The BNL Wrestlers hosted Taconic Hills and Rensselaer for their Senior Night on January 17th. The wrestlers wrestling that evening put it all out on the mat and made the team proud.
Coach Prather, Coach DeLuca and Coach Kluck honored BNL Seniors and celebrated their senior year in front of family, friends and teammates. Thank you to the BNL Booster Club for the flowers and parent/guardian gifts.
Congratulations to seniors Tallulah Powers, Matthew Goebel, Nicholas Chittenden, Joseph Schoeffel and Trevor Nunley.
Please find the senior reflections from Coach DeLuca and Coach Prather below.
OG Nick Chittenden – Nick is always willing to grit through some of the toughest situations and does it well. He’s been with the program since 7th grade, and it shows in his skill and strength. I think he’s weighed the same, 170 lbs give or take, all 6 of those years. He started out as a rollie pollie little kid and just keeps getting taller and stronger. Even this year he’s wrestling people that are well above him in weight and he is still doing great.
Matt Goebel – Matt always shows up and is willing to give it 110%. He prepared for this season beforehand training hard, and it shows in how explosive he can be on the mat. Aside from his wrestling performance he is great company to have on the team as a mature, humorous young man.
Trevor Nunley – Trevor just started with us last year, and I don’t think he spoke three words that whole season. But once he did, we found he’s one of the kindest souls we have worked with. You may be thinking…kindness and wrestling, do those two mix? Not usually, but Trevor makes it work pretty darn well. He’s got a great work ethic and a great attitude.
Joe Schoeffel – Joining any sport as a senior can be brutal, but especially with wrestling it makes it extra tough. Joe is making the most of it though and doing quite well for a first year wrestler. What he’s lacking in wrestling skills he makes up for in skill of optimism.
Tallulah Powers – One of the hardest working individuals I’ve ever met. She’s clearly set herself apart from others and has been one of the forerunners in New York State Women’s Wrestling history. I never expected to even have an athlete able to accomplish what she has in such a short time. Being a team from such small schools, we don’t get a lot of respect at the boys tournaments. But at the girls tournaments we do, and a lot of that comes from this one athlete. At seeding meetings other coaches will tout their wrestler by saying, oh she has a win over Tallulah, or she traded wins with Tallulah. She’s literally who other area wrestlers measured themselves against this year. It’s an honor to have such an athlete on our team.
Go BNL Wrestling!! Good luck seniors!!!
photos: BCSD Communications
The BNL Bowlers celebrated Senior Night on January 23rd!
Congratulations to senior Juliann Amuso!
Please find the senior night message from Coach Marbot and Coach Murphy and a match recap below.
Lovingly known as Jules, Juliann joined the team last year and has brought positivity and smiles to the team ever since. Easy going and always having fun, Julies is the epitome of a team player. It is wonderful to have Jules on the team as a beacon of fun and positivity. Surrounded by a majority of teammates who are much younger, Jules is a great role model for them to look up to.
A memory from early in the season occurred when Jules could not make it to a match. Despite being busy, she still wanted to know how her team performed. I messaged her on Schoology to inform her of a loss, but complemented how hard the team worked. Jules replied with nothing but excitement, exclaiming that she was “so proud” of her teammates. And that right there is one of the many reasons we will miss having Jules on the team next year. Her pure joy and enthusiasm extend beyond herself and encompass the whole team. As we celebrate her tonight, it is my sincere hope that the underclassmen absorb some of her joy and positivity. In her own words, spoken with kindness and love, “they’re all babies!” And it’s true, they’re very young! Which is why we are thankful they were able to have Jules as a teammate so she could help shine them in a good direction.
I asked the team to help me out. Some words they chose to describe Jules are:
Honest
Positive
Nice
Hard Working
Awesome
And they’re spot on! So thank you, Juliann , for simply being you. We will miss you next season! –Coach Marbot and Coach Murphy
The BNL Varsity Boys Basketball team celebrated their six seniors on Tuesday, January 30th.
Coach Erickson congratulated the boys on their final high school basketball season. Coach Erickson spoke about what a pleasure it was to coach not only the seniors but the entire varsity team during the second half of their season. Congratulations to seniors Aidan VanDyk, Chris Shorter, Jesse Francouer, Levi Dodge, Mason Garhartt and Nate Boesse. Thank you to the BNL Booster Club for the family gifts, AD Mr. Brown and a special thank you to Ms. Day for MCing the event and honoring the seniors. Please find Ms. Day’s words about this year’s seniors
here.
photo: BCSD Communications
BNL Varsity Girls Basketball Senior Night and Coach Recap 1/17
The BNL Girls Varsity Basketball team came up short for the win against Salem (48-16). Lillian Gardell led the team with another double-double, 10 points and 14 rebounds! Senior Rebecca Madsen had 2 points and 14 rebounds while senior Nikki Minkler had 2 points and 3 rebounds. We will hold our heads high as we enter practice to prepare for our game on Friday.
I have been given the opportunity to coach our two seniors, Rebecca Madsen and Nikki Minkler for the last two seasons, which has been nothing short of awesome. I was there to witness the start of their basketball career coaching them for Taconic Valley Youth Basketball. Watching the two of them grow over the years not only on the basketball court but into amazing young women has been an honor. I am grateful to have been a part of their athletic careers here in Berlin and I wish them all the best in their future endeavors.
Rebecca and Nikki have been playing varsity basketball for the last three years and are two of our current captains. Both Nikki and Rebecca have been leaders both on and off the court. We will absolutely miss the energy and enthusiasm they bring to the team. – Coach Zinna & Coach Harris
Section II Girls Basketball Scholar-Athlete
New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) honors individuals that excel in the classroom. These student-athletes work very hard throughout the school year and deserve to be recognized for their academic success. Students who are nominated for the NYSPHSAA Scholar- Athlete must have a 90 or above GPA to be considered. Congratulations to Berlin Senior Athlete Nikki Minkler who was selected this year as a Section II Girls Basketball Scholar-Athlete! Nikki works hard both in the classroom and on the court and will be honored for her achievements at a Section II Girls Basketball Scholar Athlete Brunch in Saratoga this March. Coach Zinna and Coach Harris were very proud to nominate Niki and are now very excited to announce that she received the Section II recognition. Congratulations Niki!!
photo: BCSD Communications
