As is our tradition, we are taking a look back at the year in sports.
• The Colonie girls bowling team led off 2014 by winning the Section 2 title and placing second to East Islip at the state tournament. Freshman Amanda Chrzanowski was the top overall bowler at states with a tournament-record six-game total of 1,318 pins. Junior Tiera Gulum was fourth overall with a six-game series of 1,179 pins.
• The Shaker girls basketball team went undefeated during the regular season, but Shenendehowa proved the adage that it’s hard to beat a team three times in the same season as the Plainsmen defeated the Blue Bison 59-52 in the Section 2 Class AA semifinals. Shaker defeated Shen twice during the regular season, but couldn’t get on track in the semifinal contest.
• The Shaker boys swim team placed second to Shen in the Section 2 Division 1 meet and sent seven swimmers to states in the process. William Matz led the Blue Bison with victories in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard breaststroke. Senior Nikos Moisidis, junior Andrew Semmes and sophomores Mark Enright and Zeeshan Irani teamed up to win the 400-yard freestyle relay. Semmes, Moisidis, Irani, sophomore Nicholas Buff and brothers Mark and George Enright also qualified for states in individual events.
• Colonie sent four wrestlers to the state tournament in Albany. Lightweight Golan Cohen won his weight class at the Section 2 Division I tournament, as did heavyweights Isaiah Cooks, Wayne Burt and Austin DiCerbo.
• In the spring, Shaker’s girls lacrosse team edged Guilderland 8-7 to win the Section 2 Class A title for the second time in three years. Julia Lennon struck for four goals in the final, including the game winner with 50.7 seconds left in the second half. The Blue Bison lost to Section 1 champion Suffern 15-9 in the regional round.
• Christian Brothers Academy made it to the Sectional baseball finals against Shen. The Brothers scored two runs in the top of the fifth inning to tie the score at 4-4, but the Plainsmen plated four runs in their half of the frame on their way to a 10-4 victory. Zachary DeThomasis, Alex Koshgarian and Lorenzo Horvath all had two hits for CBA in the final.
• Loudonville Christian’s softball team got to the Class D final before losing to eventual state champion Fort Ann 14-0. The Lady Eagles posted one of their best records in program history with a 16-3 mark.
• The Shaker crew team posted a pair of landmark victories during the spring season. Its girls varsity lightweight quad team of Taylor Alix, Victoria Schaefer, Kate Feeney and Emilia Ball won its division at the state championships, and the boys duo of Manmeet Gujral and Jeffrey Endler finished first at the inaugural National Schools Regatta.
• The highlight of the summer was the Colonie Little League’s 12-year-old all-star team’s brush with national fame. Colonie reached the Mid-Atlantic Regional semifinals, where it met Mo’ne Davis and the Taney Youth Baseball Association from Philadelphia. Colonie led 3-0 in the fourth inning, but Taney rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fourth and three more runs in the fifth to take a 6-3 lead.
Taney called upon Davis to pitch the top of the sixth inning. Davis issued a leadoff walk to Pauly Montesanti, but got the next two batters out to get to Jakob Lemperle. Davis threw the first ball past Lemperle for a strike, but Lemperle took her next pitch over the fence for a two-run homer to pull Colonie within a run. Davis got the next Colonie batter out, though, to preserve Taney’s victory.
Davis went on to become a national sensation, as she became the first girl to win a Little League World Series game with a two-hit shutout over a team from Nashville. She appeared on magazine covers, met President Barack Obama and was named the Associated Press’ Female Athlete of the Year.
As for Colonie, the Mid-Atlantic Regional appearance capped a big year for the program. Both the 11- and 12-year-old all-star teams won state titles — the first time that has happened in the same year for Colonie.
• In the fall, CBA’s bid for a second straight Section 2 Class AA football title ended with a 25-20 loss to Shen in the final. The Brothers led 20-19 until Shen tailback Matt Taft scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
• The Shaker boys soccer team had its sights set on a Sectional title after posting the best record in the Suburban Council. However, Niskayuna defeated the Blue Bison 3-1 in the Class AA semifinals. Shaker finished the season with a 15-2-1 record, with its two losses and one tie coming against Niskayuna.
• Colonie’s Jake Johnson won the Suburban Council cross country title and placed second to Saratoga’s Aidan Took at the Sectional meet, while Shaker’s Maryanna Lansing placed third at the league meet and fourth at Sectionals.
