Leading off today: A Suffolk County school self-reported an eligibility issue this week, losing its spot in the Section 11 boys tennis team tournament and costing the athlete his individual title,
Newsday reported.
Section 11 Executive Director Tom Combs said Ross School headmaster Tom Sturtevant reported his school's use of an ineligible exchange student. That resulted in the section's Division II team final between Ross and Bayport-Blue Point on Tuesday being called off.
Instead, Bayport-Blue Point took on Port Jefferson, which lost its semifinal to Ross, on Wednesday. Bayport-Blue Point advanced to the Long Island Championship by sweeping the four doubles matches.
Additionally, Alejandro Perez Trapero had his individual sectional title vacated. Teammate Ignacio Pena Lopez, who lost the final, will represent the section in the state tournament next week.
The issue with Perez Trapero stemmed from the Spanish sophomore having been determined to have competed in matches meeting a high school standard while in his native country. By NYSPHSAA rule, he should have been ineligible for one year because there was not a corresponding change of address by his parents.
"This is not an indictment on the Ross School," Combs said. "It's just an oversight and the way the foreign exchange direct placement rule was interpreted by the school. I give them credit for coming forward and saying there was a mistake."
Horseheads coach Brett Owen dies
Brett Owen, who had a brief but highly successful run as the head wrestling coach at Horseheads, died Friday. He was 47.
Owen's seven-year record at the Section 4 school included five consecutive sectional dual-meet titles, with an appearance in the 2025 semifinals, and five straight team victories in the section's individual championships.
Before arriving at Horseheads, Owen competed at Division II Shippensburg University and coached at the University of Scranton and Waverly High.
Quite a day for Clarence soph
When I saw the final score, I figured someone on the Clarence flag football team had a huge day Saturday in the Section 6 Class B championship game.
I guessed correctly, and the eye-popping numbers in the 61-32 triumph vs. Williamsville South belonged to sophomore Ellie Ladelfa.
Ladelfa rushed 23 times for 313 yards and seven touchdowns. The NYSPHSAA does not yet have a record book for the relatively new sport, but The Buffalo News dug up a national record book that MaxPreps has started assembling, and Ladelfa's seven rushing TDs matched the listed top performance.
"I wasn't aware of the record that I tied until after the game," she said. "I just knew I needed to keep scoring because Williamsville South kept scoring."
School district's revised budget would alter sports offerings
With voters having rejected the proposed 2026-27 budget plan, the AuSable Valley Central School District has cut back on interscholastic sports in a revised plan that would cut $250,000 from the budget.
The Press-Republican reported the new plan that will go to voters on June 16 calls for merging some sports with nearby schools districts and cutting the athletic trainer.
If the second budget vote fails, AuSable Valley would face the prospect of a contingency budget with no increase in the tax levy. In that case, sports funding would be dropped entirely.
The budget scorecard
School budget votes took place last week, and the NYSSWA's Steve Grandin found 30 districts in which voters said no:
• Section 1 -- Eastchester, Mount Vernon.
• Section 2 -- Berlin, Cambridge, Hoosic Valley, New Lebanon.
• Section 3 -- Cazenovia, Cortland, Jordan-Elbridge, Rome, West Canada Valley.
• Section 4 -- Jefferson, Odessa-Montour, Stamford.
• Section 5 -- Cuba-Rushford, Lyndonville, Prattsburg, Spencerport.
• Section 6 -- Grand Island, Randolph, West Valley.
• Section 7 -- AuSable Valley.
• Section 8 -- Locust Valley.
• Section 9 -- Pine Plains.
• Section 10 -- Ogdensburg.
• Section 11 -- Bayport-Blue Point, Islip, South Country (Bellport), Three Village (Ward Melville).
