Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

Recently, 6 athlete students were chosen to receive awards by their coaches at Salmon River Central High School.  A male and a female had been nominated and selected for December, January and February for their athletic skills in their sport.  Each one was photographed with a member of the Shamrock Hall of Fame (HOF) and pictures will be displayed in the lobby of the high school.  Each recipient will receive acknowledgement by the HOF with a certificate as well as a $25.00 gift certificate from Akwesasne Jreck Sub. Coaches are encouraged to nominate their athlete monthly and submit to the Shamrock HOF for selection.

For December, our first student chosen by her coach Jim Barnes, is Karley Cree for her super hockey skills on the SRC Girls Hockey Team.  She has been a consistent player on the Varsity team all season. She finished with 13 goals and 24 points in the 2009-2010 season.  Karley led the Shamrocks in goals with key wins over Lake Placid and Albany Academy.  Her coach said, “Karley has been a vital part of the Shamrock offence all year.  She is a team captain and she was voted all league honorable mention for the 2009-2010 hockey season.”

The nominee for  December in the male athlete category is Kyle Roundpoint.  He was chosen by his coach Tim Cook.  The season started well for both the Salmon River boys and Kyle.  In his game against Thousand Islands, Kyle scored 4 goals in a 6-3 win.  On February 20th, when matched against rival Massena, Kyle scored the tying goal against them to lift them to a 2-2 tie.  In a game against Alex Bay, Kyle made 2 goals and had an assist to raise his team to an 8-3 victory.  According to Coach Cook, “ Kyle was the “go to guy when the team needed a lift.”

For the month of January, Whitney Smith, coach for Indoor Track, had nominated two of the athletes in this sport.  First, a familiar face to sports, is Rachel Benedict.  Rachel, now a senior, dominated Section X in the shot put event during the month of January.  Rachel finished first in every meet for the month also.  The closest any competitor came was still over a foot behind her.  Rachel’s best performance was the very first meet when she threw 30’10.5”.  She never threw under 30’ for the remainder of the month. Rachel received an Academic All Northern honor at the close of the Indoor Track  season.

 The January male athlete nominated by coach Smith is Junior Thomas Lauzon.  Thomas won his first race in the 3200m on January 6 despite having to run an additional lap because of an error on the official’s part.  He continued to perform well throughout January, finishing 4th for the final two meets of the month.  Each time Thomas ran this month, he has improved his time. His last time of 10.43 is a new school record.

Jim Barnes, coach for the girls varsity hockey team, nominated Krista Oakes for the Athlete Student for February.  Krista has been a consistent player for the girls hockey team all year.  She finished the year with 15 goals and 22 points.  All year, Krista has been a team leader and helped the Shamrocks with key wins over Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Albany Academy.  Krista has been a vital part to the Shamrock offence all year.  She is a team captain and she was voted 2nd team All League for 2009-10 season. She was also awarded team MVP for the season.

Kyle Roundpoint -Hockey  HOF member Joe Binion Krista Oakes - Hockey

William Benko had been selected by his coach, Joe Binion, for the sport of basketball for February 2010.  This athlete student has completed his second season as the third leading scorer in Section X Basketball. William averaged 17.4 points per game and finished second in the Eastern Division in scoring.  He also finished second in Section X in making 3 pointers made throughout the season. William had a game high in scoring against Tupper Lake with 19 points on 12/4, 20 points against Potsdam on 12/11,  27 points against Parishville on 1/11, 24 points against Colten Pierrepont on 2/24 and a season high of 30 points in the first round of play-offs against Canton on 2/16.   William has taken on the role of leading scorer, ball handler and defensive stopper.  William was able to put up great numbers this season although teams would double team and design their defensive strategy around him.

Congratulations to all the successful Athletes for December, January and February at Salmon River Central School.