Prep Talk

East's Fisher, I-Prep's Hillman among nine NCCC hoop signees

Three Yale Cup standouts are among an impressive recruiting class for Niagara County Community College and coach Bill Beilein.

All-Western New York first teamer Tremmell Fisher of East and honorable mentions John Black of McKinley and Kadeem Hillman of International Prep at Grover Cleveland will all sign letters of intent to the school on Wednesday. Also signing will be two Niagara Frontier League standouts in Jake Hughes (Niagara-Wheatfield) and Marc Morreale (Lew-Port) as well as Dut Dour, a 2010 Bishop Timon-St. Jude All-WNY honorable mention who is transferring from St. Bonaventure.

The class will be introduced at 5 p.m. Wednesday during a press conference in NCCC's athletics lobby.

Also signing are two out-of-town recruits: Jordan Green from New Rochelle of downstate's Section I and Andre "TJ" McCrea from Brien McMahon High School in Connecticut.

Also making it official tomorrow will be Marcus Feagin of Niagara Falls, who will sign Wednesday with Monroe Community College.

I've written before about how I think Feagin might be the type of player who could use his time at MCC to possibly springboard to a scholarship somewhere; I think Hillman and Fisher could become candidates to do the same via NCCC.

---Keith McShea
(@KeithMcSheaBN on Twitter)

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More from the Section VI boys golf championships

For Alex Kammerer, it was an unfortunate end to a memorable round.

The Niagara-Wheatfield sophomore found himself in a playoff with Matt Petrosian of Lew-Port for Monday's Section VI golf title.

Instead, he took an eight on the par 5, 10th hole, putting back-to-back shots in the fields to the right of the fairway. Petrosian wasn't much better taking a 7, but it was enough to win the title.

Kammerer settled for second place in the field of 72, not a bad consolation prize.

Kammerer posted the lowest score after the first 18 holes, a 1-under 71. He had a 39 over the final 9.

"It bothers me that I kind of blew up on the playoff hole, but it really doesn't bother me too much because I'm going to states. I'm still happy about the day," said Kammerer. "I pushed my drive and got a real bad kick, and it pushed into the hazard. [Then] I made stupid move. I should have made a smarter play and ended up hitting a shot back into the hazard. From there on, it was just a disaster."

* * *

* With the win, Petrosian joins a select fraternity of Lew-Port golfers who have won Section VI golf titles. Frank Garcia won it in 1998 and Nick Morreale of the Lancers was the 1997 champion. Petrosian looks to continue his golf career as a walk-on at Division II University of Tampa.

* Lew-Port was the only team to qualify two golfers. Joining Petrosian was teammate Mike Boss, a junior. Iroquois had two make the team, but only junior Brennan Fonfara is expected to play while Kyle Kapturowski is the alternate. Fonfara birdied No. 14 twice and made a nice save on No. 15 after hitting into the hazard.

* Diamond Hawk made a big impression on some of the top finishers. Most said the greens were firm and rolled great.

* Senior Scott Brady of Olean earned his first trip to states. His round was highlighted by a 50-foot, par-saving putt on his last hole. He's taking his golf talent and ping-pong skills to St. Bonaventure in the fall.

* Austin Nowak of Lancaster returns to states after finishing 13th last year.

* Williamsville East's Sean Mahon's first 18 holes included chip-ins on No. 7 and No. 16.

* Kyle Jeziorski of Orchard Park carded an eagle on No. 9, capped with a 20-foot putt.

* How about that Niagara Frontier League with golfers finishing 1-2, on an Erie County course, no less?

* The Lancaster-Depew rivalry doesn't quite extend to golf as Andrew Romano of Depew and Austin Nowak of Lancaster have played their share of rounds together. They'll play two more at states. "Right now I'm not playing to my full potential," said Romano. "Me and Austin, gees we got so many rounds in. We actually had good weather to start the year off, but we could both play so much better."

---Mary Jo Monnin

Wrapping up the Section VI wrestling championships

Here are the Division I and Division II stories from the Section VI wrestling championship. And here are plenty of extras from the Division II meet Saturday night at Niagara County Community College. But first, a couple observations.

1. This was the second straight year NCCC served as host for the event, and it's a great venue. There's plenty of parking, and NCCC coach Eric Knuutilla (one of the nicest men you could ever meet) does a great job having the gym ready. The support staff, including announcers and officials, also do a good job of keeping everything moving as close to on time as possible.

2. Another thank you to Ross Conti, an assistant coach at Fredonia and committee member of the Wrestling Review of Western New York, the group that does such a great job seeding and ranking area wrestlers. Conti is a walking encyclopedia of wrestling knowledge.

112-pound champion Tom Page, Eden: Page moved ahead with a takedown in the second period to defeat teammate eighth-grade teammate Alex Smythe. Here's Page's father, also Tom Page, on what it's like for two teammates to wrestle each other: "It's extremely difficult because they're so familiar with each other's style. It's unfair to both, but some coaches say it's a privilege. I'm proud of both of the athletes, because they've done a fantastic job."

The elder Page said he wrestled both at 112 because they were the best at that weight class and deserved a chance to showcase what they could do at the sectional level. Nothing wrong with that logic.

119-pound champion Kevin Strong, Frewsburg: It's the second trip to states for Strong, who improved to 43-2 on the season. Here he is on his game plan from Saturday: "I was working on holding him down and taking it slow. Once I got my points I was very careful." Strong beat Newfane's David Ciaramella, 9-0.

125-pound champion Emory Rowe, Ripley: The smallest wrestling school in Western New York had two finalists, including one champion in Rowe. He scored a late takedown to earn a 5-3 decision over Jake Baer of Olean, a raw talent in just his third year of wrestling. Here's Rowe on the end of the match: "I was just looking for an opening and I saw him loosen up, so I dove for it and got it."

140-pound champion Devin Kramer, Depew: The Most Outstanding Wrestler of the meet scored three late points to break a 2-2 tie with Ben Haas of Salamanca and win his second sectional title (he won at 130 last year). The 130- and 140-pound divisions are packed with talented wrestlers. Kramer, a senior who is a member of the Cobra Wrestling Academy, is 36-4 on the season.

145-pound champion: Dominic Montesanti, Medina: Montesanti put forth a dominant performance despite being hampered by a knee injury. He's wrestling on a torn meniscus in his right knee. Here he is on competing hurt: "It's been a real bother, but it's my senior so I couldn't get surgery. It would put me out for the rest of the year. I have one last chance to be a state champion, so I have to tough it out."

Montesanti took sixth at the state tournament last year after dislocating his elbow and having to injury forfeit two matches at 140.

171-pound champion John Mistretta, Southwestern: Mistretta beat Greg Burroughs of Fredonia for the third time this season, never the easiest thing to do. Mistretta has a unique style that could make him a tough out at the state tournament.

189-pound champion Colin Palmer, East Aurora: Palmer is unbeaten on the season (24-0) after missing time early due to injury.

215-pound champion Pat Langworthy, Southwestern: Langworthy (33-6), a junior, won a wild weight class. Consider: the seventh seed, Panama's Cody DiDomenico, beat No. 2 Bashar Srouji of Lew-Port in the quarterfinals. Langworthy, the third seed, then beat DiDomenico. On the other side of the bracket, top seed Justin Taylor of Portville was upset by fourth seed Jake Eddington of Gowanda in the semifinals.

285-pound champion Theo King, Roy-Hart: King and 96-pounder Zach Bickle won titles for the Rams. Here's King on what he hopes it means for the Niagara-Orleans League school: "I hope it can inspire more people to come out for the team next year and continue to build the tradition of the program."

That's it for now, although we may have some video later of a few matches (if I can figure out the technology).

---Jay Skurski

Vote for the four Section VI wrestling class tournament champions

poll by twiigs.com

Big weekend on several fall fields

Football is obviously the big sport in the fall, but this opening weekend is even bigger when you consider the big events that are getting other seasons started.

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In today's paper we mentioned two boys soccer events, the Clarence Tournament and the Coaches V. Cancer ECIC-NFL Challenge at Sweet Home. The Clarence event speaks for itself with top teams East Aurora, Nichols and Kenmore East visiting.

The Sweet Home event has organizers wondering aloud if it is the largest boys soccer event to be held in Western New York. With five games on Friday and five on Saturday, I can't think of anything of that scope.

It's a great format and a great cause. Officials will wear a commemorative shirt to honor former longtime Western New York official Tom Mingle, who passed away on Sept. 5, 2008. The officials -- who are donating all of their game fees to cancer research -- will make a presentation to Tom's family during halftime of the Sweet Home/North Tonawanda game at 12:45 p.m. Saturday.

The format of the event is two points for a win and one point for a tie; if the two leagues are tied the tiebreaker is fewest goals allowed.

Here's the lineup:

Friday's games
Sweet Home vs. Kenmore West, 2 p.m.
Wmsv. East vs. North Tonawanda, 4 p.m.
Wmsv. North vs. Niagara Falls, 4 p.m.
Wmsv. South vs. Lew-Port, 6 p.m.
Hamburg vs. Niagara-Wheatfield, 6 p.m.
Saturday's games
Wmsv. North vs. Lew-Port, 10 a.m.
Wmsv. East vs. Niagara-Wheatfield, 10 a.m.
Sweet Home vs. North Tonawanda, noon
Hamburg vs. Kenmore West, noon
Wmsv. South vs. Niagara Falls, 2 p.m.

Also, this afternoon is the first round for the Eden Kickoff Classic, which features the hosts meeting Springville and Pioneer taking on Roy-Hart; the winners meet Friday.

Friday just isn't opening night for football at Orchard Park, Rochester boys soccer power Aquinas will visit OP at 5 p.m.

Speaking of Aquinas, on Saturday the Little Irish host Canisius while the girls team hosts East Aurora.

* * *

Clarence also has a nice collection for its girls soccer tournament, held in conjunction with the boys. Friday's first-rounders are Nardin at Clarence and Nichols vs. Kenmore East.

Some nonleague girls soccer action Friday includes a great program showdown of Williamsville North at Grand Island as well as Williamsville South at North Tonawanda. 

* * *

Clarence just leads the league in big opening events -- the 23rd annual Clarence Invitational in boys volleyball includes a who's who of top teams in its 16-team field. Orchard Park, Canisius, Eden and St. Francis will be there. The tournament starts at 8 a.m.

Speaking of volleyball, the boys get some serious bump-set-spiking in tonight as OP -- which went undefeated last year -- opens against St. Francis at home at 7 p.m.

On Friday, Catholic girls state champion St. Mary's opens up at Victor of Section V (Rochester area) while Williamsville North is at Starpoint.

* * *

All that and even boys basketball (!) sneaking in with the Elia Tournament at Niagara Falls. 

---Keith McShea

Scribbling down scrimmages: Saturday's lineup

Saturday is the first day football teams can scrimmage each other.

Below is a list we've compiled from your responses to the Kicking off 2009 football talk post as well as some other research.

PLEASE let us know of any inaccuracies, updates or additions via the comments section below or an email to kmcshea@buffnews.com Thanks.

Also, check out a statewide scrimmage list from the NYS Sportswriters Association.

* * *

Saturday's scrimmages

Cardinal O'Hara at Cleveland Hill, 8 a.m.

St. Francis, Sweet Home and East at Lockport, 9 a.m.

Williamsville North, Burgard, Starpoint and Kenmore West at Clarence, 9 a.m.

Maple Grove and Clymer at Cassadaga Valley, 9 a.m.

V-Hornell at Olean, 9 a.m.

Alden, Wilson and Lew-Port at Medina, 9:30 a.m.

East Aurora and Gowanda at Cattaraugus/Little Valley, at 9:30 a.m.

Riverside and Grand Island at North Tonawanda, 10 a.m.

Maryvale, Grover Cleveland, Eden and three others -- yup, a seven-team scrimmage -- at Williamsville South, 10 a.m.

West Seneca East and Cheektowaga at Canisius, 10 a.m. (Stransky Complex at 2885 Clinton St., West Seneca)

St Joe's at Orchard Park, 10 a.m.

Salamanca, V-Dansville and V-Wellsville at Pioneer, 10 a.m.

Hamburg at Jamestown, 10 a.m.

Southwestern at Randolph, 10 a.m.

Frontier and Lackawanna at Iroquois, 5 p.m.

West Seneca West, Lake Shore and Kenmore East at Amherst, 6 p.m.

Depew and Niagara-Wheatfield at Williamsville East, TBA

Batavia at Albion, TBA

Lancaster at V-Webster Schroeder, 9:30 a.m.

Newfane and V-Charles Finney at V-Elba/Byron-Bergen, 10 a.m.

Niagara Falls, V-Hilton, V-Marshall, V-Spencerport at V-Greece-Olympia, 10 a.m.

---Keith McShea

More from state track: Lew-Port's Seyler powers through pentathlon

A accident with a lawnmower almost cost Robby Seyler more than a chance to compete at this weekend's state track and field championships in Syracuse.

Last month the Lew-Port pentathlete sliced the last three fingers on his right hand while reaching into the family lawnmower to dislodge a twig. He received 34 stitches. "It happened in a split second. I'm lucky to have my fingers," he said.

He got the stitches out earlier this week and was able to represent the Lancers at the state meet. He said it was difficult to hold the shot put, he could only use three fingers, but that didn't prevent him from throwing his personal record 34-11.25. In fact, he did his PR in four of the five events: shot, 110 hurdles, high jump and 1,500 meters. He was rewarded with a career best 3,010 points.

"It's the state meet and you've got to bring it," said Seyler, moments "Everyone else is at a high level so I had to bring up my game a notch."

Seyler will attend Niagara County Community College in the fall and will play basketball.

---Mary Jo Monnin

Live from the state track meet: Four wins for Amherst's Fields

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.

* * *

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.