Photo by Cheryl Wertman – The kicking of Cole Callard has provided a big special teams weapon for Medina which hosts Southwestern in the Class C semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Vets Park. The holder here is Justin Pitts.

A berth in the sectional finals will be on the line as Medina hosts Southwestern in the Section VI Class C semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Vets Park.

C North champion Medina brings a 9-0 record into the contest while C South runner-up Southwestern is 7-2.

The teams last met in the sectional finals during the abbreviated 2021 spring season which was held to make-up for the fall 2020 campaign which was cancelled due to Covid 19 restrictions. The Mustangs downed the Trojans 21-13 at Vets Park in that contest to capture the Class C championship.

Medina has advanced to the semis by shutting out Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove 24-0 while Southwestern edged Akron 20-13. Trailing 13-6, the Trojans rallied for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to claim the win over the Tigers who also gave the Mustangs a tough time this season. Medina turned back a second half Akron rally to gain a 29-21 win in that one.

“Southwestern plays fast and they are very physical,” said Medina Coach Eric Valley. “They are well coached and played in a handful of close games and found ways to win. We need to match their physicality and minimize mistakes to be successful.”

Offensively Southwestern is led by quarterback Owen Hayes who has thrown for 875 yards and 7 touchdowns. The Trojans leading rusher has been Jameson Walsh who had picked up 775 yards and scored 11 touchdowns. The receiving corps is led by Brody Larson with 22 catches for 341 yards and 3 TD and Declan Kenney with 10 receptions for 321 yards and 2 TD.

“Our defense has gotten better week in and week out and that has been key to much of our success,,” said Valley. “Our defensive front has been solid all season and our secondary has really started to step up and make big plays.”

Quarterback Julian Woodworth, who has passed for 568 yards and 5 TDs and rushed for 430 yards and 9 TDs leads the Medina offense. Christian Moss has rushed for 1,220 yards and 15 TDs, Noah Cudzilo 278 yards and 5 TDs and Brody Fry 215 yards and 2 TDs. Cudzilo also has 3 TD receptions while Fry and Justin Pitts each have 1.

“Offensively we have relied on our line to open holes and give our QB time when we throw the football. For us on offense we like to spread the ball around, but it all starts up front with an O-line that has been solid for us all season” said Valley. “On special teams, Cole Callard continues to make plays for us with his strong leg, which is a big advantage in any game.”

Friday’s other Class C semifinal will be an all C South Division affair as Salamanca hosts Portville.

Fans are reminded that tickets must be purchased on-line in advance.

To obtain tickets click here

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Emi Batista and Akron’s Madison Gates battle for the ball during the Lady Tigers narrow 1-0 win over the Mustangs in the Section VI Class C title game at Newfane this evening.

A goal in the opening seconds proved to be just enough as top seeded Akron nipped No. 3 Medina 1-0 in the Section VI Class C field hockey championship game this evening at Newfane.

Nevada Bergman’s goal just 25 seconds into the game was enough to earn Akron its fourth straight Section VI Class C title and a berth in the state playoffs Far West Regional on Saturday.

Medina had a number of scoring chances as the Mustangs had a total of 11 corner opportunities on the evening but could not capitalize.

Interestingly, Akron nipped Medina twice by that same narrow 1-0 margin during the regular season in route to posting a 12-0 Niagara-Orleans League championship campaign.

Akron, which is now 16-1, advanced to the final by downing No. 4 seed Barker 2-1 in the semifinals while Medina edged No. 2 Eden 2-1.

Medina’s Iyla Lilleby works to keep control of the ball against Akron defender Morgan Tomporowski.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Holley’s Zoey Wolf heads the ball away from Byron-Bergen’s MacKenzie Hagen during the Lady Hawks 3-2 overtime win over the Bees in the Section V Class C state qualifier game this evening at Geneseo.

Making school history, Holley edged past Genesee Region League foe Byron-Bergen 3-2 in overtime in the Section V Class C girls soccer state qualifier game at Geneseo High School this evening.

The appearance in the state tournament will be the first for the Lady Hawks which will face Section VI champion Frewsburg in the Class C Far West Regional at 5 p.m. Saturday at Caledonia-Mumford.

Samantha Bates scored with six minutes to go in the first overtime period off an assist from Emma Brady to snap a 2-2 tie and earn the Lady Hawks their first state playoff berth.

“It’s amazing. They played great,” said Holley Coach Renee Wolf. “I knew they could do it. They just had to believe they could and they did.”

Holley jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Mia Thom scored with 13 minutes to go in the first half.

However, Byron-Bergen, which downed Holley 6-0 during the G-R campaign, rallied to first tie the game before half-time on a goal by Mia Gray and then to take a 2-1 lead in the second half on a tally by Megan Jarkiewicz.

Holley though battled back to retie the contest on a goal by Bates with less than 10 minutes to go in regulation time forcing the overtime period.

Holley, which advanced to the state qualifier by winning the Section VI Class C1 title title with a 2-1 win over Williamson, will take a 17-3 record into the Far West Regional.

Holley’s Emma Brady looks to pass the ball as Bella Thom supports and Byron-Bergen’s Elizabeth Starowitz comes in to defend.

Holley’s Alexia Renner sends the ball up field against Byron-Bergen defender Megan Zwerka-Synder.

Contributed Photo – Melanie Green

Closing out the Fall portion of the 2023-24 season on a high note, University of South Florida senior and Medina High graduate Melanie Green placed second at the Hurricane Invitational which concluded today at Coral Gables, Florida.

Green finished the tournament with a 10 under par total of 206 after rounds of 70-67-69.

She led USF to a third place finish in the team standings behind champion Miami, which hosted the tourney, and Oklahoma.

Green has finished in the top four in each of USF’s tournaments this fall. She tied for second at the Glass City Invitational, placed third at the Dale McNamara Invitational and fourth at the Badger Invitational.

A Business Finance major, she has earned American Athletic Conference All-Conference honors the previous three years and was an Honorable Mention Al American honoree last fall.

Looking to end a 20 plus year long sectional title drought, No. 3 seed Medina will face top seeded Akron for the Section VI Class C field hockey championship and a berth in the upcoming state playoffs on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Newfane.

Medina last claimed a sectional title in 2001 while Akron has captured the last three Class C championships.

Akron edged Medina twice by a narrow 1-0 margin during the Niagara-Orleans League season in route to claiming the league championship with a 12-0 record. The Mustangs went 9-3 in N-O contests.

Medina advanced to the finals by edging Eden 2-1 in the semifinals while Akron blanked Barker 2-0.

Offensively Medina has been led by Iyla Lilleby with a school record 33 goals and 7 assists, Penelope Schalck 20 goals and 8 assists, Emi Batista 8 goals and 7 assists and Maggie Lonnen 6 goals and 1 assist.

Akron’s leading goal scorers have included Nevada Bergman with 13, Olivia McClaine 11, Julia Klodzinski 9, Madigan Regan 7, Brooke Milhollen 6 and, Kayla Cebulski 6 and 5. McClaine also has 12 assists.

The victor will play in the Class C Far West Regional against the Section V champion on Saturday at Webster Thomas High.

Fans are reminder that tickets must be purchased on-line in advance.

To obtain tickets click here

Contributed Photo – Adriana Botello, left, and Lauren Pilon hold the Region III championship trophy.

Two local players, Holley graduate Adriana Botello and Kendall grad Lauren Pilon, are members of the Finger Lakes Community College Volleyball team which captured a third straight Region III championship this past weekend.

Improving to 24-1, FLCC defeated Hudson Valley 25-19, 25-16, 25-17 in the semifinals and Broome Community College 25-23, 24-26, 25-17, 25-22 in the championship match to advance to the national tournament for the third year in a row.

Botello, a sophomore setter and defensive specialist, is majoring in Pre-Healthcare Studies.

Pilon, a freshman middle hitter, is a Heath Science major.

No. 3 seeded Roy-Hart dropped a three set 25-12, 25-20, 25-13 decision to No. 2 Falconer in the semifinals of the Section VI girls volleyball playoffs this evening at Falconer.

Grace Pearl had 7 kills and Lauren Snyder 4 for Roy-Hart as Lila Brigham and Raegan Kern both added 2.

In a Class B2 semifinal, No. 1 Akron rallied from a 2-1 set deficit to defeat No. 4 Fredonia 3-2 at Akron.

Akron rallied to tie the match by winning the fourth set 25-14 and then claimed the victory with a narrow 15-13 win in the decisive fifth set.

Boys Soccer
Section VI Class C championship
Top seeded Wilson edged No. 2 Maple Grove 3-2 in the Section VI Class C championships this evening at West Seneca West.

Blake Simpson scored in the second half to snap a 2-2 tie and earn Wilson the title and a trip to the state playoffs.

Aidan Neumann scored twice for Niagara-Orleans League champion Wilson in the sea-saw first half which ended deadlocked at 2-2.

Seeking a first ever berth in the girls state soccer playoffs, Holley will face Genesee Region League for Byron-Bergen in the Section V Class C state qualifier game on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Geneseo High School.

Holley advanced to the state qualifier by defeating Williamson 2-1 for the Section VI Class C1 title while Byron-Bergen downed Keshequa 4-3 for the Class C2 crown.

Byron-Bergen bested Holley 6-0 during the G-R season. Both teams bring 16-3 records into the contest.

Offensively, Holley has been led by Samantha Bates with 27 goals and 10 assists, Jailyn Bishop 11 goals and 13 assists and Emma Brady 9 goals and 8 assists.

Byron-Bergen’s high scoring offense, which has netted 117 goals on the season, is led by the quartet of Mia Gray (32 goals, 27 assists), Mackenzie Hagen (26 goals, 9 assists), Emma Starowitz (20 goals, 10 assists) and Grave DiQuattro (16 goals, 14 assists).

Fans are reminded that tickets for the game must be purchased on-line in advance.

To obtain tickets click here

Contributed Photo – Emma Dewart Trakas

Barker High and Ithaca College graduate Emma Dewart Trakas was inducted into Ithaca’s Athletic Hall of Fame in ceremonies this past Friday.

Dewart Trakas, a 2012 Ithaca grad, is the most decorated women’s track and field student-athlete in program history with 11 All-America honors and two national championships.

She was a six-time All-American during the indoor season, which is where both of her national championships occurred in the pentathlon. She also claimed five All-American performances during outdoor, including four during the 2011 season.

Dewart Trakas was the NYSCTC and Empire 8 Rookie of the Year in 2008-09, a five-time USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Field Athlete of the Year and a three-time Empire 8 Field Athlete of the Year. During her senior season, she was named First-Team Academic All-American by CoSIDA.

She still owns four school records and held the marks in the pentathlon and heptathlon until 2023. Her pentathlon record of 3674 points was set during her national title performance in 2012 in Grinnell, Iowa.

During here scholastic days at Barker she was the Niagara-Orleans League Triple Jump and High Jump champion her senior year. She still holds the Baker records in the Long Junp and High Jump.

Roy-Hart and Akron will both be competing in the semifinal round of the Section VI volleyball playoffs on Monday at 6 p.m.

No. 3 seed Roy-Hart will visit No. 2 Falconer in a Class C1 semifinal.

Top seeded Niagara-Orleans League champion Akron will host No. 4 Fredonia in a B2 semi.

Field Hockey Sectionals

No. 3 seed Medina will face top seeded N-O champion Akron in a Section VI Class C field hockey semifinal game at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Newfane.

Girls Soccer Sectionals
Holley will face Genesee Region League foe Byron-Bergen for the Section V Class C berth in the upcoming state playoffs on Wednesday at a site and time to be announced.

Football Sectionals
Medina will host Southwestern in a Section VI Class C semifinal football game at 7 p.m. Friday at Vets Park.