Lansing's Kyle Dake, a NYSPHSAA Division II champion last month, earned a national title over the weekend in the U.S. Senior Nationals wrestling tournament in Virginia Beach, Va.
Dake decisioned Max Ortega of New Mexico, 5-2, for the 145-pound championship.
Three fellow New Yorkers lost in the finals and placed second:
Kyle Dake of Lansing.
Photo By Jim Stout
Mike Nevinger of Letchworth, the runner-up to Dake at the state meet last month, placed fourth at 140 pounds.
In the Junior Nationals, Greene 171-pounder Tyler Beckwith and Pioneer 215-pounder Kyle Colling, both NYSPHSAA Division II champions, earned titles in Virginia Beach.
Beckwith won his final over Angelo Malvestuto of Niagara-Wheatfield, a third-place finisher in the state Division I meet. Other juniors earning top four places were Marion's Colton Dalberth (second at 103), Valley Central's Cody Ruggirello (fourth at 130) and Rocky Point's Stephen Dutton (second at 135).
Boys lacrosse: Orchard Park pulls off comeback
* Orchard Park edged visiting Canandaigua, 5-4, in a 2008 state tournament rematch that was noteworthy for last-second heroics as well as for horrendous weather.
Gusting winds caused virtually non-stop rain to blow sideways for the entire game, played in temperatures in the low 40s before a sparse crowd and televised on Western New York cable systems.
In the end, Ohio State recruit Jeff Tundo scored the winning goal for the defending Section VI champs as time expired to cap a rally from a 4-1 deficit. It avenged Canandaigua's 11-5 victory in the Class A state quarterfinals last spring.
By the way, Canandaigua and Irondequoit have both dropped down to Class B this spring in a shift that greatly affects the balance of power in Section V.
* With local rival Fayetteville-Manlius dead ahead on the schedule this week, traditional state and national power West Genesee suffered a 7-3 loss over the weekend to Wyndmoor, Pa., LaSalle. The Wildcats (2-1) are 15-time NYSPHSAA Class A champions, including five of the last seven years.
Fayetteville-Manlius has 13 seniors back from a 15-5 squad and is off to a 2-0 start and a 39-4 goal differential on the strength of Matt Taylor. The Cornell recruit has piled up nine goals and six assists in the early going.
Girls lacrosse: Pearl River finally breaks through
* After 16 years of trying to emulate Suffern’s success, Pearl River reached a new level on Saturday by edging the Mounties, 13-12. Lauren Cook connected for the winner with 1:49 left, and Molly Davin and Kelly O'Brien scored four goals apiece as the Pirates won by overcoming a 6-4 halftime deficit in their season opener.
"Whenever we played them in the past, we never even thought about beating them," Cook told The Journal News. "If we lost by three we would have done a good job. And so it just feels amazing to beat someone like them."
Jenny Califano scored four goals for Suffern (1-1), which rallied from one-goal deficits six times in the second half.
* Senior Amber Sabo racked up one of the all-time stats lines for a player in a losing cause. Corning West downed Chenango Forks, 23-12, despite a school-record 11 goals from Sabo. She’s scored 24 goals in four games for winless Chenango Forks.
* West Genesee, riding a 51-game winning streak, is scheduled to play at Baldwinsville on Thursday in an early-season matchup of 3-0 teams that could be indicative of how Section III will shake out this spring.
Football: Notable Section V quarterback on the move
Rochester Marshall quarterback Ashton Broyld is on the move, and we don’t mean that he’s scrambling out of the pocket to tack on to his totals of 595 rushing yards and eight TDs from last fall.
The sophomore, who was on the All-Greater Rochester team last fall in what was a very deep year for Section V QB talent, has left Rochester Marshall to enroll at Rush-Henrietta. Broyld's mother recently moved into the R-H school district, setting the transfer into motion.
Broyld threw for 1,769 yards and 17 TDs in his second season as the starter at Marshall. At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Broyld is regarded as a promising college prospect, and it's believed that Pitt (where former Irondequoit star David Walker coaches running backs) is in the lead for his services. However, Broyld reportedly will have to improve his grades in order to gain eligibility as a college freshman.
His arrival will make Rush-Henrietta a Section V contender as he lines up in the backfield with dynamic running back Clay Harris Jr., arguably the most exciting player the program has had since Corny Southall left in the mid-1980s for a solid career at Notre Dame.
Broyld is also a basketball player of note, giving the Royal Comets a boost following the graduation of Rutgers recruit Dane Miller.
Basketball developments
* Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons boys coach Garry Horne has submitted his resignation after four-plus seasons, The Daily Gazette reported. Horne guided the Golden Knights to the 2008 Section II Class A championship and two other semifinal appearances. He was 48-57 overall but 43-26 in his final three seasons.
"It’s tough to give up something you love, but I’ve got some things I need to take care of," Horne told the paper. "I’ve got to take care of my mom, who is staying with us now, and I have a son (Justin, a Guilderland sophomore) that I would like to watch play."
* Bishop Maginn junior guard Taran Buie says he will attend Penn State beginning in the fall of 2010. Buie's non-binding commitment was relayed to coach Ed DeChellis shortly after the Nittany Lions defeated Baylor for the NIT title at Madison Square Garden. He is widely regarded as one of the top 50 juniors in the country and was also being pursued by the likes of Georgia Tech, Maryland, Marquette, Miami, Notre Dame and Rutgers.
Buie's brother, sophomore Talor Battle, was first-team All-Big Ten and helped lead Penn State to the NIT title.
* Ieasia Walker of NYSPHSAA Class AA champion Copaigue was named Miss Basketball by the Basketball Coaches Association of New York. The 5-foot-7 guard will attend South Carolina in the fall.
Odds and ends
* Former Rochester Amerks AHL star Jim Hofford will coach the hockey team at Aquinas next winter. Hofford, 44, has experience coaching in the youth ranks and as an assistant at Geneseo State. He replaces Steve Chinappi, who was 11-13-2 this winter and 49-22-6 in three seasons.
* The Perry boys tennis team extended its winning streak to 97 matches with a 4-1 victory over Caledonia-Mumford. Win No. 100 is projected to come April 24 vs. Fillmore.
* Empire State Games officials posted an announcement on the agency Web site confirming that the 2009 summer games will not take place.
The brief statement refers to the ESGs being "suspended," but it also goes on to say the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation "will seek private sponsors and support with the goal of reinstating the Summer Games in 2010." Funding for the Olympic-style event, which began in 1978, was cut by Gov. David Paterson earlier this year.
John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at johnschianosports@gmail.com.
