Here is the top 10 for the Web site for the Inside High School Sports show for the week of May 21, presented by Holbrook Heating & Air Conditioning…
1. On Wednesday, the Section III boys lacrosse playoff brackets were announced. For a long time we knew Baldwinsville was the top seed in Class A after a 14-1 regular season capped by wins last week over Liverpool and Jamesville-DeWitt. Then there was Class B, where West Genesee and Fayetteville-Manlius split two regular-season games, and still are considered favorites over the likes of Auburn, Watertown and East Syracuse Minoa. Top Class C contenders CBA and Westhill met Tuesday, and the Brothers won 13-11, which could provide a championship-game preview. Then there’s Class D, where no one has really stood out, allowing late-charging LaFayette to make a case for a title run, helped by last week’s win over state-ranked Skanetaeles.
2. Even with a late-season loss to Victor, Baldwinsville’s girls lacrosse team is a clear favorite in the Class A sectional playoffs, having knocked off both of its main challengers, Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse, twice. Auburn, the reigning champions in Class B, has to deal with both Fayetteville-Manlius and West Genesee, with the Wildcats in a favored role thanks to two wins over the Hornets. Jamesville-DeWitt beat Homer late last week, perhaps assuming the role as the team to beat in Class C, where the Red Rams are the defending champions. But no one in Section III has been more impressive than Skaneateles, who has bashed the likes of Westhill and Marcellus and might only have to worry about South Jefferson to hang on to its Class D sectional crown.
3. A torrent of baseball games during the last two weeks of the regular season established a pecking order among the large schools. In Class AA, Cicero-North Syracuse moved to the top sweeping all of its games against Baldwinsville and West Genesee, and the Northstars will likely be the top playoff seed. Whitesboro, led by a pitching staff that has put together three no-hitters, was undefeated going into this week, and was pegged for the top playoff seed in Class A with once-beaten Cortland right behind them. But it’s far from a two-team battle with Auburn having split two games with the Purple Tigers and CBA, the defending champions, buoyed by two wins over Class B favorite Westhill and the knowledge that it stepped up in class to win it all a year ago.
4. Then there’s the other three classes in high school baseball, which all look to be exciting. Westhill’s sweep of two close games with Skaneateles makes it a Class B favorite, but Homer, Solvay and Cazenovia could all make cases to contend, as could South Jefferson, who handed Class C power Beaver River its first defeat of the season after the Spartans lost its first game of the year to Lowville. With their gaudy records, Beaver River and undefeated Westmoreland are sure to snare the top seeds in Class C but it’s a deep field that will include the likes of Weedsport, Oriskany and Pulaski. No team has stuck out in Class D, which could lead to a wide-open sectional tournament where Lyme, Stockbridge Valley and Brookfield could all make championship pushes.
5. We’re also in the last week of the softball regular season. The big question in Class AA – is Baldwinsville better because of its gaudy record, or Liverpool for facing tougher competition? The Warriors shut out the Bees head-to-head the first time they met, and they would have a rematch Wednesday afternoon that would say a lot. Meanwhile, the list of major Class A contenders might only include four sides – there’s Jamesville-DeWitt and Auburn, even with each other and handling all of their SCAC Empire division foes, along with New Hartford and Camden, the two top sides in the Tri-Valley League. The playoffs will go a long way into deciding which group, the Red Rams and Maroons or Spartans and Blue Devils, proved stronger in the long term.
6. It’s setting up to be a terrific sectional Class B softball tournament, headed by defending champion Marcellus and also some pretty strong challengers from Oneida, South Jefferson, Holland Patent and Canastota, all of whom are capable of beating the Mustangs. Looking at the Class C ranks, Thousand Island was the only undefeated Section III team heading into the last week of the regular season and is a likely top seed even with the likes of South Lewis, Sandy Creek, Pulaski and defending champion Cooperstown around with strong records to battle with the Vikings. Class D softball has Stockbridge Valley at the forefront entering this week with a 12-2 record. Hamilton is certain to offer a challenge, as they and Sackets Harbor want to upend reigning champion Bishop Ludden.
7. This is league championship week for girls track and field. It began on Monday with Cazenovia’s girls dominating the OHSL Liberty small-school division meet, and continued Tuesday with Rome Free Academy taking the Tri-Valley League championship, South Jefferson prevailing at the Frontier League meet and Poland and Cooperstown taking top honors among Center State Conference small schools. Still to come later in the week is the Salt City Athletic Conference meets where Cicero-North Syracuse, in the Metro division, and East Syracuse Minoa, in the Empire division, look to build upon their undefeated regular seasons as OHSL Liberty large schools, led by Westhill, and Patriot divisions teams also hold their respective league championships.
8. When boys track and field teams started their league championships early this week, the OHSL small school meet brought another title to Cazenovia as Cooperstown and Poland took Center State Conference small school honors. Camden claimed the Tri-Valley League championship and Watertown as victorious in the Frontier League meet. Then there’s the Salt City Athletic championships later this week where Baldwinsville looks to build upon an unbeaten regular season and a win at its own John Arcaro Classic while East Syracuse Minoa has the top 110 high hurdles runner in the state in Michael Parks, who won that event at the Loucks Games in Poughkeepsie last weekend, beating his teammate and rival, Rocky El.
9. This is also the week where Section III boys tennis teams have their sectional team tournaments. On Wednesday, the Class A and C-1 teams would compete in Cortland, with the Class B and C-2 teams competing at Utica Parkway. In Class A, Fayetteville-Manlius would again try to turn back Baldwinsville, which it did twice in the regular season, while CBA would step up to challenge after a late-season surge. Class B-1 has Jamesville-DeWitt as the top seed, but New Hartford and Oneida could offer serious challenges. Over in Class C-1, it’s hard to look past the Lakers duo of Cazenovia and Skaneateles, though Holland Patent could make a challenge, too, while in Class C-2 Morrisville-Eaton’s 7-1 season makes it a clear favorite to finish on top.
10. We also reached the end of the girls golf regular season where at the top in the SCAC Metro division Fayetteville-Manlius Green was caught by Cicero-North Syracuse Blue, who beat the Hornets head-to-head. That adds intrigue to next week’s Section III Division I tournament, for sure. Meanwhile, the top Onondaga High School League teams gather Wednesday at Woodcrest, with Westhill coming off a regular-season league title and CBA close behind. Boys golf teams that are finishing their regular seasons are starting to head into tournament play, too, as they did last weekend when OHSL Patriot division teams met at the Pompey Club and Marcellus, off yet another undefeated regular season, took team honors with John White and Will Glass finishing 1-2 among individuals.
