Sports Outdoors

by Steve Bradley

Last Friday and Saturday HFCS students Nolan Foster and Luis Weierbach competed in the New York State wrestling championships. The event was held at the Times Union Center in Albany.

Foster, a sophomore, competed in the 113 pound class. In his first match he won by decision over an opponent from Section X, 4 – 2 in overtime. Foster won the match with 24 seconds left in the overtime period. Unfortunately, Foster lost his next two matches, the first by a 4 – 3 score to a Section VI opponent; the second was a 6 – 5 loss to a Section V wrestler which eliminated Foster from the competition. With two years of high school left, and losing two State final matches by a two point total, there is no doubt that this will not be Foster’s last appearance in this competition.

Weierbach, a senior and previous State champion in the 106 pound class, was appearing in his fourth State championship. This year he competed in the 120 pound class. His first opponent was from Section VII, and Weierbach quickly put him away with a pin at the 1:28 mark. In Weierbach’s next match, against a Section VI opponent, he won by decision, 6 – 3.

Sunday afternoon, in the semifinals, Weierbach faced a familiar foe. Fellow Section II wrestler, Albany Academy’s Matt Morris, entered the match with a 45 – 0 record. Weierbach had been defeated by Morris twice this season, the last time being two weeks ago in the Sectionals. The two wrestlers put on the best show of the State championships.

After the first period Morris held a 2 – 0 lead. In the second period, Morris didn’t score and Weierbach scored three, taking a 3 – 2 advantage. With less than a minute left in the third and final regulation period, Morris was able to score one point to tie the score at 3 – 3.

The pair then went into a one minute, sudden death period. Neither was able to gather a point by the time the period ended.

The match then moved to two thirty second periods, one for each wrestler, to earn a point from the bottom position. Weierbach was on the bottom first and was close to escaping Morris, but Morris grabbed Weierbach’s leg and held on for longer than the referee thought he should. Morris was called for stalling, giving Weierbach one point. On Morris’s thirty seconds, Weierbach was able to keep Morris from gaining any points, and Weierbach came away with an exciting 4 – 3 win.

In Sunday evening’s finals, Weierbach was defeated by Bryan Lantry of Section V, 5 – 4. After a scoreless first period, Weierbach took a one point lead in the second period, but Lantry later took the lead and was able to hold on for the win. Weierbach ended the 2014 championships with a 3 – 1 record and took second place.

The weekend brought Weierbach’s stellar career at HFCS to an end. He will wrestle at West Point next year for Army.

by Steve Bradley

The #6 HFCS Panther Ladies basketball team was defeated Saturday evening. Playing against #3 Johnstown (14 – 6) at the Watervliet High School gym, the Panthers gave up 24 points in the first quarter and could not overcome the deficit. The first quarter ended at 24 – 15.

Doing everything possible to make up the deficit, the Ladies outscored the Lady Bills in the second and third quarters. After three quarters, the Panthers cut the lead to five, 40 – 35.  In the fourth quarter, Johnstown outscored the Panthers by three and held on for the win, 53 – 45.

Rachel Pine had 17 points; Carsen Williams added 12. Olivia Schneider had 7; Megan Flynn had 6, and Kelly Pine added 3 points.

The Ladies ended the season with a fine 12 – 7 overall, 9 – 5 league record.

Seniors Carsen Williams, a four year starter, and Olivia Schneider, along with Ashley St. Onge and Hannah Lilac participated in their last high school game. Junior Rachel Pine, sophomore Megan Flynn and freshman Kelly Pine will provide an experienced nucleus for next year’s team. Those three combined for 481 points this season. Junior Chelsea Stevens, who led the team with 21 three-pointers in a limited role, will be returning. Some excellent JV players will be moving into the mix also. The future looks bright for Lady Panthers basketball.

by Steve Bradley

The New York State Wrestling Championships will be held this weekend, Friday, February 28 and Saturday, March 1, at the Times Union Center in Albany. Two HFCS wrestlers will be vying for a State title.

Nolan Foster, a sophomore, will be competing in the Division 2 – 113 pound weight class. This is the first time Foster has earned his way to the State finals. Foster’s first match will be against Tanner Lapiene, of Ogdensburg, Section X.

Luis Weierbach will compete in the Division 2 – 120 pound weight class. In 2013, Weierbach was the State champion in the 106 pound class. In his first match, he will meet Dylan Baker of Ausable Valley, Section VII.

Gates open at the Times Union Center at 8:30 Friday. Tickets cost $12 for each session or $33 for a three session pass. In Session 1 The Parade of Champions will begin at 9:30 with preliminaries for both Division 1 and 2 to be held from 10 am – 2 pm. The Quarterfinals will be from 2 to 4 pm.

On Saturday, March 1, Session 2 semifinals, wrestlebacks and consolations will be held from 10 am to 3:30 pm. For Session 3 the gates re-open at 5 pm. Finals are scheduled to begin at 6:30 pm.