Monday, Oct. 1, 2012: Ex-hockey star charged in girlfriend's beating death

   Leading off today: Former New Hartford hockey star Clayton Whittemore was charged in the weekend beating death of his girlfriend in her college dorm room, according to numerous reports.

   Whittemore was charged with second-degree murder in the death of 18-year-old freshman Alexandra Kogut, also of New Hartford, inside McLean Hall on the Brockport State campus between 1 and 2:30 a.m. Saturday, authorities said. Whittemore, 21, was arraigned in Sweden Town Court and pleaded not guilty. He was remanded to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and will have a preliminary hearing 1 p.m. Thursday at Town Court.

   School Police Chief Robert Kehoe said Kogut had “extensive trauma” to her upper body.

   Whittemore, a Utica College student who made the dean's list last fall, was taken into custody by police at about 4 a.m. at a state Thruway rest stop in DeWitt.

   Whittemore was a star athlete in New Hartford, where he played hockey and ran track and cross country. He led the hockey team to New York State Public High School Athletic Association Division II championships in 2009 and 2010, his junior and senior seasons. He was selected Division II player of the year by the New York State High School Hockey Coaches Association in 2010 after scoring more than 40 goals that season.

   According to arrest records in Brevard County, Fla., Whittemore was charged with disorderly conduct and public intoxication on Jan. 9, 2011, The Observer-Dispatch reported.

   The college announced a remembrance for Kogut will be held Monday at 9:30 p.m., the Democrat and Chronicle reported.

   Short-lived celebration: Huntington football co-captain Devon Nelson went from homecoming king to ambulance occupant in a matter of minutes Saturday, Patch.com reported.

   Nelson, a team captain, was crowned at halftime of a 20-19 loss to Amityville. Early in the third quarter, Nelson went down with an injury to his right knee while trying to make a tackle at linebacker. He was transported to Huntington Hospital for evaluation.

   Football recap: The full list of Week 5 scores is now available on the site. The shorter list of how the ranked teams fared is also available.

RoadToSyracuse.com football site

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   Brief blogs recapping some Friday and Saturday games of note across the state have also been posted.

   Latest rankings: You can find the second weekly edition of the NYSSWA boys soccer rankings here. In addition, the new state rankings in girls cross country and girls soccer were also posted on the site Monday morning.

   Catching up: Seventh-grader Raissa Lou defeated Haley Kusak 6-3, 6-3 at first singles to propel Pittsford Mendon to a 4-3 win over Pittsford Sutherland on Thursday, snapping the Knights' girls tennis winning streak at 144. Sutherland's last loss had come to Mendon in the 2002 Section 5 tournament.

   More later: I hope to post more news later Monday, catching up on weekend cross country action and more.