Vote: Who is the Mohawk Valley's Athlete of the Week for May 22-31?
It's time to take a look at the standout performers from the Mohawk Valley.
Your vote will determine who will be the Mohawk Valley’s Athlete of the Week for May 22-31. The players' credentials are listed above the poll — which will be live until 12 a.m. Saturday. The winner will be announced on uticaod.com/sports and on our Twitter page Saturday morning.
Note, this week's poll was delayed to account for the Section III baseball and softball championships, which concluded Wednesday night. Next week's poll will be released Tuesday after states have concluded for Boys Tennis and Boys and Girls Golf.
Now, let's meet the candidates. And if the poll at the bottom of the page doesn't load, please click here.
Chase Regan, Little Falls Baseball
The Mountie senior saved his best for the biggest moment of his Little Falls career.
Regan, LF’s usual catcher, played out of position at pitcher during the Class C baseball final against top-seeded Bishop Ludden. That didn’t stop him from dominating as he hurled a complete game and allowed just one run.
At the plate, he drew three walks to start but eventually drove in two key runs in the seventh to put Little Falls up 7-1.
Anthony Kernan, Oriskany Baseball
Picking someone from a 1-0 win could be a challenge, but Kernan is the clear choice here for Oriskany.
The junior got the ball in the Class D final against Belleville-Henderson and threw six shutout innings against the Panthers, which had topped 10 runs nine times this season.
The win gave Oriskany a taste of revenge after it lost in last season’s Class D final to Morrisville-Eaton.
Shelbi Hagues, Poland Softball
On the Class D Section III champion, there is only one choice.
Hagues was EVERYTHING for the Tornadoes in their 6-1 championship win over West Canada Valley.
She drove in all six runs, two in the second and four in the third. On the mound, she curtailed the Indians to tune of one run, one walk and eight strikeouts.
Like Oriskany, Poland enjoyed revenge after losing to Oriskany’s softball team in last season’s Class D championship.
Danielle Seamon, Cooperstown Softball
In the pitcher’s duel between Cooperstown and Port Byron in the Class C Final, Seamon rings in as the easy choice for a Hawkeye to pick.
The senior tossed a complete game and held the fiery Panthers to just two hits and two runs.
At the plate, she tallied two of Coop’s three hits.
Seamon and Co. will play Edison from Section VI at Union-Endicott HS Friday at 4 p.m. for a chance to go to states.
Mateo Ripa, New Hartford Boys Lacrosse
The season may have ended in heartbreak for the Spartans, with a narrow 9-8 loss in the Class C Semifinals to Westhill after the potential game-tying goal was waved off for coming in too late.
Ripa, however, completed an excellent season in the red, white and blue with 48 goals and 69 assists.
Last week, he totaled six points and three goals against Indian River in the quarterfinals, and a team-leading four goals vs Westhill.
Andrew Hicks and Spencer Ingmire, Oneida Boys Tennis
A rare doubles-tandem here at the MV Athlete of the Week, but if these two stick together on the court, why not keep them together here?
The two Oneida seniors earned a spot in states, which begins Friday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows.
They defeated J-D’s pair of Shreyank Bhatt and Luke Cantone in the final at State Qualifiers last Thursday in Utica. This avenged the defeat they suffered to the Red Rams in the Class B sectional championship.
Jake Olearczyk, Holland Patent Boys Golf
The Holland Patent sophomore was one of nine Section III and five local boys’ golfers to earn a spot at states this weekend at Mark Twain Golf Course in Elmira.
Olearczyk shot a two-round score of 156 at the par-72 Seven Oaks Golf Club in Hamilton last Wednesday and Friday. That gave him the lowest score of all S3 golfers.
He’ll be joined locally in the Southern Tier by Waterville’s Gavin Poyer (158), Hamilton’s Will Chouinard (159), Remsen’s Brian Secor (161) and New Hartford’s Tommy Goodelle (162).
Kamryn Yerman, Sauquoit Valley Girls Golf
The Sauquoit Valley freshman was one of the nine Section III and four local girls’ golfers to earn a spot at states Sunday and Monday at Edison Country Club in Rexford.
Yerman shot an 82 last Tuesday at the state qualifiers at Kanon Valley Golf Club in Oneida. She ended with the lowest score of all S3 golfers, four clear of J-D senior Sarah Burgess.
She’ll be joined locally in the Capital District by RFA’s Evie Denton (88), Remsen’s Ellie Secor (93) and Sauquoit’s Alana Weaver (93).
VVS will also be heading to Edison as the Division II Section III team champion.
Noah Ram is the sports reporter for the Observer-Dispatch. Email Noah Ram at nram@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Who is the Mohawk Valley's Athlete of the Week for May 22-31? Vote now
