissa Doherty placed 1st on vault, 3rd on bars, 6th on beam, 2nd on floor and 2nd all-around.  Kendall Cicardi placed 6th on vault, 3rd on beam, 5th on floor and 6th all-around.  Virginia Kirchherr placed 5th on vault, 6th on bars,  and 3rd on floor. 

Level 2 Child: 
Alexandra Crombach placed 5th on vault, 1st on bars, 3rd on beam, 2nd on floor and 1st all-around.  Carson Cicardi placed 6th on bars, 1s ton beam, 1st on floor and 3rd all-around. 

Blue Streaks Hockey

SARATOGA SPRINGS — On Tuesday, Feb. 4, Saratoga played Queensbury and lost, 6-3. Joe Amodio had two goals and Michael Montague had one; goalie Brad Blake had 17 saves. On Saturday, Feb. 8, Saratoga played Shenendehowa and won, 4-0. Charlie Leary, Riley Lefebvre, Mack Ogden, and Jax Todorovic each contributed one goal to the win; goalie Brad Blake had 12 saves.

SRYMCA Over 50 Basketball Leagues Scores 

D’Andrea’s Pizza Shop v. Nemer Chryslers
Nemer-68: Steve Brown-22, Charlie Mauer-12
D’Andrea’s- 52: Rory Wilson-18, Scott Waterhouse-15

West Side VS Walton’s Sport Shop 
West Side-74: Tom Welch-16
Walton’s-53:-Jimmy Parker 17, Mike Bentley-17

Chryslers Jeep Dodge of Greenwich v. Mama Mia’s
Stephen’s-68: Paul Gross-24, Gerry Heffernan-20
Mama Mia’s- Phil Fitzpartick-19, Lamont Williams-15

Turning Point Chiropractic v. Lazy Dog Cookie Co.
Lazy Dog-70: Todd Mcshane-23, Scott Clark-20
Turning Point-47: Bob Hason-26, Mike Scanlon-8

New York State Elks East Regional Hoop Shoot Winners

SARATOGA SPRINGS — On February 2, 2020 the New York State Elks held their East Regional Hoop Shoot competition at Stillwater Central High School. Two Northeast District Hoop Shoot winners from Saratoga-Wilton Elks Lodge No. 161 competed. Evan Rosettie finished first in the Boys’ 12-13 Year Old Division, making 23 out of 25 free throws. Charlotte Drabek finished second in the Girls’ 12-13 Year Old Division. Evan will move on to the New York State Elks Hoop Shoot Finals on March 7 in Syracuse. Shown here are NY State Elks President Brian Greene, Evan Rosettie, Charlotte Drabek, and Northeast District Hoop Shoot Director Steve Dorsey.

Town of Wilton Recreation Jr. NBA Chamionship

DIVISION 1
Kings vs. Pelicans
Kings-26: Gannon Britton 7, Sean Britton 6
Pelicans-21: Logan Janis 8, Tony LaGoy 8
Congrats for the win, Kings!

DIVISION 2
Pelicans vs. Magic
Pelicans-32: Ronan Doyle 11, Gavin LaFrance 10
Magic-27: Christ Sheft 7, Dillon Trautner 5
Congrats for the win, Pelicans!

DIVISION 3
Knicks vs. Lakers
Knicks-29: Micah Paog 10, Chase Billington 8
Lakers-17: Kihl Kelly 8, Michael Plourde 3
Congrats for the win, Knicks!

DIVISION 4
Pelicans vs. Thunder
Pelicans-45: Charles DiDonato 15, Evan Barthelmas 12
Thunder-42: Thomas Maurer 18, Bryant Savage 10
Congrats for the win, Pelicans!

BALLSTON SPA — Students from Malta Avenue Elementary School had the opportunity to participate in a SPAC Dance Residency program again this year. For the first time, the students performed “Sensational Soul,” which featured music by Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and many others. The students also performed a choral arrangement of “Respect” by Aretha Franklin, and danced to “Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher” recorded by Jackie Wilson. 

As part of the program, the SPAC teaching artists also collaborated with the school’s music and art departments, allowing students to create drawings based on the soul music icons studied throughout the residency. Selected designs were incorporated into the students’ performance shirts and the Dance Recital official program. 

In January, the students began working with dance professionals and former Broadway actors to learn dances during their Physical Education courses. The lessons were designed around teaching Broadway-style soul dance inspired by the music and choreography of the 1960s
and 1970s. 

Fifty-five 5th grade students from the school received instruction from SPAC’s Senior Director of Education, Dennis Moench, alongside Broadway star Alicia Albright, currently in the musical Frozen, and SPAC teaching artists Nathan Braim, Cristiane Santos, and J. Michael Zygo.  Brian Melick and Alan Thomson also provided live musical accompaniment for
the program.

The program ended on February 10, 2020 with an exuberant performance for students and parents at Malta Avenue Elementary School. 

SARATOGA COUNTY — Beginning on February 17 until March 31, Tark’s Indoor Golf will be hosting Cabin Fever Classic Golf Fore a Cause to benefit Operation Adopt A Soldier. Four player groups are encouraged and it is $100 per golfer to play, paid golfers will also attend the awards banquet at Saratoga National and the silent auction for free. This is a multi-day tournament in scramble format.

“What is unique about event, versus other golf tournaments, is that it is the six-week format. So, if you’re busy this Tuesday, you can play Wednesday, if you’re busy during the day you can play at night. That’s great because Tark’s is open seven days a week. It makes it easy for people to participate,” said Gerry Magoolaghan, one of two originators of the event.

“Maureen [Ginter-Grabowski] and Gerry came up with this great idea and followed up with me a week later and it’s gotten bigger as the years rolled on,” explained Kent Tarkleson, owner of Tark’s.

Ginter-Grabowski and Magoolaghan were visiting at Tark’s bar a few years ago and came up with the idea.

“Kent looked at us like we were crazy,” Magoolaghan laughed.

“This is our 8th annual event that we’ve hosted at Tark’s and it’s just nice to know that we’re supporting a local charity and that all of the money is going directly to help out and support the troops. it makes me happy to know that we’re giving back a little,” Tarkleson said.

Operation Adopt A Soldier suffered a devastating fire to their building last August; they lost all of their supplies and building. They are strictly volunteer and profit nothing, everything they get goes to the soldiers overseas and to helping those families at home.

“We just thought this was a great way to help them rebuild,” Ginter-Grabowski said.

“Money is like water to us, we go through it so quickly,” Cliff Seguin, founder of Operation Adopt A Soldier explained. “Last week we paid four-thousand alone in postage,” he continued.

All proceeds from Golf Fore a Cause goes toward Operation Adopt a Soldier.

“This time of the year, things are slow with us so with this event it is really going to help us get through to the summer. We are adding on another 2,500 soldiers on our list so the need is there,” Seguin stated.

The presenting sponsor is Homestead Funding, of which Ginter-Grabowski is a branch manager and licensed loan originator, and the honorary chair this year is Matt Chauvin, attorney at Ianniello Anderson.

The flexibility of this event allows groups to register for tee-times that fit their schedules. 

For more information and to participate in Gold Fore a Cause, call Tark’s at 518-450-7002.

For more information about Operation Adopt a Soldier and to learn how you can help further, visit www.operationadoptasoldier.org or call 518-260-9922.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — “How good can we expect to be if our best player is not our best teammate,” said Brad Stevens, head coach of the Boston Celtics.

Brian McCarthy started playing basketball within leagues such as Jr. NBA and then got serious about the sport in seventh grade.

“I started playing in the YMCA league in the summer because I had been doing a lot of pick up at the YMCA and I saw some flyers for it so I decided to do the league with a couple of friends. That led into me doing the winter league,” McCarthy explained.

McCarthy played for his school, Saratoga Springs, his freshman year and did not try out this year due to wanting to hone his game before attempting varsity next year, his senior year.

“I’m doing a travel league and the YMCA league right now so I thought it would be best to work on my game this year and try to be the best I can be for next year,” he reasoned.

McCarthy plays on the Saratoga CYO travel league as well as the youth league at the Saratoga YMCA.

“The travel league is definitely my main league; it has some really good competition. I really like to compete in it and get other people involved. It’s kind of in-between Y ball and school ball, as far as the competition goes. I score a lot of points in the YMCA league and I try to get other people involved. I’ve been trying to do the same in my travel league,” McCarthy explained.

McCarthy loves the dedication of the players that he sees on both his travel league and YMCA team.

He is on the Spa Café team, coached by Dallas Wells.

“Actually, the first time I played against Dallas was in the summer, I had 48 points against his team, and he ended up taking me for the winter league,” he laughed.

On the court, McCarthy possesses a natural shooting and scoring ability, but he is still pushing himself to work on his other skills to be better overall in the future.

“I usually play shooting guard because there are some people that are better handling the ball and I like to get ready to shoot the ball, I’m usually a 3-point shooter so I usually play the wing and try to create shots for myself and other people,” McCarthy explained.

McCarthy is known as a leader on the court and takes pride in that.

“I love being the person that people look up to and look to when there’s a shot that needs to be made. I like trying to get other people involved. I think everybody deserves an opportunity,” he said.

Off the court, McCarthy takes great pride in his schoolwork, he is on the high honor roll, and enjoys spending time with his friends. He also likes to play pickup basketball with his younger brother Matt.

“He’s actually a really good shooter too,” he said.

He cites his parents, Paige and Peter, as his biggest supporters.

“I try to make the best of my opportunities because why wouldn’t I try to do the best that I can to set myself up for the future,” McCarthy said definitively.

SARATOGA COUNTY — Saratoga Youth Hockey (SYH) is offering the opportunity of a lifetime for anyone interested in ice hockey… Two programs that allow anyone with an interest to test the sport out for free.

“Our goal of these programs to is to grow the hockey community in Saratoga and the surrounding areas and also making it much more affordable to get involved with hockey,” said Travis Higbee, board of director member and Learn to Skate Learn to Play coordinator.

These programs involve a partnership with the New York Rangers, which was announced in November 2019.

The first, Learn to Skate Learn to Play, is a 10-week program (that began on January 4, 2020) that runs until March 21 for one hour in the morning. Due to the partnership with the New York Rangers, any child who signs up for a 10-week session receives free hockey equipment to keep. 

Half of the kids who are actively participating in this program come from the second program: Try Hockey for Free.

This event will take place on February 22 and the goal is to “get kids on the ice with little or no skating/hockey experience. The New York Rangers coaching staff is onsite and provides all the equipment to borrow for the day,” explains the website.

“This is a Grassroots experience for Saratoga. This time last year at Learn to Skate we had about 30 kids signed up and now we have 65,” Higbee explained.

{loadmoduleid 268}

Currently, 50 kids are signed up for the Try Hockey for Free program, but Higbee is adamant that there are plenty of spaces left.

“The goal is to take kids with zero or very little experience and in skating and/or hockey and get them to Try Hockey for Free. Step two is to get them engaged in the ten-week Learn to Skate Learn to Play program, where they actually get to participate. Then we look to convert them into our Saratoga Youth Hockey programs,” Higbee said.

SYH has age-appropriate programs for all kids who are interested. Mite is for ages fives to 8, Squirt is for 9-and 10-year-olds; Pee Wee is for 11-and 12-year-olds; Bantam is for 13- and 14-year-olds; and Midget is for 15 to 18-year-olds.

“The nice thing about the Rangers having done this in multiple locations in the past, 80% of the kids who did Try Hockey for Free signed up for Learn to Skate Learn to Play. 80% of those kids then convert to either the Mites or the Squirts. It’s great participation and great continuance that they stick with hockey,” Higbee explained.

“It’s literally taking a kid who never potentially played hockey or skated and then getting them into it and eliminating the burden of needing all of the equipment,” he said.

These programs are time friendly and affordable.

For more information, visit these links: www.syhi.org, juniorrangers.leagueapps.com/events/1483549-try-hockey-for-free-at-weibel-arenas-w-saratoga-youth-hockey, and learntoplay.nhl.com/rangers/6257.

Contact Travis Higbee at learntoskatelearntoplayshyi@gmail.com with any and all questions.

Blue Streaks Hockey

SARATOGA SPRINGS — On Tuesday, January 21, the Blue Streaks had a massive win over the Mohawks, 9-0. It truly was a team effort with eight players scoring goals: Joe Amodio had two; Andrew Blanchard, Will Detora, Grady Frasier, Sam Jacob, Mack Ogden, Luke Shapiro, and Jax Todorovic each had one goal. Goalie Brad Blake had nine saves.

On Friday, January 24, the Blue Streaks played a closer match against La Salle. Saratoga took the win, 8-5. Joe Amodio and Will Detora each had two goals; Sam Jacob, Charlie Leary, Riley Lefebvre, and Griffin Sarver each had one goal. Goalie Brad Blake had 10 saves and other goalie Jesse Bradley had seven saves.

On Wednesday, January 29, the Blue Streaks played The Storm, winning 6-0. Joe Amodio and Andrew Blanchard each had two goals; Charlie Leary, Ryan McCoskey, and Michael Montague each had one goal. Goalie Brad Blake had 12 saves.

SRYMCA/Saratoga Honda Youth Basketball Scores

JR DIVISION:
Cudney’s v. Blend Realty
Cudney’s-41: Ben Van Valkinburg-15, Marcus Vary-10
Blend-15: Jacob Alexander-6, Finn Kelly-3

PBA v. Olsen’s Associates
PBA-39: Stephon Lindsay-9 , Bryant Savage-9
Olsen’s-29: Colin MacGregor-9, Xavier Rusico-7

SR. DIVISION:
Vahanian & Associates Financial Planning v. Village Photo   
Village Photo-54: Josh L-15, Jacob Krygruski-9, Patrick Deshane-9
Vahanian-32: Tommy Maurer-9, Paul Steves-7

Pashley Construction v. Spa Cafe
Spa Café- 49: Brian McCarthy-12, AJ Covota-10
Pashley’s-47:  Quin Frank- 15, Raymond Garcia-10

Teams for Dreams Basketball Tournament to Support Local Scholarships

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The inaugural Teams for Dreams three-on-three basketball tournament will be held April 4 to support local scholarships.

The Saratoga Springs Rotary Education Foundation has partnered with Saratoga Financial Services to sponsor the event, which will be held at Saratoga Springs High School. 

The tournament will feature men’s, women’s or coed teams of three or four players competing in various youth and adult brackets. All skill levels are welcome. Build a team and support a good cause. For pricing and to register, visit SaratogaSpringsScholarships.org.  Registration closes March 1. 

The Saratoga Springs Rotary Education Foundation invests in students’ potential because everyone deserves the opportunity for a brighter future. Each year, the foundation awards about $70,000 in scholarships to local high school students to further their dreams. Visit saratogaspringsscholarships.org to learn more.