An unseasonably chilly spring week lightened the local sports schedule, but area athletes made their impressions and have been placed on the Times Telegram and Observer-Dispatch online reader poll for a top Mohawk Valley area high school performer for the week of April 7-13, 2025.
New Hartford lacrosse player Natalia Viola was the poll’s first spring winner, and readers will choose from among 10 new nominees this weekend.
A weekly list of athlete of the week nominees will be compiled by our sports department with information provided to the Times Telegram and the Observer-Dispatch by coaches and athletic directors through emails and other contacts.
If a top performer’s name doesn’t appear on the list, encourage their coach or athletic director to email submissions to sports@timestelegram.com or sports@uticaod.com.
Online voting this week is open to readers and continues until 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon. A winner is scheduled to be announced Monday morning on the TimesTelegram.com and UticaOD.com websites.
This Week’s Nominees:
TOMMY BINGHAM, Clinton baseball: Senior pitched six two-hit innings with six strikeouts, doubled and drove in a run in a season-opening victory, and added 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief later in the week.
LEAH BREY, Herkimer softball: Freshman had a pair of 11-strikeout games and went 5-for-8 at the plate with five runs scored against Canastota and Westmoreland.
LANDON GENTILE, New Hartford lacrosse: Junior scored a career-high six goals in Spartans’ first victory of the season at Indian River.
GRACEN GRIMM, Clinton softball: Senior pitched a one-hit shutout with 19 strikeouts in the first win of the season for the Comets. She also went 4-for-4 at the plate with a double, a triple, four RBI and one run scored.
CAYDEN GRYGIEL, Camden baseball: Senior struck out 16 batters over six innings and combined with junior Adam Gonzalez to pitch a season-opening no-hitter in a 6-1 victory over Vernon-Verona-Sherrill. Grygiel singled and scored a run. Gonzalez added two strikeouts in the seventh inning, and had two hits and an RBI.
DEAN KOENIG, Oriskany baseball: Sophomore went 5-for-8 with three doubles and scored five runs in the season’s first two games for the Skyhawks, including a 4-for-4 opener with two doubles, four runs and three RBI.
KYLE PARENT, Whitesboro lacrosse: Junior had hat tricks – the first two of three in a row – in games against Fulton and Oswego.
REECE ROBERTS, New Hartford lacrosse: Freshman scored three goals and assisted on two at Indian River in team’s first victory.
LIZ SYNAKOWSKI, Notre Dame softball: Shortstop won most valuable player honor at Mudville for her play as the Jugglers won their division of the NYS Troopers Foundation Tournament to start the season. She doubled and scored the first run of a 2-1 win over Niskayuna in the first game, and she had two hits and two RBI against Saranac in the second game.
CONNOR WIGGINS, Whitesboro lacrosse: Senior notched eight goals in two games and assisted on five others, with five of the goals and three of the assists coming in the team’s first win of the season over Oswego.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Mohawk Valley high school athlete of the week for April 7-13, 2025