Club Fit-Sponsored Teams of the Season: Lakeland Field Hockey, Somers Football, Byram Hills Tennis

December 3, 2024 Examiner Media Club Fit

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Somers Football:
Bidding for a three-peat as NYSPHSAA champions this coming week at the JMA Dome in Syracuse, Coach Anthony DeMatteo’s state-ranked (co-No.1) Tuskers (13-0) have already provided the region with a glimpse of what the section’s No.1 grid program looks likes as it seeks to become just the second Section 1 team in state history to three-peat (Edgemont, 1998-2000) as state champs. The Tuskers have run roughshod over their first two NYS tournament foes by a combined 64-8 margin. No school in NYSPHSAA history had ever won three-straight state titles in Class AA or A. Somers was ready to change that as of press time.

Lakeland Field Hockey:
While Lakeland Coach Sharon Sarsen’s 16-time defending Section 1 champion Hornets (20-3) came up one win short of its all-time state record 14th NYSPHSAA championship in late November, the Hornets’ already-nationally-recognized program secured additional respect during its 2024 campaign. After graduating multiple all-state players from the 2023 team and barely skipping a beat in its quest to be the best, Lakeland reeled off tournament victories and regional championships before it finally met its match, falling, 3-0, to Section 2 champ Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake in Lakeland’s 19th state title appearance (13-6 overall).

Byram Hills Tennis:
The Byram Hills Girls Varsity Tennis team captured the New York State Public High School Athletic Association team championship, its third state title in the four years the event has been held. Byram Hills defeated Bayport Blue Point 4-1 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens on Nov. 8. to win the Division II crown. Byram Hills won in the event’s inaugural year, 2021, and again in 2022. Girls Varsity Tennis is the only girls team in Byram Hills history to have won a state title. The team holds three out of the school’s five state titles.