31 local athletes on Adirondack Region squad
By MIKE ZUMMO, The Leader-HeraldArticle PDFs
Participants
A mixture of both familiar and new faces will depart the area for Binghamton Wednesday for the 31st Annual Governor Hugh L. Carey Empire State Games.
Not all, however, will get to remain in the Binghamton area.
Both volleyball and the open and scholastic swimming events will be sent about 45 miles north on Interstate 81 to compete at the State University of New York at Cortland.
"That's the only downfall of it," said Johnstown's Gillian Holland, who is competing for the second straight year on the Adirondack scholastic women's volleyball team. "In the big scheme of things, we're there to play and place as high as possible. Our goal is to take the gold medal home, so we should be focused without all the noise and commotion with everybody else."
Other area athletes who will miss out on being in the Binghamton area during the games are swimmers Dylan Quinn and Amber Rorick. Each will swim two events.
Holland said the original plan was for the volleyball team to travel to Binghamton first for opening ceremonies before heading north to Cortland for the first time after the ceremonies close and check in late at night.
However, Adirondack coach Marc Mularz came up with a better idea. He rented a van and is picking up the athletes along the way and the team will go to Cortland first before heading to Binghamton for opening ceremonies.
"We'd rather get all of our stuff unloaded and get ready on our own schedule," Holland said.
Holland returns to an Adirondack team which last year managed only two wins in its first five matches before getting eliminated from medal contention early during the first playoff matches.
This year, Holland said she expects a better result.
"Adirondack has never won," Holland said. "We've medaled three times, but I think we have the talent to win and that's our goal. Hopefully, we can go down there and get the job done."
One team that did get the job done last year was the Adirondack men's scholastic soccer team, which earned the gold medal after defeating New York City in a shootout. Gloversville's Nick Yost played on last year's team.
This year, Mayfield's Kris Toscano and Broadalbin's Steven Wilday will suit up for Adirondack after overcoming four tryouts.
"I went down the first day with a few kids I knew," Toscano said. "If you didn't get cut, you moved on. On the fourth day, [Adirondack coach Dan Gillespie] said he was going to make three phone calls: people who got cut, people who made it and alternates."
However, it took Toscano some extra time to get his phone call, since he was at a soccer game when it came. There was no news when Toscano called at halftime, but when he called after the game, his father, Don Toscano, gave him the good news.
"He told me to meet with Gillespie and get the winners' packet and I couldn't believe it," Toscano said.
Overall, 27 area athletes and four coaches will travel to Binghamton for the Empire State Games with most area athletes competing in the track and field events at Binghamton University. Johnstown's Dustin Conrad will participate in the decathlon, which will keep him plenty busy Thursday and Friday with five events on each day.
An Empire State Games veteran, Lance Chase will compete in the open men's shot put, discus and hammer throw. Brittany Stahura also returns to the Empire State Games as she will make her third straight trip, but this year, she will compete on the open women's basketball team after playing the last two years on the scholastic team.
After playing with at least one current Amsterdam teammate in each of the past two years, she will play with a future teammate at Bryant College, Johnstown's Kristin Mraz. Amsterdam wrestlers Giuseppi Lanzi and John Paris also will take part in freestyle wrestling Thursday and Friday.
Amsterdam is the most highly represented area in Fulton and Montgomery counties, sending 11 athletes to the Empire games with Johnstown coming in a close second with nine.
For the sixth straight year, Johnstown is placing a player on the scholastic women's field hockey team as Karly Vdoviak takes a spot on Adirondack's attack.