Leading off today: Jadyn Trocki, who led Frewsburg to a NYSPHSAA championship in March, has repeated as a first-team New York State Sportswriters Association selection in girls basketball, this time adding the player of the year award in Class C to her honors.
The 5-foot-8 sophomore averaged 17.5 points and 6.1 assists a game for the Bears.
The NYSSWA released its small-school all-state teams on Monday. The selections for girls in Classes AAA, AA, and A will be announced on Thursday.
Joining Trocki as player of the year recipients in the small-school classes are:
• Class B: Chenango Forks junior Maggie Warpus.
• Class D: LaFargeville senior Emeline Barton.
Dundee/Bradford senior Kendall Parker joined Trocki as a repeat first-team selection in Class C. In Class D, Ava Howie of Hammond earned her third consecutive first-team honor, with Sydney Reilly (Elba) and Hailey Monroe (Northville) scoring top honors for the second time.
Girls NYSSWA All-State Team (Classes B, C, D)
Boys NYSSWA All-State Team (Classes AAA, AA, A)
Boys NYSSWA All-State Team (Classes B, C, D)
That's what you call efficiency
Cortland sophomore Cal Albright threw a five-inning no-hitter on Thursday during a 12-0 victory against Marcellus. What stood out about this abbreviated no-hitter, though, was that he threw just 42 pitches -- 37 of which were strikes.
Albright struck out seven. All that stood between him and a perfect game was a throwing error in the fourth inning.
Milestones
The Niskayuna boys lacrosse team scored the contest's first 11 goals and defeated Shenendehowa 14-8 last week for the program's 500th victory. Of course, that means it was also victory No. 500 for Mike Vorgang, who began coaching the team when it went varsity in 1993.
• Johns Hopkins recruit Brooke Koffler's seventh goal during a 17-5 victory over Horace Mann was No. 290 of her career, breaking the Hackley record established by Sammy Mueller in 2016.
Another precinct heard from
One day after my blog last week recapping New York elected official Matt Slater's ongoing effort to force non-public high schools into separate state playoffs, longtime Times Union columnist Chris Churchill chimed in and chided the assemblyman while decrying lawmakers who "insist on fixing problems that don't exist."
Slater grabbed on to statistics showing that about 10% of NYSPHSAA members are nonpublic schools and that those schools win about 10% of the state titles.
"Seems about right. So, what's the problem?" he wrote. "There isn't one."
Churchill pointed out some of the advantages held by public schools, particularly in more affluent communities and went as far as to suggest -- tongue-in-cheek -- that something had to be done about downstate softball teams that enjoy warmer weather and more time outdoors during the spring season. Should they also be moved into a special playoff class?
"We can keep going, dividing schools into smaller and smaller categories, until we have playoff subgroups that consist of only a handful of teams. Won't that be fun?" he wrote. "Congratulations kids! You're the 2025 Class AA.17 working-class, rural district with lake-effect snow and limited access to supermarkets champions! Woohoo!"
Actually, we're kind of there already. Section 5 has been crowning 10 boys basketball champions per season nearly every year since 2006, annually putting numerous teams within a single victory of reaching a semifinal.
Following up on the Westhill lacrosse story
The 11 Westhill lacrosse players accused of abducting a young teammate turned themselves in to the authorities last week, paving the way for them to deal with a reduced charge. Rather than kidnapping, which is a felony, the charge is unlawful imprisonment, which is a misdemeanor for which the teens were issued appearance tickets.
According to Syracuse.com, they can expect the records to be sealed and emerge without jail time or a permanent criminal record. Those who are 18 or older will be prosecuted by the district attorney's office in Onondaga Town Court. The rest will be handled through a town judge or be funneled directly into the county probation office.
Crazy Maryland case ends in plea deal
Former AD Dazhon Darien has accepted a plea deal to spend four months in jail after being arrested last year for creating an AI deepfake of the principal at Pikesville High outside Baltimore.
According to ABC News, the video includes Principal Eric Eiswert's "voice expressing frustration with Black students and their test-taking abilities." The deepfake and a video of him purportedly video disparaging Jewish students circulated around the school before Darien was arrested.
Eiswert had informed Darien weeks earlier that his contract as AD would not be renewed, citing poor job performance and allegations of mishandled school funds.
Darien is also facing federal charges related to evidence of sexual exploitation of children allegedly on his personal devices.
