by Rachel Hunter
The Gouverneur CSD Board of Education heard the Wildcat News Report from Gouverneur CSD Superintendent of Schools Jackie Kelly at its March 3 meeting, held at the Gouverneur Middle School cafeteria.
The report was given as follows: “As our winter athletic season wraps up, I’d like to give an update about each of our teams and the success they had this year,” Supt. Kelly said. “Our Boys Basketball team’s record does not fully reflect the success of the Gouverneur Boys Basketball program this winter. Despite facing adversity throughout the season, the players and coaches remained committed and never wavered. By the end of the season, Gouverneur Boys Basketball was a completely different program that proved they could compete with any team in Section X. The program is proud of their progress and excited to build upon what they started.
“Our Girls Basketball team had a competitive season, finishing second in the Central Division and earning the opportunity to compete for a Section X Championship for the fourth consecutive year. The team posted a league record of 5-5 and an overall record of 9-13. Despite a tough schedule that included 7 games against NYS-ranked teams, the girls had several exciting matchups, many of which were decided by fewer than 10 points. The team was very young, graduating only 2 seniors, while 9 juniors and sophomores will return next season, looking to be one of the top teams in the league once again.
“The cheer team did a tremendous job bringing loud, positive energy to our home basketball games throughout the winter season. On senior night, the Gouverneur crowd had the opportunity to watch the routine that they have worked tirelessly on throughout the season. The team refined their routine and continued to improve all the way through the sectional championship meet on February 27th at SUNY Potsdam.
“This season for the Boys Varsity Swim team was a tremendous success. For two consecutive seasons, the team picked up a winning meet record. The team won their third consecutive Section X Boys Swimming title and qualified one relay team and two individuals in three events for the NYSPHSAA State Meet. Gouverneur will be sending four swimmers to the NYSPHSAA Championships at Ithaca College this Friday. Carter Lumley, Chase Tuttle, Wyatt Slate, and Rayden Lacey will compete in the 400 Freestyle Relay. Wyatt Slate will compete in two individual events, the 200 Individual Medley and the 100 Breaststroke. Chase Tuttle will compete in the 100 Backstroke. The four of them will compete in the preliminaries on Friday March 7th with the potential of swimming in the finals the following day.
“The indoor track team finished their season with great effort at the Section X Championships on February 7th. Both teams finished with several award winners and multiple personal records. Audrey Gaines capped off her outstanding season as Section X Champion in the high jump, while Azlan Spicer set a personal record placing second overall in the triple jump. Both student-athletes will be traveling to compete at the NYSPHSAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Staten Island this Friday, March 8th.
“The wrestling team traveled to several tournaments throughout the season, competing against some of the state's best. They qualified for the NYSPHSAA Duals and battled in two close matches against top-tier programs. To cap off their 15th consecutive perfect league season, Gouverneur claimed the overall Section X team championship and crowned six individual champions, who competed in Albany this past weekend. JD Minckler and Ryan Mashaw came just one win away from the podium, while Cyler Baer fought through a tough bracket to finish 7th in NYS. With a competitive young team, the program is already looking forward to getting back to work.
“The girls wrestling program had a very successful inaugural season. The team traveled to several tournaments across the state and found success everywhere they went. To highlight the season, the program hosted Gouverneur’s first ever all-girls dual meet against Indian River in front of an electric crowd. Hannah Sochia and Onna Moss both represented our district well as they qualified to compete at the NYSPHSAA Girls Wrestling Championships.
“Finally, you may not be aware that we had a power outage today at the Gouverneur Elementary School and the bus garage. The power was out for approximately an hour and a half this morning. An elementary school with over five hundred students in the dark could pose quite a challenge but that was not the case at the Gouverneur Elementary School. When Mrs. Sullivan, Mr. Munn, and I arrived on the scene at approximately 10:30 a.m. the cafeteria staff had lunch hot and ready to serve. They served in the dark while members of the guidance and office staff, along with teachers and support staff supervised the cafeteria while other adults went to classrooms to supervise the older students while they ate lunch. It was a great example of teamwork and how we can work together to support our students. When the lights came back on about an hour later, everything was back to normal within minutes. I would like to thank the elementary cook Shelly Blair and the entire cafeteria staff: Darlene Palmer, April Marcellus, Krystle Cardinell, Amanda Vanderwahl, Tracey Hutton, Laurie Castor, Linda Soto and Sarah Besaw for serving lunch hot and in the dark. I’d also like to thank Mr. Trowbridge and Mrs. Connelly for your leadership and all of the teachers and support staff for helping to keep things as normal as possible for our students during the power outage.”
Much gratitude was extended to Supt. Kelly for her report. The next regular meeting of the Gouverneur CSD Board of Education is scheduled to be held March 17, 5:30 p.m., at the Gouverneur Elementary School cafeteria. For more information, visit www.gcsk12.org.