Saturday April 20, 2024 
AVERILL PARK – It was a quiet week in sports for AP due to the influx of winter weather. AP’s wrestling team placed 2nd overall at the Wasaren League Tournament on 2/1. Sean Malenfant was named Most Outstanding Wrestler after he placed 1st in his weight class. Chad Rist also had a 1st place finish and Nick Tempel and Mason Lumbra each finished in 2nd for AP.
Girls basketball fell to Saratoga 54-46 on 2/4. Kelsey Wood scored 21 points and Amelia Wood added 17 for AP in the loss. AP will next take on Troy on 2/13.
Boys basketball also fell to Saratoga 61-45 on 2/4. Ben Romer led the Warriors with 15 points. Up next for AP is Niskayuna on 2/14.
AP’s competitive cheerleading team placed 1st in their meet at the Sweetheart Invitational in Shaker on 2/5. They followed this with another 1st place finish at the Raider Rumble in Colonie on 2/8.
The boys bowling team had Suburban Council Championships on 2/5 and finished 8th out of 15 teams. Joe Kellar led AP with a high series of 634.
Girls bowling defeated Ballston Spa on 2/4 in a tight 17-15 match. Bella Guyer recorded a high series of 467 and Laney Brown was close behind with a series of 458.
Good luck to all of AP’s winter athletes in their upcoming events. Go Warriors!
This week’s scholar athlete is Michael Re. Mike is a captain on the Varsity Basketball team and played on the Varsity Football team in the Fall. Mike has played basketball since he was in elementary school. His dad helped introduce him to the sport as they watched games together when Mike was younger. Mike’s favorite aspect of basketball is the team element of the game. “My favorite part about basketball is being able to have fun and enjoy time with my friends everyday.” Mike and his team have come closer together through their hard work during the offseason. He says “we do morning workouts before school and shootarounds a couple times a week.” Mike’s efforts continued into the season since he practices every day. Yet, this amount of practice can be difficult: “the hardest part of basketball is practicing everyday when sometimes you don’t feel well or are tired but just have to push through it.” Mike’s goal for this year is to enjoy his final season with his team.
Mike works hard both on the court and in the classroom. Throughout high school Mike has maintained a GPA of 93. This year Mike is taking challenging courses including “pre-calculus, physics, sports statistics, participation in government, economics, detective fiction, and horror history.” Additionally, Mike was inducted to the National Honor Society last Fall. During his Sophomore year, Mike’s academic efforts were recognized when he received an award for excellence in the course of biology. Mike says he balances school and his sports by “making sure I work on homework right when I get home from practice.” In his future, Mike plans to attend college and major in business.
Mike’s parents have served as his role models throughout his life. He says “my parents are the reason I work hard in school and sports.” Mike would also like to thank his coaches because they “help me excel in my sport and push me to be the best I can be.” Mike wishes to tell younger athletes to “have fun in the sport you play.” We wish Mike the best as he finishes his senior season at Averill Park and prepares for college.
AVERILL PARK – This week, Averill Park’s varsity wrestling team traveled North up Route 351 to participate in the Wasaren Tournament at nearby Tamarac High School. This tournament is the final tune up of the season before the Class B tournament at Mohonasen. And while the team impressively came in second out of the large twenty team field, we’d like to focus specifically on the performances of two particular wrestlers.
First, junior Chad Rist. For the third time this season, Chad came in first in his weight class. And while Chad was not the only AP wrestler who excelled on this day, with Sean Malenfant once again winning his weight class as well and winning the trophy for Most Outstanding Wrestler in the whole tournament, Nick Tempel and Mason Lumbra finishing in 2nd, Alex Cooper 3rd and Nate Fisher and Jacob Hanlon 4th, the noteworthy part of Chad’s performance is how much and how fast he has grown as a wrestler. While the majority of the above mentioned wrestlers continue to excel in part to be introduced to wrestling while in elementary school, Chad first starting wrestling last year as a sophomore. Keep up the good work Chad and for any other high schoolers thinking about possibly joining the team next year, let Chad’s success be an example of what hard work and commitment could bring.
The next wrestler in this week’s spotlight is Jacob Hanlon. Jake has brought stability to the 99lb weight class for Averill Park all year. A 7th grader, Jake is consistently wrestling and beating high schoolers several years older than him. Jake has finished in the top four in 3 of the 5 tournaments he participated in this year and while an injury will prevent him from participating in the Class B tournament, his first year on varsity was a huge success. Well done Jake.
Good luck to all the AP wrestlers participating in the Class B tournament and for those who are not and whose season is over, congrats on a successful season.