Sports
Niko Bucholz winning a faceoff (top) and posing for a portrait below.

Niko Buchholz eyes a lacrosse milestone

Sometimes a simple action or gesture can drastically alter the trajectory of someone’s life. For Newburgh Free Academy Senior Niko Buchholz, it was when his father, “brought a lacrosse …

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Jihad Morris of Newburgh, founder of Blazing Athletics, works with students as a guest instructor at the Newburgh Armory Unity Center.
Jihad Morris has returned to his hometown with a mission: to grow his youth mentorship and sports training program, Blazing Athletics, and help student-athletes across Newburgh and the greater Hudson …
Newburgh’s Jake Cross applies a tag to a Pine Bush baserunner in Thursday’s 4-3 win.
The Newburgh Free Academy baseball team dropped two of three to Pine Bush in a competitive series last week, capped by a narrow 6-5 loss in the second game of a Thursday doubleheader at Delano-Hitch …
Newburgh’s Melissa Schultze is greeted at home plate after her home run against Pine Bush.
Newburgh Free Academy’s perfect start to the season came to a halt Friday as the Goldbacks fell 10-3 to Goshen Central after opening the season with three straight wins. Goshen struck …
Chase Rounds delivers his first pitch of the season in last week’s season opener at Valley Central. The Goldbacks won their opener, and again on Friday, but had two subsequent games postponed by poor weather.
The Newburgh Free Academy baseball team opened its season with a pair of statement victories, including a revenge win over Cornwall Central that showcased both timely hitting and solid pitching. …

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Newburgh’s Cooper Merli (left) on the podium after finishing 3rd in the NHSCA tournament.
Cooper Merli returned to action over the weekend, competing at the 2025 National High School Coaches Association Nationals wrestling tournament in Virginia Beach. It was the first time that the …
The Newburgh Free Academy boys lacrosse team opened its season with a familiar outcome, dropping a 13-3 decision to Highland on Tuesday before bouncing back with a 9-8 victory over Rondout Valley …
Daniel Lans, shown in the victory over Milwaukee Area Tech, led the Colts with 27 points against North Central Missouri.
The SUNY Orange Colts’ impressive season came to an end last Tuesday night as No. 2 seed North Central Missouri College pulled away late for a 99-81 victory in the second round of the NJCAA …
Newburgh’s Bryce Marshall grabs a rebound from Shaker’s Brandon Makovi.
Newburgh Free Academy’s bid for a state championship ended in heartbreaking fashion Thursday night, as the Goldbacks fell to Shaker High School, 65-56, in overtime in the NYSPHSAA Class AAA …

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Newburgh Free Academy erupted for a dominant fourth quarter to secure a 56-44 victory over New Rochelle in the Class AAA state boys’ basketball quarterfinals on Friday night, clinching a berth …
The Sprint Relay Team finished in 4th the Championship Division at The Nike Indoor Nationals with a time of 3:32.58 (l. - r.) De Juan Mc Kenzie, Giwenn Eloge,Gianni Graham, and Brady Danyluk.
The Newburgh Elie runners delivered standout performances, last weekend, at the Nike Indoor Nationals at The Armory (New York City), setting two school records and earning multiple top-five finishes. …
Newburgh’s Jashir Davis (15) celebrates his game-clinching bucket, while teammates Shaun Gonzalez (11), Jaedan Pagan (4) and Bryce Marshall (32) share the moment.
Top-seeded Newburgh Free Academy shook off a two-week layoff and held off a late rally to defeat Monroe-Woodbury 51-40 in the Section 9 Class AAA boys’ basketball championship Saturday. …

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The White team led by Coach Ali T. Muhammad [in purple] claimed victory in the tournament.
Youth and families from Newburgh and the surrounding area gathered Saturday, Feb. 22, for the third annual Black History Month Basketball Tournament, an event that combines competition with a …
Merli acknowledges the crowd after his final bout.
Cooper Merli’s final match in the blue and gold may not have ended exactly as he would have liked, but nothing that happened at MVP Arena over the weekend did anything to change the legacy he …
Will Soto is declared the winner in the 106-pound state finals.
There isn’t much you can do to top an undefeated state championship wrestling season — except to do it again. That’s exactly what Newburgh sophomore Will Soto did over the …

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Jack Mummery led Newburgh with three gold medals.
Newburgh Free Academy captured the team title at the NYPHSAA Section 9 boys swimming and diving championship, held Feb. 20-22 at Valley Central High School. Newburgh finished with 344 points, …
Marlboro’s girls bowling team celebrated a Section IX title recently.
Red Hook suffered only their third loss of the season (16-3) to the now 11-7 Newburgh Goldbacks in a 74-62 Friday night thriller. Newburgh’s momentum was at a season high during the days …
The Newburgh Free Academy girls basketball team bounced back from a tough start to the week, securing a home victory on Thursday after suffering a road loss on Tuesday. The Goldbacks (6-12) …

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