By Rob Potter

Boys’ Basketball
Record: 11-7 overall, 2-4 in Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division IV
Season Highlight: “Coming back to beat Monticello,” said Coach Bruce Nober, referring to an early season non-league game against the Monticello Panthers in which Sullivan West was down by double digits at the start of the fourth quarter but rallied to win. “After we won that game, we went on a roll where we won several games in a row.
“And clinching a spot in sectionals was another highlight for us,” Nober added.
Coach’s Comment: “At the beginning of the season, we knew we had a talented team, but we struggled a bit with our confidence,” Nober said. “But coming back to defeat Monticello gave us confidence. From that point on, we knew we had the talent and skill to win more games. We believed in ourselves and played better.”
Looking Ahead: “Matt Cardona, a junior, definitely was our best offensive player this year, so it will be good to have him coming back next season,” Nober commented. “Patrick Pierce, who is 6-6, will be a junior next year and it’s nice to have him returning for us as well as Sawyer Erlwein and Brad Hemmer.
“Our JV team had a good season last year and this year and some of those players will be moving up to varsity next year. Two of those players are Cody Franskevicz and Kyle Manzi, who will be juniors next season.”
Girls’ Basketball
Record: 3-15 overall, 0-6 in OCIAA Division IV
Season Highlight: Playing at the college to help raise money for the Catskill Regional Medical Oncology Unit,” Coach Pat Donovan said. “Even though we lost to a good Tri-Valley team, our girls saw that there is more to life than just basketball.”
Coach’s Comment: “We were a young team this season,” Donovan said. “Each day was a learning experience for these girls. They became better each and every day and began to trust themselves and each other.”
Looking Ahead: “This summer, we will be doing camp stuff with the team,” Donovan commented. “I am excited to be working with the girls next season. Next season, our goal is to improve on our record and receive a bid into sectionals.”
Alpine Skiing
Record: (Boys’) 14-40. (Girls’) No official record.
Season Highlight: Three skiers qualified for the Section IX meet – Drew Billard, Kassie Thelman and Kendall Menges. Billard placed fifth, Menges eighth and Thelman 18th.
Billard and Menges advanced to the state meet where Billard finished 34th and Menges 42nd.
Coach’s Comment: “We had a pretty good season overall,” Lionel Billard said. “We placed second or third at some of the OCIAA meets.”
Looking Ahead: “We will miss Kassie and Kendall next season, but Drew will be back as a senior, as well as others returning,” Billard said. “And we have developed a good feeder program for younger kids in the district, so we should have quality skiers coming up to the team for several years.”
Indoor Track and Field
Record: The boys’ team finished fourth in the Sullivan County Championship meet held at Sullivan County Community College. The girls’ team placed third in the Sullivan County Championship meet.
Season Highlight: The girls’ 1,600-meter relay team of Kristina Sumfleth, Hannah Feinman, Rosa Martinez and Amanda Rosenberger took first place at the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) meet.
Rosenberger and Sumfleth were silver medalists in the 55-meter dash and high jump, respectively, at the OCIAA meet.
Deppa won the racewalk event at both the OCIAA and Section IX meets.
Also at the Section IX meet, the 1,600 team of Sumfleth, Feinman, Martinez and Rosenberger won the silver medal and Feinman placed third in the triple jump.
A total of 10 girls qualified for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Championship Meet. They were: Feinman (triple jump, 55-meter hurdles), Kelsey Dutton (3,000), Deppa (racewalk), Rosenberger (55 meters), Sumfleth (300 meters, high jump) and the 1,600 relay team of Sumfleth, Feinman, Martinez and Rosenberger.
Deppa finished 11th in the racewalk at the state meet.
For the boys’ team, Reed Scott won the Section IX 1,600 and 3,200-meter run while Mitchell Paciga took first place in the high jump and placed second in the 55-meter hurdles.
Ten members of the boys’ team attended the state qualifier meet, with three of them moving on the NYSPHSAA championship meet. Those three were Scott (3,200), Todd Roeder (shot put, weight throw) and Anthony Rydell (weight throw).
Roeder also qualified in the weight throw for the national meet held at the Armory in New York City. He placed 21st among 50 competitors at the competition.
Coach’s Comment: “We had a lot of good individual performances this season,” Bauer said. “Many of our athletes improved this year.”
Among those who improved was Scott, who set a personal best time in the 3,200-meter run.
“It is tough sometimes for us because of the number of athletes we have,” Bauer explained. “Some of the other local teams have more depth than we do.”
Looking Ahead: “We have a few team members who will be graduating,” Bauer commented. “They are Kristina Sumfleth and Amanda Rosenberger from the girls’ team and Todd Roeder, Sam Smith and Shaughn Goggin from the boys’ team.
“But we have most members of both teams coming back for next season.”