Justin Ritzel

Sports reporter covering Section V athletics for @dandc ... Formerly of @The_Citizen.

[Justin Ritzel @ReporterRitz]

Greece was once @SectionVHockey's premier programs, becoming the first from the area to capture a @NYSPHSAA title in 1996.

A look back on the glory years, and why those winning ways may be a thing of the past...

Story via @DandC

https://t.co/CIfml0YuDe

[Justin Ritzel @ReporterRitz]

Follow along for updates from the @SecVBoysLax Class B final between @PlaxBoys and @VictorBLDevils

[Democrat & Chronicle @DandC]

An undefeated team. A proven contender. Section V boys lacrosse final is set. Follow for updates as Victor meets Pittsford. https://t.co/JK3KMtq16O

[Justin Ritzel @ReporterRitz]

@FriedgeHNIC Cool to hear a mailbag question from Jeremy Leroux. He coached our club hockey program at SUNY Cortland for a year back in 2010-11.

[Kevin Devaney Jr. @KDJmedia1]

NYSPHSAA has resisted any push to remove non-public schools out of postseason play vs publics, which Section 1 is attempting to do on its own. Instead, NYSPHSAA has pushed to move non-publics up in classification. Here's why I think that doesn't work.

[Democrat & Chronicle @DandC]

Over 190 Section V athletes made the 15 All-Greater Rochester winter teams in 2026. And that's not even counting all of the honorable mentions.

Find out who they are on Tuesday, April 14, at https://t.co/HDr9Pl4oOp.

#AGR #RochesterNY

[Justin Ritzel @ReporterRitz]

Quite a calendar year for the Penfield school district.

State titles for boys basketball, girls lacrosse.

Section titles for boys lacrosse, football, boys volleyball.

Boys soccer, field hockey, girls basketball were section finalists.

[Democrat & Chronicle @DandC]

Photos: Penfield’s historic state basketball championship in photos https://t.co/jL7g3N0lC6

[Justin Ritzel @ReporterRitz]

I'll have updates from the @NYSPHSAA Class A semifinal between @OLM_HS and Utica Notre Dame over at @DandC dot com

https://t.co/j6c0epiuVx

[Justin Ritzel @ReporterRitz]

Follow along for updates from the @NYSPHSAA Class AAA final between @AQ__Athletics and two-time defending champion Albertus Magnus, over at @DandC dot com...

https://t.co/vq3scxUBbp

[Empire State Takeover @NYSTakeover]

Aquinas 67
William Floyd 37
Final

All AQ from the word go in the @NYSPHSAA Class AAA opener. A fast start turned into a 2nd quarter explosion & 24 pt halftime lead en route to a second straight trip to the state championship game. 16 apiece for @LorenMissyGreen & @ajayaorr79 and four AQ players in double figures in the win. Savannah Pantry led William Floyd with 13.

Game 1 ✔️

[Justin Ritzel @ReporterRitz]

Follow along for updates from the @NYSPHSAA Class AAA semifinal between @AQ__Athletics and William Floyd over at @DandC dot com

https://t.co/eYKJD26iDe

[Schroeder Warriors Hockey @HockeySchroeder]

The Hockey Coaches Association of New York (HCANY) announced their Division I and Division II boys ice hockey all-state teams for the 2025-2026 season.
Congratulations to Cole Hudson, Anthony Pusateri & Nick Scott for representing Webster Schroeder in Division II / First Team!

[Justin Ritzel @ReporterRitz]

@RobertHarding I spy a former Doubledays pitcher

[Justin Ritzel @ReporterRitz]

20 years ago*

[Lemma the Optimist @DoctorLemma]

19 years ago, a high school basketball coach put his team manager into a game for the final four minutes. The kid had never played a single minute of competitive basketball in his life. He scored 20 points.

Jason McElwain was diagnosed with severe autism at age two. He didn’t speak until he was five. He couldn’t chew solid food until he was six. He wore a nappy for most of his early childhood. As a baby, he was rigid, wouldn’t make eye contact, and hid in corners away from other children.

He tried out for his school basketball team every year and got cut every time. Too small. Too slight. Barely 5’6 and about 54 kilograms. But he loved the game so much that his mum called the school and asked if there was any way he could be involved. The coach created a team manager role for him. For three years, McElwain showed up to every practice and every game. He wore a shirt and tie on match days. He ran drills, handed out water, kept stats, and cheered every basket like he’d scored it himself.

On 15 February 2006, the last home game of his final school year, the coach let him suit up in a proper jersey and sit on the bench. With four minutes left and a comfortable lead, the coach sent him in.

His first shot missed. His second missed. Then something shifted.

He hit a three-pointer. Then another. Then another. His teammates stopped shooting entirely and just kept passing him the ball. He hit six three-pointers and a two-pointer. 20 points in four minutes. The highest scorer in the game. When the final buzzer went, the entire crowd rushed the court and lifted him onto their shoulders.

His mum tapped the coach on the shoulder, in tears. “This is the nicest gift you could have ever given my son.”

McElwain won the ESPY Award for Best Moment in Sports that year, beating out some of the biggest names in professional sport. He’s 36 now. He works at a local supermarket, coaches basketball, has run 17 marathons including five Boston Marathons, and travels the country speaking about never giving up.

When asked about that night, his coach still gets emotional. “For him to come in and seize the moment like he did was certainly more than I ever expected. I was an emotional wreck.”

[Justin Ritzel @ReporterRitz]

HS football development out of CNY...

[CNY High School Sports @cnyhssports]

Five of Central New York’s biggest high schools withdrew from the football league that includes Christian Brothers Academy, an unprecedented move to avoid playing the five-time state champion and to protest what some see as CBA’s unfair recruiting practices, https://t.co/loMXeCp8uK has learned.
https://t.co/UYIhiiwsx9

[Justin Ritzel @ReporterRitz]

In the latest @SecVGBasketball notebook for @DandC...

- These standouts at @SchroederSports, @CAGrayWolves and @OLM_HS will be matchup problems for years to come
- How a unique state quarterfinal between @HFLCSDAthletics and Mercy came to be

https://t.co/6RVv6PAlAD

[Section V Girls Basketball @SecVGBasketball]

The Mercy Monarchs are headed to the state semifinals in Class A! They will play Section III champion Notre Dame on Saturday, 3/21 at 10:00 AM!

Congratulations to Honeoye Falls-Lima on a fantastic season!

[Justin Ritzel @ReporterRitz]

Good morning!

Follow along for updates from the @NYSPHSAA Division I semifinals between @SectionVHockey's @HockeyPittsford and Section I's Suffern, over at @DandC dot com

https://t.co/gIZIrZmOIL

[Empire State Takeover @NYSTakeover]

Aquinas 69
West Seneca 54
Final

New year, new class, same final destination. @AqLadyIrish headed my way to HVCC, this time in Class AAA 🎟️ Outside of a shaky 2nd quarter that allowed West Seneca to go from down double digits to leading at half, it was @SecVGBasketball rep AQ’s night as style went their way and star power was at its brightest.

@LorenMissyGreen went off for 28, 19 in a 2nd half stretch that saw AQ go from down 5 to up as much as 18 late, and @ajayaorr79 added a big 24 to the cause. @Bella_Milligan1 turned it up as the game progressed & led @Section6GirlsBB champ West Seneca (@JoeDough61) with 22, and @AvaGunnells (@Brockport_WBB) closed a strong HS chapter with 20.

Game 2 ✔️
FRIDAY ✔️✔️

[Schroeder Athletics @SchroederSports]

🏀 // 𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗔𝗬
🏆 | NYSPHSAA West Regional
🆚 | North Tonawanda Lumberjacks
📍 | Finger Lakes CC
🕕 | 6:00pm
🚌 | Fan Bus at 5pm
🎟️ | https://t.co/38B4JKvrHV

#WarriorNation⚔️

[Justin Ritzel @ReporterRitz]

Good night for @Ranger_Sports alum Molly Guzik

[Syracuse Women's Lacrosse @CuseWLAX]

BANG. GUZIK. SIX GOALS.

Just under five to go here at Ryan Fieldhouse 👀

📺 B1G+

[Section V Girls Basketball @SecVGBasketball]

It was a three-for-three night for Section V!

Mercy and Honeoye Falls-Lima advance to the Class A Regional, where they'll square off again.

Waterloo keeps things rolling in Class B, and they will play the winner of Carle Place (VIII) and Chenango Forks (IV).