The Angela Robins Zen Award
(given to the athlete who just makes it look so easy)
Who else? Football’s Jimmy Verney. I’ve never really seen a player with that much confidence and flair combined in a fairly mistake-free season…big play after big play after big play after big play…and on and on and…this is one cool kid.
New Paltz’s Lydia Brutvan
Best of the Future
Not to be too redundant, but Jimmy and Kenny Verney (football cousins) — pure players, the former lithe and shifty, is only a junior, the latter, squat and powerful, is a sophomore, New Paltz football is in solid shape for next year; Erin Metzger (girls soccer) — the junior switched to midfield from forward and got a lot of assists for DiValentino, fast, relentless, the big scorer next year, a real “sniper” on offense; Isaac Cheriuyot (boys soccer) — a sophomore, smooth as silk, whether at forward, midfield or defense, just a terrific all-around player who could be one of Section 9’s best next season; Lydia Brutvan and Bella Santos (girls swimming) — the former, an eighth-grader, just missed States and the latter (a sophomore) is part of two State relays with Morgane Kuyl and the Santos Sisters: Abbie and Kaela (no relation to Bella); Abbie Gravatt and Wells Willet (cross country) — the former, a sophomore, advancing a bit further than the latter, still a freshman, but both should keep that incredible Huguenots’ running tradition alive and well with Nagel (a junior) and Linares (a sophomore); Ella Skye Franks (volleyball) — the freshman became an important player for the Huguenots, playing anywhere and showing great ability and promise, may be New Paltz’s best player next year; Natalie Meyers (tennis) — what an introduction to the MHAL, the freshman first-singles finishing fourth and getting to Sections, top-flight game playing everyone’s number one, big year next season, may be an MHAL title (it’s been 23 years since the Huguenots won a singles title with Katie Ott).
So, now we have the Big Three awards…and once again…Without further ado:
Best team
This was harder than you might think between football, swimming, tennis and girls soccer, all having their best seasons in a long time. But it must be football. Not only for winning a Section 9 title, but the way they did it: crushing opponent-after-opponent with imaginative play-calling and a host of great plays on offense, and a lock-down, big-play defense. Perhaps the best team of the Tom Tegeler Era (16 years and counting).
Which brings us to…
Best coach
Despite top-drawer coaching from girls soccer’s Joanne Metzger and the steady hand of girls swimming’s Don Bartlett and tennis’s Scott Taylor, it was the spectacular results from Tegeler and his assistant coaches (Sam Phelps and Scott Ricketson) that just blew everyone out of the water. A season like no other for the Huguenots, and it was the “sometime” emotional Tegeler that melded it all into one of the Section’s very best teams.
Which brings us to…
Best of the best players
It has to be a tie. Abbie Santos is only the second New Paltz girl swimmer to ever double in a Section meet (the first was Caroline Murphy last year), winning the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly, and teaming with sister Kaela, Morgane Kuyl and Bella Santos, she anchors two relays (200 medley and 200 freestyle) going to States…and she’s only a sophomore, is a State title in the near future?; and football quarterback Jimmy Verney simply had a magical season, seemingly coming out of nowhere to lead New Paltz to a Section title, he rushed for over 1000 yards and passed for over 1000 yards, had three interceptions and two fumble recoveries on defense and is arguably the most valuable player in Section 9…and he’s only a junior.
It was quite the fall season.
Highland Best of the Best
It wasn’t a very good fall season for Highland sports. The boys soccer team, just two years removed from a Section 9 title, had difficulty scoring goals and won just one game; the girls soccer program made it back to Sections, but had a losing record and were eliminated early; the football team also struggled to score and finished at 3-6; the volleyball team, still in a rebuilding mode, won two matches (after being winless last year); the tennis team won one match and is still trying to find itself; and the cross country team (boys and girls), though showing signs of life, is still undermanned out there.
Granted the Huskies had new coaches in girls soccer, football, tennis and cross country, and a second-year coach in volleyball, but it seems the rebuilding, retooling, reloading — or whatever one calls it — is moving slowly. On the surface, only girls soccer seems able to quickly reverse fortunes, since most of its major players are underclassmen. And if cross country can bring in more runners, that also might be an area of great improvement. Otherwise, in this off year, there were still wonderful moments from terrific athletes. So, without further ado, here are the Best of the Best for Fall 2016:
Best game (team)
Highland boys against New Paltz and girls against Ellenville. For the boys, trying to break a winless 0-5 schneid and facing New Paltz early in the season, they used a tough-minded defense led by Matt Valentino and keeper Dylan Warren to keep the Huguenots off the board and played heavily-favored New Paltz to a scoreless tie; while the girls, needing a win over Ellenville in the final game to get into the Section tournament, defeated the Blue Devils 5-4 in overtime.
Best game (individual)
Brooke Harris (girls soccer): scored the hat-trick in the Huskies’ final against Ellenville, including the game-winner in overtime to put Highland into the Section 9 tournament.
Highland’s Isaiah Daubon (3 in white)
Best of the unsung
Matt Valentino (boys soccer): developed into one of Section 9’s premier defenders, who, despite the Huskies’ losing record, led the defense that kept them in most of their games; Teresa Mazzella (girls soccer): started to fulfill the promise from last year, scored some big goals toward the end of the year — including the game-tying score against Ellenville in the season finale; Isaiah Daubon (football): the best player on the field in most of the Huskies’ games, played quarterback, receiver, running back, defensive back — just an uber-talented athlete; Lucy Long (volleyball): steady, steady, helped the Huskies’ young team jell out there playing different positions; Emma DiLescio (tennis): stepped up this year at number one singles, made MHAL quarterfinals and first round in Section 9, lots of promise for this junior; Jake Tomanczy and Abbie Munson (cross country): led the revitalized program back to respectability.
