Monumental Montie Milestones
Boys Clinch Third Consecutive Division III Title While Girls Break 28-Year Drought Garnering First Title Since 1984; A Plethora Of Personal Bests Evinced By Kids As Liberty Gives Its Best Vying In Tougher Division; Burke On The Scene As A Non-League Entry
Boys: OCIAA Division III: Monticello 94, Liberty 47; Liberty 119, Burke 15; Monticello 134, Burke 1
Girls: OCIAA Division III: Monticello 95, Liberty 46; Liberty 92, Burke 47; Monticello 108, Burke 33
By RICHARD A. ROSS
Photos at: www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
Scenes from the historic meet in which Monticello's boys clinched their 3rd straight Div. III title and the girls got their first crown in 28 years (clockwise). Monticello's boys and girls track teams pose with their coaches following the epic wins by both squads. Monticello twins Camryn and Sydney Johnson lead the way in the 1500. They also went one-two in the 800 and ran in the victorious 3200 relay. Monticello Coach Joe Seidl undergoes his annual dousing after the title victory. Liberty senior Rebeccah Harman wins the 100 high hurdles. She also won the 400 hurdles and ran a leg in the winning 400 relay. Monticello's Joe Klein won the 1600 and 3200. Liberty's Andy Hazelnis turned in a personal best 41-2 in the triple jump. Liberty's Vinny Webbe clears 11-0 in the pole vault, Liberty's Nikole Snyder jumps a personal best 15-6 to win the long jump. Liberty's Kane Sauchuk swept the 110 and 400 hurdles and ran a leg in the winning 3200 relay despite being afflicted with the stomach flu, Monticello senior Tania Walker wins the 200. She also won the 400. Monticello senior Onique (Tino) Taylor wins the 200 just one tenth of a second shy of the school record. Monticello's boys and girls team pictures are at the bottom of the panel.
MONTICELLO,NY—Simply historic. Nothing less than one for the ages.
That’s what Monticello’s boys and girls Division III clinching track victories over Liberty translated to as the boys team marshaled its third consecutive division title ,while the Lady Panthers captured their first title in 28 years. Not since the spring of 1984 has a Monticello girls team claimed such bragging rights. That year they won Section Nine titles in the Winter of ’83 and the spring of ’84. So this honor was a long time coming.
For the Monticello boys and girls to emerge victorious they had to stave off the noble Indian Tribe which came with its best effort, evincing personal bests here, there and everywhere countering the sea of blue with their vibrant red as the two flagship schools of Sullivan County went at it.
Not surprisingly, Liberty which by all rights should not have been bumped up to Division III could not keep up with the Monties’ arsenal of weaponry. But to be sure, in some of the events at least, the story was quite compelling.
But most captivating was the unfoliding of the Monticello girls capture of the Division III crown. More on that momentous accomplishment momentarily, the latest volley in Monticello’s rising tide of track feats.
Three years ago when the Montie boys bested Cornwall a new era of Monticello track grandeur was ushered in. Last year’s repeat win over the Dragons was if anything, even more impressive. Doing it a third time suggests the hint of a dynasty. Given the outstanding work of the modified team legions under the careful watch of Coach J. Daniel Granville, there are apt to me more standout runners, jumpers and throwers coming up the pipeline in years to come.
Needless to say this year’s unbeaten Division records by both the boys and girls varsity squads were an outstanding achievement, a product of hard work, great coaching and meet strategy and most of all, the will and determination of a group of special kids. Add to the allure the fact that the girls team is replete with scholar athletes demonstrating the mantra of ancient Greece: “Sound body; sound mind.”
Bright smiles abounded as the girls took their victory lap with their fists raised in the air while the boys were busily plotting to douse Coach Joe Seidl (again) in what has become a traditional rite of spring over the past three years. Lacking a Gatorade bucket, they accomplished the task with bottles of water which dripped down off Seidl’s famous and ever-present red baseball cap onto his bemused face.
Each year brings its own special circumstances and this year was no exception. With nemesis Cornwall bumped up to Division II, the boys would now have to turn their attention to Port Jervis and Liberty.
“We felt in March that Liberty and Port would be tough. As usual, my focus is on the quarter milers and of course team unity/effort,” said Seidl. With a number of key athletes lost to graduation, Seidl and his assistant Matt Buddenhagen had to rework the puzzle, taking into account the team’s strengths and thin spots.
In bygone years Monticello had its share of distance standouts like Brendan Devine, Dave Wilbur and Tom Gonzalez, just to mention a few. With the likes of those tireless warrriors, Monticello could always count on points in the distance events. They’ve been gone awhile now and no such guarantees exist at present.
These days the Monties rely on up-and-coming Joe Klein as the leader of the pack. Despite his youth, he seems prepared to assume the mantle and on this day, his victories in the 1600 (5:08) and the 3200 (11:20) gave Monticello points it hadn’t figured on garnering.
Monticello would have more highlight moments and as Coach Seidl saw it, they also included the following:
Tino Taylor-100 11.0 (PR) 200 22.1 (PR .10 off school record)
Talon Watson-TJ-41’2.5″ (PR) 200-23.1 (PR)
Mike Rogers-PV-10′ (PR)
4 x 100-Terry Duncan/Mistah Alli/Austin Colon/Rahjel Smith 44.2 (.10 off school record)
Track and field athletes are known for their resiliency and mettle as they often compete despite ills and even minor injuries. Liberty’s Kane Sauchuk was fighting off a stomach virus which has kept him out of kilter all week. But in between heaving episodes, Sauchuk still managed to run a winning leg in the Indians’ 3200 relay and win the 110 high hurdles (16.3) and the 400 intermediate hurdles (60.2). By the time this narrative ends I’ll be sure to celebrate more great Indian feats.
For Monticello seniors this day would be special indeed. Montie elder statesmen include Earl Allen, Connor Alvarez, Dan Braunstein, José Cruz, Ian Kolaitis, Garrett LaPolt, Gabriel Ramos, Shatei Reynolds, Onique Taylor, Brendan Thomas and Talon Watson.
Monticello girl seniors include Bryana Sewell, Erica Concors, Katie Fisher, Tania Walker and Alexis Watkins. Prior to the meet the seniors posed for a group shot in anticipation of what they expected would be a memorable day.
Monticello’s sweep of the boys 200 with Taylor missing the school record by .1 of a second, Talon Watson’s 23.1 and Terry Duncan’s 23.3 pointed to the blinding speed the Panthers possess. Figure in the 400 relay which also came in one tenth of a second off the school record at 44.2 and that done w/out Tino Taylor That record is destined to be broken before this season is over.
Liberty’s Andy Hazelnis set PR’s in the long and triple jump. The latter at 41-2 was just a half inch shy of Watson’s winning jump of 41-2 ½. Liberty’s Nikole Snyder broke PR’s with her winning long jump of 15-6 and hear winning 100 time of 13.1. Liberty’s Vinny Webbe hit the stratosphere with his pole vault of 11-0, but Monticello’s Mike Rogers, a newcomer to the event was impressive in his clearing of 10-0. Pictures show just how close he was at 10-6 too. Liberty got its usual standout performance from Rebeccah Harman who captured the 100 hurdles (17.3) and the 400 intermediate hurdles (69.7). She also ran a leg in the victorious 400 relay.
Liberty Coach Deb Simpson listed a bunch of personal bests evinced by the Lady Indians. Some of these did not score but they are personal milestones nevertheless. They included:
Montie twins Camryn and Sydney Johnson were unbeatable.They are the grandaughters of assistant Coach Charlie Delmonico whose 35-year track coaching career at Washingtonville makes him a Hall of Famer.
Much can be said about the girls and their grandpa. First the twins: Camryn won the 1500 (5:38.7) with Sydney in second. The duo was also key in the victorious 3200 relay which they shared with Brittany Rupp and Erica Concors. They added a one-two finish in the 800 as well with Camryn turning in a 2:37.3 and Sydney right behind at 2:41.8.
Delmonico came on to assist Matt Daly with the girls team this year. He was delighted to be on hand for the storied win. “They deserve it,” he noted as he reflected back on his trips to Monticello back in the day. “I remember coming here with Washingtonville’s team and our running on the old cinder track. We had some great meets here. It’s been fun this year working with the distance runners, jumpers and hurdlers and anyone else who needed help. These girls are smart too! Some of them have 99% averages,” he added.
Coach Seidl talked about garnering the three-peat and what it took to bring it off this year. “In track kids graduate and we had to replace them. The expectation is that the younger kids will step up. It was interesting because of the changes in the division. Cornwall left band we had Port Jervis come in as well as Liberty. We lost Burke.
It’s a more even division now. I thought we had the kids to win it, but I knew it would be tough this year. Track is like a puzzle. It’s unique from other sports. You have to match up differently against other teams. We had to shift people around in some meets to see how we’d go against Liberty and Port Jervis. We knew our distance runners would have to pick it up today and they did as we swept the mile,” he noted.
Seidl went on to reference Tino Taylor’s impressive showing as well as the 400 relay. “We’ve got a one-two punch in the triple jump (although on this day Liberty’s Andy Hazelnis broke that up with his second place storied leap).
“Coach Buddenhagen and I are on the same page and we have big expectations for our kids. But frankly, the girls are an even bigger story today,” he noted. “Coach Daly came in and did a phenomenal job, as did assistant Coach Delmonico.”
With that I shifted over to talk to Matt Daly to get his take on the Ladies’ momentous accomplishment.
“We were excited at the beginning of the year even though we had a little turbulence. We came to our first meeting to find a great group of girls. Our numbers were strong and we had the right people in all the right places. We felt we could compete and our goal was to win the division championship,” he averred.
“It was great for the seniors to out like this. Leadership is contagious and it went from our seniors right on down to our eighth graders.” Daly gave props to seniors Erica Concors and Katie Fisher for “trying to get these girls to be even better.”
Here are the results
Boys: OCIAA Division III: Monticello 94, Liberty 47; Liberty 119, Burke 15; Monticello 134, Burke 1
100 meters: 1. Tino Taylor (M) 11.0; 2. Mistah Alli (M) 11.1; 3. Kenny Jaycox (L) 11.4[ 200: 1. Tino Taylor (M) 22.2; 2. Talon Watson (M) 23.1; 3. Terry Duncan (M) 23.3; 400: 1. Tino Taylor (M) 52.5;2. Watson (M) 53.2; 3. Raquon Malloy (L) 56.4; 800: 1.Nery Campos (L) 2: 23.2; C.J Forrest (M);2: 24.1; 3. Ryan Schauer (M) 2;26.5 1,600: 1. Joe Klein (M) 5:08.0; 2.Bryan Gil (M) 5:14.4; 3. Chris Maroldi (M) 5:15.5; 3,200: 1. Klein (M) 11:20.3; 2. Campos (L) 11;26.5; 3. Gil (M) 11:30.5; 110 hurdles: 1. Kane Sauchuck (L) 16.3; 2, Steve Padin (M) 16.8; 3. Michael Rogers (M) 17.2; 400 hurdles: 1. Sauchuk (L) 60.2; 2. Padin (M) 61.2; 3. Erick Cuellar (L) 61.5; 400 relay: 1. Monticello ( Mistah Alli, Terry Duncan, Austin Colon, Rahjel Smith) 44.2; 1,600 relay: 1. Monticello (Talon Watson, Terry Duncan, Austin Colon, TinoTaylor) 3:36.2; 3,200 relay: 1. Liberty (Sauchuk, Campos, Campos, Malloy) 9:08.2; high jump: 1. Colon (M) 5-2; 2. Kyle Hanes (M) 5-0; 3. Otha Smith (M) 5-0; long jump: 1. Mistah Alli (M) no distance; 2. Andy Hazelnis (L) distance not submitted; 3. Jaycox (L) distance not submitted); triple jump: 1.Talon Watson (M) 41-2.5; 2. Hazelnis (L ) 41-2; 3. Alli (M) 40-9; shot put: 1. Garrett LaPolt (M) 43-6.5; 2. Mike Hinton (L) 39-10; 3. Earl Allen (M) 36-9; discus: 1. Hinton (L) 106-8; 2. LaPolt (M) 105-10; 3. G. Klein (L) 102-2; pole vault: 1. Vinny Webbe (L) 11-7; 2. Rogers (M) 10-0; 3. Jose Cruz (M) 9-6.
Note: Burke meets are non-league.
Girls: OCIAA Division III: Monticello 95, Liberty 46; Liberty 92, Burke 47; Monticello 108, Burke 33
100 meters: 1. Nikole Snyder (L) 13.1; 2. Tania Walker (M) 13.3; 3. McDonnell (B) 14.0; 200: 1. Walker (M) 27.3; 2. McDonnell (B) 28.0 3. Snyder (L) 28.3; 400: Walker (M) 64.2; 2. Jaclyn Bellamy (M) 66.2; 3. Bianca Rey (M) 68.4; 800: 1. Camryn Johnson (M) 2:37.3; 2. Sydney Johnson (M) 2:41.8; 3. Julianna Kane (M) 2:47.6; 1,500: 1. Camryn Johnson (M) 5:38.7; 2. Sydney Johnson (M) 5:39.0; 3. Brittany Rupp (M) 5:48.7; 3,000: 1.Brittany Rupp (M) 11:58.3; 2. Camryn Johnson (M) 11:59.2; 3. Sydney Johnson (M) 11:59.3; 100 hurdles: 1. Rebeccah Harman (L) 17.3; 2. D. Saravia (B) no time submitted; 3. Kristen McEnerny (M) no time submitted; 400 hurdles: 1. Harman (L) 69.7; 2. L. Doherty (M) 1:14.4; 3. Erica Concors (M) 1:17.2 400 relay: 1. Liberty (Harman, Snyder, Bertholf, Brickhouse) 54.0; 1,600 relay: 1. Monticello (Walker, Julianna Kane, Jaclyn Bellamy, Erica Concors) 4:34.2; 3,200 relay: 1. Monticello ( Camryn Johnson, Sydney Johnson, Rupp, Concors) 11:11.7; high jump: 1. Doherty (M) 4-8; 2.Walker (B) 4-4; 3. Katie Fishher (M) 4-4; long jump: 1. Snyder (L) 15-6; 2. Doherty (M) 14.6; 3. Yami Reyes (M) 14.5; triple jump: 1. Concors (M) 31-2.5; 2. Harman (L) 30-9; 3. Doherty (M) 29-2; shot put: 1. Alexis Watkins (M) 24-6; 2. Herring (B) 23-1; 3. E. Cano (L) 22-7.75; discus: 1. D. Kisane (B) 57-6; 2. pole vault: 1. Amanda Bertholf (L) 8-6; 2. McEnerny (M) 6-6; Lauren Katz (M) no height submitted.
Note: Burke meets are non-league.
For an album of photos, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
The Mighty Few
Ellenville Holds Sway Over Undermanned Burke and Liberty As All Three Teams Evince Some Fine Performances; A Few Aspiring Sectional Contenders Loom Large From Each Program
Ellenville 39, John S. Burke Catholic 23
John S. Burke Catholic 30, Liberty 16
Ellenville 48, Liberty 12
By RICHARD A. ROSS
Photos at: www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
Scenes from a night of compelling wrestling (clockwise) Burke senior Brian Leahey (138) continues his undefeated dominance with a pin of Ellenville's Kyle Conner. Defending Section Nine champion Andy Martinez (182) of Liberty pins Ellenville's Javier Cortez. Liberty's Luis Rivera (113) pins Burke's Martin Nowak. Liberty's Matt Rourke (152) puts up a tough battle before being pinned by Ellenville's Ethan Lonstein. Ellenville Coach Merrill Conner counsels his son Kyle after a losing match. Conner went on to win the nightcap. Burke's wrestling motto is "Non Vox, sed votum" which means, not the words but the deeds. Liberty and Ellenville show their colors as well. Liberty's Vinny Webbe(132) pins Ellenville's Willie Bruce
LIBERTY, NY—“These are the times that try men’s souls,” noted founding father Thomas Paine and indeed those words aptly describe the realm of small school wrestling. To be sure, each match is a trying affair as athletes are often pitted against adversaries who are strong, skilled and well-coached.
But the most trying aspect may well be the insufficient numbers of wrestlers that coaches have to go to war with.
With the preponderance of athletes in the already limited talented pool heading off in winter to play basketball or join the indoor track leagions, high school wrestling coaches like Ellenville’s Merrill Conner, Burke’s Dave Predmore and Liberty’s John Lennon are hard-pressed to find a sufficient number of wrestlers to fill out all of the weight classes.
With Ellenville’s illustrious record in indoor track and Liberty’s annual battle therein that usually places them second to the Blue Devils, a lot of potential wrestlers are making their presence felt as runners, jumpers and particularly as throwers. Football players often move on to track in winter.
The rigorous nature of the sport warrants toughness, intense focus and arduous training and it comes with its requisite collateral effects including cuts, bumps and bruises and occasionally even broken bones.
If you don’t put in the work in sports like indoor track, the worst thing that can happens is that you will lose in your event, whereas in wrestling, you can get brutalized or overmatched in a New York Minute. With parents and friends looking on, sometimes that’s even worse than leaving the mat battered and bruised.
Lennon has been coaching at Liberty for 31 years continuing his relationship with the program which he began as a wrestler for the Tribe. Lennon was second in Section Nine when he weighed in at 138 back in those days when it was far tougher. There weren’t two divisions then. You literally had to beat everybody.
Lennon has only six wrestlers in the fold this year. He had seven but one of his young wrestlers, a promising 170 pound contender, quit due to parental concerns about potential injury in the sport. Truth be told, kids are far more resilient than one might imagine and the rigors of the sport not only make them tougher, they are apt to build character, perseverance and fortitude for life’s coming challenges.
Still, out of Lennon’s six, three made it to the finals at the Walton tournament including Luis Rivera (120), Vinny Webbe (132) and defending Section Nine champion Andy Martinez (182). Martinez is a heavy favorite to successfully defend his title. He is currently 14-3 and undefeated against Section Nine opponents. He lost a pair of matches at Eastern States and another in an earlier tournament.
Lennon figures Rivera and Webbe will make it to sectionals too, and if he maintains his focus, Dylan Blackwell (113) could join them there. Also showing great toughness on this night was Matt Rourke (152) in an epic battle he staged against Ellenville’s Ethan Lonstein. The latter won by a pin in 5:32.
Small numbers are also a problem for Burke. Predmore has seven wrestlers in the fold that includes undefeated senior Brian Leahey (138) and Daniel Martin (113), two wrestlers Predmore feels can make some serious inroads in sectionals.
Leahey did a fine job of controlling Ellenville’s Kyle Conner, eventually pinning him in 5:50, while Martin pinned Joe Smith in 2:53.
According to Predmore, viewing the season in terms of head to head performance, the Eagles have only been vanquished once and that was against powerful Rondout Valley. They bested Ellenville 4-3 in this tilt in head-to-head matches. Still, with only seven wrestlers ready to battle, Burke has to yield 42 points and can only hope that some of those will be subtracted as no contests when the opposing team also has no one to go in those classes.
Conner counseled his son Kyle after the match, offering suggestions and strategy as well as pointing out the places where Leahey evinced the upper hand. He lauded the work of Luis Arango (152) in his pin of Burke’s John Longo in 3:30. “He’s starting to come around. It’s a good time as sections are coming up,” he noted.”
With so many forfeits by Burke and Liberty, Conner noted that “It’s tough to get your guys up for a match when you’re only wrestling five or six guys. At 10-7 overall, the Blue Devils are faring well given the fact that they have new wrestlers in the fold. That said, Ellenville which is in Division II-A is winless in that realm.
Conner expects Kenny Krygier (160) to make sectionals and eventually have to duke it out with Austin Weigel from Red Hook. “Sectionals will be tough and even now you an almost set the sectional line up.”
“Right now our biggest problem is having more competition in practice as far as my lighter weights are concerned.” Conner, who wrestled for Ellenville up until his graduation in 1984, has been coaching the sport for the past seven or eight years as part of his 12 years coaching tenure that includes football and baseball.
Predmore’s take on the match was “We did pretty well but some of our kids are still making the same mistakes they’ve made since the beginning of the year. There are definitely matches we should have won. Getting pinned in a match when you’re up by three or four points is inexcusable,” he noted.
“We hope to make a bit of a name for ourselves this year,” concluded Predmore. That aspiration is emblazoned on Burke’s warm up shirts in the latin words, Non vox, sed votum, which means not the words, but the deeds.
Here are the results of two of the matches. I am awaiting the results of the Liberty-Burke match won by the Eagles 30-16. I’ll add them to this story later.
Non-league: Ellenville 39, Burke Catholic 23
99 pounds: no contest; 106: Jon Candelaria (E) won by forfeit; 113: Daniel Martin (BC) pin Joe Smith 2:53; 120: Miguel Candelaria (E) d. Martin Nowak 10-6; 126: Greg Avery (E) pin Bert Cohan 3:48; 132: Kurt Hefner (BC) pin Dylan Bonitz 2:26; 138: Brian Leahey (BC) pin Kyle Conner 5:50; 145: Jack Ehret (BC) won by forfeit; 152: Luis Arango (E) pin John Longo 3:30; 160: Chris Maerling (E) won by forfeit; 170: Javier Cortes (E) won by forfeit; 182: no contest; 195: no contest; 220: no contest; 285: Kyle Cox (E) won by forfeit.
Ellenville 48, Liberty 12
99 pounds: no contest; 106: Jon Candelaria (E) won by forfeit; 113: Joe Smith (E) pin Dylan Blackwell 2:17; 120: Miguel Candelaria (E) pin Luis Rivera 3:48; 126: David Lonstein (E) won by forfeit; 132: Vincent Webbe (L) pin Willie Bruce 1:44; 138: Kyle Conner (E) pin Ethan Porter :48; 145: no contest; 152: Ethan Lonstein (E) pin Matt Rourke 5:32; 160: Ken Krygier (E) won by forfeit; 170: no contest; 182: Andrew Martinez (L) pin Javier Cortez 3:15; 195: no contest; 220: no contest; 285: Kyle Cox (E) won by forfeit.
For an album of photos, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
