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Scott Doll indicted by grand jury on a charge of second-degree murder

By Philip Anselmo

Scott F. Doll has been indicted by a grand jury today on a count of murder in the second-degree, Genesee County District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said. Doll is accused of killing his business associate and acquaintance, Joseph A. Benaquist, who was found beaten to death in the driveway of his Pembroke home early Tuesday morning.

An arraignment has been scheduled for Wednesday, March 4, at 2:15 p.m. in county court.

Friedman explained by phone that second-degree murder is "what you usually hear about" in such homicide cases. "That is the intentional killing of another person," he said. That is to be distinguished from first-degree murder, which would involve an intentional killing of a police officer or a judge, for example.

No weapon has been found yet, said Friedman. "But that's not necessary, just like a body is not necessary for a murder conviction. It is certainly something that will be looked for, but we can proceed without it."

It's still too early to say whether or not the case will go to trial. "It's the very beginning of the proceeding," said Friedman.

Doll was found walking along North Lake Road in Pembroke late Monday night "stained with fresh blood." A subsequent investigation led officers to the home of Benaquist, where they discovered the body. Doll was charged with second-degree murder the following afternoon.

Please see our initial post for the full details.

Investigators search for the murder weapon in the Pembroke slaying

By Philip Anselmo

Officers were out at the scene today searching for the murder weapon in the death of Joseph Benaquist, Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha said. Scott Doll is currently in custody on the charge of second-degree murder for allegedly beating Benaquist to death two nights ago.

Maha informed us that investigators were "searching the area" around Benaquist's home at 683 Knapp Road in Pembroke to "see if (the weapon) had been discarded by Mr. Doll." No weapon has yet been found. Investigators also have yet to determine a motive for the alleged homicide. Benaquist and Doll both served as corrections officers, and they were in an auto sales business together. Maha stressed, however, that a motive "does not need to be established."

The case against Doll is being prepared for a grand jury hearing tomorrow. District Attorney Lawrence Friedman will present the case for indictment. If the jury decides to indict, Doll will then be arraigned in county court.

We haven't yet connected with Friedman for more details on the grand jury appointment tomorrow.

Corfu Mayor Todd Skeet issues statement on Pembroke murder

By Philip Anselmo

We received the following statement from Corfu Mayor Todd Skeet by e-mail late last night. In full:

I would like to extend the sympathy and prayers of the entire community to the families affected by the recent tragedy in the Town of Pembroke.  We are a tightly knit community.  Now is the time to put their needs foremost in our hearts, minds and prayers.  We ask that everyone show the greatest respect for their privacy in the difficult days ahead.



Any requests for further official statements should be directed to the Genesee County Sheriff's office.  We ask that everyone be considerate and allow us all time to heal.

Corfu murder suspect registered to run for mayor in upcoming elections

By Philip Anselmo

Murder suspect Scott F. Doll was recently endorsed by Republicans to run on their ticket for mayor in the village of Corfu.

Doll was arraigned earlier today on a felony count of second-degree murder in the death of his business associate and former colleague, Joseph E. Benaquist, who was found bludgeoned to death in his driveway early this morning.

Please see our initial post for the full details.

Corfu Village Clerk Sandra Thomas informed us that Doll had only recently moved back to the village and had no prior experience in the government there. He was endorsed by the Corfu Republicans during a caucus that was held on January 26. Elections for the village are scheduled for March 17.

We left a message for Mayor Todd Skeet. We have not yet heard back. We also tried to contact Andrea Vogler, who was listed as the chair of the Corfu Republicans on the caucus information that was supplied to the county.

Doll's family has been prominent in the Corfu community, where they owned "Doll's Super Duper grocery store" for 40 years, as Scott DeSmit reports for the Daily News.

Officials have yet to release any more information on the business ties between the two men. They have only said that the two were "in business together," and that they picked up used cars at an auction at Clarence which they then sold to customers in the area.

A check at the Genesee County Clerk's Office yielded no significant results when we searched for business information related to Doll and Benaquist. Doll was, however, listed on a financing statement for a loan from Automotive Financing Corp., along with the business SF Enterprizes, which had a listed address of 3 Corfu Plaza.


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This is a look into that plaza from Route 33. We drove through and did not see any signs for a business by the name of SF Enterprizes.

Investigators were absent from the scene of the alleged murder this afternoon at the home of Joseph Benaquist in Pembroke. A lone dog was to be found at the house, chained up out front of the garage.

Corfu man will be charged in brutal murder of Pembroke man

By Philip Anselmo

PEMBROKE, N.Y. — A Corfu man who was found walking along North Lake Road in Pembroke soaked in "fresh blood" will be charged with the murder of a Pembroke man who was found bludgeoned to death in the driveway of his home early this morning, Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha said.

Scott F. Doll, 46, of 31 E. Main St., Corfu, will be charged with a felony count of second-degree murder in the death of Joseph E. Benaquist, 66, of 683 Knapp Road, Pembroke.

Deputies received a call last night at approximately 8:41 p.m. with reports of a "suspicious person" walking down North Lake Road in Pembroke. The individual, later identified as Doll, was "dressed all in camouflage" and carrying a car jack, a screwdriver and a lug wrench. When deputies arrived, they noticed that Doll's "clothes and sneakers were pretty well stained in what looked like fresh blood," said Maha.

"They asked him what was going on ... and the person was really quite evasive" said Maha. "The officers knew something wasn't right."

Deputies then determined that Doll had parked a van at a gas station on the corner of North Lake Road and Route 5. They found more blood inside the van and a pair of bloody gloves.

"So we had this person who was acting suspicious who had blood on him, so of course, we didn't buy his story, what he was telling us," said Maha. "So we started an investigation."

A relative of Doll's made comments that led officers to the home of Benaquist who was found dead "lying in a pool of blood in his driveway." Benaquist appeared to have suffered blunt trauma to the face and head.

Doll and Benaquist were acquaintances and "in business together" in an auto dealership that Maha believed to be located in Pembroke. The two men would purchase vehicles from an auction in Clarence, fix them up and then sell them, said Maha.

Doll is currently employed as a corrections officer at Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, Erie County. Benaquist had retired from the same facility, where he also worked as a corrections officer.

Maha said it is too early in the investigation to believe that the auto dealership was the cause of the homicide. No neighbors had reported a fight between the two men last night. But Benaquist's home is "out in the country," said Maha, at least a hundred yards from its nearest neigbor.

Doll has "at least" two children, plus a sister and a brother who live in the area, said Maha. Doll was sent to Genesee County Jail without bail.

The investigation is ongoing. We will get up video coverage of the press conference within the hour.


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Genesee Region/Niagara-Orleans Showdown live blogging - Pembroke/Wilson

By Brian Hillabush

 5:52 p.m. - We are a bit away from the start and the Genesee Region League has taken a pounding today, losing the first four games. But Pembroke is going to try and turn things around against a solid Wilson squad that is led by sophomore point guard Brennan Moxham. Wilson has nobody that can match-up with Ken Babcock in terms of size.

 6:13 p.m. - Babcock was dominant, scoring eight points with a bunch of rebounds, but Wilson hung with the Dragons with an effective pressure defense and a fierce take it to the hoop style. 

Wilson's Tyler Turesdell stole the ball on the opening possession and dished it to Odane Todd for the basket and the Lakemen opened the game on a 6-0. But Babcock had two baskets and Kyle Stocking added another to tie the game. Wilson was up by three with about a minute left when Steve Moser scored and Eric Leffel hit a free throw  to tie the game at 14. Matt Phelps hit two foul shots to give the Dragons a 16-14 lead after one quarter.

6:34 p.m. - The first half belonged to Babcock and was highlighted by the last points he scored before the break. He received the ball at mid-court and the 6-foot-5 center dribbled into the paint, faked out Wilson's Collin Okoniewski with a spin move and scored. He had six more points in the second quarter and now has 14 for the game.

Andrew Wright was held scoreless in the first quarter but got going in the second with six points.

But the Lakemen are not down by much as they ended the half on an 8-3 run, with Ethan Baker, Okoniewski, John Vincent and Truesdell each scoring. Pembroke is ahead 32-28 and Moxham has yet to enter the game. I was told it was for disciplinary reasons.

6:59 p.m. - Pembroke has maintained a nice lead for the whole game as Babcock continues having the best individual performance of the weekend. His nine points in the third - and 23 for the game - were not the biggest story of the period.

Wright went to the bench with his fourth foul in the opening minute, and bodies ere flying all over the place. The officials had to stop the game and gather the kids on the floor together to tell them to calm down.

Truesdell hit a 3-pointer and James Dysard hit a free throw as Wilson got within four points, but two straight Babcock baskets got the lead back up to 48-40 with about two minutes left.

After Vincent fouled out for Wilson, Babcock scored again and Odane Todd hit two foul shots to wrap up the third quarter, with Pembroke winning 52-43.

7:32 p.m. - Finally, a win for the Genesee Region League.

Babcock ended the day with 28 points and 13 rebounds as the Dragons won the game 74-62, giving the GR its first win of the day and second of the Showdown.

Okoniewski, Baker and Todd started the fourth quarter off with consecutive baskets and the Lakemen cut Pembroke's lead to 52-50, but Babcock hit two free throws and Wright scored to make it 59-52.

After Andrew Gabbey fouled out, Babcock scored to make it a nine point lead. Baker had a basket and an and-1 and Todd scored and the lead was down to five points.

It stayed in that area until Steve Moser hit two foul shots and Wright hit one to put the Dragons up 69-60 with a minute left. Wilson had to foul the rest of the way. Despite missing a portion of the game with foul trouble, Wright ended up with 18 points and Moser went 10-of-14 from the foul line for 14 points with five assists.

Oakfield-Alabama clinches Division I title with win over Pembroke

By Brian Hillabush

  As the crowd chanted "just like football", the Oakfield-Alabama basketball team was looking wrap up a huge win and a second straight Genesee Region League Division I title.

The Hornets played some great defense against the Pembroke stars and gave coach Gary Kurkowski - who returned after a long hiatus from coaching varsity - a division title with a 61-39 win over Pembroke Wednesday.

 

The two teams have been powerhouses in football in recent years and O-A won the GR title outright by going undefeated this past fall. Many of those kids that played football, won another title in basketball with the win.

The Oakfield gym was packed and the atmosphere was just like the big-time football games the two squads play.

But this was nothing like the close games the football team plays. The Hornets dominated this contest from the start.

O-A built a 19-11 lead after one period of play as the defense of Noah Seward and Tim Smith was keeping Pembroke stars Ken Babcock and Andrew Wright in check for the most part.

Smith was a shooting machine in the first half.

He drained three 3-pointers and scored 11 of his 17 points to lead the Hornets to a 32-21 halftime lead.

Seward took on the scoring duties in the second half with 12 of his 20 points.

The final blow in the contest came early in the fourth quarter as Smith started it off with a basket and Sam McCracken scored five straight points to give his squad a 53-33 lead. O-A wound up outscoring Pembroke 15-6 in the final frame.

Seward had 12 rebounds to go with his points and Smith had five assists and four steals to go with his 17 points. Brad Riner was held scoreless but dished out seven helpers, with A.J. Kehlenbeck scoring eight points and  Tyler Tamblin adding seven.

Babcock scored 20 points for Pembroke (11-7), who will be playing Wilson at 6 p.m. Saturday in the Genesee Region/Niagara-Orleans League Showdown on Saturday. Steve Moser scored eight points and Wright was limited to just five.

Oakfield-Alabama (16-2) will be playing Akron in what is going to be the showcase game of the showdown right after the Pembroke game.

 

HS girls highlights for Tuesday: Elba clinches division crown over rival ND

By Brian Hillabush

The Elba girls basketball team has  been a second half team all year, with several comebacks on their resume.

You can add another one as the Lancers had a very large fourth quarter to beat rival Notre Dame 53-48 Tuesday. The win wraps up the Genesee Region League Division II title for Elba, which is 13-0 in the league and 16-2 overall.

Notre Dame jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first quarter and had a 24-14 advantage at halftime. The Lancers chipped four points off the deficit with a 20-16 edge in the third quarter.

But as always, Elba's depth and pressure defense helped the squad to come from behind for the win. The Lancers scored 19 points while holding the Fighting Irish to just eight points.

"Our press just takes its toll on people as the game goes on," Elba coach Tom Nowak said. "We just have a lot of players and the ability to keep running them in and out and keep them fresh."

Missy Call hit two 3-pointers in the final period. Those six points were all she scored in the game.

Free throws have been the one weak spot for Elba this season, but the Lancers went 5-of-7 in the fourth quarter. Katie Newton hit a pair late and Rachael Cook put them up by 5 to ice the game with two at the end of the game.

Newton scored six of her eight points in the fourth and were led in scoring by Cassy Engle, who poured in 12. Cook had nine points with Katie Newton scoring eight and Sarah Schwartzmeyer pitching in six.

Jill Marshall led the Fighting Irish (11-2, 14-4) with 15 points, with Nichole Hart adding 12 points. Trisha Pike had 11 points and Liz Geandreau added eight points.

The Lancers also maintain the top seed in the Class DD sectionals. Jasper-Troupsburg is 16-1 and trailed Elba by just two seeding points coming into the game.

The Wildcats host Arkport Wednesday and should win, after thumping that team 67-31 earlier in the season. Elba has games with Lyndonville and Lima Christian remaining on the schedule.

"If we want to end up No. 1 we have to win out the rest of our games," Nowak said. "If we slip in a game, we could certainly fall to No. 2 or No. 3. If we would have lost tonight we would have fallen to third. But it was nice to come out and win the league. We were at that point and we wanted to do that tonight."

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Pembroke had the edge in every quarter and dropped visiting Oakfield-Alabama 57-39.

Katie Hackett and Nicole Sharick each had a big game, with Hackett scoring a game-high 18 points with five dimes, three steals and a block. Sharick had seven boards and three assists to go with her 10 points. 

Brynne Perfitt had 10 points with Hillary Bates and Sarah Scarbrough scoring nine points apiece for the Hornets (9-9).

The Dragons are now 10-8.

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The Trojans keep holding on to that top seed in Class C with a 57-32 victory over host Attica.

Finnish exchange student Anni Lehtola had a monster game, scoring 24 points with 11 boards and three steals. It was a big rebounding game for Alexander as Katie Kochmanski had 10 rebounds to go with her 10 points and three rebounds.

Chelsea Turcer was also in double figures with 10 points and Anna Dominick was close with nine.

Breanna Hummel had nine points and 10 rebounds to pace the Blue Devils, who fall to 1-18.

Margaret LaFleur pitched in seven points.

Alexander is now 12-4 and maintains a slim lead over Perry in the Class C sectional bracket. The Yellowjackets whipped Mount Morris 68-24 Tuesday.

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Holley trailed by a point when Emily Troup dropped in a 3-pointer with about a minute left, giving the Hawks a 51-47 win over Byron-Bergen.

Corrine Vanschoick had a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds and Troup ended the day with 14 points as well.

Julie Brooks had 13 points for the Hawks (6-12).

Rory Partridge had 13 points for the Bees (9-8). Kayleigh Puma had 10 points and Kaylee Amesbury pitched in eight.

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Lyndonville disposed of Wheatland-Chili 51-32 as Molly Burgess scored 16 points and Ashley Mahnke had seven points and 13 boards for the Tigers (8-10).

Lauren Drago scored a game-high 18 points for the Wildcats (4-11).

Alexander comes from behind to beat Pembroke

By Brian Hillabush

When Chelsea Turcer noticed that nobody was bothering to guard her and her, she figured that it was time to put the nail in the coffin.

Alexander had already overcome a nearly double-figure deficit in the third quarter to take the lead and she wanted to put the game away.

She did just that as she chucked up and made a 3-pointer to wrap up the Trojans 53-48 win over Pembroke in a great Genesee Region League game Friday.

 A lot of things happened before Turcer drained the trey that most will remember from this game.

Alexander was up 10-5 early on before Danielle Smith scored and hit a pair of foul shots to cut the lead to 10-9 at the end of the first quarter.

Alexander's Anni Lehtola opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer and had another bucket early on as the Trojans kept the lead around two points.

But the tide changed in the final minute of the half.

Jackie DuBois scored two consecutive baskets to give Pembroke a 26-25 lead - their first of the night - with 37 seconds left in the half.

That burst of momentum took a little bit in the third quarter as the Trojans regained the lead on a free throw by Lehtola, but by the midpoint the lead had grown to nine points.

Kelsey Lewis hit a long jumper, Nicole Sharick dropped in a basket and then a 3-pointer to give Pembroke a 36-29 advantage.

Katie Hackett extended the lead with a basket and then added another score with about a second left in the third quarter to give Pembroke a 42-35 lead going into the final frame.

Alexander has had issues in the third quarter this season, but always seems to right things in the fourth.

Again, the Trojans stepped up to the challenge.

Nicki Laird and Rachael Pettys had baskets before Lehtola hit a 3-pointer to get within two points.

Sarah Herman tied the game with a basket and Alexander wound up taking a 48-46 lead when Pettys scored. Katie Kochmanski added another basket to make it a four point game.

The Dragons did score with 40 seconds left, but Turcer's 3-pointer with seconds left ended the game.

Lehtola had 15 points to lead the Trojans, with Pettys adding eight points, 15 rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots. Anna Dominick had 13 points with three boards and four steals as Alexander improves to 11-4.

Sharick led the Dragons (9-7) with 11 points, but Lewis chipped in nine points and Pettys had eight.

Pembroke rolls past Alexander 75-37

By Brian Hillabush

Early in the season, there were issues with the Pembroke boys basketball team.

The roster only had seven players, there was some infighting with the players, they had no true point guard and the wins weren't coming. But the Dragons have now blown out four straight teams because of a 75-37 win over visiting Alexander Thursday.

Part of that problem was solved when Steve Moser showed up very early in the season as a transfer from St. Joe's in Buffalo, and the rest of the problem was solved with time.

Now, Pembroke is ready to wrap up the season with some wins, take on the first Genesee Region/Niagara-Orleans Tournament and then sectionals.

The Dragons improve to 10-6 and did it by thumping a team that isn't bad and did it in big-time fashion.

The game was never a question as Pembroke jumped out to a 19-7 lead in the first quarter with Ken Babcock dominating inside the paint. He owned the boards and scored two baskets, and got help from Andrew Gabbey, who dropped in two 3-pointers in the opening frame.

The Trojans went blow-for-blow in the second quarter, with both teams scoring 14 points., but it was still 33-21 Pembroke at the half.

Babcock had six points in the third quarter and Andrew Wright started taking over the game. Wright had just four points in the frame, but was big on the boards and was getting steals. The Dragons had a 20-7 advantage in the third.

Wright scored seven points in the fourth quarter and Pembroke had a 22-9 advantage in the fourth quarter for the huge victory.

This is a team that got off to a really ugly start and is now playing some solid basketball. Oakfield-Alabama wrapped up the Genesee Region League Division II title with a win tonight, so Pembroke is now focusing on the sectional playoffs.

The addition of  Moser was huge. Wright was out of position and had to bring the ball up the floor. That took his inside presence out of the mix.

Moser is a solid point guard, scoring nine points with six assists in the game.

Wright scored a game-high 19 points with 11 rebounds and seven steals and Babcock pitched in 13 points and 10 boards.

Eric Leffel also had nine points for Pembroke.

Alexander (6-9) was led by Zach Burke, who scored 10 points.

HS boys highlights for Wednesday

By Brian Hillabush

In the spotlight match in all of Section 5 today, Greece Olympia's John Veltre upped his season record to 49-0 with a pin over Batavia's Ryan Darch in 3:12 at 160 pounds.

Olympia went on to win the dual meet at Batavia 35-21.

Anthony D'Aurizio pinned Zack Beauregard in just 1:02 for the Blue Devils with Josh Mase getting a tech fall victory over D.J. Bentley in 5:30 at 103.

Troy Ireland also had a win for Batavia (18-6).

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Jordan Kiessling picked up his 100th career win as Byron-Bergen beat Alexander 58-24.

The 171-pounder topped Dustin Say 11-1 in leading the Bees.

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Kendall's Devin Iqbal had a quick pin to lead Kendall to a 48-39 win over Pembroke.

Iqbal pinned Dean Culinan in just 37 seconds at 96 pounds.

Notre Dame and Oakfield-Alabama have GR titles pretty much wrapped up

By Brian Hillabush

It appears that Oakfield-Alabama and Notre Dame have the regular season titles wrapped up when you look at the standings and schedule of remaining games. 

I am going by what is on the Section 5 Web site and there may be make-up games I don't know about, but as of this point I think Oakfield-Alabama has won Division I and Notre Dame is the Division II champion.

The Fighting Irish are 12-3 and have a five games left to play. The only team in striking distance is Elba at 8-7. Elba has just four games left, including one against Notre Dame. So if my math is correct, Notre Dame has clinched the Division II title.

Oakfield-Alabama (13-2) has a four game lead over Pembroke (9-6) with four regular season games left on the schedule, with one of them being against the Dragons on February 11.

Pembroke has four games left, so that the Dragons still have a little bit of chance to sneak in there.

It will be interesting to watch and see if Notre Dame or Oakfield-Alabama finished with the overall GR title, with just a game between the two.

The Genesee Region League will also be hosting the Niagara-Orleans League in a tournament between the two leagues at Genesee Community College on Feb. 13 and 14.

 

HS boys highlights for Tuesday

By Brian Hillabush

Andrew Wright is heating up at the right time for the Pembroke basketball team, and that could be huge as the season wraps up and sectionals begins.

Wright won Player of the Week for last week and is already making a statement for this week, with 28 points and 10 rebounds in a 68-38 blowout over Attica on the road.

Big man Ken Babcock pitched in 16 points and nine rebounds while Steve Moser added 11 points with five steals.

The Dragons also played some solid defense, holding the Blue Devils (7-8) to just one player in double figures as Tate Westermeier scored 10 points.

Bryan Thompson had nine points and Greg Zybczynski had eight for Attica.

Pembroke is now 9-6. 

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Noah Seward was big in the paint in leading Oakfield-Alabama to a 65-43 win over Byron-Bergen.

Seward scored 14 points with 11 boards and four blocked shots.

Brad Riner scored eight points with 10 dimes and four steals with Tyler Tamblin scoring 10 points and Sam McCracken adding eight for the Hornets (13-2).

Tyler Sass led the Bees (3-11) with nine points and four boards.

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Elba held Kendall's Josh Laureano to just 12 points, but two of those came in the final minute to wrap up a 44-37 win over the Lancers.

Phil Kludt and Colt Tooley had 13 points apiece to lead the Eagles, who improve to 9-5.

Sonny Giuliano had 13 points with Dan Ramsey adding 12 to lead the Lancers.

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Kevin Francis scored 20 points and Greg Barr added 16 as Notre Dame thrashed Lyndonville 80-58.

Pretty much all of the scoring came from three players as Erick VanWycke had 17 points, Ken Urbanik had 16 and Muhammad Akram finished with 12.

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Mike Humphrey dropped in 23 points to lead Le Roy to a 60-42 win over Geneseo.

Eric Stella had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Brock Pasquale added eight for the Oatkan Knights.

Dylan Colville scored 22 points for Geneseo.

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Kyle Woodruff went off for the Alexander basketball team, scoring 30 points with 10 rebounds in a 65-62 win over Holley.

Stephen George had 13 points and Jared Quinn added 10.

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The Batavia hockey team gave up two goals to Chris Roeder and one to Anthony Mandrino, Vince Pettrone in a 5-2 loss.

Corey Kocent scored both Batavia goals. Adam Kurek had 17 saves for the Blue Dvils (12-7-1).

Victor is 12-7-2.

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Jeff Wadhams scored his third goal to complete a hat-trick late in the third period in leading Geneva/Waterloo to a 5-3 win over the Notre Dame hockey team.

Dylan Versage, Brett Perfitt and Jason Harasimowicz had a goal each for Notre Dame (6-8-1).

Pembroke boys and girls win final home meet of the year

By Brian Hillabush

Sue Fleming of Pembroke submitted these results from the final Pembroke home swim meet of the season, a make-up with Notre Dame. The Dragons won both the boys and girls meet. The first photo is of the team continuing the tradition of throwing coach Tripp into the pool. Fellow coach Dave Seward followed at his own will. They do this every year in the final meet of the season. 
The second photo is of her son Chris winning the 100 freestyle.
 
 
Pembroke Girls 54        NotreDame Girls 40
Pembroke Boys 57        Notre dame Boys 39
 
 
200 girls free style- 2nd place Samantha Grodem 2:16:77 pembroke
200 boys Free Style- 1st place Tyler scoins 2:09:87  pembroke
                        2nd place Nick Barth 2:10:24 pembroke
 
200 boys Im          2nd place Shelby O'Neil  2:32:98  pembroke
100 girls free style   2nd place Samantha Grodem 27.75 pembroke
50 boys free          1st place Adam Swereniak  24:75 pembroke
50 boys free 2nd heat 1st place Luke Thomas   28:12 pembroke
100 girls butterfly 2nd place Alexandria Wilson 1:22:49 pembroke
100 boys free style    1st place Chris Fleming 57:13 pembroke
                          2nd place Tyler Scoins 1:10:46 pembroke
100 girls free style   1st place leah Gass 1:19:97  
                        2nd place Melanie Mercurio 1:27:03 both pembroke
Boys 100 backstroke  1st place Dylan Pratt 1:05:32
                                          2nd place Chris Fleming 1:05.72 both pembroke
 
 
 
 
At The Batavian we are interested in all the local sports information from youth to high school to bowling. Please contact brian (at) thebatavian (dot) com to submit results or get information on how to get your team and league coverage.

Five area hoopsters earn Player of the Week honors

By Brian Hillabush

Andrew Hoy had a huge week and earned Player of the Week for Monroe County Division III.

He was the leading scorer in both Batavia games last week. Hoy dropped in 24 points in a 75-69 win over Pittsford Mendon, then had 26 in a 67-62 victory over Penfield on Saturday.

Andrew Wright of Pembroke won the award for Genesee Region League Division I. He scored 18 points and had seven rebounds in a win Wheatland-Chili and had 18 points, with eight rebounds and two assists in a victory over Eden. 

Elba's Sonny Giuliano is the Player of the Week for GR Division II because of his performance in a win over Holley. Giuliano had a triple-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the game.

Oakfield-Alabama's Lindsay Chatt had a career-high 18 points and four steals in a victory over Lyndonville this week to earn the girls honor for Genesee Region League Division I.

Kendall's Samanthat D'Agostino hit three points and scored 15 points against Attica and then scored six points in overtime, for a total of 16, to beat Byron-Bergen. She earned the honor for GR Division II.

Some highlights from the GR swim meet this past Saturday

By Brian Hillabush

Whealtand-Chili's Nick Westrich was the boys swimmer of the meet and Notre Dame's Lucy Norton was the girls swimmer of the meet at Saturday's Genesee Region League Championships at Gates-Chili.

Norton (100 freestyle, 100 backstroke) was a double winner and Westrich (200 IM, 100 breaststroke, 400 freestyle relay, 200 medley relay)  was a quadruple winner. 

Westrich set meet records in the IM and with the 400 free relay.

Byron-Bergen's Baxter Ritsema (200 freestyle, 500 freestyle) was a double-winner for the boys and ND's Haley Alexander (200 IM, 100 breaststroke) was a double-winner for the girls.

Tyler Scoines won the 200 freestyle for Pembroke while in the last event of the meet Dylan Pratt, Ethan Burns, Chris Fleming and Adam Sewerniak won the 400 free relay, setting a school record time of 3:35. 

Wheatland-Chili finished first in the boys competition with a two point win over Pembroke.

Harley-Allendale-Columbia was the winner in the girls competition, beating out Byron-Bergen by two points.

 

(Thanks to Sue Fleming for the photo of the Pembroke relay team and result information.)

NYSPHSAA cuts approved; high school seasons are shortened

By Brian Hillabush

 

As many people feared, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association cuts that we wrote about earlier in the month were approved.

According to the NYSPHSAA Web site, there are going to be a lot of changes.

The biggest of which is the reduction in the number of regular season games that teams are allowed to play each season. Sports that currently play 24 games, will now only play 20. Sports that play 20 games will be cut to 18 and sports that play 18 games are now only going to play 16. 

The will be cuts in wrestling and football will be reduced from 10 to nine games. That means a team that makes sectionals and loses in the first round will not get a chance to go into Pool Play. 

The only way a football team can play 13 games is to play in the state finals.

The amount of scrimmages teams for all sports are allowed to play have also been reduced.

Centralized sites will be considered for state tournament games if it will save the state money. 

Here is the announcement on the NYSPHSAA Web site:

 

 

1. Support the use of telephone conference calls and video conferencing for NYSPHSAA meetings to reduce the travel reimbursements costs for the NYSPHSAA and Sections. APPROVED

2. Support the use of officials from the host Section at all NYSPHSAA regional contests, except when the Sections involved mutually agree to use neutral officials. Effective with the 2009-2010 season and continuing to 2010–2011 school year. APPROVED

3. Support a moratorium on the expansion of existing NYSPHSAA tournaments as it pertains to participation. APPROVED

4. Centralized sites should be considered as part of the bid process for state tournament site selection when it can be proven that cost savings outweighs other criteria. APPROVED

5. Support the reduction of the maximum number of contests permitted during the regular season. Sports with 24 contests will be reduced to 20, sports with 20 contests will be reduced to 18 and sports with 18 contests will be reduced to 16. Wrestling will be reduced to 20 points. Football will be reduced from 10 to 9. The 9th game is permitted, with section approval, for teams who do not qualify for sectional play. For the teams involved in the sectional tournament the maximum number of contests shall be 10. For the sections involved in the state championship three additional games are permitted for a total of 13 games for the season: 1 game for regionals, 1 game for semifinals, and 1 game for championships. Effective for 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. APPROVED

6. Support the reduction of the number of classes and divisions in team and individual NYSPHSAA Championship competition. REFERRED TO CHAMPIONSHIP ADVISORY COMMITTEE

7. Support the reduction of participants in NYSPHSAA Championships in individual and combination (team/individual) sports. REFERRED TO CHAMPIONSHIP ADVISORY COMMITTEE

8. Support the reduction of tournaments (multi-school competition) for team and individual sports.NO ACTION

9. Support the establishment of a maximum number of scrimmages permitted by a team to: Varsity, JV and freshmen – 2 scrimmages and Modified – 1 scrimmage. NO ACTION

10. The Executive Committee will meet three times per year with one meeting at the site of the Central Committee meeting. APPROVED

11. Support the establishment of a team travel restriction for all member schools limiting out of state team travel to competition with bordering states only. NO ACTION

12. Support the establishment of a moratorium eliminating mandated attendance beginning with the 2009-2010 school year at the following NYSPHSAA workshops: Safety, Life of an Athlete, Sportsmanship and Chemical Health workshops. APPROVED

13. Support eliminating participation in the NFHS Student Leadership Conference. DENIED

 

Three injured in crash in Pembroke

By Philip Anselmo

A collision on Route 5 near the intersection of Indian Falls Road in Pembroke sent three people to the hospital Tuesday, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Rachel A. Warren, 18, of 3233 Pratt Road, Batavia, was stopped eastbound on Route 5, waiting to make a turn onto Indian Falls Road. Cameron J. Smith, 18, of 3023 W. Main Street Road, Batavia, was also heading eastbound on Route 5. Smith claims that he took his eyes off the road for just a second and when he looked back saw Warren's car stopped ahead of him and did not have time to stop. Smith's vehicle collided head-on into the rear of Warren's vehicle.

Both drivers were taken to United Memorial Medical Center to be treated for their injuries. A passenger in Warren's vehicle, Ariel S. Bressler, was also taken in for treatment. All three were treated and released Tuesday. No charges were filed against either driver following the crash.


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