By Chris Wood
Editor in Chief
It’s been an unusual winter for the sports team here at Jamesville-DeWitt High School. For the first time since the 1998-1999 season the Varsity Boys Basketball team failed to win their league title and since the 2006-2007 season that they haven’t won the Section III title. But, with other teams stepping into the spotlight, it was an action-packed winter.
The Christian Brothers Academy/ Jamesville-DeWitt Varsity Boys Hockey team won the New York State Division II Championship for the first in history. After winning the Section III Division II title for the first time in 32 years the team continued their hot streak and advanced all the way to the state championship tournament. The team pulled off a comeback victory over John Jay High School who was 23-1-1 going into the game in the state championship game. Sophomore center and assistant captain Ryan Durkin scored early to give the team a 1-0 lead. But, after two goals in the second period John Jay took a 2-1 lead. Then, the Brothers battled back and sophomore forward Braedon Doust found the net early in the third period and scored the game tying, then minutes later followed it up with another goal, which would end up being the game-winning goal. On their historic run, freshman defender Grayson Burns said, “it was like a cinderella story.”
“We are doing a really nice thing over Spring Break. We are going to try to bring both communities together and use it as an example of good sportsmanship,” said Jamesville-DeWitt High School Athletic Director Mr. John Goodson. Next Friday, April 5, the J-D Varsity Boys Lacrosse team takes on CBA at CBA. But, before the game there will be a J-D/CBA day. “When two rivals can come together and win a state championship, it’s pretty dynamic,” said Mr. Goodson.
For the second year in a row the Jamesville-Dewitt High School Varsity girls basketball team won the Section III Class A title. But, after winning the title, the team was eliminated in the regional semifinals by Troy High School and lost 49-43.
“We would have liked to go farther than that, but we had a pretty good season overall,” said senior captain Kayleigh Cavanaugh. The team’s ultimate goal was to make it to states and win there, but they did have an overall record of 18-4 and won the OHSL Freedom National League and the Section III Class A title. “One of our goals was to go to states, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. So that’s disappointing but winning a sectional title for the second year in a row is really awesome,” said Cavanaugh. “If you’re not following our Girls (Basketball) athletic program, you’re missing out,” said Mr. Goodson.
This winter, all Varsity athletic teams qualified for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Scholar Athlete and Team Awards. In order to achieve this title, a certain number of student-athletes from each team must hold an average of 90 or above during the season. The required number of student-athletes on each team varies based on the size of the team so the exact number is never certain.
With every Varsity team from both the fall and winter seasons qualifying for this award, J-D is on track to win the NYSPHSAA School of Distinction award. If every Varsity team in the spring receives the Scholar Athlete and Team award, then J-D will be in contention for the NYSPHSAA School of Distinction award. In years past, J-D has came very close with only one team not qualifying two years ago and two teams missing the mark last year.