FROM THE PRESS BOX: BAKER'S DOZEN TOP STORIES OF 2019 FEATURE TITLES, RECORD-SETTING PERFORMANCES GALORE (2020-01-01)

While 2019 was a turbulent year for our country, Valley sports fans enjoyed another stellar year of team and individual performances.

The year marked the end of spectacular careers for Tioga's John Worthing, Austin Lamb, and Pierce Hendershot, as well as Waverly's Wendi Hammond and Alex Tomasso, and Athens' Rachel Hutchison. All but Lamb, who is wrestling at Division III RIT, have moved on to compete at a Division I schools.

2019 will also be remembered as a year the Valley sent six wrestlers - four Tioga and two Athens - to States, and all six won medals, including two state titles that helped Tioga to a team title at the New York State Division 2 Championships. There were also a number of Section IV and District 4 titles, including a three-peat for Tioga football, and a repeat for Athens girls soccer.

As I've said in the past, lists are like ... well, everyone has one.

Here is one person's list - from 13 to 1 - of the "Baker's Dozen - Top Stories of 2019."

13. Tioga wins third Section IV baseball title in five years: After missing out on the IAC playoffs, which included a pair of Class C teams, Tioga made a successful run through the Section IV, Class C playoffs to win its third title in five years.

The Tigers graduate several key seniors, including VSR "Player of the Year" Pierce Hendershot, who will be playing at Division I St. Bonaventure in the fall. He is the last vestige of the 2015 and '16 title teams, but the Tigers have a wealth of talent returning.

12. Lady Redskins make another trip to PIAA basketball playoffs: Due to graduation and injuries, few expected a Sayre program that has won at least 17 games each year coach Eileen Sparduti has been on the sidelines in her latest stint at her alma mater to reach that mark again this season, much less advance to the State playoffs.

Yet, the Lady Redskins won 20 games, won their fourth division title, earned a trip to the District 4, Class AA championship game, and advanced to the PIAA playoffs - their third state berth in Sparduti's current six-year tenure.

11. Waverly wins first-ever Section IV softball title: The Lady Wolverines dropped a pair of extra-innings decisions to Susquehanna Valley in the Class B semifinals in each of the last two years, only to vanquish the Lady Sabers this year in the championship game to earn the program's first-ever Section title.

VSR "Player of the Year" Wendi Hammond pitched a gem and belted a home run in a 3-1 win over SV in the title game to avenge the season-ending losses in her sophomore and junior seasons.

10. Athens girls repeat as District 4, Class AAA soccer champions: In his first two years at the helm, Athens girls soccer Rich Pitts suffered through frustrating opening-round losses, but that only made his resolve stronger.

Pitts strengthened his non-league slate, and back-loaded his schedule. It worked, and the Lady Wildcats won back-to-back District 4 titles.

9. Athens freshman Taylor Walker accomplishes the unlikely: In one of the more intriguing storylines of the winter season, Athens freshman Taylor Walker, who played basketball through 8th grade, stepped on a diving board in live competition for the first time on Dec. 12, 2018, and just 74 days later earned a berth to the PIAA Diving Championships with a runner-up performance at Districts.

Walker finished second at her first dual meet on Dec. 12, and notched her first win on Jan. 11. She went on to take first place in the next, and last five duals meets of the season.

Just 11 days after a third-place finish at the NTL Championships, Walker finished second at the District 4 Championships to earn a trip to States, where she finished 23rd.

8. Athens duo medal at PIAA wrestling championships: Senior David Galasso is the last vestige of an era of Wildcat wrestling that produced eight members of the 100-win club. Galasso became the ninth with his final win at States, finishing his career with a 100-41 mark.

Galasso's fourth-place finish at Hershey also bested those of all of his peers, aside from Brian Courtney, who had four top-three finishes, including a pair of state titles.

Freshman Gavin Bradley put together one of the best freshman seasons in program history, posting a 34-12 record and a sixth-place finish in the 106-pound weight class at the PIAA Class AA Championships. He joins Brian Courtney, who finished third in 2014, as the only Athens freshmen to win state medals.

Nine of Bradley's losses came to Pa. and N.Y. state qualifiers, including three to 106-pound state champ Sheldon Seymour of Troy.

7. Waverly's Sheridan Talada goes to States in three seasons, sets records along the way: Talada finished off her junior season with trips to States in indoor and outdoor track, then kicked off her senior season by becoming the first Lady Wolverine to earn a medal at the New York State cross country championships.

Last winter, Talada was the sixth seed in the 3,000-meter run at the Section IV State Qualifier, but knocked 13 seconds off her seed time to break her own school record, which she had set the week before at the Small School Championships,  and win the race in 11:00.4. At States, Talada finished 27th, again breaking her school record, this time with a mark of 10:55.37.

In the spring, Talada teamed with classmates Melina Ortiz, Cora Smith, and Elizabeth Fritzen to finish sixth in the 3,200-meter relay at the state outdoor meet in a school-record time of 9:45.54.

This fall, Talada finished 18th at the NYS Cross Country Championships, after she finished third at the Section IV, Class C State Qualifier. She also became the first Wolverine harrier to run in the New York State Federation Cup meet, and finished 54th in a field of 249 runners.

This indoor season, Talada has trimmed more than 20 seconds off the 3,000-meter run school record, and broke a long-standing record in the 1,500-meter run. She also teamed with Ortiz, Smith and Fritzen last week to break a long-standing record in the distance medley relay.

6. Waverly's Mike Atanasoff enjoys record-breaking year in pool: Atanasoff finished off his junior season with a seventh-place medal in the 50-yard freestyle at the NYS Swimming & Diving Championship, clocking in with a school-record time of 21.53 seconds.

He also finished 12th at States in the 100 free in a time of 48.03 seconds. In the prelims, he swam a school and IAC record time of 47.82 seconds.

Flash forward to last week, and Atanasoff erased O-M's Tom Iorio from the IAC record book Saturday at the Wolverine Invite. Iorio had the longest-standing record in the IAC with a time of 21.46 in the 50-yard freestyle, but Atanasoff touched in 21.29 to establish the new 50 free mark. It was also a new school and pool record.

Atanasoff also broke his own IAC, school, and pool record in the 100 free in a time of 47.26 seconds. To top things off, Atanasoff re-set the 100 free records with his opening leg in the 400 free relay, touching in 46.97 seconds.

5. Tioga football wins eight Section IV title in nine years: When the season began most pundits viewed Walton as the team to beat in Section IV's Class D, but a pair of wins over the Warriors, including a 44-36 decision in the championship game, lifted the Tigers to their third straight Class D title and eighth in nine years.

Tioga went on to win its eighth Regional championship in nine years, before seeing its season end in a heart-breaking 28-27 loss to defending state champion Clymer / Sherman / Panama in the state semifinals.

The Tigers were ranked No. 2 in the final state rankings.

4. Waverly girls golf runs win streak to 118 - Tomasso qualifies for States for sixth time: The Waverly girls golf team finished off its fourth consecutive unbeaten season, and ran its win streak to 118 matches. After the regular season, senior Alex Tomasso qualified for States for the sixth consecutive year to lead the Lady Wolverines to their fourth straight Section IV title.

She finished 18th at States to medal and earn all-state honors for the second time in her career.

3. Tioga's Brady Worthing collects titles galore in 2019: Brady Worthing's 2019 was one few can match.

He finished off his junior year on the wrestling mats with a Section IV team and individual title, went to States and also won a team and individual title. Along the way, he was also part of Tioga's Section IV Duals title team.

In the spring, Worthing was the starting shortstop on a Tioga baseball team that won a Section IV, Class C title that lost a heart-breaking 8-7 decision to Cooperstown in the state quarterfinals.

This fall, Worthing was a key two-way player - starting quarterback and cornerback - on the Tioga football team that won its eighth Section IV title in nine years, and advanced to the state semifinals for the eighth time as well.

2. Athens' Rachel Hutchison earns redemption and wins PIAA gold medal: You couldn't have scripted Rachel Hutchison's final season-and-a-half of her track career any better.

Midway through her junior season, Hutchison gave the 300-meter hurdles a try, and almost immediately broke the school record. She also qualified for the PIAA Championships with one of the fastest times in the state.

At States, Hutchison clipped the first hurdle and fell. She got up to finish fifth in her heat, but missed out on the finals. This year, Hutchison was unbeatable in the event until she finished second in the preliminaries at States. In the finals, Hutchison ran a school-record time to win PIAA gold.

1. Tioga's Worthing brothers win state titles 15 minutes apart: For senior John Worthing, his state title was the fulfillment of what many viewed as his destiny after a runner-up performance as a freshman, and a third-place finish as a sophomore.

He was the top seed as a junior, and owned wins over the two grapplers who eventually battled in the state finals in his weight class that year, but was forced to bow out due to illness prior to the state tournament.

On his way to a 138-pound state title, John Worthing avenged a loss to BGAH's Brody Oleksak in the Section IV finals with a 3-0 win in the state semifinals. He went on to beat Zach Braddell 4-2 in the finals.

Brady Worthing needed what many viewed as a monumental upset in the semifinals. He avenged a 2-1 loss in the 2018 state finals to two-time state champion Trent Svingala, with a 7-3 win in the semifinals, snapping Svingala's 128-match win streak.

Brady Worthing went on to claim the 132-pound state title - about 15 minutes before older brother John won his at 138 - with a 5-1 winnower Victor Perlleshi.