Sports

Genesee beat Orleans on Friday in the Boys Basketball Exceptional Seniors Game, 94-55

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro.

York pulled out a two-point victory over Alexander on Monday at Letchworth in the Boys Basketball Class C consolidation game.

York won 66-64.

Scoring for the Trojans:

• Dylan Pohl, 19 points
• Kingston Woods, 12 points
• Jake Brooks, 11 points
• Austin Wakefield, 10 points

Photos by Melissa Brooks.

The Elba Lancers Girls Basketball season remains perfect, with a 54-26 win over Filmore on Saturday to capture the Section V Class D championship.

Sydney Reilly scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Lancers to victory.

Brea Smith scored 14 points.

Photos by Debra Reilly.

For the first time in program history, the Alexander Boys Basketball team won a Section V block, beating C1 #1 seed Geneseo 60-55 at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester.

Scoring for Alexander:

• Dylan Pohl,  17 points (Tournament MVP)
• Kingston Woods,  13 points (All-Tournament Team)
• Austin Wakefield,  11 points (All-Tournament Team)
• Jacob Brooks,  11 points (All-Tournament Team)

The Trojans are coached by Jalen Smith,  in his third year, and a former basketball standout with Batavia. He was a member of the 2013 team that vied for a state championship.

The season record for Alexander is 15-4, with one of those loses previously coming to Geneseeo in the second game of the season, 39-31.

The Trojans face York on Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Letchworth in a Class C consolidation game.

Press release:

The Batavia Indoor Track team is in the final weeks of a very impressive winter season, with the New York State Championships on the horizon this coming weekend.  

The meet is being held on Saturday, March 8, at the Ocean Breeze Athletic facility on Staten Island in New York City.  Batavia has 18 athletes who have qualified for this event and we are very excited to compete this weekend at this competitive meet! 

Batavia will again be well represented in the throws circle, with two seniors competing in states. Sheldon Siverling broke his own school record and became the first Blue Devil to throw over 60 feet in Shot Put with a winning throw of 60' - 2.25" at State Qualifiers.  He also impressively won the Weight Throw with a distance of 63' - 6".  He will enter the State meet ranked 3rd in the state for Shot Put with a great opportunity to come home with another State Championship.  Ava Wierda also had a terrific meet, winning the Weight Throw with a distance of 49' - 1.5" and will compete for the 2nd year in a row at the State meet in this event.

Cooper Konieczny has shattered the record books for Batavia and will represent the Blue Devils at the State Meet in Pole Vault.  He cleared 14' - 0" at the State Qualifier meet and will look to improve his school record this weekend.

Not to be outdone, the Blue Devil distance crew is in the midst of arguably their best season ever, with multiple school records broken and multiple athletes competing at states in individual events and both the men's and women's 4x800 Relays. 

Cameron Garofalo has earned himself a spot amongst the best distance runners ever to compete for Batavia, having broken the school records in the 3200m, the 1600m, and finally the 1000m, all during this winter season.  He ran a 2:32.64 in the 1000m last weekend, breaking a school record from 1998, and he will compete in this event at the State Championship.  He will also anchor the Boys 4x800 Relay along with E'Nhazje Carter, Grant Gahagan, and Nate Kinsey.  Their time of 8:26.50 won the State Qualifier meet ahead of 2nd place Marcus Whitman and is less than 7 seconds away from the existing school record (8:20.24). 

For our Lady Devils, Campbell Riley will also compete at Indoor States for the 2nd year in a row in the 1000m, having won this event at the State qualifier meet with a time of 3:00.58.  She is one of the most decorated Batavia female athletes of all time and will compete in three events at the State meet, anchoring the 4x400 relay, and the 4x800 relay as well.  The 4x400 Relay also includes Ady O'Donnell, Ava Anderson, and Karizma Wescott, and they will be seeded to medal at states after finishing first last week with a time of 4:10.76.

The girl's 4x800 Relay was arguably the race of the night at State Qualifiers, with our four athletes breaking the school record, which was previously established in 2003.  Mallory Boyce led off the relay with an incredible first leg, placing the Blue Devils in first. We never looked back through the rest of the event.  Jenna Higgins ran 2nd, Amelia Tripp 3rd, with Campbell Riley anchoring the relay to its 1st place finish and new school record of 9:56.69. 

It is with great pride that we are bringing 18 athletes with us this season to finish the Indoor Track and Field season at the New York State Championships.  The Blue Devils have embraced our tough reputation across Section V and want to add their own chapter to our storied history and traditions. We are very excited to compete and represent Batavia at States this weekend!

The Alexander Trojans will play for a Section V trophy on Friday at 9 p.m. at Blue Cross Arena after beating Gananda on Wednesday 75-61.

Scoring for Alexander:

• Kingston Woods, 30 points
• Dylan Pohl, 14 points
• Jake Brooks, 14 points
• Austin Wakefield, 11 points

Photos by Melissa Brooks.

Keshequa beat Oakfield-Alabama on Wednesday Class C2 Girls Basketball semifinal 41-29.

Scoring for the Hornets:

• Alea Groff, 9 points, 4 rebounds
• Piper Hyde, 7 points, 6 rebounds,  4 steals, 4 assists
• Raine  Denny, 5 points, 5 rebounds
• Allison Harkness, 4 points, 5 rebounds
• Allie Williams, 2 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals
• Rylee Denny, 2 points

"I am so proud of my team. We had a tremendous year at 16-7, reaching a sectional semifinal and playing tremendously hard against the second-ranked team in NYS," said Coach Jeff Schlagenhauf. "I thank our seniors, Alea, Piper and Jessica, for all they have done for our program. They have been tremendous!"

Photos by Jordyn Tobolski.

A good run for Byron-Bergen came to an abrupt end Wednesday in the Girls Basketball Class C1 semifinal when the Bees were beat by Bloomfield 79-32.

"We ran into a really good team in Bloomfield," said Bees Coach  Rick Krzewinski. "They won sectionals and returned all five starters. They hit 10 3-pointers from 4 different girls. Even though it’s not how we wanted the season to end, this group finished the season with an 18-4 record. That equaled the 2015 team. The 2020 team went 18-5."

Scoring for Byron-Bergen: 

• Riley Shallenberger, 15 points
• Janessa Amesbury, 8 points

Lily Baughman scored 29 points for Bloomfield, and Calla McCombs scored 19.

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro.

For the fourth time in four meetings this year, Elba beat Notre Dame in Girls Basketball, this time to send the Lancers to the Class D championship game against Filmore on Saturday at Finger Lakes Community College.

Elba won 52-36 to stay undefeated on the season.

The Lancers are the #1 seed in Class D and will face the #2 at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Scoring for Elba:

• Sydney Reily, 17 points
• Mariah Ognibene, 10 points

For Notre Dame:

• Sofia Falleti, 17 points
• Gionna Falleti, 10 points

Photos by Debra Reilly.

Sometimes, the puck does not bounce your way, and last night, everything clicked for Victor Blue Devils as they defeated Batavia Notre-Dame by a score of 6-3.

Victor’s Simon Kowal scored early and took a 2-0 lead after the first period.  Jameson Motyka had a chance early on when he had the goalie beat on the right-side post but could not get the puck in the net.

BND scored on the power play by Motyka early in the second to cut Victor's lead to one.  

Victor answered back shortly after.  

Two minutes later, a nice pass to Chase Cummings on a breakaway led to a goal, reducing the deficit again to one, Victor leading 3-2.  

However, on a key power play BND failed to connect, and Victor went on the power play a short time later and scored, then added two more before the end of the period to lead 6-2.

In the third period, with nine minutes left, Sam Pies passed the puck to Motyka to give BND’s last goal. 

Final was Victor over BND 6-3.

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Press release:

On February 20, 2025, Janessa Amesbury broke the 38-year-old Byron-Bergen Girls Basketball single-game scoring record with 41 points. Amesbury, a senior, has been playing basketball since 5th grade. She also takes part in Varsity Soccer and Softball.

“What she has done this year has been absolutely amazing,” said Varsity Girls Basketball Head Coach Richard Krzewinski. “She didn’t come up to varsity until halfway through her sophomore year. Last year she averaged 18 points a game. Going into sectionals she is averaging 26 points per game. She is closing in on 1,000 career points. She would be the fifth B-B girls basketball player to hit 1,000, joining her mother Tammy (1984) and sister Julianna (2020).”

"I would like to offer my congratulations to Janessa," said Athletic Director Rich Hannan. “She loves the game of basketball and plays with reckless abandon. She plays her heart out each night and her passion for the game is evident each and every time she laces up her shoes. Breaking a long-standing record like this is quite the accomplishment.”

Of this new record, Amesbury said, “I would like to thank my coaches and my mom for pushing me to be the best I can be.”

After averaging 13 points per game in 2023/24 for Oakfield-Alabama, Gavin Armbrewster had high hopes for his senior hoops season, says his coach Ryan Stehlar.

Then he suffered a complete tear of his ACL during the 2024 football season.

Rather than undergo surgery, Armbrewster decided to tough it out, try to help his team and compete in 2024/25.

"Although this injury happened, he still wanted to end his basketball career on his own terms, trying what he could," Stehlar said in an email calling attention to the point guard's efforts this season for the Hornets.

"He missed four total games out of 22 due to his leg giving out at practice and needing time to recover to play again," Stehlar said. "This happened a night before a game, and he still elected to play the next game in a ton of discomfort because he didn't want to let the team down."

Here are the highlights of Armbrewster's senior season, Stehlar said.  p

• Points Per Game: 10.7 (2nd leading scorer on our team and came off the bench the majority of the year)
• Rebounds Per Game: 1.9
• Assists Per Game: 2.2
• Steals Per Game: 1.6

"In his last six games, including sectionals, he averaged double digits in points, averaging a PPG of 16.8," Stehlar said. "He hit 30 total 3-pointers and even had a game where he hit 6.  He was our leader in this category for the season and one of our best free-throw shooters."

Stehler called Armbrewster "a great kid."

"(He) did something I have never seen in my 17 years of coaching.  He showed amazing poise each night, learned how to play differently, never wanted to let his teammates down, but, more importantly, persevered under extremely difficult circumstances. "

Photos by Jordyn Tobolski

After jumping to an early lead, East High dominated the Batavia Blue Devils through four quarters of the Section V Class A semifinal at Finger Lakes Community College on Monday.

The #1 seed beat #4 Batavia 64-46.

Scoring for Batavia:

• Casey Mazur, 19 points
• Gavin White, 10 points
• Justin Smith, 8 points
• Carter Mullen, 7 points

Photos by Jim Burns.

Oakfield-Alabama beat Arkport-Canaseraga 54-40 in the Class C2 Girls Basketball quarterfinal on Saturday.

Scoring for the Hornets:

• Alea Groff,  17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists
• Alexa Clark, 11 points, 8 rebounds
• Piper Hyde, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
• Allie Williams, 8 points, 6 rebounds, 5 blocks
• Jessica Sosnowski, 7 points
• Allison Harkness, 2 points

"I can't begin to describe the defensive effort our kids came through with today," said O-A Coach Jeff Schlagenhauf. "Our team defense was incredible, and Alexa, Piper and Alea were tasked with some challenging defensive assignments as they are a high-powered offensive team. We showed great discipline and composure. I am incredibly proud of our kids. A total team effort."

The Hornets are the #5 seed in Class C2 and next face #1 seed Keshequa in the semifinal on Wednesday at Avon at 7:45 p.m.

Photos by  Jordyn Tobolski

Mynderse, ranked #6, beat #3 ranked Le Roy in the Boys Basketball Class B1 quarterfinal on Saturday 70-45.

Scoring for Le Roy:

• Jake Higgins, 13 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal
• Brayden Chase, 7 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist
• Matthew Hockey, 6 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists
• Grady Gilligan, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
• Jean Agosto, 4 points, 6 rebounds

Photos by Kristin Smith.

Byron-Bergen beat Kendall 45-38 on Saturday in the Girls Basketball Class C1 quarterfinal.

Scoring for the Bees:

• Janessa Amesbury, 24 points
• Senfi Olivia, 7 points
• Riley Schallenberger, 6 points
• Natalie Prinzi, 6 points

Bees, the #2 seed, will face #3 seed Bloomfield at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Honeoye Falls/Lima.

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro

Notre Dame defeated Andover Whitesville 41-16 in a Class D quarterfinal game in Girls basketball on Saturday.

Sofia Falleti led the Irish with 10 points and eight rebounds. Also scoring was Emma Fitch with six points and four steals, PennyJo Thompson with six points and five rebounds and Gianna Falleti with four points and four steals.

“The whole team played an equal amount today and was able to contribute on both ends of the floor. I was so proud of all our girls' defensive efforts and how hard they played,” said Coach Vinny Falleti.

The win for the Irish sets up a finals match-up in Class D between arch-rivals Notre Dame, the #4 seed, and Elba, the undefeated #1 seed. That game will be at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday at Mount Morris.

Photos by Pete Welker.

Elba beat Avoca-Prattsburgh in the Section V Class D Girls Basketball quarterfinal on Saturday 71-56.

Scoring for Elba:

• Brea Smith, 19 points
• Mariah Ognibene, 14 points
• Sydney Reilly, 13 points
• Lydia Ross, 12 points
• Maddie Hall, 11 points

Photos by Debra Reilly.

Alexander beat Byron-Bergen on Friday in the Class C1 quarterfinal 83-50.

Scoring for the Trojans:

• Dylan Pohl, 18 points
• Kingston Woods, 18 points
• Jake Brooks, 13 points
• Austin Wakefield, 12 points

Alexander, the #2 seed in Class C1, plays #3 seed Gananda at 6 p.m. at Cal-Mum on Monday in the semifinal.

Photos by Melissa Brooks.

With 5.6 seconds left and the Blue Devils down by a point, 52-51, Ty Gioia sank a three-pointer to give the #4 seed Batavia a win in a Section V Class A quarterfinals game on Friday.

Batavia beat the #5 seed, Pittsford-Sutherland 54-52.

"I can take no credit for that last shot," said Coach Buddy Brasky. "I mean, Ty just stepped up, got the ball, and he's a kid who hasn't been getting a lot of playing time a sophomore, and Brady (Mazur) fouled out, and he stepped up and did it. So I can't take any credit for that. But you know what I was telling them, basically, is to follow our principles, follow our defensive principles, get stops, and we can win this game. We got some key stops down the stretch."

Scoring: 

• Gavin White, 15 points
• Justin Smith, 13 points
• Carter Mullin, 12 points
• Ty Gioia, 7 points

To view or purchase photos, click here.