Whitehall girls celebrate Senior Night

Maybe they should be nicknamed “The Magnificent Seven.” It would take a lot of effort to find a group of seniors who have impacted a school’s sports program as much as the current Whitehall senior girls.

Not only have they been dominant in softball, the members of the Whitehall Class of 2023 have been solid on the soccer pitch and the basketball court as well.

Last night the Railroaders took to their home court one final time in Adirondack League play on Senior Night and pulled away to defeat Hartford, 63-42.

Madison Gould, Ava Ruby, Blake Bird, Jayden Hughes, Bri Eddy, Ashlyn Groesbeck and Vinna Jensen were all honored with their parents in a ceremony before the game for their service to the Whitehall basketball program.

The young Tanagers have improved by leaps and bounds as the season has gone on and seem to be peaking just in time for the Class D sectionals, but the veteran Railroaders were able to complete the season sweep after defeating the Tanagers in their home gym early in the season.

An 18-6 second quarter proved to be decisive in this one as Hartford could not make up the deficit.

Junior Samantha Howland scored 19 points to lead the Railroaders.

Groesbeck added 15 for Whitehall. Bird finished with 10 points and Gould nine.

McKenzie Johnson had a strong game for the Tanagers, pouring in 17 points. Alawnah Dunda chipped in eight for Hartford.

Whitehall is 10-1 in league play and holds a one-game lead over Hadley-Luzerne in the Division II race. The Railroaders travel to Hadley-Luzerne Tuesday night.

Whitehall is 12-3 overall. Hartford falls to 5-6, 5-9.

Whitehall boys in basketball hunt

It was Senior Night for the Hartford boys basketball team at the Ella Colvin gym on Friday night, but Whitehall rolled into town with its own intentions. After an 0-4 start, the Railroaders have won 10 of 12 and worked their way back into the Adirondack League playoff hunt.

Whitehall took command early then recovered from a second quarter Tanagers’ rally to pull away for a 50-37 victory. It was the fifth win in a row for Keith Redmond’s squad.

“It’s a game of runs. Our goal was to keep it close. We knew they were going to be tough tonight. Senior Night. There is always emotion in the game,” Redmond said. “We knew at some point our defense was going to wear them out.”

The Railroaders’ defense did indeed play a key role in the game as Whitehall raced out to a 13-2 lead and led 16-7 after a quarter.

Hartford recovered in the second, flashing a little defense of their own, outscoring the Railroaders 14-5 to draw even at 21-21 at the intermission.

In the second half the wearing-down by the Whitehall defense began. Hartford took its first lead of the night at 25-23 on a Ray Harrington bucket. The Tanagers wouldn’t lead again.

The Railroaders used a barrage of 3-pointers to regain control. Cash Burgey netted a trio of treys, with Jake Whiting and Landon Steves contributing one each. Whitehall led 39-30 heading to the final frame.

The Railroaders ripped off an 11-2 run to begin the quarter and held off the Tanagers the rest of the way.

Redmond gave much of the praise to his team’s defensive effort. Whitehall held Hartford to single digits in three of the four quarters.

“By the end of the third quarter and early fourth they struggled with jump shots. They couldn’t score. Even inside we were able to block shots and go,” Redmond added. “You’ve got to attribute it to the defensive effort tonight. It was solid all the way around. And in the second half we hit a lot of big shots.”

Hartford coach Jason Harrington blamed the defeat on turnovers and spells where the defensive effort was not there from his team.

“We go on these stretches where the defense goes away and we turn the ball over four or five trips. We’ve done it all year long,” Harrington said.

Harrington also heaped praise on the defense and hustle of the Railroaders.

“They defend well and they play so hard. I have so much respect for what Keith does with his kids,” Harrington said. “When they’re not shooting well they make up for it by just playing hard. They win a lot of games that way.”

Burgey paced Whitehall with 16 points. Latrell Evans added 13 and Jake Whiting 11.

Ray Harrington led the Tanagers with 17 points. Austin Wells chipped in 10.

Whitehall is two games behind division leading Hadley-Luzerne with two games remaining. The Railroaders host the Eagles Wednesday night.

“We would like to win out ourselves, but we’ve got to rely on a little bit of help. That’s okay. If we don’t we’ll get ready for sectionals,” Redmond said.

Whitehall raised its mark to 7-5, 10-6. Hartford dropped to 3-8, 3-11.

On Tuesday night, Whitehall completed the season sweep of Vermont border rival Poultney, rolling past the Blue Devils, 57-37, in a non-league contest.

Latrell Evans scored 26 points to lead the Railroaders. Cash Burgey added 13 and Jake Whiting with 11 for Whitehall.

Craig Baptie led Poultney with 15 points. Peyton Book added eight and Marcus Lewis six.

Whitehall was 9-6 on the season after the win. Poultney fell to 3-8.

Whitehall wrestlers lose, 49-18

They did it again. After a football season where they rolled to a Section II crown, the Warrensburg-Lake George wrestling team gave the Wolverines another title. The merged program clinched the Adirondack League championship with a 49-18 win over Whitehall.

Tristen Hitchcock (285), Zack Olden (132) and Ben Miner (160) recorded pins for Warrensburg-Lake George.

Troy Austin (215), Matt Ingerson (126) and Chad Monty (189) won by pin for the Railroaders.

Colton Bell at 132, Gavin McCabe at 145, Dante Corriveau and Cameron Hunt-Allen at 172 earned wins by decision for the Wolverines.

It was the seventh straight league title for Warrensburg, and the first for the combined Warrensburg-Lake George program.

Whitehall keglers fall to Corinth

The Whitehall bowling team closed out its regular season last week, falling to Corinth 4-0 in an Adirondack League match at Kingpin’s Alley in South Glens Falls.

Ricky Mandigo led the Tomahawks with a 482 series. Mandigo rolled games of 142, 183 and 157. Gavyn Randall bowled games of 118, 143 and 98 for a 459 triple.

Sam Hill added a 447 series and Jaiden Traglia a 331 for Corinth.

For the Railroaders, Mel Vandenburgh shot games of 118, 135 and 134 for a 387 series.

Lucas Vandenburgh added a 353 triple with games of 98, 147 and 108.

Whitehall also got a 332 series from Shyla Longtin and a 288 from Julie Lemy.

See the Granville sports round-up for more details on how Whitehall wrestlers did in the recent Ken Baker Tournament in Stillwater.