Chmiel, Ruggles earn honors Peyton Walsh (Ballston Spa)
North Carolina State senior Kelsey Chmiel and SUNY Geneseo senior Ezra Ruggles each earned a pair of All-america honors in their respective divisions last weekend. Both runners are from Saratoga Springs and Saratoga graduates.
Chmiel finished fourth in the 5,000-meter run (16:18.87) and seventh in the 3,000-meter run (9:16.26) at the Division I NCAA Indoor Championship in Albuquerque, N.M. That gave her five Allamerica certificates in her career. She finished fifth in the 5k and seventh in the 3k in the NCAA indoor meet last March. Her other honor came when she finished third in the cross country championship last November.
Ruggles finished third in the mile with a personal-record time of 4:04.38 and helped the Knights’ distance medley relay win in 9:48.39 at the Division III Championship in Birmingham, Ala. He finished fifth in both events at last year’s championship giving him four All-america certificates for his career.
Charlie Grygas (Delanson)
The SUNY Oswego senior earned his second All-america honor at the Division III NCAA Wrestling Championship last weekend in Roanoke, Va. He finished fourth at 174 pounds, going 2-0 the first day and losing 4-0 in the third round and 7-3 in the battle for third place. He also earned a certificate when the 2020 event was canceled because of COVID -19. Springfield sophomore Jake Deguire (Mohonasen) posted a 1-2 record at 157 pounds in his first trip to the nationals.
Calista Phippen (Kinderhook)
The 5-foot-7 senior right-hander is the top pitcher on the Marist softball team, the Red Foxes 7-14 after a 2-0 loss to Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday in Tampa, Fla. The Ichabod Crane grad is 4-4 with a 2.55 earned-run average in nine games and eight starts with seven complete games. Phippen has worked 53 innings and has given up 48 hits and 22 runs, 18 earned, with 21 walks and 51 strikeouts. She tossed a 2-0 shutout against Cleveland State on March 5, giving up three hits, walking three and fanning six.
David Judge (Troy)
The 5-foot-11, 202-pound first baseman is off to a good start with the Lynn (Fla.) baseball team. The Fighting Knights are 10-8-1 this season. The Troy High graduate leads the team in hitting with a .386 average (27-for-70) and has three doubles, four home runs, 10 runs scored with a team-high 20 runs batted in. He has four three-hit games and five two-hit games. Judge is also doing the job in the field. He has made only one error on 127 chances (.992) with 10 double plays.
The senior midfielder earned SUNYAC Player of the Week honors Monday in men’s lacrosse after a big effort for the 2-1 Potsdam Bears the previous week. The Ballston High graduate had a career-high six goals with two assists in a 14-12 victory over Neuman (Pa.) on March 6 and five goals in a 15-9 triumph over Moravian (Pa.) on March 8. He had two goals in a season-opening 19-8 loss to St. Lawrence on March 1. His brother, sophomore Owen, has started all three games and has four goals and two assists.
Thomas Fiebich (Albany)
The 5-foot-10 senior and the Clarkson men’s lacrosse team are off to a big start, the Golden Knights 4-0 on the season after a 12-6 victory over North Central (Ill.) last Sunday in Davenport, Fla.
The Albany Academy graduate had a goal and two assists in the game. He had two goals and four assists in a 16-7 victory over SUNY Brockport and six assists in a 19-7 victory over SUNY Oswego. He had 58 points with 14 goals and 48 assists last season.
Drew Collins (Niskayuna)
Senior Drew Collins was named Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week after a big performance for the St. Michael’s men’s lacrosse team in an 18-9 victory over Lake Erie (Ohio) last Sunday. The Niskayuna High graduate had two goals and six assists. It was his first award as a collegian. On the season, Collins has five goals and nine assists for the 2-0 Purple Eagles. His assists per game (4.5) ranks first in Division II. He had nine goals and 24 assists in 15 games last season.
Lea Richard (Gansevoort)
The Nazareth junior finished first in the weight throw at the All-american Track and Field Conference Championship on March 4 at The Amory in New York City with a school record toss in the weight throw. The South Glens Falls High graduate bettered her previous record with a toss of 56 feet, 6 inches. That ranked 17th in Division III and that is where she finished at the NCAA Championship last weekend in Birmingham, Ala. after she had a heave of 53 feet, 7 inches.