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Photo: Black Friday? Bah-humbug. It was a perfect day for a round of golf

By Howard B. Owens

Rather than mob a mall, golf enthusiasts mobbed local golf courses the day after Thanksgiving to take advantage of unseasonably warm weather.

Lisa Fickel, director of marketing for Terry Hills, said the course buzzed like a spring day this morning with golf carts zipping all over the place.

Above, Tim Braunscheidel watches his shot fly down the first fairway at Terry Hills. Braunscheidel was out for a round of golf with his father, Dave and their friends Scott Gibson and Dan Grefreth.

Main St. Pizza Company NFL Challenge, Week 12

By Howard B. Owens

Both Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Hasselback rushed for 17 yards on Sunday, so the Week 11 contest winner was randomly drawn from among the 25 people who picked either QB as the quarterbacks with the most rushing yards for the week.

The winner for Week 11 is Bob Bartz, who picked Fitzpatrick. Bob wins one small cheese pizza, one topping, one order of wings and a two-liter bottle of soda pop.   He has one week to pick up his prize.

Muckdogs' manager, coaches announced for 2012

By Billie Owens

Dann Bilardello will return in 2012 for his third season as manager of the Batavia Muckdogs. The 52-year-old Bilardello has compiled a record of 82-67 during his two years in Batavia and led the Muckdogs to the Pinckney Division title in 2010.

Prior to managing the Muckdogs, Bilardello was the St. Louis Cardinals Minor League catching coordinator for three seasons. The former Major League catcher also has four years of minor league managing experience in the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers organizations.

Bilardello managed the Wilmington Blue Rocks in the Carolina League during the 2005 season. Before that, he spent three years managing for the Dodgers in Great Falls of the Pioneer League starting in 2002 and the following two years with Columbus in the South Atlantic League. He led Great Falls to a Pioneer League Championship in 2002 with a record of 47-28 and 4-1 in the playoffs.

The Vero Beach, Fla., resident played all or part of eight Major League seasons as a catcher with Cincinnati (1983-85), Montreal (1986), Pittsburgh (1989-90) and San Diego (1991-92). He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers after being chosen in the first round of the secondary phase of the 1978 amateur draft. In 382 Major League games, he batted .204 with 18 home runs and 91 RBI.

Joining Bilardello in the dugout will be Hitting Coach Roger LaFrancois and Pitching Coach Dernier Orozco.

Roger LaFrancois, 55, will return for his third season as the Muckdogs hitting coach and has more than 20 years of coaching experience. LaFrancois has coached or managed at all levels of the minor leagues with several different Major League organizations.

A catcher in the Boston Red Sox organization, he spent eight years with the Sox, and saw action in the Major Leagues during the 1982 season. The Old Saybrook, Conn., resident has been a partner and director of the World Baseball Coaches Convention since 2003.

Dernier Orozco, 29, will begin his first season as the Muckdogs pitching coach, after serving as the pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League Cardinals in 2011. This will be Orozco’s seventh season as a pitching coach in the Cardinals system.

Before his stint in the Gulf Coast League, Orozco spent four years coaching in the Venezuelan League from 2006-2008 and again in 2010. Orozco played six professional seasons as a right-handed pitcher in the Boston Red Sox organization. He went 4-2 with a 6.09 ERA in 14 games (29.2 IP) for the Gulf Coast League Red Sox in 2003, his final season.

Mike Petrarca will serve as the trainer for the 2012 season, his second with the Muckdogs. Petrarca will be entering his fifth season in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.

Bilardello returns to helm of the Muckdogs for third season

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

Dann Bilardello will return in 2012 for his third season as manager of the Batavia Muckdogs. The 52-year-old Bilardello has compiled a record of 82-67 during his two years in Batavia and led the Muckdogs to the Pinckney Division title in 2010.

Prior to managing the Muckdogs, Bilardello was the St. Louis Cardinals minor league catching coordinator for three seasons. The former Major League catcher also has four years of minor league managing experience in the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers organizations.

Bilardello managed the Wilmington Blue Rocks in the Carolina League during the 2005 season. Before that, he spent three years managing for the Dodgers in Great Falls of the Pioneer League starting in 2002 and the following two years with Columbus in the South Atlantic League. He led Great Falls to a Pioneer League Championship in 2002 with a record of 47-28 and 4-1 in the playoffs.

The Vero Beach, FL resident played all or part of eight Major League seasons as a catcher with Cincinnati (1983-85), Montreal (1986), Pittsburgh (1989-90) and San Diego (1991-92). He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers after being chosen in the first round of the secondary phase of the 1978 amateur draft. In 382 Major League games, he batted .204 with 18 home runs and 91 RBI.

Joining Bilardello in the dugout will be Hitting Coach Roger LaFrancois and Pitching Coach Dernier Orozco.

Roger LaFrancois, 55, will return for his third season as the Muckdogs hitting coach and has over 20 years of coaching experience. LaFrancois has coached or managed at all levels of the minor leagues with several different Major League organizations. A catcher in the Boston Red Sox organization, he spent eight years with the Sox, and saw action in the Major Leagues during the 1982 season. The Old Saybrook, CT resident has been a partner and director of the World Baseball Coaches Convention since 2003.

Dernier Orozco, 29, will begin his first season as the Muckdogs pitching coach, after serving as the pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League Cardinals in 2011. This will be Orozco’s seventh season as a pitching coach in the Cardinals system. Before his stint in the Gulf Coast League, Orozco spent four years coaching in the Venezuelan League from 2006-2008 and again in 2010. Orozco played sex professional seasons as a right-handed pitcher in the Boston Red Sox organization. He went 4-2 with a 6.09 ERA in 14 games (29.2 IP) for the Gulf Coast League Red Sox in 2003, his final season.

Mike Petrarca will serve as the trainer for the 2012 season, his second with the Muckdogs. Petrarca will be entering his fifth season in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.

GCC Eliminated from Nationals

By Andrew Crofts

The Genesee Community College women’s volleyball team dropped their consolation round match to Iowa Central Community College in three sets on Friday afternoon and have been eliminated from the NJCAA Division II National Tournament.

After falling behind early in the first set, the Lady Cougars came back to win four straight points and take a 4-2 lead. GCC held its largest lead at 7-3 before Iowa Central, ranked #10 in the country, took control. Deliane Lessard (Rochester, NY) made one last push for Genesee in the first set, serving to three straight points to get back within four at 16-12, but the Lady Tritons held off GCC’s advance and took the set 25-19.

In the second set, both teams went back and forth to start and were even at 17 before Iowa Central won eight of the last nine points to win the set 25-18.

Down two sets to none, Genesee battled throughout the third set. Carrie Blunt (Syracuse, NY) earned a kill and a block in succession to draw GCC within two at 13-11. Sabrina Wilhoite (Letchworth, NY) blocked a spike attempt at the net, putting a halt to a three point run from Iowa Central and inching GCC within two at 19-17. The Lady Tritons would win six of the final seven points however, and took the third set 25-18 and the match three sets to none.

Genesee ends the season with a 22-21 record, earning the District L and a Division II Region III titles in the process.

Muckdogs announce 2012 home schedule

By Howard B. Owens

The Batavia Muckdogs will open their 2012 season at Dwyer Stadium on June 18 versus the Auburn Doubledays.

For fireworks fans, the Muckdogs will be home on July 4.

Popular teams visiting this year are farm clubs for the Yankees (Staten Island), New York Mets (Brooklyn) and the Red Sox (Lowell).

The team will play 38 home games in 2012. Six will be on a Friday.

In addition to the 38 home games the Muckdogs will play at Dwyer Stadium next season, they will also host seven Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankee games in 2012. Those dates and times are as follows:

Friday, April 20, vs. Norfolk (Baltimore Orioles Affiliate) at 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, April 21, vs. Norfolk at 1:05 p.m.
Sunday, April 22, vs. Norfolk at 1:05 p.m.
Monday, April 23, vs. Norfolk at 12:05 p.m.
Saturday, May 5, vs. Pawtucket (Boston Red Sox Affiliate) at 7:05 p.m.
Sunday, May 6, vs. Pawtucket at 1:05 p.m.
Tuesday, June 12, vs. Louisville (Cincinnati Reds Affiliate) at 11:05 a.m.

Ticket packages for the Muckdogs and Yankees games, coupon books and season tickets for the 2012 season are all currently on sale. Holiday Packs are also on sale. For just $25, fans can purchase four undated general admission tickets, a T-shirt and a voucher for a 2012 program. They can be purchased by calling 343-5454, or in person at Dwyer Stadium from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

GCC Sails Past Pitt-Titusville

By Andrew Crofts

The Genesee Community College men’s basketball team sailed past Pittsburgh-Titusville on Thursday night, defeating the Panthers 94-62.

A 10-0 run to start the game set the tempo for the Cougars who shot better than 60 percent from the floor in the opening twenty minutes. Deylon Bovell (Brooklyn, NY) Kevin Nascimento (New York, NY) and Kenton Chan-Man (Brooklyn, NY) each reached double figures in scoring by halftime for GCC, who were five of eight as a team from beyond the arc. The Cougars held a 51-28 lead at the half.

(#35 Dijon Wright scores a second half basket in a 94-62 win over Pitt-Titusville)

 

Dijon Wright (Philadelphia, PA) scored all ten of his points in the second half as Genesee kept up their momentum and never saw their lead drop below 22 points. Chan-Man led all scorers with 23 points and he also collected 6 rebounds. Bovell finished with 20 points and 8 rebounds, Wright earned a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards and Nascimento and Michael Glenn (Fairport, NY) each added 14 points.

Genesee improves to 3-3 on the season and will not take the floor again until December 1st when they host the junior varsity team from Medaille College at 7pm

GCC Volleyball Loses in Opening Round

By Andrew Crofts

The Genesee Community College women’s volleyball team dropped their opening round match of the 2011 NJCAA Division II National Tournament to Cowley College (KS) in three sets on Thursday afternoon. The 16th seeded Lady Cougars went up against the overall number one seed in Cowley, a team that increased their win streak to 20 games with the win on Thursday.

Behind strong serving and size up front, Cowley built a 5-0 lead to begin the match and did not trail in the opening set, winning 25-12. GCC started strong in the second set, taking a 5-2 lead before the Lady Tigers came back to regain momentum and win the second set 25-12. Genesee stayed with Cowley to start the third set, trailing 8-11 at one point, before the Lady Tigers won the next six points and eventually went on to win the third set 25-10.

Genesee (22-20) will play in a consolation match tomorrow at 12pm. They will take on Iowa Central who lost their opening round match to Central Community College on Thursday afternoon.

Genesee falls in national championship

By Andrew Crofts

The Genesee Community College Men’s Soccer Team took the pitch against Herkimer County Community College for the second time this season on Sunday afternoon, this time to play for the NJCAA National Championship.

The Generals of Herkimer built a 1-0 lead in front of their home crowd about 15 minutes in, when Charlie Anderson lofted a shot over GCC goalkeeper Joe Agerskow (East Yorkshire, England) that crossed the goal line just in front of a hustling Barry Kinsella (Dublin, Ireland). The Cougars nearly tied the game two minutes later when Ryan Fredal (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) sent a header just under the cross bar that six-foot-five Herkimer goalkeeper Davion Bailey stretched out to save.

The Generals kept pressure on Genesee throughout the first half, but Agerskow came up with a couple of saves to keep the Cougars in it. In the 21st minute, Agerskow was able to get a hand on a point-blank shot that was ultimately steered aside by defender Josh Gray (Norwich, England), and put a halt to a low liner from inside the box with two minutes to play to keep the score 1-0 at the half.

Herkimer added goals in the 51st and 52nd minute to build a 3-0 lead with just over 37 minutes to play. Peter Keegan (Dublin, Ireland) nearly put GCC on the board in the 66th minute when he corralled a loose ball 10 yards outside of the goal crease and blasted a shot just inches wide of the far post. The Cougars were able to break through with just over 11 minutes left when Brady Smith (Brisbane, Australia) drilled a shot that found the upper 90 to beat Bailey and draw GCC within two.

The lead was too much to overcome, however, and Herkimer added a fourth goal late in the second half to seal the victory and earn the 4-1 win.

The loss was only the second on the year for GCC who finishes the season 16-2-2 and NJCAA National runner-up. Brady Smith, Jonny Bonner (Buncrana, Ireland) and Josh Gray were named to the NJCAA National All-Tournament team for GCC.

The win for Herkimer claims their 8th Men’s Soccer National Championship in college history and their second in four years.

Two runners from Genesee County capture state titles in cross-country

By Howard B. Owens

Updated Sunday, 11:02 a.m.

Liz Valento, Pavilion, and Jeffrey Antolos, Notre Dame, were given a big welcome home tonight at Route 20 and Route 19, Pavilion, as they returned from the state cross-country championship.

Liz and Jeffrey won their respective races to claim state titles in Verona on Saturday.

Friends, family and volunteer firefighters turned out to greet them and the Pavilion Volunteer Fire Department escorted them down the remainder of Route 19 to Pavilion.

Prints of these three photos can be purchased by clicking here.

Andrew Fisher, left, Notre Dame; Liz Valento, Pavilion; Jeffery Antolos, Notre Dame; Ethan Richardson, Pavilion.

Photos and captions below submitted by Bare Antolos.

ND's Jeffrey Antolos entered the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill HS football stadium for the final 150 yards of the Class D State Championship race about a half step behind Eldred HS's Alex Campenalla. But as they sprinted to the finish, Jeffrey was able to pass and hold off his opponent to win the first-ever Individual State Championship for Notre Dame HS! Jeffrey's 1.5-second victory was the narrowest margin of the four Boys' State Championship races of the day.

After battling with many runners who pushed her to stay in the lead over the first two miles of the championship race, Liz was able to pull away and win by a 24-second margin to win Pavilion's first-ever individual state championship.

Rain and snow on Friday, combined with seven earlier races, turned many sections of the course into a muddy mess that challenged the girls to maintain their footing and keep up their speed to finish a memorable day in Verona.

More pictures and information after the jump (click on the headline above to see the others).

Notre Dame ninth-grader Anna Warner finishes at the Class D State Championship in 22:13 good for a 13th-place finish.

Notre Dame senior Andrew Fischer leads Pavilion's Ethan Richardson during the Class D State Championship race in Verona. Fischer finished 29th with a time of 19:07; Richardson finished 36th in 19:25.

Batavia's Colin Mulcahy competes in the Class B State Championship race. He finished 75th in 18:44.

Notre Dame junior Jeffrey Antolos and Pavilion senior Elizabeth Valento show they're number one after both became the first athletes at their respective high schools to ever win individual state championships.

Genesee to play for National Championship

By Andrew Crofts

The Genesee Community College Men’s Soccer Team will play for the NJCAA National Championship on Sunday, after beating Anoka-Ramsey Community College (Minn.) 3-0 in the semifinals Friday afternoon at Herkimer County Community College.

The Cougars struck early on in the snow-filled match, when Theo Stamatopolous (Norwich, England) sent a cross to Jonny Bonner (Buncrana, Ireland) that Bonner buried into the back of the net during the second minute of play. GCC would threaten a couple of more times during the first half, but could not increase their lead.

The Genesee defense, missing Jack West (Notts, England) and Declan Brennan (Dublin, Ireland) due to injury, stayed solid, thanks in part to defender Ryan Fredal (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) and goalkeeper Joe Agerskow (East Yorkshire, England). Agerskow aggressively came out of the net to make two big saves in the later part of the first half to keep the Rams off the board. GCC took a 1-0 lead into halftime.

(Genesee CC celebrates Jonny Bonner's first half goal)

In the second half, the Cougars missed a scoring opportunity about four minutes in when Dom Francis (Huddersfield, England) found an open net with the goalkeeper out of position, but his shot was saved by a defender who stepped in. Genesee was able to score when Peter Keegan (Dublin, Ireland) sent a blast from just outside the box past the Rams' goalkeeper to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead with 30 minutes to play. Just four minutes later, Sean Brettell (Welwyn Garden City, England) scored his second goal of the national tournament by sending a header off of a Josh Gray (Norwich, England) free kick into the net, giving GCC the 3-0 lead.

The lead was kept safe by Agerskow who made a breakaway save with 18 minutes to play and followed it with a diving save off of a corner kick less than a minute later.

Genesee controlled possession for the remainder of the second half and ended Anoka-Ramsey’s season with the 3-0 win.

Genesee advances to the NJCAA National Championship game and will take on Herkimer County Community College which defeated Nassau Community College 5-0 on Friday. It will be a rematch of an Oct. 18th meeting in which GCC beat Herkimer, then ranked number one in the country, 1-0. The match will be played on Sunday at noon on the Herkimer campus.

GCC Men's Soccer advances in national tournament

By Andrew Crofts

The Genesee Community College Men’s Soccer Team came back to defeat Manchester Community College (Conn.) 4-2 in the quarterfinals of the NJCAA National Tournament on Thursday afternoon at SUNY IT in Utica.

Rain was falling throughout the match and made for a slick pitch during the battle of the Cougars. GCC narrowly gave up the game’s first goal six minutes in, when goalkeeper Jack West (Notts, England) came out of the net to make a save. The shot was turned aside by West but remained in the box with a vacated net. Manchester managed to get a shot on goal but defender Josh Gray (Norwich, England) stepped in to make the save and keep the game scoreless.

Genesee controlled possession for the better part of the first half and capitalized in the 11th minute when Sean Brettell (Welwyn Garden City, England) finished a nice cross from Dom Francis (Huddersfield, England) to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead. About 12 minutes later, Peter Keegan (Dublin, Ireland) came within inches of increasing the lead to two when his shot off of a free kick went just wide of the Manchester net.

The Cougars of Manchester responded late in the first half scoring off of a corner kick in the 37th minute and then netting the go-ahead goal with just 40 seconds to play in the first half to take a 2-1 lead into the break.

The number-one team in the country would respond after the intermission and came out putting pressure on the District G champions from the very beginning of the half.

Five minutes in, Brettell tried to return the favor by sending a cross Francis’s way, but Francis’s shot sailed just wide. Genesee kept play in the Manchester end and cashed in the equalizer when Ryan Fredal (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) pushed a header off of a throw in by Gray past the Manchester goalkeeper 10 minutes into the second half.

With the score tied at 2, Theo Stamatopolous (Norwich, England) found good position on two occasions but could not connect on a Jonny Bonner (Buncrana, Ireland) long ball or a Keegan cross to put GCC on top.

The Cougars did take the lead with a little over 14 minutes to play on an own goal. Gray sent a bid into the box that was inadvertently knocked into the Manchester net by a Cougar defender. Gray was credited with the eventual game winning goal.

With a 3-2 lead, Genesee added an insurance goal with just over 5 minutes to play when Brandon Reiner (Attica) scored from just inside the box, icing the game and giving GCC the 4-2 win.

Genesee (15-1-2) advances to the NJCAA National semi-finals which will take place tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 at Herkimer County Community College. The Cougars will take on Anoka-Ramsey Community College out of Minnesota. The Rams, ranked #5 in the country, represent District C and sport a 14-2-2 record. They advanced after beating Howard Community College (Md.) 3-1 on Thursday afternoon. The winner of tomorrow’s contest will move on to play for the NJCAA National Championship on Sunday afternoon.

Main St. Pizza Company Week 10 NFL Challenge

By Howard B. Owens

Our Week 9 winner was Debbie Cooley, who was among nine people to correctly pick San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers as the QB (from among the choices) to throw four TDs. Aaron Rodgers of Green Bay, who played against the Chargers in Week 9, also tossed four TDs, but Rodgers was not among the 10 choices in the contest. Debbie was picked as the winner in a random drawing.

Debbie wins one large sub and one order of wings from Main St. Pizza Company. She has one week to claim her prize.

GCC Men's Soccer opens national tournament as #1 ranked team

By Andrew Crofts

The Genesee Community College Men's Soccer Team has arrived in Utica, where players will begin their bid for an NJCAA National Championship.

GCC (14-1-2) enters the national tournament as the #1 team in the country and will play Manchester Community College (Conn.) tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 on the campus of SUNY IT.

Herkimer County Community College will host the eight-team tournament, which also includes Bergen Community College (N.J.), Anoka-Ramsey Community College (Minn.), Nassau Community College (N.Y.), Union County College (N.J.), Howard Community College (Md.) and Herkimer County Community College.

The full 2011 NJCAA DIII Men’s Soccer Championship Schedule:
Thursday, Nov. 10
Game 1 – Howard vs. Anoka-Ramsey, 11 a.m. at SUNY IT in Utica
Game 2 – Genesee vs. Manchester, 1:30 p.m. at SUNY IT
Game 3 – Herkimer County vs. Bergen CC, 11 a.m. at Herkimer 
Game 4 – Nassau vs. Union, 1:30 p.m. at Herkimer

Friday, Nov. 11
Game 5 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 11 a.m. at SUNY IT
Game 6 – Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 1:30 p.m. at SUNY IT
Game 7 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 (National Semifinal), 11 a.m. at Herkimer 
Game 8 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 (National Semifinal), 1:30 p.m. at Herkimer

Sunday, Nov. 13
Game 9 – National Championship – Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 9, 12 PM at Herkimer

*Live video-streaming is available at www.njcaatv.ihigh.com

GCC Men's Basketball Dominates Houghton

By Andrew Crofts

The Genesee Community College men’s basketball team came back from a two-loss weekend by dominating the Houghton College JV team 84-35.

After back-to-back losses to Monroe College and Harcum College this weekend, the Cougars (2-2) came out shooting better than 55% from the floor in the first half, and took a 46-14 lead into the break.

The second half was more of the same as Genesee kept an above 50% shooting mark, and cruised to the 49 point victory.

Michael Glenn (Fairport, NY) finished with a game-high 24 points on a 10 of 15 shooting night. Kenton Chan-Man (Brooklyn, NY) added 10 points and Dijon Wright (Philadelphia, PA) finished the night with 7 points and 7 rebounds.

Genesee improves to .500 on the season and will travel to Lakeland Community College for their next game on November, 12th at 3pm.

GCC Women's Basketball Cruises Past Houghton

By Andrew Crofts

The Genesee Community College women’s basketball team cruised past the Houghton College JV team on Tuesday night, by a final score of 70-42.

The Lady Cougars began the night on an 8-0 run and did not trail in the game. GCC controlled the tempo by out-rebounding the Lady Highlanders 50-43 in the game, with Carrie Blunt (Syracuse, NY) and Erica McDaniel (Buffalo, NY) combining for 15 of them.

Genesee was led in scoring by Kayla Golden (Lackawanna, NY) who finished the night with 14 points. Blunt had a strong night netting 10 points and Jasmine Armstead (Rochester, NY) also added 10 points.

(Kayla Golden leads the Lady Cougars with 14 points in win over Houghton JV)

 

The Lady Cougars improve to 3-1 and will play again tomorrow night at 6pm when they host Onondaga Community College for their first conference game of the season.

Thurman Thomas becomes Batavia Downs Casino’s new ambassador

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

Batavia, NY --- Batavia Downs Casino is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with Thurman Thomas to bring the former running back and pro football hall of famer on board as Batavia Downs Casino’s new ambassador.

"I am very excited to be associated with Batavia Downs Casino, and look forward to my role as ambassador," Thurman said. "My wife’s family had a long and wonderful relationship with Batavia Downs Raceway and we are thrilled to be part of that again."

As the ambassador, Thomas will serve as the face of Batavia Downs Casino, promoting the company’s brand throughout communities across Upstate New York. Thomas will be used in conjunction with Batavia Downs Casino’s advertising campaigns and the anticipated future development of a Thurman Thomas Signature Sports Bar.

“Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas has provided great entertainment to sports fans in Western New York and he continues to give back to the community,” said Ryan Hasenauer, director of marketing for Batavia Downs Casino.

“A partnership seemed natural considering that Batavia Downs Casino and its parent company, Western Regional OTB, have been providing entertainment and giving millions back to the area communities for decades. Thurman Thomas is one of the greatest running backs in Buffalo history and is the perfect athlete to help promote Batavia Downs Casino’s new expansion.”

Batavia Downs in owned and operated by Western Regional Off-Track Betting, a public benefit corporation. The track is also home to Batavia Downs Casino, featuring more than 600 video slot machines. Batavia Downs Casino is located less than one mile from Thruway Exit 48 and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 a.m. Admission and parking are always free.

Sectional titles grabbed by Le Roy and Notre Dame teams

By Howard B. Owens

It was a weekend of wins and records for student athletes in Genesee County, with Le Roy Girls Volleyball and three cross-country runners picking up sectional titles.

In volleyball, Le Roy girls won their second straight Section V title with a 3-0 win over Williamson Central. Kaitlyn Tyler had 16 kills and Montana Vestovi added 24 assists for Le Roy (15-4). Le Roy will face Waterloo Tuesday in the Class C regional qualifier at Cal-Mum.

With a time of 16:02 Jeffrey Antolos of Notre Dame claimed a Class D cross-country title. Anna Warner took a girls Class DD title with a time of 19:47. Pavilion's  Liz Valento took a Class D title with a time of 19:02.

Notre Dame won the Class DD team championship with 71 points.

Other top finishers in their classes include: Pembroke’s Randi Rudnik (17:47) in ninth; Andrew Fischer, Notre Dame, fifth (17:12); Oakfield-Alabama's Connor George (17:16), sixth; and teammate Gabe Bender, seventh (17:18).

In swimming, Batavia's Catherine McAllister, Sarah DiBacco, Helen Zickl and Alayna Mlodozeniec set a Batavia school record in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:47.30, which placed them in fifth in their sectional meet.

In other sectional action, Pavilion Girls Volleyball lost to Cal-Mum in a Class CC final match. BHS Girls Volleyball dropped a Class B final to Wayne Central, 4-1. Notre Dame's girls dropped a qualifer match to Harley-Allendale-Columbia, 3-2.

Photos submitted by Bare Antolos. Top photo: Coach Eric Geitner displays the Section V Class DD Coach of the Year award along with his own champions, junior Jeffrey Antolos and freshman Anna Warner. The two of them will be joined at the XC State Championships next Saturday at Verona High School, with senior Andrew Fischer who is holding the ND Boys Section V Class DD Championship trophy.

PYA Dragons win NOFA JV Championship

By Rick D. Franclemont

In a game played Saturday at the Medina Veterans Park, the Pembroke Youth Association Dragons defeated the Akron Tigers 32-0 for the Niagara Orleans Football Association JV championship title.

Coach Jerry Cox's team went 12-0 for the season. The Akron Tigers only losses during the season were to the Dragons.

More pictures of the game can be seen here.

GCC Women's Volleyball Qualifies for NJCAA Tournament

By Andrew Crofts

The Genesee Community College women’s volleyball team has qualified for the NJCAA National Tournament after winning the District L Tournament this weekend in Randolph, New Jersey.

Genesee began the tournament playing the Community College of Rhode Island and defeated the Lady Knights in three sets, 25-14, 25-7, 25-18. In the opening round win, Carrie Blunt recorded 12 kills and Deliane Lessard added 7. Sabrina Wilhoite led the team with 17 assists while Paige Tilert tallied 39 digs.

The Lady Cougars next took on Monroe College and recorded another three set victory, 25-16, 25-17, 25-16. Strong serving was key in the win as Maria Antsupova and Lessard each had five aces. Blunt had another strong match with 13 kills and Karin Davis chipped in with 18 assists. Tilert also had a strong match with 52 digs. With the win, GCC advanced to the District Championship match.

In the Sunday final, Genesee squared off with Monroe College once again after the Lady Mustangs defeated the County College of Morris to compete for the title. The match went four sets with Genesee coming out on top 25-19, 17-25, 25-21, 25-11. Antuspova had 45 digs in the win, Blunt tallied 13 kills and Wilhoite added 20 assits.

Genesee will move on to the NJCAA National Tournament which will take place in Perrysburg, Ohio. The three-day tournament will begin on November 17th with the National Championship match taking place on the 19th.

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