VALLEY SPORTS REPORT: WAVERLY'S SACKETT HEADLINES IMPRESSIVE SUPER 7 AS 'BOYS ATHLETE OF THE WINTER' (2023-03-22)

Valley Sports Report
THE VALLEY — Waverly senior Jerrell Sackett continued to rack up school records and state medals this winter, and is the 2022-23 Valley Sports Report “Boys Athlete of the Winter.”

Sackett, who was a diver and not a full-time swimmer until his sophomore season (the Covid spring of 2020), not only dominated in individual events this season, but his lead leg in the finals of the 200-yard freestyle relay at New York State Championships established a new school record of 20.45 seconds, and led the Wolverine foursome to a state gold medal.

Sackett not only lowered his own school records in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle sprints on several occasions this season, but broke Mike Atanasoff’s school record in the 100-yard butterfly by more than a second. He won the breaststroke at the Section IV Championships.

After swimming the fastest times in the 50 free and 100 free — both in school-record times — in the preliminaries at Day 1 of the State meet, Sackett earned fourth-place medals in both sprints on Day 2.

He finished his high school career with a school-record seven state medals, and is the record-holder in three individual events, and was part of all three record-holding relays.

2022-23 Super 7 Male Athletes of the Winter
Jerrell Sackett, senior, swimming, Waverly: See above.

Ousmane Duncanson, junior, wrestling, Tioga: Duncanson ran the table with a 37-0 record on the season to become just the third two-time champ in the storied history of the Tioga program.

During the postseason, Duncanson was 10-0 with eight pins and one technical fall. His closest match was an 8-1 win over Windsor’s Mason McCombs in the state semifinals.

He was also 4-0 at the State Duals, including three first-period falls.

Caden Bellis, junior, wrestling, Tioga: Bellis suffered a broken bone in his hand during his only loss of the season, a 14-5 setback against nationally-ranked Eligh Rivera in the semifinals of the Southern Tier Memorial on Jan. 13.

After sitting out for 15 days, Bellis went 4-0, including three falls and a major decision at the State Duals, then went 10-0 in the individual postseason, with seven pins and a major decision.

He finished the season at 33-1.

Joey Tomasso, junior, basketball, Waverly: Tomasso averaged a school-record 30.9 points per game in a season that also saw him break the single-game scoring record with 49 points against Lansing in the IAC Large School championship game. He also set a school record with 649 points this season, and tied the school record with 17 made free throws in a game.

He is currently second in school history with 1,381 points, trailing only 1994 grad David Sickler, who sits atop the all-time list with 1,519 points.

Tomasso shot 51.8 percent from the field, and knocked down 50 3-pointers this season. He also averaged 4.6 rebounds, and 2.7 steals per game. He was the VSR “Player of the Year.”

Mason Lister, senior, basketball, Athens: Nearly unstoppable taking the ball to the bucket, Lister had the best year of his four-year varsity career.

Lister averaged 18.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 3.1 steals per game. He shot 51 percent from the field, including a 58-percent clip inside the 3-point arc, and made 83 free throws.

Evan Sickler, junior, basketball, Tioga: A slick scorer and quietly strong rebounder, Sickler was the key component in Tioga’s run to the Section IV, Class C championship game.

Sickler averaged 22.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game he shot 48.2 percent from the field, including a 38.4 percent clip from behind the 3-point arc. He knocked down 58 3-pointers on the season, and made 83 free throws.

Jackson Hubbard, senior, basketball, Sayre: Hubbard scored 25.8 points per game for the Redskins, and set the school-record for points in a game with 55.

Hubbard knocked down 53 3-pointers this season, and made 123 free throws, while shooting 69.1 percent from the charity triple. He also averaged 6.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 3.2 steals per game.

Zach Vanderpool, senior, bowling, Waverly: Vanderpool, now a four-time “Bowler of the Year,” led the IAC with a 215 average, and had an IAC-high 762 series. His high game of the season was a 277.

Vanderpool won individual gold at the Section IV State Qualifier with a nine-game set of 2,105 (233.89 average), including a 762 series, leading the Wolverines to the team title in the process.  He also won the Section IV, Class C gold with a 706 series.

At States, Vanderpool rolled a six-game set of 1,268 (211.33 average) to lead the Wolverines to a fourth-place finish. He had series of 667 and 601.