By Lori Brown
GRAHAMSVILLE — Tri-Valley Athletic Director Derek Adams opened the fall sports award ceremony Monday night with a message about playing in the present and meeting the challenge at hand.
“Coaches and athletes have to be good at adapting,” he said.
As an example, Adams talked about the last cross country meet of the season for the Bears and Lady Bears.
“The course conditions were difficult, but they made adjustments and adapted.”
Many of T-V’s teams had to deal with changing conditions, rosters, rules and schedules this fall.
Each of the T-V coaches spoke about their teams and presented awards to several team members.
Boys’ Soccer
Varsity Coach Jason Closs noted that “the quality of Tri-Valley athletes is great.
“This is the hardest working team and the boys really loved the game of soccer,” said Closs “They improved a lot and played hard as a team. We will be losing 10 seniors this year, and I wish them the best of luck.”
Girls’ Soccer
Varsity Coach Mary Feusner noted that her team “had major changes in soccer this year.
“There are 12 people not with us this year. We had 13 dedicated players this year.”
The Lady Bears recorded six shutouts for the season and recorded 49 goals this season. They finished with a record of 8-9 overall.
Feusner thanked many people, including fans, friends, family, modified and JV coaches, AD Derek Adams, PTA members and faithful ball runners. She also thanked the community for a successful penny social that raised $1,200.
The Lady Bears made it to the Section IX Class C Tournament as the No. 7 seed, but were unable to continue the season after a disappointing 3-1 loss to S. S. Seward in a quarterfinal match.
Junior Varsity Girls’ Soccer Coach Ryan Ahl said, “We started the season off with injury after injury. We were playing with no subs; I am so proud of the girls. We had a lot of fun this season.”
Cross Country
Coach Joe Iatauro and Coach Missy Iatauro guided the varsity boys’ and girls’ cross country teams, respectively.
The two teams traveled all season, from New Jersey to Saratoga Springs to Los Angeles. Members of the two teams participated in a 12-hour run fundraiser to raise money for their trips.
The girls’ team won the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division V and Section IX Class C championships and placed ninth in Class C at the state meet.
The boys placed second in Section IX Class C with Jimmy Bernstein winning he individual title. Bernstein and Omar Lopez were both voted sportsmanship athletes at the state meet.
Football
Varsity Football Coach John Rusin and Assistant Coach Mike March spoke about everyone who helped the team this autumn. Rusin thanked many people, including the coaching staff and their families, players and their parents, Board of Education, cheerleaders, nursing and medical staff, Mr. Swarthout for being the announcer and Mr. Adams.
Rusin also thanked his wife for tolerating his absence during the season, as well as the booster club.
The booster club bought duffle bags for all of the senior players.
“We had a big game under the lights, defeating Millbrook 31-20,” Rusin said. “I tip our cap to [James I.] O’Neill, they were bigger than us and had more bodies than us; they wore us down.
Junior Varsity Football Coaches Scott Grey and Joe Porcaro noted that their season started slow as there were not enough kids, but eventually got the team going.
“The JV and Varsity teams were one unit this season, it was great to see them grow this season,” Rusin said “We have 14 seniors and unfortunately this is the last awards night for them. The seniors are a tremendous group and impossible to replace.”
Tennis
Girls’ Tennis Coach Janet Carey pointed out that the team had to deal with “some league changes this year.
“Heidi Furman is the only returning player from last year,” Carey continued. “Last year we graduated every person on the team but Heidi.  We took a trip to the U.S. Open this year and it was an eye opener, and we even got to feel the earthquake. They worked really hard this season.”
T-V Fall Athletic Awards Football
MVP – Greg Swarthout
Outstanding Offensive Player – Joe Mickelson
Outstanding Defensive Player – Troy Rossi
Most Improved Player (MIP) – Conor Walsh
Girls’ Tennis
MVP – Heidi Furman
MIP – Jennifer Sheley
Boys’ Soccer
Offensive MVP – Josue Ramos
Offensive MVP – Anthony Beale
Defensive MVP – Thomas Monforte
Girls’ Soccer
MVP Offense – Rachel Adriaans
MVP Defense – Sarah Schneyer
MIP – Megan Tyndell
Coaches’ Award – Erin Smith
Cheerleading
Most Improved: Dorothy Monforte
Most Valuable: Ali Reynolds
Coach’s Award: Schuyler Kraus
Girls’ Cross Country
MVP – Autumn Bender
MVP – Olivia Rehm
MIP – Danielle Graham
Boys’ Cross Country
MVP – Jim Bernstein
MIP – Brendon Hasbrouck
Coach’s Award – Omar Lopez