FROM THE PRESS BOX: VALLEY SPORTS REPORT BEGINS 16TH YEAR OF COVERAGE IN THE VALLEY, AND 2024-25 SHOULD BE ANOTHER FUN YEAR (2024-08-12)

Valley Sports Report kicks off its 16th year of high school sports coverage Monday.

I don’t know if it’s possible for the Valley teams to duplicate 2023-24’s success, but I do think we’ll see some accomplishes that surprise us. I also think we’ll see some top-notch individual performances this year.

FALL SEASON
Waverly and Tioga are both coming off state titles on the gridirons, and both suffered major losses.

The Wolverines will need to replace the top passing combo in school history in Joey Tomasso and Jay Pipher, as well as Jacob Benjamin, Jake VanHouten, and Carter George.

The Tigers, riding a 41-game win streak and three straight state titles, will need to replace Caden Bellis, Ousmane Duncanson, Evan Sickler, Valentino Rossi, Cam Rought, Karson Sindoni, Drew Macumber, Gavin Fisher, Gianni Silvestri, and Levi Bellis.

In both cases, it’s a lot to replace, but both teams return the majority of their offensive and defensive lines, which is a great place to start.

I find it hard to believe Tioga won’t win another Section IV title, and I think it will come down to state semi-final match-up against Clymer-Sherman-Panama to see if the Tigers can make it four in a row.

As for Waverly, it will likely come down to a match-up against Chenango Forks in the Class C title game for the fourth consecutive season. The winner, which has been the Wolverines the last two years, has a good chance to make a deep run into the state playoffs.

South of the Border, it’s year two for coach Shawn Bradley at Athens, and coach Ricky Lindblad at Sayre. Both teams should be improved over last season. How much improved is the question.

The Wildcats have a really good batch of skill players, led by sophomore QB Connor Davidson, while the Redskins have Karter Green and Nick Pellicano leading the way.

The storyline I’m most looking forward to this fall, however, is junior Mira Kittle and the Waverly girls swim team.

Kittle, who became the first Waverly swimmer — girl or boy — to qualify for States as a freshman two years ago, won a state medal last year, and already has her name firmly entrenched in the Waverly record books.

She’s also within striking distance of a couple Section IV records, and is poised to become the most accomplished swimmer in program history.

Kittle is not alone either. Olivia Cheresnowsky would have a couple records if not for Kittle, and she is poised to join her teammate at States this year.

The Wolverines also have freshman Lauryn Welles, and a strong 8th-grade class, who made a mark last year as 7th-graders. They could easily send a relay or two to States.

It will be interesting to see if they can claim a STAC or Section IV title this season as well.

On the pitch, a young Athens girls team should challenge Troy for an NTL title, while Jake Lezak’s Athens boys team will once again be in the mix for a league title.

North of the Border, the Waverly girls team will get Addison Westbrook back from a knee injury that cost her last season, as well as Kaitlyn Sutton, who sat out last year after transferring from Sayre. Those two will join a talented and young Wolverine cast that could be dangerous in the STAC and in Section IV.

The Waverly boys lost a ton to graduation, and will have a new coach. It looks to be a rebuilding year.

The Tioga girls could struggle with numbers again this year, but return a strong core of players from one of the most successful teams in school history, while the Tioga boys will have to replace the scoring punch of the program’s all-time leading scorer, Tyler Roe, but have a strong group returning.

On the volleyball hardwoods, Tioga is the team to watch, returning a strong, young nucleus with more talent coming up from the JV ranks.

Waverly lost a talented group of seniors, while Athens could surprise some people, and Sayre should be improved.

The cross country scene this fall should see the Athens girls, led by three-time state qualifier Sara Bronson, and the Athens boys, led by returning state qualifier Graham Wanck, in the spotlight.

Waverly’s Harper Minaker is also a runner to keep an eye on as she seeks a return to the New York State Championships.

On the links, Athens, coming off back-to-back unbeaten seasons, returns a strong core, led by Eli Hicks and Dylan Saxon, seeking another NTL title.

The Waverly boys will play golf in the fall beginning this year as it shifts from an independent schedule into a STAC schedule. Carson McIsaac will likely be the Wolverines’ best hope in the postseason.

With its numbers stabilizing, the Tioga field hockey team will look to improve in 2024.

My early choices as the “teams of the fall” will be Tioga football, Waverly swimming, and Tioga volleyball.

WINTER SEASON
The Tioga wrestling team, winners of three straight State Duals titles, lost more than 950 career wins, 14 Section IV titles, and 15 state medals, including six state championships, and four runner-up finishes.

A four-peat for the Tiger might be a stretch, but a sixth straight team title at the New York State Championships is a definite possibility. The four returning state medalists — Jayden Duncanson, Declan McKee, Kadin Cole, and Logan Bellis — outscored the team runner-up at last year’s tourney.

Waverly’s Troy Beeman will be looking to become just the second two-time state champ in school history, while Matthias Welles will seek his third trip to Albany. Drayton DeKay, Athens transfer Cooper Robinson, and Rhylee Stotler should also be in the mix to end up in Albany.

As a team, the Wolverines return virtually intact and could make some noise in the Section IV Duals.

South of the Border, Athens has two or three candidates to advance to Hershey, but a bump up to Class AAA will make it very difficult to reach the podium.

Sayre will likely struggle with numbers again, which makes it difficult for individual success as well.

On the girls side, Sayre graduated its best wrestler and lost another to a transfer, while Athens returns a host of talented grapplers, led by Hanna Rathbun, Leah Nason, and Emma Renninger.

Tioga returns a trio of state qualifiers in Kyah Nelson, Kali Bailey, and Amelia Toomey, while Waverly’s returnees are led by Elona Holmes and Emma Vanderhoof.

Athens looks to have the best numbers, and should be the strongest team in the Valley.

On the hardwoods, Waverly and Tioga will look to replace strong senior classes.

The Wolverines have a good group of seniors and under classmen returning, led by Hogan Shaw and Xavier Watson, while Tioga has very little varsity experience coming back.

South of the Border, Sayre has a large senior class, led by Nick Pellicano, and should challenge for an NTL Small School title.

An inexperienced Athens team will have to contend with powerhouse Troy, and a bump up to Class 5A in the postseason.

On the girls side, just like on the soccer pitch, the return of Addison Westbrook and Kaitlyn Sutton’s move to varsity, to go along with Ryleigh Judson, Brilynn Belles, and twin towers Lauryn Wells, and Kendall Rockwell should make Waverly a dangerous team in the STAC and Section IV.

South of the Border, Athens has a new-old face on the sidelines this season as Kelly (Burkhart) Allen returns to run the program. She’ll have Addy Wheeler, Abby Burgess, and McKenna Jarvis to build around.

On the bowling hardwoods, Waverly loses three seniors from its state runner-up squad, so making it three top-four finishes in a row at States won’t be easy, but this has been a resilient program, and will have at least two bowlers — Derek Johnson and Tristan Campbell — making a run at qualifying for States.

The swim spotlight should be on Athens, with both the boys and girls teams returning a large number of District 4 qualifiers. I expect the Wildcat program will keep rolling and send double-digit swimmers to Districts again this year.

My early choices as the “teams of the winter” are Waverly girls basketball, Athens boys swimming, and Tioga wrestling.

SPRING SEASON
The spring spotlight has focused on the Waverly boys track team the last couple years, but this year it could shift to the Athens and Tioga softball teams.

The Wildcats graduated a stud in Ashlyn VanFleet, but return nearly everyone else, including a pair of top-notch pitchers in Savannah Persun, and Gretchan Hiley, and a dynamic hitter in Maddie Hiley.

The Tigers graduate a couple seniors, but will bring several players up from the JV ranks, including pitcher Kate Kithcart, to go along with standouts RaeAnne Feeko and Erin Luther, and a cast of young returners.

I think Athens will challenge for a District 4 title, and Tioga for a Section IV title, but both will have significant hurdles in their way.

Waverly will need to find a pitcher to replace Olivia Robinson, but has a couple candidates returning. The Wolverines found out last year the STAC is a pretty good softball conference, and that’s not changing this year.

Sayre showed big improvement last year, and returns intact. It will be interesting to see what the Redskins can do this season.

On the baseball diamonds, Waverly graduates several key players, but returns a good nucleus, and will get help from the JV ranks. It’s tough-going in the STAC, but the Wolverines should be competitive, and should be in the mix come Sectional playoff time.

Tioga returns the majority of its team, and will also get a couple players up from JVs to bolster the ranks. The Tigers should be the favorites for another division title, and could play deeper into the postseason.

South of the Border, Athens could be a team to keep an eye on, losing just two starters, and returning a talented group of under classmen. The Wildcats could make things interesting in the NTL Large School Division.

Sayre graduates five starters, and will need a lot of help from the junior varsity and junior high ranks to remain in the mix for an NTL Small School title.

On the track, the Athens girls have quite a bit of talent, but will bump up to Class 3A this year, which will make it much more difficult for Sara Bronson and Abby Burgess to get to States and earn hardware.

Graham Wanck should compete for a state berth for the Athens boys.

The Waverly boys have seen a great deal of talent graduate the last few years, but Kolsen Keathley could keep the sprinter streak alive at States for the Wolverines.

Tioga’s Gavin Albrecht has reached new heights in the pole vault for the Tigers last year, and will look to make a return trip to States.

Sayre’s Marco Quiros qualified for the PIAA Championships in two events (200 and 400) as a junior, and could make it all three sprint events as a senior.

On the links, Tioga graduated four of its top five golfers from a Sectional championship team, but James Luther should be in the mix to earn a trip to States.

The Waverly girls all return this season, and should continue to improve. Senior Breanne Robinson looks to return to the State Championships after narrowly missing out last spring.

My early choices as the “teams of the spring” are Athens softball, Tioga softball, and Athens baseball.

I believe you’ll see a great deal of what I touched on take place this year, but I’m also certain that athletes and storylines will emerge that I never saw coming.

Buckle up, 2024-25 is going to be another fun year.


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