GLENS FALLS — The Adirondack United girls hockey team continued its undefeated streak with a pair of shutout victories against Malone and Saranac Lake/Lake Placid this month. Then the squad added two more wins in Syracuse last weekend. The team is now 12-0 on the season. 

Against Malone, Bayley Duffy reached the 100 career point mark after less than two full seasons of play. Duffy and Lillian Willis both finished with a hat trick and three assists, while Tekla Fine-Lease added two goals. Lucy Plifscofsky also earned her first varsity goal.

The 10-0 victory against Saranac Lake/Lake Placid featured a hat trick from Aubrey Lozier, 4 assists by Gianna Marcantonio, and Emma Lemery’s first varsity goal. Goaltenders Katelin Archer and Aurora Graham-Hayes combined to stop 10 shots for yet another shutout.

Last weekend, the United won two more games in Syracuse, a 6-0 victory against the Skaneateles Lakers on Friday, and an 8-1 win against Oswego on Saturday. Aubrey Lozier and Bayley Duffy both recorded hat tricks against Skaneateles. Against Oswego, goaltender Katelin Archer stopped 10 shots.

GLENS FALLS —The Adirondack Thunder have won 11 straight games, starting with a 5-4 victory against the Newfoundland Growlers on December 30 and culminating with a 5-2 win against the Trois-Rivières Lions on January 20. The team will have an opportunity to continue its streak this weekend with three home games at the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls.

The Adirondack Thunder are in the midst of one of their most successful seasons in years. The team is atop the ECHL North Division for the first time since November 2019. Their winning percentage currently stands at 0.750.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Springs High School girls’ and boys’ cross-country teams were formally recognized and celebrated by the Board of Education at a meeting on January 11.

Dr. Michael Patton, Superintendent of Schools, said that “the teamwork and comradery and really the year-round effort that our student-athletes put into our running program is just an incredible accomplishment.” Patton said that the board meeting was “truly a special night to have both our boys and girls here together to be celebrated for this wonderful accomplishment.” 

The state champion girls’ team was introduced by their coach, Linda Kranick. “This team went on to win the Federation meet, which is yet another state championship and that’s the best of the best in New York State and [the team] finished number six in the United States this year at Nike Cross-Country National Championship,” Kranick said. “I personally want to thank all the parents, both boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams, because you’re out there in the roughest weather supporting your sons and daughters and we really appreciate it.”

Boys’ coach Shane Zanetti introduced his team and praised them for setting “a culture and tradition that’s going to continue for the next few years.”

At the NYSPHSAA Class A championship in November, the girls’ team captured the team title for the fifth straight year, and senior Emily Bush won the Section 2 individual title. A week later, the girls’ team won the Federation Cross Country Championships.

The boys’ team won the Class A championship in a tiebreaker, marking their first team title since 2012. They finished third at the Nike Cross Country Regional Qualifier, just one spot away from a trip to the national championship.

East Greenbush/ New York City — The New York Yankees have signed infielder Kevin Smith, a native of East Greenbush, to a minor league deal. Smith played in 49 games with the Oakland Athletics last year, finishing with a career-best OPS of .546. He also played with the Athletics in 2022 and saw 36 plate appearances with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021. 

Smith graduated from Columbia High School in East Greenbush, about ten minutes outside of Albany. After playing at the University of Maryland, College Park, he was drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 MLB draft by Toronto. 

Saratoga Springs/ Atlanta — Anthony Weaver, a former Saratoga Springs High School football player and member of the Blue Streaks Hall of Fame, interviewed for the Atlanta Falcons’ head coaching position on Sunday. While at Saratoga, Weaver won the National Football Foundation scholar-athlete award. He’s also a member of the Capital Region Hall of Fame.

Weaver is currently the assistant head coach and defensive line coach for the Baltimore Ravens. He has 12 years of coaching experience, including stints with the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, and Houston Texans. Prior to coaching, he played as a defensive end for the Ravens and Texans. He was a second-round pick in the 2002 NFL Draft.

According to ESPN reporter Adam Schefter, the Washington Commanders have also requested to interview Weaver for their head coaching job.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame is overhauling its review process. Starting this year, the Historic Review Committee will only consider candidates for induction if they were active during a specific era. In prior years, the committee considered all candidates throughout racing history, as long as they had been out of competition for more than 25 years.

In 2024, only pre-1900 horses, jockeys, and trainers will be candidates for induction. In 2025, the period of 1900 through 1959 will be reviewed. In 2026, the 1960-2000 era will be up for consideration. Then in 2027, the process will cycle back to pre-1900. Each year, the Historic Review Committee is able to select a maximum of three inductees. All inductees need 75% approval from the committee.

“Based on feedback from members of the various Hall of Fame committees and the committee chairs, I believe these changes will make for a more effective evaluation process for historic candidates being considered for the Hall of Fame,” said Brien Bouyea, the Museum’s Hall of Fame Communications Director, in a statement. “These specialized review committees will no longer have to compare candidates from vastly different eras. Evaluating the achievements of a horse or human from before 1900 alongside one from perhaps a century later is an apples vs. oranges exercise that we wanted to improve upon.”

This year’s pre-1900 Historic Review Committee will include Michael Veitch, Edward L. Bowen, Ken Grayson, Jennifer Kelly, Dorothy Ours, Josh Pons, Mary Simon, and Gary West. The 2024 Hall of Fame class will be announced in late April. 

For more on The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame visit racingmuseum.org.

SCHUYLERVILLE — Luke Sherman, Schuylerville High School’s varsity basketball star, is on the brink of breaking two all-time school scoring records. 

As of Jan. 16, when a snowstorm canceled a scheduled home game against Queensbury, Sherman had netted 1,283 career points with the Black Horses. This placed him 35 points shy of breaking the boys’ basketball scoring record set by Eric Stover in 1978. Sherman may also surpass Carol Cheney’s 1986 boys and girls scoring record of 1,566.

Sherman’s next game is on Friday, Jan. 19 at Glens Falls. As of press time, the Jan. 16 home game had not yet been rescheduled.

GLENS FALLS — Adirondack Thunder All-Star Patrick Grasso has set the record for the most goals scored in team history. Grasso broke Brian Ward’s old record of 77 with his 78th goal against the Maine Mariners on January 6. 

Grasso also competed in the 2024 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic on January 15. Grasso scored a goal in the third period to give the ECHL All-Stars a five-point lead. The All-Stars won the game 18 to 11.

For more about Adirondack Thunder visit echlthunder.com

Tara Sweeney is a student and teaching assistant at the Saratoga Springs Youth Ballet who performed with the New York City Ballet at SPAC in productions of “Coppélia” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Currently a senior at Johnstown High School, Sweeney will attend Vassar College this fall to study English and Dance. 

Saratoga TODAY asked Sweeney about her many accomplishments, as well as her future plans.

Q: What was it like performing with the New York City Ballet (NYCB)?

A: Performing with the NYCB was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Not only were the instructors kind and considerate but so were the dancers. I was expecting them to ignore us children in the ballet but they talked and welcomed us and it made the experience memorable. It was a new experience dancing for four or more hours a day, every day, and it heightened my love for ballet.

What are some things about ballet that the general public might not understand?

A: Most people in the general public do not understand how much of a commitment dance is. I dance every single day after school and on Saturdays and it is extremely time consuming, if not more than a school sport. I dedicate my time to coming to dance class every week and preparing for my numerous performances throughout the year. Something people may also not know is that dance is not just during the school year. In order to maintain your ballet technique over the summer break, dancers attend summer intensives where we dance all day long for at least 5-6 weeks of the summer.

What are your future career plans/goals? 

A: In my future, I plan to have a writing career of some sort in the form of journalism, article writing, publishing and editing, or novel writing. I also enjoy literature and could imagine a career in library studies or museum work. My passion for dance persists and I will be dancing in college and I hope to either continue dancing in my future or become a dance teacher.