All recaps are as reported by team captains. Bear Facts makes every effort to contact any and all captains; any omission is therefore not the responsibility of the news staff.

Boys Varsity Basketball

Captain: Conner Griffin and Steven Switzer

Coaches: Mike Nicastro and Jason Weltman

Seasonal record:  8-13

In the season there were ups and downs but the best performance from the team was when they took down Carmel in a BIG game rivalry where the gym was loud, packed, and crammed on a Friday night. You couldn’t beat it: the game atmosphere was amazing. Another time where the team really stood out was against Lakeland. Lakeland was one of the runners-up for the Section 1 championship.

Next year, the team plans to keep going hard and improve that record, help the team get a lot better chemistry. In the off-season, the team wants to work extra hard at workouts to push each other to get into better shape, and to get their shots up to win more games.

Boys JV Basketball

Captain: William Pappas and Harrison Schmitt

Coach: Glenn Niles

League record: 6-12

Highlights of the season include beating Port Chester by over 50 points! As center, Harrison Schmitt fended off many attempted baskets. Billy Pappas scored a number of baskets, along with Harrison, throughout the season. Looking to next season, the team hopes for an above 500 record, making it a winning season, and for improvement overall.

Girls Varsity Basketball

Captain: Madison Dakin

Coaches: Michael Castaldo and Matthew Cunningham

League record: 10-12

Over winter break, the girls won the Carmel Holiday Tournament, beating both Haldane and Horace Greeley. During League play, everyone made an impact in their comeback win over Somers. After a 13 point 1st quarter deficit, the girls went on a 51-19 run to secure a League win. In the Sectional round of playoffs, there was a huge team effort in a close, back-and-forth game against a powerhouse Tappan Zee team. Madison Dakin was All-League, All-Conference. Jordan Niles was All-League.

Looking forward, the team has a competitive group of young and talented players that will be putting in work in the off-season, and returning to make a big impact next year.

Girls JV Basketball

Coach: Mike Honey

Seasonal record:  6-11

The team had a close and tough, one-point game against Yorktown, ending in a big win for the team. Also, this season included beating Carmel twice, both on home and away courts. Sophomore Adriana Galizia and freshman Sofia Rosamilia were the top scorers for the team, with Sofia working inside under the hoop and Adriana hitting shots outside.

The team hopes to work on individual skills as well as those together as a team. The team also hopes to gain better in-game strategies to continue to prepare them for future seasons. Together as a team, and individually, they look forward to helping each other get better, which would produce a better team and program as a whole.

Varsity Bowling

Coach: Paul Plutzker

The girls had a great performance, bowling over 100 and winning against several teams. Some of the boys had great games and showed some competition. Next year, the team hopes for additional improvement and strength.

Varsity Cheerleading

Captains: Ashley O’Hara and Ariana Torke

Coach: Kelsey Stockton

Seasonal accomplishment: 1st place at Arlington

The team placed 1st at their first competition of the season and also took home a 2nd place trophy at the Putnam Valley competition. They received their highest score of the season at sectionals and also had the second highest pyramid difficulty in their division. Junior captain Ashley O’Hara received All-League and All-Section titles.

The team is ready to put the work in during the off-season so that they can be a strong competitor next winter. They expect to bring home more trophies next season and place high at sectionals. They also look forward to starting workouts soon and building up their strength and stunt/tumbling difficulty. The team also hopes to have more athletes receiving All-League and All-Section titles in the coming seasons.

Girls Varsity Gymnastics

Captains: Anaya Marte, and Samantha Miller

Coaches: Sophia Bisantz and Vincent Savastano

Seasonal Record: won 3 of 4 league meets

All of their first year competitors placed in the top 3 in each event at the team’s Novice meet. Four of the team members went to divisionals, which is much better than the records they had in previous years (the max was one girl from last year). Next year, the girls will improve in the welcoming and comforting environment that the Brewster Varsity Gymnastics Team provides.

Boys Ice Hockey

Captains: Owen Cunningham

Coach: Richard Aune and John Veteri

Seasonal Record: 5-14-1

Highlights for the season included Dylan Filmer earning the Doc Rasbeck Academic Award. With the varsity team being full of young players, the group anticipates that they will be very good in 2-3 years.

Girls Ice Hockey

Captain: Moe Poley

Coach: Stacey Wierl

Seasonal highlights include winning sectionals. Next season, the team hopes to go back to the state final four.

Boys Track and Field

Captain: Brice DiCarlo (Distance Boys), and Marko Tyhansky (Sprinting & Jumping)

Coaches: Michael Bellucci, Mike Courte, Tim Nilsen, Dan Rossi, and Joseph Scelia

Coaches and athletes were ecstatic to come out of this season with the times and distances they did. Many athletes achieved all-league and many were deservedly MVP’s. Ervis Derri jumped an incredible distance in long jump for an 8th grader, 18’ 2” and Marko Tyhansky jumped his farthest at the Class B Championship, with 19’ 2.5” in long jump and 41’ 3.25” in triple jump. But the team’s jumping athletes weren’t the only students excited about their achievements. Brewster’s own Mark Fedio ran a mind-blowing 4:54 mile time, Roderick Cassidy had an impressive personal record of 5:11 in the mile, and Brice DiCarlo, our own distance captain, ran an amazing 4:59 mile. We knew our athletes held this much potential, and we’re so proud that they used it to achieve amazing things. We hope they can bring these successes into the spring season.

The team is looking forward to having a great upcoming spring season! Many athletes enjoy seeing their efforts from winter truly pay off in the subsequent season. Higher goals, higher expectations: it’s what makes the spring season so much better than winter. Warmer weather should allow for more athletes interested in field events to shine and allow their distance runners to enjoy their long runs for longer. They can’t wait to make this season pay off in the next!

Girls Track and Field

Captains: Mikayla Goldberg (distance) and Viviana Persico (throwing)

Coaches: Michael Bellucci, Michael Courte, Tim Nilsen, and Daniel Rossi

The girls had a great season and worked tremendously hard despite the obstacles like the freezing cold weather and long nights down at the Armory. Their first meet was the Section 1 kickoff meet. At this meet, Ellen Cassidy took first place in the 1500m Varsity Race Walk. Margaret Rigano took sixth place in the 3000 meter run with an amazing time of 12:11.92 which was her season record in this event. Charly Handal took fourth place in the 55m hurdles with a time of 10.27. At the Coach Saint Invitational, Charly Handal had another impressive performance taking 7th place in the 600 meter run with a time of 2:06.59, a season record. At the Section 1 League Championships, Ellen Cassidy once again took first place in the 1500m race walk with a personal record of 9:26.41. Next at the Section 1 Northern County Championships, the girls had many great performances. Margaret Rigano took third place in the 1500 meter run with a season record of 5:37.54. Michelle DiCarlo took third place in the 3000 meter run with an amazing time of 12:54.33. Her teammate, Mikayla Goldberg, took fourth place in the same race with a season record of 12:57.19. Charly Handal took fourth place at this meet in the 55m hurdles with a personal record of 9.90. Many girls competed in the Section 1 Class B Championships, which is a meet that consists of all the top runners in each event in Class B. Charly Handal and Ellen Cassidy competed at the Section 1 State Qualifier meet, which is a great accomplishment. Ellen Cassidy took 12th place in the 1500 meter race walk with a time of 9:32.53. Charly Handal took 22nd place in the 55 meter hurdles with a 9.96. And we could never forget about our star thrower, Viviana Persico. Her shot put distance of 18’ 8.75” amazed us all, and we couldn’t be more thrilled for her. The team had a great group of hard working girls that never gave up and truly put their best foot forward despite any challenges.

While, they did not have as many girls as some other teams did, they had a lot more than last winter season, which was great. It was difficult going against some very large teams like Somers, but the girls hope to keep expanding their team to come back even better and stronger. The girls know the hard work, determination, and effort that they must put forth before next winter season to come back ready to keep succeeding. The girls know that improvement takes time and dedication, commitments they are willing to make to see what next winter season has in store for them. The girls’ work ethic is truly like no other: when given a workout they push to their fullest potential which is why the future looks so bright for them.

Varsity Skiing

Captains: Charlie Bloss, Tori Hegenauer, Michael Rusinko, Charlotte Smith

Coaches: Michael Bellucci, Kirsten Rusinko

Seasonal record: 6-5

Charlotte Smith, Mia Crivelli, and Lucas Crivelli all made it to sectionals. Mia Crivelli and Lucas Crivelli made it to states, and Lucas placed 5th.

Next season, the team wants as many of them to make it to states as possible.

Wrestling

Captains: Andrew Pfeffer and Ian Sutherland

Coaches: Tony Ajdari, Mike Ford, and Thomas Looby

Seasonal record: 13-12

Congratulations go to All-Section winners Ian Sutherland (3rd) and Thomas Looby (3rd). All-League champions include Thomas Looby, Ian Sutherland, Andrew Pfeffer, and Ryan Brace.

Andrew Pfeffer commen

ted on next year’s time by saying: “We have a lot of wrestlers returning next year, a lot of guys that are willing to put in the work. The Brewster program will definitely be a powerful force in the upcoming years.”