Athletics

the A-Teams

AA Golf

AA Varsity Golf Coach Jak Bestle celebrated his 250th consecutive win in a regular season spanning over 18 years. He was also named high school golf coach of the year by the Times Union in May. The recognition said, “The former Section 2 golf coordinator put together another strong team that would have been a Section 2 tournament contender had one been held this season.”

AA Swimming

AA Varsity Swim team boys’ medley relay missed tying the New York State record by just seven-tenths of a second but did succeed in tying the Section 2 record. The report on WNYT NewsChannel 13 stated the team is one of the best relay teams in New York state history.

AAG Basketball

The Times Union ran a great article on the success of our AAG Basketball Team and coaches enjoyed during the shortened last season. The article highlighted the team’s 58-36 victory over Voorheesville.

AAG Swimming and Diving

Our AAG Varsity Swim team finished their Fall 2 season as Colonial Council League Champions!

AAG Golf

AAG golf had another undefeated regular season in 2020. The team was recognized in multiple Times Union articles throughout the season and by two local television stations. Go Bears! For teams and schedules go to: albanyacademies.org

AA Varsity Soccer Team Wins Colonial Council Championship

The Albany Academy Varsity Soccer team finished its unbeaten season by winning the Colonial Council conference championship game over Ichabod Crane on April 30. The top-seeded Cadets were scoreless at the half but the team rallied and went on to win 5-1 in the final game for Head Coach Adam Collett P’32 who stepped down after last season.

AA Swimming and Diving Team Garners Post-Season Honors

The Academy Swimming and Diving Team received some well-deserved post-season honors. Bryce Henkel ’21 and Brayden Henkel ’23 were both named to the Times Union’s Section II Swimming and Diving All-Stars and Coach Scott Young was named Coach of the Year. These honors are bestowed based on votes cast by swimming and diving coaches. The Times Union staff also named Bryce as Athlete of the Year for Boys’ Swimming and the following students were named to the First Team All-Stars: Bryce Henkel ’21, Brayden Henkel ’23, Ian Young ’21, Silas Strich ’21, Ivan Young ’21, and Jack Slote ’21. The newspaper staff also selected Coach Young as Coach of the Year.

AA Hockey

A former Academies student-athlete, Yale University senior Kevin O’Neil ’16, was named a finalist for ECAC Hockey’s 202021 Student-Athlete of the Year award. Kevin is a physics major who has been a regular on the ECAC all-academic team.

Seniors Tommy McGuire and Timmy Carlson were named honorable mention at this year’s 2021 NHSHL Section II hockey awards.

Students playing Division I, II, III

Division I Athletes

Congratulations to five AA and AAG students who will be playing Division 1 athletics in the fall of 2021 at Yale (lacrosse), Boston College (swimming), Georgetown (crew), Duke (crew), and St. John’s University (lacrosse). The student-athletes participated in an official signing ceremony via Facebook live from the James E. Poole Athletic Facility on November 23.

Student-Athletes Recognized at Signing Event

On Wednesday, May 26, we hosted a signing ceremony in the James E. Poole Athletic Facility for 12 student-athletes who have committed to attending Division I, II, and III colleges and universities and participating on athletic teams at their chosen college. Roberto Barron D3 BASEBALL Penn State University Harrisburg Timothy Carlson D3 GOLF New England College

William Comparin D3 TRACK & FIELD St. Lawrence University Jackson Foley D3 SOCCER Stevenson Occidental College Justin Haverly D3 LACROSSE Salve Regina University Chris Huban D3 GOLF Bentley University Nicholas Lyons D1 GOLF Siena College William O’Brien D1 TENNIS Fairfield University Kieran O’Haire D1 BASKETBALL Providence College

Esteban Ramirez D3 TRACK & FIELD St. Lawrence University

Ivan Young D3 SWIMMING Saint Norbert College

Julia Zacher D3 TRACK & FIELD Amherst College

Anthony Owens ’85

Honoring Our Class of 2020 Hall of Fame Inductees

Emily Downie ’12

Congratulations to the Class of 2020 Hall of Fame inductees who were honored during a virtual ceremony on May 20, 2021. More than 390 individuals tuned in to celebrate these honorees who are among the most recent students and coaches carrying on the long history of excellence in athletics that The Albany Academies are known for.

Albany Academy inductees included Anthony Owens ’85, Ned Duffy ’70, Jim Mills ’95, Robert Beaulieu ’85, Neil Bryant ’00, Coach Scott Young P’21, ’24, and the 1999-2000 Football Team. Albany Academy for Girls inductees were Coach Bonnie Morse-Gillham, Andrea Lodico ’00, Emily Downie ’12, and Kirstie Phelps-Harris ’01.

At The Albany Academies winning isn’t everything, or the only thing, but athletics and physical education are important components of leadership and character development. The school is renowned for our athletic teams, the number of teams that students can select from, their success, and their fierce competitiveness on the field, court, or mat.

We offer our heartiest congratulations to all of our recent Hall of Fame inductees!