Sports

Alexander Gage Wagner, a senior, notched his 100th in and took first place this weekend the Second Annual Robert Bradshaw Memorial Tournament in Canandaigua.

Wagner wrestled in the 152-pound weight class.

Submitted photos and information.

Press release:

Batavian Geoff Harloff led a high scoring night that featured six 700-plus series in the County Line Friday Trios League at Mancuso Bowling Center.

The right-hander rolled games of 249, 289 and 256 for a 794 series. The big set was Harloff's second 700 in as many nights as he posted a 701 in the Toyota of Batavia 4-Man League on Thursday.

Other 700 shooters in the Friday league were Scott Shields, 288--738; Chase Cone, 276--728; Matt Balduf, 266--727; Brian Green, 718, and Tom McJury, 267--710.

In the Toyota league, lefty Rich Wagner started with a 290 game en route to a 772 series to lead the way. Fred Gravanda was next with 268--736.

In the Meyer's RV Monday Night NFL League at Mancuso's, Mike Battaglia had the hot hand with games of 264 and 257 in a 732 series.

In Sunday Rolloffs action at Medina Lanes last week, Shannon Parker put together 12 consecutive strikes for his fifth United States Bowling Congress-certified 300 game.

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

Merritt Holly Jr.'s 24 points wasn't enough for Le Roy to overcome Geneseo in Boys Basketball on Friday night.

The Knights lost 57-44.

Photos by Jason Coniber.

Five of Batavia's players hit double-digits in scoring as the Blue Devils beat Greece Olympia 88-39 on Friday.

Carter McFollins scored 16 points, Carter Mullen 14, Sawyer Siverling 13, Ja'vin McFollins 12, and Aiden Bellavia 11. Adding on, Rashaad Christie scored eight points and Mike McKenzie scored six.

Batavia improves to 8-2 on the season.

Also, in Boys Basketball on Friday:

• Pavilion beat Cal-Mum 56-36
• Le Roy lost to Geneseo, 57-44

In Girls Basketball:

• Elba beat Kendall, 47-12. Sydney Reilly scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds. Haille Scouten scored five points and had 15 rebounds, Kennedy Augello scored nine points and had four assists.
• Notre Dame beat Alexander, 48-28. Amelia McCulley scored 26 points. 
• Byron-Bergen beat Attica, 52-25
• Oakfield-Alabama beat Lyndonville, 49-40
• Arcadia beat Batavia 44-34
• Geneseo beat Le Roy, 50-37
• Wheatland beat Pembroke, 38-36

Blue Devils' next game is away at Livonia High School Tuesday, at 7 p.m.

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

Notre Dame improved to 8-1 on the season in Girls Basketball with a 47-32 win over Holley.

Amelia McCulley scored 20 points for the Fighting Irish, hitting two three-pointers along the way, and coming up with five rebounds, two blocks and three steals.

Avelin Tomidy scored eight points and had six rebounds. Emma Sisson scored seven points and had five rebounds.

Also in Girls Basketball on Wednesday:

• Alexander beat Elba 58-53. Alyssa Kramer scored 32 points for Alexander. Laurel Kania scored 13, and Melanie Pohl scored 10.  No stats reported for Elba.
• Byron-Bergen beat Pembroke 52-40. Kendall Phillips scored 19 points for the Bees. Karli Houseknecht scored 11 points for the Dragons.

In Boys Basketball:

• Batavia beat Vertus 74-71. The Blue Devils improved to 7-2 on the season. Ja'Vin McFollins scored 19 points for Batavia. Carter McFollins scored 17. Aiden Bellavia scored 15. 
• Le Roy beat Letchworth 67-49. Merritt Holly, Jr. scored 26 points for the Knights.
• Pavilion lost to Mount Morris, 67-52.

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

Press release from Genesee Region USBC:

Scott Culp of Honeoye Falls successfully climbed the stepladder finals consisting of five former champions to claim the 69th Genesee Region USBC Scratch Memorial Tournament title on Sunday at Mancuso Bowling Center.

The high-revving 44-year-old right-hander, who won the event in 2017, 2018 and 2020, saved his best for last -- rolling a 279 game to defeat Matt Slocum of Perry, who posted 204. Slocum won the tournament in 2007.

The victory was worth $700 for Culp, who has been one of the area's finest league and tournament bowlers for the past two decades. Slocum, who has returned to action this season after suffering a collapsed bicep muscle in his right arm, earned $350.

Culp, qualified in the fourth position for the stepladder finals, and proceeded to defeat Jake Rosenbeck of Medina, 198-190; No. 3 seed Adam Philp of Le Roy, 222-195, and No. 2 seed Kevin Gray Jr. of Warsaw, 245-180, before facing Slocum.

Culp said he didn't think he'd get past the first game of the stepladder finals due to a sore arm.

"My arm started bothering me in the first match, so I backed off a bit -- (releasing it) easier at the bottom," he said. "Bowling on the same pair for the finals, I was able to get lined up and that made it tough for the guys coming in."

He said he used the Storm IQ Tour for most of the tournament -- ending with that ball and the Roto Grip Hyper Solid Pearl in the title match.

Slocum, another powerful righty, said he was happy to be in top form after suffering the injury in the same tournament last year.

"I was able to line up in practice and used the same ball throughout -- the Roto Grip Hectic. Slocum posted a 933 score for the four-game semifinals, edging Gray Jr. by 13 pins for the top seed.

Gray Jr., the 2016 and 2019 champion, won $240, while Philp, who won in 2011, earned $200, and Rosenbeck, the 2021 champion, pocketted $180.

Gray earned an additional $25 for being the overall high qualifier with 1,000 for his four games. Rosenbeck fired 277 in his fourth semifinal game to jump into the finals.

The tournament -- which was contested on a special "Challenge" oil pattern designed by Kegel -- drew 74 entrants over three qualifying squads (two on Saturday and one on Sunday morning). The GRUSBC added $300 to the prize fund.

The top 17 bowlers after qualifying bowled four more games on Sunday afternoon to determine the five finalists.

Medina's Curtis Foss placed sixth, Batavia's Mike Pettinella was seventh and Le Roy's John Lowe was eighth. All won $160.

In ninth through 12th place, each earning $135, were Dave DiSalvo of Mount Morris, Brian Green of Batavia, Aaron Philp of Le Roy and defending champion Devon Leach of Batavia.

In 13th through 17th place were Nick Johnson of Bergen, Hayden Allis of Medina, Dennis Van Duser of Perry, Brady Weber of Perry and Jim Pursel of Batavia. They each won $120.

Aaron Philp had the tournament's high game -- his first USBC-certified 300 game during the opening qualifying round.

For a complete list of the tournament scores, go to www.bowlgr.com.

It was a good day for harness racing at Batavia Downs on Monday. It was cold.  But it was good.

Don Hoover, director of live racing, said that while patrons mostly huddled inside during the races, the turnout for the first night of winter racing at the Downs, in many decades, was strong.

"If you compare this to like Wednesday nights during the season, or regular racing, we have more people here than a typical Wednesday and people seem to be enjoying it," Hoover said.

And they were betting.

"We're only through eight races (at the time of the interview with The Batavian), but the handle looks good," Hoover said. "I'm being optimistic right now because we still have races to go, but our total handle today could surpass any day of last year. It's possible, but it'll definitely be in the top five."

Hoover's prediction proved correct. Total wagers on for the evening were $257,510. That total was over $20,000 higher than any race card of 2022 and the best overall handle at Batavia Downs since 2019 when betting topped $339,000 during the New York Sire Stakes Night of Champions.

The winter meet came about, he said, because the Western New York Harness Horseman's Association came to Batavia Downs and said the Buffalo Raceway said it wasn't going to hold winter meets any longer. 

"They had a raft of cancellations (due to weather) last year," Hoover said.

After some negotiations, Batavia Downs agreed to host two race events each week in January and February. Assuming drivers and trainers can get to the track on a winter's day, Hoover said he thinks Batavia Downs is well-positioned to host the planned events.

"We have a great track crew," Hoover said."We bought some new equipment. We have a different starting gate if needed. So we're hoping that the preventative measures we've taken will overcome the weather unless, you know, if we have blizzard conditions, nothing can overcome a blizzard."

While Batavia has a bit of an advantage over Buffalo in terms of storm impacts, being further from Lake Erie, many of the race participants have to travel from or through the area to get to Batavia.  That could have an impact on races.

"The first time we canceled in November, we were fine here, but the problem was there was a travel ban," Hoover said. "Many of the horsemen come from the Hamburg area, and there would have been no way for them to get here. Kevin Cummings, Jim Morrill, other drivers are coming from that area, so they couldn't get here. So even though we're not Buffalo, and we think the track will be in better shape, because we won't have as extreme weather, we also have to factor in, 'can the participants get here safely?'"

The 15-day session will run through Feb. 27 and operate on a Monday and Thursday schedule. Post time for each race day is set at 3 p.m. 

Hoover is optimistic this winter meet won't be a one-and-done experiment.

"We have to see how it goes and see if it's worthwhile doing it again," Hoover said. "I mean, we're committed for this year, and then we'll, at the end of February, we'll take a look at it and see how it worked out. But if you were going to ask me today how it's working out, I'd say it's working out great."

See also: Stalbaum steals the show in Batavia Downs winter opener

Photos by Howard Owens. 

Bad to the Bone, winner in the eighth.

Batavia police officers and Batavia firefighters battled for supremacy on the ice on Sunday at the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena in a first-ever charity game between the two departments.

Batavia PD came out on top, 5-2.

Proceeds benefited the David M. McCarthy Memorial Foundation.

Photos by Philip Casper.

Three 300 games. Four 800 series. Three 290 games. Last week was quite a week for league bowling in the Genesee Region USBC.

In chronological order:

MONDAY

At Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia, teammates left-hander Brian Cline and right Paul Bacon set an association record for a doubles three-game series in the Mancuso Real Estate Doubles League.

Cline rolled games of 247-279-278 for an 804 series and Bacon added 257-277-234--768 for a 1,572 series.

At Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion. Curtis Foss added to his long list of honor scores with 227-289-300--816 in the Sneezy's Monday Night League. 

TUESDAY

At Mancuso's, Nick Johnson began the second half of the Turnbull Heating Triples League with a bang -- posting a 290 game en route to a 774 series.

THURSDAY

At Oak Orchard Bowl, Robbie Hanks set a "house record" with an 848 series -- registering 33 out of a possible 36 strikes in the Thursday Triples League. His games were 268-300-280.

The right-hander left two 4-pins in the first game and a 4-pin in the second frame of the third game. Every other delivery resulted in 10 pins into the pit.

At Mancuso's, Devon Leach broke the 800 mark with 268-290-258--816 in the Toyota of Batavia 4-Man League.  Rich Wagner posted 288--763 and Marshall Merle strung 11 strikes after an opening spare with a 290 game.

FRIDAY

At Mancuso's, Mark Brown opened the County Line Friday Trios League with a 300 game en route to a 731 series. Brian Green took top honors for the night with 739.

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

Press release:

This Sunday, Jan. 8, at 6:30 p.m., the City of Batavia Police Department and Fire Department are squaring off for a hockey match-up. 

The two agencies have battled it out on the softball diamond in years past. 

The game will take place at the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena. 

The board of directors at the ice rink has gone above and beyond to make this event both successful and memorable.

Robbie Nichols (owner of the Batavia Muckdogs) brought this idea to both departments.  Nichols hosted similar events in Binghamton.  Marc Witt (employed by Nichols and the Muckdogs) has taken lead on organizing the game. 

The doors at the ice rink will open at 5:30 p.m.  Patrons will be welcomed by some high-energy music to set the tone for the evening.   The teams will take the ice for warm-ups around 5:50 p.m.

At around 6:30 p.m., the show starts.  Team introductions will have all patrons on their feet.  The National Anthem is being played by Miles Meyer on electric guitar.  Puck drop is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., directly after the ceremonial puck drop. 

The ice rink secured a one-day liquor license and will be stocked with your favorite food/beverages.  The night will include 50/50 drawings.  Staff is still trying to work out the logistics of the fan favorite “chuck a puck.”  The Batavia Rampart Mite Teams will keep fans entertained by playing during intermissions. 

All proceeds will benefit the David McCarthy Memorial foundation.    

Submitted photo.

It has been decades since Batavia Downs hosted a winter race meet at the oldest lighted harness track in North America, but that all changes on Monday when the 2023 harness racing season gets underway in Western New York. The 15-day session will run through Monday (Feb. 27) and operate on a Monday-Thursday schedule. Post time for each race day is set at 3 p.m. 

All the Downs favorite local drivers and trainers will be back in action along with a host of ship-in talent, who already have a strong presence on day one. The wagering menu remains the same and will feature (on a 13-race card) five Doubles, 13 Exactas, 13 Trifectas, 12 Superfectas, two Pick-3s, two Pick-4, one Pick-5 and one Jackpot Super Hi-5 pentafecta. 

“I am happy to have Batavia Downs host a live winter racing meet for the first time in over 20 years. And I was also very pleased with the trainer’s response to the first draw, with 127 horses entered for our opening day program. That card will feature two divisions of Open pacers and two divisions of Open trotters,” said Don Hoover, General Manager and Race Secretary at Batavia Downs. 

“The 13th and final race of the day is a very competitive upper-level conditioned trot featuring a nine-horse field. It also has a $17,500 guaranteed pool in the Jackpot Super Hi-5 pentafecta with a 20-cent minimum wager.”

That Jackpot Super Hi-5 pentafecta had a carryover of $10,733 going into the final night of the 2022 season and was required to be paid out as it was the last card of the year. But when racing was canceled due to weather prior to that race, the carryover was moved to opening night of 2023 (Monday, January 9) and will again be offered as a "must pay". But the pool has also been guaranteed at $17,500 through the United States Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering Program and as such, a free program page for that race can be downloaded at the USTA website under the “Handicapping” tab. 

Full card past performance forms for all live race nights at Batavia Downs can always be downloaded for free from the track’s website at bataviadownsgaming.com under “Live Racing”. You can also stream all the live action as it happens for free on the Batavia Downs YouTube page.

Caitlin Ryan, with 25 points and eight rebounds, helped lead Oakfield-Alabama to a 56-53 win over Elba on Elba's home court in Girls Basketball on Thursday night.

MacKena Reding added 10 points and seven assists and Alea Groff scored nine, for O-A, while Brooke Reding and Emma Ray added five a piece. 

For the Landers, Sydney Reilly scored 21 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Halie Scouten scored 15 points and snagged 14 rebounds. She also blocked five shots.  Lydia Ross scored nine points.

The Hornets are now 8-1 and Elba drops to 2-6.

Photos by Kristin Smith.

Thursday's Rotary Girls Basketball Tournament championship game was everything hoops fans could hope for -- timely shooting, aggressive defensive, top players playing hard, and a final outcome that wasn't certain until the buzzer at the end.

Notre Dame beat Pavilion 44-43.

"It's been a while since we've had a nail-biter like that," said Tom McCulley, head coach of the Fighting Irish. "You've got two good teams that are well coached and with some players that can do special things and who are competitors, so at the end, you know you never feel comfortable as a coach with a two-point lead with 10 seconds left. It's never over in that situation."

Avelin Tomidy won the tournament's Ray Shirtz Service over Self Award, and the two free throws she made with eight seconds left may have swayed a few judge's votes.  Those free throws gave Notre Dame a four-point lead. If she missed either shot, it may have been a different game. Karlee Zinkievich, who was already having a big night and a bigger second half, hit a three-point shot with four seconds left. The Gophers were out of position to foul to stop the clock on Notre Dame's inbound pass eliminating any hope, how small it might have been, of getting another possession.

"It makes it exciting for the fans and the players and gets my heart pumping a little bit," McCulley said.

Pavilion's head coach Ben Schwenebraten would like to have notched the win, of course, but it was an exciting game.

"We knew it would be tough playing against Notre Dame," he said. "Notre Dame is in our class this year, and they're really tough, so it's a good game. It came right down the end, and we had a chance it just didn't go our way a couple of shots. We missed a couple of shots, missed a couple of box outs, and they finished, so it was a good game."

Schwenebraten said he was proud of how his team overcame a 10-point half-time deficit.

"It's all you hoped for in a game, that you have a chance at the end," Schwenebraten said. "We wanted to battle back and be in the game, and the girls did go right back out in the third quarter and played hard and then we had a chance at the end."

A big reason Pavilion had that chance was the play of Karlee Zinkievich in the second half, who played fearless basketball.

"She's a workhorse," Schwenebraten said. "She drives the bus for us. Once she gets going it helps everybody else out and she really did in the second half. She played great. She was attacking on offense, driving to the basket, taking jump shots, and she made that shot at the end of the game."

The difference maker for Notre Dame on Thursday was Emma Sisson, who was named the tournament MVP.  

"We needed her," Tom McCulley said. "Amelia had a big night the other night, but she's been sick, and it really hit her today. Emma had the opportunities, and she took full advantage of them. I mean, she made big shots, and she drove to the basket, so we started to adjust the game plan a little bit because we couldn't run everything that we needed to run because another one of our starters was out sick. We kind of had to go a little bit vanilla tonight and just run some basic stuff. Emma did a really good job of freelancing and getting to the basket and getting us some big layups at some big times."

Notre Dame is now 7-1 and Pavilion is 6-2.

Notre Dame scoring: 

• Emma Sisson, 23 point
• Amelia McCulley, 10 points and four rebounds and four steals
• Avelin Tomidy, eight points, nine rebounds and nine steals

Pavilion scoring:

• Lauren Kingsley, 16 points
• Karlee Zinkievich, 15 points
• Kylie Conway, eight points

In the consolation game earlier in the evening, Pembroke beat Batavia 45-41.  

Pembroke scoring:

• Karli Houseknecht: 13 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
• Elle Peterson: 11 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals
• Olivia Breeden: 8 points, 1 assist, 4 rebounds, 3 steals

Photos by Howard Owens.  For more, or to purchase prints, click here.

Emma Sisson was named tournament MVP. The all-tournment team was Anna Varland, Batavia, Karli Houseknecht, Pembroke, Amelia McCulley, Notre Dame, Lauren Kingslee, Pavilion, and Karlee Zinkievich, Pavilion. Avelin Tomidy received the Ray Shirtz Service Above Self Award.

Batavia Notre Dame United captures the David McCarthy Memorial Hockey Tournament with a 6-5 victory over Section VI powerhouse Niagara Wheatfield.  

United found themselves in unfamiliar territory early in the second period trailing 3-1.

“We were playing well. We just needed to stick with it and stay positive," said Head Coach Marc Staley. "They are a great team. We knew this would be a battle.”

BND rattled off four goals in the second period, flipping the lead in the game from down by one to up by one.

“Our PowerPlay has been so strong this year," Staley said. "They took a few undisciplined penalties and made them pay”

BND went 4-6 on the PowerPlay during the game.

BND was only called for three minor penalties in the game and outshot NW 41-22.  

"This was a great night for the program," Staley said. "Winning your home tournament is always fun, but beating one of Section VI’s top teams in the meantime gives a nice confidence boost moving forward”

Now onto the next challenge.

Next, United takes on 2022 Section V Class A Champion Victor (7-1) on Friday night at the Rochester Ice Center.  

“This is the schedule we want," Staley said. "We want to play the top teams and see how we stack up.  Taking care of Bethlehem (8-0) from Section II, now beating Niagara Wheatfield (7-1-1) from Section VI, now another huge test with Section V’s best, Victor.

“The kids are hungry," he added. "They are focused.  And I love that they aren’t content.  We are still getting better.  I know we have another level up from here.  Our biggest tests are still in front of us.  We are building nicely towards those games”

Photos by Erin Staley.

Batavia Blue Devils beat Greece Arcadia on Wednesday in Rochester and picked up a win, 66-40.

In the opening quarter, Aiden Bellavia scored eight points, and Ja'Vin McFollins scored five to help push Batavia out in front early.

Second-quarter defensive mishaps by Batavia along with some turnovers helped Arcadia regain the lead, making it 24-23 at the half.

In the third quarter, Carter McFollins scored six points and Mikey McKenzie hit two threes to get Batavia off to a rolling start.

"The third quarter was the key to the game," said Head Coach Buddy Brasky. "We came out of halftime and really increased the ball pressure.  That led to them turning the ball over, which led to us getting out on the fast break. Once we got rolling, we started hitting a few threes, and it was game over."

Batavia added points from Sawyer Silverling, Rashad Christie and Bellavia to give the Blue Devils 25 points in the quarter while holding Greece scoreless, which gave them a 48-24 lead after three.

Blue Devils' scoring leaders were Mikey McKenzie, and Aiden Bellavia, who both tallied 16 points.  Carter McFollins scored 8, Sawyer Silverling 7 

Batavia's record improves to 5-2

The team's next game is at home against Southwestern Central at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

Pavilion improved to 6-1 on the season with a 49-35 win over Batavia in a first-round game of the 33rd Annual Batavia Rotary Club Basketball Tournament.

Karlee Zinkievich scored 22 points for the Gophers. Lauren Kingsley scored 17.

For Batavia, Anna Varland and Jaimin Macdonald scored 11 points each.

It was the eighth loss for the Blue Devils this season.

Pavilion faces Notre Dame in the tournament's championship game on Thursday at GCC at 7:45 p.m.

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photo by Steve Ognibene

Amelia McCulley scored 31 points to lead Notre Dame to a 62-19 win over Pembroke in a first-round game of the 33rd Annual Batavia Rotary Club Basketball Tournament at GCC on Tuesday.

Emma Sisson scored 14 points for the Irish, and Avelin Tomidy scored eight. Sisson also had ten rebounds and five steals. Tomidy had 11 rebounds and six assists. 

Olvia Breeden scored eight points for the Dragons.

Notre Dame will play in the championship game at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday at GCC.

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photo by Steve Ognibene

The Batavia Rotary Club hosts its 33rd Girls Basketball tournament at GCC starting tonight with games between Notre Dame and Pembroke and Batavia and Pavilion, with the championship game scheduled for Thursday.

The club held its tipoff luncheon today, introducing the teams at the Arc GLOW facility on Woodrow Road in Batavia.

Notre Dame is aiming to repeat its championship of a year ago, and Head Coach Tom McCulley complimented the Rotary Club on the quality of its tournament.

"This is a great, a great thing you guys put together," McCulley said. "I mean, I know a lot of teams really wanted to get in this tournament, and it's because of this environment and what you guys do, not just the one night or two days at the college, but you're out here for sports. It's a well-run tournament. From the concessions to the award ceremonies to the games to the timing, everything is top notch."

Game one tonight is Notre Dame vs. Pembroke at 6 p.m. Batavia faces Pavilion at 7:45 p.m.  The championship is at 7:45 p.m. Thursday.

Top photo: Karlee Zinkievich, Pavilion, Karli Houseknecht, Pavilion, and Amelia McCulley, Notre Dame (Batavia's team was unable to attend the luncheon).

Photos by Howard Owens.

Note Dame: Tom McCulley, Avelin Tomidy, Maggie Monachino, Maylee Green, Emma Sisson, and Amelia McCulley.

Pembroke: (from right) Head Coach Jamie Johnson, Karli Houseknecht, Isabel Breeden, Elle Peterson, and Assistant Coach Aralyse Johnson

Pavilion: Head Coach Ben Schwenebraten, Lauren Kingsley, and Karlee Zinkievich.