Senior moments

Richard A Ross
Posted 8/21/12

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — There was a large wooden placard in the dining hall of Camp Kokosing, an idyllic place in Vermont where I spent my summers from age eight to 18, and indeed a place in which I …

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Senior moments

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SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — There was a large wooden placard in the dining hall of Camp Kokosing, an idyllic place in Vermont where I spent my summers from age eight to 18, and indeed a place in which I literally came to be. Inscribed on that aging oak board were the words, “Now is life’s most precious time.” For those seniors who take to the floor for their final home games of their high school careers, that Senior Night moment of recognition, the flowers imparted to parents and the photos taken comprise a powerful memory that will long endure. Last week and this, across the region, such ceremonies are taking place, and this writer would like to extend his warmest and heartiest congratulations and thanks to these elder statesmen and stateswomen who have given their all and made many a freezing cold winter night warmer and far more bearable.

For those teams that will be moving on to sectionals, there is still more to come, and consequently the impact of Senior Night hasn’t quite registered yet. But once that final buzzer sounds ending the season at whatever point that occurs, the finality of it all will sink in. It is the close of a chapter rife with memories, replete with triumphs and disappointments, smiles and tears. Winter will soon give way to spring and most senior athletes will immerse themselves in their final high school athletic endeavor— be it baseball, softball, golf, tennis, or track and field. In June there will be a final separation from all of this with graduation. But for now, with the looming end of basketball in particular, I will offer this piece of tribal wisdom: “Each new beginning comes from the end of some other beginning’s end.” Revel in the moment. Treasure the memories and marvel at how you have grown and emerged from the time that seems so long ago, when you first put on that uniform.

Monticello’s 94-66 Senior Night victory over Fallsburg was a celebration, and as it would turn out following a disappointing one-point OT loss to Port Jervis two nights later, it was the last of the Panthers’s 10-game winning streak. Prior to the game against Fallsburg, Montie senior cheerleaders Maria Astras, Kathleen Lasher, Courtney Swensen and Natasiana Small were honored. Then came senior basketball players Mentor Gashi, Devin Williams, Tyrel Poole, Sha-Shawn Drayton, Master Patterson, Travon Jarrett, Dante Smalls and Rafael Ortiz. The Panthers 14-4 (5-1 OCIAA) will likely be the number-two seed in the upcoming Section IX Class A tournament. The Panthers will most likely host New Paltz in an opening round game early next week. Other local boys teams vying in sectionals include Port Jervis (Class A), Liberty (Class B), Tri-Valley and Sullivan West (Class C), Livingston Manor and Eldred (Class D). The girls tournament will feature Port Jervis (Class A), Fallsburg (Class B), Tri-Valley (Class C), Eldred and Livingston Manor (Class D). After an uplifting 70-48 home win over previously league-unbeaten Chester, Tri-Valley 9-6 (5-1 OCIAA) headed down to Chester on February 23 for the rematch, which will shed more light on which of the two teams will emerge as the Division V champion. Meanwhile, hellacious weather forced the cancellation of the Section IX Class B Indoor Track Championships at West Point on February 21. It was the third consecutive year that the iconic meet was nixed. The state qualifier meets will be held this week to determine which runners, jumpers and throwers will advance to the state meet held at Cornell University on March 7. The following Sullivan County skiers will vie at the Alpine Skiing State Meet held at Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid on February 23-24. Monticello’s Riley Lindholm and Mackenzie Mitchell, along with Liberty’s Olivia Racette, Fallsburg’s Zak Steingart, Monticello’s D.J. Oldfield and Liberty’s Carl McGuire. For albums of photos, visit www.sportsiny.com.

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