New Paltz sports week

The New Paltz boys’ swim team finished sixth in team points during Saturday’s Section 9 swim championships, with the 200 Freestyle relay team of Will D’Angelo, Brady Saunders, Logan Pece and Alex Demis and the 400 Freestyle relay team of Brady Saunders, Finn Goldleaf, Logan Pece and Alex Demis both finishing second. The 200 team took home silver in 1:30.08 to winner Washingtonville’s 1:29.37 and the 400 team in 3:20.25 to winner Monroe-Woodbury’s 3:17.88.  The Huguenots had no individual top-three finishers.

Monroe-Woodbury won the Section 9 team title.

Section 9 (Division 2) wrestling championships

It was close but no cigar for Highland in last Sunday’s Section 9 Division 2 (small schools) Championship tournament at SUNY Ulster, as the Huskies put five wrestlers in the finals…but with no individual gold claimed. The Huskies finished fourth in team points to Port Jervis.

In the finals: defending 113 pound champion Peter Bender was decisioned 7-1 by Port Jervis’s Ryan Ross; Logan Zehr was pinned by Red Hook’s Tyler Benicasa in 2:30 at 145 pounds; Logan Smith was pinned by  Onteora’s Nick Ross in 1:38 at 152; Aidan Maduro was decisioned 15-4 by Red Hook’s Hayden Campolong at 182; and Shamar Gittens was decisioned by Chester’s Devin McGowan 5-2 at 285 pounds.

Chris Gatto took third in the consolation round with a pin of Onteora’s Brandon Thief in 4:00 at 120 pounds.

Bender reached the finals with a 9-7 decision over Rondout’s Lucas Ospina; Zehr with a 6-3 decision over Port Jervis’s Dan Klotz; Smith with a 13-5 decision over Port Jervis’s DJ Perrin; Maduro a 13-7 decision over Chester’s Cole Greco; and Gittens a pin of teammate Jon Perez in 1:58.

Section 9 gymnastics

It’s been just about a decade since the New Paltz gymnastics program went belly-up, reducing local gymnasts into shadowing more established and continuing programs in Kingston and Wallkill. Well, this scenario may be coming to an end, as New Paltz seventh-grader Ady Laurie, competing essentially individually in the recent Section 9 tournament at FDR in Hyde Park, finished second in the all-around competition and fourth in the floor exercise, with her new-found successes maybe constituting a revival of the New Paltz gymnastics program — which fell apart with a lack of a full-time coach, gymnasts (five are needed to compete as a team) and of viable equipment on which to compete.

Laurie, a Junior Olympian, has been involved in gymnastics since she was a toddler. Her two younger sisters, Josephine and Makenna, are also gymnasts, so with these three as a base perhaps New Paltz could resurrect that one-time solid gymnastics program.

Roundball roundup

The New Paltz girls revved it up for the upcoming Section 9 tournament with a 69-46 win over Tri-Valley on Wednesday, as sophomore Ruby Santos kept up her high-scoring spree with 26 points. New Paltz is 13-4 on the season.

The Highland boys continued their late-season surge to gain a Section 9 berth with their 60-51 win over Saugerties on Wednesday, with Dontay Baker leading the Huskies with 18 points. The Highland boys are 7-11 on the season.

The Highland girls ended the season at 2-15 with Monday’s 43-32 loss to Wallkill, with Katie Dauenheimer leading the Huskies with ten points.

The New Paltz boys, winners of Division 1 in the MHAL (on league points) and 12-6 overall, battle Division 2 Marlboro this Tuesday, February 25 at 7 p.m. at SUNY Ulster in the MHAL Final Four. Division 3 Onteora takes on Division 4 Millbrook at 5 p.m. (both too late for this edition of the New Paltz Times). The boys’ MHAL Championship game is Thursday, February 27 at 7 p.m. at Ulster. In the MHAL girls’ championships Division 1 FDR plays Division 2 Marlboro; while Division 3 Onteora plays Division 4 Millbrook on Monday, February 26 at SUNY Ulster, with the winners meeting on Thursday at Ulster at 5 p.m.