Border Country Sports Report-December 31st

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Good Morning! With the Border Country Sports Report for today, I’m Keith Harrington. 

Happy New Year’s Eve everyone. I hope you all have big plans for ushering in 2023. I am ready for my New Year’s Eve celebration right now at 7 a.m. I am in my pajamas in my recliner with my trusty lab retriever Chloe who turns 15 years old tomorrow at my side. That is right where I will be at midinight as well.

As 2022 comes to a close, I thought it would be fun to look at my “Top 5 Local High School Sports Stories of the Year!” for the New York side of the border. Remember, this is just one man’s opinion of what stood out to him this year in high school sports. Of course there are many great moments that will be missing from my list, but for me these are the Top 5. 

  1. Greenwich Softball Class C State Champions-Greenwich winning the Class C State Softball Championship in 2022 was a story that movies are made of. Senior pitcher Lily McCauliffe hurled a three-hitter with nine strikeouts to lead the Witches to the title after recovering from an injury that had her season, and possibly her career in jeopardy. Coach Bill Curley was in his first year at the helm in Greenwich. The Witches defeated Whitehall 1-0 in the sectional final, Chatham 4-3 in extra innings in the Class C/CC playoff, Avon 5-0 in the state semifinals and Greene 4-1 for the state title. 
  1. Cambridge-Salem Football Reaches the Dome-Another of my favorite stories of 2022 was the Cambridge-Salem football team advancing to the Class D state championship game at The Dome in Syracuse. Cambridge-Salem was led by a group of players who changed positions at the beginning of the year. A decision made by head coach Doug Luke and his staff. Linemen moved to skilled positions. Skilled position players moved to linemen. The move resulted in an unbeaten regular season. A 12-7 win over Alexander in the regional final. And a  47-22 victory over Moriah in the state semifinals before falling to a powerhouse Tioga squad in the championship game. 
  1. Hartford Girls Basketball Makes Final Four-One of the best times I had all year was covering the Hartford girls basketball team’s run to the state semifinals. It was the first time in school history that a Tanager’s team in any sport had reached the State Final Four. Jason Johnson’s team defeated Saratoga Catholic for the sectional title and Boquet Valley in the regional championship game. The Tanagers fell to Copenhagen in the state semifinals. Hartford featured two 1,000 career point scorers in Gabby McFarren and Karlee Nims. 
  1. Lake George-Warrensburg Football-In their first merged season the Lake George-Warrensburg football team, now known as the Wolverines, had one of the most dominant seasons in recent memory. The team made up of former rivals cruised through the regular season unbeaten, having games where they scored 60, 65, 72, 76 and 68 along the way. In the regional championship game the Wolverines scored 85 points against Gouverneur. Lake George-Warrensburg fell to O’Neil in the state semifinals. 
  1. Lake George Volleyball-Speaking of a dominating season, the Lake George volleyball team also fits the bill. The Warriors went 14-0 during the regular season and did not drop a set in Adirondack League play. Lake George defeated Mekeel Christian 3-0 for the sectional championship and Lake Placid 3-0 for the regional crown to make the New York State Championships at Cool Insuring Arena. The thing that makes the Warriors a great story is they did it without two of their key players, Ella Fox and Maddie Burke, who were out injured.