The Goods

Details: Published: 27 February 2012; Created: 27 February 2012; Last Updated: 28 February 2012; Hits: 8649

Berkowitz1 An opportunity to win a state title rarely comes to a high school athlete, and from Scarsdale, wrestlers have not historically gotten to the state tournament at all. That’s why this season was most unusual … as not one or two, but three athletes from Scarsdale and Edgemont vied for state wrestling titles in Albany. This past weekend, Edgemont brothers Tyler and John "Trey" Aslanian, and Scarsdale’s Jacob Berkowitz were all given a chance at the New York State tournament at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York. Despite snowy wet weather, the venue drew a large crowd, including families and teammates from all over the state who came to support their respective teams. Westchester’s section 1 crowd was particularly loud as they cheered on all the wrestlers from the schools in the section.

The New York State tournament includes the top 16 wrestlers in the state for each weight class, and some of the

Jacob Berkowtiz (blue)

best high school wrestlers in the country. The competition may seem intimidating, but Edgemont and Scarsdale wrestlers were confident. Sophomore Tyler Aslanian won his first section title in Division II at 99 pounds a few weeks ago, flying under the radar as one of Edgemont’s standouts of the year. The young wrestler looked to repeat his success at the New York State tournament. In his first round match Tyler easily handled his opponent and came out with a strong win at 8-0. Soon after, he lost a close match to Luis Weirbach of Hoosick Falls, 4-1. Although disappointed by the tight match, Tyler hoped to bounce back and wrestle for third place. He got his momentum going and defeated his next opponent 7-1. After this exciting victory, expectations were high but Tyler was unable to secure a win and eventually fell to 3rd place finisher, Joe Nelson, 8-4. With two impressive victories, Tyler will look to place as the top wrestler in New York in years to come.

Trey Aslanian (top)

His brother, Edgemont Junior John Aslanian at 113 pounds entered the tournament as a strong second seed, placing second in last year’s tournament. With an impressive wrestling career and well-performed season, John was considered a contender for the state title. On day one, John dominated his opponents, securing a 7-0 victory in his first round match, and a 6-2 win in his second match. On the second day, Aslanian edged out a victory over the 3rd seed from Warsaw, winning 7-2. After these performances, a state title seemed to be within the junior’s grasp. In a hard fought final match, Aslanian lost 5-0. Although a 2nd place finish two years in a row in a top wrestling state is extremely impressive, Aslanian will train hard for another year to work to capture a state title.

Proud Coach Peter Jacobson made the following comment about the brothers' performance, "Tyler and Trey have each really committed themselves to training the past year and it shows in the improvements they've made. This was Trey's third trip to Albany and he knows exactly what he needs to do to perform at his best at this point. While this was Tyler's first time up there, he also handled the pressures like a pro. Our program has also been fortunate enough to send athletes up to the State Championships each year for the past five years so our coaching staff has a good deal of experience preparing our athletes to perform at a very high level. To have Trey make the state finals two years in a row and have Tyler finish in the Top 8 his first time up there, says volumes about their own personal abilities to prepare. We're confident that we'll see each of them on the top of the podium next year."

Tyler Aslanian (top)

It’s been over 50 years since a Scarsdale wrestler had a chance at a state title. At 182 pounds, Senior Jacob Berkowitz has excelled as one of the best athletes Scarsdale has had in many years and is arguably the best wrestler in Scarsdale’s history. The D1 Binghamton-bound senior has had his eye on placing high in this past week’s tournament. In last year’s New York State tournament, Berkowitz went 0-2. This year his confidence was boosted by more experience and a different strategy. With two section titles under his belt and over 100 career wins, the senior was expected to upset many of his opponents in the tournament. As the number 4 seed, Berkowitz showed his strength over his competition in day one, scratching and clawing his way through his first two opponents with a score of 4-1 and 5-1. Advancing to the semifinals on day two, Berkowitz faced a tough opponent -- the number one seed, McZiggy Richards of Wingate. Keeping calm and wrestling to win, Berkowitz edged out one of his most impressive victories of the year, beating McZiggy 3-1. Advancing to the finals, Berkowitz kept the same game plan and strategy against his skilled opponent, Nick Bellanza of John Glenn. The match came down to the last second, but Berkowitz was unable to score a takedown in the limited time remaining and took second place in the tournament. The 9-6 loss certainly rattled Berkowitz,but his name goes down as one of the most skilled wrestlers’ in Scarsdale history. Coaches Barney Foltman, Brian Roemer, and Jeremy Szerlip as well as Berkowtiz’s family and teammates were proud of Berkowitz’s performance and will remember this season for a lifetime.

Contributor Daniel Jureller is a senior at Scarsdale High School, headed to Lafayette College in the fall. He is looking forward to studying English and education.

Photos courtesy of Leslie R. Berkowitz and Peter Jacobson

Details: Published: 23 February 2012; Created: 23 February 2012; Last Updated: 23 February 2012; Hits: 6488

Jeffrey Koslowsky, of Advocate Brokerage of Scarsdale, has been named to the Board of Directors of Miracle League of Westchester. The Miracle League of Westchester is a league for special needs children and adults that enables them to play baseball at a specially designed adaptive field. The Miracle League of Westchester was founded in 2006.

Miracle League was started in Conyers, Georgia in 1997, and since then Miracle Leagues have been started all over the country. The Westchester League was the first in New York State.

Every child, no matter his or her level of ability, can participate in the Miracle League of Westchester.

Games are non-competitive in nature, with each player batting, running the bases and scoring each inning. Volunteers will be assigned to each individual to assist throughout the game. There are no losers in this game, only winners with the score tied at the end of each game. The focus is more on participation than on winning. The teams will have 12-15 players.

Advocate Brokerage is an insurance agency in Scarsdale, N.Y., serving the needs of drivers and homeowners in the tri-state area, along with 40 other states across the country. It was founded 42 years ago by Rosalyn Binday.

Jeffrey is also Chairman Emeritus and a current member of the Board of Directors of The Greyston Foundation, Assistant Captain of Scarsdale Volunteer Fire Co. #3 and President Emeritus of the Scarsdale Little League.

Mr. Koslowsky’s interest in Miracle League grew out of his role as Scarsdale Little League President. He was brought into the Board by Paul Marino, Esq., a long time board member of Miracle League, and counsel to both the League and Advocate Brokerage.

Details: Published: 11 February 2012; Created: 11 February 2012; Last Updated: 11 February 2012; Hits: 5194

tigers3 Spirits were high at the Scarsdale High School gym on Friday February 9 when the Raiders met their chief rival, Mamaroneck, for the last game of the regular season. Senior Night drew large crowds from Scarsdale and Mamaroneck who screamed, jeered and cheered throughout a very intense game. The Raiders lost to Mamaroneck after a 10-point 4th quarter comeback last week so a close matchup was anticipated.

Unfortunately for the Raiders they were not able to close the score gap all game. The first quarter ended at 6-11 in favor of the Tigers and by the end of the second quarter Mamaroneck solidified their lead with Scarsdale trailing by 12 points at 18-30. During the second quarter, junior point guard Alex Squadron injured his ankle and was escorted off the court.

In the third quarter the score spread narrowed when Scacchi scored a three pointer followed by two more from junior Jon Cohen. Also during the third quarter, junior Jack Hewitt received his 4th personal foul and was replaced by Alex Schwartz. At the buzzer for the third quarter, the scoreboard stood at 33-43.

The fourth quarter was marked by repeated fouls – with the clock stopping often.

Despite a great performance from Greg Scacchi who was the Raiders lead scorer with 17 points, Scarsdale never managed a rally and the game ended tigers4 at 57-48. Mamaroneck’s matchup zone was just too tough to penetrate. With Squadron injured, the Raiders had a tough time guarding Mamaroneck’s all-section senior point guard, Matt Mezansky. Mezansky ultimately had 24 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, leading the Tigers to a victory on the road. This caps off a great week for the Tigers, who earlier this week upset both White Plains and New Rochelle.

The regular season ended with Scarsdale at 5-12 and Mamaroneck with a 12-6 record. Scarsdale will likely play at North Rockland in the first round of the playoffs, and if they win then they will travel back to 100 California Road to face off against the number 1 seeded Mount Vernon Knights, at their home gym. Mount Vernon went 12-0 in Section 1 this season, winning their games by an average of 32.9 points per game. None were closer than 25.

Seniors and their parents gathered for a picture to commemorate the 2011-12 season, and here they are, courtesy of Cathy Hewitt.

raiderseniors

Details: Published: 14 February 2012; Created: 14 February 2012; Last Updated: 15 February 2012; Hits: 5131

wrestlingchamps As the season was winding down for many winter athletes the Scarsdale wrestling team was gearing up for the most anticipated weekend of the season. With all of the Raider seniors qualifying for the Sectionals, there was a lot of energy heading into the two-day tournament. Many of Scarsdale’s wrestlers were slated to finish high at the top, and when the big weekend came, they put on a spectacular performance.

The tournament got underway on Saturday 2-11 at Clarkstown South at 11 am after snowy weather caused a two-hour delay. In the lower weights at 106 pounds, freshman Robbie Keltz fought hard in both of his matches but fell short of a win. Head Coach Barney Foltman was proud that Keltz made it to the sectional tournament as a freshman and looks forward to working with him for the next three years. Along with Keltz, Junior Mikey Hodges was unable to secure two wins for the day, but expectations remain high for this highly-skilled 113 pounder for his senior year. In the 126-pound weight class, senior Dan Jureller put on an impressive performance by dominating the 5th seed 12-7 in his first round match. Jureller eventually lost in a thrilling overtime match to Brewster’s Tommy Gonska, 14-16. Seniors Chen Shen, Adam Meyer, and captain Brian Hackel demonstrated strength in their respective weight classes but came away empty-handed. These seniors have had a tremendous season and scored big victories for the team in previous dual meets.

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Throughout the sectional tournament the spotlight fell on a few of the Raiders’ standouts. It seemed apparent that senior captains Jack Braun (170), John Tambunting (132), and Jacob Berkowitz (182) would dominate the first day of the tournament and advance to the second day at Pace. Along with these highly respected contenders, Joseph Koshakow (138) also distinguished himself. The junior battled his way through a competitive weight class (with an intimidating haircut) and came out to place 6th in the section. The future seems bright for this junior who fought hard both days, and established himself as a top name for next year. Seniors Braun, Tambunting, and Berkowitz worked their way up through their respective weight classes and found themselves with a chance to secure a sectional title. Jack Braun, failed to place top 6 in last year’s sectional tournament had a lot to prove in the second day of matches. The Dartmouth-bound senior put on an impressive performance but fell shy of the title, losing 4-2-in an overtime match and taking second place. John Tambunting, who placed 5th at last year’s sectional tournament, took it to the next level by placing second in this year’s tournament, falling to state-finalist Dan Ventura of Fox Lane in the finals. The heavy arena crowd seemed to favor underdog Tambunting, who proved to have the ability to make it far into the tournament.

Senior Jacob Berkowitz was a favorite to win his second consecutive sectional title. He did not disappoint his coaches or teammates and dominated his way through the tournament. In his final match he picked apart his opponent with ease. With two sectional titles under his belt, Berkowitz now looks to finish his triumphant senior year with a state title. He has been training hard and practicing two times a day for the state tournament in Albany.

Overall, the Raiders placed eight out of 42 teams in the section. With a heavily loaded senior class leaving, however, the team will work on building up a new squad while maintaining their tight camaraderie.

(Photo Credit: Leslie Berkowitz -- see more photos here)

Details: Published: 08 February 2012; Created: 08 February 2012; Last Updated: 08 February 2012; Hits: 6229

From February 3-5, more than 1,000 fencers from the United States, Mexico and Canada gathered outside of Washington D.C. for the largest youth fencing competition in history. Scarsdale was represented by Scarsdale Middle Schooler Jared Sugarman, age 12, and Polly Adler, age 10, from Edgewood Elementary School.

Jared Sugarman, a seventh grader, placed 20 out of 101 fencers in Y12MF and finished 45 out of 103 in Y14MF. Jared started fencing at age 6. He fences at Westchester Fencing Academy (FAW) in Hawthorne for three hours on Fridays and Saturdays and two hours on Sundays throughout the year, unless he is in a competition either locally or out of state. He has competed in many super regional and national tournaments. Jared spends several weeks each summer at Cornell Fencing Camp. He really enjoys the competition and appreciates the merits of an individual sport. At a very young age he has worked hard and demonstrated commitment. Jared is currently ranked twelfth in the United States for Y12MF and is looking forward to the U.S. Summer Nationals in Anaheim, CA where he will see many of the new friends he made through fencing.

pollyfencing1 Polly Adler, a fifth grader, captured a silver medal at the tournmanet, beating out 30 other competitors in Y10WF. Ms. Adler went on to finish 6th in a pool of 71 fencers for Y12WF. She will represent the United States at the Pan American Games in Mexico in May. Polly trains in New York City at Fencers Club. She is also one of the youngest licensed fencing (foil) referees in the United States. Adopted from China, Polly is working toward participating in the 2013 Junior Olympics and gaining a seat on the U.S. National Team. She is ranked 6th in the United States for Y10WF and 15th for Y12WF. Over the summer Polly will be teaching fencing skills to Inuit native children in Alaska, as well as attending summer camp in Mexico.