Leading off today: I've been busy the past few days crunching numbers for the NYSSWA's Kerr Cup All-Sport Championship, a project that gets a little bit more complicated -- but a lot more fun -- with each passing year.
In 2009, the spreadsheet of sport-by-sport data consisted of 629 entries and there were just two situations in which points had to split between multiple schools on a combined team. When I closed the books on this year's data mining, the spreadsheet was a hundred lines longer and contained 18 instances of combined teams scoring points.
We'll be unveiling the results of the 10th annual Kerr Cup on the website on Friday morning.
In the meantime, here's a rundown of some stories from the past few days:
Change coming to Section 1: There will be a change in leadership in Section 1 in the coming months following confirmation that Jennifer Simmons will be retiring as executive director.
Southern Westchester BOCES confirmed to The Journal News that Simmons plans to step down from the role she assumed in 2008, and the position is listed online as an anticipated vacancy.
The BOCES plan is to bring a successor on board by this fall to make for a smooth transition once Simmons departs after the winter sports season.
Simmons sent an email to Section 1 athletic directors in which she wrote, "I really didn't think that this would take off like it did, but some of you have contacted me, so I will let you all know." She acknowledged her plans to retire at "the end of March."
"I had requested a transition plan for the new person coming in and they agreed," she added. "The timeline will be quick so that the person hired will be able to begin at the beginning of the school year."
The deadline for applications is July 6. The salary range is listed as $140,000 to $160,000.
Mark you calendar: My weekly column for PressConnects.com identifies a few stories to look forward to in the coming school year. Leading the list is a reminder that the NYSPHSAA boys basketball committee meets early next fall to vote on where the basketball tournament will be held from 2020-22. The request for bids was sent out recently.
You can read the full column here.
In the running: Senior Julian McGarvey's buzzer-beating, 70-foot heave against Tappan Zee that gave Ardsley its first Section 1 boys basketball championship in 60 years is one of 16 highlights up for an ESPY award for best play.
McGarvey's shot is going head-to-head in preliminary voting against a buzzer-beater by Evanston (Ill.) Township freshman Blake Peters, who hit an 80-footer off a missed free throw to win a January game.
Following up: T.D. Ierlan didn't need long to make up his mind on a new college. The Victor graduate and former University at Albany faceoff specialist will enroll at defending NCAA Division I champion Yale in the fall.
Ierlan had the greatest statistical season for a faceoff specialist in Division I history this spring, winning 79.1 percent of his faceoffs.
Southern Tier great dies: Elmira Free Academy three-sport great Ron Gilliam Sr. died June 16 of an apparent heart attack suffered in his Ithaca home. He was 69.
