Section 9 cross country
The Section 9 cross-country state qualifiers were held at Bear Mountain State Park on Thursday, November 4, with some local runners faring well enough to earn a spot in next week’s state championships.
Monroe-Woodbury won the Class A boys’ race with 45 points, with Kingston finishing sixth out of 11 teams with 176 points. Luca Maneri earned a spot in the state championships by virtue of his fifth place finish in 16:19.2. Other Kingston runners in the sectional qualifier included Andrew Lee (16th, 17:09.0), Zach Martinez (44th, 18:51.4), Tim Leiching (53rd, 19:21.8), Mauricio Castellanos (58th, 19:44.3), Jaco Kraft (63rd, 19:58.8) and Hunter Fuller (64th, 20:27.5).
Kingston’s final score was incomplete in the Class A girls’ race, with Cornwall placing first with 37 points. Though she did not make the state tourney, Carla Bautista was the top finisher for the Tigers, finishing in 11th place in 20:04.6. Other Kingston finishers included Kat Toolan (42nd, 22:43.7), Lisa Vargas (50th, 23:58.2) and Aislinn Hertle (68th, 26:17.0).
Two local teams competed in the Class B boys’ race, with New Paltz (151) finishing in sixth place out of nine teams, and Saugerties (236) in eighth. Neither team had a state qualifier. The top finishers from both schools included JJ Giordano (New Paltz, 34th, 18:56.1), Lucien Skuba-Waldez (New Paltz, 35th, 18:57.5), Chace Snyder (New Paltz, 36th, 18:59.5), Beckett Evans (New Paltz, 39th, 19:11.4) Alex Carter (Saugerties, 41st, 19:14.0), Liam Boek (Saugerties, 50th, 20:51.8), Ryan Haberski (Saugerties, 55th, 21:58.2), Liev Sanzin (Saugerties, 57th, 22:28.6), Eli Bowers (Saugerties, 59th, 22:45.7) and Owen Moorhus (Saugerties, 63rd, 22:39.1).
New Paltz finished third in the girls’ Class B race with 69 points, while Saugerties’ final tally was incomplete. Ella Urrico of New Paltz earned a spot in the state championship by finishing in sixth place with a time of 21:14.9. Other local girls included Hannah Ettinger (New Paltz, 15th, 22:27.4), Casey Druskin (Saugerties, 25th, 23:57.6), Roxanne Deney-Bogart (New Paltz, 28th, 24:41.2), Alexa Friedman (New Paltz, 30th, 24:43.2), Maeve Eisenhandler (New Paltz, 33rd, 27:29.0) and Fiona Horvath (Saugerties, 39th, 28:49.0).
Onteora fared well in the Class C race, placing second in both the boys (76) and girls (68) races. On the boys’ side, Trapper Vandreason’s sixth place finish in 18:12.6 was enough to punch his ticket for the state championship, as was Mike McCutcheon’s tenth place finish in 19:02.0. Other Eagles competing in the sectional qualifier included Nicholas Denton (18th, 20:46.2), Keegan Burkhardt (22nd, 21:55.1) and Campbell Ebbecke (24th, 22:09.6).
With first-place finisher O’Neill dominating the Class C girls’ race with seven top-10 times, Rachel Williams’ 10th place finish in 25:58.5 was the Eagles’ best. Also running well were Ferun Mayer (16th, 25:05.8), Chloe Schropfer (18th, 25:19.3) and Hailey Peck (20th, 25:34.9).
Section 9 girls’ swimming and diving
The Section 9 girls swimming and diving championships were held at Valley Central High School between November 4-6. The tournament was won by Pine Bush (413 points), with Kingston (4th, 198 points), New Paltz (11th, 66 points) and Onteora (16th, 49 points) also competing.
Kingston senior Emily McCord earned a spot in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association tournament at Ithaca College from November 19-20 with a second place finish in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:57.21. McCord also placed fourth in the 100 freestyle (54.41).
Other Kingston top-ten finishes came from Ellie Meyer, who placed fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:11.90) and seventh in the 200 individual medley (2:21.36), Mallory Sullivan, who placed fourth in the 500 freestyle (5:25.83) and ninth in the 200 freestyle (2:01.99); Caroline Steeves, who finished seventh in the 100 backstroke (1:04.09); Parker Ball, who placed ninth in the 200 individual medley (2:22.98); and Emma Conner, who placed tenth in diving (321.95).
The Tigers took third in the 400 freestyle relay, with McCord, Steeves, Sullivan and Meyer finishing in 3:46.95; fourth in the 200 freestyle relay, with Steeves, Sullivan, Meyer and McCord finishing in 1:42.43; and tenth in the 200 medley relay, with Ball, Sierra Ramirez, Angelina Vertullo and Gianna Vertullo finishing in 2:00.08.
New Paltz had top-ten finishes from Becca Lucchesi, who took fifth in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:31.76; and Alaura Sheeley, who placed ninth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:14.05.
The Huguenots also finished sixth in the 400 freestyle relay, with Katie Suchowiecki, Katelyn Otis, Charlee Domitrovits and Lucchesi finishing in 3:57.44.
Onteora’s best performance came in an eighth place finish in the 200 freestyle relay, which featured Ava Lamb, Julia Young, Rebecca Simco and Grace Young (1:50.32).
Kingston High School field hockey
The Kingston High School varsity field hockey team saw its hopes of a visit to the state tournament come up just short on Sunday, November 7 in a 3-0 loss to Section 1 champion Mamaroneck at Rondout Valley in the Class A regional final.
Catherine D’Arcy scored for Mamaroneck in the sixth minute, with Hannah Rogoff adding a pair of insurance goals in the second half. The Tigers were outshot 28-4 in the loss, with goalkeeper Kara Houston turning away 17 shots to keep the game close.
The Tigers wrapped their 2021 campaign with a 14th straight Section 9, Class A title and an 11-3 overall record.
New Paltz High School volleyball
The New Paltz High School varsity volleyball team swept top-seeded Spackenkill in the Section 9, Class B championship held at West Point on Sunday, November 7, winning 25-22, 25-19, 25-14.
The Huguenots improved to 13-3 on the season on the strength of solid showings from Francheska Geminiano (18 kills, 7 blocks, 2 aces), Esve Mullins (25 assists, 8 aces, 5 digs, kill), Lily Sturgis (7 kills) and Jena Russo (4 aces, 3 kills).
The win closed out a perfect week for the tournament’s sixth-seeded New Paltz, who swept their way through road matchups in earlier rounds of the playoffs.
On Tuesday, November 2, the Huguenots traveled to second-seeded Marlboro, winning 25-13, 25-20, 25-19 in quarterfinal action.
Geminiano (11 kills, 10 aces, 7 blocks), Alex Frenza (7 kills, 2 blocks, 2 aces), Mullins (27 assists, 7 digs, 5 aces, 4 kills) and Russo (8 digs, 6 kills, 3 aces) led New Paltz in the Marlboro victory.
Two days later, the Huguenots dispatched third-seeded host Highland 25-19, 25-16, 26-24.
Geminiano (16 kills, 9 blocks, 3 aces), Sturgis (12 kills, 3 digs), Russo (6 kills, 3 digs, 3 aces) and Mullins (28 assists, 5 kills, 5 digs, 4 aces) were tops for New Paltz.
The Huguenots move on to the Class B Regionals where they’ll face off against the winners of the Section 1 and Section 4 tourneys at Millbrook High School on Saturday, November 13.
New Paltz High School football
New Paltz High School dropped its varsity football season finale to James I. O’Neill at home in a 35-20 on Friday, November 5. The Huguenots trailed 28-0 at the half before carving out some redemption after the break.
Spyros Schrippa ran for 102 yards on 14 tries, including a pair of touchdowns, while Brady Saunders had 97 rushing yards and a touchdown to lead New Paltz. The Huguenots finish the season, their first under Head Coach Brandon Egan-Thorpe, at 2-7.
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