SOUTHERN TIER SPORTS REPORT: GRIMALDI, WINKKY, BRENEN-BUSECK, MURPHY AND STEVENS AMONG ALL-STSR MAJOR AWARD WINNERS (June 23, 2023)

By Brian Fees
Southern Tier Sports Report
It was a big year for area lacrosse teams making for some fun choices for this year’s All-Southern Tier Sports Report All-State team.

This year’s player of the year is Corning’s Chris Grimaldi. The Hawks star had 50 goals and 12 assists on the year. The UMASS commit had 115 goals the past two seasons. He had six goals, including the game-winner in overtime against Spencerport.

There was co defensive player of the year winners, and both of them had special years.

Marshall Winkky of Horseheads was a USA Lacrosse All-American. He was team captain and MVP. He had 34 ground balls and 128 caused turnovers. He led a man down unit that held teams to 21%. He gave up just nine goals one on one this entire season. He will play for RIT, that’s won two of the past three Division III National Titles.

The other co-defensive player of the year was Sam Brenen-Buseck of Elmira. The Express junior goalie, who is committed to LeMoyne, had 220 saves on the season with a save percentage of 63%. He also led the team with 35 ground balls.

Kellan Murphy of Notre Dame was the offensive player of the year. He had a Section IV high 105 points this year with 62 goals and 43 assists and finished his career with 207 points.

Horseheads coach Jason Neubauer is the coach of the year. He led the Blue Raiders to 11 straight wins down the stretch, indulging the programs first ever win over the Corning Hawks.

The newcomer of the year is Horseheads’ Griffin Stevens. He had 116 ground balls and was 170 for 242 on face-offs with a 70% face-off win percentage.

The first team all-STSR team includes Grimaldi, Winkky, Brenen-Buseck, Stevens, Murphy and Horseheads’ Alex Johanson and Garrett Elston; Corning’s Aidan Crane and Ian Marsh; Horseheads’ Braden Woodworth; Elmira’s Ryan Stukey and Notre Dame’s Shane Maloney and Garrin Dougherty.

The second team includes Corning’s James Freeman, Kale Lillico, Jackson Casey and Brayden Howell; Elmira’s Landon Cook and Danny Manning and Kevin Green and Finn Schweizer of Notre Dame.

The rookie team includes Woodworth and Stevens and Cook; Horseheads’ Zach Lese; and Corning’s Clayton Smith, Joe Fucito and Brenden Jardin-Reed.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Chris Grimaldi, Corning
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Kellan Murphy, ND
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR: Marshall Winkky, Horseheads & Sam Brenen-Buseck, Elmira
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Griffin Stevens, Horseheads
COACH OF THE YEAR: Jason Neubauer, Horseheads

FIRST TEAM

• Alex Johanson, Horseheads: Had 52 goals and 34 assists for 86 points. First team all-league pick.
• Garrett Elston, Horseheads: Had 69 goals and 33 assists for 72 points. First team all-league selection.
• Griffin Stevens, Horseheads: Had 116 ground balls and was 170 for 242 on face-offs, 70% face-off win percentage. A first-team league selection.
• Marshall Winkky, Horseheads: A USA Lacrosse All-American. Team captain and team MVP. 34 ground balls and 18 caused turnovers. Led a man down unit that held teams to 21%. Gave up just nine goals one on one this entire season.
• Chris Grimaldi, Corning: Had 50 goals and 12 assists on the season. The UMASS commit had 115 goals the past two years. Had six goals including the game winner in overtime against Spencerport.
• Aidan Crane, Corning: Guarded every teams number one player through the year.
• Braden Woodworth, Horseheads: Had 32 goals and 25 assists for 57 points. Was a second-team league all-star.
• Ryan Stukey, Elmira: Had 52 goals and 23 assists for 75 points this year. The 52 goals is a school record as is the 75 points. Also scored 10 goals in one game, for a school record.
• Sam Brenen-Buseck, Elmira: Had a total of 220 saves on the season with a save percentage of 63%. Also led the team with 35 ground balls.
• Kellan Murphy, ND: Scored a Section IV high 105 points this year with 62 goals and 43 assists. Finished his career with 207 points.
• Shane Maloney, ND: Had 61 goals and 37 assists on the season for the Crusaders.
• Garrin Dougherty, ND: The Crusaders top defenseman. One of the leaders in takeaways and ground balls in Section IV.
• Ian Marsh, Corning: A lock down defender who faced off, played wing and played close — all over the field kind of player.

SECOND TEAM

• James Freeman, Corning: Had 24 goals and 12 assists in 13 games for the Hawks.
• Kale Lillico, Corning: One of the best defensive middies in the area. Had to switch to both offense and defense due to injuries and he managed to become a go-to- on offense and clearing the ball.
• Jackson Casey, Corning: A defensive middle who helped the Hawks have one of the best defenses in the area.
• Brayden Howell, Corning: Had a 64% save percentage for the hawks.
• Landon, Cook, Elmira: Had 32 goals and four assists for a total of 36 points.
• Finn Schweizer, ND: A standout as a freshman with 44 goals and 27 assists. Went over 100 career points already.
• Kevin Green, ND: Had 172 face off wins at a 66.9% percentage and had 176 ground balls.
• Danny Manning, Elmira: A standout on defense for the Express.

ROOKIE TEAM

• Braden Woodworth, Horseheads: (See above)
• Zach Lese, Horseheads: Had 20 goals and 20 assists for the Blue Raiders.
• Griffin Stevens, Horseheads: (See above)
• Clayton Smith, Corning: A freshman attack/middie/faceoff player who really stepped up as the year went on.
• Brenden Jardin-Reed, Corning: A sophomore who became the lead face-off guy for the team as well as a SS D Middle.
• Joe Fucito, Corning: A freshman attack/middie. He became a solid attacker for the Hawks.
• Landon Cook, Elmira: (See above)

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STSR PHOTOS.