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: Will Dignan
Coaches: Mike Nicastro, Glenn Niles, and Jason Weltman
Seasonal record: 6-15
Highlights for the season included beating Mahopac on the road, first league win in the last 3 years, Will Dignan getting 13 pts, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 6 steals, and 3 blocks vs John Jay East Fishkill. Also included are Harrison Schmitt getting 21 pts and 7 rebounds on Senior Night vs Carmel. Not to be forgotten, Billy Pappas had 19 pts vs Put Valley. The team is looking to have a better year next year, with other teams losing lots of players and having talent remaining on the Brewster team, as well as great talent coming up from the JV roster.
Girls Varsity Basketball
Coaches: Michael Castaldo and Matthew Cunningham
Seasonal record: 7-13
Their season started off with a big win against Byram Hills with Olivia Francis scoring 16 points and Ava Fagin scoring 15. After four straight losses, they came back and beat Carmel twice and Poughkeepsie (home) on senior night. They then faced Peekskill in the out-bracket and won 68-22. The next playoff game was against Walter Panas, who were reigning state champions. The team kept the deficit within single digits at half time, a huge testament to how the team never gave up. They made them work for that win!
GVB has a very young team who are very athletic. Lauren Leon will become the team veteran and will once again be a big threat on the scoreboard. Brewster has a strong couple of years ahead of them.
Unified Bowling
Coaches: Donna Schneider and Denise Maslak
Varsity Club purchased the team new bowling balls, shoes, and bags for their newfound athletes. The team’s athletes continue to impress the crowds with their bowling skills and improvements. They are paying attention to how to pick up a spare and have been working on splits. The team is looking forward next year to improvements, continued fun at the alley, and maintaining the friendsh
ips that they made.
Varsity Cheerleading
Captains: Emma Antalosky and Addison Galella
Coach: Kelsey Ortiz
During Varsity’s last competition, the team received the highest execution score of the season! Every stunt group hit their partner stunts and had a great time competing to wrap up the season. Although there was a rocky start, Varsity Cheer ended the season more connected and ready for future seasons!
Between this year and next year, many seniors will be graduating… leaving Varsity in search of more athletes. If you are interested in cheering, go for it! It is an endlessly fun sport, filled with lots of friendships and memories! Coach Kelsey is the sweetest person you’ll meet, and hanging out with her was definitely some of our favorite memories. Don’t be shy… Join!!
Girls Varsity Gymnastics
Captains: Sanna Blad and Bianca Torke
Coaches: Jennifer Purcell and Vincent Savastano
Highlights of the season included Jenna Taylor and Bianca Torke qualifying for divisionals. Gymnasts have to meet score requirements throughout the season on the events they plan to compete to qualify for divisionals, and both Jenna and Bianca competed all-around (every event). At the novice meet, Sanna Blad won 1st place on beam and bars; Emelyn DeGregory won 1st on floor and tied for 2nd on beam; Gia DiBenedetto tied for 2nd on beam as well and got 2nd on floor; Devyn Hoahing won 1st on vault and 2nd on bars; Delihla Bekker got 3rd on bars; and Izel Tohmucu got 2nd on vault. The team is hoping to have more gymnasts qualify for divisionals in the future and place at the novice meet.
Boys Track and Field
Captains: Richard Ayin, Ethan Elibox, and Stefan Thomas
Coaches: Michael Bellucci, Will Ford, and Emily Trupia
As many know, the reconstruction of the track made de
dicating somewhere to practice extremely difficult, changing locales on a day-to-day basis. This year the team also moved up one class because of school size, having them compete in divisional meets with larger schools like Clarkstown and Horace Greeley. Nevertheless, the team was very successful with broken records and incredible performances. The team had two county champions: Stefan Thomas in High Jump (jumping 5’ 10”) and Ryan Spidal in Pole Vault (with a mark of 11’ 6”). Ryan Spidal had an amazing performance at the state qualifier meet placing third, nearly qualifying for NY States in his event the Pole Vault, jumping 12’ 6”. Even with a sustained injury, Ethan Elibox broke the junior class record in the 300m, running 37.15 seconds. Will Blanck also had very impressive performances leading the team in the 1600 and the 1000. Coming up: the team looks forward to the spring season with better practice conditions, promising underclassmen, and strong upperclassmen to finish out the year strong.
Girls Track and Field
Captains: Michelle Di Carlo, Jeannah Dossous, and Brissia Portillo
Coaches: Michael Bellucci, Will Ford, nand Emily Trupia
The girls team had a great time this season with many personal bests and new friends made along the way. Some honorable races were at Ocean Breeze, where the girls 4x200m raced a 1:58.86, which was the team’s fastest time since 2016! The relay team consisted of Amya Aviles, Yana Boreiko, Ava Chica, and Cadin Lappin-Burke. Also at this highly competitive meet, Charly Handal made it to the 55m hurdles finals. Then, the girls brought a competitive drive to earn multiple achievements at their league meet. Later on, the Northern County Championships resulted in three silver medals and a seventh place finish overall. Earning second place in their respective events (the 55m hurdles, 600m, and shot put) were Charly Handal, Ava Chica, and Jeannah Dossous. At Section 1 Class A Championships, all the girls earned PRs. Ava Chica ran a 45.62 in the 300m, rounding out a fantastic season, an
d Jeannah Dossous threw more than 30 feet (the only one in Northern County to do so, helping unanimously name her first team Northern County). Her second place finish at Class led her to Section 1 State Qualifiers, where she placed 9th in shot put with a personal best of 30’-09.50.
The team shared many memories this season, including those with their coach Trupia, whom they will miss in the spring. They will also miss the group stretching circuits and indoor runs, but they ultimately look forward to beginning the spring season! With a great winter season behind them, they are looking forward to what they can achieve in the spring and encourage others to give track a go
.
Bear Facts hopes that Varsity Skiing, Ice Hockey, and Varsity Boys Wrestling had excellent seasons!