Games Of Fame (24th Edition)

Tri-Valley Girls Capture First Place In 24^th Enactment Of Storied Meet; Monticello Boys Are Third Overall; T-V’s Darby Is Outstanding Female Field Athlete; Ellenvilles’ Borriello Is Outstanding Male Field Athlete; Monticello’s Taylor Shares Outstanding Male  Track Honors With Valley Central’s Biunno; V.C’s Cavalluzzo Is Top Female Track Athlete

Boys Team Scores: and key: 1. Arlington (A) 120.5 points; 2. Valley Central (VC) 90; 3. Monticello (Mon) 72; 4. Tri-Valley (TV) 64; 5. Hauppauge (H) 57.5; 6. Ellenville (Ell) 57; 7. Port Jervis (PJ) 48; 8. Middletown (Mid) 47; 9. Goshen (G) 42; 10. Liberty (L) 40; 11. Fallsburg (F) 18; 12. Sullivan West (SW) 17; 13. Livingston Manor (LM) 8; 14. Eldred (Eld) 7.

Girls Team scores and key: 1. Tri-Valley (TV) 120 points; 2. Arlington (A) 108; 3. Valley Central (VC) 79; 4. Liberty (L) 62; 5. Monticello (Mon) 57; 6. Hauppauge (H) 51.5; 7. Port Jervis (PJ) 51; 8. Eldred (Eld) 50.5; 9. Ellenville (Ell) 47; 10. Middletown (Mid) 23; 11. Goshen (G) 20; 12. Livingston Manor (LM) 7; 13. Sullivan West (SW) 5.

By RICHARD A. ROSS

rross@sportsinsightsny.com

Photos at www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com

Scenes from the 24th Monticello Games (clockwise) Ellenville's Justin Farrenkopf clears 14-3 in the pole vault. Monticello's Garrett LaPolt takes second in the shot put. Eldred's Breanna Brucher clears 10 feet to win the pole vault. Liberty's Kane Sauchuk edges out Valley Central's Ismael Anderson to claim third in the 110 high hurdles. Outstanding Track Athletes: Valley Central's Vinny Biunno and Hollly Cavalluzzo along with Monticello's Tino Taylor. A sampling of the Tri-Valley girls team with Coach Missy Iatauro hold their first place team trophy. Fallsburg's Michael Robinson won the triple jump. Tri-Valley's Mareena DiMilia won the javelin. Outstanding female field athlete Tri-Valley's Dominique Darby. Tri-Valley's Jimmy Bernstein took second in the 3200 and the 800. Monticello's Tino Taylor wins the 400. He also won the 200. Ellenville's Robert Borriello was the meet's Outstanding male field athlete.

MONTICELLO, NY—Okay I know.  Every year when it comes to the Monticello Games I sound like a broken record as I sing the praises of the day’s proceedings, lauding  the Games of Fame as I’ve come to call them, as one of my favorite events of the spring.

So here in the the tenth consecutive year of my sports writing  sojourn, I’ll catalogue the 24^th rendition of the Monticello Games as yet another thriller. I’ve come to expect nothing less.

True to form, Athletic Director Doug Murphy’s perfect streak of six years with no rain under his watch continued unabated as Mother Nature afforded bright skies but no doubt showed her wry smile by sending forth freezing temperatures early in the day.

That unwelcome chill had athletes, players and coaches alike shivering, trying to find a warm place the sun or else hovering in the gym until the last possible moment.  But as the day progressed the cold temperatures abated, no doubt warmed up by the intense heat pouring forth from runners, jumpers and throwers from the 14 schools on hand for this year’s memorable clash.

Some of the schools from a year ago such as Red Hook, Chapel Field, Byram Hills and Minisink Valley were not in attendance. Also missing were some of the athletes from participating teams who were at the Penn Relays.  But given the legions of athletes on hand the meet had its usual allure nonetheless.

New to the meet this year was Long Island contender Hauppague, while  returning to the fold this year was the entire Liberty team instead of just javelin thrower Peter Koval the lone Indian of 2011. Last year’s Monticello Games took place on the same day as Liberty’s Rachel’s Challenge event which prevented the Indians from attending.

This year It was great to have them back.

Rather than save the best for last, let’s talk about them first.

At meet’s end after reviewing nominations by the participating coaches, the award winners were announced. They came forward to claim their plaques and pose for photos which you will find on the last page of the photo album at www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com

Tri-Valley’s Dominique Darby was named the meet’s Outstanding Female Field Athlete behind her first place finish in the shot put (32-9 ¼) and the discus (94-0). She took second in the hammer (108-3).  Valley Central’s Holly Cavalluzzo  was named as the Outstanding Female Track Athlete. Cavalluzzo ran a leg in the Lady Vikings 3200 Relay which turned in a time of 9:54.8. She also won the 800 (2:20.2).

Ellenville’s Robert Borriello was the meets Outstanding Male Field Athlete. Borriello  won the javelin (142-3), took second in the hammer (138-11)  fourth in the discus (121-11).

Sharing the honor of the meet’s Outstanding  Track Athletes were Valley Central’s Vincent Biunno and Monticello’s Tino Taylor. Biunno was victorious in the 110 high hurdles (15-0), the 400 hurdles (57.9) and the high jump (6-0).

Taylor won the 200 (22.6) and the 400 (51.3). He was part of the second place Montie finish in the 800 and 1600 relays.

What a difference a year does make. Consider the Tri-Valley girls team which placed fourth in 2011. This year they racked up 120 points and captured first place, beating out much larger schools like Arlington by 12 points and Valley Central by 41.

Just one week after besting all the other 26 teams at the Tri-Valley Invitational, the Lady Bears were tops again using their incredible depth and cadre of hard-working athletes to capture points across the spectrum of events.

By day’s end Tri-Valley had captured 22 first-through sixth place finishes, nearly doubling the nearest Sullivan County contender Monticello which grabbed 12 scoring spots. Liberty nailed down 11. Eldred captured ten.

Here are some of the Lady Bears’ triumphs: Mareena DiMilia won the 100 high hurdles (16.8) and the javelin (108-9), while taking second in the long jump (14-9 ½) and second in the shot put (31-10). Vicky Tingley took 3^rd in the 100 high hurdles (17.4).  She also took 6^th in the pole vault (7-6).

Katlynn Greffrath won the high jump (4-9). She was sixth in the 100 (13.9) and 6^th in the long jump (15-4). Colleen Jones was third in the hammer (83-5) and 5^th in the javelin (73-3). Olivia Rehm took 4^th in the 2000 steeplechase (8:30.9), while teammate Sabrena Smith was 5^th (8:32.9).  Smith also captured 5^th in the 400 Intermediate hurdles (75.8). Autumn Bender was 3^rd in the 3000 (11:00.6). She finished 6^th in the 800 (2:32.9) and ran a lege in the Lady Bears’ 3^rd place finish in the 3200 relay (10:50.4).The Lady Bears were third in the 1600 relay (4:30.1).

Liberty placed fourth overall in the meet with 62 points. Rebeccah Harman was 2^nd in the 400 Intermediate hurdles (71.4). She finished 4^th in the 100 high hurdles (17.6). She also ran a leg in the 400 relay that placed 3^rd in 54.1. Liberty’s 800 relay took second in 1:55.8.

Amanda Bertholf was 2^nd in the pole vault (9-0) and 2^nd in the 400 (66.7). She also ran a leg in the aforementioned 400 relay. Lara Jane Heslop was 5^th in the 200 (28.9) and 4^th in the 100 (13.6). Brittany Roa was 4^th in the discus (72-4).

Monticello placed 5^th in the meet with 57 points. Camryn Johnson took 4^th in the 3000 (11:07.4). Sydney Johnson was 5^th in 11:21.9.  Camryn also claimed  3^rd in the 1500 (5:12.9), while Sydney took 6^th in the event in 5:20.9 Jaclyn Bellamy was 3^rd in the 400  (67.4). The Monties freshman/sophomore sprint medley was 4^th in 4:54.7. Laura Doherty took 1^st in the 400 intermediate hurdles (69.9), while teammate Erica Concors was third in 74.3. Concors also took 3^rd in the 2000 steeplechase (8:24.6) as well as third in the triple jump (31-6).

The Lady Monties finished 5^th in the 1600 relay (4:42.1).

Eldred was  8^th with 50 points. Breanna Brucher won the pole vault (10-0) and finished 6^th in the 100 high hurdles (18.1). Erika Bowring won the long jump (16- ½) and the triple jump (33-9 ½).  She was 6^th in the high jump (4-6). Christine Donnelly was 2^nd in the 800 (2:28) and sixth in the 3000 (11:22.8). She ran a leg in the 3200 relay which placed 6^th in 11:22.5. Equasia Edwards was 2^nd in the high jump (4-9). Eldred was 6^th in the 800 relay.

Livingston Manor’s Amy Calo was third in the high jump (4-6). Sullivan West’s Hannah Feinman was 4^th in the triple jump (30-7 ¾). Autumn Thiele was 6^th in the discus (69-1/2).

Monticello Boys Evince Fine Showing As Key Week Looms Ahead

This coming week Monticello faces Port Jervis and Liberty in Division III clashes and hopes to win both to clinch an unprecedented third consecutive division title. The last two years in down-to-the wire clashes, the Monties beat rival Cornwall but this year the Dragons were moved up to Division II.

For Coaches Matt Buddenhagen and Joe Seidl, this meet was an opportunity to move a few people around and tinker with the lineup for the coming week’s frays. The results were impressive.

Monticello placed third overall with 72 points behind Arlington and Valley Central. The Monties grabbed ten scoring spots in the meet.  In addition to the successes already noted from Tino Taylor, the Monties piled up points from the following contributors: Garrett LaPolt was 2^nd in the shot put (47-6). Talon Watson  was 2^nd in the 400 (52.1). He was 6^th in the triple jump (39-9).Monticello’s Freshman/sophomore sprint medley relay was 4^th in 4:09.8. The Monties claimed 1^st in the 400 relay as Terry Duncan, Mistah Alli, Austin Colon and Rahjel Smith combined for a time of 45.2).

Ali was 5^th in the long jump (18-10) and 5^th in the 100 (11.8). Otha Smith claimed 5^th place in the high jump (5-6).

Tri-Valley grabbed 4^th place overall with 64 points but outpaced Monticello in terms of the number of scoring places with 12.  Raphael Ramirez won the hammer (139-7). Teammate Zach Roberts took 6^th in the event (100-11). Jimmy Bernstein was 2^nd in the 3200 (10:09.7) and 2^nd in the 800 (2;05.3). Justin Weintraub was 5^th in the 800 (2:12.1). Hauk Boyes took 3^rd in the 3000 steeplechase (11:10.09). Josh Winters was 4^th in the javelin (128-11). Andrew Malone was 5^th in the 400 intermediate hurdles (61.1). Omar Lopez was 2^nd in the 400 intermediate hurdles (60.1).

Tri-Valley’s 800 relay was 5^th in 1:37.6.

Ellenville finished 6^th overall with 57 points. In addition to the aforementioned exploits by Robert Borriello, the Blue Devils had the last word of the day as Justin Farrenkopf cleared 14-3 to win the pole vault. He just missed at 14-6 which would have set a new outdoor school record. Tyler O’Bryant won the 100 (11.1).

Liberty was 10^th overall with 40 points. The Indians garnered seven scoring places in the meet. Andy Hazelnis was 5^th in the triple jump (40-1/2). Mike Hinton took 3^rd in the discus (123-1/2) and 5^th in the hammer (101-11). He also claimed 4^th in the shot put (47-3 ½). Kane Sauchuk was 3^rd in the 110 high hurdles (16-2) and 4^th in the 400 intermediate hurdles (60.40). Liberty’s 400 relay was third in 46.3). Erick Cuellar took 5^th in the 200 (23.5). Peter Koval was 3^rd in the javelin (135-11).

Fallsburg accrued 18 points for 11^th place overall as Michael Robinson won the triple jump (42-8 ½) and took second in the high jump (5-9).

Eldred accrued seven points. Julian Gottleib  was 3^rd in the pole vault (10-0).

Adrian Krzysztofowicz was 6^th in the 400 intermediate hurdles in 61.6 and 6^th in the 110H (16.9).

Livingston Manor’s Neal Mock was 2^nd in the pole vault (10-6).

 Sullivan West’s Reed Scott was 5^th in the 3200 (10:23.9). Mitch Paciga was 6^th in the high jump (5-9).

In summing up the meet, Monticello Coach Matt Buddenhagen had this to say: “Everything went well today as the weather warmed up. It was about 32 degrees this morning but it got comfortable later in the afternoon. We had some good performances.  Tino Taylor is our captain. He won the 200 and 400 and the Outstanding Track Athlete. He’s a great kid who works hard and he deserves everything he gets,” noted the coach who had props for his entire team’s efforts.  Today was good preparation for the big week to come. We put some kids in some multiple events to tinker with our lineup for Wednesday. We haven’t lost a dual meet in going on three years so that will be big as we go to take on Port Jervis.

Boys Results (top three only): 100 meters: 1. Tyler O’Bryant (Ell) 11.1; 2. Matt Mungo (G) 11.7; 3. Smith (PJ) 11.8; 200: 1. Tino Taylor (Mon) 22.6; 2. Smith (PJ) 23.0; 3. Brandon Conklin (A) 23.0; 400: 1. Tino Taylor (Mon) 51.3; 2. Talon Watson (Mon) 52.1; 3. Phil Hurtault (VC) 52.7; 800: 1. Tom Wimmers (A) 2:02.0; 2. Jim Bernstein (TV) 2:05.3; 3. Steve Morrison (A) 2:08.4; 1,600: 1. Ryan Collabella (H) 4:38.7; 2. Krystopher Lotocky (A) 4:40.3; 3. Corey Chiavelli (A) 4:43.1; 3,000 steeplechase: 1. Rodolfo Nieto (Mid) 10:40.7; 2. Tim Burger (A) 10:58.2; 3. Hauk Boyes (TV) 11:10.9; 3,200: 1. Collabella (H) 9:54.0; 2. Bernstein (TV) 10:09.7; 3. Chris Wise (A) 10:13.0; 110 hurdles: 1. Vincent Biunno (VC) 15.0; 2. Daniel Genender (Mid) 15.5; 3. Kane Sauchuk (L) 16.2; 400 hurdles: 1. Biunno (VC) 57.9; 2. Omar Lopez (TV) 60.1; 3. Genender (Mid) 60.3; 400 relay: 1. Monticello (Terry Duncan, Mistah Alli, Austin Colon, Rajel Smith) 45.2; 800 relay: 1. Hauppauge (Darius Samples, Jonny Barone, Tevin Milton, Matt Tochterman) 1:32.1; 1,600 relay: 1. Valley Central (Ishmeal Anderson, Biunno, Hurtault, Naquille Williams) 3:28.6; 3,200 relay: 1. Arlington (Matt Haering, James Asselmeyer, Corey Peruffo, Chris Wechsler) 8:35.5; high jump: 1. Biunno (VC) 6-0; 2. Michael Robinson (F) 5-9; 3. Da’Von Adamson (PJ) 5-9; long jump: 1. Adamson (PJ) 20-2.5; 2. Samples (H) 19-7; 3. Collin Sears (VC) 19-6.5; triple jump: 1. Robinson (F) 42-8.5; 2. C.J. Clark (Mid) 41-0.5; 3. Sears (VC) 39-11; shot put: 1. Rajiv McSwine (A) 47-7.25; 2. Garrett LaPolt (Mon) 47-6; 3. Hsin Chin (A) 42-6.75; hammer: 1. Rafael Ramirez (TV) 139-7; 2. Rob Borriello (Ell) 138-11; 3. Jeff Nunez (Ell) 120-11; javelin: 1. Borriello (Ell) 142-3; 2. G. Caetta (Ell) 136-10; 3. Peter Koval (L) 135-11; discus: 1. Hsin Chin (A) 127-9; 2. Preston Bazemore (Ell) 125-10; 3. Mike Hinton (L) 123-10; pole vault: 1. Justin Farrenkopf (Ell) 14-3; 2. Neal Mock (LM) 10-6; 3. Julian Gottlieb (Eld) 10-0.

Girls Results: 100 meters: 1. Kalissa Caesar (PJ) 12.3; 2. Latoya Haynes (VC) 13.3; 3. Genece May (Ell) 13.3; 200: 1. Caesar (PJ) 25.5; 2. Genece May (Ell) 27.6; 3. Cierra Deveaux (Mid) 28.4; 400: 1. Christine Eisenberg (H) 64.8; 2. Amanda Bertholf (L) 66.7; 3. Jaclyn Bellamy (Mon) 67.4; 800: 1. Holly Cavalluzzo (VC) 2:20.2; 2. Christina Donnelly (Eld) 2:28.0; 3. Lauren Markoe (A) 2:31.7; 1,500: 1. Bella Burda (A) 5:00.4; 2. Delphi Cleaveland (A) 5:00.6; 3. Camryn Johnson (Mon) 5:12.9; 2,000 steeplechase: 1. Olivia Beltrani (A) 7:30.6; 2. Eisenberg (H) 8:10.3; 3. Erica Concors (Mon) 8:24.6; 3,000: 1. Cleaveland (A) 10:32.1; 2. Burda (A) 10:34.4; 3. Autumn Bender (TV) 11:00.6; 110 hurdles: 1. Mareena DiMilia (TV) 16.8; 2. Brittany Hillman (VC) 17.3; 3. Vicky Tingley (TV) 17.4; 400 hurdles: 1. Laura Doherty (Mon) 69.9; 2. Rebeccah Harman (L) 71.4; 3. Concors (Mon) 74.3; 400 relay: 1. Port Jervis (Burke, Maria Barbone, Niambi Green, Caesar) 53.5; 800 relay: 1. Valley Central (Brittany Hillman, Drew Ribadeneyra, Haynes, Brittney Branch) 1:34.1; 1,600 relay: 1. Valley Central (Branch, Samantha Meade, Ribadeneyra, K. Borriello) 4:18.9; 3,200 relay: 1. Valley Central (Cavalluzzo, Ribadeneyra, Claudia Weiskittel, C. Borriello) 9:54.8; high jump: 1. Katlynn Greffrath (TV) 4-9; 2. Equasia Edwards (Eld) 4-9; 3. Ami Calo (LM) 4-6; long jump: 1. Erika Bowring (Eld) 16-0.5; 2. DiMilia (TV) 14-9.5; 3. Kristen Ritter (H) 14-9; triple jump: 1. Bowring (Eld) 33-9.5; 2. Rebeccah Harman (L) 32-0.25; 3. Concors (Mon) 31-6; shot put: 1. Dominique Darby (TV) 32-9.25; 2. DiMilia (TV) 31-10.5; 3. Danielle Borriello (Ell) 30-1.75; discus: 1. Darby (TV) 94-0; 2. Borriello (Ell) 91-9; 3. Colleen Jones (TV) 83-5; hammer: 1. Borriello (Ell) 119-6; 2. Darby (TV) 108-3; 3. Emily Ronda (PJ) 70-3; javelin: 1. DiMilia (TV) 108-9; 2. Jessica Caso (A) 86-4; 3. Mary McCutcheon (A) 78-6; pole vault: 1. Breanna Brucher (Eld) 10-0; 2. Amanda Bertholf (L) 9-0; 3. Marisa Robbins (G) 8-6.

For a massive album of photos, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com

Tribe Track Triumph

Liberty Boys And Girls Sweep O’Neill In Season Track Division III Opener

Boys:  Liberty 96, James I. O’Neill 35

Girls: : Liberty 95, James I. O’Neill 26

By RICHARD A. ROSS

rross@sportsinsightsny.com

Photos By RICHARD A. ROSS and NICK PIATEK at www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com

Scenes from the Liberty vs. O'Neill Division III track meet (clockwise) Liberty's Kane Sauchuk establishes the early lead in the Indians' victorious 3200 relay. O''Neill's John Carpenter handily wins the 100. Nikole Snyder shows her prowess in winning the high jump and long jump. Vinny Webb clears 11 feet in the pole vault to win the event. Senior Andy Hazelnis competes in the long jump. Rebeccah Harman is victorious in the 110 hurdles as is Kane Sauchuk.

LIBERTY, NY– Over the course of the next couple of months there will be innumerable track meets and while it is true that the most significant of these are the Section Nine and State Qualifier encounters, each and every outing is an opportunity for runners, jumpers and throwers to work on their techniques with a mind toward raising the bar in terms of their times and distances.

Meets that beckon teams from far and wide like the upcoming Tri-Valley Invitational, The Tri-Valley Relays and the Monticello Games have their particular allure.  Case in point would be the inclusion of Bronxville and its iconic star Mary Cain (if she’s not running in some other major event that day) in the Tri-Valley invitational meet on April 21.

Then there are the great showdown meets such as the OCIAA league meet, the Sullivan County Championships and key division clashes to look forward to.

But here at the start of the track season it was relatively low key as James I. O’Neill arrived for a Division III encounter with the Indians. Liberty was moved up to Division III while Burke was moved down as just a couple of changes in the new OCIAA divisional array. Monticello will remain a Division III contender as will Goshen and Port Jervis but mighty Cornwall has now been elevated to Division II.

Of course none of that affects the fact that Liberty will still compete in the Class B Section Nine meet where it will encounter its usual foes. When it comes to states, Liberty is Division II and that hasn’t changed either.

The day was bright and sunny albeit windy enough to topple the hurdles on the track before the race. Times and distances were no doubt greatly affected by the mighty gusts but since this meet was more like an early season practice (though it counted nevertheless), it wasn’t necessary to add “wind impeded”‘ or “wind assisted” to any of the results listed below.

I’m adding information from Liberty Coach Debbie Simpson to amend to reflect second and third place finishers. For the newspapers perhaps the winners are the only matter of interest but not so for this track fanatic.

Boys Results: OCIAA Division III: Liberty 96, James I. O’Neill 35

110-meter hurdles: 1. Ken Sauchuck (L) 17.1; 100: 1. John Carpenter (JIO) 11.0; 400 hurdles: 1. Kane Sauchuck (L) 64.4; 200: 1. John Carpenter 22.8; 400: 1. R. Molloy (L) 58.9; 200: 1. Unavailable; 3,200: 1. Tom Papp (L) 1:25.9; 3,200 relay: 1. Liberty (Sauchuck, Luis Campos, N. Campos, R. Molloy) Time not provided; 400 relay: 1. Liberty (Erick Cuellar, N. Campos, Kenny Jaycox, Unavailable) 46.7; 1,600 relay: 1. Liberty (Sauchuck, Cuellar, N. Campos, R. Molloy) 3:57.7; long jump: 1. Jeremy Key (JIO) 17-8; discus: 1.  Mike Hinton (L) 123.2; high jump: 1. J. Carpenter (JIO) 6-0; pole vault: 1. Vinny Webb (L) 11-0;Shot put: 1. Andy Martinez (L) 34-4.

Girls Results: OCIAA Division III: Liberty 95, James I. O’Neill 26

110-meter hurdles: 1. Rebeccah Harman (L) 17.3; 100: 1. Diamond Wiley (JIO) 13.4; 1,000: 1. Sierra Thomas (L) 6:39.6 400 hurdles: 1. Harman (L) 1:14.9 200: 1. L. Heslop (L) 27.8; 400: 1. R. Molloy (L) 58.9; 800: 1. Thomas (L) 2:58.1; 3,000: 1. J. Krebs (team members, time not provided; 3,200 relay: 1. O’Neill 11:46; 400 relay: 1. Liberty 53.5; 1,600 relay: 1. Liberty 5:21.1; long jump: 1. N. Snyder (L) 13-6 1/2; discus: 1. Brittany Roa (L) 64-9; high jump: 1. N. Snyder (L) 4-6; pole vault: 1. Amanda Bertholf (L) 9-6; shot put: 1. Claudia Reyes (L) 21-2.

Added from Liberty Coach Debbie Simpson:

Fast Start

Monticello Downs Short-Handed Liberty For Third Straight Win In Young Season; Lady Indians Come Alive In Fourth Quarter On A Night When Indians’ Shots Just Wouldn’t Fall

Monticello 46, Liberty 23

By RICHARD A. ROSS

rross@sportsinsightsny.com

Scenes from Monticello's 46-23 non-league win over Liberty (clockwise): Monticello freshman Lena Episalla goes up for a shot and is fouled. She had nine rebounds in the game. Liberty's Tea Williams is hemmed in by Monticello's Shamira Moore and Zaquia Revell. Revell had ten steals and Moore had seven. Liberty's Justice Dingevan fires up a three-pointer. She canned two of them in the final quarter. She is defended by Monticello's Lena Episalla. Liberty's Olivia Baum scores the first points for the Lady Indians midway through the second quarter. Baum ended up with a team-high 17 on the night. The 2011-12 Monticello Lady Panthers. Monticello junior Yadira Montes cans a free throw. The Monties need a lot of work from the line as they converted just 31.8 percent from the stripe.

MONTICELLO, NY—When it comes to school size, Monticello and Liberty are the bigs in Sullivan County. As such, their encounters with one another, though always of a non-league variety, have a special allure even if one or both teams is struggling as has been the case in recent years.

But it’s a new season now and the Lady Panthers as well as the Lady Indians are fielding teams that are a blend of experienced players along with a cadre of youngsters who are new to the varsity realm.

Coming into the Pit in Monticello is always a challenge for Liberty teams but on this December 13 night, Coach Beth Quatrale knew it would be even more daunting without three of her key starters in NIkole Snyder, Selena Vargas and Katie Giarratano all missing in action for a variety of reasons. That would leave veterans Olivia Baum and Justice Dingevan to carry the load and as it turned out, they would be the only two players to score on the night as Baum would post 17 to Dingevan’s pair of treys.

Liberty struggled mightily early on as it went scoreless throughout the first quarter and halfway through the second when Baum finally converted a steal into a layup. She’d go on to score two more buckets in the second stanza to provide Liberty with six points by halftime to Monticellos’s 23. The Lady Panthers led 8-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Four of those first quarter points came from junior standout Shamira Moore. The Lady Monties also got buckets from junior Arianna Decosta and freshman Yamilersy Reyes. Moore added a pair of free throws in the second quarter as part of Monticello’s seven-point output. Senior Zequia Revell posted her lone basket and Monticello benefited from two free throws from Yadira Montes and one from Yami Reyes.

Both teams had trouble converting shots as well as taking care of the basketball. Turnovers abounded as errant passes were picked off both ways giving both Quatrale and Monticello Coach Karen Atack plenty to concentrate on in upcoming practices.

Moore was the big difference in this game as she evinced outstanding play at both ends of the floor. In the third quarter she netted 14 points. Her only issue was her lackluster free throw shooting as she canned only two-for-11 from the stripe. To their credit, Liberty held her scoreless in the final frame.

Decosta was Monticello’s other major weapon. She scored 11 points on the night, seven of which came in the fourth quarter and included the Monties’ lone trey of the game.

As for Liberty, were it not for Baum’s relentless pursuit, even in the face of early struggles, the final outcome could have been far worse. Monticello’s fourth quarter defensive laxity that featured players out of positions and at times an uncontested path to the basket for Baum, allowed her to catch fire. Needless to say, Atack was not pleased with that aspect of the game.

Monticello improved to 3-0 adding this victory to a pair of commanding wins over struggling Family. The Lady Monties will test their early season mettle against winless Sullivan West on the Lady Bulldogs home court debut on December 14. Sullivan West scouted this game to get a preview of the Lady Monties and of course Division IV rival Liberty which fell to 1-2. Its lone win came against S.S. Seward in the Spartan Invitational Tournament. They lost the title game to Goshen.

Quatrale was upbeat about her team’s efforts despite the outcome. “I thought the biggest difference was that my team was playing relaxed in the fourth quarter. It’s tough when the ball won’t go in the basket, but if you force it, it still won’t go in. As I told my team, I can’t be upset with a game like that when I know that every girl on the court was giving 100 percent. The heart was there, the ball just wasn’t falling.

Liberty hosts Port Jervis for its home opener on December 15. It’s next game will come after the New Year. With three starters not here tonight, it gave younger girls a chance to step up and show that they really deserve to be on the court. There were few mental mistakes. We were where we were supposed to be. It’s just a case of putting the ball in the basket now,” she concluded.

Atack is certainly pleased with her team’s 3-0 start. “We’ll take it,’ she said while emphasizing the things that need a lot of work if the success is to continue against far tougher teams. The Lady Monties host Cornwall on December 16 and the type of play they evinced in this game won’t fly against the Lady Dragons.

“We realize we played a weakened team tonight,” said Atack referencing the fact that Liberty was missing key players. “If we don’t take care of the ball we know what is going to happen. We still have a lot of things we have to iron out. We have a young team. They’re willing to work and they never give up. The hustle is there but we just made a lot of errors.

Rebounding was not one of the problems. Moore led the team with 17 boards and Revell had 12. Freshman guard Lena Episalla had nine rebounds. Revell had 10 steals and Moore had seven.” Atack credited Moore and Revell with playing an excellent game.

“We need to have better leadership. If I don’t call it out, no one is presently calling it out on the court. We have a lot more talent than we’ve had in the recent past but it’s not tamed yet,” she noted.  “We’re having a problem with getting five people to do what they’re supposed to do at the same time.

Monticello’s three win start constitutes half of its total season victory total from last year. But Atack, ever conscious of what it takes to win against tough opponents will not let her team sit back on their early season laurels. For one thing Monticello was a woeful seven-for 22 from the line (31.8%).

“We have a really young team,” added Atack who was missing junior tall tree Nyasia Blakney for this outing. With only one senior in Revell, the squad goes to war with five juniors in Decosta, Moore, Yadira Montes, Blakney and Amber Grobusch. Three sophomores include Quasia Walker, Latise Sanders  and Deanna Snowden, along with freshmen Shandell Jones, Yami Reyes and Lena Episalla.

Liberty’s team on this night was comprised of Rachel Bayer, Zaira Pabon, Erin Kinne, Cindy Fuentes, Stephanie Heisler, Olivia Baum, Amanda Bertholf, Justice Dingevan, Kelly Santos, Brittany Roa and Tea Williams.

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