Looking Back at the 2011-2012 High School Sports Seasons

Schools are out on summer break for a couple months and there is finally some time to relax and reflect over the last nine months of accomplishments of so many student athletes. From the 2011-2012 high school season I have so many wonderful memories from the competitions I had the opportunity to cover, but more importantly the people I got to meet over that time period. 

What makes sports so great to cover for a newspaper isn’t going to the games and watching a team win or lose. The best part is meeting and getting to know the student athletes and coaches who take part in these competitions.

I love meeting new people every day and hearing about the passions they have not only for sports but also what’s it like to be a member of a team. As I have written months earlier, many of these student athletes best memories of being on these teams most likely will come from a practice or sharing a moment traveling to a competition than from an individual game.

After an 11-year hiatus from newspaper writing, this past year has been a crash course in journalism and learning more about numerous sports than I ever thought was possible. How do you summarize nine months of sports in one column?  It’s an impossible task but the best thing I can do is try to offer some reflections on what in my mind were some of the highlights of the this past school year.

These thoughts that I offer within this story are just opinions and not solemn concrete answers or truths. One of the best things in sports is the debates that they conjure up. I welcome reader’s input via e-mail  (pgerken@theexaminernews.com) about this column or anything about the sports section.

Best Teams: Stepinac Football, White Plains Golf, Hackley Boys and Girls Lacrosse

The Stepinac Crusaders, after going undefeated in 2010, moved up to the CHSFL AAA division in 2011 and made it all the way to championship game before losing to St. Anthony’s, 14-0. They had some of the most talented athletes in the area on that team: Austin Taps, Caleb Gilligan Evan, Mark White, Daniel Hoffer and Garfield Heslop just to name a few.

With White Plains golf, the proof is in the pudding. Two seasons, two sectional championships. Even though Sean Trainor didn’t repeat as the Section 1 individual champion he still was the only White Plains golfer to qualify for the New York State Tournament. Tyler Stagg was the team’s top player during the regular season, even breaking-par in one nine-hole match. The best thing about this team is they’re all returning next year for a chance to three-peat as Section 1 Champs.

Both Hackley Lacrosse teams won their state championships and the boys didn’t lose a game all season.

Best Athletes: Austin Taps (Stepinac), Thomas Johnson (White Plains), A.J. Wolf (Hackley), Jorge Porras (White Plains), Kim Hanlon (White Plains) and Kate Leone (White Plains)

Taps was a threat on both sides of the ball. He could catch touchdowns and sack quarterbacks, quite a lethal combination.

Johnson won the New York State Indoor Track and Field title in the triple jump as a junior. He also finished second in the state in the triple jump in the spring outdoor season. We might be watching him in the Olympics four or eight years from now if he continues to improve at such a rapid pace.

Wolf won the Glenn D. Loucks shot put and hammer-throw competition and also excelled on the football field, playing well enough to earn a football scholarship to Duke. The NFL or the Olympics could be in his future, depending on what he chooses to focus on.

Porras can do just about anything with a soccer ball. He had several multi goals games this and was captain of the team as a junior.

If White Plains basketball coach Sue Adams needed a basket, Hanlon was able to score off the dribble or shoot a long jump shot. Her teammate Sofia Roman has the better jump shot, but what sets Hanlon apart is her ability to score off the drive.

Leone is just intense on the lacrosse field. She put together a season where she had over 50 goals.

Best Games/ Competitions in 2011/2012: The Glenn D. Louck Games, White Plains/New Rochelle Football, White Plains/ Scarsdale Football

The Loucks Games was the best collection of athletic talent in one place I witnessed all year. As usual, meet director Fred Singleton put together a meet that had excitement  with every race. Bronxville High School’s Mary Cain’s winning time in the 800-meter was good enough to qualify for the United States Olympic Trials in Oregon, which took place over the last two weeks.

It was a roller coaster season on the gridiron for the White Plains Tigers. They were a M.A.S.H. unit most of the year. I can’t think of another athletic team this year that suffered so many injuries. The Tigers were one play away from beating New Rochelle in the playoffs and showed tremendous resiliency by beating Scarsdale in the bowl game in their next game. It was Coach Skip Stevens first bowl victory as a coach.

Most Improved Team: Stepinac Lacrosse

First year head coach James Goldmann turned a team that was 0-19 in 2011 to a squad that was 10-12 this spring. There is a lot of excitement around that program because of players like Spencer O’Toole, Christian Lopez and Bobby Dinapoli.

Best Comeback from Injury: Luis Riberto

This young man knows how to overcome adversity. In the third game of his senior football season against Mount Vernon he tore his A.C.L.. He had surgery and worked extremely hard through therapy and time in the White Plains High School weight room to be able to play the spring lacrosse season. This fall he will be playing football for Pace.

Most Exciting Team Victory: White Plains Girls Cross-Country Team Winning the League Title

They won the school’s league title in 21 years. Senior Eleanor Trelstad won the individual championship. She and her sister Elizabeth have been major contributors to the school’s running program for many years and will be missed as they head off to college this fall.

Fastest Growing Sport: Lacrosse

There is no doubt lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in the area. The youth program in White Plains is growing and it’s more likely to see a high school student carrying around a lacrosse stick than a baseball mitt.

Two people who have played a major role in the expansion of lacrosse in White Plains are varsity coaches Mark Armogida and Howie Rubenstein. They just finished their 12th season together running varsity lacrosse.

Lacrosse isn’t an easy sport to figure out. It takes a lot time to get a grasp of all the rules but when its played right there is no sport as exciting with the exception of maybe football. If the game is played right the ball never hits the ground and if the ball does hit the ground its thrilling to watch both teams try to capture the ground ball.

Toughest Sport: Wrestling

After watching a match between Stepinac and White Plains I was quickly reminded how tough and talented high school wrestlers are. They need to constantly watch their weight and there is no more challenging game in high school sports than having to wrestle three two-minute periods on the mats. If you disagree try wrestling a match and try two different things: First avoid being pinned in the first period and second try mustering the energy to last to end of the third period.

Underrated Athletes to Watch in 2012-2013 Season:

Tess D’Arcy (White Plains- Tennis, Basketball and Lacrosse) MaryClaire O’Meara (White Plains- Lacrosse), Shannon Lynch (White Plains-Lacrosse),Rachel Okun (White Plains-Track) Chris Cardon (White Plains-Cross Country and Track), Johanna Levine (Good Council- Basketball and Softball), Justin Thomas (Stepinac-Football),

Varsity Coaches on the Rise: James Goldmann (Stepinac Lacrosse) and Mike Leone (White Plains- Girls Lacrosse)

Goldmann took over a team that won zero games in 2011 and this year they had 10 wins. Leone coaches one of the most skilled programs at White Plains. Don’t be surprised to see his teams battling for a sectional title within a few years.

Had to be seen to be believed Award: Przemyslaw Popek (Stepinac)

There are only a handful of high school kickers who are strong enough to kick a field goal of over 40 yards. I have been watching high school football since 1984 and Popek is the first student athlete that I saw complete the feat. He had two field goals over 40 yards in 2011.