Leading off today: Shoreham-Wading River and the Long Island running community are mourning the death of Paul Koretzki, one of the longest-tenured scholastic coaches in state history.
Koretzki, a retired math teacher known as "Coach K" to many, died on Saturday from natural causes at the age of 84, Newsday reported. He had coached SWR's girls cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track programs since 1980, having begun his career two decades earlier in the soccer program at Oceanside Middle School.
"He was like my grandpa," said senior captain Caroline D'Andrea. "He cared about me like I was one of his kids. He cared about all of us like we were one of his kids."
Said Krista Watson, one of Koretzki's five grandchildren: "I think he just kind of found the potential of what every kid could do. He was a teacher as well, and a good teacher does that. He found their strengths and ran with that, literally ran."
Koretzki's work -- his teams scored more than 70 league and 30 Section XI titles -- was acknowledged with coach of the year recognition in Suffolk County an unfathomable 135 times, and he was twice named a state coach of the year in cross country.
Mexico soph powers stunning soccer rally
Mexico sophomore standout Allie Poissant did all the scoring, capped by a goal in double overtime, as Mexico overcame a 3-0 halftime deficit and beat Chittenango 4-3 in girls soccer on Wednesday.
"We remained as calm as possible," coach Martin Charles told Syracuse.com. "I said to the girls, 'You need to figure this out.' I have four girls that are four-year starters and it was their time to shine. They stepped up and they showed us what they were made of."
A red card to Chittenango's starting goalkeeper early in the second half provided an opening, and Poissant scored twice in quick succession midway through the half. She tied the contest and notched a hat trick with three minutes to go.
With the win, Mexico improved to 4-1-1.
An early-season gut check for top teams
The New York State Sportswriters Association released its first 2024
football rankings on Wednesday, and four of the top-ranked teams will find ranked opponents awaiting them this week:
• In Class AA, Cardinal Hayes will be taking on Moore Catholic, ranked seventh in Class A.
• In Class A, Garden City puts its 44-game winning streak on the line vs. No. 20 Manhasset.
• In Class C, No. 1 Waverly could have its hands full in the form of Horseheads, ranked 14th in Class A.
• In Class D, Tioga also steps up in competition, taking on Chenango Forks, ranked third in Class C.
In all, 20 ranked squads will being taking on ranked opponents.
One ranked team, however, has been knocked out of commission for the week. WNYAthletics.com tweeted that St. Francis, ranked 20th in Class AA, has forfeited a scheduled home game against Catholic Memorial from Massachusetts due to an outbreak of illness hitting the school.
