Sports Archives — The Altamont Enterprise, July 20, 2006
The Empire State Games
By Tim Matteson
The Empire State Games are coming and, again, a large local contingent will be heading to this year’s rendition.
The Olympic-style event will be held in the Rochester area — with the home base being the Rochester Institute of Technology. The opening ceremonies are on July 26. The games will conclude four days later.
Local athletes will represent the Adirondack Region and will compete against athletes in the Long Island, New York City, Hudson Valley, Central, and Western regions.
Here are the local athletes listed by sport and by division — scholastic and open.
Athletics (Track-and-field)
Gered Burns of Altamont, open men’s 800-meter run; Scott Hannay of Westerlo, open men’s javelin; Sarah Furman of West Berne, open women’s 5,000-meter run; Katie Rossetini of Guilderland, open women’s 400-meter dash; Mark Domaracki of Guilderland, scholastic men’s 400-meter dash; Jarrell Gatterson of Altamont, scholastic men’s triple jump; Greg Hannay of Westerlo, scholastic men’s javelin; Kyle Jacobs of Voorheesville, men’s decathlon; and Sarah Hannay of Westerlo, scholastic women’s javelin.
Basketball
Steve Dagostino of Guilderland, open men’s team.
Baseball
Stephen Cardinal of Altamont, men’s scholastic team; Nick Polsinelli of Guilderland, men’s scholastic team; and Andrew Simpson of Guilderland, men’s scholastic team.
Boxing
Michael Faragon of Guilderland, open men’s light welterweight division; Clare O’Connell of Altamont, open women’s super heavyweight; and Elizabeth Mooney of Feura Bush, open women’s coach.
Bowling
Donald Jarvis of Altamont, open men’s singles.
Canoe/kayak
Greg Araldi of Westerlo, open men’s canoe; Jesse Chartier of Voorheesville, open men’s canoe; William Dergosits of Schenectady, open men’s kayak; Todd Dibble of Berne, open men’s kayak; Maclin Norray of Berne, open men’s kayak; Timothy Norray of Berne, open men’s canoe; Lawrence Staubach, open men’s kayak, Chad Staubach of Altamont, open men’s canoe; Amy Boyt of Altamont, open women’s kayak; Becky Dergosits of Schenectady, open women’s kayak; Kristen Norray of Berne, open women’s kayak; and Jill Norray of Berne, open women’s coach.
Cycling
Charles Quackenbush of Slingerlands, open men’s all-around.
Fencing
Hope Konecny of South Westerlo, coach of the scholastic women’s team.
Gymnastics
Steve Swider of Guilderland, open men’s all-around; Dana Goodknight of Altamont, scholastic women’s all-around; Kara Goodknight of Altamont, scholastic women’s all-around; Brenda Goodknight of Altamont, scholastic women’s coach.
Ice hockey
Joseph Buicko of Altamont, scholastic men’s team; Matthew Tyksinski of Altamont, scholastic men’s team; John DeRubertis of Rensselaer, scholastic men’s coach; and Jennifer Kaye of Altamont, scholastic women’s team.
Lacrosse
Aaron Cahill of Guilderland, men’s scholastic team; Scott Raffensperger of Altamont, scholastic men’s team; and Nicole Branchini of Guilderland, scholastic women’s team.
Shooting
Thomas Stark of Voorheesville, open men’s skeet; and Robert Tigue of East Berne, open men’s trap.
Soccer
Jennifer Mihok of Guilderland, open women’s team; Carolyn Mounteer of Altamont, open women’s team; Kyle Klapp of Guilderland, scholastic men’s team; and Matthew Miller of Voorheesville, scholastic men’s team.
Swimming
Stephenie Bintz of Altamont, open women’s backstroke; Katie Linehan of Guilderland, open women’s breaststroke; Erin Dewey of Guilderland, scholastic women’s flystroke; and Brittney Ginsburg of Guilderland, scholastic women’s flystroke.
Tennis
Daniel Bakst of Guilderland, scholastic men’s team.
Volleyball
Katie Becofsky of Altamont, open women’s team; Susan Spierre of Guilderland, open women’s team; and Angela Mifsud of Altamont, scholastic women’s team.
Wrestling
Mike Cubillos of Guilderland, open men’s 167-pound weight class in Greco-Roman and freestyle; Roger Sawyer of Guilderland, open men’s 167-pound weight class in Greco-Roman and freestyle; Matt Cubillos of Guilderland, scholastic men’s 115-pound weight class in freestyle and Greco-Roman; Ian DeSol of Guilderland, scholastic men’s 154-pound weight class in freestyle and Greco-Roman; and Josh Sawyer of Guilderland, scholastic men’s 165-pound weight class in Greco-Roman and freestyle.
Voorheesville track club
By Tim Matteson
VOORHEESVILLE — While serving as an assistant coach for the Voorheesville track team during the spring season, Phil Carducci was inspired by the team’s success.
Carducci decided to keep the good times rolling by starting the Voorheesville Track Club.
"I came up with the idea of forming the VTC during the last few weeks of the track season," Carducci said. "We were having so much success, with both the boys and girls, I thought, why not keep it going at the Junior Olympics level."
The club will be sending some of its members to the highest competition in that program.
Four runners will be going to Baltimore to compete in the 2006 USA Track and Field Junior Olympic Championships. The competition will be held at Morgan State University July 25 to 30.
Mackey Lloyd will compete in two events at the meet — in the intermediate boys’ division in the 3,000-meter run.
Lloyd qualified for the meet after placing second at the USATF Region I Championships Sunday in Kingston with a time of 9:58.
Lloyd will also anchor the 4x800-meter relay. The team finished second on Sunday with a time of 9:18. The team also features Ryan Allison, Nathan Bub, and Ian Powell.
"They are really excited about competing at nationals," Carducci said. "All these guys are members of the Voorheesville boys’ track team, and have worked hard all year to get where they are. I think they have a chance and they want to work even harder to win the gold medal."
"I know we will do well at the junior nationals," Lloyd said.
All four members of the relay said it was their goal to come in before eighth place so they will get a medal.
Sixteen strong
The club had 16 members compete at the local meet held in Valatie a few weeks ago and other athletes besides Lloyd, Bub, Powell, and Allison competed at the regionals.
Vincent Planz finished sixth in the Youth Boys’ division of the 100-meter dash. He ran the race in 12.79. He also finished 10th in the 200 meter dash in 26.6 seconds.
Bub competed in the Intermediate Boys’ triple jump and placed fifth with a best jump of 11.25 meters. Bub also placed sixth in the Intermediate Boys’ 800-meter run with a time of 2:22.
Taylor Treadgold, who will be a freshman in the fall, ran in the Intermediate Boys’ 3,000-meter run and finished in 11:46. He also ran in the Intermediate Boys’ 1,500 meters and completed the race in 5:25.
Connor Cashian also qualified for the regional meet but did not go because he was sick.
Carducci said the success of the runners is due to the effort they have put in and the dedication they have shown to the sport.
"We had 16 sign up and 15 compete at the district meet in Valatie two weeks ago," Carducci said. "Thirteen qualified to move on to the regional meet, but only seven decided to do so.
Looking for support
"We’re hoping the community gets behind these guys," Carducci added, "and gives them tons of support. They are representing their town and Region I, which consists of all of New England, as well as, New York City."
Carducci, a life-long runner, organizes a couple of local races during the year. He created the Altamont 5K held during the summer and the Rabbit Ramble held in the spring.
Though the club is mostly made up of Voorheesville runners, it is independent of the school and is open to high-school athletes from Berne-Knox-Westerlo, Guilderland, and Duanesburg.
"The main function is to get the children out and exercising through running, be it cross-country or track," Carducci said. "The competition is a good way to have fun, meet new friends and see the progress that is being made by the athlete."
To stay active is a main reason why athletes are competing for the club.
"I just want to stay in shape and get ready for cross-country," Lloyd said. "We had a really good track season. Coach Carducci came up with the idea for the track club to keep us focused on track and field and for the Junior Olympics."
Carducci said that members and their families pay their own way to meets and all the entry fees involved.
"With this in mind," Carducci said. "VTC is seeking sponsorship from local businesses and individuals to help defray the cost for these athletes as they seek the gold medal in Baltimore."
Anyone wishing to help can contact Carducci by phone at 861-6350 or by e-mail at [email protected].
As a way of thanking the sponsors, Carducci said, business logos and individuals names will be put on the back of the competition T-shirts. Deadline for sponsorship is July 20.
"Track is doing well," Carducci said. "We had a lot of kids — sophomores and freshmen — and not a lot of juniors and seniors. Why not keep going and keep in shape and not be sitting around""