SPONSORED AD

Meghan Manley concluded her high school running career at Orchard Park with an impressive tenth-place finish in the 800-meter run with a 2:14.17 time at the New York State Track & Field Championships held at Caledonia-Mumford High School on June 10-11.

Meghan Manley

In the winter of her senior year, Manley ran the 600-meter event at the state indoor championships. After being crowned the Section VI champion, Manley finished sixth at the state meet with a time of 1 minute and 37.22 seconds.

Manley is currently a freshman on the University at Buffalo women’s track & field team. In her first college meet held at Kent State on Jan. 14, Manley earned a second-place finish among twenty-seven runners in the 1,000-meter ran with a time of 2:58.81.

Top 20 Orchard Park Sports Stories from 2011

The Orchard Park girls volleyball team won the New York State Class AA Section VI title this fall with a three-set sweep over Frontier. The win was Orchard Park’s first section title in girls volleyball.

“I feel incredible. There are no words to describe it,” senior Alyssa Dueringer said after the match. “We beat a team that normally always beat us. It’s amazing. It’s incredible. I love it. It’s an honor to play with this team. I love these girls. It’s amazing.”

Section Champions

The Lady Quakers lost in the far west regional to eventual state champion Penfield. The team graduates only one player (Alyssa Dueringer) so hopes are high for a repeat.

Top 20 Orchard Park Sports Stories from 2011

Pat Moran, a 2011 graduate of Orchard Park High School, followed the footsteps of both his father and grandfather by boxing in the Golden Gloves competition.

Here’s my story that ran in the Orchard Park Press:

Moran continues family legacy at Golden Gloves

Pat Moran

Orchard Park High School senior Pat Moran, a member of the football and lacrosse teams, wanted to take on a new challenge between seasons and figured he would try the sport at which both his father and grandfather excelled.

“My dad and grandpa used to box and I thought I’d get into it,” said Moran, who will box for the first time at the Buffalo Golden Gloves competition at the Burt Flickinger Center on Friday, March 18.

To prepare for the fight, Moran has been training two hours every weekday night for 10 weeks at the Northwest Buffalo Community Center on Lawn Avenue, under the tutelage of his father and former professional boxer Don Patterson.

A training session is comprised of shadowboxing, sparring with other boxers, hitting the heavy bag and jumping rope.

It’s the toughest training Moran has ever experienced.

“I’ve never trained harder for any other sport,” said Moran, who has dropped from 250 pounds down to 215 since football season. “It’s draining,” he said of the training. “I go to lacrosse and it’s just not even close.”

His father Mike, a 1983 graduate of Orchard Park High School and former silver medalist at the Golden Gloves, and Patterson trained together under legendary boxer Jackie Donnelly, from Buffalo’s First Ward, at the Babcock Street Boys & Girls Club.

According to Patterson, Moran’s pedigree, athletic background and work ethic have helped him launch a strong start in the ring.

“He’s coming along very well,” said Patterson, a member U.S. National Team in 1989-1990. “He’s progressing very well. He has an athletic background and he comes from a good pedigree, so he goes back a few generations with boxing.”

In addition to his father’s background in boxing, Moran’s grandfather, Paul, who routinely attends his training sessions, was a Golden Gloves champion in Pennsylvania.

“It is real fun,” Moran said during a recent training session. “My dad is helping train me and my grandpa comes out.”

Moran, who will have several members of his family and friends attend the fight, will box in the super novice level in the super heavy weight division of the Golden Gloves. He will be box in a three-round bout.

“He has no fights (behind him),” said Patterson. “He’s a sub-novice, but he’s doing very well.”

Some of the areas Patterson said he has been working on with Moran are the natural things that everybody has to work on when they first start boxing. Patterson said. That includes judgment of space and how to protect oneself on the inside.

“Those are the things you want to see as he develops,” Patterson said of Moran. “That takes experience, and that starts March 18.”

Top 20 Orchard Park Sports Stories from 2011

Orchard Park High School earned a lot of success in the pool throughout both the girls and boys seasons in 2011.

During the 2010-2011 school year, the boys team earned a first place finish at sectionals in the 200-yard medley relay (1:40.24).

Andrew Duszynski

Three Quakers finished among the top six in the 200-yard individual medley, including top finisher junior Andrew Duszynski (1:58.02). Spencer Bray finished fourth (2:04.11) and senior Mike Sutz finished sixth (2:06.42).

Duszynski and Sutz competed in the 100-yard butterfly earning fourth and ninth place, respectively. Bray finished sixth in the 100-yard backstroke (57.07).

Freshman Zach Healy finished ninth (50.13) at sectionals in the 100-yard freestyle event.

At the state meet, the medley relay of Duszynski, Alex Moore, Sutz and Bray finished 19th (1:39.65). Duszynski (1:44.72) and Bray (1:45.17) competed in the 200-yard freestyle event earning 15th place finishes among federation swimmers and 10th and 11th place among NYS public high school swimmers.

Duszynski earned the ninth fastest time in the 100-yard backstroke (52.77) among public high school swimmers and 17th among all swimmers. Bray swam in the 500-yard freestyle earning the 14th best time (4:48.4) among public swimmers and placing 22nd overall.

In the fall of 2011, Lady Quakers sophomore Andrea Ernst, eighth-grader Amanda Ernst, junior Grace Coyle and senior Anna McArdle earned a sixth-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay (1:56.76) in the sectional meet. The same group finished fourth (1:41.24) in the 200-yard freestyle relay at the sectional meet and went on to finish 9th in the state meet (1:39.86).

Andrea Ernst

Andrea Ernst finished third in the 200-yard freestyle (1:56.05) at the sectional meet and 10th at state meet (1:54.87). Ernst also competed in the 100-yard butterfly event earning a second-place finish (57.96) at the sectional meet and a ninth-place finish at the state meet (58.35).

Top 20 Orchard Park Sports Stories from 2011

Orchard Park soccer goalie Jordan DiLapo earned a spot on the FC Buffalo roster. At just 16 years of age, DiLapo was the team’s youngest player.

OPHS goalie earns chance to play among top players

Originally published on July 8, 2011

Jordan DiLapo

Jordan DiLapo has already shown that he can defend the high school soccer net, but now the Orchard Park teenager is showing off his skills while defending the goal of the FC Buffalo Blitzers in the National Premier Soccer League.

DiLapo, who will be a senior at Orchard Park High School this fall, has been the starting goalkeeper for the boys soccer team for two years. FC Buffalo head coach Dan Krzyzanowicz asked him to try out for his team, and DiLapo earned a spot on a roster that already featured two goalies.

DiLapo and Krzyzanowicz have been familiar with each other for years: both worked at various soccer camps. Krzyzanowicz has been the director of coaching for the Orchard Park Soccer Club since January 2010 and will begin his 10th season as the head men’s soccer coach at Medaille College this fall.

The FC Buffalo organization, formed by three local soccer enthusiasts, Scott Frauenhofer, Ryan Knapp and Nick Mendola, is dedicated to the growth of both soccer and community in the Western New York area through a commitment to the blue collar work ethic.

The team plays in the Northeast Keystone Conference of the National Premier Soccer League, a professionally operated league sanctioned by the United States Adult Soccer Association as an affiliate of the United States Soccer Federation, the ruling body for soccer in the U.S., and FIFA, the world’s ruling body for soccer. The FC Buffalo roster boasts top players from the University at Buffalo, Marist College and Cornell University, among others.

DiLapo, who will turn 17 in September, is the youngest player on the Blitzers. He made his mark when he debuted on June 10 in a contest against the New Jersey Blaze.

FC Buffalo won the game, 3-1, with the help of a momentum-stopping penalty kick save by DiLapo.

“I felt a lot of pressure,” DiLapo said of the penalty kick which took place with FC Buffalo leading by two goals with roughly 15 minutes left. “A goal would’ve given them a lot of momentum.”

DiLapo has started four more games since his first win.

On June 25, DiLapo held the Pocono Snow to no goals in a 0-0 tie, and on July 2 allowed just one goal in a 1-0 loss to the Reading Revolution.

He also saw 10 minutes of work in the Lord Bedlington Cup, a highly publicized friendly game between FC Buffalo and the Bedlington Terriers of England, a team whose popularity has grown since being sponsored by Buffalo billionaire Bob Rich.

FC Buffalo defeated Bedlington, 5-1, in the game that was played on Wednesday, June 29.

“It’s a phenomenal experience playing with the talent that was on the field,” said DiLapo, the son of Tristan and Debbie. “It showed the potential that Western New York (soccer) has. I’m so glad I got the time and the experience.”

The game drew an incredible 3,821 spectators at Buffalo’s Robert E. Rich All High Stadium, where FC Buffalo plays its home games.

“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” DiLapo said of the game. “It’s one of the biggest games I’ve been a part of and played in. We had a huge turnout and we performed.”

Top 20 Orchard Park Sports Stories from 2011

Taylor Swiatek

Taylor Swiatek capped off her basketball career at Orchard Park by setting a new school scoring record with 1,121 points.

Swiatek helped the Lady Quakers to four consecutive berths in the sectional semi-finals.

In Swiatek’s four seasons on the Orchard Park girls varsity basketball team, the Lady Quakers earned a combined record of 56 wins with 29 losses.

Swiatek currently plays at Buffalo State College.

Top 20 Orchard Park Sports Stories from 2011

As a senior at St. John Fisher College, 2007 Orchard Park High School graduate Erich Rassow ranked third nationally in faceoff percentage in Division III lacrosse. Rassow won 72.4% of faceoffs and earned All-American honorable mention.

Erich Rassow

Excerpt from published article:

OP’s Rassow quick on the draw for Fisher lacrosse

Rassow’s success comes as no surprise. The 2007 Orchard Park High School graduate’s dedication to preparation exceeds ordinary measures.

Rassow studies game film to learn opponents’ tendencies, such as the hand and foot positioning of his counterparts.

“I study a lot of film and focus on the fundamentals of the position,” said Rassow. “It is almost a game of rock, paper, scissors, but if you have a strong solid rock it takes your opponent a little more time to figure out how to win.”

Rassow’s commitment to his craft has allowed him to win an incredible 72.4 percent of his faceoffs and help the Cardinals to a 12-4 record.

In his junior campaign, Rassow was equally as successful earning a 70.1 win percentage (272 of 388) en route to helping his team to a 16-2 record.

In order to succeed as much as he does, Rassow must be very diligent in his preparation and says he receives plenty of help from head coach John Johnson and his staff which includes six-year assistant coach Nick Voll, who works primarily with the team’s faceoff specialists.

“Pre-game mental preparation is something they both stress and have taught me,” said the son of Egon and Christine.

A unique aspect of Rassow’s preparation is listening to mp3 recordings that provide varied cadences to improve timing. The recordings come from a lacrosse training website that Rassow learned about from attending a camp before his junior season.

The timing of draws has become even more critical with a rule change prior to the 2011 season.

Previous to this season, faceoff men would bend down to draw and the official would almost immediately blow his whistle to begin the faceoff. Now an official will pause and vary the start of the draw.

“When I was in high school the cadence was ‘Down, Set, Whistle’. Then I came to Fisher and had to adjust to a quicker ‘Down, Whistle’,” said Rassow. “The fact that they changed it back to the ‘Down, Set, Whistle’ is to eliminate those who anticipate the whistle. I like it. The referees have also been told to vary their cadence so I have some mp3 clips on my ipod of varied ‘Down, Set, Whistle’ cadences that I listen to on a daily basis.”

Rassow’s commitment to improving his draw skills is his way of helping his team win.

Over the past two seasons, Rassow has taken 87 percent of the draws as Fisher’s main option in the faceoff circle.

“It’s all about gaining possession for your team; something I pride myself in,” he said.

Top 20 Orchard Park Sports Stories from 2011

OPHS cheerleading squad finishes first at Chicagoland

The Orchard Park varsity cheerleading squad capped off an incredible season with a first place finish at the Chicagoland National Championship in Chicago, Illinois on March 5.

Led by coaches Jill DiPasquale and Lauren Bonilla, the first place finish among the seventeen teams in the squad’s division gave the girls another win to add to those already captured at the Winter Cheer Fest in January and the ECIC championship won in February.

“It’s great to end on a good note like this after all of the hard work and effort we have put in this long season that has been going on since August 2010,” said senior Alex Ellis, one of the team’s captains. “We were the first Orchard Park Varsity Cheerleading team to win ECICs, and to have the opportunity to go to a national competition and bring home first is just amazing.”

Da Var Squad

In addition to their successes in cheer competitions, the cheerleaders participated in many community efforts and helped raise funds for the breast cancer walk and Special Olympics of Western New York. They also participated in the anti-bullying seminar called Rachel’s Challenge.

The final stage of the girls season ended with the win at Chicago, a trip in which the girls had a chance to truly bond.

“The team definitely became closer being able to go on this trip and after winning we were all satisfied and able to conclude the season,” Ellis added. “We are all very grateful that we have the chance to take the trip.”

Quotes from the season:

Alex Ellis, OPHS ‘11

“Our confidence has helped the success of the team this year. I have never seen confidence like this team has this year. Our coaches are definitely the biggest help for our success. Both are former Orchard Park Cheerleaders and both are very knowledgeable of cheerleading and love coaching.”

Kelsey Collins, OPHS ‘11

“This year’s team is special, because you’d think we would get sick of each other after being together for so long, but if anything we have become closer. I like our team a lot, because we always joke around. If a stranger were to come and watch one practice they would think we are the biggest goofballs, but it’s fun that we can joke around, but still be serious when it comes down to it.”

Coaches Jill DiPasquale and Lauren Bonilla

““Every girl plays a role on this team. We do not have benches or sidelines to sit on.”

“They all respect each other and never bring their personal problems into the team. They are teammates above all other things.”

Top 20 Orchard Park Sports Stories from 2011

The Orchard Park High School softball team went 3-17 in 2010, but improved on that mark with a record of 7 wins and 9 losses in 2011, including two playoff victories. The second post-season win came in dramatic fashion at number-one seed Kenmore West.

Taylor Jezuit

Softball shocks top-seeded Kenmore West to advance in playoffs

Originally published on June 3, 2011

It wasn’t enough that the Orchard Park softball team won its first round playoff contest versus Frontier. The Lady Quakers continued their drive toward a sectional title by knocking off top-seeded Kenmore West on Sunday, May 29.

After a 2-0 win over Frontier in the Class AA pre-quarterfinals where sophomore pitcher Carlo Loffredo shut out the Falcons and allowed just two hits, the ninth-ranked Lady Quakers traveled to Kenmore West High School for a quarterfinal bout with the number-one seeded Blue Devils.

Orchard Park jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before Kenmore West answered with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The Lady Quakers responded with two more runs in the sixth with the help of patience at the plate and timely hitting.

Jozwiak reached on an error which was followed by a bunt from Lindsey Hurley, who beat the throw to first base, to give the Lady Quakers a pair of base-runners with no outs.

After a couple strikeouts, Kristen Klemmer slapped a single to left field to load the bases.

It was then that eighth-grader Shaye Swiatek drew a bases loaded walk to recapture the lead, 4-3. Junior catcher Taylor Jezuit followed with a single to extend the lead, 5-3.

“It’s a matter of knowing the strike zone,” Orchard Park co-coach Josh Dannecker said of his team’s patience at the plate. “They’ve seen a lot of pitches and you just feel comfortable knowing that with one, two strikes on you that you have the confidence that it just takes one hit to make the difference.”

Kenmore West scored once in the bottom of the sixth and had a chance to tie the contest in the seventh. With the game-tying run on second base, Orchard Park left fielder Ciara Godbout charged into short left field to snag a blooper and record the winning out.

Loffredo struck out eight batters and picked up the win on the mound to earn her sixth victory of the season.

“It’s definitely a big deal for us, especially because I think we’re playing harder now,” Loffredo said of the playoff wins. “During the season, we’ve definitely had our ups and downs, and I haven’t seen us play this hard. It’s very exciting.”

Junior third baseman Jess Jozwiak on the season:

“Winning two playoff games just shows everyone how good of a team we are and can be. The potential to be number one in the division is there. Those two wins give us all motivation to win three or four playoff games next year.”

Top 20 Orchard Park Sports Stories from 2011

Before I jump into the Top 20, I want to acknowledge one story that deserves special recognition.

I wanted to add to the list the story of the great success of the inaugural Lindsay Matthews Run, but didn’t know where to rank it. I think a charity run dedicated to the memory of a lost loved one should be considered far more important than anything.

The list of top stories is meant to be a fun list of sports-related stories from the past year; so rather than trying appropriately place this story on the list, I thought it was better to mention the story and its importance prior to beginning the list.

I did not have the pleasure of meeting Lindsay, but everyone I speak with that knew her describes Lindsay as a very loving and caring person. It is my hope that the run dedicated to her memory grows larger and is an even greater success this summer than it was in 2011.

Here is the story:

Inaugural Lindsay Matthews Memorial Scholarship Run Draws Big Turnout

The Lindsay Matthews Memorial Rock at the Orchard Park Soccer Complex on Milestrip Road

The memory of Lindsay Matthews was very much alive at the inaugural Memorial Scholarship 5K Run & 1-mile walk held on Sunday, July 24 in her name.

The event, which was held at the Orchard Park Soccer Complex on Milestrip Road, drew 281 runners and nearly 500 participants in memory of the 2007 Orchard Park High School graduate who was tragically killed in an accident while attending Geneseo College in November 2008.

“It means a lot, because we miss Lindsay,” said her father, Ian Matthews. “We’ve gotten so much support from the community. That’s one thing about Orchard Park and Western New York; people are very supportive for events like this.”

Runners were treated to a mixed course of road and grass terrain that included a loop around the soccer fields where Matthews once played, and two dashes past Lindsay’s memorial rock that sits at the front of the complex.

“This race means a lot to us, because it’s as though Lindsay is still around,” Matthews added. “It’s like a birthday party for Lindsay.”

The force behind the success of the race was provided by Lindsay’s mother, Karen.

“My wife’s the driving force behind this,” said Ian Matthews, who was told the first year of an event usually attracts only 100-150 runners. “Karen has gone out and gotten sponsorships.”

The run helps benefit the Lindsay’s Scholarship Fund which is now in its third year. 2011 graduates Melanie Janulewicz and Emily Fleetwood were this year’s recipients.

At the time she was attending Geneseo, Matthews was studying to be a speech pathologist and was a member of the women’s soccer team. She also worked at the Orchard Park Boys and Girls Club.

“She was a really good kid so we try to pick the applicants with Lindsay’s character traits,” said Matthews.

Michael Mezzadri of Orchard Park won the race finishing in nineteen minutes flat. Abigail Benson of Elma was the top female finisher at 19:33.

Top 20 Orchard Park Sports Stories from 2011

Happy New Year! As we continue to welcome 2012, I thought it would be fun to reflect back on the great stories in Orchard Park Sports from 2011. I have compiled a list of the Top 20 stories of the past year.

I tried to recall all the stories I covered from the entire year; researching stories I may have missed and scouring old issues of my work in the Orchard Park Press. I think I came up with a good list filled with championships, personal achievements and human interest stories.

I just hope I didn’t miss anything.

Let’s start with a few honorable mentions I left off the list:

*Hollins sisters win ECIC doubles championship in girls tennis and advance to states
*Sam Korach and Sawyer Dina advance to state tennis championships
*Boys soccer defeats Clarence for first time in…hmmm… a while
*Boys hockey wins first playoff game in school history
*Girls bowling captures a tie for ECIC I championship
*Joe Jacobs-Federbar awarded All-American honorable mention in DIII lacrosse for Nazareth
*Joe Hill’s masterful performance for the OP Sox in NABF baseball regional tournament

Ready…here we go!

Austin Goltz

Austin Goltz
OPHS, Class of 2013
Football, Basketball, Lacrosse

Dream Job: Plastic Surgeon
Favorite Teacher: Mr. Janas
Hidden Talent: Can lick my elbow
Favorite Movie: Teeth
Favorite OP athlete: Connor Joyce
I want to have dinner with: Bucky Phillips
Pets: Two Goldfish – Lt. Shiny Sides and Jumpy
Last thing I read: Design NY Magazine

Allison Gunkler

Allison Gunkler is a senior at Orchard Park High School. She is a member of the girls varsity indoor track & field team and will blog throughout the season to provide an inside look at the team. This is her second installment.

The New Year has just begun and it’s already off to a competitive start!

This past weekend the girls’ indoor track & field team traveled to Fredonia College to dominate after a week of challenging practices. Personally, and I think the girls will agree with me; this meet was one of the best ones we’ve participated in.

Our day started off with arriving to the high school at 7am to get on the bus; realizing we had a long and tiring day ahead of us. Since this meet was early in the morning the bus ride down to Fredonia was noiseless with the exception of a few girls dancing and singing to their ipods together, which is always amusing, and the enjoyable rolls Coach brings us from Costanzo’s!

We arrived at the meet around 8; everyone was still a little out of it considering most of us slept most of the way to the meet.

At 9am the fun had just began! The meet was off and we all couldn’t wait to get on the track and prove to ourselves that all the hard work we’ve done would pay off, which most every girl on our team had accomplished.

Up first were Holly Bogdan, Melissa Vaughn and Cassie Kaczmarek in the 55-meter hurdles. Each girl got a new personal record and Cassie is just .03 seconds away from sectionals! She said, “It gets very aggravating coming closer and closer to the sectional qualifying time every meet”. She should make the qualifying time at our next meet next Saturday, which is also at Fredonia.

Next were Rami Major and Janee Deck in the 1000-meter, and considering Coach wasn’t able to get official times because of confusion with how many laps the competitors had left, both girls did very well.
Shannon Smith, Rami Major, Marissa Maggioli and Sarah Pagano were up next in the 600-meter. All four girls did extremely well. This was the first time Sarah ran the 600 and she ran a 2:01. Coach was very pleased with her and so was the team!

Towards the middle of the meet brought the 55-meter dash. Jamie Guadagno, Brandi Bernas and Maddie Sheehan showed off their speed and all got new personal records which they were very excited about.

The 300-meter was up next! Shannon Smith, Rami Major and Madison Hornung showed off their competitive side in this event! Again, all three girls got a new personal record and Rami broke a 48, running a 47.1 – congrats!

The events we’ve all been waiting for… the relays. The 4×400-meter and the 4×200-meter headed down to the track to prove to their team that they came there to win. The 4×400 which included me, Marissa Maggioli, Rami Major and Shannon Smith finished in 2nd place with a time of 4:34 which was a drop of 2 seconds!

The most exciting event of the day was next – the 4×200-meter. The four girls on the team made a promise to each other and to coach that they were going to run under 2 minutes for their first time. The team consisting of Holly Bogdan, Brandi Bernas, Maddie Sheehan and Jamie Guadagno showed themselves that miracles can happen. Holly and Maddie both got a new personal record. The girls finished second with a time of 1:56! I have never seen a group of girls work as hard as they do. Everyone was rooting for them and they proved to everyone that anything they put their mind to can happen.

I talked with Shannon Smith later that night and asked her what she thought about the meet.
Me: “How did you feel our team did at the meet today, considering we were all sore from the past week’s practice?”
Shannon: “I think we did really well. The girls improved a lot from the meet over winter break. I’m happy with how they did and I think they are too. It was great to see their excitement after they heard the times and I think it’ll encourage them to keep improving!”

Thanks Shannon, and great job girls!

The guys team did not participate in the meet with us. They took the weekend off which was well-needed, because most of them have already qualified for sectionals and are also improving every day. Great job guys!

Our next meet is Saturday, Jan. 14 at Fredonia and we can’t wait to get more qualifying times!
Also, on January 21st and throughout that entire weekend, most of our team, including the guys, will have the great opportunity to participate in the 2012 Yale Track Classic. This meet is attended by the best of the best athletes from all over the New England Area taking place at Coxe Cage which is the Indoor Track at Yale University.

It’s nice to start off the New Year with such great spirit and attitude from the entire team! Keep it up!

Go Quakers!

Devic named to All-State Third Team

The Orchard Park varsity volleyball teams finished well this fall with the girls squad winning the sectional title for the first time in school history and the boys team advancing to, but losing in, the section title match.

Several players were rewarded for their efforts in leading their respective teams to successful seasons.

Junior Maryellen Devic was named to the New York State Class AA Large School Third Team, All-WNY Large School Coaches First Team, as well as to the All-ECIC First Team.

Sophomore Rebecca Higgins was named to the All-WNY Large School Coaches Second Team.

Sophomore Kristen Stanek was given honorable mention by the All-ECIC Large School coaches and named to the All-ECIC Second Team.

Sophomore Noelle Poloncarz and senior Alyssa Dueringer were named ECIC I Second Team all-stars.

On the boys side, senior Matt McCormick and junior Trey Cimorelli were named to the All-WNY First Team.

Senior Justice Rogers, juniors Kevin Donohue and Tyler Eagleton were named to the ECIC I First Team while senior Steve Czuczman and junior Ken Dudkowski were named ECIC I Second Team all-stars.

Visit the Buffalo News to see complete boys and girls all-star rosters.

The Orchard Park boys hockey team lost a tight 3-2 contest versus Lancaster on Sunday, Dec. 18. The loss makes the Quakers winless in their last three games and moves the team to a 1-3 mark this season.

Freshman Robert Zwirecki and junior John Januszkiewicz scored for Orchard Park.

Here’s just how close the Quakers came to tying the game late in the third period:

Orchard Park was inches away from tying Lancaster late in the third period of Sunday's loss.

Kevin Donohue

It is not too late to purchase photos for holiday gifts.

Captured images of athletes in action make great gifts for family members. Landscape and scenic photos are also available.

All photos can be ordered as prints. You can also order other items such as mousepads, mugs and other gifts.

To view my entire catalog of photos: Visit this link

If you are interested in placing an order, email me at jameslgoller@gmail.com before Monday, Dec. 19 at 9 p.m.

Thanks.

Allison Gunkler

Allison Gunkler is a senior at Orchard Park High School. She is a member of the girls varsity indoor track & field team and will blog throughout the season to provide an inside look at the team. This is her first installment.

The Indoor Track and Field team is back and better than ever! After competing in two divisional meets, the team’s hard work has already paid off.

Many members of the team have already met the qualifying standards for the Sectional meet in February. Qualifiers include: Shannon Smith (600m), Melissa Vaughn and Holly Bogdan (55m hurdles), Brendan Allman (300m), Mark Mercer (600m), Jake Eneix (3200m) and Brian Arcara (high jump).

The guys team is also ranked 5th in the 4×4 relay and 3rd in the 4×8. The girls 4×4 is currently ranked 4th while the 4×2 is making their way up the section chart quickly. The results are shown on Section6runs.com.

Congratulations to all! I’m sure there will be much more progress as the season continues.

With only 18 girls and 8 guys, I can proudly say this season is going to be one of the most successful ones we’ve had yet! The best part of our team is that we are all so close due to the fact that we are together all week and for four hours during weekend meets. So you can see that we are like a family.

Being a smaller team than we have been in recent years, there’s no doubt in my mind that the team will keep striving. This is due to all of our hard work and dedication we have put into this particular sport. We will continue to rank high on the Section 6 charts!

Like Coach Maconaghy said, “Its quality, not quantity”.

The captains this season, aside from me, are Shannon Smith, Cassie Kaczmarek, and newly added Holly Bogdan, who one of our top hurdlers.

As the snow and cold weather start to prevent us from going outdoors, we are able to run in the hallways and occasionally in the gym. Our legs don’t appreciate all the pounding in the halls, but at the end of the day our work gets done!

Our third divisional meet will be this Saturday at Fredonia College. We will be competing against a group of teams we have not faced yet, but we are definitely ready physically and mentally to take on the challenge. Come and show your support!

I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of this team! I am already so proud of everyone and I can’t wait to see what happens as the season progresses. Great job team and keep up the hard work!

Go Quakers!

Jett Modkins

Jett Modkins
OPHS, Class of 2013
Football

Nickname: Jeffery
Dream job: Football coach
I want to visit: Jamaica
Favorite OP hangout: Johnson house
Heroes: Dad and Uncle
Hidden talent: I’m an artist
Favorite meal: BBQ ribs
Favorite OP athlete: David Crowley
Best advice received: You’re the only person that can stop yourself from being great
Fondest sports memory:
Winning state championship

Julia Hardick

Julia Hardick is a senior at Orchard Park High School. She is a member of the girls varsity basketball team and will blog throughout the season to provide an inside look at the team. This is her second installment.

Winning the West Seneca tip-off tournament was a huge success and a great start to the season. The team worked together to beat West Seneca East, and Maryvale in the championship game.

Our team gets along very well which makes playing together easy and tons of fun. Later this evening we are having a team dinner before our home game in which my Mom will be making her famous lemon chicken!

We can’t wait to get pumped before the game and listen to our warm-up mix that we have spent quite a long time on.

Out first home game is today at 7:30 against Sweet Home. We have never played them before and it should be a great match.

Come cheer us on!

Anna McArdle

Anna McArdle
OPHS, Senior
Swimming

Dream Job: Fashion Editor
I can’t live without: Swedish Goggles
Hidden Talent: I can sing underwater
Favorite OP Athlete: Andrea Ernst
Favorite Movie Character:
Elle Woods from Legally Blonde
I want to visit: Paris
Last thing I read: Dracula
Favorite Meal: Breakfast for dinner
Pets: Toy poodle, named Lilly
Best advice received: Don’t think, just do.