The Altamont Enterprise - Thursday, January 30, 2003
32
Bird grapplers triple win total I Hockey international
By Tim Matteson
with fourth-place finishes.
VOORHEESVILLE — The
Welton, Zvivnovsky, Paul
Voorheesville wrestling team has Hogensted, April Austin, ant)
made tremendous strides this C a r d i n a l all finished fourth.
season.
Cardinal did it a t 189 pounds,
After w i n n i n g only two A u s t i n w r e s t l e d a t 125 and
matches in t h e previous two H o g e n s t a d g r a p p l e d a t 152
years, the grappling Blackbirds pounds.
have a 6-2 dual match record
The Birds lost their first match
and have also fared well in invi- of the year against Cobleskill, 59tational tournaments.
18, on Jan. 9.
"We were 1-15 last year,"
The Bulldogs were the Class C
Voorheesville Coach Pete Loux champions last year.
said. "We've had a lot of success
Sophomore Zak Fluster won
this year. My goal coming in was by pin in t h e 119-pound match.
getting two wins. But we're 6-2; Josh Cootware also won by pin
the guys have done well."
at 189 pounds.
It is Loux's first year as head
The Birds then competed in the
coach. He was an assistant for Galway Tournament on J a n . 11.
Voorheesville last year.
Voorheesville finished seventh at
A key to the success for the the meet.
Blackbirds is that, unlike in past
Spaulding finished in second in
years, they a r e able to fill all the the 96-pound weight class. He
weight classes.
lost his match by one point.
"Having a full lineup definitely
Denn finished fourth in t h e
helps," Loux said.
135-pound weight class.
The l a s t e s t win for t h e
T h e next dual m a t c h w a s
Blackbirds was last Thursday
against Cohoes, 51-36.
Voorheesville had earned some
wins through forfeits but also got
some good performances on the
mat.
Zach Welton won his match in
the 112-pound weight class by against Colonial Council rival
p i n n i n g his opponent. Mike Watervliet on J a n . 15. The Birds
Ashline won a t 130 pounds, also beat their rivals, 60-33.
Voorheesville got pins from
by pin.
Alex Zvinovsky, 145 pounds, Denn and Cootware in their reand Matt Robinson, 171 pounds, spective weight classes. Cardinal
also won his match.
also won by pin.
T h e Birds were benefitted
Blackbird Dan Denn won his
135-pound match by technical from forfeits in the lower weight
classes — from 96 to 130 pounds.
fall, 15-0.
Voorheesville beat Johnstown,
Voorheesville followed t h a t
dual match win by competing in 46-27, in its next match on Jan.
the Saugerties T o u r n a m e n t on 17.
Saturday.
J a y S p a u l d i n g , an e i g h t h g r a d e r , won t h e 9 6 - p o u n d
weight class and Ashline finished
third at 130 pounds.
By T i m M a t t e s o n
S p a u l d i n g is one of seven
V O O R H E E S V I L L E — The
wrestlers who h a s limited expeVoorheesville girls' basketball
rience on the mat.
"We a r e s t a r t i n g seven guys team continued its winning ways
that this is their first year on by beating Mechanicville, 56-27,
varsity," Loux said. "But without on Friday.
The Lady Blackbirds used a
them in those positions we would
strong defense and good shootbe giving up forfeits."
Spaulding is also one of four ing to get out to an early j u m p on
eighth-graders who are big parts the Red Raiders.
Voorheesville has an overall
ofthe varsity squad. Zvinovsky,
record of 12-4, b u t is 10-2 in the
Welton, and Stephen Cardinal, in
Colonial Council.
upper weights, a r e the others.
"We got an early lead and we
Cardinal wrestles in either 171,
m a i n t a i n e d it," Voorheesville
189, or 215, pounds.
Coach John McClement said of
"To have four eighth-graders the Mechanicville game. "It was
start is pretty unusual," Loux senior night and we got to recsaid. "They h a v e all come up ognize the seniors."
with key wins and all four have
The Birds led, 18-5, a t t h e end
winning records."
of the first quarter; they cruised
P r e v i o u s matches
the rest of the way.
The Blackbirds reached Loux's
J a c k i e M a r k e r t scored six
goal of two wins when they beat points and Katie Inglis scored
Galway on Dec. 10 by a score of nine points on three three-point
54-15.
shots in the opening period.
The team had a long layoff
Voorheesville led 32-13 a t
and didn't wrestle until Dec. 28
halftime.
when they went
to
the
"We
did
a
nice job,"
Monument Mountain TourMcClement said." "The defense
nament in G r e a t Barrington,
played well. They h a v e some
Mass.
kids that can score and they cerThe team finished in sixth
tainly don't back off the competiplace and was led by a first-place
tion."
finish by Ashline in the 130The Birds got contributions on
pound weight class.
Denn finished second in the
135-pound class and Robinson
has a second-place finish at 171
pounds.
Five wrestlers came home
GUILDERLAND
— Erin
Pinchbeck, a 2002 g r a d u a t e of
Guilderland High School, has
been
named
Northeast
Conference Women's Basketball
Rookie of the Week for her play
on the Long Island University
GUILDERLAND — Physicals team.
for the spring sports season at
P i n c h b e c k ' s play in t h e
the Guilderland School District
Blackbirds' 62-58 win over the
will be held Thursday, Feb. 6,
of
Marylandand Thursday, Feb. 13, between U n i v e r s i t y
Baltimore County helped her
4 to 8 p.m.
earn the rookie honor.
Athletes can schedule an apPinchbeck made a j u m p shot
pointment and can pick up sports
with 1:59 left in the contest to
packets in the nurse's office at the
give her team the lead. She also
high school.
made a steal after a UMBC
"Not many people expected us
to win this match," Loux said.
"They are alway a solid team."
Ashline won his match at 130
p o u n d s by p i n . H e faced a
wrestler that finished fourth in
Section IV last year and moved
to Johnstown.
Denn, Spaulding, Cootware,
and Cardinal all won by pin.
Cardinal won a t 215 pounds and
Cootware grappled at 189.
Cardinal is undefeated in the
215-pound weight class this season.
Robinson won the 171-poiind
match by a score of 2-0.
The next win came against
Mechanicville on J a n . 18 as part
of a t h r e e - w a y m e e t with
Schuylerville. The Birds beat the
Red Raiders, 42-30.
Ashline, Denn, Zvinovsky, and
Robinson all won by pins. Fluster
also won by pin in a key match.
The win agianst Mechanicville
ensured the Birds of a good finish in the Colonial Council.
"We won't be finishing a t the
bottom of the league this year,"
Loux said.
The Birds lost to Schuylerville,
39-36.
The big wins for Voorheesville
were by Denn and Robinson.
The Blackbirds hope to continue their winning ways in a
m a t c h a t L a n s i n g b u r g h on
Thursday.
Hockey host; Aaron Cahil and his family hosted a trio of hockey players from Slovakia. The Guilderland family hosted the players while
they were competing in the New York International Hockey Cup Tournament held in the area. Cahill, second from left, plays for the Albany
Pee-Wee Storm team and is shown here with players, from left, Peter
Zuzin, Robert Mikes, Rastislav Zuara, who play for 1HU Bratislava.
The Slovakian team was one of six overseas teams competing in the
tournament.
V'ville girls gearing up for sectionals
offense from a n u m b e r of players.
The leader was Inglis with 19
points. Brittany Baron added 15
and Markert scored 10.
"We had some nice balance in
scoring," McClement said. "Five
other kids contributed to the scoring. It is good to see."
Voorheesville h a s gotten scoring this season near t h e basket
from Markert and outside from
I n g l i s , B a r o n , a n d Michelle
Nadratowski.
"We've been looking good
shooting t h e ball," McClement
said. "And t h a t opens things in-
The Birds wrap u p their regular season the following Tuesday
against Schalmont. All the games
are on the road.
"It's a full slate," McClement
said. "But they a r e all s p r e a d
out."
If t h e Birds continue to win,
they still have a chance a t winning the Colonial Council. Right
now, Voorheesville t r a i l s only
Holy Names in the standings.
"We still have a shot a t winning t h e league," the coach said.
"If we get help from somebody
and, on our end, win out we have
a chance at it. We've been working for that."
Blackbirds find winning ways
B y Tim M a t t e s o n
VOORHEESVILLE — The
Blackbirds have taken flight.
The Voorheesville boys' basketball team has won three of its
last five games — including two
in a row — and seems to be making a late push, heading into sectionals.
The
Blackbirds
beat
Mechanicville, 71-58, winning
their second straight game.
"It was t h e best g a m e we
Pinchbeck: Rookie of the week
GHS spring
sports physicals
side for Jackie. She's been working hard, grabbing rebounds, and
she's been good at t h e defensive
end. The post kids have stepped
it up.
"It's good to h a v e options,"
McClement added.
The Blackbirds h a d n ' t played
in about a week, b u t t h a t did not
have an effect on t h e t e a m ,
McClement said.
The Birds will now play games
on T h u r s d a y and Friday nights
a n d t h e y h a v e a g a m e on
T u e s d a y . Voorheesville plays
Ravena on Thursday, Cohoes on
Friday, a n d L a n s i n g b u r g h on
Tuesday.
player made a rebound.
Pinchbeck, a 5 foot, 7 inch
point guard, also grabbed a rebound off a missed three-pointer
to give her team the ball and allowed the team to win its third
straight game.
Pinchbeck also scored 14
points in a 75-58 win against
Mount St. Mary's last Thursday.
She made eight of nine attempts
from the free-throw line.
Pinchbeck h a s s t a r t e d six
games as point guard this season
and is averaging 5.2 points per
game and 3.2 rebounds. She has
made 13 three-pointers.
played all year," Voorheesville
Coach Shane Clary said. "We led
throughout."
The Birds moved t h e ball and
found sophomore center Mark
Carson for some open lay-ups.
Carson led the Birds with 25
points in the game.
"For a sophomore, h e h a s
stepped up," Clary said. "We has
played pretty well. A kid his size,
we need to get him the ball more.
He's a strong kid."
Clary w a s pleased t h a t the
strategy worked.
"We moved the ball pretty well
and got it to M a r k down low,"
Clary said. "Fans from the other
' team came up to me after the
game and said how well we
moved t h e ball and t h a t we
played good basketball overall.
We are definitely coming along."
The Birds outscored t h e Red
Raiders, 17-6, in the third quarter to pull away.
Defense helped contribute to
the win, Clary said.
Dan Melewski added 16 points
for Voorheesville.
The Birds have been playing
well for t h e p a s t six g a m e s ,
Clary s a i d . Losses a g a i n s t
Watervliet and Schalmont could
have easily been wins, he said.
"The kids are starting to play
together," t h e coach, said. "It's
taken awhile for them to mesh,
but that's made such a difference
in the past few games."
The team members have
learned to play together since
seniors Jeff Nelson and F r a n k
Catellier came back from injuries.
"We've had a number of different s t a r t i n g lineups but we've
been more consistent with t h a t
in the past few games," Clary
said.
"We're asking a lot from kids
t h a t have not been in t h a t role
before," Clary added of some
younger players.
Catellier has taken over a s
point guard for Brian Carey and
Nelson in the past few games.
Carey and Nelson were playing
out of position, Clary said.
The Birds have a tough game
coming up with Colonial Council
leader, Cohoes — which is unbeaten in the league — on
Friday. Voorheesville then travels to play Berne-Knox-Westerlo
on Saturday. The Birds end the
season with Lansingburgh next
Tuesday and Schalmont t h e fol(Continued on page 35)