March 6, 2012 "Byram Hills seniors Marc Violone and Chris Ramsey performed well at the New York State Track & Field Championships at Cornell University on March 3, 2012," said Coach Greg Govan.
Marc placed sixth in the 3200 meter run with a time of 9:26.55. He placed sixth in New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) and seventh place in NYS Federation Winter Track and Field Championships.
Violone's 800 meter splits were 2:15.8, 2:22.1, 2:23.7 and 2:24.8.
"The entire field went out too fast on the first lap. Marc made a mistake of moving up on lap two and lap three which caused those also to be too fast. He paid a price towards the end of the race because of those mistakes," said Coach Govan.
Marc will compete this weekend at the National Championship held at the 168th Street Armory in Manhattan. He is scheduled to run the 1-mile on Friday at 3:50 p.m. and on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. in the 2-mile.
Chris placed seventh in the triple jump tying his own school record of 44' 04" twice during the competition. His trials measured 44’ 04”, 44’ 02” and 43’ 03 ½”.
His finals were 44’ 04”, 44’ 01 ¼” and a foul.
Coach Govan explained the the approach to the triple jump. "It is similar to the long jump where you run fast along the runway, plant one foot on the take off board. With the long jump one can put 100% of their physical effort into the single jump while the competitor in the triple jump must carefully manage the effort (especially on the first jump) so they can maximize the distance achieved over the three jumps. The key is to maintain as much horizontal speed as possible so you can achieve good distance on jumps two and three.
"It is three consecutive jumps. The first two jumps take off and land on the runway. The final jump will land in the sand pit. On the first jump you must take off and land on the same leg. Immediately upon landing, the second jump is made so that you land on the opposite leg. From there the final jump is made with a two footed landing into the sand."
At the Byram Hills Winter Sports Banquet Chris was awarded Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year.
Track & FieldChampionship& Smashing New School Record Feb. 17, 2012
Track and Field Coach Greg Govan said,"There were many great performances at the class B Championship meet held at the 168th Street Armory. Highlighting the show was the 17 second smashing of the school record by Marc Violone in the 3200 meter run."
Jan. 31, 2012 The Byram Hills track and field team performed well at the Westchester County Championship meet.
The boys team placed 5th amongst competing schools and Marc Violone set a new school record in the 1000 meter run. His time of 2:34.2 passed the previous record of 2:35.18, set by Phil Cawkwell in 2007.
The medallists in the meet were Violone in second place for the 1000, Chris Ramsey in second place in Long Jump and Triple Jump, and James Schuler in fifth place for pole vault. The boys 4x800 meter relay team--made up by Brendan Cutler, Evan Skloot, Violone and Nick Giordano--also medaled, in third place.
Jan. 31, 2012 Byram Hills cheerleaders bring home silver, placing second in the Hudson Valley Classic cheer competition on January 28, 2012 at Croton-Harmon High School. There were 14 varsity teams competing. Six in our Conference C. First place was Putnam Valley, 3rd place was Henry Hudson.
Hockey Teams Ends on a High Note The BHHS Ice Hockey Team ended their season on high note this weekend. After losing to North Rockland 4-7 on Saturday, they rallied to beat Fox Lane 3-2 on Sunday for the final game of the season.
Against the Foxes, the Bobcats put the first points on the board during the second quarter. The first goal was scored by Eric Apel, assisted by Nick Dominquez. Rob Grande scored the second goal assisted by Joe Summa. Jake Kaiser scored goal number three in the third period for the 3 to 2 win.
On January 6th at the Rockland Coaches Invitational, Jenny Winkler broke the school record in the 3000 meter run for the 2nd time this season. She shaved off half a second to bring the mark down to 10:50.1.
At the Section 1 Freshman - Sophomore meet at Rockland Community College on December 16, Sophomore Jenny Winkler ran 10:50.6 in the 3000 meter run to eclipse the 10:53.7 set in 2007 by Katie Bakas. Winkler narrowly missed the 1000 meter mark at the opening meet of the season when she went 3:12.4, just missing the record, of 3:11.3, held by Francine Ward.
The Bobcat Boosters support our teams and cheer the spirit of the games. And Byram Hills has some of the best fans and our athletes know it. It is a privilege to sit in the bleachers to cheer your team on.
The Boosters ask us to keep in mind good fan behavior and positive sportsmanship:
Cheer as loudly as you can for your team. A traditional cheer for Byram Hills is: “Oh when the Hills...”.
You should not make comments towards opposing players, team members, fans or officials.
Respect the feedback from the adult supervisors with regard to any cheer which in their opinion is inappropriate.
Remember your role as a spectator is to encourage your team. The competition takes place on the floor, not in the bleachers.
Marc Violone Sets a New School Record March 10, 2012
Coach Greg Govan says, "Today at the Armory, Marc Violone competed in the 1-Mlle event at the New Balance Indoor National Championships. Placing 2nd in the Emerging Elite section of the meet, Marc ran a personal best by more than 5 seconds. His time for the full mile of 4:18.86 broke the existing record of 4:21.67 set by the great Max Kasak at this same meet on March 12, 2006.
"En-route to the mile, Mark sped through the 1600 meter mark in 4:17.36 also erasing the old mark of 4:20.15 set by Kasak with his en-route clocking."
Bobcats' Season Ends in a Squeaker to Undefeated TZ March 2, 2012
New School Record Set
On Friday 25, 2012 Byram Hills Track and Field team put up impressive numbers at the Section 1 State Qualifier Track & Field Meet at the Armory. Seniors Marc Violone and Chris Ramsey advanced to the NYS Championship Meet scheduled next Saturday, March 3rd at Cornell University.
Coach Greg Govan said, "Chris earned his spot on the team with a magnificent 44' 03" leap on his very first attempt. He added almost four inches onto the school record he already holds. Marc rallied from a fifth place position with a blistering 66.2 in the last 400 meters of the 3200 meter run to win a place on the team headed to Cornell."
Updated Feb. 24, 2012 In an exciting match-up, No. 5-seeded Byram Hills pulled ahead in the fourth quarter and went on to beat No. 4-seeded Kennedy Catholic in the semifinal Section 1 Class A game. The final score was 55-50.
The Bobcats came on strong to start the game. Then in the final seconds of the first quarter, they lost control of the ball and Kennedy capitalized on it. They added four points to tie the game and end the first quarter at 14 points each.
"In the second quarter, we couldn't hit a shot and we didn't play Bobcat basketball in my opinion,” said Coach Ted Repa. Kennedy executed their plays and ended the half leading at 30-18.
JFK out-hustled Byram Hills in the first half. "We talked at halftime about playing as a team and we knew we were the better team," added Byram senior Andrew Maloney. During halftime, Coach Repa said, "We were missing shots and stopped believing in ourselves. I told the team that we have to believe in ourselves and there was no reason to play with fear."
With 7:12 remaining in the fourth quarter, Byram junior Jeff Lynch dribbled down the court and defender Chris Gillen went to the floor. The momentum began to shift. JFK then lost the rebound under Byram's basket and junior Ryan Golden was in the right spot. He made a quick pass on the inside to senior Alex O'Brien, who made a layup for two points and added another point from the foul line, scoring five points for the night. O'Brien said, "Our intensity changed in the second half and we started making the layups, especially in the fourth quarter. Everyone stepped up and started making shots and the scoreboard showed it."
Byram Hills was down 38-32. Kennedy's turnover at their basket resulted in a Byram possession. "Once we started putting together a solid defense, the offense followed with some easy baskets," added O'Brien.
Coach Repa urged his players to keep their heads in the game. Byram's defense tightened up and Kennedy couldn't get close to the boards. Lynch reached in defensively and broke up JFK's play.
Senior Charlie Murphy came down the court with the ball and passed to Golden, who hit one of his four three-pointers that were split between the first and fourth quarters. At 5:35, the score was 38-35. Golden was the high scorer for Byram with an impressive 17 points, nine of which were scored in the last quarter.
"We knew we were going to hit our shots, it was just a matter of time," said Murphy. Murphy put defensive pressure on JFK. Defensively, Byram took command, with Murphy focused on boxing out JFK players. "We are underrated in our defense, added Murphy, "but the defense really did their jobs tonight."
Murphy passed the ball to Ryan in the corner and he put up a three-pointer to make it 40-38 at 4:08. Golden said, "In the fourth quarter we fired all cylinders and finally were making the shots."
At 3:41 Kennedy sunk a two-pointer to go ahead 42-38. Then senior Matt Debold made one of his two fourth quarter three-pointers to bring the score closer at 42-41. Debold added eight points from the bench and said it was one of the best games he ever played.
With 2:56 remaining in the game, junior Ryan Golden hit a three-pointer, putting the Bobcats ahead for the first time since they led 14-10 in the first quarter. The place exploded with Byram fans jumping out of their seats. Byram took the lead 44-42.
With just 2:37 left on the clock, a personal foul on JFK's Randazzo (No. 44) allowed him to tie the game from the foul line at 44. Byram answered with two points.
Freshman Andrew Groll added to the defense in the last quarter by getting his hands on nearly every rebound. He tipped a ball and caused a turnover. On the next possession Groll grabbed yet another rebound. Groll ratcheted up his defense on JFK's game-high, 20-point scorer, senior Thiago Randazzo, getting Randazzo in foul trouble. Randazzo fouled out with 1:08 remaining, which hamstrung JFK's offense. Groll added 10 points after coming off the bench.
"We left it on the court in the second half. We got their big guy in foul trouble and started to make some shots," said Maloney. Maloney himself got into foul trouble early in the game. He was driving the ball and was called for charging a couple of times as he slid into a player on defense, who didn't appear to have his feet planted for the required three seconds. Maloney was also called for a foul when he jumped for a rebound and it appeared to be a jump ball. As Coach Repa remarked, refereeing is hard. Maloney scored four points for the night.
"Coach Repa gave us a great halftime speech. He got us fired up and we were dedicated to win this game, on both defense and offense," said Jeff Lynch, who scored 11 points. Lynch took one fall after going up for a layup that drew the foul; it looked like he came down on the ankle that has been giving him problems all season.
Byram Hills scored 26 points in the fourth quarter. "Basketball is a game of four quarters and we weren't there for the first three," Murphy said. "But we were there for the fourth quarter and showed them what Byram basketball is really all about,” he proudly added.
"Now we are going back to the County Center. It is Tappan Zee time, and hopefully, we'll give them our best," said Murphy. The match-up will be a tough game since Tappan Zee were the defending Champs last year and are undefeated this year.”
The Section 1 Class A semifinals game will be on Wednesday February 29th at 8:15p.m. at the Westchester County Center.
Bobcats' Basketball Season Ends in a Squeaker to Undefeated TZ
March 3, 2012 With 8.8 seconds left on the clock and Byram Hills trailing 47-46, Bobcat senior Andrew Maloney went up for a layup and got called for traveling. It seemed he slipped on the same wet spot under the basket where junior Ryan Golden had also slipped during the previous possession.
Byram Hills senior Charlie Murphy then reached in for a foul and Tappan Zee pulled ahead 48-46 on senior Patrick Paterson's free throw. The game ended with a pile up in the middle of the court as time ran out for last year's Class A Champions Byram Hills.
In the first three minutes of the game, Murphy showed his strength on the boards and snagged multiple rebounds as he put up the first four of his nine points for Byram Hills. Tappan Zee took the lead early in the game, and at 4:16 in the first quarter, seniors Billy O'Shea and Pat Peterson led Tappan Zee to their biggest spread of 10-4. The first quarter ended with Tappan Zee on top at 12-10.
The Bobcat freshman 6'6" center Andrew Groll found himself in foul trouble early. Groll had two points and two rebounds. Bobcat junior Brian Skelly scored a long three-pointer to bring the game to a one-point difference at 20-19. Maloney broke through the strong defense of TZ for a layup to bolster the score to 25-21. Golden added two points, ending the first half with the Dutchmen in the lead at 25-23.
At halftime Tappan Zee Coach George Gaine told his team that if their season ended right then, they’d have a lot of regrets. He said the message really seemed to sink into his players’ heads.
At 5:12 in the third quarter, Maloney hit a fade away two-pointer that moved the Bobcats to within one point at 28-27.
At 3:46, Golden tied it from the line at 32. For the game, Golden totaled 13 points with six rebounds. TZ Coach Gaine said Golden is a tough player and has been Byram's best player in the last two weeks. "We knew we had to concentrate on him. Tappan Zee's senior Brian McLaughlin did a great job on Golden; he took away the easy baskets. We made Golden work for every possession." McLaughlin scored nine points and had five rebounds.
At 2:19 into the third quarter, Maloney hit one of his three-pointers to put Byram in the lead for the first time at 35-34. Coach Gaine gave Maloney credit for the lead. "He hit a lot of threes. If he hadn’t hit those threes, it could have been a different game." Maloney was Byram's top scorer with 14 points and six rebounds.
The fourth quarter opened with Tappan Zee leading 38-35.
At 7:26 in the fourth quarter, Maloney shot another successful three-pointer to tie the score at 38. A big group of Bobcat fans in the upper level at the end of the court broke out in a chant: "We believe-- we can win!"
At 5:14, O'Shea scored as he was fouled and added one foul shot from the line. TZ had pulled ahead, 41-38. With 4:30 remaining, Golden made two shots at the foul line and TZ led by two.
At 2:45, O'Shea, the game's high-scorer, tallied his 25th point. Tappan Zee had extended its lead to 45-40.
With 1:06 left in the game, Golden scored two points and one from the free-throw line, bringing the Bobcats within two points of Tappan Zee's lead at 46-44. Byram seniors Murphy and Maloney pressed hard at half court to cause a turnover that was tossed back to Murphy, who then tied the game at 46, with 41 seconds remaining.
The Dutchmen held onto the ball to wind down the clock. With just 14.5 seconds left in the game, Murphy got called for a questionable foul as Tappan Zee's O'Shea charged toward the basket and appeared to have tripped on Murphy's foot, but not truly fouled by Murphy. However, the ref believed otherwise. O'Shea made one shot from the foul line and TZ took the lead 47-46. O'Shea scored a game-high of 26 points, 18 of them notched in the first half.
After the game Coach Gain proudly commented, “I’m the luckiest guy in the world to have a team like this with a bunch of guys who really care about each other and don't want to let each other down.”
Tappan Zee is ranked Number 1 with an undefeated record of 21-0 this season. They made it to the Class A Championship Game and play Poughkeepsie on Sunday at 7:00PM at the Westchester County Center.
Girls Final Basketball Game By Dave Riggs
February 23, 2012 Despite a valiant effort by underdog and undersized Byram Hills, Tappan Zee prevailed in the Class A quarterfinal contest on Wednesday, with a final score of 56-52.
This game was not decided until late in the fourth quarter when Byram Hills went into a cold shooting streak. Tappan Zee tightened up on their defense, and benefited from some key steals.
The first half of the tightly contested match featured Bea Williams leading the way with an array of three point shots and solid scoring support from Kim Franco. These efforts and a strong showing by Byram’s defense resulted in a 32-30 BHHS halftime lead.
The second half began favorably with Byram Hills up by five, midway through the third quarter. Unfortunately, they were unable to sustain the lead. Tappan Zee used their size and off ball screening offense to come back and take the lead going into the fourth quarter. Tappan Zee continued to capitalize on their size advantage, but Byram Hills narrowed the lead to 48-46 on a three-pointer by Sarah Goldring, midway through the fourth quarter. That was the closest Byram Hills would come as a few missed shots and some key Tappan Zee steals sealed the win. Byram Hills played strong to the end as time ran out.
Many members of the Bobcat team are seniors who have been playing together for the last decade on many different teams. In spite of the loss, it proved to be a memorable season for the Byram Hills Girls Basketball team.
Byram Hills Holds a Wrestling Tournament and Finishes Second
Updated January 15, 2012 Byram Hills hosted its first wrestling tournament on January 14, 2012. Eight local high school teams wrestled and the four teams with the best record in the morning matches, including Byram Hills, went on to compete in the afternoon.
The Bears from Brewster won the tournament, the Byram Hills Bobcats came in second, and the Huskies from Harrison took third place. Awards went to outstanding individual wrestlers in the different weight categories. The most outstanding wrestler in the 170 - 285 pound heavy weight category was Byram Hills senior Paul Erlic. Erlic achieved four pins in his four matches and attributed it to "not giving up". The award for the light weight 99 to 126 pound category went to Dobbs Ferry senior Josh Dooz. The most outstanding mid-weight wrestler in the 132 to 160 pound category was from Harrison, sophomore Max Lukaswitz.
Coach Bill Twardy said, "After four years, the team was ready for a tournament and we were able to pull it off with the help of team parents, the athletic director and the other Byram Hills coaches including Assistant Coach Michael McQuillan, a knowledgable wrestler who wrestled in college.
"We practice or compete six days a week," says Twardy, who wrestled in High School. "I was pretty good. My Dad was my coach and he is here today as coach of Carmel HIgh School."
Byram Hills Athletic Director Mike Gulino said he is glad to see wrestling back at Byram Hills. The team has been building and now has 24 members. "It is a very complicated sport and it is difficult when you jump in during the ninth grade for the first time. [Byram Hills has no junior varsity team]. We have a 7th & 8th-grade modified program, but even then, there is an advantage for kids who start wrestling younger in the third or fourth grade."
"Wrestling has a lot of safety elements to it," says Scott Condron, father of team captain Brady Condron, who sat out the tournament due to an injury. "But as a contact and physical sport there are broken wrists, and an occasional concussion with head bangs or slip falls. Referees are looking out for the safety of the wrestlers. They are very attentive to the two boys on the mat. If a wrestler goes too far or if there is an unsafe hold, they will stop it. For instance, penalties are given for two hands on the neck, one hand is okay, but not two."
"Wrestling is very calculating and strategic. It is about leverage and speed. There are certain things that you can not do to intentionally hurt your opponent," says Vito Errico, father of a freshman team member and one of the founders and coaches of the Armonk Youth Wrestling program. "For instance, a headlock has to include an arm, so you can not choke your opponent."
At the beginning of a match, most guys face off standing neutral. The first three periods of two minutes each starts with a flip of the coin to determine who is on the top or the bottom. In the following two rounds the leader in points chooses to start on top, on the bottom or in the neutral position.
The goal is to pin the other guy on his back. The point system is based on whoever has control, either by taking his opponent off their feet or pinning him. The amount of time an opponent's back is exposed to the mat determines the points: two seconds or less is rewarded with two points; a hold down on the back for more than five seconds, with both shoulders not down but in a 45 degree angle, wins three points. A match won by eleven points or fewer gives a team three points. A match won by 12 to 14 points is worth four team points. A technical fall, when one opponent is ahead of another by fifteen or more points, gains five points for the leader's team. And a pin with both shoulders down on the mat gains six points for the victor's team.
With the score tied in the fourth round between Byram Hills freshman John Errico and another freshman from Brewster, Errico finally outscored his opponent. It was especially impressive since Errico was wrestling in a 106-pound weight class, a higher weight class than usual since Brewster had no one to match Errico's lightweight 95 pounds.
Coach Twardy said, "Two of our top guys are injured, so we have other people stepping up to fill the void. We make do with what we have and are happy to be in the finals. Other schools here are Carmel, Irvington, Hastings, Brewster, Burke Catholic, Harrison and Dobbs Ferry. This is our first match against Hastings. We went against all the other schools before."
In the finals, Byram Hills faced Brewster's B team because Brewster's A team was competing in another meet in Sullivan County. Brewster is a tough team who beat Fox Lane, which won the sectional title last year. Brewster's wrestling team has been around for years, and Brewster has a much bigger youth program than Byram Hills does, with 90 kids. "Our youth program is small and the varsity team hasn't seen any of our younger members yet," Vito Errico said. The exception is Errico's son who is a freshman on the Bobcat team yet is doing very well, even though he didn't start wrestling until the sixth grade. Some boys begin wrestling now in the second or third grade.
Brett Summers, a wrestling team parent and a member of Byram Hills Board of Education, said the benefit of a wrestling program is that the kids mature in ways that otherwise they wouldn't have an opportunity to do. They are competing individually and their success depends upon how much effort they make. When they don't do well, they can't blame it on their teammates.
Summers credits the success of the tournament to the athletic director and the staff at the high school. Every scoring table at the tournament was run by Byram Hills teachers. "It is fantastic for the teachers to see these kids compete in a tournament like this. Director Gulino has had the foresight to raise the percentage of coaches who are teachers from 20% to about 60%. The coaches know the challenges that the athletes face in school and have a good understanding of the kids on the fields. Our priority is to have a teacher as a coach. Perhaps we'll not do as well on the fields, but it is about the whole kid. The combination of an assistant coach with experience in strategy and management with a teacher as head coach is a winning formula for Byram Hills. In wrestling we have the best of both worlds in having a teacher who is the expert in the sport."
