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A fall to recall

SW lauds fall team milestones and outstanding players

Richard A. Ross
Posted 12/13/22

LAKE HUNTINGTON – As summer gave way to fall, there was great excitement and anticipation for the start of football, soccer, cheerleading, cross-country and volleyball. Each of those sports had …

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A fall to recall

SW lauds fall team milestones and outstanding players

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LAKE HUNTINGTON – As summer gave way to fall, there was great excitement and anticipation for the start of football, soccer, cheerleading, cross-country and volleyball. Each of those sports had its special moments and each sport had its outstanding individuals whose performance was especially noteworthy. 

Time stands still for no one and so, in what seemed like a very quick passage of a little more than two months, the fall season came to an end as we now get set to embark on the winter sports journey of basketball, indoor track, wrestling and skiing. To celebrate the end of the fall season, Sullivan West held its fall sports awards presentation. 

Athletic Director Kurt Buddenhagen in his opening remarks praised the high degree of competition that led to sectional performances in football, girls soccer and cross-country. He thanked the many individuals who had helped to make it all possible and noted how adversity helps to build character. 

Junior varsity volleyball coach Alexa Santoro was the first coach to call forth her team. She talked about how her players improved and got over their initial fears. Junior varsity soccer coach Linnea Schumacher celebrated her team’s 6-3 season, especially the team’s most impressive win over Cornwall. 

Cross-country coach Sean Reuss, new to the sport, thanked his assistant Dee Maopolski for her help and her thorough knowledge of all the nuances required to oversee the runners’ progress. Though the team was small, it performed very well. Reuss chose Landon Volpe and Cheyenne Decker as the team’s MVP’s. The performance of eighth grader Layla Wilkin was special. She just missed out on a chance to go to states and has a very bright future. Reuss read off the improvements in times for all the runners from the beginning of the season to its conclusion. 

Varsity volleyball Coach Helene Chappell presented the Sportsmanship award to Hannah Abplanalp who scored 63 points and to MVP Madeline Kask as the Coach’s award recipient. 

Varsity girls soccer coach Megan Brockner, who was ably assisted by Samantha Cummings, lauded the team’s 7-4-2 record. The team made it to sectionals but fell to Burke. They tied No.1-seeded Tri-Valley twice. The Coaches award went to Liz Reeves and the team MVP was Viola Shami. 

Varsity boys soccer coach Kristina Verrico cited senior Michael Schroeder as the most outstanding defensive player, while Will Nearing was the unanimous choice for the team MVP. Nearing averaged 15 saves and was an All-Star and recognized as the Times Herald-Record Player of the Week. The team is graduating only three seniors and looks forward to next fall with much more experience in tow than they had this season. 

Cheerleading coach Daniella Fox praised the squad’s hard work and spirit. The enthusiastic girls began the season with 20 cheers but had learned 50 by the first game. They mastered stunts, jumps and tumbling. Fox lauded the leadership and example set by team captain Bella Wagner and thanked her for her years of outstanding participation. The Best All-Around Cheerleader was awarded to Becca Brewer, while Allie Sierens received the award for perseverance. 

Football head coach Ron Bauer noted that following the graduation of fine players including Sullivan County Democrat Co-Players of the Fall Chris Campanelli and Gavin Hauschild, the preseason predictions by some were that the Bulldogs wouldn’t fare as well as they had done a year ago. That the team won their Division Championship for the second consecutive year proved those prognostications to be clearly false. 

The team racked up 2300 yards of offense that include 1600 yards of rushing and 700 yards of passing. They scored 25 touchdowns with 19 of those on the ground and six via passes. They scored 204 points and yielded 117 in their 7-2 season that included a perfect 6-0 league mark. 

Their only regular season loss was a non-league defeat to Pawling. They fell to Spackenkill in the playoffs after getting a bye the first week of the postseason. 

Bauer talked about the team’s preseason success with seven-on-seven football where they defeated long-time powerhouse Chenango Forks. The team’s blocking leader Dillan Hanslmaier received Bauer’s first award. The MVP award was given to quarterback Jaymes Buddenhagen. 

Kurt Buddenhagen thanked everyone in his closing remarks and set the stage for the coming winter litany of sports that began their practices on November 14.  

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