Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Lyndonville’s veteran group includes, in front, Bella Groves, Addison Dillenbeck and Haley Shaffer. In back are Shaeleigh Miller, Lorelei Dillenbeck, Brooke Robinson and Brianna Krisher.

Looking to keep the momentum from last spring’s school record 20 victory (20-1) season, the Lyndonville softball team returns a good nucleus of seven returnees.

The Lady Tigers, which captured a second straight Genesee Region League division title with a 14-0 record, return seniors Lorelei Dillenbeck (shortstop/pitcher), Haley Shaffer (pitcher/catcher), Brianna Krisher (third base) and Shaeleigh Miller (utility) along with sophomore Addison Dillenbeck (catcher/outfield) and freshmen Brooke Robinson (second base/pitcher) and Bella Groves (utility).

Lorelei Dillenbeck, Shaffer and Addison Dillenbeck all earned G-R All-Star honors.

The Lady Tigers graduation losses included G-R All-Stars first baseman Gracie Johnson and shortstop Ella Lewis along with outfielder Brynn Howell.

“We graduated some key kids but we’ve got a good group back with some good experience,” said Coach Joe Moore.

Lyndonville is scheduled to begin tuning up for the April 13 G-R home opener against Elba by visiting CG Finney on Tuesday.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s returning regulars include, in front, Richard Keppler, Julian Woodworth and Aidan Paul. In back are Vinny Gray, Tyler Kroening,  Ryleigh Culver and Brody Fry.

Underclassmen dominate the lineup as the Medina varsity baseball team prepares to defend its Niagara-Orleans League co-championship and its Section VI Class B title.

Senior pitcher Aidan Paul, who earned first team N-O All-League honors last year, heads Medina’s contingent of returning regulars which also includes juniors Julian Woodworth (outfield/pitcher)and Richard Keppler (first base/ DH), sophomore Brody Fry (third base/ pitcher), Ryleigh Culver (catcher), Tyler Kroening (middle infield) and freshman Vinny Gray (outfield). Woodworth and Fry both received All League Honorable Mention.

The Mustangs roster also includes senior Aiden Pitts (shortstop), Jayden Lugo (outfield) and Jackson Moreland, juniors Brandon Christiaansen (first base/DH), Alex Benz and Henry Winters, sophomore Carter Woodworth (third base) and eighth graders Aiden Papaj (second base) and Preston Woodworth.

“We’re young but we do have a good amount of experience,” said Coach Chris Goyette who has taken over the Mustangs helm with the retirement of Jon Sherman. He is being assisted by Brian Fry. Goyette and Fry both served as assistant coaches the last few years.

The Mustangs graduation losses include first team N-O All-League honorees Zach Fike (pitcher/first base) and Xander Payne (catcher/pitcher/outfield) along with second team honoree Joe Cecchini (shortstop) and Honorable Mention selection Hayden Woodroe (outfield).

Medina, which shared the N-O crown with Roy-Hart last year at 10-2, finished with a 21-4 overall record.

The Mustangs are scheduled to begin tuning up for the April 17 N-O opener at rival Albion, with a non league home game against Alden at 5 p.m. Monday.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Anchoring the Roy-Hart lineup this season will be this group of returning regulars. In front are Remington Albee and Dawson Draper. In back are Thomas Russo, Ethan Kuzma and Jake Gould. Missing from the photo is Brayden Hy.

Last spring was a very successful one for the Roy-Hart varsity baseball squad as the Rams earned a share of the Niagara-Orleans League title and advanced to the Section VI Class B2 finals.

Now with two third of their starting lineup back the Rams look to make another strong run at the N-O title and a deep run in the sectional playoffs.

Senior pitcher/shortstop Thomas Russo heads the Rams contingent of returning starters which also includes junior catcher Ethan Kuzma along with junior infielders Brayden Hy, Jake Gould, Dawson Draper and Remington Albee.

Russo, who was named the N-O Player of the Year, Kuzma and Hy all earned first team All-League honors while Albee, Draper and Gould each received Honorable Mention. Hy, Draper and Gould also look to help share in the pitching duties.

Russo registered 136 strikeouts on the mound and hit .417 with 36 RBI at the plate while Hy hit .487 with 33 RBI and Kuzma .452 with 18 RBI.

Returning seniors Zach Walker and Nate Beyer head the outfield candidates.

“We’ve got a good nucleus back,” said Coach Jim Heideman. “Our defense should be solid with our infield back as should our pitching. Right now we’re just working to get our outfield together.”

The Rams graduation losses included the first team All-League trio of John Conley, Jay Heideman and Ryan Mettler.

Roy-Hart, which share the N-O title with Medina at 10-2 last spring, is scheduled to begin tuning up for the April 17 league opener against Wilson by visiting West Seneca West for a non league game on Monday.

Contributed Photos – Zach Fike, Sydnie Luckman and Shelby Wolf

A trio of local student-athletes are off to strong starts to the season on the Niagara County Community College diamond squads.

Medina High graduate Zach Fike has posted a 2-0 record on the mound with 10 strikeouts and no earned runs in 9.2 innings of work for the NCCC baseball team which is off to a 11-1 start.

Roy-Hart grad Shelby Wolfe and Barker grad Sydnie Luckman, both sophomore infielders, are both batting well over .300 for the NCCC softball squad.

Wolf is hitting .386 with 8 doubles, 1 home run and 18 runs batted in. Luckman is hitting .389 with 6 RBI.

Lyndonville’s boys and girls varsity basketball teams have both earned New York State Public High School Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete Team Awards by compiling a composite average of at least 90.

The girls basketball team qualified with a 93.68 average. The following student-athletes had a second quarter Grade Point Average of 90% or higher: Lorelei Dillenbeck, Addison Dillenbeck, Isabella Groves, Annabelle Follman, Madison Davis, Shelby Boring and Hannah Fox.

The boys Basketball team also qualified with a 91.06 average. The following student-athletes had a second quarter GPA of 90% or higher: Colton Smith, Daniel Barry, Jacob Pitcher and Bradley Jisa.

Contributed Photo – Brendan Luthart

Medina High graduate Brendan Luthart is off to a strong start to the season as a senior member of the Lake Erie College lacrosse team.

Luthart, who has scored in each of Lake Erie’s first seven games, leads the team in scoring with 21 goals and 4 assists.

A midfielder. his efforts have included two five goal games and a pair of three goal contests. Those tallies increase his career totals to 39 goals and 14 assists.

During his scholastic days at Medina, he had a career total of 162 goals and 110 assists for the Mustangs earning second team All-Western New York and fifth team All State his senior year.

Fry homers for Toledo
Medina High graduate and University of Toledo sophomore Brian Fry hit his first home run of the season for the Rockets this past weekend. He hit a two-run home during the Rockets wild 19-16 loss to Ball State.

Fry, a second baseman who has started 15 of the Rockets 18 games to date, is hitting .242 with 3 doubles 1 home run and 8 runs batted in.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Returning starters to the Medina lacrosse team lineup include, in front, Jacob Rissew, Sawyer Kingsbury and Will Prest. In back are Cayden Lilleby, Ollie Wilson, Josh Wilson and Nate Cavers.

Looking to get some cooperation from Mother Nature for a snow free field, Medina is scheduled to host Wilson at 2 p.m. Saturday at Vets Park in the Section VI Class D Division lacrosse season opener.

The Mustangs, who are slated to prep for the opener by hosting Lockport in a scrimmage Wednesday, return a good nucleus of eight starters.

That veteran group includes seniors Cayden Lilleby (Midfielder), Noah Skinner (Long Stick Middie), Ollie Wilson (Defender), Josh Wilson (Attack) and Nathan Cavers (Midfield) along with juniors Jacob Rissew (Midfielder), Will Prest (Midfielder) and Sawyer Kingsbury (Defender).

Returning starter Noah Skinner

Lilleby, who scored a team leading 50 goals last season, earned first team D Division All Star honors while Skinner and Ollie Wilson were both second team selections.

The Mustangs also return senior Chris Leavitt (Attack) and juniors Dylan Lonnen (Attack), Jack Cecchini (Long Stick Middie), Jackson Schultz (Long Stick Middie) and Ayden Johnson (Face Offs).

Up from the JV ranks, junior Jason Beyer (Defender) along with the sophomore trio of Cole Callard (Attack), Lucius Wagner (Midfielder) and Mason Eick (Goalie) also look to seep plenty of action.

“We’ve got a real young team but a lot of them got their feet wet last year so that gives us some good experience,” said Coach Todd Eick. “I’m excited for our seniors because they have a strong base behind them and I’m excited for our young players because they have a lot of opportunities. We’re hoping for a winning season but we’re taking it one game at a time and looking to take advantage of our opportunities that is key.”

The Mustangs graduation losses included Zaric Boyce (Midfield/Attack), Sam Kingsbury (Attack/Midfield) and defenders Calvin Stalker and Zach Oliver. Boyce, who earned first team D Division All Star honors, scored 26 goals and had a team leading 31 assists.

Medina went 4-5 in the division and 7-10 overall last season.

Contributed Photos – The local competitors on the SUNY Brockport track teams include, from left, Emma Mathes, Jay Heideman and Derek Edick.

Three local student-athletes are members of the SUNY track and field squads.

That trio includes junior Emma Mathes from Albion, sophomore Derek Edick from Kendall and freshman Jay Heideman from Roy-Hart.

Mathes competes in the middle distance events, Edick in the jumps and Heideman in the distance events.

Mathes, who is pursing a career in nursing. was a member of Brockport’s second place finishing Distance Medley Relay team at the recent SUNYAC Conference championships. She also placed eighth in the mile run.