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2024-25 Fueling Excellence Athletes of the Week

Head to the ESPN Ithaca Podcenter to listen to interviews with the athletes below!
1/6-1/11
  • Jenna Jump – Union Springs Girls Bowling – Bowled a team-high 639 series in a win over Thomas A. Edison, then bowled a team-high 592 in a win over Groton.
  • Ross Bush – Groton Boys Indoor Track & Field – Broke two school records during the Utica Challenge: the 300-meter run (with a time of 37.97 seconds) and the 600-meter run (with a time of 1:23.31). Earlier in the week at the Twilight Invite, he won the 800-meter run and finished 2nd in the 400-meter run. At the Winter Classic, he finished in 4th place in the long jump and 8th place in the high jump.
12/30-1/4
  • Reagan Burnham – Dryden Girls Indoor Track & Field – Won the 1,500-meter run with a personal-best time of 5:07.68 and placed third in the 1,000-meter run in the Hurley Invitational.
  • Daniel Coston – Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour Boys Wrestling – Named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 138 weight class at the Odessa-Montour Duals, going a perfect 4-0 (with 2 pins, 1 tech fall and 1 decision) and helped the Schuyler Storm win the team title.
12/23-12/28
  • Addie Oram – Marathon Girls Basketball – Named Tournament MVP of the Miss Holiday Hustle Tournament after scoring 39 points across two games. She first put up a game-high 23 points in a 47-39 win over Deposit-Hancock in the first round, then scored 16 points in a 52-36 win over Tully in the championship game as the Olympians win their third straight tournament title.
  • Aaron Johnson – Union Springs Boys Basketball – Named Tournament MVP of the Cayuga County Holiday Tournament after scoring 31 points across two games. He first tallied 17 points (including a half-court shot) in a 95-44 win over Port Byron in the opening round, then put up 14 points in a 77-50 win over Southern Cayuga in the championship game, making it the Wolves’ second holiday tournament title in three years and 16th overall, tied for the most with Weedsport.
12/16-12/21
  • Heather Gao – Ithaca Girls Hockey – Scored her first 3 career goals across a pair of wins. She first scored the final goal (and added an assist) in a 4-1 win over Oswego at Lynah Rink, then netted both goals in a 2-1 win at Clinton.
  • Isaac Brozon – Southern Cayuga Boys Basketball – Scored 63 points across a pair of wins. He first dropped in 31 points (and added 6 assists) in a 77-43 win over Spencer-Van Etten, then scored 32 points in a 57-43 win over Tioga.
12/9-12/14
  • Leah Antes – Odessa-Montour Girls Basketball – Recorded a pair of double-double across two wins. The freshman first put up 13 points and 23 rebounds in a 54-42 win over Lansing, then had a team-high 14 points and 15 rebounds in a 44-36 win over Spencer-Van Etten.
  • Trevor Middendorf – Newark Valley Boys Wrestling – Won the 124 weight class title at the Dave Buck Memorial Tournament, beating 3 of his 4 opponents via technical falls and helping the Cardinals finish in 6th place. He also helped the Cardinals beat Marathon 74-0 in a dual meet earlier in the week by pinning Gabriel Spizzirri in 1:51 at the 131 weight class.
12/2-12/7
  • Leontine Evans – Groton Girls Wrestling – Won the 235 weight class title at the Larry Goodrich Girls Invitational, pinning all 4 of her opponents and helped the Red Hawks finish in 4th place.
  • Jordan Sidle – Lansing Boys Basketball – Named Tournament MVP of the Lansing Tip-Off Tournament, leading the Bobcats to a pair of wins. He first put up 33 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 8 steals in a 54-47 win over Watkins Glen, then recorded a triple-double of 18 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists and added 3 steals in a 76-64 win over Union Springs.
11/25-11/30
  • Rachel Hartman – Newark Valley Girls Bowling – Bowled a team-high 527 series in a 4-0 loss to Tioga to open up the season.
  • Joe Baylor – Moravia Football – Recorded 9 receptions for 178 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 42-40 win over Trumansburg in the NYSPHSAA 8-man regional semifinals.
11/18-11/23
  • Nicola Soper – Candor Volleyball – Named the MVP of the NYSPHSAA Class D Volleyball Tournament, helping the Coyotes win their first state title since 2019 and their fourth in program history. During pool play (where Candor went 3-0), she tallied 41 kills, 11 digs and eight points. She then recorded a triple-double of 10 kills, 13 digs and 13 points (including the championship-winning kill) in a 3-2 win over Ellicottville in the final.
  • Noah Hilker – Ithaca Boys Cross Country – Finished in 20th place at the NYS Federation Championships with a time of 16:29.10 and helped the team finish in 5th place. It was the highest finish among Section IV runners in the boys race.
11/11-11/16
  • Tsadia Bercuvitz – Ithaca Girls Cross Country – Finished in second place in the Class A Girls race at the NYSPHSAA Cross Country Championships with a time of 17:32.4
  • Dafydd Williams – Trumansburg Football – Caught two receiving touchdowns (one for 67 yards and one for 33 yards to seal the deal) in a 34-12 win over Moravia to win their first-ever sectional title.
11/4-11/9
  • Kathleen Sullivan – Lansing Girls Cross Country – Won the Section IV Class C championship with a time of 20:58.10 and helped the Bobcats finish in second place as a team.
  • Andrew Edsall – Marathon Boys Cross Country – Won the Section IV Class D championship with a time of 17:04.90.

10/28-11/2

  • Eliza DeRito – Ithaca Girls Soccer – Scored two goals in a 3-0 win over Corning to help the Little Red win the Section IV Class AAA Championship. It’s their second straight sectional title and their first outright title since 2018, which was also their last appearance in the New York State Tournament.
  • Manne Vasquez – Southern Cayuga Boys Soccer – Made a season-high seven saves and kept a shutout in a 1-0 win over Marathon in the Section IV Class C semifinals, then made seven more saves in a 2-1 win over Seton Catholic in the Section IV Class C championship. It’s the second time in three years the Chiefs have won a sectional title.
10/21-10/26
  • Catherine Newkirk – Marathon Field Hockey – Scored two goals in a 4-0 win over Moravia in the Section IV Class C quarterfinals.
  • Nik Nelson – Trumansburg Football – Threw for 359 yards and 6 touchdowns in a 69-26 win over Groton.

10/14-10/19

  • Bailey Vliet – Groton Girls Soccer – Scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 overtime win over Tioga to help the Red Hawks win their first IAC Small School championship since 2019.
  • Gavin Marsit – Lansing Boys Soccer – Scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Spencer-Van Etten/Candor to help the Bobcats win back-to-back IAC Large School titles.

10/7-10/12

  • Megan Williamson – Spencer-Van Etten/Candor Field Hockey – Scored 3 goals across a pair of crucial wins. She first netted two goals in a 3-2 win over Marathon to help the Eagles clinch their first division title as a combined program. She then scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Walton.
  • Max Sgrecci – Odessa-Montour Boys Soccer – Scored the game-winning goal directly from a corner kick (also known as an “olimpico”) in a 3-2 overtime victory over Newark Valley to help the Grizzlies win their first IAC division title since 2009.

9/30-10/5

  • Maddy Kalet – Union Springs Girls Soccer – Tallied 7 goals across a trio of wins. She scored a hat trick in a 7-1 win over Moravia and netted 4 goals in a 8-0 win over Whitney Point. She also had an assist in a 3-0 win over Dryden.
  • Jay Miles – Dryden Football – Recorded 24 carries for a career-high 240 yards and 2 touchdowns (including a 58-yard rushing score) in a 34-22 win over Whitney Point.
9/23-9/28
  • Vanessa Downey – Lansing Girls Swimming – Won all 4 events she competed in to help the Bobcats defeat Dryden 92-78. She placed first in 2 individual events (200 individual medley & 100 breaststroke and 2 relay events (200 medley relay & 200 freestyle relay).
  • Riley Jones – Moravia Football – Tallied 3 touchdowns—all in different ways—in a 43-6 win over rivals Groton in the first football game at the newly-renovated Scarry Athletic Complex. He first scored a rushing touchdown (finished with 4 carries for 20 yards), then he threw a 52-yard touchdown, and capped things off with a TD reception (finished with a team-high 4 receptions and 65 yards). He also had 9 tackles on defense.
9/16-9/21
  • Emmi Makie – Candor Volleyball – Recorded 5 points, 2 aces, 9 kills, and 2 blocks in a 3-set win over Newfield, then tallied a team-high 16 points and 6 aces to go along with 13 kills and 5 digs in a thrilling 5-set win over defending Section IV Class C champions Trumansburg.
  • Braxton Young – Southern Cayuga Boys Soccer – Recorded 7 goals and 4 assists across a pair of resounding wins. He first tallied 5 goals and 2 assists in a 17-0 win over Moravia, then had 2 goals and 2 assists in a 10-0 win over Odessa-Montour.

9/9-9/14

  • Skye Honrath – Watkins Glen Girls Soccer – Broke the program’s all-time scoring record with a pair of goals in a 2-1 double overtime win over Elmira-Notre Dame, then scored 4 goals in a 5-1 win over Spencer-Van Etten/Candor.
  • Noah Butler – Ithaca Football – Completed 11 of 16 passes for 242 yards and 3 touchdowns and added a 1-yard rushing TD in a 48-0 win over Oswego.

9/2-9/7

  • Ellie Ouckama – Trumansburg Girls Soccer – Scored 8 goals across a pair of wins. She first netted 6 goals, including 2 directly from a corner kick (AKA an “olimpico”) in a 10-0 win over Thomas A. Edison, then tallied 2 goals in a 5-0 win over Lansing in a rematch of last year’s IAC Large School Championship.
  • Noah Banks – Spencer-Van Etten/Candor Boys Soccer – Recorded 8 goals and 4 assists across a pair of wins. He first tallied 4 goals and 3 assists in a 9-1 win over Whitney Point, then had 4 goals and 1 assist in a 8-0 win over Tioga.