Sports

The in-house simulcast of race cards for the remainder of the 2010 Batavia Downs Casino harness meet in the Buffalo viewing area have been canceled.

The announcement was made Tuesday by Michael D. Kane, vice president, Operations and Live Racing.

“Due to unforeseen contractual obligations, WGRZ/Universal Sports/Buffalo was unable to carry the required number of Batavia Downs Casino live racing simulcasts," Kane said in a news release.

"We have, therefore, canceled our agreement with WGRZ in the Buffalo viewing area for the balance of the 2010 harness racing schedule. Live racing from Batavia will continue in the Rochester market."

The Batavia races will continue to be featured on Channel 98 on Time-Warner’s basic digital package in the Rochester market. The coverage area includes all or parts of Genesee, Orleans, Monroe, Livingston, Wayne, Ontario, Seneca, Yates and Steuben counties.

In the Buffalo area, the races had been carried on Channel 114 on Time-Warner (Channel 111 in Olean), WGRZ Digital Channel 2-2 and Verizon Fios Channel 460. The coverage area included all or parts of Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Wyoming, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties.

Kane reminds harness fans that race replays are available on the OTB website (www.westernotb.com <http://www.westernotb.com>) and OTB provides telephone betting through its Dial-A-Bet service. Patrons may phone 1-800-724-4000 to establish an account.

Batavia Downs Casino is owned and operated by Western Regional Off-Track Betting, a public benefit corporation. In addition to being America’s oldest lighted harness track, the facility at 8315 Park Road is home to over 600 of the most popular slots and Grandstands Bar & Grille.

For the third time in five years, the Cougar Baseball Team won the Western New York Athletic Conference Championship.

In game one on Saturday, Oct. 2 at Dwyer Stadium in Batavia, the Cougars defeated Jamestown Community College 3-0. The team was led by pitcher Greg Rapp who threw a one-hitter in all nine innings while striking out five and walking three. Nate Smith and Adam Grace each had two hits to lead the offense.

In the championship game later that day, Genesee defeated Niagara County Community College 7-1 to win the WNYAC championship.

The Cougars took the early lead scoring in the second inning. John Broll led the inning off with a walk and then scored off a single by Jacob Featherstone. NCCC came back to tie the game in the top of the sixth inning, but Genesee was determined to battle back as they continued to score throughout the game to make the score 7-1.

Adam Grace led the team in offense going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI's. Genesee starting pitcher Shaun Slemko pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up two hits while walking one. Dan Sharpe entered the game and got the win pitching the rest of the way, striking out four and walking one.

The team will play at SUNY Brockport on Saturday, Oct. 9, in an "all day" game with SUNY Brockport and Finger Lakes Community College. The team will play three games on Saturday.

On Sunday, Oct. 10 the team will hold its annual Eastern Great Lakes Baseball Showcase at Dwyer Stadium. The team invites high school students, as well as junior college players, to workout in front of four-year colleges and professional baseball scouts.

This is one of the ways Genesee successfully sends its players up to other colleges. In the last five years, the program has had 32 players get baseball scholarships from colleges and universities around the country. Genesee has also had three players drafted or sign to play professional baseball.

The team finished its Conference fall season with an impressive 11-3 record. Coach Skip Sherman says, "I could not be more proud of this team. They have worked very hard and this a well deserved championship for this group of players."

All Conference players should be announced in the next couple of weeks and the team will then begin getting prepared for a competitive spring season.

GCC Baseball Roster:

Shan Alexander, of Willemstad, Curacao; John Broll, of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada; Bryan Depew, of Wellsville; Jacob Featherstone, of Ajax, Ontario; Charles Gibbons, of Port Washington; Adam Grace, Niagara Falls, NY; Ross Graham, Kingston, Ontario; Alex Harms, Hamburg, Germany; Manuel Hernandez, Valencia, Venezuela; Josh Hill, Akron; Josh Leavitt, of Kingston, Ontario; Ivan Madafferi, of Albion; Leandro Pereira, of Curacao; John Polonius, of Curacao; Bryan Pyper, of Toronto; Greg Rapp, of Cambridge, Ontario; Adrian Rosellon, of Mexico City; Daniel Sharpe, of Youngstown; Shaun Slemko, of Courtice, Ontario; Nathan Smith, of Brampton, Ontario; Kyle Taylor, of Ajax, Ontario; Jaymee Young, of Pickering, Ontario; Greg Young, Waterloo, Ontario.

For further information please contact Genesee Community College Baseball Team Coach Sherman at 343-0055, ext. 6454 or email: SSherman@genesee.edu.

 Alexander remains in the ranks of the unbeaten at 9-0-2 with a 2-0 win in Oakfield Wednesday night.  Alexander jumped out to a 1-0 lead as Senior Midfielder Claire Hartl put a corner kick from Senior Midfielder Autumn Atkinson 13 minutes into the game.  Alexander went up 2-0 8 minutes into the 2nd half as Junior Forward Julia Pettys finished off a pass from Senior Forward Megan Schmieder.

Senior Goal Keeper Hannah Wilson made 6 saves for her 4th shutout of the season.

Alexander moves to 9-0-2 on the season 8-0-1 in the league.  Alexander travels to Holley Saturday at 6:30 for a big division 1 game.

 Here are the Genesee Region Standings up to this point (not everyone has played the same number of games):

Division 1:

Alexander 7-0-1 15 points

Attica 6-1 12 points

Holley 5-2 10 points

Bergen 2-5-1 5 points

Pembroke 2-5-1 5 points

Division 2

Wheatland-Chili 6-0-2 14 points

Oakfield 2-4-3 7 points

Kendall 3-3 6 points

Elba 1-4-2 4 points

ND 0-8 0 points

Division 1 is still up for grabs, Attica and Holley are not out of it as both still have a game against Alexander.  Division 2 is all but over as barring any major collapse by Wheatland no one can make up the ground that would be ahead of them.  Alexander and Wheatland will battle for the overall GR crown (which is actually mythical as there is no actual trophy or title).  With Division 1 and 2 having the same number of teams this year they all play an equal number of games.

What I think will be interesting is all-league.  The league appears very top heavy this year, who makes all-league will be something to take a look at at the end of the year.

Here are the state leaders:

Scoring Leaders:

Goals:

Julia Pettys (Alex) 11

Madison Dentino (Elba) 11

Abby Shilvock (Alex) 9

Erin Hale (OA) 8

Nicole Browe (Kend) 6

Assists:

Abby Shilock (Alex) 7

Megan Schmieder (Alex) 6

Jenn Vereecken (BB) 6

Kaila Browe (Kend) 5

Michayla Marchese (Pem) 5

Taylor Vanderkooi (OA) 5

Points:

Julia Pettys (Alex) 26

Abby Shilvock (Alex) 25

Madison Dentino (Elba) 24

Erin Hale (OA) 18

Goalkeeping:

GAA:

Breanna Trader (Att) .606

Hannah Wilson (Alex) .611

Kelsey Lovering (WC) .762

Alexander has moved their record to 8-0-2 overall and 7-0-1 in the league with a 1-1 tie at home against Wheatland-Chili and a 5-0 win in Kendall (in a game that was scheduled to be at Alexander but was moved to Kendall due to the field conditions at Alexander.

Tuesday Alexander and Wheatland faced off in a battle of the top 2 teams in the Genesee Region to this point in the year.  Wheatland got ahead 13 minutes from halftime  with a goal off a corner kick and took control of the game for the final portion of the half.  In the 2nd half the momentum clearly switched to Alexander's side and they held a majority of the 40 minutes of action in the Wheatland half of the field and finally cashed in as Sophomore Midfielder Rebecca Bykowski netted her first varsity goal off an assist from Sophomore Midfielder Abby Shilvock.  The game would go to OT and Alexander would continue to dominate possession but was unable to find the net again and the game ended in a 1-1 tie.

Freshman GK Jess DeAngelo played the first 75 minutes and made 1 save, Senior GK Hannah Wilson played the final 25 and didn't have to make a save.

Thursday Alexander traveled to Kendall due to the fields at Alexander not dealing with all the rain this week and faced off against a strong Kendall squad and came away with a 5-0 win.  Junior Forward Julia Pettys scored 2 goals in the first 20 minutes of the game (both assisted by Sophomore Midfielder Abby Shilvock) to put Alexander up 2-0.  Shilvock then converted a pass from Senior Forward Megan Schmieder to make it 3-0 before halftime.  Early in the 2nd half Senior Midfielder converted a cross from Pettys to make it 4-0 and late in the game Shilvock converted a rebound of a Schmieder shot to make the final tally 5-0.

Senior GK Hannah Wilson made 2 saves (including a nice diving stop early in the game) to pick up her 8th win of the season and 3rd shutout.

Alexander's next game is against Oakfield-Alabama in Oakfield at 6:30 Wednesday the 6th of October.

The Genesee Community College Office of Alumni Affairs along with the Athletics Department are pleased to announce the first class of inductees into the newly established Athletic Hall of Fame.

The first class of honorees will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at a reception at 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2 in room T119 at the Conable Technology Building, Batavia Campus. This will be part of GCC's inaugural Homecoming celebration. Family and friends of the inductees are welcomed to attend.

The Selection Committee identified six outstanding individuals, as well one team, to be inducted into the inaugural class.

Inclusion in the Hall of Fame is the highest athletic honor that the college bestows on its alumni and supporters, and recognizes the outstanding athletic achievements of individuals and teams of every era who have fostered athletics and sportsmanship at the college.

The six individuals and one team inducted into the 2010 Athletic Hall of Fame are:

Anthony Cory: Athletic Coordinator 1970-1997

Anthony "Tony" Cory coached many sports during his tenure at GCC. He is recognized for his work with the 1971 Bowling Team, which won a national championship. He is the founder and past president of the Penn York Athletic Conference and has won many team and coaching awards in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), including: Region III Regional and National Championships in Wrestling and Cross Country; Region XV Regional and National Championships in Bowling; NJCAA Region XV Coach of the Year 1971; and NJCAA Region XV Man of the Year 1997. Tony earned a bachelor's degree from SUNY Brockport and a master's degree from the University of Maryland.

Robert Santini (Class of 1984): Bowling

Robert "Bob" Santini is recognized for his accomplishments in the sport of bowling. He was named Athlete of the Year and named a NJCAA First Team All-American. He is a National Singles Champion and a National All-Event Champion. Throughout his career, he has bowled five 300 games as well as one 800 series. He competed in collegiate level bowling at GCC and Buffalo State College. He currently competes in amateur bowling events at the local, state and national levels. Bob earned an associate's degree from GCC in Business Marketing and a bachelor's degree in Business Studies from Buffalo State College.

Margaret Sisson (Class of 1971): Athlete, Coach, Administrator

Margaret "Peg" Sisson has had a tremendous career while at Genesee. She began here as a student athlete, then returned to coach and teach, and is now the college's Athletic Director. She was a student athlete from 1969-1971, when she played field hockey, volleyball, basketball and softball. She has coached women's basketball and softball while at Genesee. She has coached five All-Americans, 90 All-Region players, 101 All-Conference players, nine Players of the Year and seven 1,000-point scorers. She has led the women's basketball team to six National Championship appearances, has been named NJCAA Region III Coach of the Year six times and been named District C women's basketball National Coach of the Year five times. Peg earned her associate's degree from GCC, a bachelor's degree from Parson's College in Fairfield, Iowa, and a master's degree from SUNY Brockport.

David Spiller: Basketball

"Dave" Spiller was a highly decorated athlete during his tenure at GCC. He went on to coach at many colleges across the United States including D'Youville College, Canisius College, Fordham University, St. Joseph's University, Boston College and Ohio State University. While at GCC he was named 1975 Athlete of the Year and was an All-Region player. He holds 10 records at Genesee including total season points (609) and career points (1,058). His career scoring average was 22.5 and his career field-goal percentage was 53. He was a second-leading scorer in Region III and was awarded several coaching, service and sportsmanship awards. He went on to play at Canisius College where he was the leading scorer in the 1976-1977 season. He currently runs basketball skills training camps for individuals and teams in Columbus, Ohio. He attended Genesee Community College and earned a bachelor's degree in Communications from Canisius College.

Mickey Hyde (Class of 1987): Baseball

While playing baseball at GCC, Mickey Hyde was named to the All-District, All-Region, and a two-time member of the All-Conference teams. He is proud to have been named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year at GCC in 1987, while participating in baseball and bowling. After graduating from GCC, he played five seasons of professional baseball in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, culminating in a call up to Triple A Scranton Wilkes-Barre in 1993. During his caree, he was named the Philadelphia Phillies Minor League Player of the Month in April of 1991, the Florida State League Player of the Week, and the Phillies "Outstanding Player of Spring Training" also in 1991. He holds an associate's degree in Business Administration from GCC and a bachelor's degree in Business Management from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Delores Chiocco: Coach 1968-1989

Dolores Chiocco began her time at Genesee as a Health and Physical Education instructor in 1968. She coached the 1969-1970 women's basketball team that went undefeated with an 18-0 record. In 1975, she assisted the college in hosting the first New York State Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Field Hockey Tournament.  In the summer of 1978, she helped host the United States Field Hockey Association National Olympic Trials. Also in 1978, she led the women's Field Hockey team to a victory in the NJCAA Region III Field Hockey Tournament. Throughout the 1980s Dolores led the women's Field Hockey and Basketball teams to multiple state, regional and national tournaments. She retired from coaching in 1989 and retired from teaching in 1996 to work part-time at the college as an academic advisor. In 2002, she was inducted into the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame. She holds a bachelor's degree from Ithaca College and a master's degree from SUNY Brockport.

1971 Bowling Team

The 1971 Bowling team is the only bowling team in GCC history to win an NJCAA National Championship, beating out 20 teams from as far away as South Texas, including runner-up Erie Community College. Led by coach Tony Cory, the team won by a narrow three-pin margin, 5377-5374, to make history at Genesee Community College. The six- member team included: Joe Macaluso, Gary Nowak, Frank DelPlato, Bob Davis, Bob Kwiecien and Tom Andronico.

"These individuals as well as the team have truly brought honor to the college with their athletic contributions," Cliff Scutella, director of Student Activities and selection committee member said. "This is the college's way of giving back to those who have been great role models for the student-athletes at Genesee Community College today."

For further information, please contact Jackie Christenson, alumni coordinator at 585-343-0055 x6265 or email: <http://jkchristenson@genesee.edu>.

Press Release:

Batavia, NY --- The comeback Kid, Two Twentytwo, made it look easy when he notched his fourth win of the summer-fall meet in the $9,000 Preferred Handicap, Saturday night (Aug-25), at Batavia Downs Casino.

Leaving from post-position four with new pilot Jack Flanigen in the sulky, the 6-year-old chestnut son of Blissful Hall put up all the numbers, :27.4-:56.4-125.3 en route to a much the best two-length score in 1:53.4.

Pro Kid (Ray Fisher, Jr.), leaving from then rail got away second and finished second while former Downs track record holder Michael Scores (Tom Agosti), got away third and finished third.

“He’s a great horse to drive,” reinsman Jack Flanigen commented. “When I asked him for speed he exploded, I felt like I could have gone a lot more if I needed too.”

Two Twentytwo ($2.60) is owned by Dominic Colarusso, Jr. and trained by Richie Mays. Saturday nights win was his 8th of season in only 14 starts; he’s earned over $220,000 lifetime.

Two Twentytwo was a multiple Stakes winning freshman pacer before an injury sidelined him for more than a year.

Kevin Cummings is quickly approaching milestone win 2,000. The 40-year-old Cummings begins the new race week with 1989 career wins. The red-hot catch driver has driven home 11 winners the last four racing nights.

The 64th season of live harness racing at America’s oldest lighted harness track resumes on Tuesday. Post time is 6:40pm.

 Alexander moved to 6-0 in the league and 7-0-1 overall Friday with a 3-1 win over Elba.  Goals were scored in the final 10 minutes of the 1st half by Julia Pettys (assisted by Megan Schmieder and Abby Shilvock) and Abby Shilvock (assisted by Schmieder).  In the 2nd half Schmieder converted a pass from Shilvock 4 minutes in give Alexander a 3-0 lead.  Elba would break up the shutout in the final minutes to win 3-1.  Hannah Wilson had 6 saves in the win.

Alexander plays Wheatland-Chili at 4:30 at home Tuesday.  Wheatland is 5-0-1 in the league and Alexander is 6-0.

Ken “Doc” Holliday drove the 5,000th winner of his career on Wednesday night (Sept. 22) when he guided CC Dreamer to a nose victory in race 12 at Batavia Downs Casino.
 
Holliday’s special evening started early in the program when he set a new track record for older mares with Artistry In Rhythm in the featured $9,000 Mares Open.
 
The 46-year-old Holliday began his driving career in 1982 when he won three times in 46 starts. His best season came in 1998 when he made 466 winner's circle visits. His drives have earned over $20 million in purses throughout his career.
 
Holliday’s milestone win was decided after a long photo finish. He was surrounded by family and friends in the winner's circle.
 
“It’s a great accomplishment,” Holliday said. “I was hoping to hit it quicker but I’ve been banged up the last couple years. I’m happy it came with one of the horses my wife trains. It also helps to have a great set of owners.”
 
Career win 4,999 came in the very first race with the razor-sharp mare Artistry In Rhythm.
 
The 8-year-old Real Artist-Romantic Music distaffer would establish the new mark when she paced to a powerful 1:54 score, lowering the previous record of 1:54.4 set in 2005 by Magic Sugar and equaled by Rakalees N in 2008.
 
Heavy favorite Allamerican Tout was sent right to the front by Kevin Cummings, rolling along to fractions of :27.3, :56.4 and 1:25. But “Doc” Holliday was able to make another house call, as Artistry In Rhythm paced right on by down the stretch to pull the 28-1 upset for trainer Sherri Holliday and owner Betty Tauber.
 
The win puts Artistry In Rhythm just shy of $70,000 in seasonal earnings; she's approaching $300,000 in lifetime earnings.
 
“We got down to the half quick and I got a really good trip, she’s just a really good mare, Sherri’s done a great good job with her. I’m happy we set the record with one of Mrs. Tauber's horses,” Holliday commented about the new track record holder.

Here's a news release from Todd Haight at Batavia Downs.

"The Comeback Kid" -- Two Twentytwo --  made it look easy when he notched his fourth win of the summer-fall meet in the $9,000 Preferred Handicap, Saturday night (Sept. 25), at Batavia Downs Casino.

Leaving from post-position four with new pilot Jack Flanigen in the sulky, the 6-year-old chestnut son of Blissful Hall put up all the numbers, :27.4-:56.4-125.3 en route to a much the best two-length score in 1:53.4.

Pro Kid (Ray Fisher Jr.), leaving from then rail got away second and finished second while former Down' track-record holder Michael Scores (Tom Agosti), got away third and finished third.

“He’s a great horse to drive,” reinsman Flanigen commented. “When I asked him for speed he exploded, I felt like I could have gone a lot more if I needed to.”

Two Twentytwo ($2.60) is owned by Dominic Colarusso Jr. and trained by Richie Mays. Saturday nights win was his 8th of season in only 14 starts; he’s earned over $220,000 lifetime.

Two Twentytwo was a multiple Stakes winning freshman pacer before an injury sidelined him for more than a year.

In other harness racing news, Kevin Cummings is quickly approaching milestone win 2,000. The 40-year-old Cummings begins the new race week with 1,989 career wins. The red-hot catch driver has driven home 11 winners the last four racing nights.

The 64th season of live harness racing at America’s oldest lighted harness track resumes on Tuesday. Post time is 6:40 p.m.

Here's a news release from Todd Haight at Batavia Downs Casino.

Scorpion Moon made his return to Batavia Downs Casino a winning one when he scored a hard-fought victory in the featured $9,000 Preferred trot, Friday night (Sept. 24), at Batavia Downs Casino.
 
Sent off as a prohibitive 1-2 betting favorite, Scorpion Moon, with Josh Marks in town to drive left from his assigned outside post, was able to find the pylons getting away third.
 
Rounding the clubhouse turn on the payoff half, Marks pulled the classy son of Armbro Scorpion first over and they were quickly up to challenge the front running Hello Carlo and Downs' dashing leading reinsman Jack Flanigen.
 
Around the final turn the weekly trotting feature became a match race as Hello Carlo and Scorpion Moon separated themselves from the rest of the field.
 
Down the lane Hello Carlo was gamely digging in but a relentless Scorpion Moon was able to edge on by late to score his 14th win of the season, by a half-length, in 1:57.4. It was 6-lengths back to the third place finisher Fifty Two Finn.
 
The win put the 9-year-old gelding over the $211,000 mark in seasonal earnings for owners Andrew Herzog and Tracy Brainard, who also trains.
 
Stephen Oldford wins Billings
The Billings amateur driving series returned to America’s oldest lighted harness racetrack on Friday night and it Steve “You’re Never Too” Oldford who guided Another Traveller to victory.
 
Oldford sent Another Traveller right to the lead when the gates opened and they never had an anxious moment, scoring by 6-lengths over Guest Host with Anthony “the Capo” Verruso, while Rock Hard Ten with “Gentleman Jamie” Marra wound up a fast-closing third.
 
Two Billings trots are slated as non-wagering events at Vernon Downs on Saturday night and will be contested at 6:10 p.m. prior to the betting card getting under way.
 
Racing resumes on Saturday night post time is 6:40pm. The Downs will simulcast the rich New York Night of Champions from Yonkers Raceway. Yonkers programs will be free.
 
Batavia Downs is currently racing Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights. The 64th racing season concludes on Dec. 4. For more information please visit <http://www.bataviadownscasino.com/>.