GRB junior, Jake Geitner (left) along with FCSD athletic director, Chris Ells present the recap of Fulton's fall athletic programs to the Board of Education.
FULTON, NY – FCSD athletic director, Chris Ells and G. Ray Bodley junior, Jake Geitner presented to the district’s board of education on the many successes of Fulton’s fall athletic teams.
G. Ray Bodley is in Section 3 of New York State. With a total of 11 sections plus NYC, Section 3 is the largest geographical section in the state with 104 schools.
More specifically within Section 3, G. Ray Bodley competes in the OHSL (Onondaga High School League) as part of the Freedom Conference as a Class A school competing against other teams in the same category based on enrollment size. Class A is comprised of schools within the section that have between 480 and 909 students in grades 9-11, of which Fulton has 820.
G. Ray Bodley continues to excel both on the field and off the field while still using athletics as a teaching element for student athletes.
Each team chooses one or more athletes to lead the team as captains. These leaders then take part in Captains Club, a monthly meeting initiated by New York State in which the state chooses a guest speaker to host a 10 minute phone call on a leadership topic of choice.
“We all elect captains for our teams, but we don’t give them any training on what to do,” Ells explained.
The phone call lasts for roughly 10 minutes and then the group reflects on the call for another 20 minutes. Such guest speakers have included a coach from St. Johns, a NY Jets football player and even Fulton Athletics.
New this year, G. Ray Bodley junior, Jake Geitner has been selected to represent Section 3 as a chosen member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association.
In this role, Geitner and 24 other junior and senior representatives of the 11 sections across NYS are able to provide student athletes with a voice within the NYSPHSAA.
Geitner told the board he will be able to attend the New England Leadership conference in Boston at the end of the school year and has already began his new role by participating in regular teleconferences and even offering his expertise on overcoming injury during a phone call with a few hundred student athletes across the state.
Together, Ells and Geitner went through each fall athletic team and briefly highlighted their season to the board.
Out of eight varsity athletic teams, seven were recognized as NYS Scholar Athlete teams and each team received numerous individual distinctions and team victories.
Varsity football with a total of 34 athletes and three coaches finished third in the league and recognized 14 all league honorees.
First team all league was awarded to Darrin Cooper, Jared Crucitti, Gage McHenry, and Mick Peck. Second team all league was awarded to Frank Barbagallo, Austin Greenier, Mike Ross, and Nathen Smith. Honorable mentions included Cameron Adams, Cole Cotton, Nick Dingman, Sam Jones, Jake May, and Jon Parish.
Varsity cheerleading with a total of 14 athletes competes in numerous competitions but mostly in the winter as fall cheerleading is progressing across the section, Ells said. In the fall, the team accompanies the football team to games to support and encourage the team to victory.
Varsity boys cross country was recognized as a NYS Scholar Athlete Team and also placed first in the Freedom American League and the ESM Invitational. The team recognized four all league honorees including Issac Crandell as first team all league, Dan Phillips as second team all league, and Jossmar Vasquez-Heaney as second team all league.
First team all league was awarded to Kenny Deloff who also placed fourth at Section 3 Championship and 29th at the NYS Championship meets.
Varsity girls cross country was recognized as a NYS Scholar Athlete Team and placed second in the Tully Invitational.
Geitner, as captain of the varsity boys soccer team despite a game stopping injury, led the board through the recap of his team’s season.
With a total of 28 athletes, the varsity boys soccer team was recognized as a NYS Scholar Athlete team finishing as league co-champions and eventually losing first round in the Class A Section 3 Tournament while also recognizing six all league honorees.
The only player recognized to first team all league was Jared Marden, while Evan Beckwith, Matthew Borrow, and Malcolm Wettering were recognized as second team all league honorees. Trent Berry and Connor Wilde both received honorable mention.
Varsity girls soccer totaled 15 athletes that was recognized as a NYS Scholar Athlete Team placing first in Freedom League, second in Mr. B Oswego Tournament, and eventually losing in semi finals of the Section 3 Tournament.
First team all league honorees included Hailey Carroll, Jordan Coulon, and Sydney Gilmore who was also named to the All CNY Team. Second team all league honorees included Mckenna Chesbro, Madison Gilmore, and Sabrina Verdoliva with Maddie Lang as honorable mention.
Varsity girls volleyball teamed a total of 13 athletes recognized as a NYS Scholar Athlete Team with eight all league honorees that finished third in their league and won Silver Division in UE Tournament.
First team all league honorees included Aryelle Barbagallo, Nicole Hansen, and Stacey Sereno. Second team all league honorees included Mallory Harter and Karly Kearns while Kylie Ashline, Olivia Pawlewicz, and Shannon Zych received honorable mention.
Varsity girls tennis totaled 15 athletes that finished the season as a NYS Scholar Athlete Team.
The varsity golf team totaled 14 athletes although only six compete. The team overall was recognized as a NYS Scholar Athlete team with two all league honorees with the six man squad qualifying for sectionals with Hunter Hubel placing fourth.
Hubel received first team all league and will compete in States in May as the rest of the section recognizes golf as a spring sport.
Brian Trombly was awarded second team all league.
168 varsity athletes combined with JV and modified athletes total 395 fall athletes for the Fulton City School District.
The fall season runs from August 15 – November 12 in which Ells said through the course of the season they saw both a heat delay as well as a wind chill warning.
“As they say, welcome to Central New York,” he laughed.
missing or outdated ad config
