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Many teams have already played four or five games in the 2023/24 season, but the Pembroke Dragons didn't hit the hardwood for the first time until Wednesday night to take on an undefeated Byron-Bergen team led by early season hot shot Braedyn Chambry.

Chambry set a school record in a game this season by scoring 41 points.  A couple of times, he's topped 20 points.

On Wednesday, the Dragons held him to nine points, sending the Bees (4-1) to their first defeat, 61-50.

For Pembroke, Tyson Totten scored 31 points, and Sean Pustulka scored nine.

Colin Martin led Byron-Bergen with 16 points. Noah Clare scored nine, and Brody Baubie scored eight.

"I was pleased with how we played defensively tonight, meeting our defensive goal 3/4 quarters," said Pembroke coach Matthew Shay. "I was also pleased with Jayden Bridge and Sam Pfeiffer and how they battled tonight defending Chambry along with our team defense limiting his touches. Roxanne always does a nice job with her squad, and I feel fortunate to come out of there with the win. Obviously, Tyson played really tough and controlled the game for us."

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro

Byron-Bergen beat Barker in Boys Basketball on Monday, 71 to 59.

Braedyn Chambry scored 24 points, and Brody Baubie scored 19 points.

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro

With 17 points in the final quarter, Byron-Bergen notched a 59-56 win over Attica on Thursday evening.

Braedyn Chambry scored 21 points for the Bees. Brody Baubie scored 13, and Colin Martin scored nine.

Jack Janes scored 19 for Attica.

The Bees are now 3-0 on the year.

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro

Byron-Bergen is the 31st winner of the Warsaw Kiwanis Tip-Off Tournament after beating Filmore on Saturday 80-54.

For the Bees, Braedyn Chambry had a big night, scoring 41 points. Brody Baubie scored 22 points. 

Photos by  Jennifer DiQuattro.

Byron-Bergen beat Pavilion 63-47 in the 31st Annual Warsaw Kiwanis Tip-Off Tournament on Friday night.

For the Bees, Brody Baubie scored 19 points and had 12 rebounds.  Colin Martin, 12 points and five steals. Bradyn Chambry scored nine points and snagged nine rebounds.

The Golden Gophers will play Warsaw in the consolation game today (Saturday) at 5:30 p.m.  Byron-Bergen will face off against Fillmore in the finals at 7 p.m. at Warsaw High School.

Press Release:

Byron-Bergen Central School District proudly announces that on Friday, Nov. 3, senior Mackenzie Hagen signed a letter of intent to attend Roberts Wesleyan University as a member of their women’s soccer team. At Roberts Wesleyan, she plans to enter the Pre-Veterinary Medicine program, majoring in Biology. 

Her commitment to Roberts Wesleyan was witnessed by her parents, her sister Crystal, and Byron-Bergen Varsity Girls Soccer Coach Wayne Hill. 

“Mackenzie is ready for the next level of soccer competition,” said Byron-Bergen Athletic Director Rich Hannan. “Her outstanding work ethic and speed make her an incredible athlete, but she is also a gifted leader on and off the field. I wish her the very best at Roberts Wesleyan.” 

Hagen is a 6-year Varsity Soccer player and a member of three consecutive Section V championship teams. She participates in Varsity Track and Field where she is a member of the record-holding 800m Sprint Medley Relay team. She is also a Scholar Athlete and Genesee Region All-Star. In addition to sports, Hagen is a member of the National Honor Society. She would like to thank her parents, sister, and coaches.

Press Release:

Six members of the Byron-Bergen Chapter of the FFA joined over 72,000 attendees at the FFA National Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana on Nov. 2 and 3. However, their adventure began four days prior when they loaded up the tour bus and set out on an agriculture-themed road trip complete with educational experiences, sightseeing, and celebrity photo-ops. They shared this journey with the Belleville Henderson FFA, Indian River FFA, and Alexandria Bay FFA.

“I really loved meeting people from all over the US,” said 10th-grade FFA member Grace Mundell. “The people I met and got to know on our bus were amazing and I felt such a sense of belonging.”

After a quick stop at the Cleveland Zoo, the group headed to Kentucky for a peak into the world of horse racing. Keeneland Racetrack, Churchill Downs, and the Kentucky Derby Museum were all on the itinerary as well as Ashford Farm. Ashford Farm is a family-owned horse farm specializing in boarding and training sport horses. While at Ashford, FFA members had the opportunity to Meet 2015 Triple Crown Winner, American Pharoah.

“I love how everything and everyone in Kentucky revolves around horses,” said Mundell. “I got to pet American Pharoah, one of two living triple crown winners. I learned that the stud fee for him is $250,000 and I learned about how much work and money goes into horse racing.” 

“We learned that a horse sold for 12 million dollars at Keenland racetrack and (at Winstar Farms) I learned that Secretariat’s heart was three times the size of an average horse’s heart,” said 10th grade FFA member Paige O’Brien. O’Brien’s favorite part of the trip was visiting Haygard Equine Medical Facility. “I was able to see other career options that I may want to fulfill.”

From Kentucky, the group headed to Indiana to visit Tom Farms, the largest landowner in the state. They farm 18,000 acres, 3500 acres in seed corn and the rest is a mix of soybeans and field corn. The group received a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into producing over 150 million pounds of corn and soybeans every year.

The final stop on their journey was the 96th Annual FFA National Convention. The main sessions were held in Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts. FFA members networked with agricultural industry representatives and representatives from many agricultural, natural resource, and engineering colleges including Cornell University, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Morrisville, Paul Smiths College, and Clarkson University.

“This was a great opportunity for our students to network with FFA members from across the state and nation,” said Parnapy. “There were chapters at the convention representing all 50 states.”

O’Brien stated that “making connections with members from other states” was the most memorable part of the convention. Mundell will always remember reciting the FFA pledge at the convention center in unison with 66,000 other FFA members. One of the last stops before boarding the bus back to New York State was to the Indiana State Fairgrounds to attend a rodeo.

“I think one of my favorite parts was probably the rodeo, I hadn't ever been to one before and it was really fun and super cool to watch and cheer for the cowboys,” said Mundell. “In all that was the best trip I have ever gone on. I will never forget the people I met or the things I experienced and the places we went, it really was amazing.”

With 26 minutes left in the first half, Mount Academy's Chris Recinos penetrated Byron-Bergen's defense and, from close range, knocked a ball over the goal line to put the Eagles out in front of Byron-Bergen/Elba in the state championship of Class C Boys Soccer in Middletown.

Eight minutes later, Alexis Mendoza blasted a penalty kick past a diving Bees keeper Martin Mac Connell to put the Eagles up 2-0.

Mendoza scored two more goals, including one on a second-half corner kick, for the hat trick. The Bees' only score was a second-half goal by forward Jack Farner.

The eventual 4-1 win was the second state title in soccer for the eight-year-old private Bruderhof Christian community high school. The Eagles won two years ago as a Class D team and were moved up into Class C, despite a student body of only 200, because of the school's perceived dominance in soccer.

While the game looked evenly matched for the first 18 minutes, the Eagles seemingly became more and more dominant, containing the Bees to their end of the field most of the rest of the way.  The Bees were not without scoring opportunities, even in the second half, but either shots were missed or were blocked.

This year, the Mount Academy girls' team won a co-champion title with a tie score in their game.

Byron-Bergen/Elba was coming off a physically and emotionally draining win against #1 seed Seton Catholic on Saturday in Goshen. That game went to double overtime, tied at 1-1, for 110 minutes of fast-paced football, followed by a best-of-five penalty kick shout that the Bees won 3-2.

The Eagles had their own emotional motivation carrying them into the final after starting midfielder Lenis Arnold suffered a compound fracture in his left in Mount Acadamy's 4-2 win in the semifinal earlier on Saturday against Waterford-Halfmoon. Arnold was on the sideline with his leg in a cast for Sunday's game.

For more photos by Howard Owens and to purchase prints, click here.

For more photos by Jennifer DiQuattro click here.

The Batavian was the only news outlet from Section V with staff at the Class C tournament games for Boys Soccer.  You can help support out local coverage by signing up for Early Access Pass.

Alexis Mendoza scored a hat trick for Mount Academy to help lead his team to a 4-1 victory over Byron-Bergen/Elba in the Class C Boys Soccer Championship at Middletown High School on Sunday.

Jack Farner scored the Bees' only goal midway through the second half.

I'll drive back to Batavia before I start editing photos from the game.  It's likely we won't have photos posted until tomorrow.

After 110 minutes of football that saw only two goals, one for each side, the state's Class C semifinal came down to a best-of-five-goal shootout.

One kicker (each team rotating through five hand-picked players) against one goalie for each team.  Byron-Bergen/Elba, the #4 seed in the tournament, against Seton Catholic, the #1 seed.

The Bees coach, Ken Rogoyski, after the game, said he always regrets that a soccer game comes down to a shootout.

"No game should be decided by PKs (penalty kicks)," Rogoyski said. "Unfortunately, we need some way to see who advances."

A penalty kick is essentially a coin flip, a 50-50 chance to make a goal. There's pressure on both sides of the ball.  It's as much a mind game as it is about athleticism. The kicker and the goalie must outguess each other. If the goalie guesses wrong and jumps the wrong way, he has no shot at blocking the shot. If the kicker guesses wrong, he has little hope of putting the ball in the back of the net.

On the first two penalty kick rounds, each goalie guessed right. On the next two, the guessing game favored the kickers.

So, coming into the fifth round, both sides were even at two goals each. 

Braedyn Chambry made his kick to give the Bees a 3-2 edge.

That put the pressure on Carter Prinzi, normally a midfielder but called upon by Rogoyski to provide the keeper position with some fresh legs. Prinzi was well aware he had to outwit the opposing kicker.

He said he tried to use some body language to play mind games with the opposing kicker to hopefully get him to kick the ball where Prinzi wanted it to go.  He was committed to a side, and he wanted to convince the kicker to pick that side. 

We may never know if the trick worked, but the result was the same.  The kicker kicked to his left, and Prinzi dove to his right and got his hands on the ball, batting it away.

"(Blocking the kick) means a lot," Prinzi said. "I mean, it pushed our team to the finals. It's probably one of the best moments in sports I've ever had."

Prinzi won the game within the game, and as a result, Byron-Bergen/Elba will play Mount Academy, the Section IX champs, today (Saturday) at 11:30 at Middletown High School for the state's Class C championship in Boys Soccer.

The championship game comes after the day after a long, hard-fought, high-energy game against Seton. 

Rogoyski said his side would be ready.

"It's all about recovery," Rogoyski said. "Whoever recovers the best between now and tomorrow's game wins."

For much of the game, the Bees were defending a 1-0 lead on a goal by Jack Farner, with an assist from Colin Martin.  

"Yeah, me and Colin, we've been doing it all season, just playing with each other, and I know where he's gonna place the ball, and I just run the way I think it's gonna go, and it just works out," Farner said. 

Seton evened the score with less than 12 minutes left in regular time following a yellow card on a Bees defender within striking distance to the goal. The resulting kick sailed over the head of keeper Martin Mac Connell. 

That led to a pair of 15-minute OT periods, both ending nil-nil and setting up the penalty kick shootout.

Rogoyski credited Seton for playing a great game. 

The Bees seemed to dominate control up until Farner's goal, then Seton adjusted its tactics and began to make more incursions into Byron-Bergen's defense. The sides were evenly matched the rest of the way -- both getting their chances and both facing stout defenses when the scoring opportunities came.

"They played a good game, a great game," Rogoyski said. "They were tough. They were strong."

After such a long, tough game, Farner said he and his teammates will be ready for Sunday's 11:30 a.m. game.

"I'm feeling good," Farner said. "I'm just speechless. That (the shootout) was insane, but I feel confident that we're gonna get this win, and we're gonna come home state champs."

The Batavian was the only media outlet within Section V that had a reporter or photographer at the Class C state championship tournament in Boys Soccer. You can help support our coverage by joining Early Access Pass.

The Byron-Bergen/Elba Bees will play for a state championship in Boys Soccer on Sunday in Middletown after winning a double overtime match that was decided by a shootout against Seton Catholic.

Jack Farner, with an assist from Colin Martin, scored the only goal for the Bees in the first half and the Bees held Seton scoreless until just 11 minutes left in the match.

Regular time was followed by two 15-minute overtime periods that could have been decided by a "golden goal" (the first team to score wins).

The OT periods were followed by a five-shot shootout with Carter Prinzi stepping into the goal. Each of the first two shots by both teams was blocked by each goalie, then each team made their next two goals. Jesus Aragon made the fifth attempt for the Bees, giving Prinzi the opportunity to make the game-winning save.

Sunday's game begins at 11:30 a.m. at Middletown High School against Mount Academy from Section IX.

More photos and coverage coming this evening.

The Batavian is providing exclusive coverage of the Class C Boys Soccer State Championship matches. You can help support our coverage by joining Early Access Pass.

The Byron-Bergen Bees are Far West Regional champions after beating Section VI's Wilson 2-1 in Boys Soccer on Friday in West Seneca.

The Bees advance to the Final Four of the state championship tournament in Class C. Their first game is at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Goshen High School (about 4 1/2 hours from Batavia). They will play either Fabius or Seton Catholic in the semifinal.  Seton Catholic is the #1 ranked Class C team in the state.

On Friday, Jack Farner scored the first goal with an assist from Colin Martin.

Colin Rea, who missed nearly all of the regular season with an injury, scored the second goal with 16 minutes left in the game.  It was his first goal of the season.

The Bees enter the state tournament with an 18-2-1 record.

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro

Byron-Bergen beat Cuba-Rushford/Hinsdale 4-0 on Wednesday night at Geneseo in the Class C crossover game.

The Bees now advance to the Far West Regional to take on Wilson, the Section VI Class C champ, in the Far West Championship at 5 p.m. on Friday at West Seneca Senior High School.

All four goals for the Bees were scored by Jack Farner (#8).  Assists went to Colin Martin, Noah Clare, Braedyn Chambry and Cody Carlson. 

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro.

With each of the first two goals the Holley Hawks scored, the Byron-Bergen Bees had an answer to tie the game, but in overtime, the Hawk's third overtime goal ended the game and ended the Bees' hope of advancing further this postseason.

Byron-Byron Bergen lost the Class C crossover game at Geneseo High School and the right to play in the Western Regional Championship to Holly 3-2.

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Byron-Bergen soccer fans are now celebrating two sectional championships in the same weekend after the boys team defeated #1 seed East Rochester 1-0 for the Class C2 crown.

The lone goal was fired in by forward Jack Farner, with an assist from Colin Martin, in the third minute of the game. Martin MacConnell, along with the Bees defense, held the Bombers scoreless the rest of the match.

On Friday, the girls' team beat Keshequa 4-3 in overtime to the Class C2 title.

Coach Ken Rogoyski said, "The last time that the boys and girls teams were sectional champions in the same year was 2002 (21 years ago).  They also both won in 2001. And before that, in 1981 (21 years prior to the 2002 win).  Coincidentally, the girls tied their match on Friday, sending them into overtime with 21 seconds left in the game."

The Bees, now 16-2-1, will face Cuba-Rushford/Hinsdale on Wednesday night, location TBD.

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro

There's no doubt that it was a team effort, but Jack Farner was a standout in Byron-Bergen's sectional semifinal win over Addison in Geneseo on Wednesday, scoring four goals.

The Bees won 6-1.

In a regular season match in September, Addison beat Byron-Bergen 3-2 so the Bees went into the game knowing they had to beat a tough opponent if they wanted to advance in the Class C1 tournament. 

"Addison is a very good team," said the Bees' head coach, Kenneth Rogoyski. "The score is not a reflection of the game. Possession was maybe a tiny bit in our favor, but it was pretty even. They played the ball in our half as much as we played the ball in they're half. The score is not a reflection, but rather, we just did better things with the ball. We handled the ball and managed the ball better."

As part of the offensive onslaught, Colin Martin had two goals and two assists, Jesus Aragon, two assists, and Braedyn Chambry, one assist.

"Jack Farner, a junior on our team, had his best game," Rogoyski. "He's been phenomenal this season. And today, he wants to take it to another level."

Farner's success was made possible, Rogoyski noted, by the players around him.

"Every great forward has some great playmakers and we were feeding him some great balls, Rogoyski said. "That's 

every great forward has some great playmakers, and we were feeding him some great balls. That's the credit to our midfielder, Colin (Martin)."

With a record now of 15-2-1, Byron Bergen, the #2 seed, faces East Rochester, the #1 seed, for the sectional title in a match to be played at Avon High School on Saturday at 2 p.m.

"I'm excited," Rogoyski said. "I can't wait. I can't wait for Saturday. It's gonna be tough to have to wait three days. I want to play a doubleheader tonight. We're ready."

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Gananda didn't score a goal until the second minute of Tuesday's Section V Class C2 semifinal in Girls Soccer at Pittsford-Sutherland, which sort of felt like an accomplishment to Byron-Bergen Head Coach Wayne Hill.

"Last year, we played them (in postseason) and they scored in the first 10 seconds," Hill said after the Bees' 4-1 win. "We knew they're going to be pressing hard and fast early. I felt good that we didn't get scored out in the first minute. But they banged in one in the second minute."

Despite the quick strike, the Bees held their composure.

"We stayed level-headed," Hill said. "We stayed true to our game plan and weathered a little bit of a storm and then we played our game, and we took control of the game."

It didn't take long for Mia Gray, who already has more than 100 career points through her sophomore year, to even the tally with a high, long lob, followed by a goal by Grace Diquattro (who also got the assist on Gray's earlier goal).

"They (Gananda) score a lot of goals," Hill said. "They're used to winning. They're used to scoring a lot, and I think that variable gave us a little bit of an advantage when they got down."

A penalty kick by Megan Jarkiewicz that just tipped off the fingers of Gananda's keeper, Olivia Moskal, as it arched over her head, gave Byron-Bergen a 3-1 lead and two goals up can be huge in soccer.

It seemed the Bees had increasing control of the game as it went on, though Hill said he thought Gananda had about a 55 to 45 percent advantage in control.

"We capitalized better," Hill said. "I thought it was a nice even game. I'm happy to see that kind of game."

In the second half, Libby Starowitz knocked in a bullet from about 30 yards out to give the Bees the 4-1 lead, which proved decisive.

Two of Byron-Bergen's goals sailed high over Moskal, and that was by design, Hill indicated.

"We watched some game film and thought maybe we could hit something high," Hill said. "We switched up a couple of our free-kick takers. Megan Jarkiewicz hasn't taken a free kick all year and scored on one tonight. That makes me feel good that, you know, she was able to step up and do what she needed to do at the right time."

Mia Gray, one of the team's top scorers, stayed back more in a defensive formation against Gananda and that was by design, Hill said.

"Grenada has two very, very good center mids (midfielders)," Hill said. We had to play a little bit more defensively in the middle of the field so that they just didn't start steamrolling us. So yeah, Mia and Libby were both back a little bit more, and that left our strikers a little bit more alone. So we weren't so striker-driven like we normally are. And we just needed to help out our defense a little bit."

Even though Gananda came in as the #1 seed and Byron-Bergen the #4 seed, this win wasn't an upset, Hill said. He noted that some observes have called C2 "the bracket of death" because of its depth.

"There were so many teams at the start of this C2 bracket that all realistically had a chance," Hill said. "In the last game, we played a number five seed that had 14 wins. That's incredible. Usually, the number five is about a .500 team. So there's a lot of quality teams in this. I don't know if at any point, there's an upset just because each league is tough. Each league exposes people to different situations. We see that this month. We see that the schedule that we played has prepared us for this. So to say that there were any upsets? I don't think so. I think everybody's pretty fair."

Next up for Byron-Bergen, the Section C2 final against #3 Keshequa on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Gates-Chili.

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Using artful ball handling and precision passing, Byron-Bergen picked apart Alexander's defense and notched its 13th win of the season in Girls Soccer, beating the Trojans 6-0.

Scoring:

• Makenzie Hagen, assisted by Mia Gray 
• Emma Starowitz, assisted by Mia Gray
• Mia Gray, unassisted
• Mia Gray, assisted by Libby Starowitz
• Grace Diquattro, unassisted
• Makenzie Hagen, assisted by Mia Gray

Nova Pocock and Natalie Prinzi combined in goal for the shutout.

"We do have very talented players," said Head Coach Wayne Hill when asked about his team's quality play. "They’ve put a lot of time in over the years working on their skills. We have an excellent JV and modified program with equally fantastic coaches. They prepare our kids to succeed at each level."

The Bees, with one regular season game left at home on Friday against Wheatland-Chili, are 13-3 and seeded #4 in Class C2. 

All three losses for the Bees game against higher-class teams -- 2-0 to Class AA Our Lady of Mercy, 4-1 to Class A Aquinas, and 5-4 against Class B Nichols.

"We’ve played a difficult schedule this year, which we are hoping prepares us for a successful postseason," Hill said.

Last season, Byron-Bergen went into the post-season undefeated and didn't lose until the state championship semifinal game in Cortland.

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Press Release:

There are some new faces in the halls at Byron-Bergen Elementary School this summer. 20 graduate students from SUNY Geneseo are participating in the Summer Reading Clinic, part of SUNY Geneseo’s Reading and Literacy Graduate Program. The clinic pairs a graduate student, many of whom are working teachers, with a school-aged student. Together, they set literacy goals and develop strategies to achieve them.

Alexis Hamlin is a graduate student participant. She teaches 7th and 8th grade where she encounters many students who struggle with foundational literacy skills. “By the time they get to 7th and 8th grade, we don’t have time to work on basic skills,” said Hamlin “I’m in the literacy program specifically to get a better idea of how my students struggle and the basics of their skills. I want to incorporate other instruction that will target those skills and close that gap between their reading level and their grade level.” 

Participant Stephanie Wall believes in the value of one-on-one literacy work to give students the tools they will need for their next grade level. She started the clinic by doing assessments, looking at students’ past work, and talking with the student. She uses those components to set goals. “I think this program is helping kids,” said Wall. “It’s one on one, me and them for an hour and a half. There are no other distractions, so I think it has been very helpful for some of the students.”

Isabelle Selvek was eager to participate in the clinic because summer is the only time she has for fieldwork. She is a full-time second-grade teacher, but her future career aspirations rely on completing her master’s degree. The clinic is one of the last requirements she must complete for her degree. “My hope is to move into a literacy teacher role in the future, but this program also allows me to move into a high school setting.”

“It really is a win/win,” said Byron-Bergen Director of Instructional Services Betsy Brown. “The clinic allows educators to complete the hours needed for their degree programs and our students have access to high- quality one-on-one literacy instruction which not only helps prevent loss of skills due to summer slip, but also gives them the tools they will need to excel in the fall.”

The Byron-Bergen students are not the only ones benefiting from the Summer Literacy Clinic, though. These teachers will take the skills developed at Byron-Bergen back to their home districts and classrooms. 

“This program gives us time and opportunities to do fieldwork,” said Hamlin. “This real-world experience makes it more meaningful when we apply the skills we are learning in our own classrooms.”

Submitted photos.