Varsity Girls Soccer

On Thursday, October 2nd, Homer Varsity Girls Soccer played an away game at CBA. Kim Dieroff, a center midfielder, scored in the first half. During the second half, CBA scored on a dead ball. With the score 1-1, the game went into overtime. CBA scored the first half of overtime, which lasted ten minutes. During the second half, no goals were made until center midfielder Carolyne Yonta scored in last 56 seconds. The intense game created tensions among the fans, and the final score was 2-2.

Indoor Track

Indoor Track Team Returns

     Last night the boys’ indoor track and field team ventured out to Onondaga Community College for its first meet of the season. It was a meet that gave everyone their own special outlook on what they needed to work on for the rest of the season. The night was highlighted by an impressive second place finish by the 4 x 200 meter relay team and the fact that the team lost their bus driver. Last night was the first of two relay meets where all events have times combined for a final score. After a great night, many runners earned their varsity letter and even a trip to the sectional championships in the post-season.

Homer’s Joe Settineri running the 1200 meter portion of the DMR.

     The night started with the 55 meter hurdles with Robby Johnson and Paddy Fox officially starting the indoor track season. Johnson finished eighth overall in the hurdles with a 9.71 as his time while Fox exceeded all expectations for his race and finished fifteenth with a time of 10.96 seconds. The pair finished sixth overall out of all hurdlers with a combined time 20.67 seconds. The 55 meter dash was next on the track. Josh Thompson and Nikolai Grihin represented Homer in this event. Thompson finished sixteenth with a time of 7.16 seconds and Grihin finished thirtieth with a time of 7.57 seconds. The two finished twelfth in the meet with a combined time of 14.73 seconds.

     The 4 x 400 meter relay was next. The runners that participated in this event were Ryan Parker, Josh Sands, Lucian St. John, and Tighe Gugerty. The team finished seventeenth overall with a time of 4:26.67. The next event on the track was the Distance Medley Relay. The DMR is composed of a 1200 meter run, a 400 meter sprint, an 800 meter run, and a 1600 meter run. Joe Settineri, Logan Grihin, Tyler Hatfield, and Freideric Handelmann were the runners for each respective part of the event. All four of the relay members put up incredible times for the team to finish in the top ten.

     The 4 x 200 was the highlight of the evening for the boys’ team. Josh Thompson, Nikolai Grihin, Collin Lake, and Nick Yarnell all did a stellar job. The team finished second in the Central New York Indoor Track Association (CNYITA) event with a time of 1:41.73 and earned the team eight points. Each team member also earned a varsity letter for their efforts. The 4 x 800 was next to run. Tighe Gugerty, Michael Morse, Josh Sands, Freideric Handelmann all had a great run and contributed to a solid eighth place finish.

   The Sprint Medley Relay was the final running event of the night with Robby Johnson, Paddy Fox, Lucian St. John, and Tyler Hatfield participating in the event. The SMR is composed of one 400 meter run, two runners competing in a 200 meter run, and an 800 meter run. The SMR team finished eleventh with a time of 4:30.58.

     Last but not least were the field events. Tim Russel and Luke Sears competed in the shot put with throws of 32’-11” and 31’-01” respectively. In Long Jump, Michael Morse jumped a distance of 14’ 2.25” while his teammate Christian Pittsley did better with a distance of 17’ 11.25”. Christian also broke the sophomore class record with his jump. The pair finished thirteenth with their combined distances. Triple Jump once again became the event everyone waited for to end.  Collin Lake finished with a distance of 35’ 9.25” and Nick Yarnell finished with a distance of 38’ 10.75”. 

Cross Country 2013

Cross Country 2013

Kennedy George

           The Cross Country team had its last event on Wednesday, November 20. Their ice cream social took place, where awards were given out and runners were recognized for their hard work this season. The M.V.P. and M.I.P. awards are given out to individuals from each team (boys' and girls'), chosen by their teammates.  Freideric Handelmann was voted M.V.P. for the boys' team and Jade Auchmoody was voted M.V.P. for the girls' team. Tyler Hatfield was chosen as M.I.P for the boys' team and Mckayla Crawford was voted M.I.P for the girls' team. The Coaches' Award is given out to a boy and girl that the coaches feel deserve recognition. This year, the award went to Josh Sands and Kennedy George. Jade Auchmoody was also recognized for being the only individual on the team to qualify for States. Three runners qualified for All League Awards this year: Mckayla Crawford and Jade Auchmoody in the first team and Arielle Moheimani in the second team. Many new runners joined the team this year and it was, overall, a very competitive season. Congratulations to those runners who were recognized!

Girls’ Tennis Team at Sectionals

Sarah Willsey

On Saturday, October 5, Homer’s girls' tennis team played against New Hartford at sectionals. Rachel McNeil (first singles), Carly Dove (second singles), Lydia Brown and Maddie Jennings (third doubles), and Hillary Leuty and Victoria Shevchuck (fourth doubles) all won their matches. Congratulations!

Returning victorious, the girls now advance to the second round of sectionals. They play against Cortland on Tuesday, October 8th at 3:30 pm. It's a home game, so come show your support for the girls' tennis team!

A Win for the Girls

Kennedy George

     On Wednesday, October 2, the Cross Country team had its first home meet of the year. It was a dual meet that took place at Homer’s 5k Cross Country course at the Lime Hollow Nature Center. Homer’s Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Modified teams raced against Fulton. The Modified runners also ran against St. Mary’s team. The night held a victory for the Varsity Girls' team, with the score of 15 to 44. Girls' Varsity took first, second, third, fourth, fifth, eighth, and eleventh places out of sixteen total girls. The Cross Country team will have its second, and final, home meet on Wednesday, October 9 at the Lime Hollow Nature Center. All are welcome to come!

Stay tuned for the results for Boys and Junior Varsity Cross Country!

Track and Field Team Stumbles after Fight with JD and ESM

Robby Johnson

            The Homer Track and Field Team competed in their second to last dual meet on their home track. The home meet brought some of the greatest competition all season for the team. Homer was pitted up against one of the strongest teams in Class A with Jamesville-Dewitt (JD).   Homer also went up against East Syracuse-Minoa in which their team was also on a solid foundation in the competition department. Winning was a rarity for the boys’ team but when it did happen it was surely enjoyed. The girls’ team also had a strong effort against the toughest competition they have had yet in the dual meet setting. The weather was the best weather the team has had all season which allowed many runners turn out personal bests.

Alex Fisher (12) in the 3200m

            First was the 4 x 800m to start up the day. The boys’ team consisting of John Osterhoudt, Anthony Pilcher, Tyler Hatfield, and Alex Fisher placed third with a time of 9:22.2. The girls’ team had Erin Leach, McKayla Crawford, Grace Gugerty, and Jade Auchmoody as anchor. The girls’ team finished second with a time of 10:05.2. Next on the track were the 110m and 100m hurdles. Robby Johnson finished fourth with a time of 18.7 seconds in the 110 Hurdles. Jekeytha Adkins and Sabina Clark put up good finishes as well in the 100 Hurdles. Adkins won her race 17.1 seconds in and Clark finished fourth with a time of 17.7 seconds.

            The 100m dash was the next event on the track. Dylan Shattuck, Matt Conger, Hannah McEvoy, and Erica Stevens all put up good times on the board. Shattuck placed fourth with a time of 12.1 second while Matt Conger finished behind him in sixth. Hannah McEvoy placed second with a time of 13.5 seconds with Erica Stevens right behind her finishing sixth in a very close race. Next was the 1600m and 1500m run as the boys’ had a tough time in the event. Luke Tesoriero was the only boy to place in the event and finished third with a 4:57.1.  Jade Auchmoody finished in third with a time of 5:15.6 and McKayla Crawford finished fourth.

            Runners went to their designated exchange zones to start the running of the 4 x 100m. The guys’ team consisted of Dylan Shattuck, Devon Drake, Jeremy Morris, and Jayden Gavidia. The team finished second with a time of 45.6 seconds. The girls’ 4 x 100 team had Hannah McEvoy, Lydia Brown, Lucy Connery, and Jekeytha Adkins. The team finished in 51.5 seconds. The girls’ team dominated in the 400m dash while the boys’ team struggled. Erica Stevens won the 400m dash in 62.9 seconds. Teammates Meghan Rahner and Laura Dart finished second and third, resulting in a Homer sweep of the event. Anthony Pilcher was the only boy to score in the event as he finished sixth.

Freideric Handelmann (11) getting pep talk

 from Coach Schneider during the 3200m 

            The next event was the second hurdle event of the night with the 400m Hurdles. Homer’s Erin Leach won the 400m Hurdles with a time of 70.4 seconds. Mary Keefe also finished sixth. Robby Johnson placed third in the event in 68.9 seconds. Next was the 800m run. The boys would have a great competition for third as Luke Tesoriero edged out John Osterhoudt for the spot by four tenths of a second. Tesoriero had a time of 2:16.0.  Jade Auchmoody had a great run and won the event in 2:26.7. Homer’s Grace Gugerty also finished fifth.

            The 200m dash would bring one of the biggest surprises of the night. The boys’ team had a field day on the rest of the competition. Jayden Gavidia won the 200m in his first ever attempt as he broke his respective class record. The record hasn’t been broken since the 1980’s. Among the others, Dylan Shattuck and Matt Conger placed fourth and fifth respectively. Erica Stevens placed second in 28.4 seconds as Hannah McEvoy and Lucy Connery finished 3 and sixth respectively. The 3200m and 3000m events were the second to last events of the night. Alex Fisher placed fourth in a time of 11:02.0. Frederic Handelmann was right behind him in sixth. McKayla Crawford finished third in the 3000m as she had a time of 12:07.7. Kennedy George was also in the sixth position.

Homer’s Laura Dart (12) after receiving a handoff 

from Meghan Rahner (10) in the Women’s 4 x 400m Relay

The final running event of the night was the 4 x 400m relay. The girls’ 4 x 800 team was made up of Erica Stevens, Meghan Rahner, Laura Dart, and Erin Leach. The team pulled through and won the event with a time of 4:24.4. In one of the most exciting races for the boys’ team, Anthony Pilcher, Jayden Gavidia, Austin Smith, and Jeremy Morris went on to win. Gavidia would be part of the only two running event victories that the boys’ team saw, making him easily one of the most valuble players of the meet.

            Last but certainly not least were the field events. In the Shot Put Mike Lavere placed sixth with a mark of 35’5”. Lavere also placed fourth in the Discus with a throw of 103’4.5”. Brynn Hyde and Hannah Agate would also have a good effort in the Shot Put and Discus. Agate placed fourth in Shot Put and sixth in Discus. Brynn Hyde placed fifth in shot put and second in Discus with a throw of 85’5”.

The Long Jump was another close fight in the end. Jayden Gavidia won his third event of the night in the long jump in his long jump debut with an incredible jump of 19’0.75”. Gavidia broke the prehistoric Sophomore Class Record in the Long Jump as well. Jekeytha Adkins placed second in the Long Jump with a jump of 15’2” as Lydia Brown placed fifth.  Homer also saw success in the Triple Jump. Jekeytha Adkins placed second with a jump of 31’5”.  Sabina Clark would finish right behind Jekeytha in third. Devon Drake would be the lone Homer Triple Jumper with a fourth place jump at 38’9.5”.

The High Jump brought some great performances as well. Austin Smith cleared the bar with a height of 5’10”.  Austin finished second at the end of the day. Laura Dart finished fourth with a jump of 4’6”. Lara Pluemer would place sixth. The field event that took the longest would be the pole vault. Austin Smith placed third in the pole vault with a jump of 10 feet. Jade Auchmoody also had a good day and placed second with a jump of 8 feet.

At the end of the day the team wouldn’t finish the way they hoped. With the two losses in the books, the boys’ team returns to a .500 winning average with a 3-3 record. The girls’ team was no longer undefeated due to the fierce competition of JD. The girls’ are now 5-1 in the dual meet setting. The Homer Track and Field Team thanks all of the parents who helped out in the meet as they made the running of the home meet very smoothly. The Trojans will be back on Wednesday, May 8^th at their final dual meet of the season against CBA. Expectations are high for both teams at that meet. 

We would like to invite everyone to come to Wednesday’s meet as it is Senior Night. Jekeytha Adkins, Sabina Clark, Lara Pluemer, Jenna DeLine, Laura Dart, Emily Harrington, Anthony Pilcher, Matt Conger, Luke Tesoriero, Dylan Shattuck, Devon Drake, Austin Smith, Jeremy Morris, Alex Fisher, and Mike Lavere will all be stepping onto the field for the final time in a dual meet setting. With that, we leave you with the final score and some great snapshots of the meet.

The Final Score:

Boys:

   Homer 64- ESM 75

   Homer 34- JD 107

Girls:

   Homer 95- ESM 46

   Homer 58.5- JD 82.5

Track and Field Team Dominates at Cortland

Homer Senior Lara Pluemer making height in High Jump

Robby Johnson

            This last Wednesday the Homer Track and Field team participated in their second dual meet of the season against Cortland and Fowler. The annual meet took place in Cortland for the first time in a few years. The boys’ team came into the meet 1-1 after a loss to Mexico and a win against Fulton. The girls’ team on the other hand came in undefeated with high expectations for the meet.

            The meet started out with the boys’ 4 x 800 event. Homer’s top 4 x 800 team consisted of Jayden Gavidia, Luke Tesoriero, Alex Fisher, and Jeremy Morris as anchor. The team won the race at a time of 9:01.9 with almost a half track lead. The girls’ 4 x 800 team consisted of Erin Leach, McKayla Crawford, and Jade Auchmoody. The girls’ won the event with a time of 11:29.7.

            Next on the track were the boys’ 110m and the girls’ 100m Hurdles. Robby Johnson won the 110 Hurdles event with a season best time of 18.8 seconds. Jekeytha Adkins placed first in the event with a 17.1 seconds. Sabina Clark and Hannah Agate placed second and fifth respectively. Following the hurdles was the 100m dash. Homer had two standout performers in Dylan Shattuck and Emily Harrington. Shattuck claimed fourth and Harrington finished sixth.

            The boys’ 1600 and the girls’ 1500 brought some of Homer’s biggest gains in team scoring. Luke Tesoriero won the 1600 with an impressive 5:00. Freideric Handelmann and Kory Platt finished third and fourth respectively. Jade Auchmoody won the 1500 with a 5:07.9 while McKayla Crawford and Kennedy George finished third and fifth.

            The boys’ 4 x 100m team was up next. Dylan Shattuck, Devon Drake, Jeremy Morris, and Jayden Gavidia made up the team as they went on to win with a time of 46.3 seconds. The girls’ team, which it consisted of Emily Harrington, Hannah McEvoy, Lucy Connery, and Jekeytha Adkins, finished third in their 4x100m. The 400m dash bring some impressive times on the boys’ side and the girls swept the event. Nick Yarnell placed second in the 400m with an impressive time of 53.9 seconds and qualified for sectionals.  John Osterhoudt placed fifth with a time of 57.4 seconds. Erica Stevens and Laura Dart placed first and second in the 400m increasing the girls’ lead over Cortland and Fowler. Erica won with a time of 63.9 seconds, and Laura with a time of 66.8 seconds.

            The 400m hurdles were next as the rain finally started to fall. Robby Johnson pulled off the sweep in the hurdle events with an exciting win and a season best of 70.0 seconds. The girls’ team swept again as Erin Leach and Mary Keefe placed first and second. Erin had a great race with a time of 73.0 seconds.  The 800m run was next, even though the conditions were getting worse. Kory Platt and Luke Tesoriero placed fourth and fifth. Platt edged Tesoriero by a mere eight tenths of a second. Jade Auchmoody won her third running event of the day in the 800m with a time of 2:30.6. Auchmoody won the 1500 and was a member of the 4 x 800m earlier in the meet. Grace Gugerty came in second while Taryn Waligurski finished fourth.

            The boys’ 200m dash was to be the final event of the night before the officials called the meet. Dylan Shattuck placed second with a time of 24.2 seconds, and Jeremy Morris finished right behind him in fifth. The running events weren’t the only events that had big headlines though. Both teams would still hang onto their leads in the field events.

            In the shot put Andrew Schrauben placed fourth with a throw that was almost 33 ft. Dan Schenck also placed sixth in the event. Brynn Hyde placed second in the shot put with a length of 27” 1’. Lydia Brown and Hannah Agate placed third and fourth respectively. Evan Lewis and Andrew Schrauben placed third and fourth in the discus. Lewis had a throw of 81” 6’. Brynn Hyde, Hannah Agate and, Katie Ryan finished second, third, and fourth respectively in the discus.

            Austin Smith won the pole vault with a height of nine feet. Cody Hubert came in at seven feet with a fifth place finish. Jade Auchmoody won her fourth event of the night in the pole vault with a height of eight and a half feet. The Homer boys’ swept the high jump with Austin Smith winning with a height of 5-6 and Jayden Gavidia in a close second. Austin won the high jump and the pole vault in terrible conditions. Emily Harrington won the high jump with a height of 4-10 with Laura Dart and Lara Pluemer right behind her. Jekeytha Adkins placed second the long jump with a length of 14-11 with Meghan Rahner in fifth. Nick Yarnell won the Long Jump with a length of 17-1 with Devon Drake in a close third.

            The weather held up for more than half the meet until a down pour started. This  left the girls’ 200m dash, both 2 mile events, both 4 x 400 events, and the triple jump all unfinished. The race was called as a result of the rain. In the end both teams swept against their opponents in the meet. However, the team hasn’t been able to get a break with the weather as every meet this season has been either rainy or freezing outside. The boys extended their record to 3-1, which is the first time the boys’ team has had a winning record in two years. The girls’ team continues to be undefeated in Dual Meets.The Homer Track and Field team will be at their next dual meet on Wednesday against JD and ESM at home.

The Final Score:

Boys:
Homer 72- Cortland 42

Homer 65- 52

Girls:

Homer 66- Cortland 39

Homer 88- Fowler 17

Bowling Team a Success

Liam George

The Homer High School bowling team is in its second year this season. Two years ago a group of students and parents from the community approached the Board of Education to propose the formation of the team. After a lot of hard work, the team was created last year. Under the coaching of Mr. Nasiatka and Mrs. Carboine, the bowling team reached sectionals in their first year. Coach Nasiatka said that the boys and girls teams this year should be even better. The team practices at Hi Lanes in Homer, but all matches are held at Strike and Spare in Mattydale. Homer bowls against schools such as CBA, Grimes, Cortland, Fulton, ESM, Chittenango, and Solvay. Both the boys and girls teams have ten members this year. Four of the boys are freshman and one of them is an eighth grader.

Holiday Volleyball Tournament

Chase Davis

The Holiday Volleyball Tournament is in full swing, as semifinals and finals are quickly approaching. The tournament had a good turnout this year, as several teams registered. “Beast from the East” and “Eight Maids a Milkin’” are the two team finalists for this year’s tournament. Their game will be held on Friday, December 14.

For those who do not know much about volleyball, here is what it entails. Only six players can be on the court at a time, and there must be three girls and three guys. The team with the higher seed gets to serve first. The three basic kinds of shots in volleyball are the bump, the set, and the serve. The first hit after the serve must be a bump. After that, players can use almost any hit to get the ball over the net. The goal is to have the volleyball land on the court on the other side of the net. Each game is played to 15 points, and in the tournament, the match goes to the team that wins two out of the three games.

Ian Heath, from the “Arctic Aces,” said, “I thought they did a good job, but they need to play to a higher score during the seeding rounds.” During the tournament, games were played to 15; however, during the seeding rounds, games were only played to 11.

Nick Cinquanti, from the “Silent Knights,” said, “It was a lot of fun!” He also added the quotation, “Oh, in the face,” as a few of the shots resulted in hits to the face.

Overall, the tournament was a huge success. Show your support by watching the championship game on Friday, December 14th. Also, be sure to sign up next year, if you are interested in participating.

First Games for Girls’ Basketball

Meghan McGrath

On Friday, November 30th, the girls’ basketball teams had their first games of the season. The varsity team includes juniors Hannah Agate, Carly Dove, Kaylee Dimorier, Becca Eichorst, Kristen Fuller, Kasey McGrath, Lisa Sharpe, and Gail VanValkenburg, sophomore Morgan Hollenback, and freshmen Hannah Casey and Madison Dimorier. The team lost 54-13 against the Christian Brothers Academy. Both teams played hard, but in the end, CBA managed to get the upper hand.

The junior varsity team was also defeated, finishing the game with a score of 32-22. JV includes sophomores Mary Mercer, Megan Neuman, Natalie Partigianoni, Olivia Roos, and Emily Whittington, freshmen Meghan McGrath and Emily Aloi, and eighth-graders Megan Guerrara and Cary
Trierweiler. Ashley Lee is also on JV, but she was unavailable for the game. After four quarters, CBA walked away with the win.

On Monday December 3rd, the girls’ basketball teams will play against Tully at home.

Cross Country Highlight

 

Kennedy George  

On November 3rd, the cross country sectionals took place, in which both a boys’ team and girls’ team participated. Jade Auchmoody qualified for states, which took place on Saturday, November 10th. She ran in the Class B section and placed 52nd out of 126 girls. Jade finished with a time of 19:44.7 minutes for her 5k race. Great job, Jade!

Cross Country Ends Season

Kennedy George

This year’s cross country season has come to an end. On November 7th, the Friends of Homer Runners held its sixteenth annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser at the Homer Elks Lodge. Then, on November 16th, the Cross Country team held its annual ice cream social at the high school. At this event, the coaches, Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Graves, handed out the MVP, MIP, and Coaches’ Awards. The MVP Awards go to the most valuable girl and boy runners on the team. This season, they were given to senior Luke Tesoriero and junior Jade Auchmoody. The MIP Awards go to the most improved players of the season. This year, they were awarded to junior Liam George and freshman McKayla Crawford. Both of these awards are designated by the team; the Coaches’ Awards, however, are picked by Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Graves. This year’s recipients were senior Nikea Ulrich and sophomore Griffin Langhans.

When asked how, in his opinion, the season went, Mr. Baldwin replied that he thought it was great that the girls had a full team this year. He said that the girls won three out of five meets this season and managed to place at multiple invitationals. He also mentioned the accomplishments of Jade Auchmoody and how excited he was that she qualified for states. The boys had a large team, which was good because he feels that it is important to include many students in the sport. He was also enthusiastic about the amount of improvement he saw in the boys’ team this year. Mr. Baldwin also mentioned that he was glad that the majority of the team attended the Lime Hollow cleanup. The students participated in the event to thank Lime Hollow for allowing the team to use its trails for practices and home meets. When asked about his experience with the cleanup, runner Liam George answered, “I had fun.” The 2012 season was an overall success.

Students Raise Money for and Awareness of Cancer

Ali Jenkins

On November 9th, junior and senior girls faced off in the fourth annual Powder Puff Football Game, organized by Mr. Nasiatka. The teams were composed of enthusiastic, generous students who donated their time for the fundraising event. The teams were coached by varsity football players, who imparted their wisdom of the game to the players. Both juniors and seniors displayed excellent skills and sportsmanship on the field, and the seniors were victorious, winning 35 to 21. The game was followed by a dance hosted by the high school Link Crew.

In the weeks prior to the event, students sold pledge cards and bracelets to raise money for the game. Through the various fundraising activities undertaken, the players raised a total of $1,848. This money was donated to the More Than a Game Foundation and the Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. The More Than a Game Foundation is an organization dedicated to the fight against cancer. Through local events and fundraisers organized by schools and sports’ teams, the foundation raises money for cancer treatment and research in New York State.

Special thanks to the individuals at Homer High School who made the event such a success: Mr. and Mrs. Carboine, Mr. Cortese, Mr. Nasiatka, Mr. Podsiedlik, Mrs. Lang, and Mrs. Whitney, as well as many others!

Varsity Field Hockey

Julia Fouts

The Homer High School varsity field hockey team experienced a great season this year! The season started on August 29th with a scrimmage in Marathon and ended on October 22nd with a home game against Cato-Meridian. With its final game, the team ended the season well with a 2-1 win! The team members also won two other games and, despite several loses, became very close friends.  The three captains were Maria Urban, Braeden Sharer, and Kayla Cargen. Kayla Cargen said the varsity team this year had good defense and fast offense. “This is this closest team we have ever had; we really bonded,” said Braeden Sharer. Homer Varsity field hockey had a hard, but fun, 2012 season!