Dynamic digits

Playoff time provides some impressive numbers
Mary Kate Conway of Mohonasen/Schalmont won two finals at the Section II swimming and diving championships.
PHOTOGRAPHER:
Mary Kate Conway of Mohonasen/Schalmont won two finals at the Section II swimming and diving championships.

Here are 10 noteworthy numbers from the past week in Section II high school sports.

21

String of games the Schalmont boys’ soccer team has won or tied since a season-starting 3-1 loss to La Salle. State semifinal-bound Schalmont beat Canton in overtime 1-0 and Peru in penalty kicks 4-3 (after a 2-2 OT tie) in regional play. Devin Renaud had the game-winner against Canton, and Ryan Edwards scored two goals in regulation and another in penalty kicks against Peru.

17

Consecutive Section II girls’ volleyball championships won by Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake after its 25-12, 25-21, 25-13 triumph over South Glens Falls in the Class A final. Freshmen Carlie Rzeszotarski and Callie Chevalier combined for 23 kills, and sophomore Claire Isaksen had 32 assists and five aces as the Spartans extended their Section II tournament record for consecutive titles and claimed their 21st crown in 22 years.

15

Number of girls’ Section II cross country championships attained by Greenwich in the last 15 years (Class C and D). Greenwich extended its small-school dominance with a near five-runner sweep in winning both the Class C and C/CC titles at Saratoga State Park. Greenwich had won a trio of Class D titles before Saturday’s performance, which included Brynne Wright’s fourth straight individual title.

13

Football playoff games won by Glens Falls with Joseph Girard III handling the quarterback duties going back to 2016. The senior basketball and football star led Glens Falls to its third straight Section II Class B title, throwing for two touchdowns and running for a pair, in a 40-0 win over Cobleskill-Richmondville. With Girard III in charge, the Indians won a state championship in 2016 and reached the state semifinals in 2017.

12

Section Class A championship football games Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake has played in over the last 13 seasons. Burnt Hills improved to 9-3 during its title-game stretch with a 21-16 victory over Queensbury when Vincent Daviero ran for two touchdowns, fellow senior Jakai Townsend ran for another and the Spartans made several timely defensive stops. Burnt Hills won its third straight championship and also earned titles in 2006 and from 2008-12. Burnt Hills lost in title games in 2007, 2013, 2014 and did not qualify in 2015.

9

Consecutive Section II girls’ volleyball championships won by Shenendehowa after its 25-16, 21-25, 25-18, 25-12 Class AA victory over Niskayuna. Senior Ashley Lavigne had 37 assists and eight aces, senior Izzy Burns had 41 defensive digs and junior Brianna Woods had 10 kills as the Plainsmen improved to 23-0 in tournament play going back to 2010. Shenendehowa’s last tournament loss came in the 2009 Class AA final against Bethlehem.

6

Goals scored by the Stillwater girls’ soccer team in each of its last two postseason games, with Teya Staie and Brooke Pickett both notching two in 6-0 wins over Schoharie and AuSable Valley. Devon Wagner scored two goals when Stillwater beat Schoharie for the Section II Class C title, and Keelyn Peacock scored two afterward when the Warriors won a regional championship and made it back to the state final four. Stillwater was the 2017 state runner-up.

4

Number of years in a row Kelsey Chmiel of Saratoga Springs has won the Section II Class A cross country championship after her course-record run (16:34.02, 3.05 miles) at Saratoga State Park. Chmiel joined Nicole Blood (2001-04) as Saratoga’s second runner to win the race four years in a row. Chmiel is the seventh Saratoga girl to win multiple area cross country titles over the last three decades.

2

Individual events won at the Section II swimming and diving championships by Sydney Sorbello of Bethlehem (Division 1 200 IM, 100 free), Mary Kate Conway of Mohonasen/Schalmont (D1 200 free, 100 fly), Gillian Burch of Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk (D2 200 free, 100 breast) and Alayna Gray of Fonda/Johnstown (D2 50 free, 100 free). Sorbello also helped the Eagles place first in the 200 free relay.

1

Meet finals wins chalked up by the Shenendehowa girls’ swimming and diving team in earning its first Section II team title since 2015. Shenendehowa placed first in the meet-starting 200 medley relay with Alica Han, Alison Sposili, Shauna Killane and Natasha Sheffler, and used its trademark depth (four seconds, three thirds, four fourths) to add on points. An interesting note: Shenendehowa copped the 2004 title without a first-place finish.

Reach Gazette Sportswriter Jim Schiltz at 518-395-3143, [email protected] or @jim_schiltz on Twitter.

Categories: High School Sports, Sports

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