Bronxville girls’ lacrosse players. Photo by J. Villanueva

By J. Murrer and S.Q. DeJoy

April 10, 2024: The Bronxville teams must contend with many different weather conditions in the spring, but there were two events this past week that put them in unfamiliar territory, an earthquake and a solar eclipse. The track and field teams hosted the Bronxville Invitational on Friday afternoon during the earthquake’s 4.0 aftershock, but the athletes did not seem to miss a beat. The teams took a short break after school on Monday to view the solar eclipse before heading to their games later in the day.

The Bronco calendar was particularly busy last Friday and Monday because last week was cut short due to Easter Monday and rain and high winds on Wednesday. Below is a look at how the teams fared in the opening week of the season.

Boys’ Tennis

The boys’ tennis team won the New York State Division 2 Team Championship last year and opened the season with a 3-2 win over Rye Neck on Friday and a 5-0 win over Leffell on Monday. The Broncos are a young team with freshman Jackson Fino at first singles and freshman Rohan Bala at second singles.

Boys’ Golf
The golf team opened Monday at Bonnie Briar Country Club competing against Mamaroneck and Harrison. The Broncos picked up a 218-219 win over Mamaroneck but lost to a strong Harrison team that scored 198. Walker Liggett was the low Bronxville scorer with 40.

Baseball

The Broncos played some very close games this past week. They defeated Dobbs Ferry 5-4 in their home opener with a strong pitching performance by Henry Vail (2H, 7SO, ER) and great offensive play by Jake Donnelly (1-2, RBI), Jack Gangemi (1-1, 2B, 2BB, 2RBI), Connor Kenny (3BB), and Jack Kennedy (1-3, 2B), and Jackson Crystal (2-3).

On Friday, the team lost to Croton 3-2 after the Tigers scored 2 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Pitcher Jack Kennedy pitched 4.2 innings giving up only 1 hit. Kennedy was 2-3 with a homerun, a double, and an RBI.

The Broncos also suffered a one-run loss on Monday to Briarcliff. Relief Pitcher Gavin Smart threw 51 pitches without giving up a run and had 6SO.

Boys’ Lacrosse

The boys’ lacrosse team, ranked No. 9 in the LoHud Power Rankings, has opened spring season games against some of the strongest teams in Section 1. The Broncos lost to No. 3 Yorktown 5-4 in overtime in their season opener and followed that up with a 10-8 win over No. 10 Stepinac last Tuesday.

Like most of the Bronxville teams, the boys’ lacrosse team played during the earthquake aftershock on Friday and immediately following the eclipse on Monday. They suffered lost 14-7 to No. 3 Iona Prep on Friday with Jack Reilly and Thomas Freeman scoring two goals each. In Monday’s 14-7 win over Haldane, top scorers included Theo McMurray (3G,4A), Jack Reilly (3G,3A), and Nick Martinelli (3G). Luke Arrighi had 22 saves.

Girls’ Lacrosse

The girls’ lacrosse team (2-3) had a 15-9 win over Horace Greeley on Monday. Top scorers were Amy Villanueva leading the team with four goals followed by Charlotte Murrary (3G), Rose Woolery (3G), Maddy Williams (2G), Linnea Hentschel (1G), Ellie Garofalo (1G), and Mabel Arrighi (1G). Greeley is strong contender in Section 1 and has four players who have committed to play in college.

Track and Field

In the inaugural Bronxville Invitational last Friday, Bronxville, Edgemont, Harrison, Maria Regina, Rye Neck, and Tuckahoe competed down at the James Owen Mitchell Track. Top three finishers are listed below.

Girls’ Track and Field
100m dash: Carson Kochansy, 3rd, 13.72
1500m: Meghan Curran, 2nd, 5:24.87, Emerson Dennis, 3rd, 5:37.39
100m hurdles: Colette Ungvary, 1st, 17.51; Charlotte O’Friel, 3rd, 19.30
4x100m: 1st place, 55.81
SMR: 2nd, 4:21.67
4x800m: 1st, 10:48.65
High Jump: Colette Ungvary, 2nd, 4-6; Fiona Keveney, 3rd, 4-3
Long Jump: Juliet Winiecki, 1st, 17-1
Triple Jump: Juliet Winiecki, 2nd, 30-10.25; Alessa Johanson, 3rd, 30-6.5
Discus: Ava Schwartz, 1st, 73-8; Chloe Holub, 2nd, 67-2
Shot Put: Morea Gjocaj, 1st, 23-5.5; Sabrina Presant, 2nd, 22-11.5; Elira Punter, 3rd, 22-4

Boys’ Track and Field
100m dash: Davis Patterson, 1st, 11.64; Javier Tomala-Reidel: 3rd, 11.94
1600m: Julian Gonzalez, 1st, 4:46.17; Luke Corr, 2nd, 4:47.11; Matthew Jensen, 3rd, 4:52.49
110 hurdles: Wyatt Gravier, 1st, 14.52; John Sekula, 2nd, 17.27
4x100m: 1st, 47.71
SMR: 1st, 3:39.49
4x800m: 1st, 9:12.79
High Jump: Wyatt Gravier, 1st, 5-10
Long Jump: Spencer Martin, 3rd, 18-0
Triple Jump: Vincent D’Amato, 2nd, 36-7
Discus: Zijun Xu, 2nd, 115-7