1. Dunkirk Girls Bowling Team Wins State Title

As you cross the city lines into Dunkirk, there’s a new sign to commemorate an incredible athletic achievement. In Dunkirk, State Champions earn recognition, and the Dunkirk Lady Marauders girls bowling team cemented themselves as one of the city’s proudest achievements. Dunkirk earned the 2019 NYSPHSAA Division 2 Girls Bowling State Championship in early March, with a come from behind victory at Strike ‘N Spare Lanes in Syracuse. Dunkirk managed a 2,686 series in the morning session and a 2,985 series in the afternoon session. Rachel Glowniak led the way with a total of 1,231 pins, with the second highest series of the tournament, while Makayla Pasierb had 1,180 total pins, good for fifth overall, along with the second highest game of the tournament. The team finished with a record of 39-1 on the year.

2. Brocton Baseball Plays For State Title

The Brocton Bulldogs built upon the baseball program’s first ever trip to the State Final Four in 2018 with a return trip to States in 2019. This time, however, the Bulldogs wouldn’t be going home after the first night. Brocton beat Lisbon 10-0 by the mercy rule in the State Semifinals to earn a spot in the championship game. Because ace pitcher Bubba Brown could not pitch in the title game due to pitch count restrictions after six shutout innings in the first game, the Bulldogs fell one win shy of winning a state title. Still, winning a game at States for the first time in program history and earning a spot in the title game is an achievement that helped put Brocton on the map.

Brocton’s Jordan Krystofiak celebrates scoring the first run of the NY State Semifinal baseball game against Lisbon, in Binghamton. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.

3. Petrella, Brown Each Place Top 5 At States

Dunkirk High School’s star runner Jericha Petrella represented her school on the podium at Middletown in the NY State Championship track & field meet in June, with a second place finish in the 400m dash. She beat her own school record with a time of 57.55. Also on the biggest stage at Middletown, Fredonia’s Emily Brown claimed a fifth place finish in the 2,000m steeplechase with a personal best time of 7:05.30. Also at the State meet, the Falconer/Cassadaga Valley boys track team captured a State Championship in the 1,600m relay. Austin Johns, Collin Barmore, Rayven Sample (all of CVCS) and Bryce Baglia (of Falconer) all helped bring the program’s first ever NY State title home to Chautauqua County.

4. Jake Skinner Signs D-I Football Scholarship

Fredonia tight end Jake Skinner made his dreams of a full-ride football scholarship come true in early December when he signed his letter of intent to play NCAA D-I FCS college football at Central Connecticut State University. Skinner’s journey took him all across the country, from a sideline pass at Virginia Tech to a camp at Alabama for Nick Saban, but Fredonia’s hometown hero found his new home in Central Connecticut. He will study athletic training at CCSU.

5. Hillbillies Trio Of Dalton Gardner, Ceric Kristan and Gio Russo Qualify For NY State Wrestling Tournament

Dunkirk’s Jericha Petrella competes in a track meet. Petrella finished second in the 400m dash at the NY State Championship meet in Middletown in June. OBSERVER File Photo.

Three Fredonia Hillbillies wrestlers, Dalton Gardner, Ceric Kristan (of Brocton), and Gio Russo all qualified for the State Championships in Albany in the winter sports season of 2018-19. Kristan and Russo each won Section VI championships, while Gardner earned a wild card spot in the tournament. Gardner had twice previously won the Sectional title. Among the three Hillbillies that went to States, Gardner had the highest finish, placing fourth overall in the 138-pound division.

6. Crabtree, Woleben, DeMarco, Rice and Scanlan all hit

1,000 point milestone

2019 was the year of the 1,000 point scorer in the CCAA, as five players in the OBSERVER coverage area hit the milestone in the same calendar year. First, within the first month of the year, Silver Creek’s Brady Woleben scored his 1,000th point in a game against Salamanca in Silver Creek. Next, Westfield’s Sophia DeMarco notched her 1,000th career point on a layup against Cassadaga Valley in late January on her home floor at Westfield Academy. Next, Cassadaga Valley senior Connor Crabtree made his Senior Night even more memorable by scoring his 1,000th career point against Catt./Little Valley. He finished with 18 points in the 62-55 victory. Also on the same exact night, Friday, Feb. 15, Silver Creek freshman Abby Rice scored her 1,000th point in a 59-18 blowout of JFK. Rice later broke the Silver Creek girls scoring record earlier this winter sports season as just a sophomore, and is closing in on the all-time school record, boys basketball included. Also this winter sports season, Gowanda’s Miya Scanlan reached 1,000 points in a win over Salamanca, becoming the fifth OBSERVER high school basketball player to hit the 1,000 point mark in the year 2019. Rice and Scanlan each look to add to their totals in the coming years, as both have yet to hit their final high school season on the court.

7. Tori Spacc, Elizabeth Pucci-Schaefer Make Swim State Meet

Fredonia’s Emily Brown hurdles during a track and field meet at Fredonia High School earlier this year. OBSERVER File Photo.

The Fredonia Lady ‘Billies girls swim and dive team had one of the most memorable years in recent memory in 2019, as a pair of Lady ‘Billies made it to the State Championships. Fredonia swimmer Tori Spacc qualified for the 100m breaststroke after winning the County Championship with a school record time, breaking the previous mark of Riley Drummond. She also won the County title in the 200IM, but did not advance to States in that event. However, Spacc was not the only Fredonia representative at States, as seventh grader Elizabeth Pucci-Schaefer made the trip as a diver. 2019 was her first season on the varsity level, and with five seasons of varsity eligibility remaining, the sky is the limit for the young diving star in orange and black.

8. Wolverines Finish Perfect Regular Season; Boys, Girls Soccer Teams Each Win League Titles

Not many coaches finish a season without a loss to their name. Even fewer accomplish the feat in their very first season, but that’s exactly what happened with first-year coach Jared Winder and the Westfield/Brocton Wolverines boys soccer team. The Wolverines finished off the regular season with a perfect 16-0 record and a CCAA Central division title. The Wolverines were led by strong defense all year long, with only three goals allowed in the regular season. The leader on the back line, Dylan Scriven, was selected as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year and was First Team All-WNY.

The Westfield/Brocton boys weren’t the only champions to come from NorthLake this year, as the Westfield/Brocton Lady Wolverines also claimed a CCAA Central division title. The Lady Wolverines followed up their impressive regular season with a playoff run all the way to the Sectional title game. After four overtime periods with the score deadlocked at 0-0, Frewsburg advanced to the Far West Regional with a victory in penalty kicks, but both teams were named Section VI, Class C Co-Champions. Senior Katie Bodenmiller was selected as the league’s Offensive Player of the Year, while she and goalkeeper Angel Busch were each named to the Class C All-State teams.

9. Gardner Carries Fredonia Past Dunkirk In Rivalry Blowout

Fredonia’s Jake Skinner signs his letter of intent to play NCAA D-I FCS football at Central Connecticut State University. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.

Known most for his accomplishments as a wrestler, Fredonia’s Dalton Gardner delivered a knockout blow to the Dunkirk Marauders on the football field this past fall sports season. The Fredonia senior accounted for five total touchdowns and just shy of 400 yards from scrimmage in the 45-16 blowout of Dunkirk on the Marauders’ Homecoming and Senior Night in mid-October. Gardner said after the game, “I wanted to give everything I had to play against this team one last time.” His “one last time” will be remembered for quite a while in the Dunkirk-Fredonia century-long rivalry.

10. Chautauqua Lake Wins Girls Basketball Class C1 Sectional Title

Though neither team scored through the first two minutes of the Class C1 girls basketball Sectional title game between Chautauqua Lake and Silver Creek, by the time the two teams walked off the floor at Jamestown Community College, one team felt like they just couldn’t miss. The Chautauqua Lake Lady Thunderbirds won the Sectional title by a score of 62-31 after an 18-2 run closed the first quarter and a 33-14 first half. Chautauqua Lake continued to build its lead with a 46-24 advantage after three quarters and finished off the day with twice as many points as the 3-seeded Black Knights. With key players like Lily Woodis and Alexis Jacobson back this season, Chautauqua Lake will once again be a threat in the postseason in 2020.

Honorable Mention:

CSP Football Repeats As State Champions — While it’s technically outside of the OBSERVER coverage area, a team in Chautauqua County repeating as a State Champion is worth noting. The Clymer-Sherman-Panama Wolfpack, led by head coach Ty Harper, returned to Syracuse for the Class D title game and left the Carrier Dome with the same fate. Their run will go down in the history books in Chautauqua County.

Fredonia’s Dalton Gardner (in black) wrestles against a Randolph wrestler during the 2018-19 winter sports season. Gardner finished fourth at the State Championship wrestling tournament in Albany in the winter of 2019. OBSERVER File Photo.

Fredonia Girls Tennis Completes Perfect Season — The Fredonia Lady Hillbillies completed a perfect league season with a 10-0 record. Fredonia’s Bernie Gens, Alicia Kluck and Selin Arnavut all finished undefeated in the regular season, while Gens won the CCAA title over Kluck.

Dunkirk Baseball Ends Fredonia’s Win Streak With 3-2 Extra Inning Win — Dating back to 2012, the Fredonia Hillbillies dominated the Dunkirk-Fredonia rivalry on the baseball diamond, with 13 straight wins over the Marauders. It took an all-time classic game to end the streak, led by an incredible pitching performance from Dunkirk’s Peyton Ahlstrom. The Dunkirk ace recorded 10 strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings pitched and was removed due to pitch count restrictions with one out to go, but Dunkirk recorded the final out on the basepaths for a thrilling 3-2 victory in eight innings.

Fredonia Boys Basketball, Upsets No. 1 Medina, Goes To Buff. State — The Fredonia Hillbillies had the upset of the year, but it honestly didn’t even seem like that much of a shock. The 9-seed Fredonia thoroughly dominated No. 1 Medina, 59-40, in the Section VI quarterfinals to earn a trip to Buffalo State College for the Sectional Semis. Fredonia fell to City Honors at Buff. State, but the trip is something the team hopes to build upon in 2020 with a core of players returning.

North Collins Boys, Girls Soccer Teams Name Sectional Champs — In the 2019 fall sports season, both North Collins soccer teams raised Section VI banners and represented the region in the Far West Regional game in Class D. Each program’s long list of Sectional titles got a little bit longer in 2019.

Westfield Boys Basketball Wins League Title — The Westfield Wolverines won the CCAA Division 2 West title outright for the first time since 2000, with an overall record of 14-7. Head coach Bob North was named the league’s Coach of the Year, while senior Evan Hauser was a First Team All-Star. Westfield returns the bulk of its rotation looking to repeat as league champs in 2020.

Silver Creek’s Brady Woleben (35) celebrates scoring his 1,000th point during a game against Salamanca in Silver Creek with his parents. OBSERVER File Photo.

Westfield’s Sophia DeMarco (14) celebrates scoring her 1,000th point during a game against Cassadaga Valley at Westfield Academy. OBSERVER File Photo.

Fredonia Lady ‘Billies diver Elizabeth Pucci-Schaefer (left), swimmer Tori Spacc (middle) and coach Joanne Lotter (right) are shown at the State Championship meet in the fall of 2019. OBSERVER File Photo.

Fredonia’s Dalton Gardner (3) rushes toward the endzone for one of his five total touchdowns in a 45-16 victory over the Dunkirk Marauders in Dunkirk. OBSERVER Photo by Ron Szot.

Westfield/Brocton goalkeeper Mike Johnson (in red) celebrates a goal by Josh Heim (right) with a hug during a game earlier this year in Westfield. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.

Chautauqua Lake’s Abigail Henry (10) and Lily Woodis (33) celebrate after receiving the plaque for winning the Section VI Class C1 girls basketball championship, at Jamestown Community College, in the winter of 2019. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.