Sports

Jackson Briggs, son of Batavia Blue Devils football Coach Brennan Briggs, made his first snowman today, finishing it this morning in advance of the Buffalo Bills' playoff game today in Houston.

Photo submitted by Brennan Briggs.

From Jan. 3, 2020 edition of Speedway Digest:

Genesee Speedway in Batavia and DIRTcar Racing have entered into a new partnership for the 2020 season.

The Sportsman Modified division at Genesee Speedway will now be DIRTcar sanctioned, which includes upgraded support from Hoosier Racing Tire, VP Racing Fuels, and an increased public relations presence across the board.

The DIRTcar Sportsman Modified division is one of the most successful formulas in racing today. The Sportsman's reputation is built on the parity of race equipment, safety, and general affordability.

"Genesee Speedway is home to many talented Sportsman teams from the region that will benefit from the DIRTcar sanction, noted promoter Jim Johnson. "We can't thank DIRTcar enough for giving us the opportunity to come on board this season and look forward to working with all the officials."

Top stars such as Oswego Chevy Performance 75 sportsman champion Kyle Inman, Jim Harbison, Cameron Tuttle, Dave Conant, Zach George, and others call the Genesee County Fairgrounds' oval home. It is located at 5056 E. Main Street Road (Route 5) in the Town of Batavia.

All DIRTcar Sportsman Modified drivers are automatically featured in the Hoosier Racing Tire Weekly Championship. Racer's top 16 finishes in weekly and Series racing produce points for the year-long championship.

Drivers, teams and sponsors will also enjoy increased exposure through DIRTcar's social media channels and weekly newsletter, which reaches nearly 40,000 people.

A DIRTcar Sportsman Western Region Series is also close to being finalized -- joining Ransomville, Merrittville, Humberstone, Freedom and Brighton speedways -- in hosting events for the region that boast of $1,500 point fund to the top five. Home track and Region Bonus points are totaled. Then drivers can strive to be the overall DIRTcar Sportsman Champion by attending the year-end Fall Championship Challenge events.

The sanction further strengthens the relationship between Genesee and DIRTcar Racing as this year Genesee Speedway welcomes the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series to Batavia. The Outlaws will race for $10,000 on Friday, June 19. It's going to be a huge year for Genesee.

Genesee Speedway is a .375-mile oval built in 1983. Bookmark their website for race reports and points standings.

The Notre Dame Girls Basketball Team, ranked number 19 in the state in Class D, upset the Pembroke Lady Dragons, ranked #4 in Class C, in a first-round Rotary Championship game at Genesee Community College on Thursday night.

The Lady Irish won 33-28.

Amelia McCulley (top photo) scored 20 points for ND. Morgan Rhodes scored six.

For Pembroke, Serene Calderon, MacKenna Johnson, and Emily Peters, all scored six points each.

Photos by Philip Casper.

Mackenna Johnson

Serene Calderon

Dekari Moss

Montana Weedman

Attica gave Batavia a game in the large-school championship of the Pete Arras Lions Tournament at Genesee Community College.

A strategy of ball control -- often running the shot clock down to just seconds -- and a defense that kept the Batavia Blue Devils' high-powered offense from running away with the game meant the visitors had a chance up until their final possession.  

In the end, Batavia defended its crown, securing a 53-51 victory.

Camden White, who scored 21 points, many of them off his eight offensive rebounds (he had 11 total rebounds) was named the tournament MVP.

Zach Gilebarto, who missed the first game of the tournament due to an injury, scored 14 points, hitting four three-pointers. Stone Siverling scored 12 points.

For Attica, Frankie Bisceglie scored 15 points and Tyler Myer hit four three-pointers for 12 points. Ayden Goll scored eight points.

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The small-school championship game of the Pete Arras Lions Tournament came down to the final play as Elba beat Notre Dame 64-62.

Colton Dillion (top photo) was tournament MVP after scoring 22 points in the finale.

Collin O'Holloran scored 16 points. Caleb Scoten hit three three-point baskets for nine points.

For Notre Dame, Gabe Macdonald scored 19 points. Cody Henry and Colin McCulley scored 15 points each with McCulley hitting three three-point shots.

Photos by Philip Casper.

Caeden and Camden White scored a combined 43 points for Batavia against Le Roy in the first-round large-school game in the annual Pete Arras Lions Tournament at Genesee Community College.

Caeden White hit five three-point shots on his way to 21 points on the night. Camden White dominated in the paint scoring 22 points.

Stone Siverling scored 14 points, Luke Rogers scored nine, hitting three three-point shots in the fourth quarter, and Max Rapone hit two three-pointers for six points.

Andrew Loftus scored 11 points for the Oatkan Knights and Ethan Beswick scored 10 points.

Batavia will play Attica for the large-school championship on Monday at GCC at 8:45 p.m.

Elba plays Notre Dame in the small-school championship at 7 p.m. on Monday at GCC.

Still photos by Philip Casper.

Gabe Macdonald (top photo) scored 25 points to go with 18 from Collin McCulley to propel Notre Dame to a 65-59 win over Perry in a first-round small-school game at the annual Pete Arras Lions Tournament at Genesee Community College.

Photos by Phillip Casper.

Mark Sanders

In the small school first-round game between Elba and Oakfield-Alabama in the Pete Arras Lions Tournament at Genesee Community College, Elba came out on top 50-46.

Colton Dillion scored 31 points to lead the Lancers to victory and Travis Wiedrich scored 16 for O-A.

Top photo: Colton Dillion.

Photos by Philip Casper.

Elba's Caleb Scouten on a drive to the basket against O-A's Spencer Murphy.

Elba's Collin O'Halloran

O-A's Travis Wiedrich

Press release:

NYS Snowmobile Safety course will be taught at Alexander Fire Hall from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25.

The Alexander Fire Hall is located on Route 98 and Route 20, Alexander.

The course is free to children from 10 to 18 years of age. New York State’s Snowmobile Law requires that youngsters ages 10-18 acquire a safety certificate before they may lawfully operate a snowmobile.

Youngsters may qualify for their safety certificates by taking safety course and passing the examination given at the end of the course. The course and all materials are furnished free. The course is also open to adults.

The instructors for snowmobile Safety Course are certified by New York State. 

You must sign up for the course and attend both classes where you register.

All materials for the Snowmobile Safety Course will be furnished. Those that pass the written exam will be issued a patch, certificate, and a license. 

If your child is interested in taking the course and would like to lawfully drive a snowmobile.

Preregister by calling 716-481-2623 after 5:30 p.m. 

The class is sponsored by the Millgrove Sportsmen Club, Alexander Fire Dept, Genesee Sno-Packers Snowmobile Club.

Seven hundred series were sprinkled throughout Genesee Region leagues heading into Christmas week.

Mickey Hyde, of Le Roy, coming off a GRUSBC Senior Masters title last month, posted a 767 series in the Le Roy American Legion Thursday Men's League at Legion Lanes with consistent games of 268, 245 and 254.

Along with prize money earned at the Senior Masters event, Hyde won a free spot in the GRUSBC Scratch Memorial Tournament on Jan. 4-5 at Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion, and has signed up to compete on the 1 p.m. Saturday squad.

To enter, send an email to mikep@bowlgr.com. Qualifying squads are at 1 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 4) and 10 a.m. Sunday (Jan. 5).

Other 700 shooters last week included:

-- Rob Stefani, 740 in the G&W Vending League at Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen;
-- Rich Wagner, 740 in the Toyota of Batavia Thursday League at Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia;
-- Casey Palmer Jr., 736 in the Friday Night Mixers League at Oak Orchard Bowl;
-- Brian Green, 729 in the Mancuso Real Estate/Smokin' Eagle BBQ League at Mancuso's;
-- Reid Cole, 731 in the Sneezy's Monday Night League at Oak Orchard Bowl;
-- Tom Allis, 728, and Bruce Kraus, 727, in the County Line Stone League at Paris Lanes in Oakfield.

For a list of high scores, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of this page.

Le Roy's boys swim team met a tough opponent, Attica, on Friday, losing 105-53.

Brady Fix did win two races, the 50 free at 25.26 and the 100 butterfly at 1:04.21.

Photos and information submitted by Tim McArdle.

Photos and story by Faith DesRoches.

Mackenna Johnson, a senior at Pembroke Jr./Sr. High School, has committed to attend Niagara County Community College.

She plans to play girls basketball and girls softball and she will be coached by Nate Beutel.

The signing by NCCC is a result of Johnson's accomplishments at Pembroke in both basketball and softball.

Johnson has been a starter on her basketball team for the last four years and a team captain for three of those seasons.

During Johnson's career in basketball, she ranks sixth all-time in points (529), 11th in rebounds (338), second in assists (233), and third in steals (203).

She is the only second Lady Dragon to be ranked in the top five in all four categories. The first person to do it was her sister Breanna Johnson.

As a softball player, Johnson has also been a four-year starter and a captain for three seasons. Johnson has been a Genesee Region All-Star.

Johnson said she's eager to begin her basketball and softball career with the Thunderwolves.

Top photo: Pembroke basketball coach Ron Funke, Mackenna Johnson, and Nate Beutel, NCCC coach.

The Johnson family: sisters Sydney Johnson and Aralyse Johnson, mother Shannon Johnson, father Jamie Johnson, McKenna, her sister Breanna Johnson, and grandparents Darlene and Dwayne Johnson.

The varsity girls' basketball team: Nicole von Kramer, Dekari Moss, Emily Peters, Serene Calderone, Casey Wurtz, Allie Schwerthoffer,  Isabel Breeden, Megan Conibear, and Brianna Rindell.

By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs

Although the final day of racing was canceled on Saturday (Dec. 14) due to bad weather conditions, the clubhouse that night was still sold out and the 400 or so patrons enjoyed Christmas music instead of race calls. But that was the norm at Batavia Downs in 2019; happy customers having fun at the races. 

Indicators for every aspect of the racing product pointed toward positive territory and in several areas showed record breaking performances. 

Betting-wise the on track handle was up 12.2 percent, driven by a 5-percent increase in attendance, the export signal was up 24 percent and Western Regional Off Track Betting (WROTB) revenue was up 5.3 percent. All tolled, wagering from all sources was up a combined 19.9 percent and provided the highest total handle at the track and the top three highest single night handles since WROTB reopened the Downs in 2002. 

The total handle was also $1.4 million higher than last year and all of this was accomplished with three fewer race days on the schedule. 

“Our customers came out in force, both live and at simulcast to support us all year and we couldn’t be more grateful to them,” said Todd Haight, director/general manager of Live Racing at Batavia Downs. “We gave them some of the best racing in the state this year and they validated it by betting us the whole season.”

There were several reasons for the increases and they were all primarily driven by the eight legs of the New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) culminating in the $1.8 million Night of Champions (NOC) finals in September. Along with the highest overnight purses ever offered at the track, Batavia Downs dolled out more than $8.1 million in total purses this year and that drew top horses and horsemen from across North America all year, providing great betting opportunities for the customers. 

The Downs also took full advantage of the Strategic Wagering Pool sponsored by the United States Trotting Association (USTA) and offered enhanced funds for exotic wagers that also provided free program pages for half the card on those nights. Aside from the NYSS NOC which was the highest handle in the tracks history under WROTB ownership, the track saw its highest total nightly handles on cards where the Strategic Wagering Pools were offered. 

“We had 14 Strategic Wagering opportunities during the course of the season and every one paid off," Haight said. "Many thanks to USTA Director Chris Schick and Social Media Director Michael Carter for their assistance with these wagers."

Two other factors for the increase include the simulcast department doing a great job marketing the live signal from Batavia and picking up many new customers this year which drove the export numbers and the track’s group sales department who brought in 31 percent more parties and events to the clubhouse than ever before and enhanced the live handle. 

“A lot of the people we see during live racing were introduced to the sport by attending our live concert series over the summer," Haight said. "They actually walk across the track and ask questions about horse racing and then come back when the meet starts to see it. It’s really been a good selling point for us and we’ve made many new customers as a result.”  

On the track, Billy Davis Jr. won his first driving title at Batavia Downs in 2019 by averaging two wins a night for the entire meet. His 131 wins, 102 seconds and 83 thirds out of 629 starts earned him a Universal Driver Rating (UDR) of .342 for the meet and $861,336 in purses.

Jim Morrill Jr. was second with 79 wins, 56 seconds and 37 thirds with $921,527 in earnings and Dave McNeight III was third with 78 wins, 61 seconds and 70 thirds with $543,064 in purses.

On the training side, Jim Clouser Jr. also won his first Batavia Downs training title after scoring 51 wins, 29 seconds and 39 thirds out of 219 starts for a UTR of .366 and $361,413 in earnings. His stable members finished in the money 54 percent of the time. 

Finishing second in the trainer race was Maria Rice who scored 43 wins, 31 seconds and 21 thirds out of 190 starts and earned $358,234 in purses with the legendary Gerry Sarama finishing third while making 246 starts with 32 wins, 40 seconds and 32 thirds with $256,619 in earnings. 

Live racing returns to the oldest lighted harness racing track in America on July 22, pending approval from the New York State Gaming Commission.

Pavilion is now 3-1 in girls basketball after the Gophers beat Cal-Mum Tuesday night 41-27.

Lauren Kingsley led Pavilion with 13 pts, 21 rebounds, and three blocks. Karlee Zinkievich scored 11 points and had five steals and five assists. Lindsay Lowe had 10 rebounds and scored two points.

Photos by Ryan Paddock.

Top photo: Lindsay Lowe fights through Cal-Mum pressure for a basket.

Lauren Kingsley towers over Cal-Mum defenders to sink a shot at the beginning of the first quarter.

Emily Kingsley goes up for a shot in the third quarter.

Shea Amberger on defense.

Le Roy varsity wrestling defeated Bath on Tuesday, 47-20.

Pins: Joey Brennan, Andrew Englerth, Jimmy Burns, Alana Carballo, Cole Rauscher.

The Knights are now 5-3 on the season.

Photos and info submitted by Tim McArdle.

Robbie Hanks continued his hot streak in Genesee Region USBC league play this week by rolling a 300 game and 801 series at Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion.

The right-hander, who works at the lanes owned by his father, Randy, posted games of 300, 256 and 245 in the Thursday Triples League.

It is the second 300 game in a month for Hanks.

At Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen, Brandon Marshall set the pace in the G&W Vending League on Tuesday nightwith a 279 game and 761 sereis.

For a list of scores from around the Genesee Region last week, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of this page.

Press release:

The Saturday night (Dec. 14) live card of racing at Batavia Downs has been cancelled due to heavy snow and inclement weather. This ends the 2019 racing season in Western New York as this was the last day of the meet. 

Live harness racing will return to the oldest lighted harness track in America in July.

Western Regional Off Track Betting would like to thank all the horsemen, horsewomen, fans and staff for the record season Batavia Downs had this year and wishes everyone a very Happy Holiday Season.