Wildcats Sports Report (Sept. 11, 2023)
Despite the thunderstorms and heat last week, Warwick Valley High School teams had successful starts to their seasons.
Football
Thunder and lightning forced the cancellation of pre-game ceremonies for the official opening of the capital project improvements to the Tim St. Lawrence Track and C. Ashley Morgan Field, but the Wildcats and Kingston Tigers weathered the storm and played football Friday night with a delayed kick off due weather.
Warwick’s defense set the tone by keeping Kingston off the scoreboard behind great tackling and play from senior captains Jake Rooney and Johnny Accardo, who combined for 20 tackles. Defensive Lineman Wyatt Vreeland, Latrell Willis, Michael Miller, Charlie Phipps, Sebastian Trazino, Rashied Richardson, Anthony Rowe, Brandon Fasullo, Asa Gardner and Big Sean Stratton kept the pressure on the Kingston Wing T Attack that had defeated Cardinal Spellman from the Bronx last week.
The Warwick offense overcame a slow start to score 20 points behind an up-and-coming offensive line led by Michael Hennessy, Michael Miller, Grant Havell, Charlie Phipps, Matt Lupkovich, Mike Lomauro and company. Wildcats combined for over 300 yards of offense led by junior running back Zach Kantor with over 90 yards rushing and a touchdown.
Dylan Sullivan and Dan Devine each caught a TD from senior quarterback Wils Siebert. Junior quarterback Brody Frederick connected with Sullivan for a 60-yard strike late in the third quarter to flip the field position battle.
The 2-0 Wildcats will take on the Goshen Gladiators in the annual Spirit Trophy Game on Thursday at Goshen. Kick off is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game is being played on Thursday night in observance of the religious holidays.
Girls soccer
Warwick’s girls soccer team scored a total of 10 goals in winning its first two games. The Wildcats defeated Delaware Valley, Pa., 5-2 and then beat Beacon 5-3. Johannah Bradley scored six of the 10 goals, including four against Delaware Valley. Bradley and Kat Finnerty each had two goals against Beacon. The game at Washingtonville on Friday was cancelled because of the weather.
Volleyball
The volleyball team opened its season on Friday afternoon with a 3-1 victory over Monroe-Woodbury. Erin Smith led the way with 15 kills and three blocks. Hailey Hansen had 26 assists and six aces, and Adriana Nicosia added 15 digs.
Girls swimming
Sydney McSweeney, Maeve Wright and Talia Potempa led the girls swimming team with first-place finishes in a meet against New Paltz. McSweeney won the 50-yard freestyle in a personal best time of 26.17 seconds. She also placed second in the 500-freestyle (5:53.25) and was on the winning 400-yard freestyle relay team along with Wright, Zoe Link and Ciara Kelly.
Wright won the 100 butterfly (1:04.47) and was second in the 200 individual medley (2:27.59).
Potempa finished first in diving with a score of 170.25. Sarah Hertner was second (117.10). Also, Kelly placed second in the 100 breaststroke (1:18.37). New Paltz won the meet 112-66.
Girls Tennis
The girls tennis team did not have any matches last week because of the heat and rain. The Wildcats, however, are 2-0 on the season after a pair of 7-0 victories over Valley Central and Newburgh Free Academy. The top four singles players on the team this year are Alexandra Krasinska, Bianka Grzesik, Gisela Gujar and Grace Cornelius. The team has not lost an individual set for far this season.
Cross Country
Warwick hosted the Wave Mania Invitational Cross Country races on Saturday morning at Sanfordville Elementary School with more than 40 teams from New York and New Jersey. With the Bear Mountain course under repair, the Wildcats will host the OCIAA and Section 9 championship meets later in the fall.
Girls
Warwick’s girls team was led by junior Alyssa Dovico, who finished ninth in the Varsity 2 race in 20:58.9. Samantha Brady placed 47th (25:24.2), Alexa Keys was 49th (25:41.4) and Katie Rondo was 63rd in 28:12.2.
Boys
Warwick freshman Rosario Dovico led the boys team by placing 32nd in 18:33.8. The next four runners finished close together: Jake Tannar finished 42nd (18.48.9) followed by Jackson Spivak (43rd, 18:54.1), Liam Astbury (45th, 18:54.9) and Collin Freet (19:05.4). The team improved over two minutes on an average of the top five runners from this event last year. The boys team finished 10th out of 14 teams in the Varsity 1 race with 204 points.
