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Boquet Valley ends just shy of comeback against Hartford in Class D regionals, 57-51| Page 3
THE HIGHLIGHTS THE MONTH IN NORTH COUNTRY SPORTS — March 2022
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Plattsburgh State women’s hockey finishes third......Page 4 Moriah Class C Boys Basketball game................Page 5 Clinton Community’s Donna Dixon retires...............Page 6 Sect. VII gymnasts, swimmers compete at states....Page 8 Seton Catholic Class D Boys Basketball game............Page 9 NCCS boys win hockey sectionals.....................Page 10 Saranac Class B Girls Basketball game.............Page 11
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THE HIGHLIGHTS
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Boquet Valley ends just shy of comeback in Class D regionals, 57-51 By JESSICA COLLINS Press-Republican
PLATTSBURGH — The Tanagers of Hartford quickly got their heads back in game after an early Boquet Valley lead to win the NYSPHSAA Class D state regional, 57-51, March 13, at Clinton Community College. Hartford had a solid lead for most of the matchup, led by Karlee Nims with 29 points and Gabrielle Mcfarren with 15, and one trey. For the Griffins, Abbey Schwoebel led the team with 21 points, while Ella Lobdell had an impressive 18. The duo combined for the team’s seven three-pointers, four from Lobdell and three from Schwoebel. After a late fourth quarter push, the Griffins came up just six points short of the Final Four. “They have tremendous heart,” Boquet Valley coach Hokey McKinley said. “I mean, they were down, but they never gave up.”
THE GAME Schwoebel opened up the scoring with a three-pointer at 7:10 of the first quarter pushing a seven point run for the Griffins, with them
Joey LaFranca/P-R Photo Hartford’s Gabrielle Mcfarren (23) drives to the basket against Boquet Valley’s Abby Monty during a NSYPHSAA Class D girls basketball regional final on Sunday at Clinton Community College in Plattsburgh. leading 11-4 with four minutes left. However, Hartford, with two buckets and a steal from Alawnah Dunda, and one two-point shot from Gabrielle Mcfarren, got the game to a one-point deficit,
11-10 with just over a minute remaining. With a shot from Nims, and then two successful free throws from Mcfarren, the Tanagers took the lead, 15-12, with just 1.6 seconds left in the first quarter.
Starting off the second quarter with a steal from Lobdell, the Griffins began to lag behind, allowing the Tanagers to score 18 points while themselves only scoring six, going into the break down 33-18. Hartford’s standout player, Nims, scored all 12 of her field goals as two-pointers, making a majority of them
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in the paint. “We couldn’t defend the post very well, but I was proud that my team played the way they did,” McKinley said. In the third quarter, Boquet Valley began to come back slightly, cutting the deficit to only eight points off of two successful foul shots from Lobdell, making the score 35-43. Lobdell also scored nine points off of three treys in the third. The fourth quarter is where things started to get interesting. With Hartford up by 14 going into the final stanza, the momentum seemed to swing in the Griffins’ favor with a stellar 3-point shot, drawing the foul for the andone from Schwoebel at the 7:15 mark. Schwoebel then drew a foul at 6:59, making one free throw, then recovered a defensive board and made it a four point game, 51-47, with a three-pointer at around the five minute mark. Hartford’s Dunda then scored a shot, followed by another by Schwoebel to make it another four point game, 53-49. Then two more two-pointers from Nims and then Boquet’s Sadie Thompson made it 55-51. However, after a string of timeouts from each team, Hartford’s Nims put in the final two shots at the free throw line at the 3.9 second
mark, making the final score 57-51. “It was a lot closer than I wanted it to be,” Hartford coach Jason Johnson said. “It was more or less just digging in and standing our ground, moving our feet and not reaching.” Now, Hartford will play Copenhagen this Friday at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, at 8 p.m. “The team stayed together. We were able to work together and pull it off,” Johnson said. “It got a little sketchy in the third and fourth, but we were able to do it.” The Boquet Valley Griffins will lose six seniors in Thompson, Maddie Kirkby, Abby Monty, Liz Poe, Martina Birle Mateos and Alisa Kohler. “We had a great season. They’ve been working hard since November, and they’re a joy to be around,” McKinley said. “I’m going to miss the seniors.” — Hartford 57, Boquet Valley 51 Hartford (57) Mcfarren 4-6-15, Nims 12-5-29, Wade 0-0-0, French 2-0-4, Dunda 4-19, Johnson 0-0-0, Severance 0-0-0, Nadeau 0-0-0, Liebig 0-0-0, Reynolds 0-0-0, Lindridge 0-0-0. Totals: 22-1257. Boquet Valley (51) Bisselle 0-0-0, Kirkby 0-0-0, Thompson 2-0-4, Fiegl 0-0-0, Monty 1-0-2, Poe 0-0-0, Schwoebel 7-4-21, Lobdell 5-4-18, Reynolds 0-0-0, Pulsifer 0-0-0, Kohler 0-0-0, Caputo 2-1-5, Denton 0-1-1. Totals: 17-1–51. Halftime- Hartford, 33-18. 3 point goals- Hartford (1) Mcfarren. BV (7) Schwoebel 3, Lobdell 4.
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THE HIGHLIGHTS
Cards beat Elmira, 3-2, in NCAA third-place game BY BEN WATSON Press-Republican Sports
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — It wasn’t in the game that she or the Cardinals wanted to be playing, but Annie Katonka ended her Plattsburgh State career, March 19, doing what she has often done: scoring the game winner. With just over five minutes left in the NCAA Division III women’s hockey tournament third place game, the Cardinals first line of Katonka, Ivy Boric and Sara Krauseneck set to work in the Elmira zone, eventually scoring when Boric dropped a pass back to Katonka who wired a wrist shot over the Soaring Eagles’ goalie from the slot. “We didn’t win the tournament, but the second best thing was beating Elmira, all things considered,” Katonka said with a laugh. “I was just trying to shoot the puck, and it ended up going in; I didn’t really see anything except the light going off.”
THE GAME After falling to Gustavus Adolphus 5-1 on Friday, Plattsburgh State trailed early in the tilt with Elmira as well, with Claire Elfring opening the scoring 6:56 into the game. But the Cards held them to that goal, getting to the first intermission down 1-0 and looking far better than their start against the Gusties. “We were ready to play yesterday, we just played against a buzzsaw of a team that plays a different style,” Plattsburgh coach Kevin Houle said. “Elmira plays a different style (than Gustavus), more like we play and it was kind of a back and forth game, but it was certainly more our style today.”
That strong play continued into the second, with Cardinal goals from Nicole Unsworth and Boric sandwiching a Soaring Eagle goal from Kelly Millins. The 2-2 tie appeared to have been broken a bit earlier than Katonka’s winner when Boric finished a play with 8:02 left in the third period, but the goal was called off due to goaltender interference from Katonka as she battled with an Elmira defender in front. Houle was pleased to see the game not need extra time when Katonka’s goal came around. “I didn’t want to go to OT; we just really wanted to get out of here, and it was a great play by Sara, Ivy and Annie, again,” Houle said. “No one really wants to play (the consolation) game, but when you get out there and you lace them up, you want to be out there to win.”
DEPARTURES Katonka, her co-captain Erin McArdle and Kaitlyn Drew-Meade all came back for a fifth year at the college and with the team when an extra year of NCAA eligibility was allowed following the cancellation of various seasons during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s yet to be seen if this year’s seniors like Krauseneck, Unsworth, Taylor Whitney, Sierra Benjamin and Emma Killeen will follow a similar path. Regardless, the Plattsburgh State squad will be losing massive pieces up front in Katonka and Drew-Meade, and on the blue line in McArdle, a fact not lost on Boric. “First and foremost, I’m going to miss them off the ice; they’re amazing friends and a great time,” Boric said. “On the ice, we have some big shoes to fill, and step
Gabe Dickens/P-R Photo Plattsburgh State’s Sara Krauseneck lets loose a point-blank shot against Elmira goaltender Leonie-Louise Kuehberger in the first period of Saturday’s matchup with the Soaring Eagles. The Cardinals went on to win that 2022 NCAA Division III Women’s Hockey Tournament third-place game, 3-2. Middlebury defeated Gustavus Adolphus in overtime later that night to win the national championship. up and put the puck in the net because big AK’s not going to be here anymore.” While she would have much rather been facing Middlebury on Saturday to end things, Katonka is leaving knowing that she gave her best. “Getting a second chance at everything was great,” Katonka said. “We wish we would have ended playing at 7 p.m., but, at the end of the day, I can say I gave it my all for all five years, and I left everything out there.”
EXPERIENCE Though Boric was a junior this
year, it was her, and many members of the team’s, first appearance in the final four. Her freshman year, the 201920 season, was cut short not long after the Cardinals won that year’s NEWHL championship before the next season was wiped out entirely. The sky-high expectations that a team like Plattsburgh State always has weren’t quite met in 2021-22, but the trip to the tournament will look to be a big building block for the younger members of the team who are sticking around. “It was definitely a great experience to get under our belts,” Boric
said. “It’s not the outcome we wanted, but, going into next year, it’s something to push for to get back here and find a way to win.”
— Plattsburgh State 3, Elmira 2 ELM 1 1 0 — 2 PSU 0 2 1 — 3 First period- 1, ELM, Elfring, 6:56. Second period- 2, PSU, Unsworth (Boric, Katonka), 4:34. 3, ELM, Millins (McArdle, Haviland), 8:56. 4, PSU, Boric (Benjamin, Krauseneck), 19:35. Third period- 5, PSU, Katonka (Boric, Krauseneck), 14:54. Shots- Plattsburgh State, 33-20. Saves- Nease, PSU, 18. Kuehberger, ELM, 30.
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e Moriah boys fall just short against Stillwater, lose 55-52 By RYAN HAYNER Press-Republican
TROY — Rowan Swan’s go-ahead putback in the closing seconds of overtime Sunday put Moriah one defensive stand away from victory. The Vikings initially succeeded as the Warriors potential game-winning bucket rimmed out. But Jaxon Mueller was there to clean up. Mueller capped a superlative performance with his own putback with three seconds left to lift Stillwater past Moriah, 55-52, in the NYSPHSAA Class C boys’ basketball regional final at Hudson Valley Community College. The Vikings’ ensuing in-bounds pass sailed out of bounds, and a last-ditch half-court heave to tie came up well short, sending the Section II champion Warriors into next weekend’s semifinal matchup against Section VI’s Salamanca. “I’m proud of our accomplishments,” Moriah coach Brian Cross said. “Our kids played hard all year, got to play the last 3-4 games without masks, which was nice. If you had told me at the beginning o of the year we’re going to make it to the regional finals, I would have been more than happy. “I wish we could have gotten a little more out of it for our seniors, but we had - a good season.” s Mueller finished with a game-high 22 k points and 17 rebounds for Stillwater (223), which is playing in its first state tournament since 2006. “He was tough inside. We kind of figured out a little better in the second half, we doubled him and made it more difficult , for him,” Cross said. “But we had a lot , of chances around the rim that we didn’t finish — so it’s that kind of game – can’t afford to miss the easy ones around the rim.” Lukas Lilac scored 14 points for the Warriors, with CJ McNeil adding 10 points, six
assists and five rebounds. Moriah seniors Bryce Sprague and Will Rohrer scored 20 apiece to lead the Vikings. Sprague collected six rebounds, four steals, three assists and three blocks. Swan — playing through a first-quarter ankle injury — had five points and nine rebounds. Rohrer was instrumental in keeping the game close in the first half with a collection of jumpers, runners and drives. He scored six of the Vikings eight first-quarter points and scored six straight in the second quarter that briefly gave Moriah a 20-15 lead. Mueller, however, scored six of Stillwater’s next eight points for a 23-22 halftime advantage. “They buckled down on Bryce pretty good,” Cross said. “Will made some shots that kept us in the game early on.” Although neither team was able to take control in the second half, Stillwater did manage a six-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Sprague keyed a 10-2 Moriah run with eight points — including two traditional three-point plays — for a 45-43 edge. Neither team made a field goal in the final three minutes of regulation. Lilac knocked down a pair of a pair of shots from the charity stripe to give Stillwater a one-point cushion and Brady Olcott responded with his own game-tying free throw. Sprague came away with a late steal, but Moriah (21-2) was unable to get off a decent look before the end of regulation, setting up the dramatic overtime ending. “We needed one more rebound,” Cross said. “Tough game.” – Stillwater 55, Moriah 52 (OT)
Moriah (52) Rohrer 8-4-20, Sprague 6-8-20, Swan 1-3-5, Cooper 2-0-4, Demarais 1-0-2, Olcott 0-1-1, Fleury 0-0-0. Totals: 10-16-52. Stillwater (55) Mueller 11-0-22, Lilac 4-6-14, McNeil 3-4-10, T. McDonough 2-4-8, Wichelns 0-1-1, Hotaling 0-0-0, J. McDonough 0-0-0. Totals: 20-15-55. Halftime- Stillwater, 23-22.
Ryan Hayner/P-R Photo Moriah’s Bryce Sprague (33) gets hounded by Stillwater defenders Jaxon Mueller (50) and Carter Wichelns (55) during a NYSPHSAA Class C boys basketball regional final Sunday at Hudson Valley Community College.
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Clinton Community’s Donna By JESSICA COLLINS Press-Republican
PLATTSBURGH — Ask anyone who the most influential coach in Clinton Community College’s athletic history is, chances are they’d say Donna Dixon. And for good reason. She’s responsible for the school’s only national championship, in 2010 with the women’s soccer team, as well as the success with the women’s basketball program over the years. She’s been a key figure in the Seton Catholic girls basketball program for a few years as well. However, all good things must come to an end. After almost 30 years, Dixon has decided to officially retire from coaching. While she’ll still be at Clinton working in admissions and as an instructor, in November she decided to retire from coaching to spend time with her daughter, Addison.
COACHING HISTORY Dixon started at Clinton Community College in 1995 as a part-time basketball coach until 2000, when she was brought on to coach full-time. From 1999 to 2012, she worked with both the basketball and soccer teams, spending 19 years with the basketball program, 13 years with soccer, and seven years for softball. “I coached until 2012, and then I stopped coaching for a while. I just needed a break,”
Photo Provided Donna Dixon holds up the plaque after winning the Northern Independence Conference Championship with her women’s soccer team. The Clinton Community squad were conference champions from 2001 to 2005 under Dixon’s watch. Dixon said. “Then I coached at Seton Catholic for three years and then went back to Clinton for two.” When COVID hit, both the men’s and women’s soccer and basketball programs were put on hold, with the college searching for coaches, and cross country was the only sport left. “When the season was canceled due to COVID, I knew it was time to pass it
Photo Provided Donna Dixon with the National Junior College Athletic Association trophy, awarded to the 2010 Clinton Community College women’s basketball team after defeating Genesee Community College, 3-2, for the national title. She earned National Coach of the Year honors for the league that season for her efforts. on,” Dixon said. “I will miss working with the student athletes but will cherish the memories and friends I have made.” Before coaching, she played at Plattsburgh State from 1985 to 1990, where she was selected to the SUNYAC all-star team all four years and named Player-of-the-Year her junior year. In 2004, she was inducted into the Cardinal
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NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP The height of her coaching success came in 2010, when she led the Clinton Community women’s soccer team to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III championship. “It was the first and only national cham-
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Dixon moves on from coaching good basketball program.”
“A COACH THAT CARED”
Photo provided Donna Dixon talks to her Clinton Community College women’s basketball team. such a small area.”
KEY TO SUCCESS
Photo Provided The Seton Catholic girls basketball team, coached by Donna Dixon, after winning a Section VII Class D sectional championship. pionship at our college,” she said. “For being such a small college in our area, it was a great accomplishment, competing against not only the top New York colleges, but we beat a team from Texas and one from Minnesota.” Clinton Community College Athletic Director Kevin Daughterty, who began working with Dixon in 2005 while coaching the men’s basketball team, reiterated the idea that Dixon is the most successful coach in Clinton athletic history. “There’s no question about it,” Daugherty said. “She had somewhat of a dynasty going with soccer, which resulted in the pinnacle of winning the national championship, and she had some very good basketball teams as well.” Dixon said the success in 2010 did not
come easy. “We started developing this very competitive program which won several Mountain Valley Collegiate Conference championships,” she said. “We had gone to, in the younger years, the regional championship a few years and we weren’t able to get to that next level until 2010.” In the later years of her soccer coaching career, they had more success, including several more MVCC championships. “We were never expected to play at that level and we just had a super group of kids who played really well and we went down there and won the championship,” Dixon said. “It was a great accomplishment for anybody at that level to get there, but for us it was really important because we’re
Patience. The one word Dixon had when asked what a coach needs to be successful at the collegiate level. “You have to be really invested in your players and have to want to develop them, not only as players but as people,” she said. “The life lessons of coaching student-athletes are sometimes more important than wins and losses. Wins and losses are okay, but it’s the development of the student-athletes that really is important.” That patience was very present in her years as the basketball coach as well, from starting with a small program to making it to the Final Four and winning a conference championship. “When I first started, we barely had enough for a basketball program,” Dixon said. “Recruiting in this area is a little challenging, but we were able to slowly develop our basketball program. Having a consistent coach there, I was there for a long time, so you get to know the local coaches, the local kids start to know who you are and you can establish some stability and then develop into a really
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Coaching over 500 students over her years at Clinton and Seton, Dixon said it is important to know players on a personal level. “To see them become who they are today is just a wonderful feeling,” she said. “I do keep in contact with a lot of them. You help them navigate their college life and get them where they want to go. To me, my biggest accomplishment was to see them develop.” Daugherty also said he was always impressed with the relationships Dixon had with her players. “I think at this level, you tend to spend a lot more time with your players, and when I started coaching with Donna, a lot of times we would travel together, the men’s and women’s basketball teams, and I was extremely impressed with the way she dealt with her players,” he said. “They always had great respect for her.” As for Dixon’s legacy at Clinton, although already cemented as one of the best in the college’s history, she’d just like to be remembered as a coach that cared. “To see that many kids go through college and see how they are today and how they turned into great community members and professionals, it’s just such a great feeling to see how they accomplish what they wanted to accomplish,” Dixon said. “For me to be a part of them getting to their final goal is very satisfying.” Even with all of Dixon’s success, she stated it was not necessarily about wins or losses, but making long-lasting friendships and helping students reach their goals. Email Jessica Collins jcollins@pressrepublican.com Twitter: @JCollinsSports
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THE HIGHLIGHTS
Photo Provided Members of the AuSable Valley and Plattsburgh High boys swim teams. Pictured left to right are: Isaac Dubay, Ben Insley, Ryan Recore, Chandler Perry, Alix Perras, David Butler, Patrick Hagadorn, Hayden Wells, Cohen Fitzwater, Rafael Kowal.
Photo Provided The 2021-22 CVAC Gymnastics All-Stars, from left to right, Lilly Swyers, Shawna Manor, Lauren Prescott, Maleah Lunan, Oona Hall, Caleigh Latour, Kennedy Beyer, Nate Sarnow, Ninah Keliihananui, Kendra Lawliss and Maddy Witkewicz. The North Country contingent recently trekked downstate to compete at the NYSPHSAA Gymnastics State Championships.
Section VII gymnasts compete at States, CVAC all-stars named
BUFFALO — A North Country contingent traveled to Kenmore West High School to represent Section VII at the 2022 NYSPHSAA Gymnastic Championships, March 5. The Section VII group took last place in the team score, but several locals had strong performances on the day. Beekmantown standout Nate Sarnow was the section’s top finisher in every category, but snagged his highest finishes in the vault and all-around categories, finishing 21st in both. Fellow Eagle Shawna Manor, a Saranac student competing for Beekmantown, finished 33rd in the vault and 29th in the allaround. Peru’s Lilly Swyers and
Kendra Lawliss tied for 30th in the vault, while Lauren Prescott tied for 36th in the bars. Nighthawk Kennedy Beyer took 36th in the vault and tied for 36th in the bars and tied for 27th in the allaround. Plattsburgh’s Caleigh Latour was the squad’s top finisher in the all-around, taking 38th, while she also tied for 37th in the floor category and tied for 39th in the bars. Fellow Hornet Maleah Lunan took 33rd in the beam and 34th in the bars, while Oona Hall, a Seton Catholic student competing for Plattsburgh High, finished 41st in the beam and floor disciplines. Ninah Keliihananaui took the 35th spot in the vault for Plattsburgh.
ALL-STARS
The Champlain Valley Athletic Conference gymnastics all-stars for the most recent season were also announced last weekend. All of the Section VII athletes who competed at the States event were named allstars, as well as Peru’s Maddy Witkiewicz, who was injured at the time of the event. Beekmantown’s Celeste Lukasiewicz was an honorable mention, and Sarnow was recognized with the sportsmanship award for Section VII. Full results of the state championship meet can be found online at tinyurl. com/3uewdxds.
— Section VII Competitors Vault 21, Nate Sarnow (BCS), 8.675. T30, Lilly Swyers (PCS), 7.850.
T30, Kendra Lawliss (PCS), 7.850. 33, Shawna Manor (BCS), 7.725. 35, Ninah Keliihananaui (PHS), 7.650. 36, Kennedy Beyer (PCS), 7.375. Bars 30, Nate Sarnow (BCS), 7.550. 34, Maleah Lunan (PHS), 7.350. T36, Kennedy Beyer (PCS), 7.200. T39, Caleigh Latour (PHS), 6.950. 41, Lauren Prescott (PCS), 6.750. 47, Shawna Manor (BCS), 5.250. Beam T30, Nate Sarnow (BCS), 8.125. 33, Maleah Lunan (PHS), 7.950. T41, Oona Hall (PHS), 7.575. 43, Kennedy Beyer (PCS), 7.450. 45, Shawna Manor (BCS), 6.975. 47, Caleigh Latour (PHS), 6.350. Floor T30, Nate Sarnow (BCS), 8.500. T37, Caleigh Latour (PHS), 7.800. 38, Kennedy Beyer (PCS), 7.775. 39, Lilly Swyers (PCS), 7.750. 41, Oona Hall (PHS), 7.650. 42, Shawna Manor (BCS), 7.625. All-around 21, Nate Sarnow (BCS), 32.850. T27, Kennedy Beyer (PCS), 29.800. 29, Shawna Manor (BCS), 27.575. 38, Caleigh Latour (PHS), 21.100. 50, Lilly Swyers (PCS), 15.600. 53, Maleah Lunan (PHS), 15.300. 54, Oona Hall (PHS), 15.225. 82, Kendra Lawliss (PCS), 7.850. 86, Ninah Keliihananui (PHS), 7.650. 90, Lauren Presscott (PCS), 6.750.
Plattsburgh High and AuSable Valley swimmers compete at States
ITHACA — A group of Plattsburgh High and AuSable Valley boys swimmers recently traveled to the 2022 NYSPHSAA Boys Swimming and Diving Championships, March 4 and 5. The Hornets saw Isaac Dubay, Ben Insley, Ryan Recore, Hayden Wells, Cohen Fitzwater and Rafael Kowal compete in the event, while Chandler Perry, Alix Perras, David Butler and Patrick Hagadorn swam for the Patriots. Standouts of the meet for Section VII were Kowal, Wells, Fitzwater and Insley, whose 1:37.55 time in the 200 yard free relay earned Plattsburgh an appearance in the finals of the event last Saturday. In the finals, the Hornet team placed 24th with a time of 1:37.55. For full results, visit https://nysphsaa.org/documents/2022/3/8//NYSPHSAA_2022_Meet_Results.pdf
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Seton Catholic drops 57-47 NYSPHSAA Class D regional to OESJ
By JESSICA COLLINS Press-Republican
PLATTSBURGH — The Knights of Seton Catholic fought hard but the Wolfpack of Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville were too much, taking the NYSPHSAA Class D regional win, 57-47, March 13, at Clinton Community College. The Wolves were led by Mason Snell, with 18 points and Paetyn Logan-Dillenbeck and Owen Feagles with 16 apiece. Logan-Dillenbeck hit two threes in the win, with Snell hitting one. Jesse Walrath also netted one. For Seton Catholic, Alex Coupal led with 18 points and two three-pointers. SerJoey LaFranca/P-R Photo gio Vega and Aiden Pearl had eight and Seton Catholic’s Dominic Allen (right) eyes the hoop as Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville’s Owen seven points to contribute, respectively. Feagles (left) contests the potential shot during a NYSPHSAA Class D boys basketball regional final THE GAME on Sunday at Clinton Community College in Plattsburgh. OESJ’s Colton Christensen opened the scoring with a successful foul shot, but Seton’s Coupal quickly grabbed the board and hit a quick jumper. From here was a bit of back-and-forth, but the Wolves got an early 10-5 lead around the 4:30 mark. The Knights, going on a seven point run, and notching a huge block from Dominic Allen, tied the game at 12, and then again at 14. However, OESJ’s Jesse Walrath hit a three to end the quarter up 17-14. In the second quarter, the Knights’ shooting went cold, allowing a 15-5 run Countertops for their opponents, heading into the half Appliances down 32-19. Carpet “You can’t get better shots than we got, Flooring and they just didn’t go, and their shots did,” Seton Catholic coach Larry Converse Cabinets said. “If we didn’t get those shots, I’d probFree Estimates ably be very displeased. When you get Professional Installation wide-open elbow jumpers, and they don’t In-Store Financing go, it’s just not your day.” AND MORE! Starting the third, at the 7:01 mark, a double-technical foul was called on Seton’s Allen and OESJ’s Jesse Walrath. With a two-pointer from Sergio Vega, and then a long three-pointer from Coupal Call Today for an at around the 3:25 mark, the Knights had a seven-point game on their hands, 36-29. Appointment However, one of the key players, Allen, fouled out of the game at 1:49 left in the third, meaning he wouldn’t be around for the final stanza. A three from Logan-Dillenbeck for the Wolves and a two from Pearl made it a nine point game heading into the fourth, 40-31. After four points from Vega and one Monday-Friday 8-6 • Saturday 9-5 www.LeeAppliance.com successful free throw from Coupal, the Knights made it a six point game, 49-43, 593 Route 3 Plattsburgh, NY 518-563-0900
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with just over a minute left, seeking the comeback. However, two free throws from Snell at 1:06, followed by another two points from Feagles saw the deficit growing. A quick two from Pearl followed by two foul shots from Thane Shalton made the score 53-47, another six point game for the Knights. Snell then put in the final four shots on two foul attempts in the final 20 seconds, making the Wolves the victors, 57-47. Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville will now play Prattsburgh Central/Acova Central in the Class D semifinal matchup, this Friday at 11:15 a.m. “Our season has been a rollercoaster this year, we’re riding a high and we’re just going to do what we’ve been doing well,” OESJ coach Jarrod Walrath said. “We feel like we’re playing with house money, so we’re just going to have fun and let it all out. Walrath said his team’s defense impressed him the most. “We watched a lot of film on Seton, we knew that they were really good shooters, but it was really our defense,” he said. “We had a game plan and we stuck to it the whole game. They didn’t get rattled.” The Knights will lose two key contributors to graduation, Coupal and Allen, with the loss. “We left it 100% out on the court,” Converse said. “We did everything we had to do, made adjustments. They were just a little bit bigger than we are. There’s only so much you can do with what you’ve got. We got a lot out of our kids this year, and they far exceeded our expectations.” Although the season ends with a bit of disappointment for the Knights, Converse is still proud of the accomplishments his squad made through this season. “We went 16-8 with this crew. We won Division 1, Class D sectional, and it’s the first time I’ve had 10 kids in 15 years, and it was nice,” Converse said. “We’ve got some kids coming back, so hopefully down the road it goes well.” — Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville 57, Seton Catholic 47 OESJ (57) P. Logan-Dillenbeck 6-2-16, Green 0-0-0, A. Snell 0-0-0, M. Snell 4-9-18, Hall 0-0-0, Christensen 1-0-2, Grant 0-0-0, Stever 0-0-0, Ackernecht 0-0-0, Mosher 0-0-0, Smith 0-2-2, Feagles 6-4-16, Je. Walrath 1-0-3, Ja. Walrath 0-0-0, M. Logan-Dillenbeck 0-0-0. Totals: 18-17-57. Seton (47) Guay 2-0-6, Shalton 0-2-2, Coupal 7-2-18, Grafstein 0-0-0, Trzaskos 0-0-0, DeJordy 0-0-0, Vega 4-0-8, Jiang-Peng 0-0-0, Pearl 3-1-7, Allen 2-2-6. Totals: 18-7-47. Halftime- OESJ, 32-19. 3 point goals- OESJ (4) P. Logan-Dillenbeck 2, M. Snell, Je. Walrath. Seton (4) Guay 2, Coupal 2.
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Friday, April 1, 2022
THE HIGHLIGHTS
NCCS wins OT thriller in boys hockey sectional championship By JOE LoTEMPLIO Editor in Chief
PLATTSBURGH — Reid LaValley’s hat trick goal with just 8.1 seconds left in the second overtime period lifted the Northeastern Clinton Central School Cougars to a championship. LaValley’s goal gave NCCS a thrilling 3-2 win over Beekmantown in the boys Section VII hockey finals March 2 at the Ronald B. Stafford Arena on the campus of Plattsburgh State. LaValley, a senior and most valuable player in the Champlain Valley Athletic Conference, tallied on a high hard shot just after crossing the blue line after capping a nice breakout with Winfred Simpson and Ryan Racine. It appeared that Eagle goaltender Austin Doser might have gotten a piece of the shot, but it wound up in the twine, setting off an eruption from NCCS fans. “I knew my first goal that I scored I got a shot and I followed it in on the rebound, and that’s what I was going for on that one, but it was just a better shot than I expected and it just went in and I was so happy once it hit the net,” a tired, but happy LaValley said. Both teams traded chances in the first period, but Doser and Cougar keeper Alain Juneau both made some great saves to keep the game scoreless. Luke Moser rang one off the post in the period, but Beekmantown could not solve Juneau. LaValley gave NCCS a 1-0 lead just over four minutes into the second period when he cashed in his own rebound with Marcus Bedard getting the assist. About six minutes later, Reid Fesette stole puck at the NCCS blue line and went in alone on Juneau and buried a shot to tie the game. The Eagles took the lead five minutes later when Moser scored on a power play from James Burnham and Dale Gonyo. Moser was parked on the weak side and banged in a rebound for the equalizer. LaValley tied it back up for NCCS seven minutes into the third period with a nifty shot off assists from Owen Ebersol and
Jessica Collins/Staff Photo Northeastern Clinton’s Reid LaValley (2) skates toward the goal as Beekmantown defender Dayton Rovers (21) tries to poke the puck away and Sam Bingel (11) eyes the action during the Section VII hockey championship, Wednesday, at Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena in Plattsburgh. LaValley scored the game-winner in double-overtime to send the Cougars over the Eagles, 3-2. Marcus Bedard. The game went back and forth the rest of the way with both teams getting quality chances before LaValley ended it. Beekmantown at 15-5-1 was the top seed in the tournament while NCCS came in at 7-12-1 overall record on the year. NCCS Coach Scott La fountain said his seven seniors helped keep the team composed and disciplined all season. “I knew we had a lot of heart and that we wouldn’t give up,” Lafountain said. “We had a lot of guys that played a lot of ice time, every other shift, and we knew the
game was going to come down to who had the last chance, and we got it, but you hate to see any team lose in this situation.” Lafountain praised Juneau for keeping the Cougars in the game. “He stepped up and was huge down the stretch, and Reid LaValley speaks for himself,” the coach said. Beekmantown has six seniors, and Coach Justin Frechette was proud of his team’s effort. “Congratulations to NCCS,” Frechette said. “Reid LaValley had a great shot, a credit to him and the NCCS staff for coming in here tonight to get a hard earned victory.”
Frechette said both teams played well and his team had many great chances including a couple shots off the post in overtime. “But we just weren’t able to put it in,” he said. “We wish them the best of luck moving forward and I want to thank my senior class and my players. I thought they gave everything they had and that’s all you can ask in championship hockey.” Despite being tired, LaValley was beaming after the game. “We were definitely getting tired and the ice was definitely getting pretty bad, and it was
pretty soft and hard to skate, but throughout the year we worked so hard and we knew there was not a doubt in our mind that we could come through and win that game,” he said. NCCS
0
1
— 1
0
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BCS 0 2 0 0 0 — 2 First period- None Second period- NCCS, LaValley from Bedard, 4:12; BCS, Fesette, unassisted, 10:34, BCS, Moser from Burnham and Gonyo, 15:32 Third period- NCCS, LaValley from Ebersol and Bedard at 6:59 1 OT- None 2OT- NCCS, LaValley from Simpson and Racine at 7:22 Shots- NCCS, 51, BCS, 62 Saves- Juneau, NCCS, 60, Doser, BCS, 48
THE HIGHLIGHTS
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Schalmont bests Saranac, 54-30, in NYSPHSAA Class B regional game By JESSICA COLLINS Press-Republican
PLATTSBURGH — The Saranac Chiefs were unable to get anything going on offense against the Schalmont Sabres, Sunday, at Clinton Community College, and ended up on the wrong side of a 54-30 decision for the Class B regional. Schalmont was led by Payton Graber with 19 points, closely followed by Haley Burchhardt with 18. Karissa Antoine also netted 10 points in the win. Graber, along with Gianna Cirilla, each hit a trey. For the Chiefs, Brenna Ducatte led with 12 points and one three pointer, followed by Sydney Myers’ eight points. Molly and Lexie Denis each hit one three in the loss, along with Layla Pellerin. THE GAME The first quarter of the game was very low scoring, with both teams tied at six by the end of it. First, the Sabres won the tipoff, and Burchhardt scored a quick two points. Then, Layla Pellerin secured a steal for the Chiefs, which led to Myers drawing a foul on a layup, but was unable to convert the free throw. Two more points from each team came from Graber and Myers, with Burchhardt scoring once more. Ducatte then drew a foul from behind the arch with 0.3 seconds left, and made two out of three shots, tying the squads at six apiece. Going into the second, Schalmont came out just a little hotter. Antoine got a steal right off the bat, turning that into two points, and then next possession drew an and-one play, but failed to make the free throw. This gave the Sabres a 10-6 lead, which only increased through the quarter.
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Saranac’s only points scored were on two foul shot opportunities. One, from Ducatte at around the 5:21 mark, which she made both, and the second with just 22 seconds left, for Molly Denis, who hit one. Schalmont then finished the stanza with a free throw opportunity as well, with Burchhardt hitting both shots with 4.4 seconds left, making the score 24-9 at the half. Saranac coach Tim Newell said he was still impressed with how his team played on defense. “We executed pretty well defensively in the first half and held a pretty good team to 24 points. We just didn’t expect their defense to be as good as it was,” Newell said. “The kids had, I think, a little bit of fear in their eyes on offense, shortened our shots. Not one of our best offensive nights, that’s for sure, and credit to them.” Schalmont coach Jeffrey Van Hoesen shared the sentiment, saying his team usually averages around 65 points per game, but Saranac held them back a little. “That’s a really good defensive team. They’re quick and they do a good job defensively,” he said. “So, they made it tough on us, no question.” In the third, Saranac seemed to get some good advice from the locker room, going on a quick fivepoint run coming out, cutting it to a 10-point game. The Chiefs almost evened the scoring in the third quarter, 12-11, making it a 37-25 game going into the final quarter. Nine of these Chief points came from treys, one each from Molly Denis, Pellerin and Ducatte. To begin the fourth, Schalmont went on a 15-5 point run before Saranac’s Parker fouled out of the match, fouling Burchhardt, who converted an and-one play at 1:52.
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Joey LaFranca/P-R Photo Schalmont’s Karissa Antoine (11) rises up for a shot in the paint against Saranac’s Sydney Myers during a NYSPHSAA Class B girls basketball regional final on Sunday at Clinton Community College in Plattsburgh. The score was then 51-30 in favor of the Sabres. Saranac then emptied their bench, and Schalmont’s Graber put in the final two points of the game just under the one minute mark. With the win, Schalmont will meet General Brown at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday at Hudson Valley Community College. “The kids are going to be excited,” Van Hoesen said. “This is an unbelievable experience. We practice this week, glad to have another week of practice, and then we’ll be good to go.”
On the other hand, with the loss, the Chiefs will say goodbye to lone senior Lexie Denis, but hope to be back next year. “I think this season, there were four or five teams that on any given night could beat anybody,” Newell said. “We got hot at the right time and knocked off a good Northeastern Clinton team. “I’m very proud of my girls for getting to that point. We would have loved to move up from this but this is a great lesson. Besides, Lexie Denis, we’ve got everyone back. I think this left a little sour taste in
TOURS
— Schalmont 54, Saranac 30 Schalmont (54) Halberg 0-0-0, Frank 0-2-2, Cirilla 1-0-3, Graber 8-2-19, Antoine 5-0-10, Kindlon 0-0-0, Brendon 1-0-2, Burchhardt 7-4-18, Boyd 0-0-0, Smith 0-00. Totals: 22-8-54. Saranac (30) M. Denis 1-1-4, Brown 0-0-0, Parker 0-0-0, Lay. Pellerin 1-0-3, Smith 0-0-0, Lau. Pellerin 0-0-0, L. Denis 1-0-3, Brault 0-0-0, Myers 4-0-8, Ducatte 3-5-12, Fay 0-0-0. Totals: 10-6-30. Halftime- Schalmont, 22-9. 3 point goals- Saranac (4) M. Denis, Lay. Pellerin, L. Denis, Ducatte. Schalmont (2) Cirilla, Graber.
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our kids mouths, but we’ll come back and we’ll be a much stronger team next year.”
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Friday, April 1, 2022
THE HIGHLIGHTS
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