The 2016-17 New York high schools year in review, Page 7

[From Page 6]

   By mid-January, Lufkin had reached 344 made 3-pointers for his career, breaking Licata's mark of 343 for Williamsville South from 2007-11.

    • Jason Phelps popped for 28 first-quarter points on 11-for-13 shooting in Tully's 82-37 win over Greene in boys basketball. He finished with 45 points in the game.

   "He had a couple very tough finishes and 3s, but did in fact miss (two shots) in the quarter, so I guess he was human after all," Tully coach Ryan Dando.

    • Pioneer's 50-43 victory over East Aurora/Holland in football included a combined 40 points by the teams during a third quarter that included four kickoff returns for touchdowns.

   That same September night, Herkimer's 48-26 win over Morrisville-Eaton/Hamilton saw the squads combine for 26 points in a 1:03 span late in the third quarter without the benefit of a kickoff return for a score.

    • Nick Cunningham threw a 36-yard TD pass with 1:35 left, recovered an onside kick, threw a 20-yard score with :33.1 to go and gave Hendrick Hudson a 50-49 football win over Rye by connecting on a 2-point conversion. Rye was leading 49-28 with six minutes to go before Cunningham scored on a 2-yard plunge with 3:57 to play to start the rally.

   Three weeks earlier, Cunningham had the best night of any Hendrick Hudson quarterback ever but Brewster came away with a 56-49 win as QB Jack Guida rushed for six scores. Cunningham accounted for six first-half TDs and got No. 7 in the third quarter. He finished with six scores through the air and one on the ground.

   "I don't think they charged admission, but it was worth it if they did," Brewster coach Ed Mulvihill said.

Milestones, records, etc.

   Just a week after crushing her own U.S. scholastic record in the indoor 600 meters, Rush-Henrietta senior and Texas A&M recruit Sammy Watson broke a record held by Mary Decker since 1974.

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   Running in the 800 meters invitational field at the Millrose Games alongside pro stars Ajee Wilson and former Hempstead star Charlene Lipsey, Watson finished sixth in 2:01.78 to finally erase the 2:01.8 mark by Decker, who went on to become a four-time U.S. Olympian.

   Watson finished her indoor and outdoor career by going unbeaten against prep competitors between 300 and 1,500 meters for two-plus years. By the time her indoor season was over, she held national scholastic records for the 600, 800 and 1,000 meters.

   In football, junior tailback Joe Benedict rushed for a state-record 584 yards as Sandy Creek outlasted Watertown's

Immaculate Heart Central 53-34 on Oct. 7. Benedict's 38 carries included eight touchdown runs, and his yardage total eclipsed the 30 carries for 569 yards by Dale Ross of Westhill vs. Marcellus in 2007.

   The huge effort came after 491-yard efforts the two previous weekends by Alton Jones of Spencerport and Jordan Mull of Altmar-Parish-Williamstown. Mull scored all his team's points in the 49-20 victory over Jordan-Elbridge, kicking the extra points after all seven of his touchdowns.

   The defensive performance of the year -- and possibly thus far this century -- came from Alexander's Dustin Schmieder, a senior lineman credited with 8.5 sacks in a 34-13 win vs. Bolivar-Richburg in the Section 5 tournament. He also had five tackles and made a 68-yard reception on the first play of the game.

    • Grand Island senior and Florida State recruit Madisyn Pezzino became the most prolific goal scorer is New York girls soccer history when she hit the back of the net five times in an 8-0 victory over Lockport on Oct. 11. The sixth-year varsity player ended her career with 251 goals.

    • Jamie Ortega's third point on a day on which she finished with three goals and four assists made the Middle Country star the leading scorer in NYSPHSAA girls lacrosse history. With 98 goals and 45 assists in her senior season, the University of North Carolina recruit finished with 588 career points.

    • In softball, senior catcher Olivia Lynn hit four home runs to tie the state mark as Frewsburg defeated visiting Ellicottville 16-1. And Oneida's Kyra Shlotzhauer belted a record-tying two grand slams in one inning by clearing the bases twice in the first inning of an 18-1 rout of Utica Proctor.

   Adirondack pitcher Arielle Kranbuhl narrowly missed a state record by fanning 27 batters in a 4-2 victory at Cooperstown in 14 innings. Jasmine Ennabe of Carmel whiffed 28 batters in a 13-inning game in 2014.

    • In baseball, senior Enzo Stefanoni of Rye Country Day in the NYSAIS picked up his 40th career pitching victory during a 5-2 win over Fieldston in early May, becoming the state's all-time leader in that category.

    • Swimming records fall on a regular basis, but Pittsford swimmer and Notre Dame recruit Lindsay Stone broke a record that had been controversial for more than two decades.

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