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
• Guilderland defeated Bethlehem 2-1 for its first Section II Class AA girls soccer title and reached the state semifinals before losing in penalty kicks to Section V champion Webster Thomas.
In the neighborhood battle for the Sectional title, Guilderland took a 2-0 lead on first-half goals by Emma Oliver and Emily Center. The four-time defending champion Lady Eagles got a late goal from Elle Lutz to make it close.
• The Voorheesville girls soccer team finished its season with an 8-8-1 record following a 2-0 loss to Middleburgh in the Class C Sectionals. Chelsea Duncan had nine goals and four assists to lead the Blackbirds’ offense in 2012.
• The Bethlehem boys soccer team ended a six-year title drought by beating Niskayuna 2-0 in the Class AA Sectional finals. Ethan Gunty and Liam Roohan scored for the Eagles, who last won the Section II title in 2006.
Bethlehem completed the season with a 17-0-3 record, but failed to advance to the state semifinals after Section III champion Utica Proctor eliminated the Eagles on penalty kicks in the regional final.
• The Guilderland boys soccer team turned in a strong season with an 11-4-3 record, but the Dutchmen were eliminated in the Sectional quarterfinals by Albany on penalty kicks. Bethlehem then defeated Albany 2-0 in the semifinals to advance to the finals.
• The Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk football team got as far as the Section II Class B semifinals before losing to Schalmont 48-0. The Indians finished second in the Reinfurt Division standings with a 5-1 record. Senior quarterback Conner Zeoli led a balanced attack with 871 passing yards and nine touchdowns.
• The Guilderland football team compiled a 5-4 record and had the region’s top quarterback in junior Frank Gallo, who threw for 1,758 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Dutchmen lost to Columbia 30-10 in the Section II Class AA quarterfinals.
• The Voorheesville football team had the distinction of being Hoosick Falls’ first playoff victim, as the Panthers ran past the Blackbirds 69-14. Hoosick Falls went on to become one of two Section II schools to win state titles – Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake being the other.
• Bethlehem fell short of making the Section II playoffs, but the Eagles were perfect in crossover games to conclude 2012 with a 5-4 record. Junior tailback Mike Graves rushed for 1,157 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Eagles.
• The Bethlehem boys volleyball team won its third consecutive Section II Class A title by beating Shenendehowa 3-1 in the finals. The Eagles then swept Section I champion Suffern in the regional finals to reach the state tournament, where they were eliminated in pool play.
• The Voorheesville girls volleyball team punched its ticket to the state tournament for the third time by sweeping Greenville 3-0 in the Class C Sectional finals and beating Section X champion Salmon River 3-1 in regionals. At states, the Blackbirds made it to the championship match before losing to Section VI power Eden.
• The Guilderland girls volleyball team reached the Sectional finals in Class AA, where it was eliminated by Shenendehowa. The Lady Dutch had the second-best record in the Suburban Council at 15-1, with their lone loss coming against eventual state champion Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake.
• The Bethlehem golf team claimed the Suburban Council and Section II Class A team titles, thanks to Victor Fox. The senior earned co-medalist honors with Shaker’s Davis Jensen at Sectionals with a 3-under par 69, and then he claimed his second consecutive individual title by shooting a two-day score of 3-under par 139 at the state qualifier.
• Voorheesville earned its third consecutive Class C/D Sectional title in golf with a team score of 321. Matt Parrottinoi – who finished second to Fox at the state qualifier – was the top golfer at the Class C/D tournament with a 4-under par 68.
• The Bethlehem girls tennis team won the Suburban Council title with an 11-0 record, but Emma Willard beat the Lady Eagles in the Section II Class AA quarterfinals on its way to claiming the Class AA team title.
• Guilderville’s Kelly Gao won the 50-yard freestyle title at the Section II Division 1 girls swimming and diving championships. Bethlehem’s Grace Ayer and Lauren Zemering each earned state meet berths in two individual events by meeting the qualifying standards.
• Bethlehem’s Stephen Booker qualified for the state and Federation cross country meets after posting a fourth-place finish at the Section II championships. Booker finished with a time of 15:33.29 in the boys Class A race.