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YMCA in Medina hosted 11 sanctioned boxing bouts
Theo Irwin, Medina grad, wants to bring back more boxing events to Medina
Photos by Tom Rivers: Caleb Rivera is declared the winner in a bout against John Rondon. It was one of 11 sanctioned boxing matches by USA Boxing today at the Orleans County YMCA in Medina.
MEDINA – The Orleans County YMCA hosted 11 boxing bouts today, which were sanctioned by USA Boxing. These are believed to the first sanctioned boxing matches in Medina since the 1950s.
Medina native Theo Irwin, 26, served as promoter of the event. He also runs a boxing gym in Rochester and had five of his fighters in the ring today.
Irwin started boxing when he was 6 and fought in 29 sanctioned matches. He has been a boxing coach the past three years. This Tuesday he will begin leading a non-contact boxing class at the YMCA in Medina on Tuesdays from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. That class is open to people of all ages.
Ellison Rivera, in red, lands a punch against Cameron Overton.
About 200 people attended the boxing matches today, which was considered a good crowd, especially at a new venue. Irwin would like to have Medina host boxing again in the future, at least once annually. He said the local Y is ideally located between Rochester and Buffalo.
Irwin runs a construction business, framing houses during the day. He is at the gym almost every day at the Montgomery Neighborhood Center on Cady Street in Rochester.
Theo Irwin coached five of the boxers today. He wears a green robe in honor of his Irish heritage. He also served as promoter of the event today in Medina. He would like to make Medina a regular site for boxing matches in the Niagara Region. He said Medina is ideally located between Rochester and Buffalo. The Niagara District of USA Boxing extends from Syracuse to Jamestown.
Sharee Smith, right, eyes his opponent, Javon Taylor of Lockport.
Sharee Smith, 15, has been training with Irwin the past three months. Today’s was Smith’s fourth fight. He lost in a technical knockout to Lockport’s Javon Taylor, who was making his debut in a sanctioned boxing match.
After the bout Sharee said he was eager to get back in the ring. The 150-pound fighter wasn’t discouraged by the defeat.
He said boxing is a great way “to blow off steam.” He also plays football. He likes training with Irwin, one of seven or eight regulars in the gym.
“He’s positive,” Sharee said. “He’s a good role model.”
Boxing takes discipline, and self motivation.
Sharee knows the biggest key for a boxer: “You got to have heart and lot of people don’t have it,” he said.
Theo Irwin, right, checks on his boxer, 15-year-old Sharee Smith. Sharee took some tough punches in the first round. Irwin gave him positive feedback, and encouraged him to move around more in the ring.
Shares Smith and Javon Taylor battle in the ring. Jimmie Phelps is the referee. Taylor would win the bout in the third round in a technical knockout.
Theo Irwin checks on Sharee Smith after the second round. The boxers fought for two minutes and then had a one-minute break in between rounds.
Irwin’s father Mark was active with USA Boxing for about 20 years, including seven years as the chief official. Irwin, a former Medina village trustee, also boxed in his early 20s.
“It’s conditioning and discipline,” he said about the sport. “A lot of it is mental toughness because a lot of the training is solitary. You have to be disciplined. A non-disciplined isn’t going to last long.”
About 200 people watched the boxing today at the YMCA in Medina. This photo shows Javon Taylor of Lockport vs. Sharee Smith of Rochester. Jimmie Phelps is the referee.
Joe Taylor, 35, of Lockport trained two of the boxers who fought today, including his son, Javon, 14. Javon won in his debut.
Joe Taylor is a top-ranked kick boxer. He competes for the world title on March 21 at the King of the Cage United States Cruiserweight Championship. The match will be the main event at the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Fall. His father, the late Johnnie Taylor of Medina and Lockport, was a professional boxer who fought at Madison Square Garden.
Taylor takes time to train kids who want to try boxing. He said the sport demands focus and discipline, and that can be transformative to the teens.
“It makes kids want to do the right thing and not the wrong thing,” he said. “The kids love it.”
After the matches ended, Theo Irwin takes apart the ring, which was originally used at the former Boston Garden and now is owned by a gym in Rochester.
Fidanza, Wilson place second at state qualifier
Lyndonville senior Mario Fidanza (220) placed second at the Section V Division 2 (small schools) state qualifier tournament this evening at SUNY Brockport.
Fidanza, the No. 2 seed, was pinned in the title bout by top seeded Tyler Smith of Bolivar-Richburg in 3:35.
Fidanza, who opened the competition with quick pins of :57 and 1:07, scored an 11-0 major decision win over Noah Wazinski of North Rose-Wolcott in the semifinals.
Smith scored second period pins in all four of his matches.
Lyndonville also had Connor Bell (113) place fourth and Rodney Davis (170) fifth.
Albion senior Cody Wilson (285) finished second at the Section VI Division 2 state qualifier tournament at Southwestern.
Seeded No. 3, Wilson dropped a narrow 6-4 decision to Niagara-Orleans League foe top seeded Jaden Heers from Newfane in the title bout.
Wilson advanced to the title bout with 3 pins. He bested Ryan Carpenter (Randolph) in 1:30 in the opening round; Collin Mower (Falconer) in :41 in the quarterfinals and Jake Skinner (Fredonia) in 2:45 in the semifinals.
Heers registered pins in both his quarter and semifinal matches.
Roy-Hart’s Gavin Ciarfella (99) placed third, Roy-Hart’s Colby Hancock (145) fourth and Medina’s Riley Black (195) sixth.
Lyndonville surges past Barker
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Lyndonville’s Rolland Balcerzak puts up a shot as Barker’s Joey Brandt tries to block during the host Tigers win over the Raiders this afternoon.
Pulling away in the second quarter, Lyndonville went on to defeat visiting Barker 76-47 in a non league boys basketball game this afternoon.
Leading 17-11 after one quarter, Lyndonville outscored Barker 16-8 in the second period to open up a 33-19 half-time advantage.
Russ Stephens and Nate Dillenbek both had a three and a two and Anthony Moule a three to highlight the Tigers surge during that stretch.
The Tigers extended the lead a bit to 17, 54-37, at the three quarter mark as Nathan Hydock erupted for 13 points in the third period which also included a crowd pleasing slam dunk off a steal by Stephens.
Joey Brandt hit three threes for the Raiders during that stretch.
Hydock finished with 21, Dillenbeck 18 and Stephens 11 to lead the Tigers as Jon Slingerland added 7, Noah Poler 6, Devin Rounds 5, Casey Winiecki and Moule 3 and Rolland Balcerzak 2.
Brandt took game high honors with 22 and Bradford Cantrell had 10 to pace Barker.
Lyndonville is now 11-7 and Barker finishes the regular season at 1-19.
Barker’s Joey Brandt goes in for a layup between Lyndonville defenders Trenton Muck (23), Anthony Moule (12) and Russ Stephens (24)..
Fast start sparks Albion past Kendall
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Albion’s Chris Shabazz goes up for a shot between the Kendall duo of Derek Edick and Dale Steffen during the Purple Eagles home court win over the Eagles this afternoon.
Jumping out to a 15 point first quarter lead, Albion went on to defeat visiting Kendall 66-33 this afternoon in a non league boys basketball game.
Bailey Blanchard had a three and a three-point play, Deyonci Farley two layups and a rebound basket and Liam Ward a fast break layup in the opening period keying Albion out to a 21-6 lead.
Kendall’s Derek Edick drives between Albion defenders Deyonci Farley and Michael DiCureia (22).
The Purple Eagles maintained a 16 point, 39-23, advantage at the half as Farley had two rebound buckets and a pair of layups in he second period which also included threes by both Kevin Hillman and Elijah Lloyd.
Dale Steffen scored 13 of Kendall’s 23 first half points.
Albion held a 19 point, 50-31, lead at the three-quarter mark.
Farley finished with a game high 18 points for the Purple Eagles as Blanchard had 12, Hillman and Damion Lattimer 10, Lloyd 5 (click here to see a basket by Lloyd), Ward and Christian Doty 4, Zach Coleccechi 2 and Chris Shabazz 1.
Steffen had 13 to pace Kendall as Derek Edick and Braxton Zarpentine (click here to see a rebound bucket by Zarpentine)both had 7 and Zach Barrett and Mason Kuhn 3.
Albion improves to 14-5 while Kendall slips to 2-17.
Albion’s Damion Lattimer goes up for a rebound with Kendall’s Dale Steffen.
R-H/Barker/Medina romps in playoff opener
The Roy-Hart/Barker/Medina Club Hockey team opened sectional playoff competition with a convincing 8-1 win over ELPS (Eden-Lake Shore-Pioneer- Springville) at the Cattaraugus Arena Friday evening.
The two tteams will continue the series this evening at the Cornerstone Rink in Lockport beginning at 5:40 p.m. Senior night will also be celebrated.
RBM rushed to an early 3-0 lead on goals by Colin Dodge (R-H), Jason Kuchey (R-H) and Ryan Mettler( R-H) before ELPS finally scored. Assists came from Nick Wood (Akron) and Trevor Crawford (Akron). Dayton Ruppel also scored in the opening period with an assist from Jacob Harris (Barker).
Wood added two goals in the second period, assisted by Mettler and Kuchey on one and unassisted on the second.
In the third period, Wood completed his hat-trick on a pass from Dodge. Kuchey ended the scoring unassisted.
Andrew Warner got the win in goal.
RBM needs just one more win over ELPS to gain the sectional final which will be played at Key Bank Arena.
Lyndonville mat duo gains sectional semis
Two Lyndonville wrestlers, Rodney Davis (170) and Mario Fidanza (220), have advanced to Saturday’s semifinal round of the Section V Division 2 (small schools) state qualifier tournament at SUNY Brockport.
No. 4 seeded Davis opened with an 11-6 decision win over Chris Cratsley of Mynderse. He then decisioned Caden Atwood of Addison 6-2 in the quarterfinals.
Davis will next face top seeded Kaul Runfola of Letchworth in the semis.
No. 2 seeded Fidanza advanced with two quick pins, first in 57 seconds over Evin Rought of Wellsville and then in 1:57 in the quarterfinals over Mason Petersen of Marcus Whitman/Penn Yan.
Fidanza will next face No. 6 seed Noah Wazinski of North Rose-Wolcott in the semis.
Lady Tigers down Lady Raiders
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Lyndonville’s Haley Shaffer puts up a shot against Barker defenders Serena Harris and Haleigh Mason during the Lady Tigers win over the visiting Lady Raiders this evening.
Building up a commanding 28 point half-time advantage, Lyndonville went on to defeat visiting Barker 66-40 this evening in a foul filled non league girls basketball game.
Lyndonville jumped out to a 15-5 first period lead and then used a 25-7 second period scoring edge to hike the advantage to 40-12 at the half.
Ella Lewis scored 7 points in each of the first two periods for the Lady Tigers as Kaylee Nesbitt added 7 in the second stanza.
Lyndonville held a 53-30 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Lewis finished with 17 and Lorelei Dillenbeck 12 to lead Lyndonville as Nesbitt and Haley Shaffer had 8, Savannah Poler and Danielle Weldon 7, Karlee Rounds 4 and Chloe Stinson 3.
Serena Harris and Sydnie Luckman both scored 8 for Barker as Rachel Parfinski and Sarah Outten both had 6, Kylie Annable 4, Dakota Leising 3, Chloe Lee and Courtney Hillman 2 and Nya Johnson 1.
Lyndonville is now 8-11 and Barker 5-14.
In other G-R action, Elba downed Kendall 63-16.
In a Niagara-Orleans League season finale, Akron (6-6) upended Newfane (9-3) 46-38.
RBM squad has three hockey All-Stars
Contributed Photos – Roy-Hart/Barker/Medina’s WNY Club Hockey League All-Star trio includes Andrew Warner, Jason Kuchey and Nick Wood.
A trio of Roy-Hart/Barker/Medina players have been named to the WNY Club Hockey League All Star squad
Jason Kuchey (Roy- Hart) and goaltender Andrew Warner (Tonawanda) have both earned first team honors.
Kuchey has scored 24 goals and 15 assists in league play and 31 goals and 19 assists overall.
Warner allowed 49 goals in his league season, with 63 goals against for the whole season, a 2.74 goals against average.
Nick Wood (Akron) has been named to the second team. He has 18 goals and 15 assists in league play and 21 goals and 18 assists overall.
Kuchey is 4th in scoring in the entire Varsity League (both divisions), while Wood is 7th.
RBM has a league record of 14-4, but the last win was a forfeit over Orchard Park. Overall, RBM is 17-5-1.
Mustangs nip Lakemen in double overtime
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Jarin Rhim scored the game winning basket for Medina in tonight’s double overtime victory over visiting Wilson.
Closing out the Niagara-Orleans League season with a marathon thriller, Medina outlasted visiting Wilson 75-74 in double overtime this evening.
A basket by Jarin Rhim with three seconds to go in the second four minute overtime period provided the margin of victory for Medina which winds up the N-O season with a six game win streak and a second place finish at 8-4.
Wilson’s last lead at 74-73 came on a free throw by Alex Martinez.
Brian Fry scored 23, Nate Sherman 18 and Rhim 11 to lead the way for Medina.
Mike Miller scored 19, Martinez 18 and Luke Bradley 15 for Wilson which finishes in third place at 7-5.
The contest was deadlocked at 59-59 at the end of regulation time and 69-69 at the end of the first overtime.
Medina sent the contest into overtime on a layup by Tyler Chinn with 41 seconds to go in the fourth quarter which knotted the contest at 59-59.
Fry had a huge 13 point fourth quarter to spearhead the Mustangs down the stretch as he hit three threes and went four for four from the free throw line.
The Mustangs forced a second overtime when Nate Sherman hit a free throw to knot the contest at 69-69. The Lakemen had grabbed a 69-68 lead on a pair of free throws by Ben Lyman.
Roy-Hart 69, Barker 61
Rhett Goodwin scored 16, Canyon Wood 14 and Tom Ragonese 13 to lead Roy-Hart to a 69-61 N-O win over visiting Barker.
Shane Gerhardt scored 16, Nathan Maza Ray 14 and Joey Brandt 12 for Barker.
Roy-Hart led 39-29 at the half.
Roy-Hart finishes the N-O season at 4-8 and Barker at 0-12.
Elba 76, Kendall 46
Colton Dillon poured in 44 points to lead Elba to a 76-46 win over visiting Kendall in a Genesee Region League game.
Derek Edick scored 13 and Braxton Zarpentine 8 for Kendall.
Elba led 34-19 at the half.
Attica 81, Holley 62
Building up a 42-26 half-time advantage, Attica went on to defeat Holley 81-62 in a G-R contest as Frankie Bisceglie led the Blue Devils with 25.
Kohl Morgan had 20 points and 15 rebounds for Holley as Carson Major added 17 points, Cody Tanis 15 and Jake Norman 9.
Girls Basketball
Akron 35, Medina 30
Jayni Sundown and Ella Hill each scored 12 points to lead Akron to a 35-30 N-O win over visiting Medina.
Anya Bloom scored 13 and Janiyah Holloway 9 for Medina.
In a G-R game, Notre Dame downed Kendall 40-35.
Panthers roll past Purple Eagles to share N-O League basketball championship
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Albion’s Bailey Blanchard puts up a shot as Sam Capen and Connor MacAvoy defend for Newfane during the host Panthers key win over the Purple Eagles this evening.
Earning a share of a second title in three years, runner-up Newfane romped to a 66-40 victory over visiting front-running Albion this evening to claim a share of the Niagara-Orleans League boys basketball championship.
The Panthers and Purple Eagles finish the N-O campaign deadlocked for the crown at 9-3.
Newfane had shared the title with Medina during the 2017-18 season while this marks the first N-O championship for Albion since the Purple Eagles shared top honors with Starpoint during the 1998-99 campaign.
Newfane’s Garrett Srock puts up a rebound shot as Albion’s Anthony Freeman tries to block.
Garrett Srock provided the big offensive firepower for Newfane as he exploded for 34 points including 24 in the first half (click here to see a rebound buzzer beater to end the first half).
Zach Snow and Connor MacEvoy both chipped in with 7 for the Panthers as Sam Capen had 6, Josh Everett 5, Jeremy Foltz 4, Deuce Capen 2 and Michael Carmer 1.
Deyonci Farley led Albion with 14 (click here to see a layup by Farley) as Damion Lattimer added 8, Bailey Blanchard 6, Anthony Freeman 5, Liam Ward 4 ad Kevin Hillman 3.
Jumping out to an 8-0 lead at the outset, Newfane took an 18-9 lead at the end of the first period.
Srock, who sparked that surge with 13 points, kept the hot hand in the second quarter scoring 11 more points to help the Panthers take a 33-20 lead at the half.
Albion did cut the deficit a bit to eight, 25-17, midway through the second quarter after two layups by Farley an a rebound bucket by Blanchard but that proved to be as close as the Purple Eagles would get.
The Panthers answered with a three by Snow and a pair of buckets by Srock to take the 13 point lead at the half.
Newfane then broke the contest wide open in the third quarter outscoring Albion 20-7 to race away to a commanding 26 point, 53-27, advantage at the three-quarter mark.
Srock scored six in the period which also featured threes by Everett, Foltz and Snow.
In avenging an earlier season 53-45 road loss to the Purple Eagles, the Panthers led by as many as 29, 64-35, in the final period.
Final N-O Standings: Albion 9-3, Newfane 9-3, Medina 8-4, Wilson 7-5, Akron 5-7, Roy-Hart 4-8, Barker 0-12
