The Otselic Valley Booster Club recently hosted the Spring Sports Recognition event where student athletes in baseball, softball, and golf were celebrated.
This spring we shared teams with Cincinnatus and DeRuyter school districts. Modified Baseball players from OV played at Cincinnatus, and their Modified Softball players came here. Varsity Baseball players from Cincinnatus also competed here. In golf, our two athletes played on the combined DeRuyter-OV team.
Coach Wentworth and Coach Graham talked about their respective teams with humor, appreciation, and encouragement. Of special note was the achievement of Spanish exchange student Manuel Gonzalez-Lantaron who had never played baseball before arriving here, and the support of Miranda Hackett who did so much to advance the Modified Softball team.
Special recognition continued:
NYSPHSAA Scholar Athletes were Caleb Loomis, Dustin Perry, Manuel Gonzalez-Lantaron, and Braeden Davis, all of whom maintained a grade point average of 90.00 or above.
The 2024 All Central Counties League All Stars for baseball included Lukas Schieferstein (1st Team, and Class C Honorable Mention), Braden Davis (All CCL Honorable Mention), Troy Miller (All CCL Honorable Mention), and Cole Warren (All CCL Honorable Mention). See more below.
Golfers Payne Wood and Owen Davis went to Sectionals, and progressed farther than any golfer from the DeRuyter team has ever advanced. Both were CCL 1st Team All Stars, Payne was named the Most Valuable Player on the DeRuyter team, and Owen received the 2024 Coaches’ Award. See more below.
Congratulations, everyone!
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2024 CCL Baseball All Stars
Lukas Schieferstein-Sophomore
1st Team All Central Counties League
Class C Honorable Mention
Lukas batted .419 and led the team in runs scored, RBIs and Steals as a sophomore. He also led the team in triples and was tied for homeruns. Luke had a terrific all around season and was one of the better power hitters in the entire league with a terrific 1.143 slugging percentage.
All Central Counties League Honorable Mention
Braeden Davis-Senior
Tied for team league in strikeouts on the mound and tied the team lead for homeruns, while batting .341 and keeping a 3.29 ERA on the mound. Was one of the bets all around players in the league and routinely made high IQ plays to keep the team in contention.
Troy Miller-Freshman
Led the team with a .436 batting average and was second on team in both RBIs and Hits. Always could be counted on to deliver big hits with runners in scoring position.
Cole Warren-Senior
Was fourth on team in batting average and started games at 5 different positions defensively. Was an invaluable utility player and leader.
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Message from Coach Russell Smith (Golf, DeRuyter)
Webster’s dictionary defines perfect as being entirely without fault or defect. This season the DeRuyter Otselic Valley combined golf team was just that, perfect. The golf team finished their second perfect season in a row, finishing 9-0.
Payne and Owen were major contributors to this effort. They consistently finished 1st and 2nd in their matches this season. With averages of 37.25 for Payne and 39.75 for Owen, they led the league in scoring all season.
Payne and Owen also were leaders on the team. Their consistent scores motivated and challenged the rest of the team to improve and strive for better scores night after night.
The team qualified for sectionals again this year and although came up a little shorter than last season, Payne and Owen both advanced to the state qualifying tournament.
The state qualifiers are a two-day tournament at Seven Oaks Golf Course in Hamilton. The top 23 golfers on day one advance to play on day two, playing for a shot to make the state tournament. The scores from both days are combined and the top 9 golfers of the two days advance to the state tournament. Unfortunately, they just missed advancing to the state tournament this year.
Although we missed the state tournament, this is the furthest any golfer from the team has ever advanced, and they both finished their season with the top 20 golfers of Section 3, surely something to be proud of.
Because of the efforts and accomplishments both Payne and Owen achieved this season, Payne was awarded the Most Valuable Player on the team for 2024 and Owen the 2024 Coaches’ Award.
Congratulations to you both and I look forward to next season, and the shot at advancing even further. Thank you.
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To see video of this Spring Sports Award event, visit the Otselic Valley Booster Club Facebook page. For more photos, visit the Otselic Valley Central School District Facebook page. The Spring Sports Recognition event is hosted by the OV Booster Club, and we thank them for their support.