TRR photo by Richard A. Ross Roscoe’s Fred Ahart will be inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame on March 28, 2009. Ahart has had an extraordinary career that continues as Roscoe gets set to open its season at Andes on November 24. Ahart stands in front of the packed trophy case that is a tribute to the school’s rich athletic history of which he is an integral part.

Awards

Claim to fame

Roscoe’s Fred Ahart’s impending induction into the NYS Basketball Hall of Fame rewards a storied career as a coach and mentor

By RICHARD A. ROSS

ROSCOE, NY—In these times of glitzy pop culture, fame is often fleeting and superficial. Sadly, nowadays contestants on “American Idol” are apt to be more famous to much of the populace than iconic figures from the arts, athletes of bygone eras, political figures or courageous agents of social change.

At times, the line has blurred between becoming famous and infamous as our attention is called to that which is tawdry as well as that which is noble.

But in truth, well-deserved notoriety should be a function of merit. And it is through a reckoning of remarkable meritorious service that enduring fame has come at last to one who truly deserves it, Roscoe’s basketball coach Fred Ahart.

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Wrestling

Port Jervis’ Steven Butler gets wrestling scholarship from Newberry College

By RICHARD A. ROSS

PORT JERVIS, NY—Two-time Section Nine wrestling champion Steven Butler has garnered a $29,000 scholarship to wrestle at Division II powerhouse Newberry College in South Carolina, currently ranked seventh in the nation.

Butler, who has dominated his 189-pound class, plans to move up to 215 pounds for his senior year at Port Jervis in preparation for grappling at the next level. Butler finished second in junior nationals at that weight in March.

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Cross Country

Historic harriers

SCCC has best X-C season in school history

LOCH SHELDRAKE, NY - The Sullivan County Community College (SCCC) men's cross country team wrapped up its best season since the program's inception eight years ago, finishing 18th overall at the 2008 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Cross Country meet held on November 8 at the Community College of Rhode Island.

Led by first-year coach Zachariah Mathew, team members who competed in Rhode Island included Chris Diaz of East Meadow, Patrick Hunter of New Windsor, Cory Ramos of Swan Lake, Jonathan Rice of Middletown and Brooklyn resident Craig Terry. Robert Harris served as assistant coach.

Also in this issue:

• Trail triumphs