Rockland County Honors Top Seniors in Fall Sports

Rockland County honored its top fall sports athletes Tuesday.

After each season, the 11 Rockland High Schools submit an outstanding Senior Male and Female athlete to a selection committee.

Pearl River's nominees both came from the school's two Section One Class B championship teams -- Kieran Brennan for the boys and Molly Shine for the girls. Both were all-section picks this fall. Shine won the girls race at sectionals. Brennan led the Pearl River boys with a seventh-place finish. 

The committee chooses the top make and female athlete for each season, selecting Clarkstown South football player Frank Tucek and Suffern volleyball player Elizabeth Flaherty. There 66 total nominees for the year will be honored at the Annual Awards Breakfast June 5 at the Pearl River Elks Club. 

“This award is considered by many to be one of the most prestigious awards programs in Rockland County," Committee Chairman Tom Doherty wrote in a press release. "It is a tremendous honor to be selected as their own school's Outstanding Senior Athlete in a season, let alone be selected as the over-all Rockland County Winner."

The Rockland County Sports Hall of Fame Committee, The Rockland County Coaches Association and Crown Trophy of Pearl River sponsor the awards. The selection committee is made up of retired Suffern Athletic Director Bob Buono, retired Albertus Magnus and Pearl River AD Tom Collins, retired Nanuet football and wrestling coach Rich Conklin, retired Pearl River AD Tom Doherty, Commissioner of Rockland County Officials Jimmy Kane and former Nanuet AD Judy Slutsky.

This year’s nominees for fall athletes of the season were:

• Albertus Magnus: Jeremy Sosa, Football; Vicky Slowik, Volleyball
• Clarkstown North: Zachary Rose, Cross Country; Allison Amatuzzo, Volleyball
• Clarkstown South: Frank Tucek, Football; Katie Burrell, Soccer
• Nanuet: James Shupe, Football; Sarah Schucker, Soccer
• North Rockland: Tom Ginty, Football; Alez Hatcher, Cross Country
• Nyack: Ronald Lewis, Football; Helen Shabinsky, Field Hockey
• Pearl River: Kieran Brennan, Cross Country; Molly Shine, Cross Country
• Ramapo: Kevin Jocelyn, Football; Nicole Canada, Soccer
• Spring Valley: Orphee Jean-Charles, Football; Myrtendra Ciceron, Soccer
• Suffern: Rich Ibsen, Soccer; Elizabeth Flaherty, Volleyball
• Tappan Zee: Nathan Kotch, Cross Country; Meagan Jaskot, Cross Country. 

Flaherty was a second-team all-state volleyball player and the Journal News named her Rockland’s Player of the Year. She was a member of the NYSPHSAA Final Four All Tournament team and Conference Four’s player of the year.

Flaherty captained her team in her senior season to an historic 18-6 record that led Suffern to their first ever final four. She led Section One in kills while being named first team All-Section, All-League and All-County.

Tucek was named first-team All-State for his defensive play at South. He was also the Journal News Player of the Year for Rockland County and the Section One Conference AA MVP.

Offensively, Tucek was named the Conference AA Back of the year and he was elected to the Section One Senior All-Star game.

Tucek was a captain for the team that went 7-2 this fall and made it to the Section One semifinals. In his senior season, the two way starter was named first team All-Section, All-League and All-County.

Midterm Weeks Lightens High School Schedule

Midterms and regents exams continue this week, and while athletic programs across the state pause to allow the young student-athletes to focus on the academic side of high school we remind you that while competition will be scarce during the week the games will resume fully this weekend. Pearl River teams return to competition Friday.

College Notes

Lady Jaspers stumble

The Manhattan College women’s basketball team (9-10, 3-4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) suffered a 59-45 loss to Loyola (7-12, 3-5 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium in Riverdale.

Junior guard Maggie Blair of Briarcliff had two points, two rebounds and two assists in 10 minutes for Manhattan.

The Jaspers are back in action on Friday afternoon, when they visit Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, CT, for their second meeting of the season with Fairfield University (14-5, 7-1 MAAC).

The Lady Stags posted a 63-59 victory over Manhattan at Draddy Gymnasium on Jan. 7.  Friday’s game is the National MAAC Game of the Week and will be broadcast live at 4 p.m. on ESPN3, ESPN’s online video portal.

Freshman guard Felicia DaCruz of Chestnut Ridge has played in 17 games at Fairfield, averaging nine-plus minutes a game. The Albertus Magnus grad has eight assists, and a steal.

Hinds, Mountaineers at the Garden

Jabarie Hinds of Mount Vernon, a guard at West Virginia University, will be in action tonight at Madison Square Garden against St. John’s University (8-11). Game time is 7 p.m.

The former high school standout was just the third basketball player to win section 1’s Mr. Basketball as a junior. The other two are 2005 NBA Sixth Man of the year Ben Gordon and two time NBA All-Star Elton Brand.

Hinds has been getting significant playing time for the Mountaineers despite being a freshman, and leads the team in assists with 73.

West Virginia elevated its record to 15-5 with a 77-74 overtime victory against Cincinnati as Hinds scored 12 points to go along with four assists. Hinds also had three steals, raising his season total to 29, second-best on the team by just one to Gary Browne of Cupey, Puerto Rico.

In the Cincinnati game, sophomore Sean Kilpatrick of White Plains scored 12 points and had five rebounds for the vanquished Bearcats.

Golden Bears trapped

Senior guard Brian Jones of Austin, TX, sank a free throw with 1:02 left in overtime for his only point of the game as the University of New England men’s basketball team edged Western New England 70-69 at the Alumni Healthful Living Center in Springfield, MA.

This was only the second win in 15 outings for the Nor’easters who are now 2-6 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC). The Golden Bears drop to 5-10 overall and 2-7 in conference action.

Junior center Dennis Rinaldi of Harrison--who at 6-foot-4 is best suited to play forward, but uses muscle to compensate for a height disadvantage in the pivot--had 11 points and three rebounds in the loss.

The Golden Bears hope to rebound tonight when they host Gordon College (6-10) of Wenham, MA, at 7:30 p.m.

Full speed ahead for Setters

Senior Carol Johnson of New City scored 14 points as the Pace University women’s basketball team elevated its record to a sparkling 14-3 with a 62-57 victory over Franklin Pierce (11-6).

Johnson, a graduate of Cardinal Spellman HS, is averaging 10.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and three assists.

The Setters host Merrimack College (3-13) of North Andover, MA, today at 5:30 p.m. in the front end of a twin-bill with the men’s teams.