Central New York Stars Shine Brightly

Donte' Greene and Andrew Robinson are two of the Central New York athletes that often appear in the headlines. Their coaches are put under a microscope. Should Jim Boeheim go to a man to man defense? Should Greg Robinson still have a job in Central New York? But while the SU basketball and football teams make most Central New York sports fans tick, there are other athletes that deserve recognition.

Courtney Chapman
The girls from Fayetteville Manlius Cross Country have just won their SECOND straight national championship. And this time it wasn't even close. Four of the top nineteen runners in the country were from F-M. The championships took place in Portland, Oregon.

One of the four runners in the top 19 was Courtney Chapman (right, photo by Donna Dye). Chapman finished 9th in the national championship race. She was F-M's top ranked racer. At the New York State championships she finished second overall. And guess what, she's a freshman. Chapman was not part of the team that won national championships last year, but her lack of experience on the national stage was not obvious after her stellar performance on December 1st. The future also looks bright for Chapman and the FM ladies cross country team. The Stotans from Manlius XC club lose just one of their top seven runners to graduation.

Brandon Triche
Chapman has hit the national stage running as a high school FRESHMAN. But Syracuse legend Leo Rautins was talking about one CNY star when he was in grade three. Brandon Triche was an All-State guard in his freshman year. Going into his sophomore year he was considered one of the best guards in the state, even stealing headlines from star Syracuse recruits Donte' Greene and Jonny Flynn when the two recruits visited SU.

But Triche’s sophomore season ended prematurely with a torn ACL last December. Yet Triche continues to add to his fairy tale story. In his first game back from his torn ACL, the JD junior scored 25 points in a semi final victory at the Jamesville-Dewitt Tipoff tournament.

Troy Nickerson
The spotlight on Troy Nickerson(right, photo from Cornell Athletic website) is going to have to wait until next year. Nickerson was the only five time state champion in New York high school wrestling history. He has also been a two time NCAA Division 1 All-American while at Cornell. As a true freshman he finished first in the season. He finished third in the country last year in the 125-pound category.

Last season Nickerson hurt his back and missed half the season. But his injuries just won't go away. He started the seaosn ranked second in the country and now will miss this season because his lingering shoulder problem just will not go away. Nickerson says he has been struggling with the shoulder injury for awhile. Cornell coach Rob Koll says the injury to Nickerson hurts the prospects for the team.

Sarah Holden
Marcellus senior Sarah Holden was the section 3, Class B player of the year. She also scored the biggest goal of her career in the state semi-finals. After two scoreless halves, scoreless overtimes and no goals in sudden death the semi-final went to penalty kicks. And there Holden scored the biggest goal of her career. Holden scored the game-winning goal in penalty kicks.

Marcellus moved onto the final and lost to Briarcliff, but the one goal that was scored in the game was scored by Holden. She is going to continue to make her mark in Syracuse, but not on the soccer field. She has excepted a scholarship to play Lacrosse at Syracuse University.

Dale Ross and Latavius Murray
Dale Ross (left from The Post Standard) and Latavius Murray make up the tale of two running backs. Latavius Murray is on his way to Central Florida on a full scholarship to play football. Dale Ross is still looking at his options for next season. Ross had one of the best moments of last fall's high school sports term. On October 26th, Ross ran for 569 yards. It was a school record. A state record. And it was the sixth best rushing game in American high school record books. His 569 yards that one night against Cazenovia was part of a 2,421 yard season where Ross added 39 TD's.

Latavius Murray, on the other hand, put up over 2,000 yards rushing and finished second to Ross in number of TD's. But Murray is all set up for next year. Matt Alkire from scout.com says Murray has "pro-tential." "So four years from now, the blunt answer I can give you is, at the same size, he's a running back or a strong side linebacker. I'm not sure which one. But what he is is a great athlete, and barring any changes, this is a kid that's definitely NFL material." Murray led Onondaga High School to a Section III championship. Onondaga lost to Walton from Section IV in the state quarterfinals.

Morgan McDermott

West Genessee High School has had a pretty good fall. The football team won the Class AA State championship and the women's volleyball team went to the state championship. Morgan McDermott was the star of the West Genny volleyball team. She had 21 kills in the Section III championship win against powerhouse Baldwinsville. It was the first sectional title for the Wildcats in school history. The trip to the state finals was not as successful. West Genny did not make it out of the semi-final round robin.

McDermott has developed her game so she can play any position on the court. She says she has worked hard to play full rotation, meaning when she moves to the backcourt the coach won't sub for her.

Nate Boudreau
Nate Boudreau is quick, smart and deceptive. All skills that have made him one of the best high school soccer players in Central New York. The senior from Baldwinsville High School broke an all-time scoring record with 56 goals in his junior season. He has played across the pond in Scotland and England. He also is part of the U.S. Soccer's Olympic Development Program. On top of all this he has committed to play for Boston College next year.

The season ended a little earlier than Boudreau would have liked. Baldwinsville lost to Niskayuna 1-0. Baldwinsville set a school record for most wins in one season at 18. The loss was in a regional Class AA playoff game.

Marc Methot
Not all the athletes in Central New York that deserve recognition are amateur athletes. Syracuse Crunch defenseman Marc Methot is back in Syracuse after a brief stint with NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets. The 22 year old defencemen from Ottawa has tallied only 3 points this season for the Crunch, but is a legitimate pro prospect. Methot replaced Tomas Popperle with Columbus.