John Glenn rules the wrestling mats in New York.
After entering the tournament ranked No. 3 in the state, the Knights scored victories over co-No. 1 opponents Spencerport and Chenango Forks to win the championship at the Union-Endicott Duals on Sunday.
Spencerport was the three-time defending champion of the 12-team tournament, which traditionally all but determines the final New York State Sportswriters Association rankings in the sport, but John Glenn toppled the Rangers 37-10 in the final.
Earlier in the day, The Knights knocked off Chenango Forks 33-13 while Spencerport was eliminating Brentwood 26-20. Chenango Forks wrestled back to third place with a 31-27 triumph against Brentwood in the consolation final.
In first-day action, John Glenn defeated John Jay 53-4 and Greene 47-15 in pool competition to advance to the semifinals.
Nearby, Palmyra-Macedon captured the Walt Peterson Small School Duals in Bath by winning all five matches. The Red Raiders, ranked No. 1 among small schools in the state, scored a 48-21 victory over No. 8 Tioga in the final.
* File away the name of Austin Keough for future reference. Though just a freshman, the Warsaw wrestler is a two-time participant at the state meet and picked up career victory No. 100 on Dec. 30 at the Holley Duals. He won 38 matches in each of his first two seasons and is off to a 24-1 start at 112 pounds this season.
Boys basketball: Rough going in Mountaineer country
New York City's top two teams suffered losses in the Cancer Research Classic at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia.
Christ The King, coming off a holiday-break win over Boys & Girls to capture the STOP-DWI Holiday Classic in Binghamton, lost to Neumann-Goretti (Pa.) 73-65 despite forward Maurice Barrow's 15 points. Rice, which won the Glaxo-Smith-Kline Holiday Invitational in Raleigh, N.C., fell to Washington, D.C. Gonzaga 67-55.
Hockey: Glens Falls topples No. 1
Look for Webster Thomas to ascend to the top of the New York State Sportswriters Association Division II rankings this week following a 4-1 victory over Brighton/East Rochester/Honeoye Falls-Lima that improved the Titans’ record to 9-0.
The opportunity to move up materialized when host Glens Falls pulled off a 3-2 victory over then-No. 1 New Hartford in the final of the Grandstanders Holiday Classic. James Rizzo scored twice and Matt Girard knocked home the game-winning goal as the Indians won their tournament for the first time since 2006.
Goalie Josh Hill made 37 saves for Glens Falls against the defending NYSPHSAA tournament champion.
* Williamsville North, ranked No. 2 in Division I, improved to 7-0-1 overall with a 3-2 win over Lancaster in overtime despite allowing a pair of short-handed goals. Chris Marsack scored the tying goal with 41 seconds left in the third period after Williamsville North had pulled its goalie for an extra skater. Jake Rosen's wrist shot with 0:50 to go in overtime was the winner.
Football: Staten Island star picks Gators
Dominique Easley used a break in the Under Armour All-America game in St. Petersburg, Fla., to announce he will play defensive line for the University of Florida next fall.
Though he visited Florida over the summer, the Curtis High senior had been expected to choose Oregon or Miami after backing off his verbal commitment to Penn State recently. He took an official visit to Oregon in early December and was still leaning toward the Ducks 18 hours before announcing his choice.
"He called me this morning and said he had a really nice week down there with all the kids that are going to Florida and he thinks he feels comfortable playing with all those guys, and I think that was something that swayed his decision," Curtis coach Peter Gambardella told The Advance.
Easley, selected a co-MVP of the all-star contest after forcing one fumble and recovering another, was one of 10 Gators recruits in the game. He said uncertainty surrounding head coach Urban Meyer was not a concern; offensive coordinator Steve Addazio, who was Easley's primary recruiter, will be Florida's interim coach while Meyer is on leave.
Easley attracted much attention at practices over the holiday week. At 6-foot-3, 260 pounds he is too small to make an immediate impact at defensive tackle, but he showed bursts of speed and enough muscle to leave the impression that he'll be on the field soon as a college defensive end.
* The NYSSWA will release its all-state teams in Classes B, C and D on Wednesday. Running back Austin Dwyer of state champion Hornell is a heavy favorite for player of the year honors in Class B.
Cross country: Veteran coach dies
Longtime Union-Endicott coach Lawrence Hynes died Dec. 28 in Delray Beach, Fla., at the age of 67, The Press & Sun-Bulletin reported.
Hynes was a retired English teacher who coached his 45th season of Union-Endicott cross country this fall. He coached the modified track and field program for more than four decades.
"His numbers were phenomenal — phenomenal, it's a word I keep using about Larry," said U-E track coach Dan Consol "But he had 60-70 kids out for cross country, which says a lot about what the kids thought about him. And kids thoroughly enjoyed the way he taught English and public speaking. Kids who didn't care so much about the subject matter, they just loved to be a part of his class."
Girls basketball: Two-for-one a bad idea
Benjamin Banneker girls basketball coaches have some explain to do after violating a PSAL rule last week by playing two games in one day.
The Warriors beat Truman at the Baseline NYC Holiday Madness Tournament in the afternoon on Dec. 28 and then blew out Lafayette from the PSAL in the Big Apple Recruiting Christmas Classic at Bishop Ford in their ill-advised nightcap.
PSAL rules say that a team can only play one game in a 24-hour period, though the more practical interpretation is that players must have a full night's sleep between games, which allows for playing a tournament semifinal at 8 p.m. on a Friday and then the consolation round at 6 on a Saturday. But two tip-offs six hours apart on the same day won't fly under any interpretation.
Banneker is 1-3 in PSAL Brooklyn AA Group 1 and 4-3 overall.
* Jordan-Elbridge girls basketball coach Leslie Ahern is on maternity leave through at least mid-January, with assistant coach Mark Fietta taking the helm Dec. 19 following the birth of Shannon Edwards Ahern III.
* In Buffalo, Jake Herlihy stepped down as basketball coach after 1 2 seasons at Nardin Academy, citing health concerns. Herlihy, who had quintuple heart bypass surgery in April, is being replaced by former player Jackie D'Orazio. Herlihy built a 219-93 career record.
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.
