Thursday, June 23, 2016: Poughkeepsie may return to Section 1

   Leading off today: Poughkeepsie wants to leave Section 9 and return to Section 1, with the school board authorizing a step in that direction on Wednesday.

   If Poughkeepsie's application is accepted, its program would go back to Section 1 in time for the 2017-18 school year. The Pioneers had previously been in Section 1, but moved to Section 9 in 2014 with an eye toward reducing travel costs.

   "Students were supposed to get home earlier," school board member Greg Charter said. "Come to find out, they're going to Port Jervis and further out to play teams."

   Poughkeepsie interim AD Bob Murphy had confirmed the proposed change to Hudson Valley Sports Report earlier in the week.

   The addition of Dutchess County schools had boosted the Mid-Hudson Athletic League's ranks to 18 members in recent years. Dover joined in 2012, Roosevelt moved in 2003 and Millbrook, Pine Plains, Rhinebeck, Spackenkill and Webutuck arrived from Section 1 in 1998. Other Dutchess County schools, including Our Lady of Lourdes, Beacon and Arlington, pondered switching to Section 9 in recent years but have thus far stayed in Section 1. Several Rockland County schools considered a move to Section 9 in 2013 over fears of Tappan Zee Bridge construction traffic.

   Watson selected: Rush-Henrietta junior Sammy Watson has been selected Gatorade's New York female track and field athlete of the year for the second time.

   Watson won the Federation and New York State Public High School Athletic Association girls 400 and 1,500 meters championships earlier this month at Cicero-North Syracuse.

   Watson also received the Gatorade honor in 2015 and then went on to win the girls 800 meters final at the IAAF World Youth Games.

   Coach facing DWI charge: Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake girls soccer coach Brian Bold was arrested Saturday by state police on a charge of drunken driving, according to multiple media outlets.

   Bold, 43, of Schenectady, was stopped in Brunswick for a traffic offense and failed sobriety tests, state police said. His blood-alcohol level was .21 percent, according to the police report.

   Bold was ticketed for aggravated driving while intoxicated and ordered to appear in the Town of Brunswick Court at a later date.

   Bold has coached Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake to considerable success in 11 seasons, including 10 Section 2 Class A championships.

   ADs on the move: Veteran Cooperstown administrator Mike Cring, 51, has accepted the job of athletic director at Arlington, subject to final school board approval next week.

NYSPHSAA boys lacrosse NYSPHSAA girls lacrosse NYSPHSAA baseball NYSPHSAA softball Past years' brackets

   He was scheduled to start a newly combined position as director of student services, programs and athletics at Cooperstown next month.

   Cring began in Cooperstown two decades ago and moved between jobs there as a school principal and AD several times.

    • Lewiston-Porter AD Scott Townsend is stepping down this summer to spend more time with his family. He will go back to a full-time teaching job at Lew-Port in the fall.

   He is the third Niagara Frontier League AD to step down following the 2015-16 school year, joining retiring colleagues Cynthia Bullis (North Tonawanda) and John Forcucci (Niagara Falls).

   Joe Contento will take over for Forcucci at Niagara Falls after 13 years of coaching varsity baseball. Jeff Alger takes over at North Tonawanda after three years as an AD at Schoharie and a previous stint at Waterloo.

   Also moving: Scotia-Glenville football coach Kevin Warren is leaving after five seasons after being appointed as an assistant principal in the Mohonasen school district. Warren compiled a 20-25 record, including 1-8 last fall.

   His successor at Scotia-Glenville will be Ron Ashcraft, who has served as an assistant coach and previously was the varsity wrestling coach there.

   More to come: I'm still sitting on a pile of other coaching departures and arrivals from the past week and will get those posted at some point Friday.