Felicia Hulslander has plenty of softball ahead of her. The East Aurora High School graduate leaves next month for Division II West Liberty University in West Virginia. She will major in athletic training after signing a national letter of intent to play for the Hilltoppers.
Hulslander played for three seasons on the Blue Devils varsity. "She played a phenomenal first base her sophomore and junior seasons. When the team needed a shortstop this season, she stepped up and made the switch," said coach Dan Edholm.
Despite facing more difficult pitching after moving up to ECIC III, Hulslander had a big senior year. She led the team in batting (.380), hits (27), doubles (3), triples (4), home runs (2), walks (10) and assists (43). He made only 5 errors in 97 chances while playing shortstop.
She leaves EA having rewritten the softball record books. She ranks first in her career in the following categories: batting avg. (.444), hits (87), triples (11), home runs (5), runs batted in (47), and runs scored (57). She ranks second in doubles (13), stolen bases (35), walks (23), and putouts (302). She is tied for third all-time in assists (58). She was also a two-year captain.
--- Mary Jo Monnin
The New York State Sportswriters Association has come up with a great idea -- and some Section VI schools like Maple Grove are getting some all-around recognition because of it.
The NYSSWA today announced its inaugural All-Sport Championships, which measure New York State Public High School Athletic Association schools (that means no Catholic schools) by their across-the-board performances in state championships in all sports (boys and girls).
Maple Grove, which won the state football championship this year and advanced to the final four in boys basketball, shared the top spot in Class D with South Kortright.
The only other two Section VI schools to make it into the top five were both in Class B: second-place East Aurora was just .33 behind Bronxville (37 points); Fredonia was fourth with 22 points.
Check out the NYSSWA's All-Sport Championships page, where it crowns Burnt Hills (which Sweet Home beat in the Class A football championship game) as its overall winner for amassing the most points. East Aurora's total was the fourth-highest overall.
There are breakdowns by boys and girls. For the boys, Orchard Park tied for first in Class AA, East Aurora was first and Southwestern tied for third in Class B and Maple Grove was first in Class D.
On the girls side, Class B East Aurora was second and Fredonia was fifth. Salamanca was fourth in Class C and Sherman was fifth in Class D.
---Keith McShea
Ashley Fields stole the show on the girls’ side of the state track and field championships on Saturday.
The Amherst sophomore captured four golds -- two each in Division I and Federation. She broke her own Section VI record in the 200 meters with a time of 23.66. In that race, Fields made an improbable comeback on Columbus’ Whitney Fountain, who was a good five strides ahead of Fields with 50 meters to go.
With two years of high school still to go, Fields is the fastest girl in the state.
“I was expecting this in maybe my junior or senior year,” Fields said. “Before this season, I was hoping to set PR’s and break school records -- not even the section record. I never would have thought I’d be a state champion in the 100 and the 200.”
Be sure to check out tomorrow’s paper for more on Fields’ miraculous day.
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As Fields caught her breath and soaked in a refreshing breeze from the mist fan near the finish line after winning the 100, she saw Nichols’ Adele Jackson-Gibson in the corner of her eye. Fields walked over and fist-bumped her fellow Section VI sprinter.
Continue reading "Live from the state track meet: Four wins for Amherst's Fields" »
