Local Sports

Medina girls surge past Akron

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 9 February 2016 at 12:00 am

Leading by a narrow 34-33 margin, Medina used a big 20 point fourth quarter scoring surge to key a 54-45 victory over visiting Akron this evening in a Niagara-Orleans League girls basketball game.

Je’ne Brown scored 18 and Maddie Williams 17 to lead the way for Medina as Maddy Winters added 6, Kayla Cuadra and Emily Kams 4, Molley Gross 3 and Holly Heil 2.

Gross also grabbed off 13 rebounds, Brown 12 and Williams 10 as Heil added 10 assists and 3 steals.

Trailing 13-9 after one period, Medina rallied into a 22-20 lead at the half.

Medina improves to 7-6 while Akron slips to 2-11.

CSAT 52, Albion 49
Chanyce Powell scored 15 and Emily Blanchard 13 for Albion in a narrow 52-49 loss at CSAT.

CSAT, which led 33-27 at the half, improves to 8-5 while Albion falls to 6-7.

Wilson 60, Roy-Hart 35

Racing out to a 35-13 half-time advantage, Wilson went on to complete a 14-0 N-O championship season with a 60-35 victory over visiting Roy-Hart.

Kayla Neumann scored 19 for Wilson as Rachel Senek and Serina Jaeger both added 9 and Lauren Couturier 8.

The title is the seventh in a row for Wilson which has gone 96-2 in N-O action during that stretch.

Emma Lindke and Ellie Todd both scored 8 for Roy-Hart which slips to 2-11.

Newfane 52, Barker 42

Katie Kneeland and Paige Emborsky both scored 12 and Emily Foltz 11 for Newfane (11-3) in the 52-42 win over Barker (3-10).

Emily Annable scored 12 and Caitlynn Mason 9 for Barker which trailed 17-7 after one period and 27-15 at the half.

Notre Dame 41, Kendall 31

Maya Rutland scored 11 points for Kendall in the Lady Eagles 41-31 loss at Notre Dame in a Genesee Region League contest.

Grillo honored by Holley for 700 wins as wrestling coach

By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 9 February 2016 at 12:00 am

Photo by Kristina Gabalski – Holley Middle School/High School Principal Susan Cory presents head wrestling coach John Grillo with the February Soaring to New Heights Award.

HOLLEY – John Grillo, Holley’s head wrestling coach, was recognized during Monday evening’s Board of Education meeting for his milestone 700th win, which came Jan. 20 in a Genesee Region League match hosted at Lyndonville High School.

Grillo was presented with the “Soaring to New Heights” award by Holley Middle School/High School Principal Susan Cory. Grillo’s 700 wins are the most of any wrestling coach in New York State.

“This is huge,” Cory said. “John has given a lot of dedication to the wrestling program.”

Grillo has coached wrestling for more than 40 years, 30 of those at Holley. He also coached at Pavilion Central School. His Holley Hawk wrestlers have won 20 Genesee Region League titles and 11 Section V championships. Grillo was named Genesee Region Coach of the Year 15 times and Section V Coach of the Year six times.

Grillo, who also teaches physical education at Holley, coached his three sons over the years – Ashley John, Adam and Andrew – who continue to assist their dad in coaching the Holley wrestling teams. Ashley is now Elementary Assistant Principal at Holley and Andrew is a grade K-12 physical education teacher at Holley.

“We didn’t have a winning season until you joined us,” Board member John Heise said and noted Grillo has also worked over the years to help students who have been struggling academically as well those with discipline issues. “After they talked to you, the behavior stopped.”

“You’ve helped a lot of kids,” Board President Brenda Swanger told Grillo. “We appreciate all you have done for the kids.”

Grillo thanked students, parents and school staff. “Your support is part of it,” he said of his accomplishment.

In other business, Assistant Superintendent for Business Sharon Zacher reported to board members regarding the tax cap for the 2016/2017 budget. Zacher said the state must be notified by March 1 as to whether or not the district thinks it will need to override the tax cap.

With the allowed carryover, Zacher estimated the increase on the 2016/2017 tax levy to be capped at 2.173 percent. Board members agreed that they did not foresee a need to override that figure.

Superintendent Robert D’Angelo said during his report that the governor’s proposal for school districts is “ridiculously low.” However, he noted that Holley is in “pretty good shape.”

“I have a sense of optimism,” D’Angelo said, which stems from assurances he has received from State Assemblyman Steve Hawley and Sen. Robert Ortt that there will be “a huge difference between what the governor is proposing (in aid) and what members of the State Senate and Assembly arrive at.”

He said local superintendents have made it clear to state lawmakers that, “the proposed aid to education is unacceptable at this point.”

Although D’Angelo had wanted lawmakers to take real steps to provide relief from unfunded mandates, he said Monday evening that at this point he does not see that coming.

“They are not serious about it,” he said of lawmakers. “It hurts both the districts and the taxpayers.”

Holley Central will continue to monitor the state budget process in relation to its own budget development, D’Angelo said.

Mustangs clinch tie for N-O title

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 9 February 2016 at 12:00 am

Albion, Barker score narrow wins

Ending a seven year title drought, front-running Medina rolled to a 53-33 victory at Akron this evening to clinch at least a tie for the Niagara-Orleans League boys basketball championship.

Improving to 12-1, the Mustangs can now claim outright possession of their first N-O title since the 2008-09 season with a victory at CSAT on Thursday.

Daryl Haynes scored 14, Jalin Cooper 11 and Tyler Ames10 to lead the way for Medina which holds a game lead over Roy-Hart which downed Wilson 59-49 to improve to 11-2.

Gates Abrams had 13 for Akron which drops to 0-13.

Medina steadily built up leads of 13-7 after one period, 25-11 at the half and 39-18 at the three-quarter mark.

Cooper scored 6 in the first period and Haynes 6 in the second to help get the Mustangs rolling.

Albion 55, CSAT 49

Tommy Mattison scored 15, Manwell Taylor 12, Kory Reynolds 11, Evan Pappalardo 8 and Lamar Chambers 5 for Albion’s balanced attack in the Purple Eagles 55-49 home court win over CSAT.

Leading 26-24 at the half, Albion extended its advantage to 44-36 at the three-quarter mark as Mattison scored 10 and Chambers 5 in the third period.

The loss drops CSAT to 5-8.

Barker 60, Newfane 59

Nate Luckman scored 21 to lead the way for Barker which nipped Newfane 60-59 to improve to 6-7.

Mike Snell added 9 and Eddie Wasnock and Jacob Arnold 8 for the Raiders.

Chad Gilson had a big 29 point, 15 rebound night for Newfane which slips to 5-8.

Kyle DeVoogel added 11 and Max Weber 9 for the Panthers.

Tigers nip Lancers in OT thriller but lose out in division title quest on tie-breaker

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 9 February 2016 at 12:00 am

Photos By Cheryl Wertman – Lyndonville’s Eddie Schildt scores a key basket in overtime as Tucker Bezon (3) and Henry Pflaumer (10) defend for Elba. The action took place during the Tigers win over the visiting Lancers this evening.

In a down to the wire overtime thriller, Lyndonville outlasted visiting Elba 56-50 this evening but due to the Genesee Region League’s tie-breaker system the Tigers finished second to the Lancers in the race for the Division 2 title.

In fact, it took the league’s third tie-breaker criteria to determine the division champion.

The first tie-breaker is overall league record and Lyndonville and Elba both finished at 12-2. The second tie breaker is head-to-head competition and the teams split their two meetings with Elba taking the first 58-56. The third, and deciding tie-breaker, is division record and Elba finished at 7-1 and Lyndonville at 6-2 in Division 2 as an early season 92-79 loss at Notre Dame ended up proving costly to the Tigers.

“It’s tough but it doesn’t take anything away from the game. Our kids played a solid game and I’m really proud of them,” said Lyndonville Coach Lee Dillenbeck in noting that he didn’t find out about the third tie-breaking criteria until after the game..

Lyndonville’s Nick Hinkson puts up a shot as John Hocmuth tries to block for Elba. Shane O’Halloran (1) also defends for the Lancers.

Elba sent the wild contest into overtime as Shane O’Halloran made two free throws with three seconds remaining to knot the contest at 50-50.

Elba almost pulled out the win in regulation as the Lancers got the ball right back off a turnover but a shot at the buzzer just missed.

Surviving that scare, Lyndonville then outscored Elba 6-0 in the four minute overtime period to claim the win on a jumper by Eric Neace followed by a rebound bucket and two free throws by Eddie Schildt.

Schildt finished with 14, Nick Hinkson 13, Neace 10, Zach Johnson 9, Corey Hydock 7 and Jacob Hoffee 3 for the Tigers.

Henry Pflaumer scored 12, O’Halloran and John Hocmuth 10, Tucker Bezon 8, Dakota Dillon 6 and Richard Flores and Andrew Gottler 2 for the Lancers.

Corey Hydock puts up s shot for the Tigers.

Lyndonville jumped out to a 10-7 first quarter lead as Hinkson had a three and a rebound basket and Neace a pair of layups.

The Tigers then outscored the Lancers 16-8 in the second period to extend the advantage to 11, 26-15 at the half.

Three buckets by Schildt on two layups and a rebound ignited that Tigers scoring surge which also included a pair of threes by Johnson and a jumper and two free throws by Neace.

However, Elba came battling back by opening the third quarter with a 10-0 run to quickly slice the deficit to just one at 26-25. Bezon spearheaded that rally with 6 points.

Hoffee, Hinkson and Johnson then traded threes with Pflaumer, Dillon and O’Halloran during a wild stretch which saw the Lancers pull even twice, first at 34-34 and then at 37-37.

Lyndonville though emerged with a narrow 39-37 lead at the three-quarter mark after a jumper at the buzzer by Schildt.

Eric Neace puts up a shot for the Tigers as John Hocmuth tries for the block for the Lancers.

The Tigers extended the lead a bit to four, 46-42, three minutes into the final period after a three by Hinkson.

However, Elba again came rallying back this time into a 48-46 lead with 2:45 remaining after back-to-back threes by O’Halloran and Pflaumer.

Lyndonville though answered back with a big three by Hydock to put the Tigers back up 49-48 with 23 seconds remaining.

A free throw by Hinkson gave the Tigers a 50-48 lead with 12 seconds to go but O’Halloran answered with two pressure free throws to pull the Lancers back even at 50-50 with three seconds to go, foul shots which ended up sending the contest into overtime.

Lyndonville finishes the regular seaon with a 16-4 overall record while Elba winds up at 18-2.

Lyndonville’s Zach Johnson screams excitement at the end of the game.

Perez helps lead NCCC to 25th win

Contributed Story Posted 9 February 2016 at 12:00 am

Medina High graduate Alba Perez took game high honors with 18 points and 12 rebounds in helping to lead the Niagara County Community College women’s basketball team to its 25th win of the season this evening, a 73-47 romp over Mercyhurst NE.

Jenna Faulkner and Alliyah Gillespie both added 10 points for NCCC which is 6-1 in the league and 25-2 overall on the season.

Kendall cagers edge past W-C

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 9 February 2016 at 12:00 am

Rebounding from a big early deficit, Kendall rallied to nip visiting Wheatland-Chili 50-47 this evening in a Genesee Region League boys basketball game.

Two free throws by Colton Breslawski in the final seconds helped lock up the win for Kendall which trailed 16-2 at the outset.

Breslawski and Brandon Miller both finished with 14 points and Collin Lewis 11. Miller also grabbed off 11 rebounds.

Byron-Bergen 42, Holley 40

Byron-Bergen edged past host Holley 42-40 in another G-R contest as Brandon Burke had 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Bees.

Dylan Hillabush had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Holley as Nick Passarell added 9 points and Zach Vaccarelli 7.

Xapsos passes 1,000 point milestone in leading Rams past Lakemen

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 9 February 2016 at 12:00 am

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Roy-Hart’s Andy Xapsos passed the 1,000 point career scoring mark in leading the Rams past visiting Wilson this evening.

Senior guard Andy Xapsos poured in 39 points this evening to not only lead host Roy-Hart to a 59-49 Niagara-Orleans League win over Wilson but also to surpass the 1,000 point career scoring milestone.

It was a fast start and a strong finish for Xapsos who scored Roy-Hart’s first 15 points and also the final 11 points as the Rams erased a 49-48 deficit with less than two minutes to go.

“Andy had just a huge night for us,” said Roy-Hart Coach Joe Pawlak.

Chris Anderson also had 13 points and 9 rebounds for Roy-Hart which led 28-24 at the half.

Andrew Eames scored 12, Alex Fox 11 and Ryan Bradley 10 for Wilson which was tied 38-38 at the three-quarter mark.

Roy-Hart improves to 11-2 and remains a game behind front-running Medina (12-1) with just one game remaining. The Rams host Barker on Thursday as Medina visits CSAT.

The loss drops Wilson to 7-6.

Lady Lancers surge past Lady Tigers

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 8 February 2016 at 12:00 am

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Lyndonville’s Jasmine Plummer tries to put a shot over Elba defender Carli Bogue during the Lady Tigers loss to the host Lady Lancers this evening.

Leading from wire-to-wire, Elba downed visiting Lyndonville 60-35 this evening in a Genesee Region League girls basketball game.

Emily Reynolds scored a game high 18 points and Titiana Draper 15 to set the pace for Elba as Alex Reigle added 9 and Carli Bogue 8.

Aubrey Lewis scored 15, Makenzie Muck 14 and Jasmine Plummer 6 to account for all of Lyndonville’s scoring.

Up 14-9 after one period, Elba stretched its advantage to 17, 28-11, midway through the second quarter after a 14-2 run highlighted by threes by Draper and Bouge and back-to-back layups off turnovers by Reynolds. The Lady Lancers maintained a 15 point, 30-15, advantage at the half.

Lyndonville did come battling back in the third period as an opening 6-0 run on a jumper by Muck, a rebound basket by Plummer and a layup off a turnover by Lewis cut the deficit to 9, 30-21.

Four straight free throws, two each by Muck and Lewis, then pulled Lyndonville to within 8, 35-27, late in the period but the Lady Tigers could get no closer.

However, Elba extended the lead back to 13, 40-27, at the three-quarter mark after a three by Leah Bezon and a bucket by Draper.

The Lady Lancers then put a firm lock on the victory by opening the final period with an 11-3 run including a thee-point play and two rebound buckets by Reynolds, to stretch the advantage to 21, 51-30.

Elba finishes the regular season at 12-8 while Lyndonville goes to 4-15 heading into Wednesday’s non league finale at Rochester Academy Charter.

Lyndonville’s Makenzie Muck puts up a shot.

Wheatland-Chili 39, Kendall 23

Leading by a narrow 17-4 margin at the half, host Wheatland-Chili used a big 15-1 third period scoring surge to key a 39-23 G-R victory over visiting Kendall.

Taylor ReQua , Taylor Rutland and Rachael Bakutis each scored 5 points for Kendall which next visits Notre Dame on Tuesday.

In another G-R contest, Byron-Bergen downed Holley 45-11.

Boys Basketball

Geneseo 65, Holley 41

Building up a 37-18 halftime advantage, Geneseo went on to defeat visiting Holley 65-41 in a non league boys game.

Derek McArthur had 11 points, Dylan Hillabush 9 and Zach Vaccarelli 6 for Holley. Vaccarelli also grabbed off 10 rebounds and McArthur had 6 assists and 5 rebounds.

Medina indoor soccer teams score wins

Contributed Story Posted 8 February 2016 at 12:00 am

Medina 1 defeated Reids Drive-In 7-3 and Medina 2 downed Image Collision 11-5 over the weekend in the Senior Division of the Lockport Indoor Soccer League at the Kenan Center.

Brian Anderson scored all 7 goals for Medina 1 which improves to 2-0.

Chase Pecoraro scored 4 goals, Greg Husung 3, Colm Cooper 2 and Connor Miller and Matt Doherty 1 each for Medina 2 which is now 1-1.

Title on the line as Tigers host Lancers

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 8 February 2016 at 12:00 am

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Lyndonville’s Zach Johnson and his Tiger teammates will be seeking a win to claim a share of the Genesee Region League Division 2 title when they host Elba on Tuesday.

In a schedule makers dream regular season ending matchup, Lyndonville will host Elba at 7 p.m. Tuesday as the Tigers seek a win to claim a share of the Genesee Region League Division 2 title.

Elba, which is has already clinched at least a share of the title, is 18-1 overall on the season.

Lyndonville, which is seeking its first title in 11 years, is 11-2 in the league and 15-4 overall, and a game off the pace.

“It’s exciting to have a chance to share the division title but we’re just going to take it one possession at a time and one quarter at a time,” said Lyndonville Coach Lee Dillenbeck whose Tigers last earned a G-R division title during the 2004-05 season.

Elba nipped Lyndonville 58-56 early in the season but since that loss, the Tigers have reeled off nine straight G-R victories.

“Elba has two fantastic players in Henry Pflaumer, a three-point shooter, and John Hocmuth (6-4) in the post position so we have to contain them,” said Dillenbeck. “We want to keep up our tempo of play and distribute our scoring but most of all our focus will be on defense.”

The Lyndonville lineup is anchored by a quartet of two year starters in senior Nick Hinkson and juniors Eric Neace, Eddie Schildt and Corey Hydock.

That foursome has had balanced scoring all season as Hinkson and Schildt are both averaing 15 points per game, Neace 11 and Hydock just under 10.

“We’ve got great leadership with those four returning guys,” said Dillenbeck. “They have a lot of quality experience.”

The Tigers regular unit also includes the guard trio of senior Hunter Ottaviano junior Jacob Hoffee and freshman Zach Johnson.

“Those guys have been big for us,” said Dillenbeck. “Everyone of our guys has played their role really well for us. It’s a very close knit group of guys who are willing to do anything for each other. It’s a special group. ”

The Week’a G-R Schedule

Today
Boys Basketball – Holley at Geneseo, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Holley at Byron-Bergen, Kendall at Wheatland-Chili, Lyndonville at Elba, 7 p.m.

Tuesday
Boys Basketball – Elba at Lyndonville, Byron-Bergen at Holley, Wheatland-Chili at Kendall, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Kendall at Notre Dame, 7 p.m.

Wednesday
Girls Basketball – Lyndonville at Rochester Academy Charter, 5:30 p.m.

Thursday
Boys Basketball – Kendall at North Rose-Wolcott, 7 p.m.