Jumping out to a 17-4 first quarter lead, Maryvale went on to down visiting Medina 59-45 in a non league girls basketball game this evening.

Threes by Jamiyah Jones and Brianna Domon highlighted the big first quarter for Maryvale which went on to lead by margins of 28-12 at the half and 44-27 after three quarters.

Honesty Hill scored 22 and Alexa Demmer 16 to lead Medina.

The Mustangs next host Akron in a Niagara-Orleans League game at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Niagara-Orleans League competition will resume in swimming on Thursday and in basketball on Friday following the holiday break.

Highlighting the action, in the pool Medina will visit Roy-Hart/Barker at 5 p.m. Thursday. On the court the Medina boys will visit undefeated (3-0, 6-0) defending co-champion Akron and Barker will travel to Albion at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Weekly Schedule
Thursday
Girls Basketball – Medina at Maryvale, 6:30 p.m.
Swimming – Medina at Roy-Hart/Barker, Akron at Newfane, 5 p.m.

Friday
Boys Basketball – Medina at Akron, Barker at Albion, Wilson at Newfane, 6:30 p.m.; Kendall at Byron-Bergen, 7 p.m.; Lyndonville at Lafargeville Tournament
Girls Basketball – Albion at Barker, Newfane at Wilson, 6 p.m.; Akron at Medina, Park at Roy-Hart, 6:30 p.m.; Lyndonville at Elba, 7 p.m.

Saturday
Wrestling – Albion at Red Jacket Tournament; Holley-Kendall and Lyndonville at Perry Tournament

N-O Standings
Boys Basketball – Akron 3-0, Medina 1-0, Albion 1-1, Barker 1-1, Wilson 1-1, Roy-Hart 0-2, Newfane 0-2
Girls Basketball – Akron 3-0, Roy-Hart 2-0, Newfane 2-0, Medina 0-1, Albion 0-2, Barker 0-2, Wilson 0-2
Boys Swimming – Roy-Hart/Barker 2-0, Newfane 2-0, Akron 1-1, Albion 0-2, Medina 0-2
Girls Swimming – Roy-Hart/Barker 2-0, Newfane 2-0, Akron 1-1, Albion 0-2, Medina 0-2
Wrestling – Newfane 2-0, Roy-Hart/Barker 1-1, Akron 2-1, Wilson 2-1, Albion 1-2, Medina 0-3

Decisions, decisions. Every year I try to decide what are my most favorite sports photos from the year ending.

As usual, it’s a very tough decision choosing from the thousands of photos I take to pick just a few as they are all my favorites.

This year I’m trying something different. You will see 18 of my most favorite pictures here.

At the end of this story you will see a link to view a video of the over 500 photos that were on the Hub in 2024. So if your favorite is not one of the eighteen, check out the video.

Enjoy going back and thank you for your support in 2024. I look forward to adding more memories in 2025.

Hunter Jewell-Smith does his best imitation of Josh Allen for Holley Football

Medina’s Julian Woodworth stretches out to catch the ball as Ryan Pegelow backs up the play

Lyndonville’s Natalie Rath somersaults the ball on an inbounds play

Albion’s David Rosario goes sideways to kick the ball away from Holley’s Cam Mosier

Holley’s Avante Walker goes high to to break up a pass

Barker softball coach, Bill Moeller congratulates Madyson Flint after hitting a triple

Barker’s Kaylee Stoll scores on the 4th shot in the shootout past Roy-Hart goalie Casondria Sanney

Barker’s Louis Castro goes in for a layup past Albion’s Kyle Radder

Lyndonville’s Brody Hazel has control over Holley/Kendall’s Ethan Hardenbrook

Ethan Olles, of the Barre Cubs, dives to make the catch in the Cub’s Midget League playoff game

Medina’s Justin Pitts clears the hurdle

Kendall’s Will Kludt goes over Albion goalie Adrian Figueroa-Fuentes who makes the save

Medina’s Preston Woodworth makes a diving catch during the sectional finals

Trent Choate heads the ball away for Medina Mustangs FC

Roy-Hart’s Kaitlyn Mettler readies to tag out Albion’s Janessa Lindsey at second base

Medina’s Christian Moss goes high for an interception

Lyndonville/Barker’s goalie Isabella Groves stops a shot attempt by Holley’s Alivia Wolf

Albion’s first ever Alumni softball game christened their new turf field as Nikki Messure(class of 2004) slides home as Sherri Palmeri(class of 1984) waits to apply the tag

To view the video of the pictures of 2024 click here . The pictures start with the last picture of 2024 I took and goes to the first picture of 2024.

Contributed Photo – Melanie Green holds the championship trophy after winning the R&A Women’s Amateur Tournament in Ireland.

In a few short hours the page of the calendar will turn to the start of a new year. But before ringing in the new year it is always fun to take a brief look back at some of the top local stories of the year and 2024 certainly had a few.

A special year on the links for Melanie Green
From finishing an outstanding college golf career at the University of South Florida to a very successful series of international tournaments, it was a very memorable year for Medina’s Melanie Green.

In the spring at USF Green earned second team All American honors and was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year and the ACC Women’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Her summer of  international competition was highlighted by capturing the R&A Women’s Amateur Championship (formerly the British Women’s Amateur) in Ireland as she rallied from as much as four down in the final round.

Green also was a member of Team USA for both the Arnold Palmer Cup competition in Ireland and the Curtis Cup in England. In addition, she competed in the Amundi Evian championship in France, which is one of the LPGA’s major tournaments, and also reached the match pay round of 32 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Brody Fry celebrates after Medina’s Far West Regional win over Wellsville.

Turning professional in November she had a solid pro debut by finishing second at a tournament in Maryland.

Medina baseball team reaches state semifinals
For the second time in six years the Medina High baseball squad reached the state Class B semifinals.

The Mustangs, which captured the Niagara-Orleans League title with an 11-1 record, claimed the Section VI Class B championship by edging league rival Roy-Hart 3-1 in the semifinals and Fredonia 4-3 in the championship game. Brandon Christiaansen and Ryleigh Culver had key RBI singles in the win over Roy-Hart as did Carter Woodworth and Richard Keppler in the victory over Fredonia.

Medina then needed a big late inning scoring burst to defeat Section V champion Wellsville 8-3 in the Far West Regional. Breaking away from a 1-1 tie, the Mustangs erupted for 7 runs in the sixth inning to key the win on a two-run single by Carter Woodworth, an RBI single by Aidan Papaj, three wild pitches and a balk.

However, Medina’s big postseason run came to an end as Spackenkill (Section IX) edged the Mustangs 5-3 in the state semifinals. The Mustangs did hold the lead twice at 1-0 in the third inning on a single by Culver and again at 3-2 in the fifth on an RBI single by Culver an a sacrifice fly by Brody Culver. However, Spackenkill answered with a pair of runs in the home half of the fifth to regain the lead for good.

The Mustangs finished the season at 20-2.

Kendall’s Pablo Rosario-Reyes helped the Eagles capture a Section V championship and earned All State honors.

Kendall boys title highlights soccer season
It was a special season for the Kendall boys soccer team which ended a 25 year plus long sectional title drought.

Kendall, which claimed the Genesee Region League title with an 11-0-1 record, captured the Section V Class C2 championship with a 3-1 victory over Genesee Valley-Belfast. It was the Eagles first sectional title since 1998.

Keeping the momentum, Kendall then blanked East Rochester 3-0 in the Section V Class C state qualifier game.

However, the Eagles post season run ended in the Far West Regional with a 4-2 loss to Section VI champion Allegany-Limestone.

Kendall junior Pablo Rosario-Reyes, who had 29 goals and 24 assists, earned All-State honors.

The Kendall girls team likewise had a big season winning the G-R League Division 2 title and finishing second in the Section V Class C2 tournament to G-R rival and eventual state champion Byron-Bergen by a narrow 1-0 margin.

The Lady Eagles went 12-1 in the league and 18-2 overall.

Wes Bradley came out of retirement to guide the restart of the Lyndonville boys varsity soccer team.

Kendall sophomore Sophia Picardo earned All State honors as did Holley senior Zoey Wolf.

Tigers return to varsity soccer competition
Lyndonville made a return to boys varsity soccer competition after a year’s absence and a very familiar face was at the helm.

Wes Bradley, who first organized the Lyndonville soccer team in 1976 and led the Tigers for 22 years until 2002, came out of retirement to guide the restart of the Tigers varsity program.

The Tigers made their first victory, a 1-0 home field win over Newfane, a special one as it was Bradley’s milestone 200th career win.

Medina extends C North title reign
Posting a 6-1 record, Medina earned a share of a fifth straight C North Division football championship.

Rebounding an an early season 23-6 loss to Newfane, the Mustangs rattled off five straight wins to finish in a three-way tie for the C North title with Newfane and Alden.

Medina capped off the regular season with a 52-0 win over rival Albion.

Medina senior Cole Callard set school records for most goals in a season with 44 and in a career with 98. He earned first team All-WNY honors in both soccer and football and All State in soccer.

The Mustangs, which finished 8-2 overall, had a trio of players earn All Western New York honors including senior kicker Cole Callard, senior linebacker Brody Fry and junior running back Christian Moss.

Roy-Hart had a quartet of N-O title teams
Four Roy-Hart teams earned N-O League championships including girls soccer, volleyball, boys swimming and girls swimming.

The Lady Rams soccer team went 8-1-1 to edge out Wilson (7-1-2) for the title.

Senior Kaitlin Mettler, a four-time first team N-O All-League honoree, led the Lady Rams with 36 goals and earned All State honors.

The Lady Rams volleyball team went 9-1 to also edge out Wilson (8-2) for the title.

The Roy-Hart/Barker girls swim team posted a 7-0-1 record while the boys squad went 7-1 and shared the title with Albion.

Three Albion teams earn N-O titles
In addition to sharing the boys swim title with Roy-Hart/Barker, Albion also captured the N-O boys track and tennis championships.

The track title was the fifth straight for the Purple Eagles who have gone 30-0 during that stretch.

The Purple Eagles tennis team went 12-0 to claim the N-O crown for the first time in nine years.

Albion dedicated its newly improved athletic facilities,  which includes artificial turf football and soccer/softball fields,  to former longtime football Coach Dick Diminuco as the Richard C. Diminuco Sports Complex. Diminuco is shown at the right at the dedication ceremony.

It was also a special year for Albion’s athletic facilities as a new artificial turf soccer/softball field opened and the high school gymnasium was completed refurbished. That followed the opening of a new artificial turf football field in 2023.

Albion also dedicated the new facilities in honor of former long time Purple Eagles football Coach Dick Diminuco as the Richard Diminuco Sports Complex.

Barker has two N-O title teams
Barker teams captured both the N-O softball and boys cross-country championships.

Peyton Bradley helped hurl Barker to an undefeated Niagara-Orleans League softball championship season.

The Lady Bulldogs softball team went 12-0 to claim the N-O crown for the first time since 2007.

The boys cross-country team went 6-0 during the regular season and also took top honors at the N-O All-League meet.

The year was also a special one in terms of athletic facilities improvements as this fall Barker opened its new artificial turf football, soccer, field hockey, baseball and softball field.

More highlights from 2024

– The Medina Mustangs FC captures the Buffalo District Soccer League’s 2nd Division regular season championship. It is the second year in a row that the Mustangs have claimed a division title.

– On the wrestling mat, both Medina’s Reece Senske and Holley’s Hunter Jewell Smith competed at the state championships.

– The Kendall U17 baseball team locked up a Monroe County title with doubleheader seep of the Greece Gladiators by scores of 13-0 and 8-6.

– Barre win the Albion Midget League 12U playoff championship by downing Hamlin 11-1 and Elba claims the 9U playoff title by edging Barre 3-2.

– Lyndonville sophomore Brooke Robinson earns second team All State Class D softball honors.

– The Albion Beginners Division football team wins a Niagara Orleans Football Association (NOFA) playoff title by edging Batavia 7-0.

– Lyndonville native Scott Bradley competes in the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.

– White Birch captured the Medina Women’s Softball ‘A’ League playoff championship.

– Medina High’s Unified basketball team wins a Section VI playoff title.

Barker opened its new multi purpose artificial turf field this fall which can host football, soccer, field hockey, baseball and softball games.

Unable to overcome a 4 point first quarter, Barker dropped a 67-42 decision to CG Finney in the championship game of the Kendall Holiday Tournament this evening.

Finney held leads of 15-4 after the first quarter, 25-11 at the half and 49-29 after three quarters.

Finney’s Braelen Broome earned MVP honors as his teammate Ethan Krog was also named to the All Tournament team.

Anthony Taliaferro scored 20 to lead Barker as Logan Murrell added 9, Isaac Monaco and Alex Ark 5 each, Maico Vazquez 2 and Owen Harris 1.

Taliaferro and Murrell were both named to the All-Tournament team.

Global Concepts 53, Kendall 39
In the consolation game Global Concepts downed Kendall 53-39.

Vinnie D’Agostino had 13, Jonny Conte 9, CJ D’Agostino 7, William Kludt 5, Noah Morehouse 3 and Jonas Rhodes 2 for Kendall which trailed 16-8 after the first quarter, 28-21 at the half and 41-33 after three quarters.

Roy-Hart wins at GCC
Roy-Hart bested Attica 68-51 in the Large Schools Division consolation game of the Batavia Lions Club Tournament at Genesee Community College this afternoon.

Dan Aquilina scored 24 and Braden Ricker 23 to lead the way for the Rams. Matt Aqulina and Erique Powell both added 6, Jackson West 4, Tysen McCaa 3 and Nick Harding 2.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Jayzon Wills drives to the basket against Kenmore East defender Kaiden Ballantyne during the Mustangs win over the visiting Bulldogs this afternoon.

Tuning up for Friday’s key Niagara-Orleans League game at defending co-champion Akron, Medina rolled to a 68-45 victory over visiting Kenmore East in a non league contest this afternoon.

Preston Woodworth took game high scoring honors with 23 and Jerrell Nealy had 18 to lead the Medina attack. Avion Johnson added 9, Cole Callard 7, Christian Moss and Kolton Fletcher 4 each and Jayzon Wills 3.

Quentin Wilbon tallied 14 and Anthony Moore 13 to lead Ken East.

Medina jumped out to a 20-11 first quarter lead as Nealy had three baskets, Woodworth two threes and Johnson one three.

The Mustangs maintained a 12 point, 37-25, lead at the half as Neal had two three-point plays and a three in the second quarter.

Medina then broke the game wide open in the third period outscoring the Bulldogs 24-14 to increase the advantage to 22 at 61-39.

Woodworth scored 11, including three  threes, and Johnson hit a pair of threes to lead that uprising.

Medina will take a 1-0 N-O and a 2-5 overall record into Friday’s 6:30 p.m. game at Akron which is 3-0 in the league and 6-0 overall.

Medina’s Avion Johnson drives against Kenmore East’s Gage Turnbull.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s All Western New York football honorees include, from left, Brody Fry, Cole Callard and Christian Moss.

Three Medina High players have earned spots on the All Western New York football team.

The Mustangs trio includes first team honoree senior kicker Cole Callard, second team selection senior linebacker Brody Fry and third team honoree junior running back Christian Moss.

Callard had an outstanding special teams season as he connected on 48 of 50 extra point tries and on 6 of 7 field goal attempts with the longest coming from 42 yards out.

The honor is also a second one this season for Callard who also recently earned All WNY soccer team honors. He had a school record 44 goals this season and finished his four year varsity career with a school record total of 98 goals.

Fry, who was named C North Division Player of the Year, had a team leading 143 tackles including 93 solo. He also had 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and an interception.

Moss, who repeated as C North Offensive Player of the Year, led the Mustangs ground attack as he rushed for 1,850 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also caught 11 passes for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Nine local wrestlers earned top four finishes at the Akron Tournament on Saturday.

Roy-Hart/Barker had Luke Fay take first place honors at 145 lb. while Lucas Kimber took second at 106 and RJ Townsend second at 285.

Albion had Stryker Sanders place third and Justin Mengs fourth at 101 and Jaxon Lynch third at 145.

Lyndonville had Ty Holmes place second at 124, Shannon Withey second at 145 and Chanse Amsdill fourth at 108.