Swimmer Picozzi’s season cut short
The North Coast Athletic Conference and the NCAA canceled their Division III swim championships due to COVID
19, so Denison’s junior standout Liam Picozzi had to settle for wrapping up his season in the three-day Ohio Wesleyan Invitational March 5-7 in Granville, Ohio.
Picozzi, from Ballston Spa and a Burnt Hills-ballston Lake High graduate, earned nine All-american honors and a number of victories in NCAC title meets in his first two seasons with the Big Red.
At the Ohio Wesleyan meet, Picozzi won all three of the races in his specialty, the backstroke. His times were 22.57 seconds in the 50, 48.26 in the 100 and 1:45.90 in the 200. He also finished second in the 50 butterfly in 20.39. Picozzi swam legs on three winning relays — the 200 medley (1:28.52), the 400 medley (3:16.38) and the 400 freestyle (2:57.72).
Kelsey Chmiel (Saratoga Springs)
The North Carolina State sophomore earned All-american honors by finishing ninth out of 256 runners at the Division I NCAA Cross Country Championships on Monday to help the women’s team finish second with 161 points. The Saratoga Springs High graduate’s time was 20:26.4 over the 6,000meter (3.73-mile) course. It was her second straight All-american honor in cross country. She finished 22nd in 2019 with a time of 20:32.5. Chmiel competed in the NCAA Indoor Championship on March 11-13 in Fayetteville, Ark., and finished 11th in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 16:12.73.
Dolly Cairns (Saratoga Springs)
The freshman was named to the Atlantic-10 Conference Allrookie team on March 9 for her play with the Rhode Island women’s basketball team. The 5-7 guard, a Saratoga Springs High graduate, averaged 10.6 points per game, aided by hitting 46-of-110 3-point attempts (41 percent). She also had 26 assists and 11 steals. Twice during the season, Cairns was named league Rookie of the Week. The 11-8 Rams saw their season end with a 64-57 overtime loss to Virginia Commonwealth
in the league quarterfinals on March 12. Cairns had 15 points in the game.
Emily Bini (Guilderland)
The New Hampshire freshman was named America East Rookie of the Week on March 9 after she picked up an assist as the Wildcats topped Maine 1-0 in overtime in a league game on March 7 in Durham, N.H. It came at the 95th minute of the game. Bini has started all five games for 4-1 New Hampshire. She picked up her first collegiate point when she had an assist on the second goal in a 2-0 triumph over Rhode Island on Feb. 28, also in Durham.
Kelsey Wood (Wynantskill)
The freshman was named to the America East All-rookie Team on March 8 after a solid season with the 8-8 Sacred Heart women’s basketball team. The Averill Park High graduate averaged 8.7 points and 7.0 rebounds and had three doubledoubles. Her rebound average led the Pioneers and was the top average among freshmen in the league. Her scoring average was third-best on the team and the second-best average among the league’s first-year players.
Austin Deskewicz (Ballston Spa)
The junior is the faceoff specialist for the 3-3 Stony Brook men’s lacrosse team. The Ballston Spa High graduate has won 56-of-95 faceoffs (58.9 percent) and was 12-for-13 in a 20-8 victory over Sacred Heart on Feb. 13 and won 16-of-21 in a 13-4 triumph over New Jersey Tech last Sunday in Stony Brook. This season is nothing new for Deskewicz. In three seasons counting this one, he has the same 58.9 percent of wins (96for-163). He also has a teamhigh 26 ground balls this season.
Natalie Ricci (Cohoes)
The Sage sophomore was named Empire 8 Conference Performer of the Week in women’s track after a strong effort in a dual meet against Utica College on March 12 in Utica. The Cohoes High graduate finished first in the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.56. She finished second in the 60-meter dash with a time of 8.44. She had the best time in the prelims (8.40). Ricci opened the season by finishing fourth in the 200 (28.24) and fifth in the 60 (8.42) at the Nazareth Mini Meet on March 6 in Rochester.