Leading off today: Recent Ursuline School graduate Nina Choe fired rounds of 67 and 69 on Wednesday to finish 12-under-par for 54 holes and capture the 63rd New York State Girls' 18U Junior championship at the Cavalry Club outside of Syracuse.
Choe, the 2025 NYSPHSAA champion, shot 68-67-69--204 to finish five shots clear of runner-up Sadie Goodman. Choe, Goodman and Maria Glavin all set the women's course record with rounds of 67 during the tournament.
Choe, who tied for third at last months NYSPHSAA tournament, will attend California-Davis in the fall, recorded only four bogeys over three rounds. She carried a three-stroke lead into the final round and then secured the win by hitting 14 of 18 greens in regulation.
Alexandra Phung, Glavin, and Yasmina Oralkhan rounded out the top five. Glavin (Great Neck) tied for eighth at the high school championship. Hayden Knapp of South Glens Falls, the reigning NYSPHSAA champion, placed sixth.
In the boys' 84th New York State Junior Amateur Championship, also at Cavalry Club. Scarsdale's Samuel Gao shot 67-69-69--205 on his way to a three-shot victory.
Gao, who tied for seventh in the NYSPHSAA boys championship last month as a sophomore, was clinging to a one stroke lead over Newburgh Free Academy's Josh Yan when he nearly holed out his approach from 109 yards on the par-4 18th hole. He tapped in for birdie in holding off Yan, the third-place finisher in the high school tournament.
"I'm personally in shock," Gao told the New York State Golf Association after making just three bogeys in 54 holes. "This is really huge. This is my first time being here, and being able to play with the best, and learn from the best and be one of the best is a great experience."
Gao began the final round a shot behind Yan, who's headed to St. John's in the fall after four consecutive Section 9 championships and the 2025 Federation tournament. He took he lead for good with a birdie putt at No. 2.
Rye's Graham Erickson, sixth in the NYSPHSAA tournament, finished third.
Fairport coach's Team USA squad cruising in Turkey
Team USA has cruised into Friday's boys basketball quarterfinals in the U17 FIBA World Cup in Istambul following a 141-85 victory over Cameroon.
The Americans are averaging 128.8 points per contest and outscoring opponents by 50 points per contest through four games under head coach Scott Fitch, the longtime boys coach at Fairport.
Eight Team USA players are averaging double figures in scoring.
St. Joe's appoints baseball coach
Longtime assistant Glenn Toughey has been promoted to head baseball coach at St. Joe's,
The Buffalo News reported.
Toughey took over the program after Paul Nasca abruptly retired during the team's Monsignor Martin Association playoff run this spring. He arrived to his alma mater at St. Joe's in 2011 as an assistant.
"I'm honored for the opportunity to lead the St. Joe's baseball program," he said in a statement. "From the first time I was on campus as a student, I knew how truly remarkable this place is, and I'm excited to prepare our student-athletes to compete with pride and become leaders of character."
Random World Cup thought
We've already seen a couple of overtime ties in the World Cup settled by penalty kicks, and there will almost certainly be more to come before the tournament wraps up.
Winning in penalty kicks brings equal amounts of joy and relief, and losing is devastating because it marks the end of the road. And it's undoubtedly hardest on the losing goalkeeper or the player who misses a decisive kick.
It doesn't have to be that way. Oh, penalty kicks will continue to be a part of the equation in determining who advances. But tie games don't have to end with penalty kicks.
I saw an idea on social media this week -- I regret not noting the source -- that would make sense at all levels, perhaps particularly at the high school level.
What if we inserted the penalty-kick shootout between the end of regulation and the start of overtime?
In this scenario, the winner of the shootout would be considered to be in the advantageous position and would advance if the subsequent extra time doesn't produce an actual winner on the scoreboard.
What makes the format superior to the current rules in that at least one of the two teams would be compelled to go on the attack. The shootout loser can't advance without scoring. If they do so, then the onus falls on the other team to press the action.
That would be the end of overtimes that sometimes end with teams playing it safe (especially in the final minutes) and resigning themselves to settling the game with PKs.
