TRACK & FIELD
The Lady Dragons entered the Section IX track and field meet on Feb. 24 with one goal. They wanted to close the gap. Christa Sidoti helped them do it.
For the second week in a row, the girls were runners up in a major competition, but this time they were much closer to Monroe-Woodbury. Christa helped her teammates by winning the long jump and triple jump, and finishing third in the hurdles.
Winter has made outdoor training impossible, so the jumpers have practiced their approach in the corridors, and have done biometric exercises on the staircases. Despite the limited workouts, Christa posted personal bests in two of the three events. She surprised herself in the triple jump, finishing first a week after she failed to make the finals.
Jillian Decker and Beatrice Boylan led the field in the 600 and 3000-meter races. The Cornwall girls captured the 3200 meter relay. Frank Orlando (51-3) and Jillian Dorego (31-0) bettered their school records in the weight throw. A.J. Mathelier missed winning the hurdles by one-hundredth of a second. Athena Blair slashed more than 20 seconds off her previous week’s time in the race walk.
BOYS — 55 hurdles: A.J. Mathelier (2) 7.91, Conner Russell (4) 8.07. 300 m: Kevin Gangemi (3) 36.68. 600 m: Matt Moran (4) 1:28.33. 1600 relay: Russell, Jaron Wallace, Seth Goitia, Gangemi (3) 3:35.32. 3200 relay: Francisco Rivera, Dan Bennett, Connor St. Germain, Alex Vega (4) 8:34.11. Shot put: Frankie Orlando (5) 44-9. Weight throw: Orlando (2) 51-3 (school record), Nick Shaw (4) 45-4.
GIRLS — 55 dash: Kayla Meade (5) 7.65.55. 55 hurdles: Christa Sidoti (3) 9.25, Katie Murphy (5) 9.52. 300 m: Jillian Decker (3) 42.70. 600 m: Decker (1) 1:37.23, Gabby Fanning (2) 1:37.49. 1000 m: Ashley Wallace (2) 3:04.93. 1500 m: Dara Cuffe (2) 4:53.81. 3000 m: Beatrice Boylan (1) 10:28.12. 800 relay: Meade, Katarina Van Ledtje, Lesley Nicosia, Fanning (4) 1:53.57. 1600 relay: Fanning, Decker, Nicosia, Cuffe (2), 4:09.81. 3200 relay: Abby Munterich, Boylan, Cuffe, Wallace (1) 9:41.84. High jump: Murphy (2) 5-0. Long jump: Sidoti (1) 15-9.25. Pole vault: Van Ledtje (4) 9-6. Shot put: Sarah Curtin (6) 29-1.25. Triple jump: Sidoti (1) 33-8.25, Murphy (6) 31-9.75
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Two streaks were on the line in Newburgh on Feb. 21. The Lady Dragons had won five games in a row. The Newburgh girls had gone through the season undefeated at home.
“Newburgh is a tough place to play,” Chris Miller said after the contest. And the Goldbacks proved that he was right. They raced to a 14-3 lead in the first half, and the visiting Cornwall players could never dig themselves out of the hole — although they came close on a few occasions. The final score was 50-40 in favor of the home team.
The Dragon defense forced 29 turnovers (almost one a minute), but the girls had trouble taking advantage of the opportunities.
The loss followed a 75-40 win at Tri Valley and a 49-34 victory at home over Goshen. The Goshen game was tied at the half, with both teams moving at top speed up and down the court. Sometimes the Dragons will wear down opponents. On this occasion, they outshot them. Jackie Hogan, Ali Thorpe and Mekenzi Moreau made successive three-pointers to put the game out of reach. The girls’ record is now 12-4.
3 GAMES — Points: J. Hogan 30, Thorpe 29, T. Malone 23, Incognoli 20, Moreau 20, Vinett 18, M. Malone 8, C. Hogan 7, Davet 5, Reed 4. Threes: J. Hogan 8, Thorpe 2, Incognoli 1, Moreau 1. Free throws: Moreau 3-4, Thorpe 3-4. .
RECOGNITION
When Les McMillen won his 400th game as a NYMA basketball coach, the school superintendent had a special gift for him. Maj. Gen. William Beard placed a green and yellow lei over the coach’s shoulders.
Later, the general explained the significance of the gift. “It was given to me when I got my second star,” he said. “But winning 400 games is a much greater accomplishment.”
NYMA NEWS
Fabio Massa is setting records at NYMA. An 11th-grade cadet from Barcelona, Spain, Fabio has scored 903 points on the basketball court, and has grabbed 863 rebounds. He’s expected to play for a Division I college soccer team in the United States. But since NYMA didn’t have soccer this year, Fabio joined the football team. All 10 of his kickoffs (not counting on-side attempts) sailed into the end zone. He booted a pair of field goals that were more than 40 yards long.
ICE HOCKEY
Jake King has organized a Beaver Dam Lake reunion game at Ice Time in Newburgh. The contest will start at 9 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28. People are reportedly coming from as far away as Florida to “lace’em up.”
At a different level, Joey Antonacci scored the deciding goal in a shootout to help the Hudson Valley Bantam Bears advance to the finals.
The Cornwall freshman asked for a fresh stick before going out on the ice. He later explained that his regular stick was too wet.
YOUTH BASKETBALL
The St. Thomas fifth grade boys defeated St. Francis of Newburgh 48-18 to finish the regular season with a 12-0 record. Every player scored in the win.
GYM KIDS
Competing in their first meet of the season in Connecticut, Gym Kids won four team trophies at the Chelsea Piers Winter Challenge. They were first in the Silver and Gold Divisions and second in the Bronze and Platinum Divisions.
Savannah Tinsley won the Silver Division All Around (AA). Audrey Ceasar was the AA leader in the Gold Division, Alicia Johnson led the Bronze Division, and Emma Watson was first in the AA in the Senior Silver Division.
