The Capital District sports scene provided plenty of storylines in 2008.
From Siena’s NCAA basketball tournament run to the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake football team’s trip to Syracuse’s Carrier Dome, there was something interesting happening every season.
Here are the 2008 highlights:
Winter
The Siena Saints took the national stage by storm in their fourth trip to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The 13th-seeded Saints defeated No. 4 Vanderbilt 82-61 in the opening round to reach the second round for only the second time in the program’s history. Even though Siena lost to Villanova in the next round, it’s dominating performance against a Vanderbilt team that was briefly ranked No. 1 in the nation will be the enduring memory.
In high school boys basketball, Bishop Maginn joined a select group of Section II teams to win a state title when it defeated Niagara Falls in the Class AA finals in Glens Falls. Along the way, the Golden Griffins knocked off Christian Brothers Academy in the Sectional final, though the Brothers made their own bit of history by reaching the championship game for the sixth consecutive year.
Guilderland nearly prevented CBA from getting to the Sectional finals. The Dutchmen who won the Suburban Council title with an undefeated record rallied several times before losing to the Brothers 56-55 in the Class AA semifinals.
Colonie also had an opportunity to get to the Sectional finals. The Garnet Raiders led Bishop Maginn by 10 points at halftime, only to be blown away 39-19 in the second half and fall to the Golden Griffins 60-50.
In other Sectional results, Voorheesville reached the Class CC finals before losing to Mechanicville, while Mohonasen and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake got to the Class A semifinals before falling to Albany Academy and Bishop Maginn, respectively.
In girls basketball, Shenendehowa returned to the top of the Section II heap by beating Bethlehem 36-29 in the Class AA finals. The Plainsmen rallied from a three-point deficit in the fourth quarter by closing the game on a 10-0 run to win their first title in four years.
Shen coach Ken Strube earned two personal honors following the season. He was named his district’s coach of the year by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, and he was elected into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame. Strube entered the 2008-09 season with 512 career victories, the most for any Section II girls basketball coach.
Meanwhile, Mohonasen continued its rise through the Class A ranks by reaching the Sectional final before losing to Averill Park.
Shen’s Meys brothers picked up their second state wrestling titles in March. Hunter Meys won the 189-pound championship by beating Josh Peters 7-3 in the finals, while Austin Meys pinned Collin Toney in the first period to claim the 171-pound title. Hunter won back-to-back state titles, while Austin picked up his first championship in three years.
The state title was one of two major accomplishments for Hunter Meys. The senior set a new national record for pins when he earned a first-period fall against Ian Morgan. It gave Hunter his 189th pin, which surpassed Steve Mocco’s record of 188 that Mocco set in 2001.
The Shen hockey team extended its Sectional title streak to six years with a 3-0 victory over LaSalle in the Division I finals. The Plainsmen fell shy of the state final four, though, with a 3-2 triple overtime loss to West Genesee.
Four Shen swimmers had success at the state level. Michael Christine, Troy Nichols, Jacob Johnson and Ryan Brauer won the 400-yard freestyle relay at the state meet with a time of 3:10.90. Johnson and Brauer also earned individual titles. Johnson won the 50 and 100 freestyles, while Brauer finished first in the 200 individual medley. Shaker’s Frankie Dyer, Brian Maloy, Steve Maxwell and David Rowley claimed the 200 medley relay title with a time of 1:37.40.
Other Section II athletes that won state titles in individual sports included Colonie’s James Kehrer and its 800-meter relay team, Shen’s Michelle Quimby and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake’s Meaghan Gregory (indoor track and field), as well as Holy Names’ Paige Chardevoyne (alpine skiing).
Spring
The Niskayuna boys lacrosse team kept its string of Section II titles going by beating Shaker 8-4 in the Class A finals. It was the Silver Warriors’ fifth consecutive Sectional championship, and it completed an unbeaten run through the region.
While Niskayuna maintained its reputation as the Section’s premier boys lacrosse program, Shaker became the Cinderella story of the spring sports season. After winning just four games in the regular season, the Blue Bison upset second-seeded Guilderland and No. 3 Shen to reach the finals.
The Guilderland and Niskayuna girls lacrosse teams reached the state final four in their respective classes for the first time. Guilderland defeated Shaker in the Class A Sectional finals and Kingston in the regionals before losing to eventual state champion Farmingdale 16-10 in the state semis, while Niskayuna cruised past its Sectional and regional competition before falling to Long Island power Garden City 17-4 in the Class B semis.
Bethlehem Central High School alumni Mike Leveille and Katie Rowan made their mark on the collegiate lacrosse world. Leveille helped the Syracuse University men’s lacrosse team win the NCAA title with a six-goal, two-assist performance in the Final Four, while Rowan guided Syracuse’s women’s team to the Final Four with a school-record 73 goals and 69 assists.
Leveille picked up several honors for his efforts. The senior won the Tewaaraton Trophy as the nation’s top collegiate player, along with the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award, and he was picked third overall in the Major League Lacrosse’s draft. Rowan was a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist on the women’s lacrosse side and a first-team All-American along with Syracuse teammate and fellow Bethlehem graduate Halley Quillinan.
Elsewhere at the collegiate level, Guilderland High School graduate Nicole Tetreault helped Hamilton win the NCAA Division III women’s title with a goal and an assist in the championship game.
The Shen softball team equaled the school’s hockey team’s total for consecutive Sectional titles when it claimed its sixth consecutive championship by beating Colonie 4-1 in the Class AA finals. The Plainsmen finished the season with a 24-3 record.
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake came close to winning the Class A Sectional title, but it fell to top-seeded South Glens Falls 3-0 in the finals.
The Mohonasen baseball team reached its first Sectional final in two decades, but it couldn’t break its title drought as Ichabod Crane pulled away for a 9-2 victory. Pitcher Josh Ingham led the Riders by driving in five runs and limiting the Mighty Warriors to four hits.
Bethlehem reached the Sectional semifinals in Class AA before losing to eventual champion LaSalle 6-1. The Eagles were a team on a mission as they were playing for ailing assistant coach Pete Dorwaldt, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer earlier this year.
Several area athletes won individual titles at the state outdoor track and field championships including Saratoga’s Madalayne Smith (100-meter high hurdles), Shen’s Michelle Quimby (pole vault) and Zac Suriano (800 meters), and Guilderland’s Briana Delbene (discus) and Liz Schwennker (400 dash).
Summer
The New York Giants had some added buzz about them when they returned to the University at Albany for training camp, courtesy of their 17-14 Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots nearly six months earlier in Phoenix. Nearly 3,000 spectators showed up for the first day of training camp, making it one of the largest opening days in the 12 years that `Big Blue` has worked out in the Capital District.
Rain dampened the first half of the Saratoga Race Course season, but the sun shone brightly on the venerable track for the final three weeks to prevent a dramatic decline in attendance and on-track handle. Curlin also helped, as he brought the crowds in to see him win the Aug. 30 Woodward Stakes.
The Adirondack region had one of its most successful years at the Empire State Games in Binghamton. Adirondack placed third out of six regions with 165 total medals, and it tied Long Island for the second-highest gold medal haul with 66. Teams that won gold medals included the open women’s basketball team, the open women’s softball team, the master women’s volleyball team and the masters men’s rugby team.
Individuals that won multiple gold medals included Delmar’s Beth Miller (cycling), Molly Quirk (gymnastics) and Andrew Loux (wrestling); Slingerlands’ Wolfgang Wittkowski (masters swimming); Latham’s Ezekiel Jackson (gymnastics); Loudonville’s Marbry Gansle (masters track and field); Altamont’s Chad Staubach (canoe/kayak); Ballston Spa’s Ian Hogan (diving), Meghan Coonrod (masters swimming) and Madalayne Smith (track and field); and Saratoga Springs’ Tina Villa (track and field).
With one leaping catch, Colonie’s Jordan Johnson became a national sensation. Johnson caught a potential home run by Tri-Village’s Mike Graves in the District 13 Little League championship game at West Albany Little League. The play was videotaped by recent Liberty University graduate Bill Monthie, who then sent the highlight to Capital News 9. Before long, it was picked up by several national news outlets including ESPN, which made it the No. 1 play on SportsCenter’s `Top 10 Plays` segment.
Fall
After dominating Section II, the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake football team reached the state Class A title game at Syracuse’s Carrier Dome, only to fall to Section VI champion Sweet Home 35-28.
Behind multi-talented quarterback Paul Layton and a stingy defense that posted several shutouts, the Spartans were rarely challenged on their way to winning Sectionals and regionals. They received a scare from Section IX champion Nyack in the state semifinals before pulling out a 14-13 victory.
In other Section II football news, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk reached its ninth Super Bowl in 12 years before losing to Hudson Falls in the Class B Sectional final, and Schalmont turned in its best season in a decade when it won the Class B West Division title with a 6-1 record. Saratoga Springs claimed the Class AA Empire Division title with a 6-0 divisional mark.
The Mohonasen boys soccer team had its best season in decades. After compiling a 9-8-1 regular season record, the Mighty Warriors won the Sectional and regional Class A titles before falling to eventual state champion Comsewogue in the state semifinals.
Mohonasen was coached by Joshua Gregg, who stepped in for his older brother Corey after Corey was stationed with his New York National Guard group in Iraq.
Elsewhere, Guilderland ended a title drought by beating Shen 3-2 in the Class AA final. That followed a regular season in which the Dutchmen became the third Suburban Council team to go through the schedule undefeated.
Loudonville Christian reached the Sectional final for the second time in three years, but the Eagles couldn’t get past Northville in a 2-1 loss.
The Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk girls soccer team proved no deficit was too great for it to overcome as it reached the state semifinals for the first time in the program’s history. The Indians rallied from a three-goal deficit to defeat Section III champion Westhill 4-3 in the regional semifinal and climbed out of a two-goal hole to edge Plattsburgh 3-2 in the regional finals.
R-C-S’s luck ran out in the state semifinals, though, as Long Island champion Briarcliff defeated the Indians 3-2 in overtime.
The Bethlehem girls soccer team avenged last year’s championship game loss to Niskayuna by beating the Silver Warriors 2-0 in the 2008 Class AA Sectional final. Unfortunately for the Lady Eagles, penalty kicks would put an end to their season as they fell to Section III Baldwinsville in the regionals. Officially, Bethlehem wound up with a 21-0-1 record.
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake won the Class A Sectional title, but its playoff run also ended in regionals with a penalty-kick loss to Cortland.
It was another highly successful cross country season in Saratoga County. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake swept the boys and girls Sectional titles in Class A, Shen won the boys Class AA crown and Saratoga Springs claimed another Class AA girls championship. Over the next two weeks, the Shen boys and BH-BL girls won the state and Federation titles.
The season wrapped up in early December when Saratoga, BH-BL and Shen ran in the Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Ore. Saratoga placed fourth in the girls team standings, while BH-BL finished eighth. Shen took seventh place in the boys team standings.
Voorheesville’s girls cross country team picked up a Sectional title in Class C, but its boys team was edged by Berne-Knox-Westerlo by one point.
The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake boys volleyball team had another strong season. After winning the Suburban Council Tournament, the Spartans placed second at the state Class A championships. BH-BL’s only losses in the tournament came against Section VI power Orchard Park.
On the girls’ side, BH-BL and Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk got to the state final four in Glens Falls. BH-BL compiled a 3-3 record in Class A pool play, while R-C-S struggled in a Class B pool that included three schools that won state titles in different classes last year ` Eden, Hendrick Hudson and John Glenn.
Bethlehem won its first Sectional girls volleyball team in decades with a 3-0 victory over Ballston Spa in the Class AA final. The Lady Eagles fell to Baldwinsville in the regional final.
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake tacked on Sectional championships in girls tennis and girls swimming, while Shen won titles in girls swimming and field hockey. Guilderland claimed the Class AA girls tennis team title for the first time in school history.“
