Leading off today: Despite support from a number of parents and athletes, track and field coach Don Paretta was fired last night by the Shenendehowa Board of Education because he had lost his teaching license over a sexual abuse charge.

   The board told the 200 people present there was no other choice, The Times Union reported. "We have no flexibility on this," said board member Bill Casey. "The law is clear."

   The sexual-abuse charge occurred in 1992 while Paretta was a New York City gym teacher. The charge was dismissed, but the state Department of Education still rescinded his license in 1996 after Paretta was hired by Shenendehowa.

   After the meeting, Paretta's attorney said the district had been aware for years that Paretta lacked a license. The district says it only found out last week.

   Paretta continues to coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

   Harrison names new AD: Shenendehowa coach and state girls swimming coordinator Patricia Seligman has been appointed as the athletic director at Harrison, The Saratogian reported.

   The Harrison district competes in Section 1 Class B in 27 sports. She replaces retiring AD Mike Gansell effective July 1.

   Seligman coached the boys and girls varsity teams to a combined record of 238-18-2 and nine Section 2 titles.

   Basketball coaches on the move: Tamarac boys coach Eric Medved is giving up his position, citing family and professional considerations. Medved was 49-27 in four seasons after inheriting a program that was 8-74 in the four years before his arrival.

   Medved also serves as the chairman of the Adirondack Amateur Athletic Union region, which stretches from Kingston to Plattsburgh.

   Girls coach Mike Reape has resigned but will remain at Staten Island Academy in another capacity, The Advance reported. Reape, 61-31 in four seasons in addition to running an AAU team, said the daily grind became too much to handle.

   "I started to feel like I wasn’t giving 100 percent of coaching to the team,” he told the paper. "When you’re the head coach, you’re the first one in and the last one out.

I found myself dragging at practice."

   Epic road trip ahead: The Canandaigua girls lacrosse team is off to a 2-0 start this spring, but it's tough to hold out hope that the Braves can reach 5-0 in the next week.

   Fresh off an 18-9 win Monday over league rival Penn Yan -- rallying from an early 5-1 defict -- Canandaigua is heading south for games against the teams ranked No. 1, No. 2 and No. 9 in the nation according to LaxPower.com.

   Canandaigua plays at No. 1 McDonogh (Md.), which is 5-0, on Saturday, followed by games against No. 2 Alexandria (Va.) St. Stephen's-St. Agnes (10-0 this year and riding a 56-game winning streak) on Tuesday and Olney (Md.) Our Lady of Good Counsel (8-0) the following day. The three ranked squads have outscored opponents by a combined 392-97, making for an average score of about 17-4.

   "It’s really hard to tell where we are right now after two games,” coach Sue Ellis told The Daily Messenger. "Our biggest test will come over spring break and we’ll see where we really are."

   Junior Abbey Friend led the way vs. Penn Yan with six goals and three assists. Junior Haley Marafioti added four goals.

   Suit against ex-coach dismissed: A federal lawsuit against former Canandaigua coach Rich Romeo by a wrestler he had been accused of mistreating has been dismissed, the Democrat and Chronicle reported.

   The lawsuit, which sought unspecified damages for deprivation of constitutional rights, had been filed against by Christina Perrin and her son Nicholas. Canandaigua officials and the school district were also named in the lawsuit, which U.S. District Judge David Larimer ruled failed to show constitutional violations.

   The lawsuit followed a disorderly conduct plea by Romeo in 2007 related to actions after the wrestler lost a match.

   Extra points: Orchard Park senior Mike Stefani was the only high school player selected to the USA Men’s Junior Olympic National Volleyball Team that will compete in Pune, India, from July 31 to Aug. 9. The Ohio State recruit led Orchard Park to a 34-0 season as a senior. . . . Senior Alexandra Hebert has made the varsity baseball team at Webster Thomas. She was a catcher for the Team USA women's baseball squard that earned the bronze medal at the World Cup games last fall in Japan. Hebert played for the junior varsity last spring.

HOME | BLOG | RANKINGS | BRACKETS | REFERENCE | KERR CUP | ABOUT US | ©2025 Abbott Trento Online Media, LLC. All rights reserved. | Contact us via e-mail.