By J. Murrer and S. Q Dejoy

Jan. 12, 2021: The winter sports season came to a halt over the holiday but was back in full swing this past weekend. The boys’ basketball team had a decisive win over Ardsley on Saturday, and the girls’ basketball team defeated Dobbs Ferry on Monday.  On Sunday at The Armory, the Bronxville boys’ and girls’ track and field teams both won their respective League 3A Championships.

The boys’ basketball team at the Bill Green Tournament at Bronxville High School. Photo courtesy of @BXVHS_principal.

The boys’ basketball team opened the season in mid-December by winning the annual Bill Green Tournament, beating Valhalla in the opening round and Iona Prep B in the finals. The team, led by captains Chris Kelty, Jack Hershberg and Sean McGrath, is 4-0 so far this season and was recently ranked the top team in Class B.  

The Broncos have a talented roster, including senior Kelty who was selected to the Section 1’s Preseason Super 7 Second Team by lohud.com.  Other members of the team include seniors Hershberg and Teddy Dolan, All-League players in 2021, and senior Conor O’Neil, who has recently committed to Georgetown for football. Juniors McGrath and Alec Mercer are also big contributors to the Bronco team.

On Saturday, the Broncos secured a big 61-53 win over Ardsley in their first game of the new year, and in a defensive battle against a strong Hastings team last night, the Broncos prevailed with a 35-32 win.  In the win against the Panthers, Kelty score 19 points with 9 rebounds, and O'Neil and Mercer scored 13 and 12, respectively.  In the Hastings game yesterday, Mercer (9), Kelty (8) and McGrath (7) were the top scorers for the Broncos.  

The team will play away at Edgemont, Putnam Valley, and Briarcliff in the upcoming week and will return home to play against Irvington next Wednesday. Due to Covid restrictions, Bronxville allows only four spectators per player.

The girls’ basketball team at the Bill Green Tournament at Bronxville High School. Photo courtesy of @BXVGirlsHoops.

The Bronxville girls’ basketball team, led by captains Ashley Wetty, Kiki Tormey and Eliza Ramundo, also won the Bill Green Tournament, beating Valhalla in the first game and Rye Neck in the finals. In their first game of 2022 on Monday, the Broncos defeated Dobbs Ferry, 45-40. In that game, Tormey scored 16 and Catherine Berkery scored 10. Later this week, the team will compete in a tournament at North Salem.

Max Dicker clears 11’ in the pole vault. Photo by Brian Halling.

The boys’ and girls’ track and field teams had strong performances at leagues. In the League 3A Championship meet, which included Bronxville, Pleasantville, Irvington, Westlake, Putnam Valley and Briarcliff, the Bronco girls competed in 12 events and placed first in 10.   The boys also had a strong all-around performance scoring points in 13 of the 15 events.

“We were not anticipated to do as well as we did so it was awesome being at the meet and watching the performance,” said Brian Halling, coach of the boys’ team. “We had both newcomers and veterans performing their best when it mattered the most.”

It is a building year for the boys’ track and field team, who graduated eleven seniors. This year’s team has 43 athletes on the roster, but only one senior, and  at the League Championships, over half the points were scored by newcomers.

“We're extremely proud of the direction of the program and excited to see what the boys are capable of moving forward,” said Halling.  “It's honestly great to see these new athletes come in with such a positive attitude, work hard every day, and contribute to the program in a valuable way.”

The depth of the talent on the Bronxville track and field teams is reflected in the relay teams. The Bronxville girls placed first in all three relays (4x200, 4x400 and 4x800), and the boys had two first-place finishes and one second-place finish.

Dash Kwan, Aidan McBride, Eamonn O’Reilly and Pierce Patterson placed first in the 4x200m in 1:40.26, and Ian Gegenwarth, J.W. Henningson, Ellis Goodson and William Redman won the 4x400m in 3:44.48. In the 4x800m race, Skylar Lau, Kieran McBride, Andrew Jensen, and John Toal came in two seconds behind Briarcliff in 9:17.70.

The girls’ 4x200m relay team, Caroline Ircha, Danielle Dragoni, Juliet Winiecki, and Amy Villanueva, earned a first-place finish with a time of 1:55.67, and the 4x400m relay team, Maddy Stupart, Hope Hershberg, Donna Napolitano and Charlotte Murray, placed first in 4:25.17. Rory Denning, Ava Black, Katie O’Hara, and Linnea Hentschel placed first in the 4x800m relay in 11:00.30.

The individuals listed below earned All-League honors for their first-place finishes.

Boys’ Team

1000m: Ellis Goodson, 2:49.57

Pole Vault: Max Dicker, 11’

Shot put: Chris Lockwood, 37-3

Girls’ Team

1500m Racewalk: Scarlett Kane, 8:07.32

55m dash: Caroline Ircha, 8:00

300m: Danielle Dragoni, 44.52

600m: Maddy Stupart, 1:43.97

1000m: Ava Black, 3:14.25

1500m: Maddy Williams, 5:03.65

Weight Throw: Caroline Ircha 22-1.5

Go Broncos.