Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019: Tuohy signs with North Carolina State

   Leading off today: A very good crop of New York cross country recruits has officially become an outlandish one for North Carolina State with the news that three-time Nike Cross Nationals champion Katelyn Tuohy will continue her career there next fall.

   The North Rockland senior, recently anointed runner of the decade by Milesplit.com, signed her National Letter of Intent on Sunday. Tuohy had low-keyed her recruitment process throughout the year, taking visits without the fanfare often accompanying star athletes in football or basketball. She is believed to have also considered Michigan, Providence, Syracuse and Villanova.

   The incoming recruiting class at N.C. State includes Claire Walters of Fayetteville-Manlius and Jenna Schulz of Liverpool. Tuohy, Walters and Schulz finished first through third in the NYSPHSAA Class AA championships last month, and they'll soon team up at N.C. State with Foot Locker runner-up Marlee Starliper of Dillsburg (Pa.) Northern.

   The Wolfpack roster already includes Kelsey Chmiel of Saratoga Springs, who just completed a strong freshman season, and junior Julia Zachgo from Shenendehowa, who's positioned to be one of the Atlantic Coast Conference's top runners next fall. N.C. State placed fifth at the recent NCAA Division I championships, where Chmiel posted the best finish by a freshman since 2010.

   Milestone victory: Ursuline defeated Albertus Magnus 63-58 on Saturday in the opening round of the Slam Dunk Tournament, giving girls basketball coach Beth Wooters her 600th career victory.

   Ursuline was paced by 16 points from junior guard Alexa Mustafaj, and the Koalas out-rebounded Albertus Magnus 38-27 at the Westchester County Center.

   "Getting it here, I mean, what better venue is there?" Wooters said. "And to get it playing a team like Albertus, that is the exciting thing. We really had to work to get it. I was hoping the girls didn't know about it, but they did. It just means a lot to do it here with our friends and supporters."

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   Wild game of the week: Top-ranked Center Moriches and No. 4 Portledge produced everything a fan could hope for in a regular-season game between state-ranked boys Class B basketball squads.

   When it was over, Center Moriches walked away with a 116-111 win in overtime at the Fred Williams Showcase at Amityville.

   Ahkee Anderson (26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists) made two free throws with :03.5 seconds left in regulation to force OT, the Jordan Falco hit back-to-back 3-pointers eight seconds apart midway through the extra period for a 111-105 lead.

   Jaden Kealey led Center Moriches with 31 points and 17 rebounds. Zaire Baines had 40 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for Portledge.

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   Ex-football star slain: Lance McDowdell, a first-team all-state defensive lineman for Mount Vernon in 2011 and the central figure in a bit of quirky Section 1 basketball history, was shot to death in Phoenix, Arizona, early Friday morning.

   McDowdell, 25, was gunned down in the driveway of an apartment complex and died at a local hospital. Police had not made arrest as of Sunday evening.

   After high school, McDowell played at the University of Central Florida and then in the Arena Football League for the Arizona Rattlers.

   In March 2012, Biondi High in Yonkers was stripped of the Section 1 Class D basketball championship a day after seemingly winning the title. The decision was the result of the disclosure that McDowell's partici- pation in football at Mount Vernon, his home district, should have prevented him from playing basketball at Biondi under Section 1 rules.

   McDowell was the tournament MVP in both 2011 and 2012 but his participation as a junior was never noticed, so Biondi was allowed to keep that championship.

   On the move: Gianni Bussani has stepped down after 25 seasons as boys soccer coach at Fairport.

   "That's a long time," said Bussani, 57. "Coaching varsity soccer is not just a fall season job, it's a full year, 12-month job with offseason weight programs, fitness training, camps and some of the things we do at Fairport. It's been a big commitment, and it's been a lot of years."

   His Red Raiders teams pulled down 10 Section 5 championships and appeared in four NYSPHSAA Class AA finals.