Spring sports may be over, but AGR is in season

Greetings Section V fans,

All of the state championship plaques and medals have been handed out.

But there is one place In Section V where the spring high school sports season is not quite over.

That place is the Democrat and Chronicle, where staff members are preparing to present this season's All-Greater Rochester teams.

As usual, there are a few helping hands to select the players. Softball, baseball, track and field, lacrosse, boys golf and boys tennis coaches have submitted their votes.

Now, Democrat and Chronicle staff members finish forming the AGR teams, the best of the best area high school athletes and coaches.

Stay tuned as we will announce the publication date in an upcoming newsletter.

Here are more bits of news and topics to talk about in area high school sports;

East Rochester home to a national  champion

When Ian Szemcsak, a senior at East Rochester, won the boys pentathlon competition at the Wayne-Finger Lakes League Championships in May, it was the first step for him on a ladder to crowns.

Szemcsak later became the small schools pentathlon champion at the Meet of Champions, a Section V-wide meet. Then, Szemcsak became a state champion.

Now, as of Saturday, Szemcsak is a national champion after he came on top in the Boys Championship division pentathlon during the New Balance Nationals in Philadelphia. Szemcsak finished with 3,298 points at Franklin Field, 77 more than Zachary Carifa, who lives in the state of Connecticut. John Zelker, of Poughkeepsie, came in third with 3,197.

More national champions at New Balance Nationals:

• Desilets Dubois (Brockport) - Girls championship one mile race walk (7:35.68). Race walk races take place during the indoor season in the NYSPHSAA and Section V.

• Isaac Gray (Brighton) - Boys championship one mile race walk (7:16.27).

• Zenallah Hatcher (Batavia) - Freshman girls shot put (38 feet-11 3/4 inches). Her high school season-best was 42 feet.

Szemcsak scored 3,352 points to win the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Division II and Federation or all-comers state championships earlier in June.

Soaring at Schroeder

When Webster Schroeder junior Camryn Cole broke the Section V girls high jump record, there was enough time remaining in the outdoor track and field season for her to do it again.

Cole had to settle for a one-time performance, when it comes to record-breakers, as she never topped 5 feet-11 inches during a meet this season. The two first-place medals Cole won at the state championships this month were two mighty consolation prizes.

There are now three state champion high jump medals in Cole collection, including one from the 2021-22 indoor season, her first in the event. She cleared 5-8 to win the NYSPHSAA and Federation competitions earlier in June during the state meet at Cicero, just north of Syracuse.

More: Section V track & field: Can Schroeder's Camryn Cole break high jump record again?

Fairport standout Kim DePrez set the former Section V record at 5-8 1/2 in 2002. Cole came along and put the new mark at the top of Section V's all-time top performances on May 20, during the Monroe County Championships at Rush-Henrietta.

"She is still relatively new," Webster Schroeder assistant outdoor track and field coach Matt Buffum said about the amount of Cole's experience in the high jump.

Can Palmyra-Macedon keep it going?

Palmyra-Macedon's baseball team, the Red Raiders, made it to the top of Section V each of the last two seasons and in 2022, went right on to the Class B state tournament semifinals.

A few different backpackers are going to make next season's climb at Palmyra-Macedon.

Graduations have taken away a few of the rocks in the Red Raiders lineup, the players who led the way to an undefeated won-loss record for the team into the state final four round.

"It's been a group that has stuck together (since t-ball level youth baseball), come up and always done the right things (to improve)."

Chris Finocchario, Alex Wootton or Paul Goodness led the Red Raiders in most, if not all, major offensive and pitching categories in their final seasons during the spring.

"Those are the (number) 2-3-4 hitters, our centerfielder, shortstop, third baseman and two of our top three pitchers," Palmyra-Macedon baseball coach Bryan Rodman said after the team's ended with a 24-1 record.

"I'm losing basically my core guys who have turned around this program, but I have eight juniors that will have of this experience underneath their belts."

More: Should Section V baseball teams play best-of-three series during postseason?

More: These Section V baseball players are scooping up Division I scholarships. Here's how.

Until next time, keep up on Section V's sports scene by going to our high school page.

If you like this newsletter, please share it with a friend or family member. If you would like to receive the weekly Varsity Voices newsletter, sign up here.

Our work isn't possible without D&C subscribers. If you are one, thank you. If you're not, please consider subscribing.

JAMESJ@Gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Spring sports may be over, but AGR is in season