Before we take down the 2007 calendar and hang the 2008 edition, let’s look back at the year in Capital District sports season by season.
January through March
Topping the list is Section II’s banner day at the New York State Wrestling Championships in Albany, where one team dominated the competition and three area wrestlers took home individual titles.
Let’s start with Shenendehowa’s weekend, where, thanks to the efforts of the Meys and Popolizio brothers, the Plainsmen won the team title in the large school division.
It feels great to get it at home, said Shen coach Rob Weeks.
Hunter Meys led Shen ` and, for that matter, the Section II team ` with a breakthrough performance in the 171-pound weight class. Meys pinned all four of his opponents in a combined time of 6:54 to win his first state title in three attempts and earn the Most Outstanding Wrestler award.
`My goal coming in was to win (the state title),` said Meys. `I didn’t expect this to happen.`
Luke (96 pounds) and T.J. Popolizio (112) nearly joined Meys at the top of the podium. The two lightweights reached the finals of their respective weight classes before losing. Meys’ younger brother Austin finished fifth in the 140-pound division.
Two more area wrestlers needed overtime to win state titles. Christian Brothers Academy’s Michael Chaires was pushed into an extra period before defeating Spencerport’s Bryan Bourne 5-1 for the large school 160-pound title, and Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk’s Nate Graham defeated two-time state champion Colin McDonald of Waverly 8-5 for the small school 171-pound title.
`It feels good,` said Graham, who became R-C-S’s first state wrestling champion. `I get my name on the mat.`
Chaires ` a Scotia native ` became only the eighth Section II wrestler to win two state titles with his championship bout victory over Bourne.
`I’m just happy to win two,` said Chaires, who now wrestles for the University of Virginia. `To win two is a great accomplishment for me, and I’m glad I did it here in Albany.`
In other sports, CBA’s three-year run as class AA Sectional basketball champions ended with a 48-43 loss to Bishop Maginn in the finals. The Brothers, who had won 23 consecutive games before the finals, led 32-19 in the second half before Maginn closed the game with a 29-11 run ` a good chunk of which came while CBA’s top two forwards, Greg Holle and DeAndre Kennedy, were on the bench with foul trouble.
`I was very proud of some of the things we did on defense,` said CBA coach Dave Doemel. `We just had difficulty getting in our offense.`
While one boys basketball dynasty ended, another one may have begun in Scotia. The Schenectady Christian School Falcons won their first Sectional championship by beating Argyle 75-54 in the class C-CC final. And with Jake Bowman, Bryan Bishop and Kelsey Collins returning to the flock in November, the small private school occupying the former Scotia-Glenville High School building is off to another strong start.
In girls basketball, Colonie returned to the top of the class AA heap by beating Guilderland 41-34 in the Sectional finals. The senior-dominated Garnet Raiders used the disappointment of a semifinal loss the previous season to fuel their run to the Sectional championship.
`I wanted this for them, and for the fact that they have worked so hard for us every single game all season long,` said Colonie coach Karen Bonitatibus.
In hockey, Shen continued its dominance by winning its fifth straight Section II large school division title with a 4-1 victory over CBA. Goaltender Greg Hitchko stopped 32 of the 33 shots he faced, and four different Plainsmen scored goals to put the finishing touches on another championship.
`It’s the kids. Every year, you’ve got a fresh new crop of faces coming in, and that’s really what it’s all about,` said Shen coach Juan de la Rocha.
April through June
A new era in girls lacrosse began when Shaker eliminated eight-time Sectional champion Bethlehem with a thrilling 16-15 double overtime victory in the semifinals. That meant for the first time in Section II girls lacrosse history, neither Bethlehem nor Saratoga Springs would play for the title. Instead, Shaker met Guilderland on May 31 for the title.
`What I love about this year’s final is you have two brand new teams, which is nice,` said Shaker coach Carrie Britt following her team’s semifinal win. `And you know it’s going to be a close game.`
Britt’s words proved to be prophetic, though the outcome wasn’t what she hoped for as Guilderland defeated Shaker 9-7 for its first title. Danielle Tetreault tallied five times to lead the Lady Dutch.
`She was smart enough to get the right match-ups,` Guilderland coach Gary Chatnik said of Tetreault. `On three of her goals, she made some great cuts to get to the net.`
Niskayuna also won its first Sectional title in girls lacrosse as it defeated Averill Park 20-5 in the class B final. Leanne Pace scored a school-record eight goals to lead the Silver Warriors.
On the boys’ side, Niskayuna’s Sectional championship streak continued as the Silver Warriors knocked off Guilderland 11-9 in the class A finals. It was the third consecutive year that Niskayuna defeated Guilderland for the title, but this one was much closer as the Silver Warriors rallied from an early 3-0 deficit, built an 11-5 lead and then fended off a late Dutchmen charge.
`I think it was really important (to win this title),` said Niskayuna coach Mike Vorgang. `We only had a few guys coming back who played a lot last year, so we needed some of the newer players to step up.`
Guilderland had better luck in the baseball playoffs. The Dutchmen won their first Sectional championship in 30 years when they defeated Troy 5-2 on the strength of Andrew Simpson’s third inning three-run home run.
`Somebody always steps up. That’s what good teams do,` said Guilderland coach Doug LaValley.
Saratoga Central Catholic also earned a Sectional baseball title after edging Hudson 3-2 in the class B championship game. Pitcher Zach Carlson worked out of several jams to pick up the complete-game victory, and Vince Farfaglia scored the go-ahead run on an error in the bottom of the fifth inning.
`He (Carlson) didn’t have his best stuff, but he’s gutty,` said Saratoga Central Catholic coach Phonsey Lambert. `I don’t know how he did it, but he has so much guts.`
In softball, Shen picked up its fifth consecutive class AA Sectional title with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over a surprising Colonie squad in the finals. Kayla Hines’ RBI double in the bottom of the fifth inning proved to be the winning hit for the 22-1 Plainsmen.
`Each (title) is different, and I take it one at a time,` said Shen coach Dan D’Amboise. `I’ve had good fortune, good players and a little good luck.`
Colonie overcame long odds to reach the finals. The Garnet Raiders (16-9) won three consecutive games including a quarterfinal victory over top-seeded Troy.
`I’m hoping that (the momentum) carries over to next year,` said Colonie coach Chris Robilotti. `For having such a young team this year, which I never made excuses for I hope the experience is something they can bring to the table next year.`
Track and field had its share of state champions. The Shen boys 1,600-meter relay team of Tyler Fogarty, Patrell Brown, Chris Campoli and Tyler Riberdy edged Newburgh Free Academy with a winning time of 3:18.50 ` third best in Section II history. Shen’s 3,200 boys relay team of Corey Clavet, Ryan Jones, Zach Predmore and Zac Suriano claimed the public school title with a time of 7:51.05, half a second ahead of the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake quartet of Cody Buell, Zach Goodrich, Andrew Jess and Drew Houghtalen. Colonie’s Steve Crouse won the Federation triple jump title with a distance of 46 feet, 10 inches, and Guilderland’s Brian Rhodes-Devey claimed the public school 800 title with a time of 1:52.37.
July through September
As always, Saratoga Race Course dominated the summer sports scene. For six weeks, some of the best thoroughbreds in the United States called the Spa City’s historic track their home, and in the case of Street Sense, actually ran there, too. Street Sense won both the Jim Dandy and Travers to highlight a strong season for the 3-year-old. Curlin was also at Saratoga, though trainer Steve Asmussen elected to run his horse at the Haskell at Monmouth Park and the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont.
Baseball was also on the minds of Spa City residents, as the New York Collegiate Baseball League’s Saratoga Phillies made another run at a title. The defending champion Phillies finished second to Glens Falls in the East Division with a 25-14 record and reached the divisional finals, where they lost to the Golden Eagles in three games.
The Phillies also made news in late July when they hosted the Russian national team at East Side Recreation Field. The Russians gave it all they had, but the Phillies pulled away for a 10-4 victory.
A group of five Capital District residents ` Bethlehem brothers Mark and Jeff Bryant, Guilderland resident Tom Fashouer and Voorheesville residents Mike Brennan and Tom Markert ` climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, in September.
`Everybody was single-minded in getting to the top. Nobody wanted to be the one not to make it to the top,` said Markert.
October through December
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake sports fans will fondly look back at this time period as when their school dominated Section II. The Saratoga County school claimed Sectional titles in eight sports ` boys soccer, boys volleyball, field hockey, girls cross country, girls soccer, girls swimming, girls tennis and girls volleyball ` and nearly won a ninth when its football team pushed Lansingburgh to the limit before losing 28-25 in the class A finals.
Of the eight Sectional champions from BH-BL, four went on to compete for state titles. The girls cross country team dominated the competition at the public school meet outside Potsdam to win its second consecutive state title, while the boys volleyball team swept Section VI power Orchard Park in three games to earn its first regional championship ` the equivalent of a state title.
`I have never played with a group of kids at the top of their games like today,` said Mike Bynon, one of several seniors on the boys volleyball team. `To finish it off like that is great.`
The boys soccer and girls volleyball teams fell short in their state title bids, though. Bryam Hills defeated BH-BL 1-0 in the class A boys soccer final, while the girls volleyball team fell to Hendrick Hudson for the second year in a row at the state tournament.
Just getting to the finals was an accomplishment for the BH-BL girls volleyball team. The Spartans needed to defeat Section V champion Victor in a one-game playoff to advance to the title match.
`The team has done a great job,` said Syracuse University-bound senior Erin Little, who led the Spartans in the tournament with 50 kills and 19 blocks. `Everyone has worked really hard.`
The BH-BL girls soccer team overcame injuries and a tough Suburban Council schedule to win the Sectional and regional class A titles before losing to perennial state power South Side 2-0 in the semifinals. The Long Island-based Cyclones went on to win their 14th state title by beating Pittsford Mendon (Section V) 4-2.
Shen also won a Section II girls soccer title, as Ashleigh Barone’s late goal lifted the Plainsmen past Niskayuna 2-1 in the class AA championship game. The victory came one year after the Silver Warriors knocked off Shen in the Sectional semifinals.
Niskayuna had better luck in the boys soccer final, as Tyler Gansfuss tallied in overtime to give the Silver Warriors a 1-0 victory over Bethlehem. It was the Silver Warriors’ first Sectional championship in 23 years.
`It’s a 400-pound gorilla off our backs,` said first-year Niskayuna coach Jeffrey Ormsbee.
Schalmont cruised to the class B Sectional championship with a 3-1 victory over Schuylerville. Carlo Viscusi scored the first two goals, and Marc Case added the other for the Sabres.
Other Sectional titles went to the Saratoga Springs field hockey team, the Shenendehowa and Voorheesville boys cross country teams, the Saratoga girls cross country team, the Bethlehem girls swimming team and the Niskayuna, Voorheesville and Loudonville Christian School girls volleyball teams.
Area sports fans didn’t have much time to recover from the fall sports season. Winter sports began the final week of November, with a whole new group of athletes hoping to bring Sectional ` and possibly state ` titles back to their towns.
Reporters Mike Cioffi and Phil Blackwell contributed to this story.“