Pictured: Left to right: Kieran McBride, Davis Patterson, Javier Tomala-Reidel, Spencer Martin, Wyatt Gravier, John Sekula, and Tommy Henningson.

By S.Q. DeJoy and J. Murrer

June 5, 2024: It has been remarkable spring season for the Broncos, and three teams will cap off their season by competing at the New York State Championships this coming weekend. The track and field athletes will compete at Cicero North Syracuse High School on Friday and Saturday, the boys’ tennis team will compete on Friday at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, and the girls’ lacrosse team will play in the State Semifinals on Friday at 11AM at SUNY Cortland.

Outdoor Track and Field

Sixteen Broncos from the outdoor track and field team will head to the New York State Championships on Friday after competing at the State Qualifiers last weekend. Nine members from the girls’ team and seven members from the boys’ team will compete in multiple events including hurdles, long jump, high jump, pentathlon, steeplechase, and the 4x400m and 4x800m relays.

Junior Wyatt Gravier has had an outstanding spring season and will compete in the 110m hurdles, the 400m hurdles, the high jump, and the 4x400m relay.  He ran a qualifying time in the 110m hurdles for both States and Nationals in the very first meet of the season.

Gravier’s talent knows no bounds. He earned All-League, All-Section, and All-County this spring and holds the Bronxville school record in the 110m hurdles (13.94), the 400m hurdles (55.40), the 55m hurdles (7.72), and the high jump (6-4).

He is No. 1 in NYS in the 110m hurdles for both Division 1 (large schools) and Division 2 (small schools) and is No. 2 in the 400m hurdles in Division 2, although he is just 0.1 second behind the No. 1 hurdler.

Gravier, Davis Patterson, Javier Tomala-Reidel, and Spencer Martin will compete in the 4x400m this weekend. They placed first at the State Qualifiers in a time of 3:30.49 and are hoping to podium at the State Championships.

Gravier gives a lot of credit to the coaching. 

“It is all because of Coach Halling. He just really brings us together as a group. He is the most supportive coach and is really great at motivating the team.” 

Pictured: Left to right: Mary Donohue, Eva Mihova, Caitlin Paisley, Colette Ungvary, Kara Kochansky, Finlay Rowan, Emerson Dennis, Ella McCalla, and Juliet Winiecki.

Juliet Winiecki has also had an incredible outdoor season. She qualified for four events but will only compete in three: 100m hurdles, the long jump, and the 4x400m relay.

Winiecki is just a junior, but it is her third trip to the Outdoor Track and Field State Championships.  Last year Winiecki and her teammates won the Division 2 4x400m and the 4x100m relay.

This year’s 4x400m team, Winiecki, sophomore Kara Kochahnsky, and freshmen Eva Mihova and Ella McCalla, ran a 3:58.86 at the Westchester County Championships and are poised to compete with the best in New York.

“I am very excited,” said Winiecki.  “I just want to do well for Bronxville. We are looking for a PR to maybe make it to Nationals.” Winiecki competed in the long jump at States last year, but running the 100m hurdles is a very new endeavor.

“Ever since last year I wanted to try the hurdles, but it was difficult to find time after practicing in the long jump,” said Winiecki.  “This season I made the time for it and spent extra time in practice to see if I was any good. I am glad I did.”

With just over a month of practice, Winiecki actually qualified for the State Championships. She placed 1^st at the State Qualifiers last week with a time of 15.49.  

The results of the State Qualifier and the individuals who will be competing at the Outdoor Track and Field New York State Championships are listed below.

Girls

Juliet Winiecki: 100mH, 1^st, 15.59; Long jump, 2^nd, 16-04

Colette Ungvary: Pentathlon, 1^st

4x400m relay: Winiecki, Kochansky, Eva Mihova, and Ella McCalla, 1^st, 4:09.08

4x800m relay: Kochansky, Caitlin Paisley, Finlay Rowan, and Emerson Dennis, 1^st, 9:41.56

Alternates: Mary Donohue (4x400m) and Fiona Keveney (4x800m)

Boys

Wyatt Gravier: 110mH, 1^st, 13.94; 400mH, High Jump, 1^st, 5-10

John Sekula: 400mH, 1^st, 59.19

Kieran McBride: 3000m Steeplechase, 1^st, 10:15.23

4x400m relay: Gravier, Davis Patterson, Javier Tomala-Reidel, and Spencer Martin, 1^st, 3:30.49

Alternate: Tommy Henningson (4x400m)

Tennis

Pictured: The Bronxville boys’ tennis team after winning Regionals. Left to Right: Back Row: Coach Steve Klurfeld, Tony Tao, Charlie Hodulik, William Van Eck, Simon Mueller, Harrison Brown, James Nay, Patrick Kenny, and Rys Brown. Front Row: Stefano Rulli, Andrew Shah, Jackson Fino, Rohan bala, and Max Monogenis. Photo by David Fenner.

The boys’ tennis team won their second consecutive Section 1 Championship last week with a 3-0 win over Edgemont and defeated Section IX’s James I. O’Neill High School in Regionals on Monday. The Broncos, the defending Division 2 State Champion, will try to retain their title on Friday at the National Tennis Center.

The Broncos were dominant in the regional match shutting out James O’Neill in singles and doubles: Patrick Kenny (6-1,6-0), Max Monogenis (6-0, 6-1), Jackson Fino/Rohan Bala (6-0, 6-0), Harrison Brown/Rhys Brown (6-1, 6-0), and Charlie Hodulik/James Nay (6-0, 6-0).

Pictured Above: First singles player Patrick Kenny. Photo by David Fenner. 

Pictured Above: Second singles player Max Monogenis. Photo by David Fenner.

Pictured above: Third doubles players Charlie Hodulik (l) and James Nay (r ). Photo by David Fenner.

Hodulik and Nay played third doubles in Regionals, but often had to step up to play first or second singles during the regular season because the team’s top three players were nursing early season injuries.

Hodulik, the only starting senior, played lacrosse for his sophomore and junior year, but decided to join the tennis team this spring.  His main sport is soccer, but he had played on the tennis team his freshman year.

“I am a pretty good tennis player, and it has been a really good decision,” said Hodulik. “A lot of our players are high skilled players that play outside of school and are very good. The team lost a lot of seniors last year, but this season we still retained many skilled younger players.”

The Broncos do have a lot of young players and struggled at the beginning of the season. As a result, they were worried about making it to the playoffs.  Bronxville was given the No. 6 seed in Section 1, but through determination and hard work are now headed to the State Championship.

The boys will play Section 3’s Cazenovia at 8 AM on Friday morning, and if successful, will play the winner of Section 6 Olean/Section 8 Friends Academy later in the day. The Broncos defeated Friends Academy last year to win the Division 2 State Championship.

Girls’ Lacrosse

The girls’ lacrosse team after defeating Voorheesville in the Regionals. Photo by Joe Villanueva.

After a very close 6-5 win over Pleasantville in the Section 1 finals, the Bronxville girls’ lacrosse team headed to Regionals. They handily defeated James I. O’Neill 15-3 in the Regional out-bracket game and followed up with a decisive 17-4 win over Section 2 Voorheesville in the Regional game last Saturday. They will now head to the State Semifinals for the sixth time since 2017.

In the game against Voorheesville, the Broncos took a 5-1 lead in the first quarter and went up 10-2 at the half. This win improves the team’s record to 14-6. Scoring for the Broncos were Ellie Garofalo (3G, 2A), Maddy Williams (3G), Charlotte Murray (2G), Mabel Arrighi (2G), Linnea Hentschel (2G), Amy Villanueva (2G), Rose Woolery (2G, 2A), and Grace van Tienhoven (1G). Gabbi Bici had three saves and Michaela Doheny had one

The Broncos will play Section 3 South Jefferson on Friday at 11AM at SUNY Cortland. South Jefferson (18-2) played in the State Semifinals once before in 2018. If successful, the Broncos will play the winner of Section 5 Penn Yan/Section 8 Cold Spring Harbor on Saturday at 11:30 in the State finals.

The Bronco girls celebrate after their win over Voorheesville on Saturday. Photo by Joe Villanueva.

Go Broncos.