LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — The evening of March 28  was a night to honor Sullivan West’s jayvee and varsity scholar-athletes for their accomplishments in the winter season of sports.

And all paid homage to a veteran coach and referee, who this year served as assistant helmsman to the Bulldogs’ varsity boys’ basketball squad, teaching the students the game of hoops and the true meaning of sportsmanship.

The presentation was held in the auditorium at the Home of the Bulldogs.

In his remarks to the assembly, Sullivan West’s athletic director, Kurt Buddenhagen—a transplant from Monticello, who is in his first year with the Bulldogs—said the teams were “highly competitive on the tracks, slopes and courts,” and showed a lot of “Sullivan West pride.”

Reflecting on the season past, he said in part, “We had many ups and downs, victories and defeats [but] most important was how hard our coaches and athletes worked and sacrificed… Each day you did something very special.”

He was impressed not just by “what our students can do athletically, but also academically… Not only are they doing it on the courts, but they are doing it in the classrooms.”

Buddenhagen noted a few highlights of the scholar-athletes’ textbook and test accomplishments: six out of eight teams were named New York State Public High School Athletic association (NYSPHSAA) Scholar Teams, which meant that 75 percent of the team had a 90 percent or greater grade point average (GPA). See sidebar “Ruling in the classroom too” at the right of this page for the GPA stats.

On the individual side of the ledger, the girls’ varsity basketball team made it to the sectional qualifiers, Gracyn Halloran was a sectional qualifier in varsity indoor track, and the Alpine skiing team (Lucia Kennedy, Caden Allen, Parker Tyler and Tyler Stevenson) were Section IX qualifiers.

During the ceremony, varsity boys’ basketball coach John Meyer sang the praises of assistant coach Gerald “Gerry” Davitt for his help in molding the young bucketeers on their journey into adulthood, and afterwards this sports scribbler had the opportunity to talk with the local legend, a three-letter graduate of Waymart High School’s Class of 1953, who is now on the eve of his 87th birthday. The upcoming milestone was loudly celebrated by members of the Dawg Pound.

On June 27, Davitt and his wife Mary will celebrate their 64th wedding anniversary, and he recalled attending a one-room schoolhouse; there were two students in first grade. The addition of another student in the second grade meant there were three classmates.

Since the age of about 10, starting in the sixth grade and up through his high school sports career, he played soccer, basketball and baseball. Davitt reflected on what he learned from a couple of renowned hoops coaches, Julius Prezelski, who posted 757 career games, and Pat Walsh, who had 600-some.

“Respect; not to lose; always the idea we could win no matter what… we played all summer long, different camps, and always played bigger schools,” recollected Davitt.

In his heyday, he competed in his chosen sports at the state level, and a bit later in life was named Umpire of the Year.

Sullivan West fall 2022 sports awards

Varsity football

Jaymes Buddenhagen: Outstanding Back

Dillan Hanslmaier: Outstanding Lineman

Varsity boys’ soccer

Michael Schroeder: Best Defensive Player

Will Nearing: Most Valuable Player

Varsity girls’ soccer

Elizabeth Reeves: Miss Soccer

Viola Shami: Most Valuable Player

Varsity volleyball

Hannah Abplanalp: Coaches Award

Madeline Kask: Most Valuable Player

Varsity cheerleading

Becca Brewer: Best All-Around

Allie Sierens: Perseverance Award

Sullivan West winter sports awards

Varsity girls’ Alpine skiing (coached by Lionel Billard)

Lucia Kennedy: Most Valuable Skier

Varsity boys’ Alpine skiing (coached by Lionel Billard)

Caden Allen: Most Valuable Skier

Tyler Stevenson: Most Improved

Varsity basketball cheerleading (coached by Danilla Fox, assisted by Cortney Goldsmith)

Bella Wagner: Most Dedicated

Becca Brewer: Most Encouraging

Varsity boys’ basketball (coached by John Meyer, assisted by Gerry Davitt)

Andrew Hubert: Most Valuable Player

Brandon Haass: Coaches Award

Varsity girls’ basketball (coached by Patrick Donovan)

Georgeanne Cardona: Miss Defensive Player

Elaine Herbert: Miss Offense Player

Varsity boys’ indoor track and field (coached by Justin Diehl, assisted by Sean Reuss)

Landon Volpe: Track MVP

Dillan Hanslmaier: Field MVP

Varsity girls’ indoor track and field (coached by Joe Ebeling, assisted by Alexandra Stant)

Keely Schock: MVP Field Events

Gracyn Halloran: MVP Track Events

Varsity wrestling (coached by Josh Potter, assisted by Jenna Potter)

Alec Hubert: Most Valuable Player

Ruling in the classroom too

Grade point averages by team

Girls’ basketball: 96 percent

Boys’ basketball: 93 percent

Girls’ Alpine skiing: 93 percent

Girls’ indoor track: 93 percent

Boys’ indoor track: 92 percent

Boys’ Alpine skiing: 91 percent

And other stats

Student athletes named Scholar-Athletes (90 percent GPA or greater): 33 out of 62 total

Student athletes with a GPA of 85 percent or greater: 50 out of 62