THE SPORTS REPORTS: TIOGA'S AIELLO ALL-REGION 'COACH OF THE FALL;" FIVE SOUTHERN TIER COACHES RECOGNIZED (2021-12-19)
The Sports ReportsFor the second time in his 12-year coaching career, Tioga football coach
Nick Aiello reached the pinnacle of his sport, coaching the Tigers to their second Class D state title since 2015 and is
The Sports Reports’ 2021 All-Region “Coach of the Fall.â€
It was a tough decision as Aiello edged out Corning cross country Ray Lawson, who directed the Hawks to a state title.
Aiello
guided the Tigers to a 12-0 season — the first unbeaten season in his
career. He has amassed a 108-23 career record, including a 24-2 record
in the Section IV playoffs, and a 13-7 mark in the state playoffs.
Aiello’s
teams have won nine Section IV titles since 2011 — including the last
four played, to go along with his two state titles.
The Tigers
outscored their opponents by an average of 47 to 8.4 points per game,
including a 42-6 margin in the three state playoff games.
The Sports Reports' 2021 All-Region “Baker’s Dozen Coaches of the Fall:â€
Nick Aiello, Tioga football: See above.
Ray Lawson, Corning, cross country:
Lawson led the Corning boys to the state championship — the third state
title for the boys in his coaching career. He had individual boys go
first and fourth at the state meet. The Corning boys also swept the top
five spots at both the STAC Championships and Section 4 Championships. …
He also guided the Corning girls to a fifth-place finish at States.
Sheila Wesneski, Canton volleyball: Wesneski
directed Canton to a 21-5 record, a District IV, Class A Championship,
and the PIAA state semifinals. Despite losing nine seniors from last
year’s team, this year’s Canton team went even further. They won their
fifth straight district title, and reached the state final four.
Tyler Sechrist, Canton football: Sechrist
guided Canton to an historic 13-1 season, a District IV, Class A
Championship, and a PIAA state semi-final appearance. After three years
of being district runners-up, Canton broke through in a big way, winning
their first district title since 1990. The Warriors also won their
first NTL Large School Division title since 1998, and won the first
state playoff game in school history.
Joe Picco, ND girls soccer: Picco
guided the Crusaders to an IAC Large School title, a Section IV title,
and into the state semifinals. Notre Dame was unbeaten until the state
semi-final game. Since taking over the program before last season, Picco
has guided the team to the IAC finals last year (the game wasn’t played
due to Covid) and then this year took them to the state final four.
Alessio De Michele, Owego boys soccer: The
second-year coach led the Indians to a 12-3-1 record, and the Section
IV Class B championship. Owego nearly upset defending and eventual state
champ Skaneateles in the regional final before falling in overtime. The
Indians were 1-15 in 2018, and 3-10-1 in ’19 prior to De Michele’s
arrival.
Pam Quinlan, Candor volleyball: Quinlan guided
the Indians to a 21-1 record and their fourth consecutive IAC South and
overall Small School championships. She also led Candor to its second
straight Section IV, Class D title, as well as a second straight berth
in the state semifinals. The Lady Indians won a state title in 2019.
Brittany Race, Owego volleyball: Race led the Indians to an 11-4 record and their 10th straight Section IV Class B championship.
Jason Miller, Waverly football:
Miller directed the Wolverines to an historic season — the first time a
Waverly team has started a season 10-0. The Wolverines’ season came to
an end in the Section IV, Class C title game against eventual state
champ Chenango Forks.
Waverly opened the season with a decisive
win over Class A East Syracuse-Minoa, then won a division title, and
beat Norwich in the Class C semifinals to advance to its first Section
IV title game since 2015. Miller has a career record of 111-70, and
three Section IV titles.
Tim Crout, Horseheads volleyball:
Crout directed the Blue Raiders to STAC and Section IV titles, while
also reaching the regional final. The team played their best in the
biggest moments, winning multiple five-set matches during the season.
Mike Johnston Jr., Corning football:
Johnston led the Hawks to a Section 4, Class AA championship, and
played in the Regional finals. The Hawks had one of the best defenses in
the Section, allowing just 11.1 points a game. Offensively the team
scored 37.7 points a game, second most in Section 4, and ran for 3,695
yards. Over the past three seasons. the Hawks are 22-4.
Jim Schools, Wyalusing cross country:
Schools led Wyalusing to an 8-2 record, and a District IV, Class A
championship. The Rams accomplishments came in spite of losing three of
their top four runners from a year ago. They won their third straight
district title.
Chad Freelove, Corning boys soccer:
Freelove guided the Hawks to the Section 4 championship. Corning dealt
with injuries early in the year, before coming on strong as the season
went on and winning the sectional crown and advancing to the regional
final.
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IN PHOTO: Tioga’s Nick Aiello. … VSR STOCK PHOTO.