Dating back several years, long before he became the district’s Athletic Director, Nick Bertrando has said that at Fredonia, “Tradition doesn’t graduate.”

Bertrando did the research to back up his claim that Fredonia’s athletic traditions are among the best in western New York.

Bertrando updated the tally of highlights across all of Fredonia’s athletic programs at a recent Board of Education meeting. Following last school year’s stellar performances across all three seasons, Fredonia now boasts 273 Division/League Championships, 133 Sectional Championships, 14 Regional titles, 14 individual State Champions, and three State Championship teams.

“When you walk into other gyms, there are very few gyms that rival what our athletes, our students, and our community has been able to do over those years,” Bertrando said. As a Section VI Champion head coach in both boys basketball and girls flag football, Bertrando is responsible for several of those championships himself.

Right as this school year’s athletic programs kick off the fall season, Bertrando presented a recap of the past year to the Fredonia Board of Education.

The 2024-2025 school year featured a plethora of highlights at Fredonia High School. Among the highlights were three New York State champions, nine State qualifiers, three Section VI champions, and seven Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association champions. Ten athletes received All-WNY honors and five athletes were named to All-State teams by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

“There are very few schools, not only in Section VI, but I would argue in the state, that were able to see this much achievement in just one calendar year,” Bertrando said.

Multiple school records were also broken this past year, including the triple jump and 4×400 relay team in girls track and field; the 200 IM and 100 Breaststroke in boys swimming; and the six-dive total in Fredonia girls swim and dive by Elizabeth Pucci-Schaefer.

Not only was Pucci-Schaefer a record breaker on the diving board, she was also a State Champion and a High School All-American. She earned a scholarship to Penn State University to continue her diving career.

Fredonia’s Kaylen Rollins celebrates after a point during a postseason volleyball game last fall. Fredonia won the Section VI girls volleyball championship in Class B last year.

Another notable banner earned this past year at Fredonia was through its Unified sports program. Fredonia became a National Unified Champion School and raised its banner provided by Special Olympics of New York, highlighting the district’s efforts to be an inclusive environment for students of all abilities.

Bertrando said there is “pride and honor” that goes into wearing the orange and black of Fredonia. “When you put that uniform on, you represent yourself; you represent your school; you represent your community,” Bertrando said.

Fredonia’s student athletes represented quite well in the classroom this past year, as well. For the fourth consecutive year, Fredonia earned the New York State Athletic Association School of Excellence Award. Of the district’s 25 varsity sports teams, 23 of them maintained an average of 90% or better as a team to be named a New York State Scholar Athlete Team.

“One of the things that I’m most proud of, and this is something that I’ve really tried to bestow upon our coaches, is the simple fact that this is an extension of the classroom. I don’t look at it as extracurricular,” Bertrando said. “… One of the things that we really stressed last year, and we’re continuing to stress this year, is the idea that we are students first.”

In terms of participation, Fredonia is among the strongest in the county. Last year, a total of 791 students played a sport at Fredonia. The district had a total of 1,424 students last year K-12, all of which take some sort of physical education course.

“Our students are benefitting physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally through athletic participation,” Bertrando said.

Bertrando also previously co-founded a course at the district, titled Personal Fitness and Nutrition, which was recognized by the New York State School Boards Association with the Champions of Change Award.

Fredonia is one of the few schools that maintain a standalone football program. This past year, Fredonia had 31 varsity football players, along with 18 at the junior varsity level and 28 at the modified level.

Fredonia did host several merged programs, including boys and girls cross country, boys and girls swimming, indoor track and field, and boys and girls wrestling. In most instances, Fredonia could have fielded its own team, but allowed other schools to merge to provide an opportunity for athletes of other schools to compete. Fredonia and Forestville combined modified softball teams for one year because of low numbers at both schools at the modified level. Bertrando stated that the only other Fredonia team that might not have been able to sustain itself last year without a merger was the boys swim team.

This year, Fredonia looks to find solutions to bussing issues through creative scheduling. Now in his second year as the district’s Athletic Director, Bertrando is working closely with Music Instructional Leader Andrew Bennett to avoid scheduling conflicts between athletics and music, as well.

“I’m very humbled and honored to carry on the tradition, but it isn’t a one person show,” Bertrando said. “It’s the teachers, it’s the community, it’s everybody that helps make this go.”