Fitzsimmons, Picart Atop Charts; Rodón Excels in Local Rehab Stint
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays
That’s a wrap, folks!
The Class of 2023 put a bow on their high school careers the past couple of weeks, and while they were crippled educationally during their freshman and sophomore years on account of COVID lockdowns and the subsequent online learning, most adjusted and will be just fine and dandy as they enter the next phase of life, be it college or the very worthy and highly essential trades.
You’d have to say Somers and Pleasantville had themselves another banner year, delivering Section 1 titles on the gridiron before heading off to Syracuse where the Tuskers secured the second NYSPHSAA Class A title in program history while the Class B Panthers came up one win short of a state title for the second year in a row. Under the guidance of Somers Coach Anthony DeMatteo and P’ville Coach Tony Becerra, the two programs have continued to provide their respective communities with as much pride as anywhere in the state.
Somers will lose a ton of talent to graduation, including Matt Fitzsimmons, who I would dub the finest two-sport athlete in Tusker history, after being named Class A NYS Player of the Year on the grid while earning a second team All-NYS nod on the hardwood. I’m hard-pressed to recall if Somers has ever had a two-sport athlete of this ilk, and the Wesleyan-bound Fitz was a joy on and off the field, full of humility and just the right amount of swag.
Pleasantville junior Daniel Picart will likely go down as the finest three-sport Panther in school history, earning NYS Class B Player of the Year honors on the grid while awaiting a soon-to-be-announced spot on the All-NYS Class D lax team. A consummate leader, Picart was also a force on the hardwood.
If you asked me to name an Examiner-area Athlete of the Year for the 2022-23 school year, these two would be atop the list, impossible for me to distinguish, so I’d have to say co-Athletes of the Year if we were naming one…
The New York Yankees are about to get a shot in the arm manager Aaron Boone’s club desperately needs. Soon to be in pinstripes, the Yankees are targeting next Friday for lefty pitcher Carlos Rodón’s debut in the Bronx where the prized free agent acquisition will take on the Chicago Cubs, if all goes according to plan. Rodón was dealing Saturday as he pitched well into the fourth inning in Wappingers Falls, where he pitched in a Hudson Valley Renegades win, part of a rehab stint as he preps for prime slot in New York’s starting rotation…
Hats off to Prime Time Lacrosse and its 2024 team, which, under the tutelage of Coach Nick Danielo, challenged for the coveted Naptown Championship at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis last week. Though Prime Time came up short in the title tilt, there was a major presence of Examiner-area locals who experienced one of the great lacrosse adventures of a lifetime, including Mahopac’s Danny Koch, PJ Hodge (Stepinac) and Robert Plath (Brunswick), plus Yorktown’s Conor Duncan, Andrew Weissman and Chris Constantine and Carmel sniper Matthew Risley.
Somers hotshot Miguel Iglesias was on the 2025 team that copped the Naptown Championship, so, yeah, we got some incredible local talent returning for the 2024 season, and we didn’t even mention the pipeline that is Pleasantville lax and/or Yorktown G Hunter Mezzatesta, who shined as a freshman for the reigning and 41-time Section 1 champs last spring #CantWaitFor2024…
Lastly, best of luck to Walter Panas grad and shortstop Sammy Stafura, who, we suspect, will have his name called early in this Sunday’s first round of the MLB draft. ESPN will air the first round beginning at 7 p.m., and the better part of the Cortlandt area will be dialed in with anticipation after Stafura secured Section 1 Player of the Year honors while leading the Panthers to the 2023 NYS Class A finals.
Ray has 33 years experience covering and photographing local sports in Westchester and Putnam counties, including everything from Little League/Travel Baseball to varsity high school prep sports and collegiate coverage. He has been a sports editor at Examiner Media since its inception in 2007.
Visit Ray’s author bio page for more details. Also read Ray’s archived work here and his Direct Rays column here.
