The North Babylon senior has been selected the girls basketball Class AA player of the year by NYSSCOGS, the sister organization of the New York State Sportswriters Association. The announcement was part of the release of the full all-state team, players of the year and coaches of the year in all five classes, details of which can be found here.

   Hartley, a University of Connecticut recruit, previously earned the Miss Basketball and Gatorade New York player of the year awards.

   Rough start: Syracuse Corcoran squandered a four-goal lead and then responded in overtime to score a 12-11 upset of West Genesee in boys lacrosse yesterday.

   James Cathers and Derek Eccles scored five goals apiece for the Cougars, teaming up for the winning goal 32 seconds into OT. AFter Corcoran won the faceoff, Eccles drew two defenders toward him and connected with Cathers alongside the cage for a scoring shot.

   It continued Carthers' amazing start to the season. He tallied eight goals and two assists last week in an opening victory against Binghamton. His goal late in the third quarter built the lead over West Genesee to 11-7, but Bob Gasparini scored with 3:09 to play to tie the game and set the stage for OT.

   West Genesee, a 15-time NYSPHSAA tournament champion, is breaking eight new starters into its lineup and stands at an uncharacteristic 2-2 this season. The Wildcats' other loss was a 16-8 setback to Jamesville-DeWitt to kick off the season.

   Hornell dropping wrestling: I mentioned in the previous blog that I was going to be tracking school budget developments, and here's a prime reason why it's a hot topic:

   Hornell is dropping its wrestling program, a decision that would be highly improbable for a school that size during good economic times. In an interview with SectionV.Talksback.com, AD Gene Mastin pointed to the district's struggle to close a $900,000-plus gap ahead of next month's budget vote. Already, seven teaching and administrative jobs had been slashed, and there was still a huge shortfall to address.

   Mastin is coming off a 13-0 season and state championship last fall in football. Reporters around New York got to see a side of him -- thoughtful, analytical and supportive of students -- that many of us in New York already knew; it's a certainty that he did not make the decision on a whim.

   "We discussed a number of possibilities, including cutting the (whole) Modified program," Mastin said. "I know this discussion is going on in other districts also. However, when we looked at numbers, the Modified program cost a total of $34,000, which included 9 teams and 160-170 participants. We finished the Wrestling season with only 8 wrestlers, 2 who were seniors. The complete cost of the wrestling program this past season -- 2 coaches, transportation, officials, fees, equipment,

Winter season bonus links Boys hoops: Road to Glens Falls full coverage NYSPHSAA tourney brackets Boys hoops scores: NYSPHSAA sectionals, PSAL / CHSAA / NYSPHSAA / AIS states. Girls hoops: NYSPHSAA brackets Boys hockey: NYSPHSAA brackets - D-I | D-II Wrestling: Final NYSPHSAA results - D-I | D-II

certifications, etc. -- was close to $16,000. With only 5-6 returners and no Modified program this past year, the numbers spoke for themselves."

   With a local youth program that numbers 40 participants, Mastin holds out hope that varsity wrestling can be restored down the road, beginning with the return of the Modified team in 2011-12. But the reality is that schools districts will tend to be very cautious about adding new expenses once better economic conditions return.

   New York’s economic state is a mess," Mastin said. "The tax situation is absurd, it is not business-friendly, and schools have to deal with so many unfunded mandates. As an example, we are in the early stages of a major reconstruction project that will change every building in our school district. Still, next year we have to spend a mandated $50,000 on a “building assessment” program to look at the physical plants of the school. It is just an example of a lot of the nonsense that New York schools have to deal with."

   The first (and second) of many? Lauren Sputo three and 18-strikeout no-hitter on Monday against John Jay and apparently liked it so much that she repeated the performance yesterday.

   The White Plains pitcher piled up 18 more strikeouts in another no-hitter during an 11-0 win over Yonkers Lincoln. For good measure, she hit a three-run home run and a bases-loaded double to drive in six runs.

   Speaking of stellar, junior pitcher Megan Michie helped Rhinebeck begin defense of its state title with a perfect game on Monday. She struck out 13 batters during a 4-0 victory over Hudson.

   Also on Monday, Nicole Ehlinger struck out 22 batters in a 10-inning outing as Hauppauge scored a 2-0 win over Eastport-South Manor. She struck out the side in the second through fifth innings and surrendered only three hits.

   Trading places: Former Our Lady of Lourdes football coach Mike Lindberg is expected to take the same position at John Jay -- replacing the man who replaced him, according to Hudson Valley Sports Report.

   Pending approval by the Wappingers school board, Lindberg will take over for Brian Walsh, who left after last season to accept an offer to coach football at Lourdes. Lindberg was 4-4 last fall at Lourdes and said he resigned after being uncertain about whether he would be retained.