Written by S. Quinn DeJoy and J. Murrer

Feb. 18, 2015: Playoffs are in full swing for the winter Bronxville varsity sports teams. Last week both the boys' and girls' basketball teams made it through the first round of sectional playoffs and will play in the quarterfinals today. On Valentine's Day, the girls' 4x800m relay team competed at the 108th Millrose Games, and last week, the New Rochelle/Bronxville boys' swim team and the Bronxville/New Rochelle ski team competed in the sectional championships. For complete results, see below.

Bronxville Girls' 4x800m Relay Team Places Second at the Millrose Games

The Bronxville girls' 4x800m relay team competed in front of a full house at the Millrose Games on Saturday. The race, which was held at the New Balance Track & Field Center at The Armory, featured top high school relay teams from the New York and Connecticut area. The Bronxville girls, freshmen Laura Holland and Caroline Kirby, sophomore Kaitlin Ryan, and senior Delia Hayes, placed second with a time of 9:10.16, just 0.8 seconds behind first-place Mamaroneck. It was the first time these four girls had run together.

"Kaitlin's 2:12.02 is the fastest split in our history," said Coach Jim Mitchell. "What was really special was that all four girls ran PRs in the same race. That's what you always hope for, but it seldom happens." Holland ran a 2:18.28 split, Kirby ran 2:20.83, and Hayes ran 2:19.04.

Training in the snowy, cold weather has been difficult, but the girls managed to run the fifth fastest time in Bronxville history and the second fastest in the US this year. The school record, 9:07.85, was set by Elizabeth Bergold, Beth Butler, Caroline Mullen, and Catha Mullen in March of 2003.

State qualifiers will take place on Sunday, February 22, at The Armory.

Bronxville Boys' Varsity Basketball Wins Playoff Game Against Pleasantville

The first round of the sectional playoffs for the Bronxville boys' varsity basketball team was played against Pleasantville High School last Wednesday night. Despite the Broncos' being the away team, many Bronxville students made the trip to Pleasantville, making it feel like a home court for the Broncos. Pleasantville grabbed an opening lead when the Bronco fans began filing into the gym, making their presence felt. Loud and energetic, they cheered as the Broncos went on an 8-0 run to take the lead in the game. Bronxville never relinquished the lead after that, although the score remained close in a hard-fought and competitive game. In the end, the Broncos came out on top with a 50-36 victory.

Scoring by the Broncos was balanced, with many players contributing to the win. Closely guarded all evening, Charlie Tarry led the team with 16 points and 6 rebounds. Matt Toal added 15 points. Both Matt Huncke and Brendan Carty rebounded well and made timely baskets. Senior Tyler Schultz hit a few key shots down the stretch, including a critical three-pointer. In the final minutes of the game, the Broncos sealed the victory with perfect free-throw shooting.

Tonight, the Broncos travel to Woodlands to face the top-seeded Falcons at 6:00 pm. The Broncos lost both regular season meetings to Woodlands, a fast and athletic team that includes two All-Section and two All-Conference players. Come out and support the Broncos as they try to even things up with a win.

Girls' Varsity Basketball Moves to Quarterfinals with a Win Over Yonkers Montessori

The tenth-seeded girls' basketball team (8-8) advanced to the Section 1 Class B quarterfinals last Thursday with a 37-22 win over the seventh-seed, Yonkers Montessori Academy. Sophomore guard Ellie Walsh, led the team with 15 points, 5 steals, and 5 rebounds. Freshman forward Ashley Kaye had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks, and sophomore guard Natalie Kister had 5 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals. Senior captain Killian Donohue held one of Yonkers's star players, Ashley Soto, to 9 points; Soto has scored an average of 16 points per game this year. The girls will take on the number-two seed, Ardsley, today at 4:15 pm at Ardsley High School. The Broncos lost to Ardsley 52-40 earlier in the season. Ardsley is ranked number five in the state for Class B.

Boys' and Girls' Skiing

The Bronxville/New Rochelle boys' and girls' ski teams finished up the season last week with the Section 1 Championships at Hunter Mountain. Five team members qualified for the sectional championships: Bronxville skiers Remi Laurence, Saige Sunier, and Celia Haims and New Rochelle skiers Jonathan and Stefanie Udell. Jonathan Udell, who was the Journal News Skier of the Year in 2014, repeated as the skimeister, finishing first in the slalom and giant slalom. His sister, Stefanie, placed second in slalom, giant slalom, and skimeister. The Udells will head to the New York State Championships at Whiteface Mountain on February 23 and 24.

Boys' Swimming

The New Rochelle/Bronxville swim team competed at the Section 1 Championships on February 10 and 11, and six swimmers qualified for the New York State Championships. Bronxville freshman Andrew Babyak qualified for states in the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle, and New Rochelle senior David Stewart qualified after placing first in both the 200-yard freestyle and the butterfly. New Rochelle's John Freeman, a sophomore, will also compete at states in the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle.

Two relay teams also qualified for the state championships. The 400-yard freestyle relay team (Freeman, Babyak, Aidan Flannery, and Stewart) finished third with a state-qualifying time of 3:17.07. Flannery is a sophomore at Bronxville. The team will also be sending the 200-yard freestyle team to states. The team (Freeman, Babyak, Michael Lawson, and Stewart) qualified with a time of 1:29.14. Lawson is a sophomore at New Rochelle. The New York State Championships will take place on February 27 and 28 in Ithaca.

Go Broncos.

Pictured here (rotating): (L to R) Laura Holland, Caroline Kirby, Kaitlin Ryan, and Delia Hayes at the Millrose Games (photo by C. Rizzo); Bronco fans at the Bronxville/Pleasantville boys' basketball playoff game (photo by T. Tarry).