The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) is pleased to announce the members of the 2019-20 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). This year, 12 new members will join the SAAC, teaming with the 10 returning members who served as juniors last year. The SAAC is made up of two student-athlete representatives, one male and one female, from each of the eleven sections in New York State.

During the 2018-19 school year, the committee created NYSPHSAA Mental Health Awareness Week and had the opportunity to provide input on several proposals including the transfer rule and exceeding the maximum number of contests rule. This year, the committee will continue to promote the mental health initiative. In addition, the SAAC will focus on the creation of a NYSPHSAA Leadership Conference and continue to provide feedback on Executive Committee proposals.  A total of 76 student-athletes applied to be members of this years SAAC.

Erin Holler from Smithtown East, and Ben Glazebnik from Half Hollow Hills East have been selected from Section XI.

“We are excited to welcome the new members and the returning members of the SAAC this school year”, said Dr. Robert Zayas NYSPHSAA Executive Director. “Having student voices in our organization is key to providing feedback to further enhance and improve our programs with our member schools. We congratulate the members of the SAAC on their selection to this committee and look forward to their ideas and contributions during the upcoming school year.”

The SAAC will meet four times via teleconference during the school year. The first meeting will take place Sunday, September 22. The 3^rd annual SAAC summit will take place on Saturday November 30^th and Sunday December 1^st at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse during the NYSPHSAA football championships.

Rob Grable was a standout three-sport athlete at Connetquot High and played professional baseball in the Tigers and Phillies organizations.

He passed away suddenly at the age of 49 on Friday, July 19.

Grable was the principal of Mount Sinai High School at the time of his death.

Section XI mourns his passing.

Read more about Grable and his unfortunate death.

Kings Park coach and teacher Michael McDermott, 37, was jogging in St. James like he always does when he was tragically killed. Kings Park and Smithtown communities are mourning a great loss.

McDermott was a JV baseball coach at Kings Park High School, as well as a middle school physical education teacher.

Friends and family of McDermott have set up a Go Fund Me page to help off-set costs of the funeral and to help his wife and three young children.

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association, Inc. (NYSPHSAA) announces its 2018-19 Scholar-Athlete School of Distinction and School of Excellence Award winners.

The purpose of the School of Distinction and School of Excellence Awards are to unite varsity coaches in challenging their teams to achieve a statewide honor. This year, 35 schools earned the School of Distinction Award and 135 schools earned the School of Excellence Award.  An additional 5 schools received the School of Distinction Award and 19 more received the School of Excellence Award compared to 2017-18 school year. This year’s figures represent the highest number of NYSPHSAA member schools being recognized for their academic achievements.

“To see the numbers of schools honored increase again is a true testament the kind of student-athletes were have here in New York State,” said Dr. Robert Zayas NYSPHSAA Executive Director. “We continue to be proud of this program that highlights and celebrates schools that value the importance of academics, as well as athletics.”

Schools can earn School of Distinction status by having 100% of its varsity teams qualify for and receive the Scholar-Athlete team award during their respective sports seasons. To earn the School of Excellence Award, 75% of a school’s varsity teams must qualify and receive the Scholar-Athlete team award. The full list of School of Distinction and School of Excellence Award winners is below.

SCHOOLS OF DISTINCTION FROM SECTION XI

• BABYLON JR/SR HIGH SCHOOL
• ELWOOD/JOHN GLENN HIGH SCHOOL
• KINGS PARK HIGH SCHOOL
• NORTHPORT SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
• ROCKY POINT HIGH SCHOOL
• SHELTER ISLAND SCHOOL
• SMITHTOWN HIGH SCHOOL-WEST
• WESTHAMPTON BEACH SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

SCHOOLS OF EXCELLENCE FROM SECTION XI

• CENTEREACH HIGH SCHOOL
• COMMACK HIGH SCHOOL
• COMSEWOGUE HIGH SCHOOL
• EARL L VANDERMEULEN HIGH SCHOOL
• MILLER PLACE HIGH SCHOOL
• NEWFIELD HIGH SCHOOL
• NORTH BABYLON HIGH SCHOOL
• PATCHOGUE-MEDFORD HIGH SCHOOL
• PIERSON MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL
• RIVERHEAD SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
• SMITHTOWN CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
• SMITHTOWN HIGH SCHOOL-EAST
• SOUTHAMPTON HIGH SCHOOL
• WALT WHITMAN HIGH SCHOOL

Wishing you a happy, healthy and very proud Fourth of July! #USA

The following is a recap of spring NYSPHSAA championships …

Boys Tennis Recap

The 2019 NYSPHSAA Boys Tennis Championships once again took place at the Billie Jean King USTA Tennis Center in Flushing.

Ryan Fishback of Geneva (Section V) won the singles championship, while the doubles team of Nikolay Sahakyan and Jason Shuler of Scarsdale (Section I) won the doubles championship.

To see the complete results from the tournament click here.

Girls Golf Recap

Deerfield Country Club in the greater Rochester area hosted the NYSPHSAA Girls Golf Championship for the first time ever in 2019.

Melanie Green of Medina (Section VI) won the individual state championship for the second consecutive year. While Scarsdale (Section I) won the team state championship and Section I took home the section state title.

For complete results from the tournament click here.

Boys Golf Recap

The Robert Trent Jones golf course at Cornell University was once again the site for the 2019 NYSPHSAA Boys Golf Championship.

Nathan Han of Somers (Section I) won the individual state championship. This is the second time in three years that Han won the NYSPHSAA championship. Section I was the team section champs for 2019.

To see the complete results from the 2019 championship click here.

Track & Field Championships

Middletown High School was the host for the 2019 NYSPHSAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Over two days on Friday, June 7 and Saturday, June 8 the best male and female track & field student-athletes across the state competed for state championships.

To see the complete race and event results click here.

Girls Lacrosse Recap

For the 25th consecutive year, SUNY Cortland hosted the NYSPHSAA Girls Lacrosse Championships.

Semifinals were played on Friday, June 7 and Finals played on Saturday, June 8. Congratulations to the 2019 state champions:

• A) Northport (Section XI)
• B) Eastport-South Manor (Section XI)
• C) Cold Spring Harbor (Section VIII)
• D) Mattituck (Section XI)

Boys Lacrosse Recap

St. John Fisher College in the greater Rochester area hosted the 2019 NYSPHSAA Boys Lacrosse Championships on Saturday June 8.

Congrats to the 2019 state champions:

• A) Massapequa (Section VIII)

B) Victor (Section V)

• C) Shoreham-Wading River (Section XI)
• D) Lafayette/Onondaga (Section III)

Baseball Recap

The greater Binghamton area once again hosted the 2019 NYSPHSAA Baseball Championships.

Semifinals were played at five sites on Friday, June 14 with the finals played at Union-Endicott High School and Binghamton University on Saturday June 15.

Congrats to the 2019 state champs:

• AA) McQuaid (Section V)
• A) Ballston Spa (Section 2)
• B) Center Moriches (Section XI)
• C) Ticonderoga (Section VII)
• D) Whitehall (Section 2)

Softball Championships

Moreau Recreational Park in South Glens Falls hosted the 2019 NYSPHSAA Softball Championships. This was the 35th anniversary Softball Championship tournament.

Semifinals and finals were played on Saturday, June 15.

The game everyone was talking about was the class A Semifinal between Ballston Spa and Sayville. It took 20 innings, a new NYSPHSAA tournament record for longest game, with Ballston Spa winning 2-1.

Congrats to the 2019 state champs:

• AA) Corning-Painted Post (Section IV)
• A) Williamsville East (Section VI)
• B) Ardsley (Section I)
• C) Edison (Section IV)
• D) Deposit (Section IV)