Winter
• Christian Brothers Academy won its fourth consecutive Section II Class AA boys basketball title in dramatic fashion. The Brothers went on a 10-0 run to start overtime and held on for a 62-57 victory over Troy in the championship game.
The game turned when officials overturned a foul call against a CBA player at the end of regulation, claiming the foul occurred after the buzzer sounded. Troy coach Rich Hurley was then assessed a technical foul for arguing the call, and Joe Krong made both foul shots to give the Brothers a two-point lead to start overtime. Chaz Lott added a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to put the game out of reach.
CBA nearly met Shaker in the Sectional finals. The Blue Bison gave Troy a semifinal battle before falling to the Flying Horses.
CBA advanced to the state semifinals before losing to Mount Vernon (Section I) 68-42.
• On the girls’ side, Colonie ended Shaker’s reign as Class AA Sectional champions when the Lady Raiders defeated the Blue Bison 54-39 in the semifinals. Colonie then downed Big 10 champion Albany 64-55 to pick up its first Section II title since 2007.
Sydnie Rosales scored 23 points, and Ashley Loggins contributed 22 points to lead Colonie past Albany.
• In hockey, Christian Brothers Academy nearly knocked off defending champion Saratoga Springs in the Division 1 Sectional semifinals. The Brothers led the Blue Streaks 2-1 late in the third period before Saratoga rallied for a 3-2 overtime victory.
Shaker/Colonie also reached the semifinals before losing to Shenendehowa 9-2. The Plainsmen built a 4-1 lead in the first period and added three goals in the second period to pull away.
• In indoor track, Colonie senior Kyle Plante won her third career state title in the 300-meter dash with a time of 38.23 seconds. Shaker’s Kristen Hayes earned a state title by running on the Section II sprint medley team, while Colonie’s Kara Snyder took second place in the girls pole vault.
• Shaker swimmer Thomas Kearney won the 100-yard butterfly title and earned a state meet berth in the 100-yard breaststroke with a second-place finish at the Section II Division 1 meet. Kearney became the first Shaker swimmer to win a Sectional championship since Frankie Dyer three years earlier. Diver Josh Koppel took first place in Division 1 and finished second overall at Sectionals.
CBA swimmer Dylan Sharkey earned state meet berths in two individual events at the Division 2 level. Sharkey won the 100-yard breaststroke and placed second in the 200-yard individual medley.
• Colonie’s three-year reign as the overall Section II girls bowling champions ended in 2012 when Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk took first place with 5,917 pins. Colonie still won the Class A team title with 5,720 pins and sent two bowlers – Tiera Gulum and Hannah Mochrie – to the state tournament. On the boys’ side, Shenendehowa edged Colonie by six pins for the Section II Class A title.
Spring
• Shaker won its first Section II Class A title in girls lacrosse by edging Guilderland 9-8 in the finals. Julia Lennon scored the game-winning goal late in the second half to propel the Blue Bison past the Lady Dutch.
Shaker continued to pile up firsts for its girls lacrosse program when it defeated North Rockland 10-7 in the regional finals. The Blue Bison reached the state semifinals, where it lost to Section V’s Penfield 5-4 in overtime.
• CBA was aiming for its own first in boys lacrosse when it met Shenendehowa in the Class A semifinals. The Brothers’ bid for their first Sectional finals appearance ended with an 11-10 overtime loss to the Plainsmen.
• In softball, Colonie’s bid for another Sectional title came to an end when Guilderland upended the Lady Raiders in the semifinals, while Loudonville Christian School fell in the Class D finals. The Eagles hadn’t lost a game all season until they met Fort Ann in the championship game.
• Town baseball teams didn’t fare well in the Section II playoffs, either. Defending Class AA champion Shaker fell to Guilderland in the Sectional quarterfinals, while defending Class D champ Loudonville Christian lost to Salem in its quarterfinal contest.
• Things went better for Shaker at the Section II Class A track and field meets, as both the boys and girls teams won titles. Shaker’s girls team claimed its first Sectional crown by downing Saratoga 112-85, while the boys team continued its recent string of success by taking first place with 139 points, 35 points ahead of Saratoga.
Once again, it was Plante who delivered at the state track meet, though. The University of South Florida-bound senior capped her Colonie career by winning the public school and Federation titles in the 400-meter dash. She also helped Colonie’s 1,600-meter relay team claim the public school division championship with a time of 3:49.59. Kirsten Kaminski, Mikeisha Kelly and Alicia Bousa joined Plante on the 1,600-meter relay team.
We’ll look at the second half of 2012 next week.