Awards

Bears extraordinaire

Tri-Valley winter athletes lauded for accomplishments

By RICHARD A. ROSS

GRAHAMSVILLE, NY — Bears are supposed to hibernate in winter but Tri-Valley’s clan of winter athletes does no such thing.

Far from it.

This past winter, the Tri-Valley Bears ranged far and wide, making their presence felt in every sport. On March 10, athletes, coaches, parents, school officials and community devotees gathered in the school’s gorgeous theatre to celebrate the efforts of another fine season.

Athletic director Joe Iatauro thanked the coaches, parents and school community for their support of the fine endeavors rendered by a cadre of dedicated athletes. Winter is a long and grueling season whether you’re involved in basketball, indoor track, cheerleading or skiing.

Each coach called his or her team to the stage to commemorate the overall effort and to award several trophies for outstanding individual effort. Each player received a certificate and words of praise from the coaches, who shared anecdotes and statistics with the rapt audience.

The girls indoor track team recorded 129 season-best performances, 47 lifetime bests and set 18 class records and three school records. The team also won a NYSPHSA scholar athlete award for its combined 94.342 average.

Iatauro enumerated each team member’s accomplishments. A total of five Tri-Valley throwers (boys and girls combined) competed at Nationals. Iatauro made special mention of Rachel Sanborn, who was injured during the latter part of the season. Her ability to rack up points was sorely missed. Coaches awards went to Emma Tingley, Mareena DiMilia and Agnes Pompeii.

Tingley was the team’s second leading point getter. She participated in pole vault, high jump and sprints and won the 55 at the Sullivan County Championships. DeMilia was third in total points and was key in the long and triple jumps. Pompeii was the team’s best high jumper and also ran in the 600.

The team’s Most Improved Player (MIP) awards went to race walkers Michelle McNutt and Samantha Martin.

McNutt was fourth in the OCL, a meet in which Tri-Valley placed three walkers in the top 10. She took third in Section Nine. Martin was fifth in Section Nine.

Team Most Valuable Players (MVP) were Caroline Bertholf, Shannon Hornbeck, Ashley Weintraub and Tehnyat Kahn.

Kahn won the state qualifier in Section Nine and went on to states, continuing a 30-year tradition that began when David Parker was crowned the school’s first state champion, running in the intersectional relay in 1979. Kahn was second in Section Nine and the Sullivan County Champion in the shot put.

Weintraub, who was not on hand for the awards ceremony, was the Section Nine race-walk champion. She was second in the OCL meet. Bertholf was third in the 1500 in Section Nine. She took second in the event at the Sullivan County Championships. Hornbeck was second in the 3000 in Section Nine.

In boys indoor track, the MIPs were James McLain and Chris Whipple. McLain was a stellar jumper and hurdler and filled in a leg in the 3200 relay. Whipple was steadfast in the distance events.

Bob Fiedler was the obvious choice for the team’s MVP. Fiedler was the third-best weight thrower in school history. He was the Section Nine weight-throw champion, a state qualifier, and first in the weight throw in the OCL. Fiedler is headed to Cornell University in the fall. He scored the most points on the team this year, while competing in only one scoring event (shot put).

Iatauro thanked Scott Grey, who came out to help the team’s 20 throwers every day as an unpaid volunteer.

Tri-Valley looks forward to a great outdoor track season as 104 athletes have signed up for the sport.

Ski coach Janet Carey waxed poetic about the combined alpine ski team of Tri-Valley and Fallsburg skiers. Thanking Mother Nature and the brave parents who withstood the elements to watch their kids ski, Carey lauded the boys team that went 41-15 and the girls who posted a record of 32-16. Injuries were a part of this season but the girls posted a bronze finish in every meet, while the boys delighted in several wins over rival Monticello.

Eight skiers qualified for sectionals. They included state qualifiers John Bernstein and Kendra Erts, as well as sectional qualifiers Matt Garigliano, Lauren Elliott, Weston Currey, Sarah Coney and Ryan Erts. Both teams won NYSPHSAA Scholar Athlete designation. The girls posted an average of 91.189 and the boys recorded an average of 93.043.

Carey praised the team’s seniors and then honored Ryan Mickelson and Sarah Coney as the teams’ MIPs. Mickelson finished in the top five at Mount Peter. Coney, who is only an eighth grader, made tremendous strides by qualifying for sectionals.

John Bernstein and Kendra Erts were chosen as the teams’ MVPs. Bernstein was the second-best skier in the school’s history. Despite incurring a torn ACL, Bernstein came back and qualified first for sectionals and then for states. Both skiers had four solid runs on the difficult course at Bristol Mountain.

Cheerleading awards were accorded to Ali Reynolds and Kate Brown as MIP and MVP, respectively. Despite some adversity this season, the team fared admirably in its competitions.

Junior varsity basketball. Mackenzie Noel was named as the team’s MIP and Mareena DiMilia was the Most Outstanding Player.

Girls varsity basketball coach Andy Taggart thanked Iatauro for the opportunity to get back into coaching. Taggart guided the Lady Bears to a 12-8 season and an appearance in the sectionals for the first time in many years.

With 10 girls returning next year, Taggart said this season had provided something to build on. The team also won a NYSPHSAA Scholar Athlete designation. Taggart enumerated each player’s hallmarks and best games before naming point guard Skylar Musa as the team’s MIP. Musa vastly improved at her position. Her best game came against Livingston Manor when she scored eight and had nine takeaways.

Tri-MVPs were Jakki Pugh, Amanda Martin and Kelly McNamara. Pugh, who is a sophomore, was cited as the team’s most talented player. She recorded 19 points against Liberty, with 12 rebounds and seven takeaways. She was the team’s leading scorer and second in rebounds.

Martin was cited for her high energy. Against Chester, she had 14 points and 10 rebounds. She was given the job of defending the opposing team’s best player. McNamara was the second leading scorer and fourth in rebounding. She guarded the opposing team’s best forward.

Boys varsity basketball coach Brian Tingley lauded his team’s 15-6 season. “We got off to a slow start,” he said, but the team had to adjust to the inclusion of Dustin VanLieu, who had transferred back from Liberty. Tingley said the team’s sectional games was its best and even though it lost to Millbrook, holding the Blazers to 44 points was noteworthy.

Tingley talked about his seniors. Ryan Ansboro was the team “professor,” who is a certified referee. Dom Baggatta is five feet eight inches tall and has great reach. Robert Favre provided his best defense of the season in the finals.

Junior Tim Martin won the Most Valuable Defensive Player award. Tingley described him as “sneaky. He’ll be hard to replace.” Senior Andrew Yager was named the team’s Most Valuable Offensive Player. Sophomore Peter DeMilia was designated as the team’s MIP. Dan Killian received the coaches award.

Dustin VanLieu was the team MVP. VanLieu’s final point total broke the school record by a large margin.

A musical slide show tribute to the winter sports teams was presented by this writer as a culmination to the evening.

Visit riverreportersports.com for an photo album of all the award winners.