Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018: Penfield's Gissendanner wins sixth straight qualifier

   Leading off today: Penfield senior Frankie Gissendanner became the first Section 5 wrestler to win six state qualifier championships when he pinned Brockport 145-pounder Troy Ferris in the Division I final Saturday.

   "You have to understand the tradition of Section V wrestling is super-rich," Penfield coach John Leone said. "There's been some phenoms, like Gregor Gillespie, Yianni Diakomihalis, even go back to the 1970s with Frank DeAngelis.

   "There's been some very, very special athletes who have come through here. So for Frank to win a sixth title, where no one else was able to do that, is pretty special."

   Frankie Gissendanner is a three-time state champion, winning at 138 pounds as a freshman and then 145 the past two seasons.

   The 2018 state championships take place Feb. 23-24 at the Times Union Center in Albany.

   Christ the King rolling: There's the Brooklyn-Queens girls CHSAA basketball league and then there's everyone else.

   We were reminded of just how potent the talent in that league is when Christ the King dominated Monsignor Scanlan 86-51 as juniors Nina Rickards and Kaelynn Satterfield led the Royals with 20 and 19 points respectively.

   Christ the King is 21-0 and ranked first in the state in Class AA by the New York State Sportswriters Association. Though it's a down year for the likes of Nazareth and Archbishop Molloy, going through league play undefeated requires Christ the King to handle the likes of The Mary Louis Academy and St. Francis Prep, either of whom can take out any other state-ranked team in the state.

   And, of course, there's the usual slate of regional and national opponents. The Royals already own victories against traditional power Long Island Lutheran, PSAL leader South Shore and foes from six other states this winter.

   Scanlan is ranked 22nd in the state in Class AA with a strong resume of its own and leads the CHSAA Bronx/Westchester standings.

   But Christ the King had way too much firepower while working deep into its player rotation.

   "They are playing really, really well together and that's the biggest battle in coaching this sport," Royals coach Bob Mackey said. "If you can get 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 to play together it's really going to be successful and that's what we have been able to do."

   More girls basketball: Hannah Minges scored six of her nine points after the end of regulation as Romulus pulled out a 75-72 win over Bloomfield in two overtimes.

   Bloomfield is ranked sixth in the state in Class C.

   Romulus outscored the Bombers 12-7 in the fourth quarter to forge a 55-55 tie.

   Mary Ellen Querrie led Romulus with 29 points. Braelin Scott scored a game-high 34 points for Bloomfield.

   L.I. coach retiring: Longtime Walt Whitman boys basketball coach Tom Fitzpatrick announced his retirement after Friday's 49-47 victory over Bay Shore.

   He finished with a record of 249-150 and two Long Island championships in 19 seasons. The team finished 9-9 this season.

ADVERTISEMENT

   "It was a good era where we were fortunate enough to win two Long Island championships," Fitzpatrick said. "I'm really going to miss the people and kids I met and worked with, and the friendships I made during the journey."

   Officially speaking: Several media outlets from around the state have run a column written by Bob Gardner, executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations, and Robert Zayas, executive director of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, making the pitch for more adults to get involved in officiating high school sports.

   "Subtract the dedicated men and women who officiate high school sports and competitive sports would no longer be organized; they would be chaotic," they wrote.

   Individuals interested in learning more about becoming an official can do so at www.HighSchoolOfficials.com. You can read their full essay here.

   Following up: We mentioned last week the situation in Scarsdale, where Billy Murphy was recently replaced as the boys basketball coach.

   Murphy took his case to the public on Monday, hosting what amounted to a town hall meeting to address allegations made against him.

   "If there was something to hide, I wouldn't be here," Murphy told the crowd, which consisted mostly of parents and players from this the team.

   Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Leader Development Andrew Patrick told the Scarsdale Inquirer he could not discuss the reason for the firing, but Murphy said at his town hall it was for insubordination.

   Not long after Murphy's Q&A, Patrick read a statement at the school board meeting regarding the administration's recommendation to terminate Murphy during executive session.

   "We came to a point where we didn't think we could continue with (Murphy) in the position," Patrick said.