The Putney family of Fredonia had a fairly exciting finish to the 2025-26 sports season.

Tyler Putney (Fredonia Class of 2021) recently finished a successful NCAA basketball college career as he played his last three years for the NCAA Division III Nazareth Golden Flyers in Rochester. During Tyler’s three seasons, Nazareth had a 54-26 record (38-10 in Empire 8), and Tyler averaged 10 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 3-pointers made per game. The 2021 Post Journal/OBSERVER Player of the Year also holds multiple records at Nazareth. He finished his career as the fourth-leading scorer for 3-pointers made (192) and was first in free-throw percentage (87.5%) making 70 of 80 overall. In addition, Putney holds the record for most 3-pointers made (8) during a game, accomplishing the feat twice.

Tyler graduated from Nazareth with a degree in finance after the 2024-25 season, and currently works for Lincoln Financial, as well as being a graduate student during this past season.

Ashton Putney (Fredonia Class of 2025) was a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III baseball champion SUNY Niagara baseball team this spring.

The Thunderwolves finished the season 55-6 with a 12-8 win over Rowan College South Jersey-Gloucester at the NJCAA World Series in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Just a freshman, Ashton pitched in eight games this spring, going 3-0 with a save. In 21 1-3 innings, Ashton pitched to a 4.64 earned run average, striking out 22 batters and walking six. Opposing batters hit .237 against the right-hander.

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Tess Spangenburg (Falconer Class of 2022) recently earned conference and national recognition for her performance on and off the field at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Spangenburg graduated in May 2026 magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in health, exercise and sports science. She was a three-year starter at shortstop and recognized scholar-athlete. In May 2026 as a senior, she was named to USA South First-Team All-Conference in softball with a .372 batting average, .455 slugging percentage and .476 on-base percentage, thanks to 45 hits and 22 walks to go along with 27 RBIs and 25 runs scored. She was also named to the USA South Academic All-Conference Team in 2024, 2025 and 2026 and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American Scholar Athlete in 2024, 2025, and 2026. Spangenburg began her career at NCAA Division I St. Bonaventure University, earning A-10 All-Academic Team recognition in 2023.

At Meredith, Spangenburg finished with career statistics of a .303 batting average, .397 slugging percentage and .376 on-base percentage, thanks to 94 hits, 34 walks, 55 RBIs and 46 runs scored. Spangenburg holds team records in various categories, including games started in a single season with 43 this year). During her career at Meredith, she started in 110 out of 114 games played. Spangenburg was a major contributor in beating nationally top-ranked Division III teams during her time at Meredith, including Pfeiffer University, Christopher Newport University, and Virginia Wesleyan University.

While at Meredith, Spangenburg earned certifications from the American Council on Exercise as a personal fitness trainer and group fitness instructor. She interned at EB Athletics, a top-ranked fitness and sports performance gym in Raleigh, and at Cardinal Gibbons High School, North Carolina’s top-rated high school for scholar athletes. With EB Athletes in addition to working with adults and students, she also had the opportunity to work with the Junior Carolina Hurricanes hockey teams.

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A pair of standouts from the Jamestown High School boys basketball team will continue their academic and hoops careers at a prep school in 2026-27.

Dominic Gonzalez and Gavin Johnson — The 2025-26 Post-Journal/OBSERVER Player of the Year and Second-Team selection respectively — have decided to take their talents to Huntington, West Virginia and the Expression Prep post-grad basketball program.

Ex Prep, according to its website, “provides a structured, college-style environment where athletes train, study, compete and grow every day — both as players and as young men.”

Gonzalez averaged 19.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game, was named the ECIC Division 1 Player of the Year, a First-Team All-ECIC selection and a First-Team all-defensive choice. He finished his career with 1,142 points, which places him ninth on the school’s all-time scoring list.

Johnson, an honorable-mention ECIC Division 1 selection, averaged 14.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game as the Red & Green finished 18-5 and claimed their third straight Section VI Class AAA championship.

Gonzalez and Johnson will follow former Jamestown teammate and former OBSERVER/Post-Journal First-Team choice, Jaydian Johnson, who played for Ex Prep during the 2025-26 season.

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Chase Haglund (Frewsburg Class of 2026) was recently named the NYCBL Player of the Week for the Week of June 29 to July 6.

Playing for the Syracuse Salt Cats, Haglund hit .556 with 10 hits and a .667 on-base percentage.

After going 0 for 2 and being hit by a pitch in a 4-1 loss to the Rochester Ridgemen on July 1, Haglund went 5 for 8 with three RBIs and a hit by pitch in a doubleheader sweep (12-7 and 3-1) of the Watertown Rapids on July 2. On July 3 in Watertown, Haglund went 2 for 5 with a walk and an RBI in an 11-1 win over the Rapids. The soon-to-be Marist sophomore finished his week with a 3-for-3 showing with three walks and two RBIs in a 6-5 win over Watertown on July 5.

For the season, Haglund is hitting .317 with three doubles and two triples while driving in nine runs and scoring 23 in 26 games.

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Connor Grey (Frewsburg Class of 2012) has started nine games for the Gastonia Ghost Peppers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball this summer.

In his appearances, all starts, he has pitched to a 5.49 earned run average with 29 strikeouts and 16 walks allowed in 39 1-3 innings.

In Grey’s first start of the year, he lasted five innings and allowed just one hit and three walks while striking out four, but received a no-decision as the Ghost Peppers lost to the High Point Rockers 6-5.

Grey’s latest start came Thursday when he allowed four runs on three hits and five walks while striking out three in a 6-5 loss to the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars.

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Grand Master Mark Weaver of Frewsburg, a 2019 inductee to the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame, has been selected as a recipient of the 2026 Greatest of All Time Martial Arts Honors Award, “recognizing his extraordinary lifetime of leadership, innovation and service to the international martial arts community.”

The GOAT Honors Awards, founded by Master Lawrence Arthur, recognize exceptional martial artists from around the world whose lifelong commitment to excellence, leadership, instruction and community service has made a lasting impact on generations of students. The 2026 awards ceremony will be held July 25 in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Grand Master Weaver has dedicated nearly five decades to the martial arts, earning recognition as an 8th Degree Black Belt, founder and chief executive officer of Warrior Combat International and creator of the WuShi JingShen Gung-Fu system. Throughout his career, he has trained in numerous disciplines, including karata, gung-fu, Kuntao, ninjitsu, kickboxing, Shaolin and Yangshen kung-fu while continually refining practical self-defense methods and teaching future generations of martial artists.

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Scott Kindberg contributed to this report