Displaying items by tag: athlete of the week
Zoey Goodness: Athlete of the Week
Congrats to Athlete of the Week – Zoey Goodness!
Zoey is a senior at Saratoga Springs High School and rows with the SRA (Saratoga Rowing Association). Some of her rowing accomplishments include placing third nationally at SRAA’s in the Women’s 2V8+ category as a sophomore in 2019, racing at the Head of the Charles in 2018 and 2019, and in 2020 receiving the Service Award from her rowing club, SRA.
“I am extremely grateful for having the opportunity to train and work with highly experienced coaches, including elite rowers who have competed at World Championships for the United States and those who will compete, or train in hopes to compete, at the Olympic level,” said Zoey.
Zoey has been an active member of Best Buddies at the high school for four years, and a Best Buddies Officer for the past three years. She is also involved in several other clubs in school that spread the same message and include people with IDD’s (Intellectual Developmental Disabilities) such as Unified Sports and Lions Club.
“Being inclusive is a big part of who I am,” said Zoey. “Whether that be at rowing, school, or wherever I may be.”
All four years of high school she has been on the High Honor Roll, and her junior and senior year she has been a part of the National Honor Society. Zoey will be attending and rowing lightweight for Boston University while studying chemistry on a pre-med track.
“To be able to continue my rowing journey in college is a dream come true,” said Zoey. “Even now I hope to push my rowing abilities past college and possibly row at the elite level.”
Athlete of the Week: Ava Dallas
SARATOGA SPRINGS — “Gymnastics has made me strong. I feel like it broke me down to my lowest point, but at the same time, it has given me the greatest strength anyone could ask for.” – Olympian Shawn Johnson.
Ava Dallas is a record-breaking 17-year-old junior at Saratoga Springs High School with a passion for gymnastics that she pursues, regardless of the injuries or other things she sacrifices to succeed.
“I started when I was really little, around two years old, and I stopped for a while but then I started to get serious about it when I was 10,” she explained.
“Just watching college gymnastics on TV and the summer Olympics, I got really inspired and then I started taking classes at the Y and then I joined the team there.”
Dallas then switched to a club team which was more serious and eventually made the choice to join the school’s team full time. She was with Stepping Star for three years and then switched to the high school team because she wanted something more team oriented and with less hours in the gym. From November to the end of February, the gym is where you can find her.
"Right after the season is over, we have about a month and a half off and then we go back to practicing on Sundays and then when it gets into the summer, we practice twice a week,” Dallas specified.
Dallas currently holds the Section II record for vaulting, which is 9.475.
"My freshmen year on the team, I broke the record for the first time and then last year I broke it once in the beginning of the year and then once again at the end of the year at the state meet,” she explained.
However, she is still recovering from a stress fracture in her back from over the summer.
“It was very hard for me to do anything because it was so painful. When I went to the doctor, he advised that I slow down and possibly stop to prevent any further injury. I didn't want to do that and compromise my junior season so I modified my routines to do skills that didn't hurt me and now I’m building back all of my skills and all of my routines to get back to where I want to be,” Dallas said.
Dallas also coaches the little girls the basics of gymnastics at the Wilton YMCA.
"Coaching the little girls definitely provides a different perspective on the sport. As a coach, you have to think about putting the skill into words that the little kids would understand and sometimes it takes multiple times to explain things so it really makes you think about every single little part of each skill that you do. Also, to see them enjoy it as much as they do, it really brings a new enjoyment for me,” she mused.
Her family supports one another tremendously. Her sister cheers at Syracuse and the family goes to watch her games whenever they can.
She cites her father as her biggest fan: "it means a lot, I can always look over and see him cheering for me… He's like my number one fan," she laughed.
Grace O'Reilly: Athlete of the Week
Vincent Santilli: Athlete of the Week
Dolly Carins: Athlete of the Week
Athlete of the Week: Brian Hart Cinches the I-87 Cup
SARATOGA SPRINGS – It was a situation that would be tense for any baseball team in any game: tied with the rival team, 4-4, in the bottom of the seventh inning. This was the situation that the Saratoga Springs High School varsity baseball team found itself in on April 14, when it faced rivals Shenendahowa in a non-league game at Shuttleworth Park. This was not just any old non-league game, however: to give some extra heft to the game required under new Suburban Council guidelines, the two teams came together to create the I-87 Cup, which will fought over each year by both teams in a non-league game.
Enter junior Brian Hart, who with just the right swing of the bat hit a homerun, cinching the Blue Streaks’ victory and making them the inaugural holders of the new title.
“It was a great feeling, just running around the bases,” Hart said. “Seeing everyone at home plate, all excited, and I was excited, just to touch the plate and celebrate with my team… Yeah, they were all excited for me, and it was a special moment for us.”
“I kinda said to him in the on-deck circle, it’d be nice if you hit one over that wall, kinda jokingly,” Coach Andy Cuthbertson said. “And, you know, sure enough, he did that.”
Hart has been playing baseball for Saratoga since little league, or, “most” of his life, as he said. Going forward in the season, he believes that the Blue Streaks can go on to win a sectional championship.
“We’re looking to make a long run,” Hart said.
“The one thing about Brian, even when he was a 10th grader last year, he is very composed,” Cuthbertson said. “He doesn’t get very worked up, and that’s quite an attribute to have as a 10th grader, and now as a junior, sometimes I almost think in my mind that he is a senior, and I have remember that, wow, I have him for one more year. What a nice treat for our program.”
All photos by www.photoandgraphic.com.