ESG two weeks away: Rosters released
Not too bad -- the Empire State Games site was advertising rosters being posted "after July 9," and they were posted within the last hour.
I'll be scouring the Western rosters to see what local athletes and coaches will be participating in Binghamton -- not only in preparation for covering the games themselves on July 23-27, but for our preview, which traditionally runs the Sunday before the Games begin.
A quick glance of the rosters have some top players and some intriguing mixes in various sports.
In basketball, Niagara Falls alumni Greg Gamble (University at Buffalo) and Robert Garrison (Niagara after transferring from UConn) will team up on what looks to be a very good men's open team. Also on the squad are Niagara's Bilal Benn (a Philadelphia native and Villanova transfer who will be eligible as a junior this winter), Canisius College grad Kevin Downey, UB's Andy Robinson, Fairport brothers Corey McAdam and Ryan McAdam (who both play at Nazareth), East Rochester's Jordan Koch (Finger Lakes CC) and ESG veterans Michael Brown and Joe Rebisz of the Rochester area.
The men's scholastic team also has two Falls players in Kelvin Agee and Davon Marshall as well as a familiar Niagara Frontier League standout foe in Aaron Davis of North Tonawanda. The Frontier frontcourt duo of Jason Norsen and Grant Wrap make their second straight appearance on the team.
There are plenty more names to check out -- the successful ice hockey, volleyball and synchronized swimming appear to have their usual load of Western New York talent while the softball team has an impressive list of WNYers.
Like I said -- that's just after a quick glance. I didn't even get to track and field. Feel free to point out WNY teams or athletes that you'll be looking out for. It's quite a task sifting through the official ESG roster list to come up with our list of Buffalo-area athletes which we'll run with our preview.
** A special request -- if you know of any Western New York natives who are playing for a region other than Western (there are five other regions), please post it here or email me at kmcshea@buffnews.com. Often times local athletes participate for the region in which they are going to college; the same can be said for local college standouts competing for their hometown regions.
---Keith McShea
From Friday night football to Tuesday afternoon soccer, WNY high schoolers keep busy with sports. This is the spot to talk about their issues and accomplishments. Assistant sports editor Dennis Danheiser and reporters Keith McShea, Mary Jo Monnin and Tom Borrelli get the discussion started.
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