Section III Golf Tournament

The Town of Webb School varsity golf team took part in the Section III, Class D Golf Tournament held this past Monday, May 21, at Twin Ponds Golf Course in New York Mills. Class D schools who won their league titles qualified to compete as a team as well as other individual golfers who had qualifying scores. Remsen and Old Forge both qualified to compete as a team as they were co-champions of the North Division of the CSC. Alexandria Bay won the Section III title with Remsen coming in fourth and Old Forge, fifth.  

In addition to competing as a team, all of the individuals were competing to see who qualified to go on to the state qualifier match held Thursday, May 24 on the challenging Seven Oaks Golf Course in Hamilton. One member of the Old Forge team did qualify among the 12 chosen and that was Colin Criss. Criss was not up among the top leaders but his 87 allowed him to advance to the first round on Thursday. When they play on Thursday, they will narrow the field down even further and those who shot well enough to advance, will play again on Saturday, May 26. The top golfers on Saturday will then compete in the state championships held the weekend of June 1-4.  

The golfers will start to tee off at 9 a.m. Thursday and the ones who qualify will go on and start at noon on Saturday. Due to an early deadline this week, I will not  be able to let our readers know how Criss did until next week.  

Girls modified softball

The girls’ modified softball team played two games this past week against Johnsburg and New York Mills.  

Last Friday, May 18, our girls played host to Johnsburg and ended up winning the game 17-14 in a wild high scoring game. Extra base hits were struck by Melissa Rockhill, a home run, and triples by Emily Hoffman and Madison Rice. Hoffman also did a great job at catcher as she threw out three runners trying to steal.  

Monday, May 21, the team lost their second game of the year and their second loss of the year to New York Mills, 12-9. The Mills hit very well but they were also helped out by some errors made by our team. The Mills pitcher only allowed three hits, but walks and aggressive base running made the game close.  

Hopefully, I will have the information needed to write a final season ending report on this winning team.  

Girls track

The girls’ varsity track team did very well in the Section III, Class D Track Championship Meet held on the Al Heywood Track in Remsen last Wednesday, May 23. In the process, three school records were either broken or tied.  

Remsen, as expected, won the meet with Living Word Academy placing second.  Hamilton placed third just 3 1/2 points ahead of Old Forge in fourth place among the 11 schools competing that day. Individually, Old Forge had two sectional champions.  Caitlin Bailey won the 100 meter high hurdles and Lauren Holt won the girls pentathlon. Bailey’s time of 16.56 was 6/100 of a second off the school record set by Liette Lecours in 1984. However, with an adjustment from the old hand timed method to the electronically timed race used at Remsen, the difference is so miniscule and subjective, that both girls will be considered the record holders. The same thing happened last week with Kevin Kress and Hans Schmid.  

One record was set and there can be no dispute over that one, as Maddie Phaneuf smashed her own record in the 1500 meter run.  Phaneuf ran a 4:55.91 which was good for second place and broke her previous record by nine seconds.  

Holt set a standard for future record seekers by scoring 1,878 points for first place. Holt’s mark replaces Stephanie Bolmer’s school record mark of 1,757 points set in 1983. Other places were scored by Jessica Hannah, fifth in the high hurdles and second in the high jump. Bailey placed third in the 400 hurdles in 73.68, Sarah Branch placed fifth in the 100 meter dash, Phaneuf placed third in the 3000 meter run and Holly Kalil tied for sixth in the high jump.  

The best finish by an Old Forge relay team was the girls 4x 100 relay team that placed fourth in 57.28.  Members of that team were Branch, Daria Orekhov, Hannah and Danielle Gibbs.

That ends the season for the team, however, a couple of girls will be moving on to the state qualifying meet this week. It was a good and winning season for the team that has many of the team back to compete next year.

Boys track

The boys’ varsity track team capped an undefeated season with a solid victory in the Section III, Class D Championship meet held on the fine Remsen all-weather track last Wednesday, May 23. In recording their fourth straight sectional title, Old Forge amassed 182 points, three points shy of what they scored last year, and easily defeated their main threats, Living Word Academy with 104 1/2 points and New York Mills with 94 points. Oriskany and DeRuyter, sporting some fine individuals, placed fourth and fifth respectively among the 11 schools competing. The meet was more competitive than in the last three years.  

In sectional play, 19 events are run and Old Forge so dominated six of those events that it won the meet for them. In the two hurdle races, the long and triple jumps, the pole vault and the high jump, Old Forge scored 126 of their points. They did not score any points in two events, the 4 x 400 relay and the shot put. Also, for the first time this year, we actually outscored New York Mills in the running events, the events in which they are so strong. Part of that, of course, is the way other teams can change the outcome of an event.  

Leading the way, as expected, were the three seniors who have been a part of this team through their outstanding four years of competing on nothing but championship years. Led by Connor Rockhill’s 38 points, two shy of perfection, the three seniors, with Kevin Kress and Trevor Godemann, totaled 91 points. Add in Ethan Kress’s 36 points, Dane Daiker’s 14 points, Tayler Schmid’s 13 points and Lance Frymire’s 12 points and that gave the team 166 points.  

Old Forge earned six first place finishes in the meet led by Rockhill who won the high jump at 5’ 10”, the 400 hurdles in 62.69 and the pole vault at 13’. Rockhill also placed second behind his teammate, Kevin Kress, in the high hurdles. Ethan Kress won the long jump with a 19’4” jump and the triple jump at 42’ 7”.

Godemann had to be the best competitor at the meet not to win an event, but he did do well. He placed second in the 400 in 52.33 and had very little time to get his body ready for the 800 and had his poorest run of the year in finishing sixth. Godemann had enough in him to finish second in the long jump at 18’ 10 1/4” and second in the triple at 42’ 1”. Kevin Kress, nursing injuries that have prevented him from having the type of year he had hoped it would be, won the high hurdles and placed third in the 200 meter dash, high jump and pole vault.  

Ethan Kress placed second in the high jump and second in the discus at 113’ 2”.  Frymire placed third in the 100 meter dash, in 12.0, sixth in the 200 in 24.46, sixth in the 400 meter dash in 57.9 and fourth in the pole vault. Schmid took part in the 3000 meter steeplechase held on Tuesday, May 22, and did a great job for an eighth grader who had never run the event before. All Schmid did was take first place in 11:51.8.  Schmid also placed sixth in the 1600 and fifth in the 3200.  

Other places were turned in by Kenny Pastore who took part in the pentathlon and placed third; Dane Daiker placed third in the high hurdles, third in the intermediate hurdles and fifth in the pole vault, Hunter Lawrence placed fifth in the 400 hurdles and the 4 x 100 relay team of Carlos Villarreal, Luke Monroe, Lawrence and Jason Landl and the 4 x 800 relay team of Trevor Rice, Lawrence, Will Johnson and Henry Uzdavinis both finished fourth.

That ends the season for the team with a few individuals going on to the state qualifying round this week. The team, as always, quietly had another great season with very little fanfare. However, they know what they accomplished and they should be very proud of their accomplishments.

As to the three seniors on the team that have been so instrumental in all the wins, I feel that I am in the best position possible to label them the most talented trio to perform at one time in the history of our school. You cannot replace Kevin Kress, Trevor Godemann and Connor Rockhill, you can only hope enough returning lettermen and some new additions can work hard enough to try to match their scoring. In addition to leading their teams to five straight league championships and four straight section III championships, all three will have their names on the record board at least two times.

As to the team, the cupboard is not bare. We have some very talented athletes coming back and need more out to fill in the large void left by the graduating seniors. The team was undefeated in dual meet competition, won the CUPPS and CSC championships and won the sectionals for a clean sweep. In addition, Ethan and Kevin Kress, Godemann and Rockhill were in on breaking five school records this spring, more than any other team.