ANTHONY GETTINO
Staff Writer
This weekend brought along a huge weekend for Blue Devils athletics.
There were many important contests that happened, but none were bigger to the community than the Pink the Rink game that happened Saturday night. The crowd at the game was electric for such a great cause.
Pink the Rink is the Fredonia Athletic Department’s way of supporting breast cancer awareness, as many people are affected by the disease every year. The home game this past Saturday represented the 14th annual Pink the Rink at Fredonia. The crowd and the team raise awareness by wearing pink, as that is the color representative of breast cancer awareness. Members of the community are encouraged to make a donation to this cause during the game.
Jersey sales became available at the end of September, and for a donation of $250, anyone would be allowed to place the name of a cancer survivor on the hockey player’s nameplate. Instead of wearing their own name that night they will be representing the cancer survivor whose jersey they will be wearing. At the end of the game, the donor will get the game-worn jersey from the player during an on-ice ceremony.
The game is played in February due to that being National Cancer Prevention Month.
Facing off against Potsdam proved to be a challenge, but one that the team wouldn’t back down from in their pursuit of a playoff spot. Scoring for the Devils on the special night was Bryce Witman, Tommy Martyn and two goals by Victor Tracy. The game ended in a tie in overtime at a score of 4-4.
As for some of the other teams that competed this weekend, it was a mixed bag.
The men’s basketball team lost both road contests, the first a 65-71 loss at Plattsburgh followed up with a 71-76 loss at the hands of Potsdam. The leading scorer against the Plattsburgh Cardinals for the Blue Devils was De’Quan Smith with 12. The most points scored against the Potsdam Bears were by Dydy Bryan with 16. They play New Paltz on Friday night and against Oneonta Saturday afternoon right here at Dods Hall.
As for the women’s basketball team, they won both of their games with Anna Chiacchia leading the way with 21 points in a 70-58 win over Plattsburgh. The next day, the Blue Devils won an overtime thriller against Potsdam 94-87, with Katie Pitcher and Audrey Craffey both scoring 27. The women’s team will also play New Paltz Friday night and Oneonta Saturday afternoon at home.
Both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams had their meet canceled at Cortland Saturday.
They have the SUNYAC Championships February 19-20 in Buffalo, N.Y.
The women’s track and field team competed at the Utica College Blue and Orange Invitational this past weekend. Many solid performances at the meet, including Maddie Sohl in the triple jump, with a seventh-place finish, as well as a seventh-place finish in the 4×400 meter relay by Sarah Buckley, Emily Fish, Morgan Ashton and Ali Dixon.
As for the men’s track and field team, they too traveled to Utica with some solid performances themselves. Collin Barmore ran a 1:57.16 in the 800-meter race, taking third place overall and qualifying for the regional championship. He was also a part of the 4×400 meter relay that took second place, along with Will Guagliardo, Toby Onuoha and Alec Wright. Onuoha also took fourth in the high jump and fifth in the triple jump. Other scoring performances include Daniel Sudyn taking sixth in the triple jump and a sixth-place finish for a second 4×400 relay team consisting of Ivan Torres, Griffin Dombroske, Matt Erman and Topher Elkins.
Next up for the men and women’s track and field team is the SUNYAC Championships hosted at Brockport University on Friday, Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 29 at 10 a.m.
For all final scores, stats, team schedules and information visit https://fredoniabluedevils.com.