Due to today’s high winds the two opening round varsity games of the Kendall boys basketball Holiday Tournament have been postponed until tomorrow.

Kendall is now scheduled to face Roy-Hart at 3:30 p.m. followed by Livonia vs. Northstar.

The Kendall and Roy-Hart JV teams will play at 2 p.m.

The tournament is scheduled to conclude on Friday with the JV consolation game at 10 a.m., the JV championship game at 11:30 a.m., the varsity consolation game at 1 p.m. and the varsity championship game at 2:30 p.m.

Some two dozen Orleans County varsity teams have earned New York State Public High School Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete awards for the Fall season.

To qualify as a Scholar-Athlete team, the average of 75% of the roster must be 90.00 or higher for the marking period.

Albion has five honored teams including Boys and Girls Cross-Country, Boys and Girls Soccer and Volleyball.

Holley has a quartet of honored teams including Boys and Girls Soccer, Volleyball and Cheerleading.

Kendall has a trio of honored teams including Boys and Girls Soccer and Volleyball.

Lyndonville also has three honored teams including Boys and Girls Soccer and Volleyball.

Medina has nine honored squads including Boys and Girls Cross-Country, Boys and Girls Soccer, Field Hockey, Volleyball, Football, Golf and Cheerleading.

Neighboring Roy-Hart has three honored teams Field Hockey, Volleyball and Girls Soccer while Barker has six including Boys and Girls Cross-Country, Girls Soccer, Field Hockey, Football and Golf.

Akron and Wilson both have nine honorees including Boys and Girls Cross-Country, Boys and Girls Soccer, Volleyball, Field Hockey, Football, Golf and Cheerleading.

Newfane has eight honored squads including Boys and Girls Soccer, Girls Cross-Country, Field Hockey, Volleyball, Football, Golf and Cheerleading.

“The Scholar-Athlete program remains one of the most meaningful recognitions we provide as an Association,” said Dr. Robert Zayas, NYSPHSAA Executive Director. “The dedication shown by these student-athletes, balancing rigorous academic responsibilities with their commitments to interscholastic athletics, is truly remarkable.”

Playing their second game in three days, the Roy-Hart/Barker/Medina Club Hockey Knights posted their second win in a row by defeating Lancaster at home 4-0 this morning.

In the opening stanza, Viktor Snyder of Albion scored assisted by Cameron Bryer (Wilson).

Early in the second period, Clayton Wagner (Medina) gave the hometeam a two goal lead with the assist going to Blake Palumbo (Newfane).

That second period saw great defense by RBM as Lancaster had many power play opportunities, including a 5-3 which lasted nearly two minutes.

In the third, Bryer scored the final two goals, one on a power play.

Kudos to Noah Orens (Newfane) in goal for posting his second concecutive shutout.

RBM’s next contest is this Friday evening at home against Cheektowaga at 8:15 p.m.

The annual Kendall boys basketball Holiday Tournament will get underway on Monday as Livonia will face Northstar at 3:30 p.m. and the host Eagles will take on Roy-Hart at 6:30 p.m.

The opening round JV games will have Livonia vs. Northstar at 2 p.m. and Roy-Hart vs. Kendall at 5 p.m.

The tournament will conclude on Tuesday with the JV consolation game at 2 p.m., the JV championship game at 3:30 p.m., the varsity consolation game at 5:15 p.m.. and the varsity championship game at 6:45 p.m.

The light holiday week schedule will also have two girls basketball games on Tuesday as Medina travels to Maryvale and Lyndonville visits Alexander both at 12:30 p.m.

On Friday, the Roy-Hart girls will host Lockport at 6:30 p.m.

On Saturday, two boys basketball games are on tap with Barker at Byron-Bergen at 12:30 p.m. and Albion hosting Warsaw at 1:30 p.m.

One girls basketball contest on Saturday will have Kendall at Barker at 12:30 p.m.

Wrestling competition on Saturday will have Albion at the Salamanca Tournament and Holley-Kendall at the Perry Tournament

Albion had a trio of top three place finishers at the Teike/Bernabi wrestling tournament held today at Spencerport.

Jaxson Lynch (150) finished second while Justin Mengs (110) and Stryker Sanders (118) both placed third.

The Purple Eagles also had Jackson Snook (285) place ninth and Drake Schomske (126) 10th.

Lynch pinned Carter White of Spencerport in 5:24 in the semifinals but was then pinned himself in the title bout in 3:00 by Owen Courtney of Brockport.

Mengs scored a 20-4 technical fall win over Lawson Chrapa of Lancaster to earn third place honors.

Sanders likewise notched a 16-0 technical fall win over Soe Htoo of St. Joe’s in his match for third place.

The Roy-Hart/Barker/Medina Club Hockey Team traveled to Leisure Rink in West Seneca on Friday to face Bishop Timon and scored a 2-0 victory.

After a scoreless first period, a strong defensive effort turned away power play opportunites by the home team before Cameron Bryer (Wilson) scored what proved to be the game winner unassisted.

About a minute later, Max Pilon (Medina) scored an insurance goal with Ryan Felicetti (Wilson) getting the assist.

Noah Orens (Newfane) recorded the shutout in goal.

Now 2-4-1, RBM returns to action at home Sunday (after four straight away contests) to face Lancaster which brings a 2-3-2 record to Lockport for the 10:10 a.m. contest.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – All State soccer honorees, from left, Sophia Picardo and Brooke Rodas from Kendall and Kyla Burne from Holley.

Wilson’s All State honorees Lilly Gurski, left, and Addison Elia.

A trio of Orleans County players have earned spots on the Class C All State girls soccer squad.

Kendall junior midfielder Sophia Picardo has been named to the second team. She scored 16 goals and had 23 assists this season.

Kendall senior goalie Brooke Rodas and Holley sophomore defender Kyla Burne have both been selected to the fourth team.

Rodas made 94 saves this season and had a 0.33 goals against average.

Burne had 5 goals and 4 assists.

Niagara-Orleans League champion Wilson is represented on the All State Class C squad by the sophomore duo of forward Addison Elia, who was named to the second team, and midfielder Lilly Gurski who was selected to the fourth team.

Elia scored 38 goals and had 9 assists on the season while Gurski had 11 goals and 26 assists.

In addition, Byron-Bergen, which advanced to the state semifinals has placed a trio of senior players on the All State Class C squad.

Mia Gray, who was named Class C Player of the Year, and Grace DiQuatro were both named to the first team and Elizabeth Starowitz to the second team.

Gray had 44 goals and 26 assists, DiQuatro 31 goals and 26 assists and Starowitz 15 goals and 21 assists.

Contributed Photos – Holley graduate Brock Ostrom is in his senior year as a walk-on at St. Bonaventure.

By: Owen Albright, Athletics Communications Graduate Assistant

For many Division I college basketball players, the recruiting process comes naturally. Prospective student-athletes begin to withdraw from competing in other sports as programs show interest and coaches battle to position themselves as front runners for commits.

For St. Bonaventure men’s basketball senior Broek Ostrom, this was not the case.

A native of Holley, N.Y., the four-year Bonnie followed an unusual path to D-I hoops, unconventionally finding himself wearing the Brown and White for the first time as a freshman walk-on during the 2022-23 season.

Brock Ostrom

“I didn’t market myself very much for basketball, so I had no offers from junior colleges, D-III schools, or anything like that,” Ostrom said. “Coming from a small school, it’s hard to get attention anyway unless you play AAU or you’re in the local circuit.”

Though Ostrom was Holley High School’s clear-cut best player, a 10-10 regular season record in his senior year combined with a graduating class size of roughly 60 kept his name out of recruiting contention.

Despite a lack of collegiate attention, Ostrom racked up numbers at the high school level.

Playing in Section 5, Class C1 he averaged 27 points and eight rebounds per game in his senior year, reaching 575 total points in one year. He also posted a 51-point single-game performance to set the school record. Since this success did not stimulate recruitment in the basketball world, Ostrom decided to move on and continue his involvement in other athletics and activities.

A pitcher on the baseball diamond, he struck out 55 batters in 41 innings during his senior season. He also compiled a .565 batting average, going 26-for-46 with 20 runs scored and 20 RBIs. “In baseball, we weren’t very good, but I still had a great time because I loved pitching and fielding,” Ostrom said.

He played football for the first time as a junior, giving him insight into learning a new sport. “I played safety, wide receiver, and punter. I had a great time doing it. It was definitely a different feel and look at practices, so it gave me a better view of how football works,” Ostrom said.

Ostrom first planned on playing soccer when he came to St. Bonaventure.
Soccer was arguably Ostrom’s top sport behind basketball as he played varsity for three years as a goalkeeper. He was ranked in Section 5 with some of the most saves in the league, also helping lead Holley to the sectional finals.

When he started his Bonaventure career, he first planned on attempting to make Bonnies soccer his priority.

“I was planning on coming to Bonaventure to try out for the men’s soccer team originally,” he said. “When I got to school and moved in, I realized I had missed those tryouts. So I just planned on being a regular student, and I joined club baseball and club lacrosse as other activities to do outside of school. Then I saw that basketball tryouts were open, and I would’ve kicked myself if I didn’t end up trying. So, I tried out and ended up making the team, and I’ve been here ever since.”

Though the gameday role for a walk-on may look different from that of a player on scholarship, Ostrom still puts in the same amount of work behind the scenes. Participating in lifts and practice and traveling to games are universal responsibilities for all players on the team, and though he may not run as many plays in practice, Ostrom still uses that time to soak up everything going on around him.

“The most difficult part is realizing that you’re not going to play in the majority of games, and when you do, it’s only for a couple of minutes,” Ostrom said. “But I’ve learned to look past that and enjoy practices much more as my game time. The most rewarding part is learning under Coach Schmidt because I’m trying to be a coach, and learning under such a high-level coach has impacted my game knowledge in many ways.”

Ostrom sees the opportunity to learn under the Bonnies coaching staff as a key reason why he has stayed with the team for four years.

“I’m always thinking for the future. I know I’m not going to get consistent minutes here, but I’m just thinking about trying to be the best version of myself that I can be on and off the court,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll forget that, and that’s when I go through lows, but when I realize that everything I’m doing right now is going to pay off in the future, that’s what keeps me going.”

With intentions of moving into the college basketball coaching world post-graduation, Ostrom sees his time with the Bonnies as a precursor to a fulfilling career.

“I’m trying to go into college basketball coaching,” he said. “In that sense, I’m just trying to better my understanding of the game and how the inner operations work. That’s my main focal point.”

Despite a myriad of other athletic and academic hobbies and an unlikely route to Division I hoops, Ostrom said he has found his home on the Bonnies men’s basketball team.

“I feel like this is the most rewarding thing I could’ve done. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Editor’s Note: This article written by Athletics Communications Graduate Assistant Owen Albright and photos are being reprinted courtesy of St. Bonaventure University basketball.

Brock Ostrom in action for St. Bona against Bloomsburg.

Contributed Photos – Albion graduates Cami London, left, and Willow Gaines are now competing collegiately at SUNY Oswego.

Two Albion High graduates are now competing collegiately at SUNY Oswego, one on the ice and one in the pool.

Cami London is a freshman member of the Oswego women’s hockey team and Willow Gaines is a freshman members of the Lady Lakers swim team.

London prepped for her collegiate hockey career by playing for several years with the national level Amherst Lady Knights.

She was also a multi year starter in soccer, basketball and softball at Albion High earning All-League honors in all three.

Gaines is competing in the 50 Freestyle, 100 Free, 200 Free Relay and 200 Medley Relay for Oswego.

During her scholastic days at Albion Gaines competed in swimming and track.

During her senior year Gaines placed first in the 100 Breaststroke, tied for first in the 50 Free at the Niagara-Orleans All-League meet and also helped Albion win the 200 Free Relay.

Five pins sparked Roy-Hart/Barker to a 38-28 win at Albion in a Niagara-Orleans League wrestling match this evening.

Remington Marohn (132), Luke Fay (150), Lincoln Murray (175), Aaden Munn (190) and Liam Silsby (215) all notched pins for Roy-Hart/Barker which also got a technical fall win by RJ Townsend (285) and a decision win by Max Liuzzi (103).

Stryker Sanders (118), Drake Schomske (126) and Jaxon Lynch (165) all registered pins for Albion as Parker Roberts (144) had a major decision win.

Roy-Hart/Barker is now 2-1 and Albion 1-2 in N-O action.

Wilson 30, Medina 26
Wilson edged visiting Medina 30-26 to improve to 1-2 in N-O competition.

Ryan Frentz (144) and Tyler Raduns (175) scored wins for Medina which slips to 0-3.