SPOrTS

caz girls hit top times at Kirschenheiter meet

By KuRt WHEELER

The Cazenovia girls indoor track team clocked some of their best times of the season as it scored 95.5 points to finish second among 20 teams at the Fred Kirschenheiter Memorial Invitational’s morning session last Saturday at SRC Arena.

Only Class AA Liverpool (131) outpaced the Lakers during the meet, the girls led by its relay teams with both the 4x400 and 4x200 meter groups winning in State Qualifier eligible times and the 4x800 taking second.

Grace Dolan led off the winning 4x400 team with a 1:04.9 effort followed by Reid McMurtrie (1:06.2), Meghan Mehlbaum (1:04.9) and Izzy Stromer-Galley (1:04.0). Each of these relay legs was a season best as the squad totaled 4:20.30, their fastest of the winter and tops in Section III Class B-2.

Dolan (28.3 seconds) and Stromer-Galley (28.5) also led and anchored the 4x200 to its fastest time of the season.

Riley Knapp (season best 27.0) and Caitlyn Smithers (29.0) ran speedy middle legs for the Lakers’ winning total of 1:53.16. Knapp (fourth place 7.77) and Smithers (seventh place, 7.90) also scored for Cazenovia in the 55 meter dash.

Smithers led a 19-point Laker effort in the pole vault as she cleared 7 feet 6 inches for second with Faith Wheeler adding a season-best 7’6” for third and Sofie Reger clearing 7 feet for fourth.+0-

Knapp hit the sectional standard of 25’5” to take fifth in her debut in the shot put with Maddy Rothfeld seventh at 25’2”.

Wheeler led off the second place 4x800 meter relay with Maeve McGreevy, Sally Hughes and Dinah Gifford handling the baton in the successful 11:02.72 effort.

Elsewhere, Wheeler achieved a season best time of 5:24.55 to take fourth in the 1,500-meter run while McGreevy ran her speediest 1,000-meter race ever to earn second place in 3:29.31. Haylee Stearns also scored for Cazenovia in the event, picking up eighth in 3:41.71 in her first attempt at the 1,000.

Maura Phillips also had an impressive showing in her first effort at a new distance, hitting the sectional standard and placing sixth in the 600-meter run in 1:49.98.

Hughes also ran her fastest 600 ever, Meet l Page 13

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cazenovia girls indoor track runner caitlyn Smithers scored in three events, including the 4x200 relay, during last Saturdays’ Fred Kirschenheiter Memorial invitational at SRc Arena.

Caz hockey loses 2-0 to B’ville

By PHiL BLAcKWELL

When the Cazenovia ice hockey team made its way north to face Baldwinsville last Friday night, it had in mind an opportunity to put an end to the Bees’ nine-game win streak.

And the Lakers’ effort was quite good, especially on the defensive side, yet it could not break through on the other end of the rink as it took a 2-0 defeat at the Three Rivers Athletic Complex in Lysander.

From the outset, B’ville attacked the Lakers hard, taking 13 shots in the first period.

Tucker Ives stopped 12 of them, only giving up Keegan Lynch’s goal midway through the frame.

On the other end, Cazenovia pressured, too, taking nine shots, but Jon Schirmer stopped all of them for the Bees and would remain stingy through a second period where neither side would convert.

Through much of the third period, the Lakers kept it 1-0, Ives working his total to 25 saves, yet his teammates were unable to nab the tying goal as B’ville doubled its margin in the late stages.

Having fallen to 5-6 overall (2-2 league), Cazenovia plays three times in four days late this week, hosting Fayetteville-Manlius and Ithaca with a Thursday trip to State Fair Coliseum to face Fayetteville-Manlius in between.

Phil Blackwell | Sports Editor | 434-8889 ext. 348 | pblackwell@eaglenewsonline.com

Caz boys indoor track fourth at mid-January meet

By PHiL BLAcKWELL

Once more, the Cazenovia boys indoor track and field team stood up well against large-school competition during last Saturday’s morning session of the Fred Kirschenheiter Memorial Invitational at SRC Arena.

The Lakers gained 58 points and finished fourth. Only three large schools – West Genesee, Fayetteville-Manlius and Liverpool – ended up ahead of Cazenovia.

Branden McColm contended in the 1,600-meter run, his 4:45.34 a close second to the 4:44.42 from Homer’s Luke Tighe as Caleb Gilmore was sixth in five minutes flat. Killian Blouin cleared 10 feet 6 inches to finish third in the pole vault.

McColm also ran 1,000 meters in a personal-best 2:40.49 for fourth place, while Gilmore, Will Austin, Chris Kelly and Eddie Comeau were fourth in the 4x800 relay in 9:37.15.

Connor Frisbie had a fourth-place triple jump of 39’9 1/4” and was sixth in the long jump with 18’5 1/2” as Wyatt Scott was eighth with 18’3”.

Scott, Matt Tugaw, Tristan FieldBradley and Lucky Prior were fourth in the 4x400 relay in 3:52.45. Field-Bradley also took eighth in the 600-meter run in 1:35.36.

Judah Ossont, clearing 5’2”, was fifth in the high jump as Ethan Burry earned sixth place in the weight throw, going 37’10”. Kelly was 11th in the 3,200-meter run and the Lakers were eighth in the 4x200 relay in 1:44.42.

Later, in the afternoon session, Chittenango finished fifth in the boys division and seventh in the girls division with several top finishes.

And it included the Bears’ Laura Powers winning the girls 3,000-meter run in 11:39.92 over Baldwinsville’s Yolanda Wei (11:40.69) as Ava McLean was sixth and Emily Judd seventh.

Later, in the 1,000, Sophia DiGennaro won in 3:23.51, a personal best, edging B’ville’s Sophia Cavalieri (3:23.83) as Allie Bartoszek took third in the 55 hurdles in 9.94 seconds and Brooke Walters had a third-place long jump of 14’2 1/4”. Miranda Danaher was seventh in the shot put.

Chittenango got a boys victory from Joseph Lin when he went 8.19 seconds to set a new personal mark in the 55 hurdles and beat the 8.32 from B’ville’s Jackson Creelman.

Caleb LeBlanc was second in the 3,200 in 10:21.69 as the Bears were fourth in the 4x200 in 1;43.83 and fifth in the 4x400 in 4:03.80 and sixth in the 4x800. Owen Law tied for fifth in the high jump clearing 5’2” and LeBlanc got sixth in the 600 in 1:30.39.

Cazenovia, Chittenango wrestlers take defeats

By PHiL BLAcKWELL

More challenges awaited the Cazenovia and Chittenango wrestling teams as each of them would take losses before the Lakers hosted its annual tournament Saturday at Buckley Gym.

The Lakers had 45.5 points, finishing 12th in a 15-team field right behind the Bears (69 points) in 11th place as South Jefferson/Sandy Creek, with 158 points, claimed the top spot.

Cazenovia met Southern Hills last Tuesday night, only able to win three of the eight contested bouts in a 39-29 defeat.

Broden Enders, in the 152-pound opener, pinned Alex Wilcox in 87 seconds, with Finn Tobin (160 pounds) getting a third-period fall over Amr Shabani to make it 12-0 Cazenovia in the early going.

From there, though, all the Lakers could earn on the points side was forfeits to Exazander Simzer (215 pounds) and Cullen Arnold (110 pounds) before Bryce Enders (138 pounds) got a 17-2 technical fall over Sye Stanton. John Fowler, at 172 pounds, lost 6-1 to Aiden Moltion.

When Chittenango took its turn against Phoenix a night later, the Bears were in it until the final bout of the night before it lost 42-36 to the Firebirds.

After a forfeit to Andrew Bailey at 189 pounds, Luke Martin (215) took just 19 seconds to pin Nick Root, with Dan Mahle also getting a forfeit at 110.

At 126 pounds, Vincent Lazzaro got a third-period pin over Chase Huntley, and Chittenango tied it, 36-36, when Edward Geer (145 pounds) pinned Correy McAllister with two seconds left and Quentin Mohamed (152) had a secondperiod fall over Avery LaRobardiere.

In the closing bout at 160, Phoenix broke the tie when Cody Hager pinned the Bears’ Bryce Asmussen.

Cazenovia wrestled again on Thursday against a powerful Camden side and lost, 63-6, to the Blue Devils, the only points coming at 110 when Evan Rutecki pinned Talon Kimball. The Lakers’ match with Liverpool, scheduled for Jan. 25, was moved up one day to Jan. 24.

Chittenango volleyball beats foes

By PHiL BLAcKWELL

It remains quite a difficult task for anyone to get within range of either of Chittenango High School’s volleyball teams.

Already 6-0 going into last week’s action, the girls Bears made it seven in a row against Pulaski, wasting little time in a 25-8, 25-12, 25-15 sweep of the Blue Devils.

With her 10 assists and seven digs, Anna Spencer fed it to a front line where Rachel Gilbert, with seven kills, set the paced, adding five digs.

Stephanie Huckabee had six kills, Alex Sylstra got five kills and Julia Spencer and Tayor Streiff had four kills apiece. Also strong on defense, Huckbaee had eight digs, just ahead of Streiff (six digs) and Cara Kielbasa, who managed six digs to go with her four aces.

A night later, Chittenango did the same to Weedsport, the 25-11, 25-9, 25-15 sweep of the Warriors featuring five assists from Sylstra and four assists apiece from Anna Spencer and Sydney Martin. Gilbert had four kills and 10 digs as Streiff matched Spencer’s six digs.

Then, in a Thursday-night rematch with Pulaski, the Bears won the first two sets 25-8 and the third 25-18 for another sweep, with Sylstra earning seven aces and Huckabee five aces to go with 14 digs and five kills. Julia Spencer also had five kills and Anna Spencer six assists to go with six digs.

Chittenango’s boys volleyball team had its third match of the season last Wednesday against Westmoreland – and its third consecutive sweep.

The Bears’ 25-12, 25-11, 25-16 win over the Bulldogs included four aces from Rodger Mulholland to go with four kills and four digs.

Quinn O’Brien and Micah Granata each had three kills, while Cole Thomas produced 18 assists and Lawson Pagorek finished with 10 digs.

It figured to get tougher a night later, at Oneida, and the sets did take a bit longer, but again the Bears put together a sweep, handling the Indians 25-20, 2521, 25-19.

With more of a presence at the net, Chittenango had Landon Parks get 11 kills, plus four aces and two blocks, helped by Micah Alpuerto’s nine kills and nine digs. Thomas dished out 26 assists as Trevor Cole amassed seven kills and 13 digs, Pagorek earning 16 digs. Mulholland had four kills and seven digs.

Meet

l From page 12 crossing the line in 1:54.63. StromerGalley closed out the Lakers’ scoring on the track with a season best time of 45.72 to earn fourth in the 300 meter dash.

Corrinne Albicker led Cazenovia in the jumps, reaching 14’1” for third in the long jump and 30’3 ¾” for seventh in the triple jump.

Mehlbaum added a fifth-place showing in the high jump at 4’6” and Rothfeld capped the field event scoring with a seventh-place effort of 30 feet in the weight throw, less than five inches from her best.

The cumulative effort by the Lady Lakers during the meet was impressive as they hit 17 Sectional standards, two State Qualifier marks and achieved 30 season bests overall.

Cazenovia faces a quick turnaround as it heads to Utica University for its final regular-season meet of the season on Thursday before preparing for the league and sectional championships.

Cazenovia girls hoops lose to Chittenango, 47-34

By PHiL BLAcKWELL

Through the first 10 games of the regular season, the Cazenovia girls basketball team had stayed on even terms, moving closer to a Section III playoff berth.

Yet the Lakers have struggled against the top OHSL Liberty division sides, including Bishop Ludden, who came to Buckley Gym last Monday night and prevailed 56-30.

The Gaelic Knights built a 34-11 lead by halftime and extended the margin to 51-15 before easing up in the fourth quarter, having seen its all-time leading scorer, Amarah Streiff, lead with 16 points.

On Cazenovia’s side, most of Ella Baker’s team-high 10 points came in the late going, with Katie Rajkowski getting five of her seven points from free throws. Bess Johnson and Lucy Bliss had five points apiece.

Now the Lakers turned its attention to Friday’s game at Chittenango, a game that looked promising since the Bears only carried a 2-8 record through its first half of the regular season.

However, in front of a home crowd, Chittenango put everything together in the second quarter, breaking out of an 8-8 tie and outscoring Cazenovia 21-6 in those eight minutes.

From there, the Bears went on to win 4734, in large part because its offense, which had struggled so much this winter, finally found some consistent production and balance.

Alazayah Smith led the way with 13 points, but Hailee Foran was close behind, earning 12 points as Mia McReynolds also got to double figures with 11 points and Abby Scheidelman had seven points.

No one on the Lakers other than Baker could produce on a consistent basis, Baker leading all scorers with 14 points as Rajkowski had six points and Hannah Ruddy five points.

Chittenango hoops fall to CBA, beat Cazenovia

By PHiL BLAcKWELL

Two meetings between the Chittenango boys basketball team and Christian Brothers Academy featured as much excitement and emotion as an entire season’s worth of games.

Both would go back and forth, come down to the final seconds, feature endings that would not easily be forgotten – and end up as a split.

Having prevailed Dec. 2 at CBA in the Peppino’s Invitational, the Bears found itself on the wrong end of a 55-53 decision that featured another late-game comeback – and an unlikely answer.

Playing superb defense all night, CBA found itself leading 53-48 going into the closing seconds, only to see the Bears move within two and then, down 53-51, get the ball back.

With 1.7 seconds left, the Brothers fouled Alex Moesch. After Moesch made his first foul shot, he lined up the second – and as it swished to tie the game, Boule quickly made his way to the other end of the court.

Burns quickly took the ball underneath his own basket. Without any hesitation, he sent a full-court pass over the hands of multiple Chittenango players.

Boule, in one motion, caught it, turned, drove and hit a lay-up just as the clock hit zero, mobbed within moments by his CBA teammates for one of the most exciting wins in the program’s long and storied history.

For the most part, the Bears depended on its high-scoring trio. Ryan Moesch led all scorers with 20 points, Alex Moesch adding 16 points and Ty Kelly 14 points.

That game-winning pass more than made up for Burns only having seven points on the night. Boule had 12 points as Steve DeRegis led with 17 points, most of it from five 3-pointers.

To say this entire week was emotional for Chittenango understated things.

Two nights after the battle with CBA, the Bears found itself at Buckley Gym facing Cazenovia, bringing Alex and Ryan Moesch back to the school they once attended before transferring.

In a charged-up atmosphere, the Lakers kept up for a while, tied 16-16 through one period before Chitteango took charge late in the half and gradually pulled away to prevail 70-52.

Playing in black and red instead of blue and gold, Ryan Moesch got 26 points and Alex Moesch 17 points, Kelly adding 19 points as Ben Bianco led the Lakers with 28 points and Tanner Lawson added 10 points.

Before all this, Cazenovia got a key victory on Jan. 7 when, hosting South Jefferson, it got away late to defeat the Spartans 66-56.

Little separated the teams in the first three quarters, South Jefferson led by Curtis Staie (19 points) and Nolan Widrick (18 points) as it kept pace with the Lakers.

However, in the fourth quarter Cazenovia outscored the Spartans 20-12, led by Bianco, who poured in 25 points, and inside by Lawson, who amassed 15 rebounds to go with 16 points, three assists, three steals and two blocks.

Izaak Gilbert helped out, earning 11 points, three assists and three steals, while all of Bobby Livingston’s nine points came from a trio of 3-pointers.

And after the battles with CBA and Cazenovia, Chittenango was able to go to East Syracuse Minoa and, outscoring the Spartans in every quarter, rolled to a 78-55 victory to improve to 9-2.

Again, the Bears’ star trio proved difficult to contain, Ryan Moesch earning 28 points and Alex Moesch adding 25 points as Kelly finished with 18 points.

Chilly Chili

l From page 1 social, emotional, physical, language, and cognitive. Its programs help children to be successful in school and life.

The non-profit serves families with children ranging from six weeks of age through fifth grade, regardless of race, gender, color, national origin, or religion. Families are welcome to visit and participate in the program at any time.

The program currently has 63 children from 46 families enrolled and 20 full-time employees.

According to the CCH/My School Board, the 2023 Chilly Chili fundraising goal is $15,000. Most of the proceeds will go towards much-needed parking lot repairs.

To register for the run/walk, donate, or volunteer, visit runsignup.com/race/ny/cazenovia/chillychili5Krunwalk.

For more information on CCH/My School, visit cazkids.org.