Night of Champions features many local winners

ESPN Ithaca’s Night of Champions ceremony premiered June 28 and featured many winners from Tompkins County. In fact, all six high schools in the county are home to at least one winner in the year-end awards ceremony that recognizes the best student-athletes and coaches from the area.

The school with the most winners of all was Ithaca, with 26 in total. In sports that are offered by more than just Ithaca High School, senior softball player Jenna Plue, senior track athlete Silas Richardson, freshman swimmer Alice Clapp, freshman bowler Oscar Giblin and junior tennis player David Riccio were all scholar-athletes of the year in their respective sports.

Plue’s stats as a pitcher were outstanding, as she racked up 135 strikeouts in 68 innings with two no-hitters. She will be playing one of the best junior college programs in the country next season at Herkimer Community College. Richardson is also a future college athlete, as Ithaca’s school record holder in the 1000m and 1600m will be running for Division III SUNY Geneseo.

Ithaca’s Liala Cryer was named the senior leadership award winner. She was the team captain of both the girls tennis and girls hockey teams and helps coach younger athletes in the area to foster the next generation of Little Red players.

Lansing High School had three athletes and six coaches received awards as the Bobcats had Section IV Championship victories in all three sports seasons. In the fall, the volleyball team won its first Section IV Championship in nearly two decades as head coach Nicole Lamie was named the coach of the year.

In the winter, Diane Hicks-Hughes was named the coach of the year as the boys swimming and diving team was crowned as champs. Finally, in the spring, baseball head coach Brett Hotchkiss was the coach of the year as Lansing won the Section IV Championship in dramatic fashion.

The youngest athlete to receive an award this year was Lansing eighth-grader Hailey Baughan, who was the only IAC girls golfer to compete at the State Championship, finishing 61st in a field of 110. Senior swimmer Zachary Hwang was named the athlete of the year after winning the IAC Championship in the 200 freestyle. Senior jumper Aidan Gallagher was the outdoor track and field athlete of the year as he finished second at States in pole vaulting and was an IAC Champion in long jumping.

Newfield had two winners, one coach and one athlete, and understandably, they are from the State Championship winning basketball teams. Junior Jalen Hardison was the basketball athlete of the year as he scored 20 points per game and was named New York state’s Class C Player of the Year. His coach, Mike Nembhard, was both the basketball coach of the year and overall coach of the year in a boys sport. It was his first year as head coach, and he racked up a 23-4 record and had a postseason run to remember.

In an impressive occurrence, Trumansburg had twin sisters take home athlete of the year honors. Rosie and Isabel Morse were Section IV pole vault champions in the winter and spring, respectively. Isabel did not stop there, winning the Division 2 State Championship in June. Both athletes will be going to Nazareth College to compete for the track and field team.

Trumansburg also is home to the only coach to win an award in two different seasons, as Neil Clifford was both the boys cross-country and girls indoor track and field coach of the year. Clifford led the boys cross-country team to its first Section IV Championship in over five years and had two athletes compete at States in the winter.

Dryden’s lone winner was a very deserving first-year head coach as Karen Weaver was named the indoor track and field coach of the year. She led the boys track and field team to Section IV Championships in both the winter and spring after taking over for longtime head coach Lee Stuttle for her first full year as head coach.

Groton’s lone winner was Jeter Neff, an impressive three-sport athlete who truly shined on the football field this year. The All-State running back was outstanding with 1,113 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns as he led Groton to the Section IV 8-man Football Championship game.

The ninth annual Night of Champions is available for viewing on demand at both facebook.com/espnithaca and ESPNIthaca.com. The event, which is normally held in person, has been held virtually for the last three years.

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