THE SPORTS REPORTS: TOWANDA'S FARRELL NAMED BOYS 'NEWCOMER OF THE SPRING;' THREE STSR ATHLETES MAKE THE LIST (2024-07-02)

The Sports Reports
Towanda’s Varrius Farrell was on the fence about doing track and field, and even joined the team a week late. After some modest success, Farrell turned it on when it mattered most, adding five feet to his PR in the shot put at district to place second, and tacking on another two feet at States to finish ninth. He is The Sports Reports’ All-Region "Boys Newcomer of the Spring."

For much of the year, Farrell was using the wrong shot — a bigger and heavier practice one. After he got used to the regular shot, he unloaded a 49-feet, 3-inch throw at the District IV Championships to take second and earn a state berth.

At the PIAA Championships, Farrell continued to improve, throwing a 51-feet, 2 3/4-inches inches to tie for eighth. He ended up missing the podium via the second tie-breaker.

He was also a strong discus thrower, taking fifth at districts with a 135-feet, 2-inch heave.

ALL-REGION BOYS NEWCOMERS OF THE SPRING
Varrius Farrell, junior, Towanda track & field: See above.

Cooper Ball, freshman, Horseheads baseball: Ball was 3-1 on the  mound with a 1.15 ERA, and a 0.82 WHIP, and 37 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings. At the plate, Ball hit .373 with a .400 on-base percentage. Had 13 runs scored and 13 RBI with one home run.

Reed Palmer, freshman, Troy baseball:  Palmer hit .419 in his first varsity season with 27 RBI, 23 runs scored, and 12 doubles. On the mound, he threw 23 2/3 innings with a 2.07 ERA.

Brendan Cooke, freshman, Athens baseball: Cooke hit .412 with three doubles, one triple, one home run, 10 RBI, eight runs scored, and one steal. He had a .531 on-base percentage, to go along with a .580 slugging percentage for 1.110 OPS.

Graham Wanck, freshman, Athens track & field: At the District 4, Class 3A Championships, Wanck finished third in the 3,200-meter run in a school-record time of 9:38.42 — eclipsing the previous mark by more than 19 seconds, and his previous-best time by more than 20 seconds. He missed out on States in 3A, but would have easily qualified in 2A. He was ninth in the 1,600 at Districts, and ran on the seventh-place 3,200 relay.

Cole Hawkins, senior , Corning tennis: Hawkins 10-0 in doubles to help Corning win their first STAC title. He was also third at the Section IV Doubles tournament with playing partner, Alex Peng, as they made the Section IV State Qualifier.

Brogan Sullivan, 8th-grader, Horseheads lacrosse: Sullivan scored 23 goals and doles out 13 assists this season.

Xavier Watson, junior, Waverly track & field: Watson ran on the N.Y. State gold-medal winning 400-meter relay team. He was also a consistent points-winner in the 100 and 200, and finished ninth in the high jump at the State Qualifier.

Kendrick Ross, freshman, Troy track & field: Ross came out of the gates strong in the high jump, and even hit 6-feet, 2-inches during the season.

Elijah Lewis, junior, Owego baseball: Lewis hit .310 with 12 runs, 15 RBI and a team-high 22 stolen bases, and posted a .929 fielding percentage (just two errors in 28 chances). He was 5-2 record in nine starts on the mound with 51 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings with a 2.77 ERA.

Logan Aman, sophomore, SVEC baseball: Aman hit .409 with a.422 on-base percentage. He had 18 hits, with one double, nine runs scored, and 22 stolen bases.

Luke Rothermel, sophomore, Wellsboro tennis: Rothermel helped Hornets to undefeated league record and an NTL title, going 9-3 at No. 2 Singles and winning a doubles’ match in the first round of the District 4 Championships.

Michael Knefley, freshman, NP-Mansfield track & field: Knefley placed third in both the 1600-meter run and 3200-meter run at the NTL Championships and was 10th in the 1600 at Districts and 17th in the 800.

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