Summer
• Jason Morris Judo Center students Nick Delpopolo and Kyle Vashkulat competed at the Olympics in London. Delpopolo won his first two matches before losing in the quarterfinals, while Vashkulat lost in the opening round. Delpopolo was sent home shortly after competing when he failed a drug test.
• The New York Giants returned to the University at Albany for training camp after the 2011 camp was cancelled due to the NFL lockout. The defending Super Bowl champions spent three weeks in the area and held 14 public practice sessions. It was the last year of a three-year contract with UAlbany, and there has yet to be any decision regarding 2013.
• Saratoga Race Course had another successful season of summer thoroughbred racing, as attendance and wagering were up from 2011. Jockey Ramon Dominguez set a new course record for most wins in a season with 68, while Todd Pletcher took the top trainer title with 36 winners. Mechanicville native Chad Brown placed second in the trainer standings with 29 winners.
• The Tri-City ValleyCats won the New York-Penn League’s Stedler Division title with a 51-25 record and reached the championship series, where they lost to the Hudson Valley Renegades three games to two. The ValleyCats had the best record in the league for most of the season until the Renegades passed them on the final day of the regular season.
• The Albany Dutch-men enjoyed the best season in their four-year existence. The Dutchmen finished sixth out of nine teams in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League with a 22-24 record, and they remained in contention for a playoff berth until the final week of the regular season.
Fall
• The Shaker football team won its first Section II title when it defeated defending champion Shenendehowa 14-0 in the Class AA finals. Quarterback Chris Landers opened the game with an 80-yard touchdown pass to Mike Mainella, and Ryan Griffin added a 44-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter.
The Blue Bison rallied from a 20-0 deficit to take a 21-20 lead on New Rochelle in the state semifinals, but the Section I champions scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to pull out a 28-21 victory and deny Shaker a trip to the Carrier Dome.
• The Christian Brothers Academy football team placed second in the Empire Division with a 5-1 record and lost to Schenectady 28-27 on a blocked field goal attempt in the Class AA quarterfinals. The Brothers finished the season with a 7-2 record.
• Colonie made its first football Sectional appearance in several years, but the playoff run ended with a 48-14 loss to Shen in the quarterfinals. The Garnet Raiders finished the season with a 3-6 record.
• The Loudonville Christian School girls soccer team won its first Sectional title by beating top-seeded Fort Ann 1-0 in the Class D finals. Fiona Fittro scored the winning goal in overtime – one of her 31 goals on the season. The Lady Eagles lost to Long Island champion Smithtown Christian 3-1 in the regional finals.
• Shaker reached the Class AA Sectional girls soccer semifinals for the second year in a row, but eventual champion Guilderland defeated the Blue Bison 1-0. Shaker’s final record was 9-9-0.
• Loudonville Chris-tian’s boys soccer team won the Central Hudson Valley League title with a 9-0-5 record, but its playoff run ended in the Class D quarterfinals with a 3-2 overtime loss to St. Johnsville.
• Shaker’s Shannon Mukerji claimed the Section II girls tennis singles title by beating Emma Willard’s Claire Schmitz 6-3, 7-5 in the finals. Mukerji won her first-round match at the state tournament before losing to Shoreham-Wading River’s Claire Minnoe in the second round.
• Shaker’s Davis Jensen tied Bethlehem’s Victor Fox for medalist honors at the Section II Class A golf championships after they each shot a 3-under-par 69. Jensen and Shaker teammate Bobby Caniff qualified for the state golf tournament by placing in the top nine at the individual Sectional tournament.
• Colonie native Catherine Maloy led Holy Names to the Class B girls team title at the state cross country championships. Maloy placed third with a time of 18:29.6.
• Shaker’s Maryanna Lansing and Colonie’s Bellame Bower qualified for the state cross country meet with top-five finishes at the Section II championships. Lansing was third in Class A with a time of 17:46.29, while Bower placed fourth with a time of 17:55.94.
On the boys’ side, Colonie’s Jon Holmes and Shaker’s Adam Schwenzfeier had top-10 finishes in the Class A race. Schwenzfeier finished sixth with a time of 15:33.97, and Holmes placed seventh with a time of 15:34.29.
• The Loudonville Christian girls volleyball team won the Central Hudson Valley League title and reached the Section II Class C semifinals before losing to Voorheesville 3-0. Voorheesville eventually reached the state finals.