Warwick Wildcats sports roundup

Warwick. Highlights from the high school’s tennis, cross country, and volleyball teams.

| 23 Oct 2024 | 08:20

The undefeated Wildcats girls’ tennis team added the Section IX team championship to their overall OCIAA and Division II titles with a victory over Mid-Hudson Athletic League winner Wallkill on Oct. 18. Warwick, now 13-0, beat OCIAA Division I winner Monroe-Woodbury for the overall title and the right to face Wallkill. With the Wallkill victory, the Wildcats advanced to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association tournament. Warwick will play the winner of a match between Section 1 and Section IV in the state tournament.

”The goal at the start of our season was to win the Section IX team championship,” coach William Zwart said. “The team rallied around that goal and achieved it. Everyone consistently worked hard, maintained focus, and pushed each other to get better throughout the season. They are an exceptional group of student athletes who have represented themselves, our tennis program, and our school proudly.”

The team went 86-4 in individual match play covering 11 regular season matches and two post-season matches.

Individually, Grace Cornelius advanced to the round of eight in the OCIAA singles/doubles tournament on October 15 through 17 at Match Point and, in doing so, qualified for this week’s Section IX singles/doubles tournament. Annika Brezina and Celia Greco finished in third place (out of 34 teams) for doubles at the OCIAA tournament and qualified for this week’s Section IX tournament.

Leah Scalo and Keri Leahey finished in fourth place (out of 34 teams) for doubles and qualified for this week’s Section IX tournament.

Girls’ cross country

The Warwick Valley girls’ cross-country team celebrated Senior Day by defeating the Valley Central Vikings 15-48 to win the OCIAA Division II championship on Oct. 16. The Wildcats were once again led by senior Alyssa Dovico. There were many personal best performances in this competition. Juliette Cloutier, Katie Rondo, Brielle Isernia, Johanna Beauchamp, Zoe Chocallo, and Lilybeth Kurosz all ran season/personal best times.

The team traveled down to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx to run in the Manhattan College Invitational, the nation’s biggest, and best high school cross country meet on Oct. 13. It was a beautiful Sunday in New York City, and the Warwick Lady Harriers enjoyed much success at the event.

Every athlete who ran medaled in their races. Trixie Wendell took third place in the Freshmen B race with a time of 10:01.6 over the 1.5-mile course. The second finisher for the Cats was Anna Kane, who finished in 18th place in a time of 11:17.8. The team placed third in their race. Juliet Cloutier ran a personal best time of 19:17.4 over a 2.5-mile distance in the Junior Varsity D race. In the Varsity A race, Alyssa Dovico led the charge and finished in eighth place in a time of 16:13 on the 2.5-mile course. The team placed fifth.

Next up for the boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams is the OCIAA Championships at Sanfordville Elementary School on Saturday, Oct. 26, starting at 2 p.m.

Volleyball

Peyton Komorsky had 20 assists, 10 digs and two kills for the Wildcats in a 25-19, 25-20 25-20 loss to Valley Central on Oct. 16. Also contributing for Warwick were: Charlene Petreshock (18 digs and seven kills), Genevieve Boyle (nine kills), and Alexa Hansen (five kills and four blocks).