NYSPHSAA Girls Wrestling State Invitational Coach Recap 1/26
Tallulah Powers represented BNL and Section 2 in the 165-pound weight class at the NYSPHSAA Girls Wrestling State Invitational on Friday, January 26th. Her sister Vivienne Powers was an alternate in the 126-pound weight class but was ultimately not drawn into the tournament.
Tallulah, the returning Runner-Up 165 pounds, was seeded 7th in this year’s contest. That disparity shows the improvement in the level of competition at her weight over the past year. There were 6 returning state place finishers from 3 different weights in her bracket. That included the eventual Champion, top ten nationally ranked Adrianna Palumbo of Pleasantville, NY.
Tallulah started out the day wrestling Isabella Steffa of Section 8’s Seaford, NY. Tallulah was able to handle her fairly easily with a pin at 2:36 in the 2nd period. She then moved on to Lilly Sorenson of Section 3’s Homer, NY. Sorenson was the returning Runner-Up at 185 pounds and seeded 2nd this year. Tallulah dominated nearly the entire match, taking her opponent down in each of the first two periods. With Tallulah leading 4-0 late in the third period, her opponent started trying desperate throws. She fended off several attempts, but with less than 20 seconds left Sorenson connected on an arm drag and threw Tallulah directly to her back going ahead 5-4 at the buzzer. A win here would have brought Tallulah to the semifinals assuring her a medal and a top 6 placement. The loss dropped her into the consolation side of the bracket requiring her to fight back up to the medal rounds.
In consolations, she first faced Abigail Hebble of Section 3’s Camden, NY. Tallulah wasted no time pinning her in 19 seconds. Next up was Ava Bragg of Section 6’s Lockport, NY. Bragg was last year’s 3rd place finisher, who Tallulah faced in the first round of 2023’s tournament. Tallulah started well but tried a throw that Bragg was ready for and missed putting herself right on her back where Bragg pinned her at the end of the first period. This left Tallulah one win short of a medal and a spot on this year’s podium. She ended up in the 7th or 8th place slot. (They didn’t wrestle the 7th/8th place matches at the tournament.) She shared that position with fellow Section 2 wrestler Esmerelda Braman of Hadley-Luzerne, whom she’s traded wins with this year, most recently beating her at the Section 2 Tournament.
The 2nd – 8th place finishers this year were all very well matched and the placements could be mixed differently on a different day. Sorenson’s matches show this. She edged out Tallulah 5-4, but also lost in overtime to the eventual Runner-Up, then won in overtime over the 6th place finisher. In that group it was anyone’s to win or lose on the day, and Tallulah came up less than 20 seconds short of making the podium this year. Still a very respectable showing in that company. On a more positive note, Tallulah was speaking with several interested college coaches both at the tournament and afterward looking to take her talents to the next level. The BNL wrestling program could not be more proud of Tallulah’s accomplishments over her two years with us. – Coach Prather
Congratulations Tallulah and Vivienne!
Go BNL!!
BNL Varsity Girls Basketball Coach Recap 1/27/24
BNL Girls Varsity Basketball beat KIPP Troy Pep 64-8. All five players worked hard every minute on the floor. The Mountain Lions had fierce defense and the determination to win. Senior Nikki Minkler lead the team with 24 points, 8 steals and 9 assists. Lillian Gardell had a double double with 13 points and 16 rebounds, also adding 4 assists and 3 steals! Morgan Sharpe also had a double double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists. Allie Manchester had 7 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Isabella Ovitt had 8 points, 4 steals and 14 rebounds. We are very proud of their performance and hope we can grow from this experience!! -Coach Zinna & Coach Harris
More Mountain Madness albums to come this week!
BNL Varsity Girls Wrestling Coach Recap 1/28/24
The Powers sisters finished up the BNL Girls Wrestling season strong Sunday 1/28 at Burr & Burton Academy in VT. Tallulah came in 1st and Vivienne took a 3rd.
I take it as a little point of pride that Tallulah has never lost to the same girl twice, ever. Every chance she’d had to avenge a loss she’s won. And she had a chance to do that again today. The VT girl she lost to at Shaker last week, she outlasted for a tight 1-0 victory, and that on the VT girl’s home mat. She always learns and improves from a loss. Nearly half Tallulah’s losses, she’s beaten that girl later in the season. And nearly all the ones where she hasn’t had the opportunity, those girls are other state place finishers themselves.
Tallulah finished out her two year Varsity Wrestling career with a 45-15 record. A 2023 State Runner-Up and a 2024 State 7th/8th place this year. Not too shabby for a girl that’s really only wrestled for 5 months of her life. She’s talking to some regional colleges to take her wrestling to the next level. We are truly thankful that she was a part of our program at BNL and wish her every success in the future. -Coach Prather
BNL Bowling Coach Recap vs Mechanicville 1/29
BNL’s bowlers hosted their final home match on Monday night 1/29. Facing a challenging opponent, the Mountain Lions lost to Mechanicville 0-5. Avyn Capasso had the high varsity game with a 189, his new personal best. Noah Bonesteel was high for varsity series with a 475, high of 165. Also on varsity, Gabe Florada rolled a 163 and Myra Snyder a 162. On JV Isaiah Bonesteel was hot, rolling a new personal best of 160 for a 415 series that was second high on the entire team. Curtis Hurd also had a nice game on JV with a 131. The bowlers travel to Saratoga tomorrow for their final match of the season. -Coach Marbot and Coach Murphy
GO BNL!!
BNL Bowling Wasern League Tournament 1/31 Coach Recap
BNL’s bowlers put forth a tremendous effort at the Wasaren League Tournament on Wednesday. After finishing 7th overall in the regular season, the Mountain Lions jumped to 6th at the tournament! It was young Devin Reichert impressing in game one, coming out of the gates hot for a new personal best of 212! Myra Snyder was rolling strong with a 179 that game and Noah Bonesteel was right there too with 161. Game two Myra led the charge rolling 193 while Kaylee Ferrarin stepped up for a strong 166. Avyn Capasso stepped up game three to lead with a 179 with Noah hot on his heels with 171 and Devin 160. The bowlers were energized after the morning block and determined to tackle the long afternoon. Notable games from the afternoon (and tournament total series) are as follows: Noah Bonesteel 177 (945); Gabe Florada 169, 168 (798); Devin Reichert 160 (845); Avyn Capasso 160 (813); Kaylee Ferrarin 148, 145 (832); Myra Snyder 148, 140 (902); Curtis Hurd 137 (646). Special congratulations to Kaylee Ferrarin who was recognized as a league Honorable Mention at the tournament. The honor was voted on by all coaches in the league who remarked about her excellent camaraderie, team spirit, and overall enthusiasm for the sport. The bowlers will practice next week and prepare for Sectionals on February 13th. Keep the great games rolling bowlers! -Coach Marbot and Coach Murphy
Photos submitted by Coach Marbot
Let’s go BNL!
BNL Boys Wrestling Section 2 Class D Tournament Coach Recap 2/3
BNL Wrestler Chris DeFelice took 3rd place Saturday 2/3 in Cambridge at the Section 2 Class D Wrestling Tournament at 285 pounds. He will advance to the Section 2 State Qualifier Tournament in Glens Falls next Saturday 2/10.
Chris started out the day slowly, getting pinned by Adam A of Galway in the 2nd period. He then dropped to the consolation side of the bracket and began winning. He pinned Carson G of Hoosick Falls in 14 seconds. He then moved on to Glen P of Warrensburg, pinning him in 2:05 minutes. That put him in the consolation finals securing his trip to Glens Falls. He faced off against Anthony B, who he’d traded wins with over the season. It was a back and forth match, but Chris was ultimately able to pin his opponent with 30 seconds left in the match.
Matt Goebel took 5th place at the Class D tournament. He went 3-2 on the day. And just missed advancing to next week’s event. Although he’ll be Class D’s alternate at 215 pounds.
Great work BNL Wrestlers! – Coach Prather, Coach DeLuca and Coach Kluck
photos: Coach Prather
BNL Varsity Swimming League Individuals Coach Recap 2/3
On Saturday 2/3 the BNL Varsity Swim Team competed at Individuals, which is a league wide meet, and we had outstanding races led by George Lamphere-Webster who hit two Sectional Times and Eben Donohue who qualified for one. The meet started off on a good note with the 200 Medley Relay team placing 3rd. Lance Schroder, Alana Zuke and Lucy Fourgere followed that by hitting a PR’s in the 200 Freestyle. The next event was the 200 IM and George needed to drop two seconds to qualify for Sectionals and he dropped four seconds. In the 50 Freestyle Beckett and Brady Munsinger dropped 3 seconds and 2 seconds respectively and Beckett followed that up by dropping eight seconds in the 100 Freestyle. The 500 Freestyle was next and Cadence Ward and Alana Zuke both had outstanding races by dropping ten seconds off their previous PR’s. Next it was Eben Donohue’s turn to hit a PR and a Sectional time in the 100 Backstroke. After Eben’s race George was up in the 100 Breaststroke. George had never raced it this year but had to go under 1:19 to qualify for Sectionals and he went a 1:17. The 400 Freestyle Relay finished things off by dropping 11 seconds off their seed time and placed 3rd overall. Shout out to Vincenza Deschamp and Katie Tremblay for dropping time in all four of their events.
Congratulations to the entire team! – Coach Christiansen and Coach Jones