TIOGA'S HARRINGTON NAMED ALL-TIOGA COUNTY 'COACH OF THE WINTER' (2020-03-25)

Tioga County Sports Report
TIOGA COUNTY — The Tioga wrestling program continued its domination of the mats this past season, earning Kris Harrington the honor of being the 2019-20 All-Tioga County “Coach of the Winter."

In his fourth season at the head of the program, he led the Tigers to their second consecutive NYSPHSAA Division II championship, fourth straight Section IV Division II tournament title and second straight Section IV Division II dual meet title. Tioga also won its second IAC tournament championship (the team did not compete in the 2019 tournament) and third consecutive IAC Division I dual meet crown.

The Tigers also tied single-season school records for individual IAC and class sectional / sectional qualifier champions with five in each, and set new school records for sectional champs (5) and state placers (4), and tied the mark for state qualifiers (6). Tioga has qualified 18 wrestlers for states under Harrington with 14 medalists.

In dual meets, the Tigers are 18-1 in the IAC, with a current win streak of 13, and is 47-12 overall under Harrington.

Rounding out the Coaches of the Winter list are:

Dave Mastrantuono, Waverly, boys swimming: Under Mastrantuono, the Wolverines posted an 11-0 record to extend their dual meet win streak to 43 and won the IAC meet by more than 100 points. They placed fourth at the Wolverine Invitational (second among Class B teams). After winning the Section IV Class C championship last year, Waverly moved up in classification and placed third in Class B this year. The Wolverines' Mike Atanasoff and Gage Streeter would qualify for states.

Greg Schweiger, Newark Valley, girls basketball: Schweiger's Cardinals moved up to the Class B ranks this season and won their first 22 games before falling to defending Section IV champion Norwich in the championship game. NV would be ranked as high as No. 4 in the state rankings and finished the season at No. 14.

The Cardinals unseated perennial powerhouse Waverly as the IAC South Large School champion and romped past Whitney Point to win the IAC Large School title. NV would average 79.2 points per game, more than double the average output of its opponents. Six Cardinals would earn division all-star honors.

Scott Baird, Waverly, indoor track & field: Baird's teams were impressive once again, despite a reduction in numbers. The boys and girls squads combined for 109 top-five finishes in individual and relay events. That included 25 first-place showings.

The Wolverines won both the boys and girls team titles in the IAC division at the Quinney Invitational. The girls would capture the Section IV Division 2 championship while the boys placed third. Both teams finished in the top 10 at the prestigious Ithaca Bomber invite. The boys were eighth out of 28 teams and the girls were ninth out of 34 teams.

Pete Girolamo, Waverly, bowling: The longtime Waverly mentor led the boys team to the IAC Division 1 championship with a 38-10 record while the girls team took second with a 41-7 mark.

The boys would go on to win the IAC tournament by 70 pins and the girls would place second. The Wolverines won the IAC Kick-off Tournament, placed second at the IAC Mid-season Tournament. The boys were third in the Section IV Class C tournament and fifth at the Section IV State Qualifier.

The lady Wolverines garnered runner-up honors in the IAC kick-off, mid-season and league tournaments, and finished fourth in the Section IV Class C tournament. Waverly would send two Victoria and Rachel Houseknecht to the state qualifier.

Waverly would also send a competitor to the state meet where pole vault standout Isaac Chandler set a new school and Section IV record (15-6) while bringing home the bronze.

Mike Daly, Newark Valley, wrestling: Daly guided the Cardinals to a 5-1 record and second place in IAC Division I, and a 10-3 overall record. NV would finish as the runner-up at the IAC championships, the Queensbury Holiday Tournament and the South Seneca Duals. The Cardinals would also place third in the Section IV Division II Qualifier A and at the Stan Elinsky Tournament, were fourth at the Larry Goodrich Invitational.

NV would qualify a wrestler for the state tournament for the ninth straight season and reach the podium for a fourth consecutive year (the Cardinals competed in Division I until the 2018-19 season.

Luke McEvoy, Owego, girls basketball: Early-season injuries, new players and a slow start put the Indians in an early hole, but McEvoy guided his charges to a 10-game win streak before the season ended with a heartbreaking loss to unbeaten Newark Valley in the Section IV Class B semifinals. Kaci Donovan broke the 15-year-old career scoring record and her own single-game mark (twice) and Evee Coleman came back from an off-season injury to average a double-double in scoring and rebounding.

Chris Evans, Owego, boys basketball: With three starters from the 2019 state playoff team graduating into the college ranks, Evans would have his hands full. However, with a defense that held opponents to 47.8 points per game, the Indians would advance to the Section IV Class B semifinals before falling to Norwich in overtime.

Owego finished the season with a 10-10 record, but played nine state-ranked teams, knocking off two. Seven of the Indians' games were against Class AA and A opponents. Three players finished the season averaging double figures in scoring.

Kathy Pond, Tioga, bowling: Pond took the reins this season and guided the boys team to its fifth consecutive IAC Division 2 championship with a 35-5 record.

The Tigers also won the IAC Mid-season Tournament, and placed fourth in the IAC Kick-off Tournament and Section IV Class D championships. They were sixth in the league tournament and seventh in the Section IV Class D tournament.

The girls team was fourth in the kick-off tournament and sixth in the Class D tournament.

Aria French, Candor, bowling: The first-year coach guided the girls team to its second straight IAC Division 2 championships, fifth overall at the league tournament and third at the Section IV Class D championships.

The Indians' sent boys competitor Kody Floyd to the Section IV state qualifier.

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IN PHOTO: Tioga wrestling coach Kris Harrington and Emmett Wood, one of the Tigers' five state place-winners this season. ... TCSR STOCK PHOTO.