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Contributed Photos – Now beginning its seventh decade of links competition the Shelridge Country Club’s first nine holes were constructed in 1959. The course opened for competition in 1960. Here workers grade one of the fairways.

Slowed at the start by restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Shelridge County Club’s season is now well underway, a season which marks the start of the club’s seventh decade of links activity.

Planning for the course began in 1958 when a group of local golf enthusiasts formed the Medina Golf Association.

And the list of inaugural club officers, directors and committee chairman reads like a who’s who of local businessman and professionals at the time.

Robert Waters served as the  first club president. The other officers included John Zimmerman (head of the Development Committee), Joe Brundage and Van Hungerford.

The seven Directors included Bernard Hart, Robertson Vosler, John Garlock, R.L. Walters, Barbara Balcerzak, John Lapp Sr. and Paul Parsons.

Committees on membership, bylaws and development included Carl Tuohey, Knud Hansen, Walter Hilger, Henry Pollard, Rolland Birch, Harvey Robbins, John Lapp Jr., Robert Balcerzak, Dr. Fulton Rogers and Fred Benson Jr.

In 1959 the course was named the Shelridge Country Club, one of the names suggested by members, because the course runs through both the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway.

Although it was planned from the start as an 18 hole course only the first nine holes were developed at the start.

During construction, the first nine holes were tested for yardage and hazard placement. Here Stafford Club Pro George Myers tests out the yardage becoming the first player to “play” the new course.

The construction of those first nine holes took place in 1959. During that work tests were done on yardage for the proposed holes and hazard placement. In conducting those yardage tests Stafford Club Pro George Myers had the distinction of playing the first “round” at the site.

The course was officially opened on Sunday June 12, 1960 and Carl Tuohey and Joe Brundage were the first to tee off. However, John Lapp Sr. had the honor of playing the first round on the newly completed course during a Grounds Committee inspection the Friday before. In all some 150 rounds of golf were played that first week.

The inaugural event was a Husband-Wife Scotch Foursome Tournament which saw a tie between Helen and Walter Levanduski and Mr. and Mrs. Richard Broom.

Highlighting that first season was the crowning of Walter Levanduski as the men’s club champion and Mrs. Edward  Slack as the women’s club champion.  Interestingly, Levanduski’s win was a memorable 56 hole marathon victory over Edward Slack which went 20 holes over the then regulation 36 holes.

The organizers dream of having Shelridge become an 18 hole course became a reality in 1985 when the back nine holes were constructed. That work was done by skilled landscaper and course developer Horace Smith.

Another major project was the conversion of the large old barn on the property into a club house and pro shop replacing the small building created the first year by members at the east end of the course near the then Apple Grove Inn.

It has been six decades of steady growth and development for the course which Waters, on the occasion of the course’s 50th anniversary, well stated that “It’s the story of volunteerism at its best, a real community effort. We were playing golf out of town and we really wanted a local course so we decided let’s give it a shot. We just kept putting one foot in front of the other.”

A quartet of local baseball players are competing in the fifth annual Prep Baseball Report (PBR) New York State Games this week at Cortland.

That foursome includes Medina pitchers Zach Fike and Xander Payne and outfielder Joe Cecchini along with Roy-Hart outfielder Gavyn Boyle. All four will be juniors in high school this fall.

This marks the second year in a row that Fike and Boyle have competed in the NYS Games which is a college showcase event that attracts players from all across the state.

In addition to competing in games, the event also includes defensive workouts and batting practice and all players will have their online profile created and their performance on the field videotaped and hosted on the PBR website  for college coaches to review.

The event, which runs today through Wednesday, is also a qualifier for “Team NY” which will compete in the 2020 Futures Game later in the summer in Georgia.

The local women’s softball season usually gets underway in mid May but this year like all other sports activities it had been been put on hold due to restrictions imposed because of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

The recent easing of those restrictions opened the door to get the season going and Medina Women’s Softball League officials had slated July 6 as the date for the opening evening doubleheaders.

The league is looking to play a six week long regular season. Teams would play doubleheaders each week and there would be no playoffs this season.

The league is looking to have as many as 13 teams this season. Traditionally the league has split up its teams into two divisions for regular season competition.

However, the start of the season has once again been put on hold this time as the league awaits clearance from the national softball governing body the United States Slo-Pitch Softball Association (USSSA).

“We aren’t starting softball yet,” said League President Kathy Riggs-Allen. “USSSA hasn’t given clearance for us to start so we are postponed until further notice!”

Contributed Photo – Heather Tschetter

It was another good week for golf at Hickory Ridge as three leagues reported in and another hole in one was registered.

The Tuesday Night Ladies league once again has Deb Wood leading the gross with a 43 on the back nine.  Patty Pfister and Judy Schuth were close behind with a 46.  Diane Abel and Pfister both shot 36 to share low net with Schuth who carded a 37 net.  Wood and Able both had birdies.

The Men’s Thursday Night League reports in for the first time this season.  Bennett and Budde lead the standings with 72 points.  Dresser and Flansburg are in second with 56 followed by Foos and Stedman and the team of Drury and Nagy each tied with 56.  The Millers are in fifth with 54 points.   Ken Hinkson shot low gross with a 38 and he shared low net with Dan Hartman with 29.  Hinkson also recorded two birdies.

Although scores were not reported the standings for the Friday Night Mixed Couples League have been posted.  Jim and Marcia Zambito lead with 129 points.  Dave and Melissa cotter are in second with 130 points and Mike and Joan Ayotte are in third with 136 points.  Five other teams are within two points of the leader board.

Finally, another ace for a Hickory Ridge golfer.  On June 19, Heather Tschetter recorded a hole in one on number 3 using an 8 iron for the 130 yard hole.  Witnessing were Deb Wood and Ed and Karen Berlew.

The decision on whether or not there will be a youth football program locally this season will be decided at a meeting of the Niagara Orleans Football Association (NOFA) Board of Commissioners on July 9.

Practice sessions for the NOFA season traditionally begin the last week of July but like other sports activities the league has been put on hold due to restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 Pandemic.

NOFA’s Executive Board met recently and discussed several possible options for the season and the Board of Commissioners is slated to decide on one of them at the July 9 meeting.

The options include postponing the start of practices until late August when the high school teams begin practice and then have an abbreviated season of about six games.

The options also include canceling the season.

In addition, there is an option to cancel this season and instead play it next spring from March to May.

Also involved in the board’s consideration are the many guidelines that must now be followed both involving player safety and for the hosting of a game.

“That’s where we are at right now,” said Executive Board member Geno Allport. “A best case scenario would be that we would start practice later and have a condensed season. The worst case would be we would cancel the season. And there are a lot of guidelines that would have to be followed. We will just have to see what the commissioners want to do. The main thing is as much as we love football the safety of everyone involved must come first.”

Contributed Photos – Local NCCC student/athletes who have earned All-Conference academic honors include Paige Emborsky, Caitlynn Snook and Ethan Lindke.

The honorees also include Maddy Glena, Alisha Scroger and Ashley Hill.

Six former Niagara-Orleans League student/athletes are among 37 Niagara County Community College student/athletes who have been named to the 2019-20 Western New York Athletic Conference Academic All-Conference award list.

The local honorees include Albion High graduate Caitlynn Snook, Medina grad Alisha Scroger, Roy-Hart grads Ethan Lindke, Ashley Hill and Maddy Glena and Newfane grad Paige Emborsky.

Snook and Emborsky were both members of the NCCC women’s basketball team while Scroger, Glena and Hill were on the softball squad and Lindke on the men’s soccer team.

All honorees earned at least a 3.30 grade point average and a minimum of 24 credit hours during the 2019-20 academic year while participating in one season of a sport.