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.
Bobcats Defeat Rye Bea Williams scores 1000 By Dave Riggs
January 18, 2012 In a dramatic moment late in the fourth quarter with 29 seconds remaining, the contest tied between Rye and BHHS, Lauren Riggs hit a 3 point shot to put BHHS ahead by 3. Rye tried to come back, but missed a field goal attempt. After a series of fouls by Rye while attempting to regain possession, Bea Williams was fouled with .3 seconds left on the clock – then the real drama began. After a timeout was called by Rye, Bea calmly made the first of two fouls shots and the game was stopped: Bea Williams had just scored her 1000th career point and BHHS defeated Rye 33 to 29. Tonight’s match was filled with anticipation and hopes of a championship moment, as Bea Williams went into today’s game needing 12 points to reach the 1000 point mark.
Among those in attendance were family, friends, former coaches and former BHHS players who had scored 1000 points in their careers. Despite a tension-filled atmosphere and a solid Rye team, the game began favorably for BHHS.
Bea Williams scored the first 7 points for BHHS, and by halftime they led 20 to 11, with Bea’s 9 points. Just prior to the end of the first half, a Bea Williams side 3 point attempt went in and out to the collective sigh of the crowd. The second half was slow for BHHS. With a tenacious Rye defense and cold BHHS shooting, Rye went ahead by 2 late in the 4th quarter. Bea Williams had been held to 2 more points until this time. With some timely offense provided by Lucy Bancone, BHHS remained close. This set the stage for the last-minute excitement as BHHS tightened their defense and set the stage for the go-ahead Riggs 3 point shot, and later, Bea Williams' 12th point of the game and 1000th career point.
A fourth-year starter, Bea Williams has amassed her points through an inside/outside game consisting of long range shooting, short jumpshots and slashing drives. Upon reaching the milestone, the game was stopped, the crowd cheered enthusiastically and flowers, balloons and cupcakes were presented. Nearly everyone in attendance offered their enthusiastic congratulations to Bea Williams, which she humbly accepted. Humility is typical of her demeanor. In a classy gesture, the Rye team presented Bea with flowers and their own congratulations. The evening was special, the victory was exciting and hard fought and fans remained long after the game, savoring the experience. Bea excitedly said, “It felt really good!”
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.
Both Byram Hills varsity basketball teams won their matches this week. The boys beat Port Chester on Wednesday, 56-37, though it was not one of their best games of the season.
Coach Ted Repa said, "We need to get a lot better." On Saturday Byram Hills, the defending Class A champions, played this season's undefeated Tappan Zee at the New Rochelle Showcase. Tappan Zee beat BHHS 50-46.
The Bobcat girls celebrated their senior players in a game where they came from behind to beat Horace Greely 53-42.
In the second quarter with 6:24 minutes left on the clock Byram Hills took the lead off of a Bea Williams' layup. It was answered by a Horace Greely layup to tie the game at 13. Then Byram Hills scored two points to pull ahead 15-13 and the Bobcats did not relinquish the lead for the reminder of the game. At halftime the Bobcats went into the locker room leading 25-20.
In third quarter, Byram Hills played a strong defense to hold Greely to just 5 points, widening the gap to 38-25.
The last two minutes of the game Greeley was able to keep the ball on their side of the court, while fouling the Bobcats on every possession. But Williams was sure handed at the free throw line, scoring 15 out of 16 free throws.
The seniors dominated playing time on the court. Alexa Giuliani added 11 points, Maria Malone added 5 points, Christina Sardo had one point and freshman Lucy Bancone put up a basket.
The Bobcats' next game is at home on Monday against Ossining at 4:30p.m. It will be a challenging match up against Ossining's super star and junior player Saniya Chong. Chong is well respected on the court. Last year she scored a career high of 61 points against John Jay. She has recently been scouted by UConn College basketball team. Coach Kim Smith says they might have to triple guard Chong.
Byram Hills Athletics Winter Season 2011- 2012
Boys Basketball Varsity Schedule Head Coach: Ted Repa, Assistant Varsity; Dave Mack
12/18* BHHS defeats Fox Lane 50-41 12/10* BHHS defeats Brewster 52-42 12/13 Briarcliff defeats BHHS 67-64 12/20 BHHS defeats Harrison 60 -38 12/26** BHHS beat Poughkeepsie 66-56 12/27** White Plains/Magnus beat BHHS 1/4 4:15 BHHS at Fox Lane HS 1/6 BHHS beat Port Chester 58-39 1/10 BHHS beat Greeley 58-54 Wed, 1/18 Rye beat BHHS 50-49 Fri, 1/20 8pm BHHS at Blind Brook Tue, 1/24 BHHS beat Scarsdale, 62-50 Fri, 1/27 BHHS beat Horace Greeley 62-55 Mon, 1/30 4:15 BHHS at Yorktown HS Weds, 2/1 6pm BHHS beat Port Chester 56-37 Sat, 2/4*** Tappan Zee beat BHHS 50-46 Tues, 2/7 6:15pm BHHS at Harrison HS Fri, 2/10 **** 7pm Rye at BHHS Fri, 2/17 TBD Sectionals Tue, 2/21 TBD Sectionals Week of 2/17 TBD County Center
* = Winter Classic ** = Slam Dunk Tournament at County Center *** = Rivalry Day at New Rochelle HS **** = Senior Night
Girls Varsity Basketball Head Coach: Kim Smith Assistant Coach: Jeanne Marie Vinchiarello
12/6 Tappan Zee defeats BHHS 64-53 12/9 BHHS defeats Fox Lane 53-45 12/10 North Rockland defeats BHHS 54-50 12/13 BHHS defeats Westlake 61-30 12/16 Blind Brook beat BHHS 54-44 12/20 7:00pm BHHS at Kennedy Catholic 12/22 7:00pm BHHS at Kennedy Catholic 01/04 BHHS beat Mahopac 55-44 01/06 BHHS beat Port Chester 58-24 01/10 6:15 PM BHHS beat Greeley 47-42 01/12 BHHS beat Harrison 39-32 01/18 Byram Hills beat Rye, 33-29 01/20 7:00 PM BHHS at Fox Lane 02/01 4:30 PM BHHS at Port Chester 02/03 7:00 PM BHHS beat Greeley 53-42 02/06 4:30 PM Hamilton at BHHS 02/07 4:30 PM Harrison at BHHS 02/09 4:30 PM BHHS at Rye
Boys Ice Hockey Head Coach Stephen Annunziato Assistant Coach John Cincotta 12/03 Fox Lane topped BHHS 5-4 OT 12/10 BHHS vs. Mt. Pleasant 12/11 Ossining topped BHHS 3-0 12/16 BHHS vs. Hendrick Hudson 12/18 BHHS vs. Greeley 1/3/12 BHHS @ NEW ROCHELLE HS HUTCHINSON ICE ARENA 1/7/12 PEARL RIVER HS @ BHHS BREWSTER ICE RINK Thu 1/12/12 BHHS beat NYACK 8-4 at Nassau Coliseum Mon 1/16/12 11:00AM BHHS @ JOHN F KENNEDY CATHOLIC HS BREWSTER ICE RINK Fri 1/20/2012 HORACE GREELEY beat BHHS, 7-2 Fri 1/27/12 9:00PM RYE HS @ BHHS BREWSTER ICE RINK Sun 1/29/12 8:00PM BRIARCLIFF HS @ BHHS BREWSTER ICE RINK Sat 2/4/12 5:00PM BHHS @ NORTH ROCKLAND HS SPORT-O-RAMA Sun 2/5/12 1:50PM BHHS @ FOX LANE HS BREWSTER ICE RINK Sun 2/12/12 2:40PM NYACK HS @ BHHS BREWSTER ICE RINK
Wrestling Head Coach Bill Twardy Assistant Varsity Mike McQuillan Dec. 17 meet: Somers 57 vs. BHHS 12 BHHS 57 vs. Dobbs Ferry 18 Hendrick Hudson 45 vs. BHHS 30 Carmel 46 vs BHHS 36
Track Head Girls Coach Greg Govan Assistant Girls Coach Julianne Vilord Head Varsity Boys Tom Andriello Assistant Varsity Boys Raymond Lynch
Winter Track & Field Schedule 2011-12 (Meet Results are listed in Column 1)
Sun 11-Dec Section 1 Kickoff Meet Armory 9:00 am Fri 16-Dec Section 1 Freshmen-Sophomore RCC 4:30 pm Sat17-Dec Bishop Loughlin Armory TBD Tues 27-Dec Pearl River Holiday Festival RCC F/S AM Thurs 29-Dec CHSAA Relays Armory 11:15 AM Wed 4-Jan Dendy Memorial Meet RCC 4:30 pm Fri 6-Jan Section 1 Coaches Invitational RCC 4:30 pm Sun 8-Jan League Championship Armory 3:00 pm Wed 11-Jan Millrose Trials-relays Armory TBD Sat 14-Jan Stanner Games Armory TBD Sat 21-Jan New Balance Games Armory TBD Sun 29-Jan Westchester County Championship Armory 2:30 pm Fri 3-Feb JV – Counties R. C. C. 4:30 pm Mon 6-Feb Varsity Classic Armory 4:00 pm Sat 11-Feb Millrose Games Armory TBD Sun 12-Feb Section 1 Class B Championships Armory 4:30 pm Fri 24-Feb Section I State Qualifiers Armory 5:30 pm Tues 28-Feb Eastern’s Armory TBD Sat 3-Mar New York State Championships Cornell U. TBD Fri Mar 09 National Championships Armory Sat Mar 10 National Championships Armory Sun Mar 11 National Championships Armory
Boys Swim Head Coach Dan Malone (Westlake merged team) Assistant Coach Anthony Pizzolla
Cheerleading Head Coach Jaclyn Kane Assistant Coach Angelo LoBrutto
Dance Head Coach Noel Vanucci
Ski Team Head Coach Jessica Woolf Assistant Coach Kevin Guidotti January 5 January 10 January 18 January 27 February 7 February 15 Sectionals @ Catamount February 27 States @ Whiteface February 28 States @ Whiteface
Jan. 31, 2012 The Byram Hills hockey team scored a trip to play at Nassau Coliseum on January 12, 2012. Plagued by injuries and illness the team put on a great show, but ultimately lost to Nyack/Tappan Zee for a final score of 8-4. Frankie Gaudio scored two of the goals, and Joe Brigante and Rob Grande scored the other two.
This past week the team split games, beating JFK 1-0 and losing to Horace Greeley 7-2. Eric Appel, assisted by Frankie Gaudio, scored the wining goal against JFK. Nick Dominguez and Jake Kaiser scored the Bobcat goals against Greeley.
Byram Hill Cheerleaders Bring Home Silver
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.
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."
