Batavia's Justin Smith and LeRoy's Jean Agosto scrapping for the ball . Photo by Steve Ognibene
Junior forward Justin Smith scored 10 of his team-high 20 points in the fourth quarter and Batavia withstood a 37-point barrage by Le Roy’s Merritt Holly Jr. tonight to advance to the championship game of 42nd annual Batavia Lions Club Pete Arras Memorial Basketball Tournament.
Coach Buddy Brasky’s Blue Devils turned back the Oatkan Knights, 68-62, at Genesee Community College, and now will take on Attica for the Large School bracket crown at 8:15 p.m. Friday at GCC.
Le Roy will face Royalton-Hartland in the consolation game at 3 p.m., also at GCC.
Holly, a 6-foot-6 senior forward, scored 11 points in the first quarter for Le Roy, now 4-2, but Batavia countered with long-range shooting from Cruze Rapone (two three-pointers), Joey Marranco and Carter Mullen (each with a three-point shot) as the teams played to a 20-20 tie.
Three more three-point shots – from Rapone, Marranco and Lovett – sparked the Blue Devils to a 15-9 edge in the second quarter as they held Holly to two points.
Batavia outscored the Knights, 13-12, in the third quarter, with Rapone and Mullen connecting from beyond the arc to offset Holly’s 10 points.
Holly scored 13 of Le Roy’s 21 points in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t enough as Smith came through with four shots from the field and a couple free throws and Mullen and Mazur sank foul shots down the stretch to keep Le Roy at arm's length.
Mullen and Rapone tallied 14 and 12 points, respectively, for Batavia, now 3-3, while Adam Woodworth scored 10 points and Jean Agosto eight for Le Roy. Holly grabbed 13 rebounds to go with his 37 points.
BATAVIA LIONS CLUB BOYS’ BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT GENESEE COMMUNITY COLLEGE VARSITY WEDNESDAY, DEC. 27 Large School Bracket Attica 67, Roy-Hart 55 Batavia 68, Le Roy 62 Small School Bracket Alexander 52, Oakfield-Alabama 35 Notre Dame 63, Elba 31 FRIDAY, DEC. 29 3 p.m. -- Large School consolation game – Roy-Hart vs. Le Roy 4:45 p.m. -- Small School consolation game – Elba vs. Oakfield-Alabama 6:30 p.m. -- Small School championship game – Alexander vs. Notre Dame 8:15 p.m. -- Large School championship game – Attica vs. Batavia -------------------- JUNIOR VARSITY FRIDAY, DEC. 29 1:30 p.m. -- Small School championship game -- Alexander at Notre Dame 1:30 p.m. -- Large School championship game -- Attica at Batavia
Carter Mullen driving to the hoop for two points. Photo by Steve Ognibene
LeRoy's #30 Merritt Holly scored 37 points for the Knights. Photo by Steve Ognibene
LeRoy #2 Tommy Condidorio going to the paint. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia boxing out LeRoy, looking for the rebound. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Cruze Rapone prepares a pass towards the hoop. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Senior forward Cole Harding lets one fly in the Attica Blue Devils' victory over Royalton-Hartland this afternoon at the Batavia Lions Club Large School bracket boys' basketball tournament at Genesee Community College. Photos by Brennan Bezon.
Updated at 9:45 p.m. with Batavia versus Le Roy score.
The Attica Blue Devils advanced to the championship game of the Large School division of the 42nd annual Batavia Lions Club Pete Arras Memorial Basketball Tournament this afternoon with a 67-55 victory over Royalton-Hartland.
Coach Rob Crowley’s team, playing the first of four opening round games at Genesee Community College, raised its record to 6-1 and now will take on Batavia, which defeated Le Roy, 68-62, in the last game of the night.
Senior forward Cole Harding scored 22 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and dished out six assists to lead Attica, which also got 18 points and 10 rebounds form senior guard-forward Jack Janes and 16 points and 12 rebounds from senior center Clayton Bezon.
Junior guard Carter Gorski chipped in with seven points for seven points.
Attica raced out to a 10-0 advantage, but Roy-Hart battled back to tie the score at the end of the first quarter. Balanced scoring pushed the winners up by 10 at the half, 36-26, and the lead ballooned to 19 in the third quarter.
“The boys played hard this afternoon and moved the ball very well,” Attica Coach Rob Crowley said. “We sort of battled ourselves at certain points in the game, making things difficult on ourselves, but found a way to stick together and get the victory.”
For Roy-Hart, Dan Aquilina scored 21, Rem Albee 18 and Brayden Ricker 10. The Rams will play in the consolation game against Le Roy at 3 p.m. Friday at GCC.
Markyell Walker drives in for an uncontested layup during Notre Dame's 63-31 win over Elba in the Batavia Lions Club boys' basketball Small School bracket tournament tonight at Genesee Community College. Photos by Deb Reilly.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish had little problem extending its unbeaten season tonight as they rolled past Elba, 63-31, in the opening round of the 42nd annual Batavia Lions Club Pete Arras Memorial Basketball Tournament at Genesee Community College,
Coach Mikey Rapone’s team, now 6-0, advanced to the Small School bracket championship game against Alexander, which is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday at GCC.
Elba will face Oakfield-Alabama in the consolation game at 4:45 p.m.
Senior guard-forward Jaden Sherwood led a balanced attack with 19 points while junior guard Makyell Walker added 12 and senior guard-forward Ryan Fitzpatrick chipped in with 10.
The Irish jumped out to a 19-6 first quarter lead and never looked back, hitting 10 three-point shots for the game.
Ryan Marsceill and Ashton Bezon tallied nine and eight points, respectively, for the Lancers.
Photos by Deb Reilly.
Elba's Ashton Bezon grabs a rebound in front of ND's Jaden Sherwood.
Jay Antinore shoots for ND after getting past Elba's Nick Scott.
Alexander's Dylan Pohl goes up for two of his 16 points in the Trojans' victory over Oakfield-Alabama. Photos by Deb Reilly,
Alexander coasted past Oakfield-Alabama, 52-35, at Genesee Community College tonight and into the finals of the 42nd annual Batavia Lions Club Pete Arras Memorial Basketball Tournament’s Small School bracket.
The Trojans, 5-2, will face Notre Dame at 6:30 p.m. Friday for the championship. ND defeated Elba in the other Small School game.
Junior Dylan Pohl scored seven of his 16 points in the first quarter as Alexander raced out to an 18-2 lead. Senior Trenton Woods tallied eight of his 16 in the second half for the Trojans.
Six other players scored for Coach Jalen Smith's squad, while Avery Watterson led O-A with 16 points.
The Hornets will square off against Elba in the consolation game at 4:45 p.m. Friday.
Photos by Deb Reilly.
Senior guard Trenton Woods looks for a teammate as O-A's Jack Cianfrini' defends. Woods scored 16 points in the victory.
Oakfield-Alabama's Avery Watterson attracts three defenders. Watterson paced the Hornets with 16.
Gavin Armbrewster dribbles past Woods for the Hornets.
The 42nd annual Batavia Lions Club Pete Arras Memorial Basketball Tournament is scheduled for Wednesday and Friday, with varsity games at Genesee Community College and junior varsity games at Batavia High and Notre Dame High.
Batavia, Attica, Royalton-Hartland and Le Roy are in the Large School bracket and Notre Dame, Oakfield-Alabama, Alexander and Elba are in the Small School bracket.
The tournament schedule is as follows:
VARSITY AT GCC WEDNESDAY, DEC. 27 Roy-Hart vs. Attica, 3 p.m. Alexander vs. Oakfield-Alabama, 4:45 p.m. Elba vs. Notre Dame, 6:30 p.m. Le Roy vs. Batavia, 8:15 p.m.
FRIDAY, DEC. 29 Large School consolation game, 3 p.m. Small School consolation game, 4:45 p.m. Small School championship game, 6:30 p.m. Large School championship game, 8:15 p.m.
JUNIOR VARSITY WEDNESDAY, DEC. 27 Roy-Hart vs. Attica at Batavia High, noon Alexander vs. O-A at Notre Dame High, noon Elba vs. ND at Notre Dame High, 1:30 p.m. Le Roy vs. Batavia at Batavia High, 1:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, DEC. 29 Large School consolation game at Batavia High, noon Small School consolation game at Notre Dame High, noon Small School championship game at Notre Dame High, 1:30 p.m. Large School championship game at Batavia High, 1:30 p.m.
Jim Urtel of Batavia has a life-changing Christmas wish: a kidney transplant. He has connected with the Kidneys for Communities organization in an effort to see that wish come true. At right is his partner, Renee Hozlock. Photo by Mike Pettinella
After eight years on dialysis and currently living with a deteriorating transplanted kidney, Batavia resident Jim Urtel Jr. is reaching out to a charitable organization that has taken a page from the “it takes a village” model.
Urtel, 54, a Le Roy High School graduate and longtime trainer/groom of racehorses, needs a second kidney transplant – this time from a live donor.
In an effort to speed up the process, he has connected with Kidneys for Communities, a nonprofit that is dedicated to increasing the pool of living kidney donors in the United States.
“I found out about Kidneys for Communities last June from an old friend, her name was Pam, that I met back in 2020, when I got the first transplant,” Urtel said on Friday. “I just started looking online to see if I could find any help or something. Thankfully, this (organization) helps people like me who need a kidney from a live donor.”
Urtel, encouraged by his parents and by his partner of 30 years, Renee Hozlock, is doing the things he needs to do – exercising regularly (he’s dropped 50 pounds), counting his calories, drinking plenty of bottled water and maintaining a positive attitude – as he waits for a donor.
Prior to 2012, Urtel was busy in the harness horse racing industry, mostly in Pennsylvania. An only child, he came back to Batavia to be there for his mom after his grandmother became ill.
“I was getting ready to work for a guy at the track here in Batavia and I had been a little bit sick for about a week or so. When I laid down at night, I had trouble breathing,” he recalled. “So, I decided to go to the emergency room and get checked out. I thought I had pneumonia or maybe bad bronchitis.”
After testing, he was told that his blood pressure “was through the ceiling,” he said, and that his kidneys had shut down.
“I had untreated sleep apnea and that was raising the blood pressure,” he said.
It was then that he started on dialysis and that lasted for eight years before he received a transplant in 2020 from a deceased donor. As it turned out, there were problems with the transplanted kidney.
“The first year was rough. I had tons of extra fluid. They couldn’t regulate the blood pressure and I gained 50 pounds,” Urtel said. “Little did I know, this kidney was bad, they didn’t tell me that. I think it was a little bit of a little story to keep me going.”
Tested recently, it was determined that his kidney failure risk factor was at a high level, once again making him eligible for a transplant.
“This time, it's going to have to be a live donor because I already did eight years of dialysis and the average lifespan on dialysis is seven,” he said. “That’s why I’m working with Kidneys for Communities. They have pairing programs and other ways to find matches.”
While Renee said she was willing to donate one of her kidneys, she’s not a match.
The chief executive officer for Kidney for Communities said he can relate to Urtel’s plight.
“First of all, I'm a kidney recipient myself,” Atul Agnihotri said by telephone on Friday. “So, I sort of know what Jim's going through and that’s the foundation of how we started this organization. I felt that I got lucky when I received my kidney, and a lot of people in the same journey with me were not as lucky.”
Agnihotri said his organization focuses on sharing patients’ stories in their own communities to maximize their chances of receiving transplants.
“We know that within the community is where the affinity, the relationships and identification is the strongest,” he said. “And members are willing to help other members. A community could be that you are living in a smaller city were people have this binding relationship with each other, or you could be going to the same church.”
Kidneys for Communities does not charge a fee to donors, recipients or transplant centers, Agnihotri said.
“We collect our own funds. All our funders currently are people that are associated with kidney disease, either their themselves as recipients, family members of the recipients or their donors,” he explained.
“If you look at our organization, we have an incredible list of people that are associated with it. A lot of those people are altruistic donors, meaning that they just kind of like walked in and said, whoever needs a kidney, I'm willing to give one.”
And that’s just the type of person that Jim Urtel is hoping to find.
Brian Cline recorded the third-highest series in Genesee Region USBC history on Monday night, posting 857 in the Mancuso Real Estate League at Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia.
The 45-year-old left-hander, who has around four dozen 800 series to his credit, rolled games of 299-300-258 on lanes 7-8.
The Middleport resident left a 3-pin on the last ball for 299 in the opening game, which saw his teammate Paul Bacon register a 269 game.
He followed that with the perfect game, and then added eight more strikes in the last game. He had a shot for 280 in the third game but left a 7-pin on the first ball in the 10th frame.
The 857 trails only an 858 rolled by Cline in January of 2018 at Mancuso's, and fellow lefty Rich Wagner's 899 in February 2011 at Mancuso's.
Cline's best three-game series is an 868 at Transit Lanes in Buffalo in November 2013.
In other league play:
-- Robbie Hanks and Jeff Shawver each rolled 300 games in the Sneezy's Monday Night League at Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion. Hanks finished with 721 and Shawver shot 686. It was the first United States Bowling Congress-certified for Shawver.
-- Justin Thering rolled a 300 game in a 640 series in the Wednesday Community League at Medina Lanes. The 29-year-old right-hander upped his average to 218 with his second USBC-certified perfect game. His first came in Lockport in 2021 en route to an 816 series.
The Notre Dame varsity girls’ basketball team raised its record to 3-2 on Friday with a 53-27 win over visiting Lyndonville in Genesee Region League action.
Nina Bartz scored 14 points and Sofia Falleti contributed 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Luci Zambito and Emma Fitch each chipped in with nine points for the Lady Irish.
Ashley Stephens scored 11 points for Lyndonville.
ND Coach Vin Falleti: “We came out tonight and took a solid lead in the first quarter and never looked back. We played tremendous defense, which led to (numerous) offensive opportunities.”
With those words, or something to that effect, Scott Woodward accepted his father’s advice and took a shot at qualifying for the U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program at SUNY Brockport.
“When I went to college, I competed for one of the two-year ROTC scholarships between my sophomore and junior year,” said Woodward, (photo at right), a 1989 graduate of Batavia High School. “I was interested in ROTC, but it was never pushed on me.
“My dad asked me to give it a shot and see if you like it or not. I ended up getting the scholarship and, from there, it just kind of came naturally to me, and I did pretty well at it.”
“Pretty well” is quite the understatement.
Today, Woodward is five months away from a 30-year career in the Army and has progressed through the ranks to earn the title as Brig. Gen. Scott C. Woodward – making his parents, Tim and Maria, his family and his hometown proud.
PROMOTED TO BRIGADIER GENERAL ON DEC. 7
Woodward was promoted from colonel to brigadier general by the U.S. Army Chief of Staff on Dec. 7 at a ceremony in McLean, Va. His promotion was delayed for several months due to a confirmation hold by Sen. Tommy Tuberville.
The 52-year-old Batavia native, who now serves as the Deputy Commanding General-Training at the Army’s Combined Arms Center in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., said he sometimes has to pinch himself to make sure it’s not a dream.
“It’s weird,” he said during a phone interview with The Batavian earlier this week. “I had to catch myself because I’m still trying to say ‘Colonel’ sometimes (when talking about himself) because I was a Colonel for seven years.”
For an officer to reach such an elite level, it takes a combination of service and leading others, said Woodward, who was commissioned as a second lieutenant after completing the ROTC program.
FOUR DEPLOYMENTS IN IRAQ
Woodward has all of that, and more, on a resume that includes four deployments in Iraq during Operations Iraqi Freedom and Inherent Resolve, along with deployments in Bosnia-Herzegovina for Operation Joint Forge and Kuwait for Operation Desert Spring.
“It was March 2003, as a captain during OIF, when I was experienced combat,” Woodward said. “I went over there as a troop commander during the ground war – the initial invasion, we went all the way from Kuwait to Baghdad.”
He took on a different role during Inherent Resolve in 2014 after being promoted to lieutenant colonel.
“I was a G3 (operations officer) for the First Infantry Division … right when the whole ISIS thing really kicked off,” he noted.
TAKING ON LEADERSHIP ROLES
Woodward has excelled at various posts in the states, as well, including:
-- The Armor Colonels assignment officer, Senior Leader Development, Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army, Washington DC.
-- Operations Officer, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.
-- Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff G3/5/7, HQDA, Washington DC.
-- Executive Officer to the Commanding General of US Army Training and Doctrine Command, Fort Eustis, Va.
He is a graduate of Armor Officer basic course, Aviation Officer advanced course, the Command and General Staff College, and the US Army War College, where he earned a master’s degree in strategic studies from the Army War College.
Woodward said that being a commander is vital to moving up the ladder in the Army, and he was fortunate to be selected to lead men and women every step of the way, as a captain of a tank company and reconnaissance troop in Fort Stewart, Ga., as a lieutenant colonel of a cavalry squadron at Fort Riley, Kan., as a colonel of a cavalry regiment at Fort Irwin, Calif.
'RIGHT PERSON FOR THE JOB'
Last August, Woodward was named the new Combined Arms Center-Training Deputy Commander during a ceremony in Fort Leavenworth.
The previous Commanding General Lt. Gen. Theodore Martin (photo at left) said Woodward was the right person for the job, which oversees around 1,400 enlisted men and women and civilians.
According to an Army public relations’ article, Martin pointed out that he had served with Woodward at the Training and Doctrine Command.
“I’ve seen what this officer can do,” Martin said. “I saw what he did in the Mojave Desert leading the Blackhorse (11th U.S. Cavalry) Regiment and I have nothing but high hopes and great expectations for what you will do for CAC Training.”
Woodward said he calls Kansas home, having met his wife, Judy, there in 2006, and having been stationed there five times. One of his two daughters graduated from the University of Kansas.
Speaking about his new job, he said, “Essentially, I manage the training enterprise for the entire Army; all the training aids, training devices, simulators, simulations, ranges, the constructive simulations that we run for our corps and divisions.”
It’s a high-level management position with a $2.3 billion portfolio every year, he added.
WORKING WITH 'THE BEST' PEOPLE
For someone who thought he would give the Army four years and move on, Woodward said his motivation to serve is as strong as ever.
“I would say that the thing that keeps me in the Army -- the thing that keeps me motivated -- is the people,” he offered. “I’m serving with the best people in the world. And I think the job we do on a daily basis is worth it to me and to the people I serve with and what we do for the American public, I believe in it.
“And that's what keeps me motivated and staying in. I still think I'm making a difference in people's lives. And I still feel like I can contribute.”
Woodward was quick to add that he’s “proud” to be from Western New York and from Batavia.
His Batavia family is well known, with his parents, Tim and Maria (Gilmartin), and brother, T.J., having owned and operated Gilmartin Funeral Home for many years. His sister, Michelle, now resides in Atlanta.
STAYING LOYAL TO THE BUFFALO BILLS
Military service is not foreign to the Woodwards and Gilmartins as Tim served in the New York Army National Guard and his late brother, Mike, was in the Navy. Both grandfathers, the late Earl Woodward and Darwin Gilmartin, served in the Navy during World War II.
Woodward has two grown daughters, Savannah, who lives in Newport News, Va., and Sydney, who resides in Charlottesville, Va.
Although he hasn’t been in Western New York for quite some time, his love for the Buffalo Bills hasn’t waned.
“The Bills played out here a couple weeks ago against the Chiefs and I went to the game with a Bills’ jersey on,” he said excitedly, talking about Buffalo’s thrilling 20-17 victory. “I’m still and always will be a Bills fan.”
Combined Arms Center-Training Deputy Commanding General Brig. Gen. Scott Woodward speaks to Soldiers from CAC-T headquarters and subordinate organizations after he and CAC-T Senior Enlisted Advisor Sgt. Maj. Chris Kohunsky led the Soldiers on a group run Dec. 15 at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Photos courtesy of Tisha Swart-Entwistle, Combined Arms Center-Training Public Affairs.
Byron-Bergen's Braedyn Chambry splits the Kendall defense for two points in the Bees' 71-46 win Thursday night. Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro.
The Byron-Bergen Bees improved to 7-1 on Thursday night by rolling past host Kendall, 71-46, in Genesee Region League varsity boys’ basketball.
Senior forward-center Braedyn Chambry poured in 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the way for Coach Roxanne Noeth’s squad.
Senior guard-forward Brody Baubie tallied 19 points and senior guard Colin Martin chipped in with 10 points eight steals and three assists.
For Kendall, 2-4, Louis Conte had 12 points and five rebounds.
In other boys’ basketball action:
-- Host Notre Dame withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally by Wheatland-Chili in a 63-62 victory.
Leighton Williams scored 34 points for W-C, including a three-pointer to give the Wildcats a one-point lead in the final minute. Mavrik Hall responded for the Irish, however, and ND thwarted W-C’s final possession to improve to 4-0.
Jaden Sherwood led the Irish with 23 points and eight rebounds while Jay Antinore scored 13 and Hall tallied eight points and 10 rebounds.
In girls’ basketball:
-- Le Roy, 5-3, defeated Greece Athena/Odyssey, 55-49, behind Abby Allen’s 16 points and six assists; Gabby Zitz’s 10 points and 14 rebounds, and Kenna MacKenzie’s 10 points and six rebounds.
-- Pembroke downed Holley, 61-37, to raise its record to 6-2. Elle Peterson scored 22 points – hitting six three-pointers – to lead the visiting Dragons.Jayden Hootman had 13 points, Seneca Calderon 12 and Morgan Coniber grabbed 10 rebounds while blocking six shots.
-- Eastridge topped Batavia, 52-37, behind Liv Green’s 22 points. Batavia, 4-3, got 11 points and 14 rebounds from Jamin Macdonald and 10 points, six rebounds and five steals from Isabella Walsh.
B-B's Colin Martin goes up against Kendall's Jacek Kwiatkowski.
William Kludt of Kendall looks for a driving lane.
Cody Carlson grabs a rebound for the Bees between Kwiatkowski (33) and Noah Clark.
The Byron-Bergen Bees, behind a balanced attack, turned back Oakfield-Alabama, 65-48, on Wednesday night in a Genesee Region boys’ basketball contest at O-A.
Six players got into the scoring column in the opening half as the visitors jumped out to a 32-15 advantage.
In the second half, Braedyn Chambry scored 14 of his game-high 20 points to keep B-B comfortably on top.
Brandon Pimm and Colin Martin tallied 11 apiece and Brody Baubie added 10 and Craig DiQuattro six for the winners. For the Hornets, Brendan Wescott and Avery Watterson scored 17 and 13, respectively.
Elba defeated host Notre Dame, 49-44, in Genesee Region girls’ basketball action Wednesday night.
Sofia Falleti recorded a double-double for the Irish, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Nina Bartz added 12 for ND.
ND Coach Vinny Falleti:
“Our team played hard tonight and made runs to come back but couldn’t put together a complete game against a physical Elba team. The game was back and forth with a lot of intensity. We will see each other again late in the season.”
Statistics from Elba have yet to be submitted.
For more high school sports competition from last night, click on the Sports tab at the top of the home page.
Sparked by Tyson Totten’s 25 points, Pembroke defeated host Akron, 50-47, on Wednesday night in the championship game of the Jack & Joyce Silvernail Holiday Classic boys’ basketball tournament.
Totten tallied 22 of his points in the second half to earn most valuable player honors. He also added six assists.
He was joined on the all-tournament team by fellow senior Avery Ferreira, who had eight points. Jayden Bridge chipped in with seven points and seven rebounds for the Dragons,
“We played solid on the defensive end … and needed to be good on that end because we struggled offensively in the first half,” Coach Matt Shay said. “And Tyson and Avery came alive though in the second half.
“I was very pleased with how the team handled adversity and especially with how my seniors stepped up.”
In other high school action last night:
-- Host Pittsford Mendon rode the outside shooting of Amari Coleman and Cayden Rathnam to a 66-46 boys’ basketball victory over Batavia.
Coleman connected for five three-point shots and Rathnam had four for Mendon, which led 31-23 at half and 50-37 after three quarters.
Justin Smith and Carter Mullen each scored 11 points for the Blue Devils.
-- Avon held Le Roy without a basket for the first six minutes of the fourth quarter and went on to a 42-34 win at Avon.
It was the first loss of the season for Le Roy, which trailed by just 31-29 entering the final period.
Merritt Holly Jr. led the Knights with 13 points while Matthew Hockey had nine points. Michael Rowland led Avon with 17 points.
Isabella Walsh goes up for two points. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Alivia Day scored 23 points, including five three-point shots, to lead host Rush-Henrietta to a 56-33 victory over Batavia in Section V varsity girls’ basketball action Tuesday night.
The senior guard tallied 15 points after intermission as R-H, now 2-2, pulled away after opening a nine-point halftime lead. Senior guard/forward Ashlyn Roberts added 13 points.
For Batavia, 4-2, Isabella Walsh scored 11 points, grabbed four rebounds, recorded three assists and came up with five steals. Violet Lopez chipped in with 11 points.
In boys’ basketball at Akron, Pembroke defeated Alden, 67-61, in the Jack & Joyce Silvernail Holiday Classic.
Tyson Totten led the way with 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Avery Ferreira added 17 points and eight rebounds, Jayden Bridge 11 points and Sean Pustulka nine points and five assists.
In a game that was closer than the final score indicated, host Batavia High fell to Vertus Charter, 59-39, in Section V boys' varsity basketball Monday night.
The Blue Devils held a 37-35 lead after three quarters, but a couple of charge/blocking foul calls that went the visitors' way set the stage for a 24-2 final period for the Warriors, now 3-2.
Talhah Ali scored seven of his game-high 20 points in the final frame, while Reggie Pough had eight of his 14 and Dah'mere Brown six of his 14 in the closing eight minutes.
For Batavia, 2-2, junior guard Carter Mullen tallied 11 points.
Calling it “a good market that just needs some work,” Robbie Nichols is ready to perform his baseball magic in Niagara Falls.
Nichols, owner of Can-USA Sports along with his wife, Nellie, (photo above) confirmed today that his organization has purchased the Niagara Falls Americans’ franchise of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League and has signed on to manage Sal Maglie Stadium, the team’s home ballpark.
Can-USA Sports also owns the Elmira Pioneers and the Batavia Muckdogs, both members of the PGCBL. Nichols, General Manager Marc Witt and their staff have been credited for rejuvenating baseball in Batavia.
“Niagara Falls, I believe, is a good market that just needs some work,” Nichols said. “The gentleman that owned the team last year wasn’t returning and I think our league needs a team there.”
Last year, the team was called the Niagara Power and competed in the PGCBL’s West Division along with Batavia, Elmira, Jamestown, Auburn, Newark and Geneva.
Nichols said Niagara Falls’ leaders have committed more than $2 million for repairs of Sal Maglie Stadium.
“They put in a new turf field. It will be a very good-looking ballpark,” he noted, adding that Michael Gabriele, a former Niagara University baseball player, will be the club’s manager. He said the team already is signing players for the 2024 season.
City and state politicians reportedly are enthusiastic about the team’s prospects with Can-USA Sports on board.
“We are really excited to introduce them to the city of Niagara Falls and the Sal Maglie Stadium,” Mayor Rob Restaino told WIVB-TV.
State Sen. Rob Ortt echoed his sentiments, telling the television station that the Nichols team “chose Niagara Falls because of the stadium, because of the history, because they believe in Niagara Falls.”
“And hopefully that will inspire and tell a lot of other people here that we too should believe in Niagara Falls.”
Nichols announced that Niagara County Community College and D’Youville University baseball teams will play their home games at Sal Maglie Stadium next year. He said he plans to book many other events there, just as he does with Dwyer Stadium in Batavia.
When asked if he was stretching himself too thin – having to juggle the activities of three franchises, Nichols said he will continue to be “stationed” in Batavia once the season starts but will rotate among the three.
“I’ll probably be at 65 baseball games, working, so it will be a busy summer,” he said. “Nellie and I are excited about the new opportunity. It’s a market that needs work, but we’re not afraid of a little work.”
Nichols admitted he’s taking a financial risk as the Niagara Falls team did not attract many fans last year,
“Definitely, it’s a risk because it’s no Batavia. They weren’t drawing the crowds that we were drawing last year,” he said. “Everything’s a risk, but our staff – and how hard we work – I’m confident that we can turn Niagara Falls around.”
File photo: Robbie and Nellie Nichols by Jim Burns.
Chris Bailey of Batavia rolled a flurry of strikes in Genesee Region USBC league action this week, posting a 785 series in the Brighton Securities Tuesday Triples League at Mancuso Bowling Center.
The 42-year-old right-hander recorded games of 239, 279 and 267 on lanes 1-2 for his personal best series ever. He had 11 strikes in the second game and nine more in the third game to raise his average to 210.
Left-hander Nick Johnson popped a 269 game en route to a 740 series on lanes 3-4, raising his average to 224.
Other high scores for the week:
-- Geoff Harloff of Batavia rolled 745 and 758 on consecutive nights in the Toyota of Batavia 4-Man and the County Line Stone Friday Trios leagues at Mancuso's. Batavian Scott Shields led the way on Friday with a 767 series, while Haley Luce of Oakfield posted a 235 game and 649 series in that league.
-- At Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen, Kevin Gray Sr. spun 278--740 and Kevin Gray Jr. had 277--717 in the Thursday Owls League.
GRUSBC YOUTH DOUBLES WINNERS
Teams from Perry Bowling Center and StrikeForce Lanes in Oakfield placed first in the Genesee Region USBC Youth Doubles Tournament on Dec. 9-10 at StrikeForce Lanes.
In Division A (250 combined average and above), Mason Herman and Hunter Clark of Perry led the list of 11 teams with a 1,414 total with handicap. The boys each will earn $100 scholarships and a trophy.
In Division B (249 and under), Jameson Liles and Lukas Leddick of Oakfield led the way with 1,264 with handicap. They, too, will earn $100 scholarships and trophies. Eight teams competed in that division.
The top-ranking official of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. says many factors will be taken into consideration in the coming weeks to determine the future of the public benefit company’s OTB branches.
Meanwhile, the representative of the employees’ union is reiterating her insistence that the workers at those eight locations are included in the process.
With only two of the branches projected to show a profit for 2024, management and the board of directors will be taking a deep dive into that segment of WROTB’s organization soon after the first of the year, President/Chief Executive Officer Henry Wojtaszek said on Friday.
“It’s definitely a concern, and it’s something that the board has asked us to address,” he said. “We will address it with our employees, we will look at it and we will make decisions that are in the best interests of the company as to what the mix might be between branches and EZ Bet locations.”
As she did after a WROTB board meeting in August, Antonella Rotilio, labor relations rep for United Public Service Employees Union Local 1222, contends that no decisions should be made without the input of the branch employees.
"Right now, we're in the dark,” she said, also on Friday. “There have been no conversations about saving the branches. We know that Henry’s goal is to close the branches. All we’re looking for is some transparency and to be part of the conversation before they take action and go to the board to approve what they’ve done.”
Rotilio (photo at left) said she believes that management nor the board respects the union.
“We have employees who have been with the corporation for 30 years and they should not be reading anything in print about possibly losing their jobs. It should be a discussion at the very least with the union,” she said.
When asked about respect for the employees, Wojtaszek replied that he has “great respect for our employees; they do a great job. We've tried to reward them for the great year that they've had (with a 4 ½ percent raise for 2024). We love the way they treat our customers. We love our employees.”
When asked about respect for the union, he said, “We love our employees.”
Over the years, WROTB, headquartered at Batavia Downs Gaming on Park Road, has whittled down the number of branches to the current eight while increasing its EZ Bet location presence to 28. EZ Bets are employee-less sites at existing businesses where customers can wager on horse racing.
Rotilio said the branches employ about 40 people, many who have been on the job for quite some time, in Auburn, Jamestown, Rochester, Monroe County (two), Erie County (two), Niagara County and at Batavia Downs Gaming.
The corporation’s operating plan for next year lists only the Clinton branch in Erie County and the Lyell branch in Rochester as profitable. All told, the projected net loss for the branches is close to $300,000. The total handle for all the branches is projected to exceed $22 million.
Rotilio said the branches provide a vital service to the customers and host communities and believes that more effort should be put into promoting them.
“They (management) don’t come to us and say, ‘Hey, this branch has been underperforming for this amount of time or this many years, we need to work on a plan. It’s just they show up one day and say, ‘We're closing the branch.’ So, it's coming out of nowhere,” she said.
In October, the board voted in favor of the sale of OTB branches in Phoenix, Oswego County, and West Ridge Road, Monroe County.
Branch employees’ lives are in limbo, fearing that their jobs could be terminated at a moment’s notice, Rotilio added.
“I have said to board members that before you vote on a decision based on (financial) numbers that you’re seeing, you need to meet with us, talk to the members (union employees) because it affects the communities as well,” she said. “We hear from the customers, telling us that this has been part of their lives for a long time.”
Wojtaszek said the plan is to communicate with the employees and share their concerns with the board.
“In the end, the board will do what is best for the company,” he said, emphasizing that no one in the corporation has brought up eliminating all of the branches.
He noted that he would like to see legislation at the state level that would allow sports betting to take place at OTB branches.
“We've always talked about that. If sports betting was allowed in these OTB branches, that certainly will make a difference,” he said. “Part of the problem is they made it available so that some of these sports betting companies can take horse bets but not the reverse. FanDuel now has horse race betting on their website, but we can’t offer sports betting.”
A raise for all Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. employees, a plan to expand The Hotel at Batavia Downs and an application to add more terminals to the gaming floor.
Those items and the passage of about 65 resolutions that had been in the hopper for up to three months gave WROTB directors plenty of activity at this morning’s board meeting at Batavia Downs Gaming on Park Road.
Directors voted in favor of a resolution granting all employees of the public benefit company a 4 ½ percent raise, effective Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2024.
“The organization is only as good as the people who support the organization,” said Temporary Chair Dennis Bassett (City of Rochester). “… It a step in the right direction for us as a board.”
The pay increase extends to all employees, union and non-union, including senior management, who were given a three-year contract last spring.
WROTB President/Chief Executive Officer Henry Wojtaszek said the (United Professional & Service Employees) Union signed a contract “that gives those workers the same raise as the entire corporation.”
“In the old days, they had a separate clause in there where they would have a raise depending upon what they negotiated that year,” he said. “But the latest contract that they signed, they get the same as every other employee at WROTB.”
The resolutions stated that Batavia Downs Gaming’s net win (money left in the gaming machines after payouts to customers) rose by $7.2 million from 2022 to 2023 and attendance increased by more than 58,000 during that same period. Additionally, food and beverage, and hotel room sales increased by 14 percent.
Update: Antonella Rotilio, UPSEU labor relations representative, said that the union is "very pleased that the board acknowledges the success of the corporation because of the members and the employees. Those are big steps."
HOTEL FEASIBILITY STUDY APPROVED
The board passed two resolutions pertaining to The Hotel at Batavia Downs – one to extend its contract with Hart Hotel Inc. to manage the 84-room facility for three more years at a cost not to exceed $9,000 per month and the other to authorize spending up to $100,000 for a feasibility study to determine if expansion is warranted.
Wojtaszek said that Dave Hart, owner of Hart Hotel Inc., will “take the lead on looking for an architect to do the drawing and for a company to study how an expansion would affect our business.”
He said the board will not make a decision until the feasibility study is complete and submitted for review. He said adding 40 rooms has been talked about but “nothing is definite at this point.”
MORE GAMES ON THE FLOOR?
Vice President/Operations Sean Schiano has applied to the New York State Gaming Commission for the right to add 18 more Video Lottery Terminals to the gaming floor.
Wojtaszek said the addition of 18 games would max out the floor, increasing the total number to 928.
“After that (approval) we probably will not have much more room to expand on the current floor, so we’d have to take a different approach,” he said. “But those 18 will fit on our current makeup.”
In other action, the board voted to approve the 2024 Operating Plan that was submitted by Chief Financial Officer Jacquelyne Leach and her staff.
