Sischo fulfills promise
Guilderland grad leads Daemen after preseason nod as league’s top star
Daemen College redshirt sophomore Andrew Sischo was named East Coast Conference preseason Player of the Year in men’s basketball. The way he has started the season, it seems like a great choice.
The 6-foot-9 center from Guilderland (Guilderland High) was named ECC Player of the Week on Monday after he scored 31 points and pulled down 15 rebounds in a 78-71 victory over Slippery Rock last Saturday in Amherst to move the Wildcats to 3-1 for the season.
Through the first four games, Sischo is averaging 23.0 points and 11.3 rebounds a game, tops in the league. He was also named ECC Player of the Week on Nov. 12 after he led Daemen to a pair of victories in the ECC-CACC Challenge in Amherst.
Sischo was a first-team ECC choice and the league’s Rookie of the Year after averaging 15.4 points and 8.7 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to a 22-8 record with a 15-3 mark in league play.
Jake Ashcraft (Glenville)
The junior is off to another flying start with the Ithaca wrestling team. The Burnt Hillsballston Lake High graduate entered this season with a 69-21 record with 32 falls and a 19-5 mark in dual matches. In the annual Ithaca Open on Nov. 3 in Ithaca, Ashcraft went 4-0 at 184 pounds with three pins and a 4-0 victory in the final to earn the tourney’s Most Outstanding Wrestler award. He went 1-1 in the Northeast Duals Nov. 10 in Troy, scoring an 8-3 decision in a match against Division I Virginia.
Elijah Lott (East Greenbush)
The 6-3 junior guard scored 31 points to lead the Suny-purchase men’s basketball team to a 90-83 victory over Elmira in the consolation game of the Max Ziel Tournament on Nov. 17 in Oswego. He hit on 8 of 21 shots from the field, including three 3-point baskets, and was 12-for-15 from the free-throw line. He also had 11 rebounds in the game. The Columbia High graduate leads the 2-2 Panthers in just about every department. He’s first in scoring average (17.8), rebounds (8.5), assists (18) and steals (seven).
Tarah Killane (Clifton Park)
The junior is a key distance swimmer for the East Stroudsburg women’s team. The Shenendehowa High graduate finished first in the 1,650 freestyle in a 128-63 victory over Lock Haven on Nov. 17 in East Stroudsburg, Pa. Her time was 19 minutes, 8.93 seconds. At a tri-meet with Kutztown and California on Nov. 3 in California, Pa., Killane captured the 1,650 (18:48.7) and finished second in both the 500 free (5:34.27) and the 1,000 freestyle (11:16.59).
Orion Anderson (Schuylerville)
The true freshman is one of three athletes competing at 133 pounds for the Maryland wrestling team. He’s 3-4 overall and 1-4 against Division foes. He was 2-2 in the Wolfpack Open on Nov. 19 in Raleigh, N.C., and was 1-2 in the Princeton Open on Nov. 3 in Princeton, N.J. His victory came with a pin in 1:59. Anderson was a three-time New York state champion, a two-time Most Outstanding Wrestler and compiled a 185-8 record in his four seasons at Schuylerville High.
Meg Lahey (Latham)
The senior, a Millbrook School graduate, has picked up eight assists playing defense for the Elmira women’s hockey team. The Soaring Eagles are 5-1-1 overall and 4-0-0 in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference and are ranked third in both the D3hockey and the U.S. College Hockey Online polls. Freshman Ariella Haas of Albany (Canterbury School) has picked up five assists. Both women are keys to the Elmira defense as well.
Eleanor Felton (Duanesburg)
The freshman helped the American University women’s swim team set two school records at George Mason’s Patriot Invitational Nov. 15-17 in Fairfax, Va. The Duanesburg Central graduate swam a leg on the 400 freestyle relay, which finished fourth (3:28.17), and the 200 freestyle relay, which finished sixth (1:35.07). The busy swimmer also placed fourth in the 100 butterfly (56.42) and competed in the 50 freestyle and with the 800 freestyle relay.