WArriors BeAT C-ns, eArn seCTionAl TiTle

By PHil BlACkWell

In order to end its 16-year quest for a Section III Class AA championship, the Liverpool girls basketball had to, at the last hurdle, conquer the rival largely responsible for that long wait.

And though it was far from easy, the Warriors pulled it off last Saturday night at SRC Arena, defeating Cicero-North Syracuse 57-50 to earn the sectional title, the program’s first since 2007.

“It’s special for the program,” said head coach Mike Wheeler. “(C-NS) was a great team and they pushed us, but we held it together and held strong.”

No less than 10 times in the 14 sectional tournaments held since 2008, the Northstars had finished on top in the section, often going through Liverpool on the way to those crowns.

Now, facing a C-NS side bent on turning around two regular-season defeats, Liverpool needed special performances by sophomore guard A’briyah Cunningham and senior forward Jakeira Stackhouse to claim the title they believed they were destined for right from the start of the season. Again coming off the bench, Cunningham led all scorers with 20 points, but also starred on defense, grabbing six steals and adding six rebounds as she keyed the Warriors’ mid-game defensive turnaround.

“A’briyah played phenomenal,” said senior forward Neveah Wingate, and Wheeler agreed.

“She did big things for us, staying active and getting in the passing lanes,” the

PHil blaCKWell

The Liverpool girls basketball team earned its first Section III Class AA championship since 2007 when it defeated Cicero-north syracuse 57-50 last saturday night at srC Arena.

coach said.

Stackhouse took charge of Liverpool’s offense early when Wingate picked up two early fouls, netting eight of her team’s first 10 points. She would finish with 10 points but also picked up a team-high 13 rebounds and added a block.

Having already upended top seed Auburn in the semifinals, C-NS built a 21-15 lead midway through the second quarter when the Warriors, anchored by Cunningham, picked up mid-court pressure, leading to a long string of tipped passes and turnovers, that, scattered through the rest of the game, interrupted the rhythm the Northstars wanted.

It translated into a charge late in the half to lead 25-23 at the break and then an 11-2 run in the third quarter to build a 39-30 edge as, at one point, the Northstars went more than four minutes without a field goal.

Led by Kat McRobbie (18 points), Olivia Cook (12 points) and Maddy Howell (17 rebounds to go with her eight points), C-NS staged its own comeback, pulling within two, 45-43, with less than three minutes to play.

But after a pair of Wingate free throws, Cunningham provided a cushion with a foul shot and then a coast-to-coast drive to the basket for a layup with 2:17 left that made it 50-43.

Though a McRobbie 3-pointer cut the margin to four, 52-48, with a minute left, Liverpool, who had struggled all season with free throws, saw Cunningham and Gianna Washington go four-for-four at the line to seal it.

Now that the sectional title drought had ended, Liverpool could turn its attention to a possible state tournament run, as it will again be at SRC Arena this Saturday at 11 a.m. for the AA regional final against Section II champion Albany.

Hal Henty Go uP AnD soAr: liverpool sophomore guard A’briyah Cunningham (1) would star in the Warriors’ 57-50 victory over Ciceronorth syracuse in the section iii Class AA final, leading all scorers with 20 points while adding six rebounds and six steals.

These teams met late in December and Albany won then, 79-63. The Warriors hope it can turn that around to earn a berth in the March 17-18 state final four at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.

By PHil BlACkWell

Already a holder of two state indoor track championships from 2022, Cicero-North Syracuse senior Kate Putman went after more last Saturday in the 2023 edition of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association meet.

Defending her 1,500-meter state title, Putman, who was the top qualifier at four minutes, 26.02 seconds, would put up one of the best times at that distance ever seen in state annals.

Running with the pack in the first half of the race, Putman took charge just past the 800-meter mark and never got caught, finishing in 4:23.78, more than two seconds ahead of the 4:26.16 from William Floyd’s Zariel Macchia.

That 4:23.78 not only won the race, it broke the NYSPHSAA meet record and was the fourth-fastest time ever recorded by a New York State high school athlete in the 1,500.

Also, C-NS got a second-place finish in the 4x800 relay where Kate Putman, Gabby Putman, Katy Harbold and Hannah Boyle tore to a time of 9:13.71, beating everyone except Saratoga Springs, who won in 9:06.63.

Boyle joined Marissa Doty, Sophia Graham and Grace Murray in the 4x400 relay, where C-NS went 4:03.10 to qualify for the finals and then would l From page 1 Warriors tail off to 4:06.20 in the final but still finish fourth for yer another medal as Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake won in 3:59.01.

In the 1,000-meter run, Gabby Putman ran with Liverpool standout Taylor Page, with Putman taking 10th place overall in 2:56.39 and Page not far behind as she was 17th in 2:58.75.

Allegany Limestone’s Angelina Napoleon won in 2:50.46.

Liverpool got a medal from Ny’Quez Madison in the long jump, where his best attempt of 22 feet 6 inches put him in fourth place, not far from the winning 23’4 1/2” from Albany Academy’s Bashir Prileau. Madison also was 17th in the triple jump with 41’9 3/4”.

Over in the girls shot put, the Warriors’ Allie Cary was a medalist in the shot put, her best toss of 36’10 3/4” putting her seventh overall and in the top five in the NYSPHSAA meet as Commack’s Julie Thomas won with 41’8 1/2”. Cary also finished 14th in the weight throw with 40’6 3/4”.

C-NS’s Morgan Hayes used an 8.68 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles qualifying round to reach the finals, where she improved to 8.64 and took eighth overall, fifth in NYSPHSAA./ dreo Ash, Bruce Wingate and Jah’Deuir Reese – would take their turns orchestrating a winning effort.

Doty, in the 300-meter dash, was 27th in 42.27 seconds, while teammate Jasmine Ayre was 28th in the high jump with a best leap of 16’2 1/2”.

Then Wingate took over.

STATE HONOR: Just before she left for last weekend’s state indoor track and field championships where she repeated as champion in the 1,500meter run, Cicero-north syracuse senior Kate Putman received an official proclamation from new york state senator John Mannion for her career of accomplishments that include a handful of state championships and wins at national meets.

On the boys side for the Northstars, Carlton Garnes finished 12th in the 55 hurdles in 8.03 seconds, with Camron Ingram 17th in 8.07. Davine Bennett tied for 22nd in the 55-meter dash in 6.65.

Ash, whose dominant play late in games defined two regular-season OT wins over WG, didn’t wait this time to assert himself, netting 10 of his team’s first 18 points as it led through the early stages.

“Our energy was the difference,” said Ash.

Yet the Wildcats absorbed all this and, sparked by Christian Cain’s scoring outburst, charged in front 22-18 late in the second quarter. What’s more, it had Reese on the bench with two fouls.

l From page 1 cats being friendly with people and feral cats just aren’t. You can’t really change it.”

Often, well-meaning people will bring Kitty Corner a litter of kittens that they’ve come across, without bringing in the mother who may be standoffish. It helps, but it doesn’t complete the job.

“We just took in a litter of kittens, it was a litter of four.” she continued, “The person was supposed to get the mother along with the kittens. The mother didn’t happen to come around and I’m not sure the person is going to bother to get her. But if she doesn’t, then it won’t be very long and she’s going to have more kittens in the neighborhood.”

Blackwell said that, in practice, Wingate never hesitated to take shots, but did so early in this game. That ended when, after a pair of free throws, Wingate drained a 3-pointer right before halftime, giving the Warriors the lead for good.

Seeing one outside shot go in seemed to boost Wingate’s confidence, and he burned the Wildcats for three more 3-pointers early in the third period, the mid-game outburst accounting for most of his 19 points.

“I knew I could shoot it, and I had to do something to help my team,” said Wingate.

Combined with key baskets from Jason Lawler and Freddy Fowler, it pushed Liverpool to a 47-33 lead late in the third, but WG was far from done.

Sterilizing animals isn’t only important for feral cats. It’s an important responsibility of pet owners as well.

“Everybody needs to spay and neuter their cats. If your cat has kittens, then you can give the kittens away to homes and you think [you’ve fulfilled your] responsibility,” she said.

“But the truth is, a lot of these cats don’t stay in the homes that they’re put. They end up being abandoned, or rehomed, or in a shelter somewhere, or on the street, which is what we’re trying to avoid. And the most important thing is to make sure your cats are spayed and neutered before that happens.”

By PHil BlACkWell

In two different relays and two individual events, Cicero-North Syracuse boys swimmer Jacob Griffin was one of the busiest Section III competitors during last weekend’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships at Ithaca College.

Starting out, Jacob Griffin was joined by Caden Griffin, Anthony Gabrielli and Joey Swenton in the 200-yard medley relay, where after a 1:39.17 during the season they went 1:41.58 here to qualify 30th before going 1:42.19 in the finals for 29th place. Saint Anthony’s won the Federation title in 1:32.29.

Back together in the 200 freestyle relay, Gabrielli, Swenton and the two Griffins got through the first round in 1:30.66 and again reached the finals, where they tailed off a bit to 1:30.78 and were 26th, one spot behind Baldwinsville (1:30.34) in 25th place.

Individually, Jacob Griffin looked to improve upon his 22.12 seconds in the 50 freestyle as Caden Griffin was here, too – and it was Caden, in 22.17, beating Jacob’s 22.18, though neither advanced to the finals won by Horseheads’ Cullin Cole in 20.51.

Having swam 54.02 seconds to qualify for the state 100 backstroke, Griffin would go 54.91 here and place 32nd. Jamesville-DeWitt/CBA’s Nathaniel Wales took eighth place in 51.40 and South Lynbrook’s Nicholas Rhodes won in 48.97.

Liverpool had one representative at the state meet – Jack Cavallerano, swimming in the 100 butterfly. A 53.82 time got Cavallerano into the state meet, and here he went 54.56 and was unable to reach the finals.

Determined to make the same kind of rally it fell victim to both late in the 2022 sectional final and at home a month ago, the Wildcats picked up full-court pressure, forced turnovers and, with a 13-4 run, moved within five, 51-46, with more than three minutes left.

“We knew that we had to dig deep and work for this,” said Wingate.

Up to now, Reese was quiet, hampered by that early foul trouble. But counseled to be patient and help out on defense, Reese did so and then, when it was needed, stepped up on the other end, too.

It was Reese’s driving layup as the shot clock ran down with 3:03 to play that halted WG’s run. Then he hit two free throws, initiating a closing stretch where the War-

The organization also helps cats and humans by finding cats loving forever homes. As Linda said, the organization wants both cats and their humans to be happy together, which is why Kitty Corner has a lifetime return policy.

“We’re on a website called PetFinder. It’s almost exclusively through that now. We used to advertise in vet offices, but now we’ve mostly just on PetFinder,” Linda said. “And people who log into PetFinder, they put basically the area in which they’re searching and you can do it within whatever miles you want…And it’ll bring up all the shelters and the listings for the cats are right there on PetFinder.”

Those who are interested in adopting a cat can get the application online, which includes riors made 10 in a row at the line to seal another championship. information about the household and the interests of the adoptive owner. Linda and Deb review those applications and decide whether they have an appropriate cat before inviting the prospective owner to come in and meet their future pet.

Ash ended up matching Wingate’s 19 points, while Reese and Lawler had nine points apiece. Fowler got seven points as Christian Amica led the Wildcats with 16 points.

Back at SRC Arena this Saturday at 12:45, Liverpool has another rematch, this one with Albany’s Green Trech in the Class AA regional with a state final four berth in Glens Falls on the line.

Green beat the Warriors in this same regional round in 2022 and again in a 5953 decision in January. Ash did not play in that game, and he said he and his teammates are quite eager to get even with the Eagles.

If it’s a match for a forever home, the pet is theirs. But before it leaves, each cat must be spayed or neutered.

The work that Linda and Deb do is important to the welfare of animals and neighborhoods, but it’s also personally rewarding.

“I think it’s meeting new cats and meeting new people.” Lisa said when asked about the most rewarding part of her work, “The main thing is that everyone has to be happy.”