Gowanda Small Town Times

Even after a couple sunny days over the weekend, this afternoon photo from Sunday, March 24, shows a fair amount of snow still on thhe GCS softball field. You can also see the baseball field in the distance.

Spring seemed to making an early arrival. Several weeks of sunny days and pleasant temperatures had given the Gowanda Spring sports teams plenty of chances to practice as opening day approached. After a cool, but sunny, St. Patrick’s Day on March 17, the weather shifted abruptly. Light snowfalls and below freezing temperatures through the week brought a return to Winter just as the Spring sports were about to kick off.

Beginning with Wednesday the 20th, all of the Gowanda Spring sports teams had been scheduled to play their first games. In the end, only Varsity boys lacrosse played as scheduled.

The first scheduled game of the Spring season was originally to be a home game for the Gowanda Varsity girls lacrosse team. That game was postponed to Friday the 22nd before being cancelled.

A Thursday game at East Aurora for the Gowanda Varsity boys lacrosse team did managed to be played as scheduled. Details below.

A Friday Varsity softball game was cancelled. The Gowanda Varsity baseball team was scheduled for a home game on Saturday the 23rd. That was postponed to Sunday before being cancelled.

While the Varsity boys lacrosse team was the only team to play to date, it was a very exciting way to open the Spring sports season. East Aurora was able to clear their artificial turf field well enough to play on schedule. Still, the field was ringed with snow piles from the cleared field and everything else, including the beachers was still coated with snow. With temperatures in the 30s, the 7pm game under the lights got underway.

The first quarter started with 15 minutes showing on the clock, instead of the regulation 12 minutes per quarter. After Gowanda missed on their first shot, East Aurora opened the scoring just short of 1-1/2 minutes into the game. Just over 3 minutes later, Gowanda scored to tie things up. Gowanda went on to pull into a 4-1 lead by the end of the quarter.

The 2nd quarter was hard fought and the most productive one of the game. Both teams added 4 goals in the period. At halftime, Gowanda was up 8-5. The 3rd period belonged to East Aurora. The reverse of the opening quarter, East Aurora outpaced Gowanda 4-1 with two East Aurora goals coming in the last 36 seconds of the period. Heading to the final quarter the game was tied at 9.

The East Aurora surge continued into the 4th quarter. That allowed them to build an 11-9 advantage. With time running short, Gowanda finally scored again dropping the Eastora lead to a sngle goal. With 1:49 left on the clock, the teams took a final time out before the end of the game. With just 24 seconds to go Gowanda tied the game at 11 all. That brought up a 4 minute overtime period. The winning goal came with 2:13 left in the overtime period. Gowanda came away with a 12-11 win.

Leading the Gowanda attack were Ha’tsihgahdo:d Stevens (5 goals, assists) and Croix Stevens (5 goals, 1 assist). Also scoring for Gowanda were Winter Rivera (1 goal, 3 assists) and Jessup Stevens (1 goal). While not scoring, Nakotah Jackson did manage to get a shot on goal in the game.

The Student Council of Gowanda High School named six outstanding Panthers as Students of the Month for January.

Honorees are selected based on the following attributes – collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity – otherwise known as The Four C’s. These skills and characteristics are central to the district’s mission and values.

Students include:

* Marcus Gamble for communication. “Marcus is doing amazingly well in Earth Science class this year. What impresses me the most is that he is always willing to share newly learned content with his classmates. He is often found re-explaining concepts to struggling students. It is a common understanding in education that it takes a deeper level of knowledge to explain a concept. Marcus is a master of communication based on his ability to explain confusing concepts to his peers.”

* Winter Mentley-Peters for critical thinking: “I’ve had Winter Mentley-Peters in both English 9 Honors and English 10 Honors, and his improvement over the past year has been impressive! He is able to think critically, analyze, explain, and also be creative in a way that shows his true knowledge of the subject. I’m proud of how much Winter has grown, and I’m looking forward to seeing how far he can go.”

* William Szalay for collaboration: “In JCC Precalculus, William Szalay always pays attention, works hard to understand the material and distinguishes himself by regularly collaborating with his peers. He is never satisfied to just get an answer. He works to make sure he understands why the correct answer makes sense. He does this by discussing his solutions or questions with other students in the class on a regular basis, and he tries to help other students understand if they are having difficulty.”

* Simone Kramer for collaboration: “Simone Kramer is the epitome of a collaborative learner. She works hard independently, but will seek out others whenever she is trying to gain a greater understanding of the learning. Simone is not afraid to share interactions with any of the instructional staff or her peers around school. Simone does her best to stay actively engaged while she is working with others.”

* MacKenna Furlet for communication: “Effective communication skills are crucial for high school students as they navigate through various academic and social situations. From classroom discussions to presentations, Kenna Furlet expresses her thoughts and ideas clearly, engages in meaningful conversations, and builds positive relationships with her peers and teachers. She is continuously impressing me with her confidence in her speaking skills, her ability to actively listen, and her empathy towards others, which is setting her up for success in all areas of her life. Assertiveness is an important communication skill that allows individuals to express their thoughts, ideas, and emotions while respecting the rights and opinions of others. Kenna’s ability to be assertive allows her to confidently communicate her ideas, ask questions, and engage in productive discussions, which makes her a true leader in and out of the classroom.”

* Winter Rivera for communication: “Winter Rivera demonstrates a very high-level proficiency communication skill in Seneca. He has the ability to read smoothly while pronouncing Seneca words accurately. He is also speaks extremely well in Seneca, capturing the tempo, candor and annunciation of a highly proficient Seneca learner.”

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from Gowanda Central School

The Student Council of Gowanda High School named six outstanding Panthers as Students of the Month for December. Honorees are selected based on the following attributes – collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity – otherwise known as The Four C’s. These skills and characteristics are central to the district’s mission and values.

* Addison Crooks for communication: “Addison has been a model freshman in Global 9 so far this school year. While writing her first enduring issues essay, Addie constantly was checking in for feedback from her peers and teacher. She always asks thoughtful questions that are sure to help deepen her understanding of the content and improve her historical writing skills. On top of that, Addie is simply a great kid to have in class, and is a positive role model for all of her classmates,” said Michelle Merrill.

* Nina Coulon for communication: Nina is a student that I know I can count on every day to participate in my lessons. I often ask students to verbally respond to questions requiring them to think back to previous lessons and apply what was learned. Nina is always ready to answer. Another part of communication is being a great listener and Nina is one of my few students that listens to and follows directions the first time they are given. Nina also communicates with her classmates respectfully and will often help get people on task that may need a little extra help. I’ve fully enjoyed having such a wonderful student as Nina!” said Ashley Wright.

* Caitlyn Gangi for communication: “Whenever we are discussing in class Caitlyn is often the first student to offer up her thoughts and opinions. Her responses are intelligent and well-thought out and often go much deeper than a surface response. Caitlyn is a joy to have in class as she arrives every day with a smile on her face and excited to learn.” – Mrs. Carol Propp.

* Richard Kuras for communication: “Richard records the announcements every day and does a great job of communicating upcoming events and information to the whole school. He is dependable and always helps out above and beyond what is asked for his role in Media Communications,” said Kim Nobles.

* Nikolas Ondus for collaboration: “Nik is an outstanding economics student. He provides daily updates on stock prices with his classmates and is willing to check the work of his classmates should they need help. Nik asks thoughtful questions and provides a vibrant energy to the classroom,” said Dan Ratel.

* Savannah Smith for creativity: “Savannah goes above and beyond in both art classes, constantly coming into the art room to work any chance she gets. Savannah does artwork outside of school and brings it in to show me and has interest in many different types of art forms including anime style and various album covers. Savannah is a very dedicated student and inspires those around her!” said Shelby DeSantis

[photo] Gowanda’s Trelin Warrior goes up for a score during the February 20 opening round playoff game hosting Cattaraugus-Little Valley. While the rest of the Gowanda team were matching C-LVs game total of 39 points, Warrior was adding another 30 points of his own.

The Gowanda Varsity boys basketball team opened the Class C Sectional on February 20 hosting Cattaraugus-Little Valley. After a tight 1st Quarter, Gowanda blew things open in the 2nd on the way to a 69-39 win.

Gowanda got off to a slow start allowing C-LV to score the first 6 points in the game. Trelin Warrior answered for Gowanda landing a shot from 3-point range. He soon added another five points, including a second 3-pointer, bringing his total to 8 to move Gowanda into a tie 8-8. The Gowanda 1st Quarter lead maxed out at 3 points before C-LV shrank Gowanda’s lead back to 16-15 by the end of the period.

It was all Gowanda in the 2nd Quarter. They outscored C-LV 33-5 in the period. Warrior had 14 points in the quarter, including his third 3-point score. It was also a period that closed out with Gowanda scoring 6 points in the final minute of the half. Those included Ben VanNote (0:36), Trelin Warrior (0:14) and Quentin Centner (0:02). The halftime score saw Gowanda up 49-20.

The second half didn’t see much change in the point differential. Gowanda took the 3rd Quarter 13-7 with C-LV outscoring Gowanda 12-7 in the final quarter with the game out of reach. The 69-39 victory sends Gowanda to Panama as their playoff journey continues.

Trelin Warrior totaled 30 points in the game. The only other Gowanda player in double digits was Quentin Centner. Centner had one 3-pointer in the game as did Carson Huch, for his only points in the game. Also scoring for GFowanda were Blake Herman (5 points), Cashis Montour (4 points), Ben VanNote (3 points), Seth Geiger and Dalen Steven (2 points each) and Bear Jimerson (1 point).