"Great team win with balanced scoring and contributions from all 10 players," said Coach Jeff Schlagenhauf. "We played well offensively in the second half, and defensively, we played well for 32 minutes."
Tonight at Gates-Chili High School, Byron-Bergen/LeRoy ended their regular season unbeaten, with the boys and girls winning the GRL Championship meet.
The BBLR girls cruised to victory with 579 points, clinching their fifth GRL Championship win in a row. Senior Haylee Gartz won the Girls Swimmer of the Meet award, continuing her record-breaking streak by taking down her own BBLR school record and meet record in the 100 freestyle (54.39). She also placed first in the 200 IM with a 2:20.26.
Gartz, along with Anna Kent, Mikayla Yohon, and Kara Valdes broke the BBLR school record and placed first in the 200 medley relay with a 1:57.95 and broke the school record, tied the meet record, and won the 400 freestyle relay (3:50.38).
Yohon also won both her individual events, with a 26.39 in the 50 freestyle and a 1:06.34 in the 100 butterfly. And Valdes placed first in the 500 freestyle with a season-best 5:57.44.
Harley Allendale Columbia placed second with 327 points. Maria Nichols, Chloe Terio, Carolina Muelas, and Elise Pinch placed first in the 200 freestyle relay with a 1:50.57. Pinch was also an individual winner, coming in first in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:21:55.
Pembroke/Alexander placed third with 273 points with several top 3 finishes and Attica placed fourth with 221 points with their own share of great performances.
Oakfield-Alabama's Tori Davis helped the girls clinch fourth place (243 points) by winning the 100 backstroke with a 1:01.98.
Batavia/Notre Dame placed sixth with 155 points. Senior Maddy Bellamy placed first in the 200 freestyle with a 2:03.65. Wheatland Chili's girls came in seventh with 110 points.
The BBLR boys won for the second year in a row. The boys started out strong, winning the 200 medley relay with Jack Walker, Lucas Morrison, Carter Fix, and Malacai McGrath finishing in 1:46.84. Fix also won the 200 (1:53.03) and 500 freestyles (4:59.60), earning him Boys Swimmer of the Meet honors.
HAC's boys had an amazing night with Dylan Mayall winning the 200 IM (2:10.93) and 100 backstroke (58.46). Mayall, Andrew Fouraker, Landon Krul, and Hayden Williams won the 200 freestyle relay with a 1:37.10.
It came down to the last relay; with BBLR's Walker, McGrath, Sam Hersom, and Fix placing first in the 400 freestyle relay (3:37.03) and Zachary Gay, GJ Donofrio, Colton Erion, and Levi McGrath coming in fourth that secured the win for BBLR. In the end, BBLR had 523 points to HAC's 522 winning by only one point.
Pembroke/Alexander placed third with 403 points with several season-best swims. Wheatland-Chili's Miguel Gonzales won the 100 butterfly with a 58.25, helping secure fourth place for Wheatland with 159 points.
Batavia/Notre Dame's Dominic Southall placed first in the 100 freestyle with a 51.67 and 100 breaststroke with a 1:07.53, earning the team fifth place (130 points). And Attica's Samuel Dunlap placed first in the 50 freestyle with a 23.72, with the team placing sixth with 45 points.
Fired by 32 points from Janessa Amesbury, Byron-Bergen beat Wheatland-Chile in Girls Basketball on Friday 51-38.
Megan Jarkiewicz scored six points for the Bees.
For Wheatland, Vanessa Guerro scored 14 points.
"WC played well with a very young team," said Bees Coach Rick Krzewinski. "Chad Annis is doing a really nice job with his team. The win moves us to 9-2 with a home game Tuesday against Lyndonville. Tonight’s game was only our third in a month, so it will be nice to get into a rhythm for the last month before sectionals."
Notre Dame, now 9-4, beat Alexander in Girls Basketball on Friday, 56-37.
The Falleti sisters, Gianna and Sofia, led the Irish in scoring with 17 points each. Gianna Falleti added 4 assist and 4 steals while Sofia added 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. Shirley Thompson contributed 9 points and 6 steals. Emma Fitch had 6 points and 6 steals.
“We started out very slowly tonight after eight days off but were able to come around in the second half and get a good effort from the whole team on offense and defense," said Coach Vinny Falleti.
Coach Buddy Brasky pictured with his team, former students, and parents now helped celebrate his 500th career win over Eastridge 83-79 at Batavia High School Friday evening. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Genesee County Undersheriff Brad Mazur was there for Buddy Brasky's first win as Batavia's varsity basketball coach, and on Friday, he was in the Batavia High School gymnasium for Brasky's 500th win.
Mazur played on Brasky’s first squad in 1990-91, and this season, his son Brady, a senior, and his son Casey, a sophomore, who is a big part of the team's current success.
"What a great honor for Coach Brasky to win number 500," Brad Mazur said. "He's done a great job throughout all these years. His dedication to the program, the dedication to the student-athletes, the community, and I tell you what, he won 500 games in the Monroe County League. So that says a lot. The Monroe County league is a difficult League, and doing that is an incredible accomplishment."
The win didn't come easily on Friday, with Eastridge holding close through all four quarters before the Blue Devils locked down a 83-79 win.
Over two dozen former players who Buddy Brasky coached in his 35-year career were on hand to support him.
It was tremendous, Brasky said, to see so many former players turn out for what was expected to be his 500th win.
"As a coach, you hope you're making an impact on kids that goes beyond basketball, and you never really know until the players get older, and they get on with their lives, and to have so many of them take their time to come back and just in case I won that game last night, to be there, it really meant the world to me," Brasky said.
Jeff Redband, part of the 2013 squad that vied for a state championship, said it was an honor to return to his alma mater to watch Brasky pick up his 500th coaching win.
"Tonight was very special to see all the alumni, all my old teammates, and just the camaraderie that we all had from playing for Coach Brasky, going through that experience together, and just what he taught us," Redband said. "It was great to give back to support him as much as he supported us in the past."
The Batavian reached Brasky on Saturday to talk about the big win.
"It's a big accomplishment. Obviously, I know how big of an accomplishment it is. I mean, I didn't know this, but I found out today that I'm only the sixth coach in Section V history to get 500 wins," Brasky said. "That's very gratifying to me."
Among Brasky's 500 wins are six Section V titles and four regional titles, which have sent the Blue Devils to the state's final four. But Batavia has never made it to the championship game.
The closest a Brasky-coached squad came, he said, was in 2005. The Blue Devils took the semifinal game to overtime after being down 19 points. Kevin Saunders hit a three-pointer with 16 seconds left in OT to put Batavia up by one point.
"It looked like we were going to win, and they hit a shot at the buzzer to beat us," Brasky said. "Funny how you don't forget those things."
It was pretty special, Brasky said, to have Brad Mazur at the game, who was part of that big first win, while his son, Casey, played a big role in the 500th win.
Casey Mazur was Batavia's top scorer on Friday, hitting seven three-pointers, all in the first half, for 21 points. Carter Mullen and Justin Smith each scored 20 points, and Gavin White scored 19.
Every season, every year, Brasky finds the boys playing for him are a special group of guys, and the 2024-25 team is no different. They're young, but they're willing to be coached and learn.
He called the team a "work in progress."
With two big guys who can score at forward, Smith and White, matched with guards who can shoot, Mazur and Mullen, he had to convince the team that the best strategy is for the guards to feed the big guys early in the game to open up the outside shooting later in the game. That means Mazur and Mullen need to pass up open shots to get the ball in low.
"They have been willing to buy into the change," Brasky said. "I wasn't sure they would be willing to do it. Winning helps, for sure."
The second team, Brasky noted, is a big part of this team's success, and he thinks those players don't get enough recognition for what they contribute.
"I got two sophomores and two juniors on that second unit, and some of the games they play a little bit, and some games they don't, and they're good players," Brasky said. "On a lot of teams in this area, they'd be starters and there is no sign of unhappiness. They cheer for the first group, and when they get in, they play their tails off and try to do their best job, no matter how many minutes they're getting."
The big test for the team and how it holds together will come if some adversity hits. That will be the "true sign," Brasky said.
"When some adversity hits, an injury, someone gets in trouble in school., that's when we'll see if it's really taken hold, but so far, it's been really enjoyable," Brasky said.
However, some adversity did hit the team this season -- when their coach was diagnosed with cancer and took a break after the first two games of the season to have a kidney removed.
Brasky's surgery was on Dec. 17. He attended the Christmas Tournament, sitting behind the bench, but wasn't able to coach a game until the Blue Devils played Newark on Jan. 4. Batavia won 67-53 and hasn't lost since. The team is currently 10-3.
"It was a different experience. It was not easy," Brasky said. "While sitting out, with the new technology, I could watch practices on the computer, and it showed me I'm not ready to retire. It was very hard to just sit at home."
After his cancer timeout, there is an extra dimension to getting his 500th win just a few weeks later, Brasky said.
"I had cancer in my kidney. They removed the kidney, so the cancer is gone, and I kind of hope that it doesn't reappear anywhere else in the body because there's no evidence that it's anywhere now," Brasky said. "After going through something like that, you know, I've been a pretty healthy guy my whole life, and it just makes you realize -- tomorrow's promised to nobody. When something you love is taken away from you for a period of time, it makes you appreciate those moments, to be honest with you. So yes, that really, really made it even more special in that way."
Perhaps the biggest reward of a career that brings 500 wins is the success in life he sees of his former players as adults, Brasky said.
"Some guys are successful, you know, lawyers, doctors, coaches, and there's also guys who are successful working in the factory and raising a family," Brasky said. "When I see guys when I go out to dinner or whatnot, and I see guys out, and they'll come over and make it a point to talk to me and thank me and let me know that I made an impact on them -- that's why you coach. Everybody thinks it's the wins and losses, and it is. Every coach wants to win, but those other things are what really make coaching special. It's the greatest job in the world."
Coach Brasky looking on with under two seconds left in game to secure his 500th win as Section V basketball coach. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia fans show support of Coach Brasky's monumental achievement. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia's squad post game celebrating with thier coach on his 500th career win. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Left to Right two generations of Mazur Family, dad Brad who was on Coach Brasky's first team and win in 1990 and Brady and Casey who currently play on his team, 35 years later. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Coach Brasky celebrating his 500th career win with a trophy presented by Superintendent Jason Smith. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Notre Dame snapped Alexander's nine-game winning streak on Thursday with a 75-68 win.
Fighting Irish stats:
Aiden Bellavia 19 points, 5 rebounds (5 3’s)
Evan Fitzpatrick 17 points, 4 rebounds
TJ. Cephus 16 points, 5 assists
Chase Antinore 15 points, 8 rebounds
Makyell Walker 8 points, 4 assists
Notre Dame hit 11 threes on the night.
No stats were submitted for Alexander.
“What an atmosphere tonight," said Notre Dame Coach Mikey Rapone. "We played very well tonight against a very good team. Our shooting confidence finally came around, and tonight, we were able to make some threes. We had four guys in double figures, and everybody contributed to the win. Our guards did a great job of handling the pressure that Alexander put on full court. We limited the live ball turnovers, not allowing them to get easy buckets. Our press was active, and we were able to get our hands on some passes. We game-planned to try to stop Dylan Pohl and make him earn every basket. In the third quarter he got away from us a little bit, we allowed him to get 11 points. But overall, I thought our zone did a great job tonight, which is different from what we normally play, man-to-man. I’m proud of our kids, all thirteen of them. They really worked hard together in preparation for this one, and hopefully, we can stay the course and continue to get better.”
Notre Dame is now 9-4 on the season. The Trojans are 10-3.
Photo of Up Helly Aa courtesy of McKenna Dziemian.
It was another cold and windy evening in Genesee County with snow bands that increased in intensity as the card rolled on. But the real storm on Thursday (Jan. 23) afternoon at Batavia Downs came from drivers Brett Beckwith and Kevin Cummings, who each won four races during the program.
Beckwith’s big win came in the co-featured $13,000 Open Handicap trot that went to Up Helly Aa, who led at every station before pulling away to a gapped-length victory.
After several horses left, Johnny Boy (Kevin Cummings) took the lead before Beckwith and Up Helly Aa roared forward in the breeze to claim the top at the :28.2 quarter. After crossing over, Up Helly Aa settled in and marched off back-to-back :29.4 quarters before heading into the final bend on top by 2-¾ lengths. When he entered the stretch, Up Helly Aa had no imminent threats from behind and just kept on going to eventually win by 3-¼ lengths in 1:58.4.
Up Helly Aa ($11.40) is owned by Ian Fromowitz and trained by Jaymes Mcassey.
Beckwith also won with Venier Hanover (1:58.4, $2.90), Admiral Hanover (1:58.1, $4.50) and Six Degrees (1:57.3, $3.40).
Kevin Cummings' four wins came with Silvershoe Halie (2:00.4, $15.20) along with Hp Running Mass (2:01.4, $34.20), Famous Dan (2:00, $4.60) and Yo AJ (1:59.3, $8.40), all of whom were trained by Sam Smith, who topped all conditioners for wins during the proceedings.
Both Beckwith and Cummings drove a total of 13 races each and posted identical numbers of four wins, three seconds and two thirds, giving each one of them a lofty UDR of .487 when the day was done.
The other feature race was the $13,000 Open Handicap pace, where Primo Uomo had absolutely no competition whatsoever as he won his second straight top-class pace at the Downs with a very convincing gate-to-wire romp.
Joe Chindano Jr. rocketed off the gate and to the front with Primo Uomo, who opened up a 2-¾ length gap as he cruised past the quarter in hasty :27.3. Chindano then downshifted quarter two, but got right back to business on the second circuit. Primo Uomo stretched out to a three length lead at three-quarters in 1:26.1, rounded the last turn and then bolted away to a nine-length victory in 1:54.4, setting a new seasonal mark.
Primo Uomo ($2.70) is owned by Chris and Dale Lawton and trained by David Dewhurst.
Chindano added wins with Thinking Of Slim (2:01, $11.20) and Mauries Bonus A (1:58.3, $4.50) to grab a hat trick of his own.
Live racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Monday (Jan. 27) at 3:00 p.m. and there will be a carryover of $1,012 in the Jackpot Super Hi-5 pentafecta in the 14th race.
Free full card past performance programs for every live card of racing at Batavia can always be downloaded at the Downs’ website (bataviadownsgaming.com) under the “Live Racing” tab and all the racing action can be viewed as it happens for free at the Batavia Downs Live Facebook page.
First race of the 2025 winter meet at Batavia Downs. File photo. Photo by Howard Owens
After The Batavian's Jan. 7 article about the opening of the winter racing season at Batavia Downs, one reader raised questions -- well-informed questions -- about just how well the winter meets are doing for the race track and casino.
On Thursday, Don Hoover, director of live racing for Western Regional Off-Track Betting, sat down with The Batavian to address the issues raised by the reader.
First, the history of the winter meet at Batavia Downs The meet is in its third season. Before 2023, the race track in Buffalo hosted a three-month winter meet but the storms of 2022 distributed the season, causing several race-day cancelations. Buffalo decided to compress its racing schedule into a season that starts in March.
The horsemen are accustomed to year-round racing, and for many of them, their income stream depends on it, Hoover said.
"Now we're faced with the possibility of no racing in Western New York for three months," Hoover said. "That leads to the question of whether some would have to get out of the business. Would they ship to another racetrack and maybe stay there?"
The horseman's association approached management at Batavia Downs and proposed a January and February racing schedule, promising to cover any losses incurred by the track.
The horsemen promising the track wouldn't lose money on the races is a key point, Hoover stressed.
"We have a shared agreement that benefits both Batavia Downs and the local horsemen so that they can maintain their racing without much interruption and we can provide a venue for them without incurring any significant cost," Hoover said.
The agreement covers direct costs related to each race, not other ongoing operational costs, such as the salaries of permanent staff who might work during the events.
Is keeping winter racing a good business decision? "I have personally wrestled with that question because it's not really in monetary terms, and the angst that it just brings about naturally due to the constant question of -- are you racing? Are you not racing? Are you racing? Are you not? Is it too cold? Is it a safe track? Those items are hard to wrestle with on a daily basis," Hoover said. "If we look at it as a pure business decision -- I guess, what we would have to do now since this is our third winter -- I guess what we would have to do now is sit down and get the food and beverage revenue and see if we can see a pattern. We know that we do more business on Mondays and Thursdays when we race because otherwise, the clubhouse wouldn't be open.
"The clubhouse is open. We have food specials. People come and attend the races there and eat and drink. So we would have to try to analyze exactly what we could put in dollars and cents as to what ancillary income we get derived specifically by racing in the winter."
What Hoover calls "ancillary income" doesn't count against direct racing expenses.
Even so, it can be hard to separate additional revenue on race days when Batavia Downs has other promotions going on throughout the winter, such as hotel specials, concerts, and group events, "all the things we do here as a corporation to drive people to the property."
He does believe, he said, that racing does get extra people to the track, though attendance is much, much smaller than the regular meet.
"It's logical that we would get extra people to the property by holding racing," Hoover said. "They are people who are harness racing fans, and they wouldn't be here except for that fact."
Is there enough attendance to justify opening the clubhouse?
"It's a work in progress where we look to see how to do that without losing money," Hoover said. "We have one bartender. People order drinks. We've paired down what foods are available. It used to be that they could order food and it would be brought up to them. Now we just have specials for right there. So we've tried to look at all the numbers on it and come up with a specific plan where we won't lose money by having the clubhouse open."
Our reader thinks attendance would be better on another weekday than Monday, such as going to two days, perhaps Tuesday and Thursday or Wednesday and Friday. "Well, Mondays happen to be our biggest handle day," Hoover said.
During the regular meet, the first post time is 6 p.m., giving people who work, especially in Rochester and Buffalo, time to get off work and make it to the track.
In winter, with lower attendance, it puts more of a strain on staff expense to have a later post time. The 3 p.m. post time in the winter also eliminates going head-to-head against racing at Monticello.
"The staff doesn't have to go home and come back," Hoover said. "The staff doesn't have to accrue extraordinary overtime. It's not dark yet. We have the track crew still here. We don't have to send them home and bring them back in, so we thought the combination of all those things regarding staffing, overtime, and the time of day was beneficial for us to make that schedule for the three o'clock on Mondays and Thursdays."
Why is Monday your biggest handle day? There is less competition on Mondays, Hoover said. That is primarily important for off-track betting.
For the live handle, there isn't much difference between Monday and Thursday.
Is it correct that the off-track handle generates about 2% in revenue for OTB and the live-track revenue is about 20%?
Yes and no, Hoover said. When you factor in BataviaBets.com, phone bets, and OTB's own branches, the off-track handle increases to about 2.6%.
What is the typical revenue for a winter race? Hoover said it is currently about $7,500 to $8,000. That doesn't include anything from food and beverage or what might be spent by race attendees on the casino floor.
Later on Thursday, The Batavian spoke with CEO Byron Brown, who said winter racing is important to the operation of OTB.
"Winter racing really helps to strengthen the relationship between Batavia Downs and the horsemen," Brown said. "Also, as we work to make this a premier entertainment destination in New York State, it's just another reason for people to come to Batavia Downs."
Carter Mullen going for two points last evening on Batavia's home court vs Marcus Whitman. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia's offense sizzled against Marcus Whitman on Wednesday leading to a 63-36 win at home.
Casey Mazur scored 17 points for the Blue Devils, Gavin White, 15, Carter Mullen, 14, Justin Smith, 7, and Ty Gioia, 6.
Mazur hit five three-pointers.
"We're trying to become an inside-first team with Gavin and Justin," said Coach Buddy Brasky. "We normally have an advantage with at least one of them on the inside, so we're trying to play through the post, get them scoring early, and then when the other team makes an adjustment and tries to double down and sag in on them, we go inside out, and that leads to some open threes, and the guys are starting to get it, and it's working for us."
Batavia’s next home game is Friday at 7:15 p.m. vs. Eastridge
A win on Friday would be Batavia head coach Buddy Brasky’s 500th career win.
Genesee County girls basketball teams face one another at Batavia High School Tuesday night. Batavia picks up it's first win at home on the season. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia's young team often struggles in the fourth quarter, said Head Coach John McCulley, but on Tuesday against Oakfield-Alabama, the Lady Devils battled through to help them secure a 54-50 victory.
"Our lack of experience and age has shown," McCulley said. "Tonight was a different story. The girls fought through a late run by O-A in the fourth quarter and held tough; they literally grew up in front of me."
Batavia held on despite being outscored in the fourth 17-14.
"Tonight was a very tough game from tip to horn," McCulley said. "I always enjoy playing Jeff (Schlagenhauf, O-A head coach) and his girls because I know it will be a battle. We had to keep mixing up defenses to keep the pressure up. We were successful at times but gave up a few too many three-pointers."
"I want to give a big shout-out to the JV girls that had to come up to varsity due to a lack of numbers," McCulley said. "This was the first week we were all together, and the way they pushed us in practice was a big reason we won our first game of the season."
Wind, snow and single-digit wind chills set the stage for racing at Batavia Downs on Monday (Jan. 20) afternoon. But despite those conditions, Magical Mistress delivered the goods in the $9,500 featured pace for fillies and mares.
Magical Mistress (Kyle Cummings) got away second behind the 49-1 Hurrikane Msrodine (Denny Bucceri) who left from post eight and led the field to the half in 1:01. Legal Jeopardy (Dave McNeight III) moved first-over and joined the fray at that point and momentarily took the lead at three-quarters, but never crossed over. At that same station, Magical Mistress vacated the pegs and followed Legal Jeopardy around the last turn, before tipping clear at the top of the lane. There, Magical Mistress dug hard and passed three peers in deep stretch to win by three-quarters of a length in 2:01.3.
Magical Mistress ($4.40) is owned by Michael Milazzo and trained by Candace Brandstatter-Hall, who also won with Flames Of Fire (2:02.2, $4.20) later in the card.
Drivers Brett Beckwith and Drew Monti and trainer Rachelle Mungillo all registered three wins apiece on the card during the proceedings.
Live racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Thursday (Jan. 23) at 3:00 p.m. and there will be a carryover of $696 in the Jackpot Super Hi-5 pentafecta in the 15th race.
Free full card past performance programs for every live card of racing at Batavia can always be downloaded at the Downs’ website (bataviadownsgaming.com) under the “Live Racing” tab and all the racing action can be viewed as it happens for free at the Batavia Downs Live Facebook page.
Alexander improved to 9-2 on the season with a 64-61 win over Oakfield-Alabama in Boys Basketball.
The Hornets, after trailing throughout the first three quarters, mounted a charge in the fourth, scoring 23 points to 11 for the Trojans, but still came up short.
Dylan Pohl scored 24 points for Alexander and Kingston Woods scored 18.
"I’m very proud of the fight the boys had tonight," said Hornets Coach Ryan Stehlar. "It was a great Friday night high-school basketball atmosphere. We need to learn from this loss and move on to the next game."
