Scanlon Signs National Letter of Intent
Yesterday evening, Colin Scanlon signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his track career at Claremont McKenna College next year.
The senior first garnered the attention of the Stags in 2019 when he closed a sensational sophomore season in the 400m hurdles with a PSAA Championship, a NYSAIS State Championship, and school record-breaking performance in the New York State Federation Championships. His 55.68 mark ranked him as the 4th fastest sophomore in the nation.
The 2020 spring season approached with great promise for Scanlon, but COVID-19 ended track & field just two weeks into the season. Instead of wallowing in the missed opportunity, Scanlon loaded the family pick-up with Stony Brook hurdles and brought them back to Sag Harbor to continue training in the interim. This past fall, he returned to competition by leading the boys’ cross country team to its 3rd straight PSAA title, taking second place overall. After basketball season, Scanlon hopes to return to the track to defend his league and state crowns before taking a run at the Federation podium.
Next year Scanlon will travel to Claremont, CA where he should make an immediate impact for the Stags. His best time to date, run at the 2019 Federations, would have placed him 7th at the 2019 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships, and 2nd on the Claremont squad… as a high school sophomore. It will be exciting to see what times and performances await him at the next level.
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Audige Shines in Northwestern Debut
Last Wednesday, Chase Audige ’17 made his long awaited debut for Northwestern University, scoring 16 in a convincing opening victory for the ‘Cats. Here is a recap of his sensational premiere from John Riker of The Daily Northwestern.
Transfer Chase Audige Makes Impressive NU Debut in Blowout Win
Entering Wednesday, Chase Audige’s last appearance in a NCAA game was on March 10, 2019 as a starter for William & Mary.
While the circumstances — a 21-month hiatus complicated further by an injury that required rehabilitation and the coronavirus pandemic — would have justified a slow return to action for the sophomore transfer, Audige’s Northwestern debut was anything but modest. Audige stole the show in the Wildcats’ (1-0) season-opening 92-49 rout of the Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-4). The Coram, N.Y. native reached double-digits in points by halftime and finished with 16 overall.
“Chase is an aggressive, hungry player,” coach Chris Collins said. “He gives us another guy who can get his own shot, he can get out in transition and get to the basket, he shoots threes, he gets fouls. When you play in the Big Ten against really good defenses, you need guys who create when things break down.”
Prior to his transfer to NU, Audige made an immediate impact as a first-year for the Tribe. Audige averaged 9.6 points per game and earned a spot on the Colonial Athletic Association’s All-Rookie Team, but a coaching change at William & Mary opened up the opportunity for the Cats to pick him up as a transfer.
Though NCAA regulations forced Audige to sit out the 2019-20 campaign, he still had the opportunity to practice with his teammates and familiarize himself with Collins’ system.
“We wanted to have him last year,” Collins said. “We saw it in practice. He was always the best player on the other team when we were preparing for Big Ten teams. We could see the talent was there.”
Audige’s efforts certainly paid off. Collins named Audige to the starting lineup against the Golden Lions and the sophomore guard didn’t disappoint, scoring 11 points across a team-high 15 minutes of first half action. Audige teamed up with junior Miller Kopp to burn Arkansas-Pine Bluff from behind the arc with a combined five three-pointers, while also finding success driving to the rim.
Audige picked up where he left off in the next frame, dropping five quick points in the half’s opening minutes as NU extended their halftime lead over the Golden Lions into a blowout. With the Cats in control, Collins dipped back into his rotation and dialed back Audige’s minutes. Audige still finished as NU’s second-highest scorer and had an efficient 6-for-12 field goal shooting performance, along with five rebounds.
After the departure of fellow transfer guard Pat Spencer following the 2019-20 season, Audige’s offensive performance bodes well for a team that ranked last in the Big Ten in points per game. With a tough slate of Big Ten games on the horizon, Audige is focused on building off the Cats’ early momentum.
“I came here to impact winning,” Audige said. “Northwestern is an underdog program and I’ve been an underdog my whole life, so just taking on that mantra and impacting winning as much as we can.”
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Audige Powers Northwestern to 2-0 Start
It’s been a long time coming for Chase Audige ’17. 21 months to be exact.
After a standout freshman season at William & Mary in which he earned a spot on the CAA All-Rookie Team and won the VaSID Rookie of the Year Award, he entered the NCAA transfer portal in the wake of head coach Tony Shaver’s firing. At that time he was ranked #40 on ESPN‘s list of 2020-21 eligible transfers. In May 2019 he officially transferred to Northwestern, though in order to retain his three remaining years of eligibility he was required to sit out of games in 2019-20 as the Wildcats went 3-17 in Big Ten play to finish in second to last place. But the former Bear is finally able to unleash the firepower he brought to to Evanston, IL and led the Cats to a pair of blowout wins to open the season.
Last Wednesday, in his first game action since March 2019, Audige scored 16 points, including three 3-pointers and a fast break slam, to help lead Northwestern past Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 92-49.
“I think as a team, we were just prepared for this game for so long,” Audige said postgame. “I think we have a long way to go with where we need to go, but I think we have some potential.”
Audige to North by Northwestern after his debut
Audige followed up his sensational debut with 20 points and 8 rebounds in a 111-66 win over Chicago State on Saturday. Audige and the Cats return to the court tonight in their first Power 5 match-up of the season as they host Pittsburgh in the 22nd Annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
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Smith Signs with Saint Peter’s
Yesterday evening Tyler Smith became the latest Bear to commit to play Division I athletics, signing a National Letter of Intent with Saint Peter’s University.
The 6’2″ senior came to the Bears as a sophomore and took over starting catcher responsibilities as the Brook went undefeated on their way to the 2019 PSAA Championship. In the title game, the Babylon, NY native scored a run and tagged out a runner at the plate in a 10-0 victory over Portledge. The following week, in the first round of the NYSAIS State Tournament, Smith’s rally-igniting, 4th-inning double helped power the Bears to a 6-1 win over Hackley. A year ago, despite COVID-19 cutting short the season, Smith was named a Rawlings/Perfect Game Pre-Season All-American.
When he arrives in Jersey City next fall, Smith will immediately compete for the starting catching job with the Peacocks who play in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) against notable opponents Marist, Monmouth, Quinnipiac, Iona, and Fairfield.
Three other Bears from last year’s squad have also signed on with Division I schools: Joe Wozny (UConn), Jack Carr (Stony Brook), and TJ Wachter (Fordham).
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Fall Postseason Honors
The 2020 fall season was the most unique we have ever seen in 99 years of Stony Brook Athletics. COVID-19 brought new challenges to our playing fields, but our athletes and coaches responded with strength and grace. They should be applauded not just for what they accomplished, but for the manner in which they did it.
Despite the changes brought by COVID-19, the Bears’ success continued unabated as they secured five more championships in the fall season thanks to championship victories by our boys’ and girls’ cross country teams and the girls’ tennis team and regular season championships by our girls’ tennis and boys’ soccer teams. Here are the individuals honored for their outstanding achievement this season.
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Boys’ Cross Country
- All-PSAA: Colin Scanlon, Forest Kaplan-Walbrecht, Joe Barisic Cubillas, Anthony Zajac, Paul Cesario, Tiger Wang, Marc Nichitiu, Nathan Stortz, David Yoo, Asad Arif & Lars Johnson
Girls’ Cross Country
- All-PSAA: Sarah Wong, Evelyn Apazidis, Mia Trama, Anne-Sarah Nichitiu, Eowyn Jeffrey, Naomi Zhao & Aubree Yoder
Boys’ Soccer
- All-PSAA: Luqman Bare, Mo Romeus, Devin Saraniero & Malik Ulysse
Girls’ Soccer
- All-PSAA: Sophia DiLavore & Madison Logan
Girls’ Tennis
- PSAA MVP: Carina Cristobal
- All-PSAA: Sam Cox, Carina Cristobal, Isabel Guo, Caroline Helmer & Alanna Wu
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Girls’ Tennis Returns to PSAA Pinnacle
This afternoon the girls’ tennis team put a satisfying cap on the fall season with a 3-2 victory over Portledge in the PSAA Championship. It was a satisfying return to the top for the Bears who took the 2018 title before losing the 2019 championship to Staten Island in a 2-3 heartbreaker.
The Bears had to shuffle their lineup due to the absence of Alanna Wu, who was undefeated at 2nd singles this season. Carina Cristobal (6-0, 6-0) turned in a customary dominant performance at 1st singles while Isabel Guo stepped into Wu’s vacated 2nd singles spot to win 6-4, 6-0. After Portledge took 3rd singles and 2nd doubles, dropping just two combined games in the process, the championship came down to the 1st doubles match.
Caroline Helmer and Sam Cox fell behind early, but battled back to take a 5-4 lead in the first set. They continued to lead 6-5 when they broke Portledge’s serve to take the first set, 7-5. In the second set, both teams held serve in the opening three games as the Panthers took a 2-1 lead. From there, the Bears won five straight games to take the set, 6-2. In game four, Helmer and Cox came back from trailing 15-30 to even the set at 2-2. The turning point came in game five when they built a 40-love lead before breaking to take control of the match at 3-2. They held serve in games six and eight and broke Portledge again in game seven to claim the match and the championship.
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Bears Charge into PSAA Final
Today, on a bright, 72-degree afternoon, the boys’ soccer team dispatched Long Island Lutheran in the PSAA Semifinals, 7-0, to punch their second finals ticket in the last three seasons. The victory also helped the Bears dispel the bitter taste of last year’s home semifinal loss to Avenues.
Before taking the pitch today, the Bears last saw game action 17 days ago in an 8-0 win over the Crusaders. Numerous factors conspired against the Bears playing the last two games on their schedule, leading to the uncharacteristically lengthy layoff. But the team showed little rust as they again jumped on LuHi early en route to their fifth straight win over the Crusaders.
Less than three minutes in Luqman Bare nearly put the Bears ahead, but a quality stop from the keeper kept the Bears at bay. Four minutes later Bare was taken down in the box, leading to a Mo Romeus penalty kick that put the Bears up for good. Romeus followed that up with a dynamic run that resulted in a goal off the left post, courtesy of a pass from Dennis Yilmaz. Bare extended the lead to 3-0 and 4-0 with a pair of goals at the 18:17 and 9:09 marks, and the rout was on. Justine Zakayo capped the first half scoring with just 45 seconds left as the Brook carried a 5-0 lead into the break.
As the late afternoon shadows stretched across Fitch Field, the Bear attack continued. LuHi stood tall for the first 18 minutes, repelling the offensive waves, but David Zhang broke through with a score at the 22-minute mark after receiving a pass from Bare. Jayson Amin scored perhaps the goal of the day, closing the barrage with 11:30 remaining when he glanced the ball off the near-side post and past the diving keeper for a beautiful strike.
The defense recorded their third clean sheet in the last three games as Lemuel Kutame, Ryahn Kahn, and Jackson Petroske combined for the shutout in goal. Stephen Cisz and Joe Spreckels stood tall, chasing down numerous balls in the backfield.
The Bears move on to the PSAA Championship on Friday at 2:00pm at Cantiague Park vs. Staten Island Academy.
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XC Teams Cruise to 3rd Straight Titles
Yesterday, on a gorgeous autumn afternoon, the Bears hosted the 31st PSAA Cross Country Championships on the S. T. Hsaio home course. The boys’ and girls’ teams each won their 3rd consecutive title, giving them a perfect mark in the event since joining the league in 2018. It is the first 3-peat in the PSAA since since Packer Collegiate won three boys’ races from 2009-11. Packer also earned the last girls’ 3-peat from 2003-07.
The boys led off the afternoon with a comfortable 23-36 win over Portledge, the only other school with the minimum five runners. The Panthers’ Chris Lall led start to finish, though Colin Scanlon helped push him to a great time, never allowing him to settle in to a comfortable pace on the 2.53-mile course. The Bears took the next three spots, seven of the top ten, and placed eleven on the All-PSAA list (top 15 runners). In a show of the Bears’ depth, they placed twelve runners ahead of Portledge’s fifth scorer.
This was the boys’ first run of three victories in a championship race since winning the Suffolk County Championship from 2006-08. Head Coach David Hickey was a runner on the 2006 and 2007 squads.
Boys’ Complete Results
- Chris Lall (Portledge) – 13:49
- Colin Scanlon (Stony Brook) – 14:05
- Forest Kaplan-Walbrecht (Stony Brook) – 14:48
- Joe Barisic Cubillas (Stony Brook) – 15:23
- Alex Simms (Portledge) – 15:46
- Anthony Zajac (Stony Brook) – 15:55
- Tyler Wasserman (Portledge) – 16:03
- Paul Cesario (Stony Brook) – 16:10
- Tiger Wang (Stony Brook) – 16:30
- Marc Nichitiu (Stony Brook) – 17:12
- Christian Mastacciuola (Portledge) – 17:30
- Nathan Stortz (Stony Brook) – 17:30
- David Yoo (Stony Brook) – 17:33
- Asad Aarif (Stony Brook) – 18:05
- Lars Johnson (Stony Brook) – 18:57
- Jimmy Hu (Stony Brook) – 18:58
- Parker Meyer (Portledge) – 19:43
- Brandon Cooper (Portledge) – 19:46
- Kaleb Ortiz (Martin Luther) – 19:47
- Richard Rodriguez (Martin Luther) – 19:48
- Jaden Lee (Stony Brook) – 19:53
- Tim Chiu (Portledge) – 21:48
- Yasser Asad (Stony Brook) – 21:50
- Jack Derco (Stony Brook) – 25:27
The girls were dominant in their race as Sarah Wong and Evelyn Apazidis claimed the top two spots. Five Bears flooded the top ten places and all seven Stony Brook runners earned All-PSAA status. Despite being the only team that had the minimum five runners for a qualifying team score, the Bears placed all seven runners ahead of Portledge’s fourth runner, eliminating any debate as to whether the Panthers could have challenged the incumbent champs with an additional competitor.
Wong completed her outstanding Stony Brook cross country career as a 3-peat PSAA Champion, the first PSAA runner, boy or girl, to accomplish the feat since Columbia Prep’s Natasha Knorr from 2005-07.
Girls’ Complete Results
- Sarah Wong (Stony Brook) – 16:44
- Evelyn Apazidis (Stony Brook) – 17:03
- Taty Neugebauer (Portledge) – 19:09
- Mia Trama (Stony Brook) – 19:54
- Ava Vissicchio (Portledge) – 20:01
- Norah Williams (Our Savior) – 20:16
- Anne-Sarah Nichitiu (Stony Brook) – 20:19
- Eowyn Jeffrey (Stony Brook) – 20:50
- Ramsey Cammerer (Portledge) – 20:56
- Marilyn Mahoney (Martin Luther) – 22:21
- Namoi Zhao (Stony Brook) – 23:05
- Thalia Rivera (Our Savior) – 23:24
- Aubree Yoder (Stony Brook) – 24:19
- Katy Wu (Portledge) – 24:49
- Melissa Danneil (Our Savior)
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Fall Playoff Schedule
[Updated 11/16 @ 5:16 pm]
Despite the challenges and changes brought on by COVID-19, the Bears have turned in a successful fall season. As the light wanes and the leaves melt from green to gold, postseason competition returns to the Brook.
This is your headquarters for the fall playoff season at the Brook. This page will be updated with results and next round information after each contest.
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Boys’ Cross Country
PSAA Championship [Win, 23-36]
- Thu. November 5 @ 2:30pm — Stony Brook (S. T. Hsaio Course)
Girls’ Cross Country
PSAA Championship [Win]
- Thu. November 5 @ 3:15pm — Stony Brook (S. T. Hsaio Course)
Boys’ Soccer
PSAA Semifinals vs. #4 Long Island Lutheran [Win, 7-0]
- Tue. November 10 @ 2:30pm — Stony Brook
PSAA Championship vs. #3 Staten Island Academy [Loss, 0-1]
- Fri. November 13 @ 2:00pm — Cantiague Park
Girls’ Soccer
PSAA Semifinals vs. #1 Staten Island Academy [Loss, Forfeit]
- Tue. November 10 @ 2:00pm — Staten Island Academy
Girls’ Tennis
PSAA Championship vs. #2 Portledge [Win, 3-2]
- Mon. November 16 @ 2:30pm — Stony Brook
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Tennis Punches Championship Ticket vs. Portledge
On a frigid Monday afternoon that saw temperatures plunge into the 30s and wind gusts surge above 25 mph, the girls’ tennis team finished their truncated regular season with a 4-1 win at Portledge. The victory gave The Bears a 3rd consecutive undefeated PSAA regular season title and a bye into next week’s PSAA Championship, which the Bears will host on the home hardcourts. This is the first 3-peat in girls’ tennis program history.
Carina Cristobal (6-0, 6-0), Alanna Wu (6-0, 6-0), and Isabel Guo (6-3, 6-4) swept singles while Caroline Helmer and Sam Cox (6-1, 6-2) earned the win at first doubles to help the Bears improve to 5-0 all-time vs. the Panthers and 14-0 all-time in regular season PSAA play. They, along with the volleyball, badminton, boys’ cross country, girls’ cross country, boys’ track, and girls’ track teams, have never lost a PSAA contest or event.
The Bears return to the courts next Thursday when they host the PSAA Championship, facing the winner of Tuesday’s semifinal between Portledge and Staten Island Academy.
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