High School Notes
Amherst senior Alex Wheat rarely, if ever, shows emotion on the tennis court, but who could blame him for a fist pump and a roar after he won the Section VI singles championship Wednesday at Clarence? Consider the journey that Wheat has been on.
He had surgery to replace a nerve in his right arm in the winter and then rehabbed extensively to be ready for the season this spring.
"I've never heard him get emotional," coach Paul Biddle said. "He's never said two words in a match since I met him five years ago. He wanted this title really bad."
Wheat needed three sets to win his semifinal match against Allegany-Limestone's Marthinus Marais, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1. He then downed Williamsville East's Grant Wang, 6-3, 6-4 in a rematch of the ECIC championship that Wheat won by the same score.
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Wheat is 23-1 on the season with his loss coming to Wang, 3-6, 4-6.
"He had surgery in the offseason, rehabbed butt off, came out swinging, and didn't look back," Biddle said.
"He was on the court for almost six hours (Wednesday). Amherst hasn't had a singles champion in over 20 years. This is a huge deal for him. He knew he was representing the whole school. His entire family was there. His friends were there. He had a lot of people cheering him on."
Wheat won the consolation match in last year's sectional tournament to earn Section VI's third and final berth to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships.
This year, he returns to the National Tennis Center in Queens for the state tournament June 2-4 as the sectional champion.
"I'm super proud of him and everything he's done," Biddle said. "He makes me look good as a coach and I appreciate that, too. Alex is like a complete professional. He plays really hard tennis but is very introverted. Everything he gets in terms of motivation, he gets from himself or if I need to push him a little bit, I will, but it doesn't take much."
Wang, the runner-up, will head to the state tournament, as will Williamsville South's Marino Zinaja, who beat Marais, 6-2, 6-3, in the consolation final.
In doubles, the Orchard Park team of Hamilton and Taylor McGrath beat Arjun Pindiprolu and Yonten Gyatso of Williamsville East, 6-3, 6-1 in the final to win the Section VI title. It was also a rematch of the ECIC tournament final.
In the consolation final, Olean's Isaac Moses and Cavan Boutillette earned the third spot in the state tournament by beating the Orchard Park team of Will Roberts and Griffin Watson, 6-3, 6-4.
In other tennis news, the Far West Regionals for the team tournament has been postponed from Saturday to Tuesday at Orchard Park while the Section VI champions await the Section V winners. Williamsville East won the large schools in Section VI and Maple Grove won the small schools.
Frontier pulls upset
The Frontier softball team earned its first sectional tournament victory since 2019 when it beat Williamsville South, 7-6, on Monday.
Make it two wins. Frontier, the fifth seed in Class AA, shut out top-seeded Orchard Park, 2-0, Wednesday in the semifinals.
The Quakers, the top-ranked team in the coaches large school poll, entered the game at 17-1 and on a 15-game winning streak.
Frontier moves to the final against Clarence on May 30. The Red Devils advanced with a 1-0 shutout of Niagara Falls on Wednesday.
Lacrosse record
Frontier sophomore Bryce Privateer had two goals and three assists in a Class B quarterfinal against West Seneca West on Tuesday to set school records for career points and single-season goals.
Privateer now has 248 career points, breaking the previous mark of 247, and 66 goals, breaking the previous mark of 64. For his career, he has 162 goals and 86 assists.
Frontier beat West Seneca West, 14-3, and advances to a semifinal showdown with Williamsville North on Friday.
