CORTLAND, NY — Oswego High School Hockey went on the road last Thursday for the first round of Sectionals for Division II. The Buccaneers were the fifth seed and traveled to Cortland to face off against the fourth seed, Cortland-Homer. The Golden Eagles would take the 8-2 and move on into the semi final round. Oswego’s two goals would come from Brayden Miller and Adam Michalski along with Carson Colucci tallying an assist. Brandon Demling would make 26 saves even though the goaltender would give up eight goals in the contest. The Bucs would be outshoot by the Golden Eagles 34 to 32 as the Cortland-Homer netminder would make 30 saves.
This ends Oswego’s season as the group finished 11-10 overall. The Buccaneers are graduating a total of nine players this year, four defenseman and five forwards. All three goaltenders will stay with the team which is good news moving forward for the group. Cortland-Homer will move on to face Skaneateles as the Golden Eagles will travel there on Wednesday for the second semi final game for Division II.
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Oswego State Athletics honors Outstanding Senior Athletes
OSWEGO, NY — This past week, Oswego State Athletics released the Outstanding Senior Male Athlete and Outstanding Senior Female Athlete winners. These awards are based on individual’s sole athletic career over the time spent in a Lakers uniform. Lukas Olsson of the Oswego State Baseball team received the Outstanding Senior Male Athlete award while Sarah Yensan of the Oswego State Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field teams was awarded the Outstanding Senior Female Athlete for the 2019-2020 sports season.
Lukas Olsson appeared in 113 contests in the green and gold in his career position of catcher. The Bayport, New York native career was highlighted with three SUNYAC Conference Championship appearances along with two Division III World Series appearances. The 6’ 0” catcher put numbers up throughout his career, which featured a .318 batting average, 89 runs scored, and 79 RBIs over the course of his four seasons. Although the senior had a shortened season this spring, Olsson made the best of it with a batting average of .429 in 9 games played. In those games, the catcher had 9 runs at 35 at bats along with 14 RBIs. He helped lead the team to a strong start in which the group had a record of 6-3 which featured a four game win streak on the road.
Sarah Yensan, a native of Lockport, New York, was a part of the Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field teams for that past four years. After the addition of her new Assistant Coach Curtis Merrick in her sophomore year, Yensan began improving her long jump, which showed in 2018 at the Outdoor All-Atlantic Regional Meet with a new personal best of 5.68 meters. The following year, the long jumper would set a school record with a jump of 5.74 meters which qualified the junior for her first NCAA Division III National Championship. This past winter, she would jump 5.80 meters to qualify for her second Division III National Championship. Yensan was a five time All-Conference award winner, earning First Team honors in 2019 and 2020. The three-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region selection won these honors back in 2018, 2019, and 2020 in long jump.
Congratulations to the award winners and the rest of the graduating seniors for completing their college years. WTOP 10 would also like to extend congratulations to the Toppers graduating that have built our television station up with their involvement, the group appreciates the time you have put into the station. WTOP 10 will continue to give Oswego fan’s coverage of all Oswego sports into the summer before the return of fall sports. Schedules for most Laker teams will be released in the next two months, stay tuned.
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Men’s basketball: SUNYAC championship recap and NCAA tournament preview
OSWEGO N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s basketball started their playoffs with a SUNYAC championship victory. They were the top seeded team in the tournament because they had the best regular season record in the conference. This saw them host both semi-final matchups and the finals. The first round of the tournament was on Tuesday, the winner’s of those two games would travel to Oswego to take on the Lakers, and the other team with a first round bye, Oneonta.
Excitement was building in the team after it was announced Tuesday night that Oswego would get their rematch with New Paltz, the team that had beat them just a few weeks prior to give them their only SUNYAC loss of the season. It was Jeremiah Sparks’ early seven points that helped the Lakers take an 8-2 lead. After the first ten minutes of play the Lakers still held the lead, 25-17, with Jamal Achille scoring six of his own to help out. The final ten minutes of the half saw the Lakers find their stride, a 23-5 run saw seniors Julien Crittendon, Brendon Mulson, and Christian Simmons combine for eighteen points, and the both teams headed to the locker rooms with the Lakers leading 48-22. The Lakers shot an incredible 66.7% in the first half. Oswego went on another run coming out of the half, and with just under fourteen to play, Oswego led 62-30. Eleven points from Kaleb Cook and seven from Sean Edwards in the final ten minutes helped the Lakers close the game out, and get revenge on the Hawks with a 94-60 victory. Five Lakers reached double digit scoring, Julien Crittendon (15), Jeremiah Sparks (13), Devin Green (12), Jamal Achille (11), and Kaleb Cook (11). Jeremiah Sparks had four steals in the game and Devin Green had three, with Oswego having a total of 15 in the game. With the win they moved on to take on the Oneonta Red Dragons who beat Brockport, 64-54, in the other Semi-final matchup.
Brendon Mulson was the Lakers fast starter in the Championship bout, scoring seven of Oswego’s first nine en route to a 9-0 lead. Half way through the first frame, Oswego was doubling Oneonta’s score 18-9. By the end of the first half Jeremiah Sparks and Julien Crittendon had combined for eighteen points, and the Lakers led 38-19. Oswego reached fifty points and a thirty point advantage on the same play, a Julien Crittendon layup with fourteen minutes to go. With eight minutes to go Oswego’s lead grew to thirty-five. Oneonta showed fight down the stretch making five threes before the end of the game, but the Lakers victory was all but assured and the game ended 81-60. Jeremiah Sparks (18) was Oswego’s scoring leader, with Devin Green (15), Jamal Achille (11) and Julien Crittendon (10) all reaching double digits. Achille and Green had nine and eight rebounds respectively. This championship victory was the Oswego’s fifth in ten seasons. After the game Jeremiah Sparks, Jamal Achille, Julien Crittendon, and Devin Green were all named to the all tournament team, with Sparks being named tournament MVP.
https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/basketball-men/d3/2022
After the win, the Lakers were guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Division 3 Tournament. The selection show was Monday afternoon, with the Laker’s waiting to hear their opponent and where they would be playing. It was determined by the selection committee that Oswego would be one of three teams traveling to hosts Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA just outside of Philadelphia. Oswego’s first round matchup will be against Hood College from Frederick, MD, with the winner of that matchup playing the winner of Swarthmore and Keene State from Keene, NH.
Hood College plays in the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth. They came in second in their conference, beating the conference winner, Eastern University, 75-71 in the championship game. The Hood Blazers were 20-6 this season, going 14-2 in conference. Hood is led by senior brothers Mason and Evan Wang. Mason Wang led Hood with 22.4 points per game, while also contributing 5.0 rebounds per game, 3.5 assists per game, and 2.3 steals per game. Evan Wang is the second leading scorer at 14.1 points per game, also with 5.0 rebounds per game, and leading the team in assists at 3.8 per game. Christopher Smalls is their third highest scorer with 9.8 points per game. Hood averages 81.9 points per game, with teams averaging 74.1 against them. They shoot 44.5% from the field and 38.1% from three. The two sides have never played each other before.
The game against Hood College is Friday, March 4th. Tip off is set for 3:05 P.M. The winner’s of the two games will play Saturday at 5:35 in Swarthmore.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY OSWEGO ATHLETICS
BRACKET PROVIDED BY NCAA.COM
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#25 Oswego State men’s basketball team extends win streak to 11
OSWEGO, N.Y. — On Tuesday, the #25 Oswego State men’s basketball team defeated SUNY Geneseo 88-63, extending their win streak to 11. This victory not only marked the Lakers’ fifth win of the new year, but also the first Geneseo SUNYAC loss.
Through the first four minutes of play, both teams came out firing, with the Knights leading 7-6. Shortly after, Oswego found themselves on a 9-0 run lead by junior Jamal Achille who scored six points. After the Knights went on a scoring run of their own, Oswego was able to capitalize on a 13-4 run which put the Lakers up 38-22 at the half. The Lakers were able to hold the Knights to 25% from the field in the first half, their lowest shooting percentage in any half this season.
Both teams came into the second half scorching hot. In the first 10 minutes, Geneseo were perfect beyond the arch as they went 5-for-5 from three. However, the Lakers were able to keep pace with Geneseo’s scoring onslaught, answering every three with one of their own, going 7-for-9 from deep. Geneseo brought the deficit to eight, but Brendan Mulson hit a three to put the Lakers up by double-digits once again. Over the final six minutes of regulation, the Lakers continued their great shooting performance, hitting four more shots from deep as their lead grew to over twenty.
Oswego finished the night with 13 three-pointers while shooting a whopping 51.6% from the field. Senior Julien Crittendon lead the Lakers in scoring with 18 points while Devin Green totaled 16 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Brendan Mulson (11) and Ahkee Anderson (10) also scored double-digit points in the contest.
With this win, the Lakers are now in sole possession of the top seed in the SUNYAC conference. Oswego is also the #25 ranked team in the nation and with a win on Saturday against SUNY Cortland, they will almost certainly rise in the standings. Tip off is set for 4:00 p.m. at Cortland. WTOP 10 will continue to provide coverage of the Oswego State men’s basketball team as the group continues their 2021-22 season.
Image Provided By William Rogers, WTOP 10 Photography Department
