Plus, winter track and wrestling results
The top-seeded Bulldogs dominated in the opening rounds of the Section IX, Class A playoffs, knocking off No. 8 seed Saugerties, 50-10, on Monday (March 3), and No. 4 Red Hook, 55-42, on Wednesday to advance to the championship. Beacon had lost in the tournament semifinals for three straight seasons, including to Red Hook in 2024.
The Bulldogs (17-5) will face No. 3 Marlboro (13-9) at 7 p.m. tonight (March 7) at Mount Saint Mary’s College in Newburgh for the sectional title. See nfhsnetwork.com for a livestream (fee required). Beacon defeated Marlboro, 51-39, during the regular season.
Against Red Hook, Daveya Rodriquez hit a 3-pointer in the final minute of the first half to give the Bulldogs a 19-17 lead that they extended to 10 points by the end of the third. Reilly Landisi led the Bulldogs with 16 points, followed by Drew Kelly and Rodriquez, who each had 14.
“It was our last home game, regardless, and we didn’t want to end with a loss to them,” said Landisi, a senior. “I’m excited to get past this stage — we want to be here.” Added Coach Christina Dahl: “They wanted it — they came out in the second half, did what they needed to do.”
Against Saugerties, Beacon led 22-3 at halftime and held the Sawyers scoreless for 12 minutes, including the entire third quarter. Landisi finished with 18 points and Lila Burke had 14.
WINTER TRACK — Beacon sent eight runners to the Section IX state qualifiers on March 1 at The Armory in New York City. Caellum Tripaldi placed sixth in the 600-meter run in 1:26.67; Jayden Mihalchik was sixth in the weight throw at 58-3.5; and Elijah Epps was ninth in the long jump at 19-10. For the girls, Katherine Ruffy placed fifth in the weight throw at 36-4.25 and 10th in shot put at 28-7.25, while Lily Mack was sixth in the high jump at 4-10 and Mikaela Sanchez finished ninth in the 600 meters at 1:46.62.
WRESTLING — Jude Betancourt (39-4), seeded No. 15 at 152 pounds in the state tournament, on Feb. 28 won his first match over No. 18 Tyler Ritter of Chenango Falls (21-13) with a 10-6 decision. He advanced to face No. 2 Anthony Tresch of Minisink Valley (43-2) in the second round but lost on points, 12-2.
FLAG FOOTBALL — Beacon Youth Football has opened registration for flag football for boys in grades K-8 and girls in grades 6-8. The season begins April 11. The cost is $110 for boys and $75 for girls and includes a jersey and flags. See beaconyouthfootball.com.
