Daily Sports Digest: Girls & Women In Sports Ceremony Highlights Pearl River Schedule

Pearl River will celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Day at halftime of today's home girls basketball game against Spring Valley, which starts at 4 p.m.

This year's Lauren Buonocore National Girls & Women in Sports Day Award will go to modified volleyball coach Marie Walmsley. Buonocore, who played college lacrosse at Cornell andwas the first varsity lacrosse coach at Pearl River, received the NGWSD Award in 1997 and passed away from breast cancer in 2002. 

Today's ceremony is part of the 26th annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day, which officially began Wednesday. Tom Doherty, who was Pearl River's athletic director when the NGWSD award was first given out at the school in 1990, shared some of the event's history.

"The Celebration of Women in Sports Day was began at PRHS by Coach Jean Cary," Doherty said. "Jean was the long-time Lady Pirate head coach in both soccer and softball. She was a 2003 inductee into the PRHS Sports Hall of Fame.

"She worked as a physical education teacher in the PRSD from 1969 to 1996. By the time she retired, Jean held the Rockland County record for most career varsity coaching victories in both girls soccer (224) and girl's softball (293). Note-both records have since been broken."

Doherty also pointed to the contributions of his predecessor as Pearl River athletic director, Max Talaska, who worked at the school as a teacher, coach and AD from 1947 through 1982.

"When Title IX began in 1972, Max was a trailblazer not only at PRHS, but in all of Rockland County," Doherty said. "PRHS was the leader in offering programs for our girls in both the county, and then Section 9. Max was a 1995 inductee into the Rockland County Sports Hall of Fame and a 1998 inductee into the PRHS Sports Hall of Fame.

"Through Max's efforts, the PRHS girls teams got a head start on the rest of the county in the early-mid '70s and have never looked back as witnessed by their superb success even to this day in cross country, track, basketball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, etc."

According to Doherty, Cary now lives in Arizona. Talaska was living in Fripp Island, S.C. when he passed away July 20, 1998.

Today’s Schedule:

In boys basketball, Pearl River heads to Spring Valley at 5:30 p.m.

In girls basketball, Pearl River will host Spring Valley at 4 p.m.

In girls basketball, Albertus Magnus will head to Nanuet at 4 p.m.

College Sports Notes

Aquinas Climbs Rankings

In the recent NCAA Regional Poll, the St. Thomas Aquinas College men’s track and field team climbed up two spots to No. 7 in the NCAA regional rankings.

The Spartans were also ranked 75th in the country in the latest power rankings by the NCAA.

The Lady Spartans are ranked 15th in the region.

Mike Abelard of Spring Valley is ranked 25th in the nation and fourth in the region in the 200-meter with a time of 22:14. The Ramapo High graduate is also ranked third in the East in the 60 with a time of 7.01. 

George Erazo of North Babylon holds 32nd place in the nation and fifth in the region in the 400 after clocking 49:05, while freshman Alex Andre of Garnerville broke into eighth place in the regional rankings in the 800 (1:56.86). 

The 4x400 relay team of Abelard, Erazo, Rich Ricca of Pearl River and Frankie Colon of Suffern is third in the region while the DMR (distance medley relay) team of Andre, Erazo, Garvenchy Nicolas of Brooklyn and Matt Buell of Staten Island is sixth.

Colon ranks fifth in the triple jump with a leap of 42-6. 

Keeley Bateman of Pearl River leads the women’s squad with a seventh-place ranking in the 800 with a time of 2:20.82.  Bateman, Kaitlin Mancini of Long Island, Catherine Sandkuhl of North Babylon and Chelsea Klinger of Owego make up the DMR team that ranks sixth in the East Region.

A few members will be competing this weekend in the New Balance Collegiate Games at the Armory in upper Manhattan, while the balance of the team continues to prepare for next week’s CTC Championships in Middleton, CT.

Points at a premium

Twin brothers Justin and Drew Daniels of Suffern take the ice on Friday as Northeastern University and Massachusetts meet for the final time of the regular season at Matthews Arena in Boston, MA.

In the last three games, Northeastern has managed only two points off the Minutemen (0-1-2).

Northeastern (10-11-3) is looking to avoid not winning a game against UMass in a season since the 2006-07 docket.

Friday’s game is extremely critical for both squads. The Huskies and Minutemen (9-10-5) are tied for seventh place in Hockey East following last weekend’s action in which NU swept Vermont while the Minutemen were dealt a pair of losses by UMass Lowell.

Justin Daniels, a premier man on face-offs, has 13 points on six goals and seven assists, while Drew has chipped in three assists.

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Correction: Lauren Buonocore was the first varsity lacrosse coach at Pearl River High School.