Leading off today: Rockville Centre South Side seniors Alaina Beyar and Kathleen Starsia are among five New York girls to be selected to the NSCAA/adidas Girls High School All-America Soccer Team.
Beyar, a forward, and Starsia, a defender, helped South Side to its fourth straight NYSPHSAA championship last month and a No. 1 U.S. ranking by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
The other New Yorkers named to the 78-player squad are Pittsford Mendon goalie Jesica Dulski, Oyster Bay midfielder Becky Caplan and Rochester Aquinas forward Ashley Grove. All are seniors.
The honorees will be invited to the NSCAA All-America Luncheon, held Jan. 19 as part of the organization's annual convention in Baltimore, Md.
Gatorade honors a junior: Junior quarterback Matt Barkley of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., has been named the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year. Barkley is the first non-senior to earn the award.
Barkley threw for 3,576 yards and 35 touchdowns, completing 214 of 340 attempts with just nine interceptions in 11 games.
Onondaga running back Latavius Murray was the New York Player of the Year.
Middle blocker Erin Little of Burnt Hills was selected Gatorade's New York Player of the Year in girls volleyball. Winners in the other fall sports have not yet been announced.
New digs at Chaminade: Newsday reported this morning on Chaminade's new Activity-Athletic Center, a $20 million facility that takes the place of the school's "The House of Noise."
"Anybody who knows Chaminade, knows that this has been a long-needed project," the Rev. James C. Williams, the school's president, told the newspaper.
Chaminade bought land for the project in 2004 and broke ground in April 2005. Besides the main gym, large enough for two full-length basketball courts, the center also has a wrestling room, a 270-seat auditorium, and a 160-meter jogging track.
Speaking of facilities . . . A number of school districts asked voters to decide on sports-related spending propositions this week. Here's a rundown of some of the results we found:
- Voters in Greene approved a $36.1 million project that includes installing an artificial-surface athletic field at the high school.
- Voters in Fulton approved a $23.7 million plan that includes improvements to athletic facilities.
