We are about to ring in 2026, and with it, the hope for a happy and healthy year ahead.
Before turning the page on 2025, it’s worth reflecting on the sports stories that resonated most in our communities — the ones that sparked conversations at the deli, at school, and, of course, on social media. These were local stories, highlighting local athletes who made names for themselves both across the Mid-Hudson Valley and on the national stage.
Here are Mid-Hudson News’ Top 10 Local Sports Stories of 2025:
Zack Short had a brief stint with the Mets in 2024, and now he gets a shot with their crosstown rivals.
Short, a 2013 Kingston grad, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees earlier this month and will try to make the team out of spring training. If Short can make the team out of spring training, his experience at shortstop could be valuable, with Anthony Volpe expected to miss the start of the season. Short has also played second base and third during his career.
Since making his debut with the Chicago Cubs in 2021, Short has played for the Tigers, Mets, Red Sox, Braves, and Astros. Short appeared in 22 games with Houston last season, hitting .220 with two homers and seven RBI.
Eldred played its best ball down the stretch, when it mattered the most, advancing all the way to the eight-man state championship game.
Despite entering the showdown on a six-game winning streak, the Yellowjackets lost to Morrisville-Eaton 48-12 in the championship on Nov. 30 at snowy Cicero-North High School. Eldred’s run, which included a win over rival Sullivan West in the Section 9 championship, was historic and brought the tight-knit community even closer together.
Heritage Financial Park in Dutchess County has become a pipeline for major league managers.
The Washington Nationals hired former Hudson Valley manager Blake Butera (2018-19) in late October, making him the fifth Renegades manager to manage in the big leagues. Earlier that week, the Baltimore Orioles hired former Hudson Valley skipper Craig Albernaz, who led the Renegades in 2017.
The pair join Charlie Montoyo (1998), Edwin Rodriguez (1999), and Matt Quatraro as former Hudson Valley skippers to be hired to manage an MLB team. The Renegades are the Class A, New York-Penn League affiliate of the Yankees.
One of the most impressive runs in Section 9 – in any sport – came to an end when Warwick upset Cornwall in the Class AA championship in November.
The Green Dragons had won 20 straight Section 9 titles in various classes and beat Warwick in four sets twice during the regular season. The Wildcats trailed two sets to one and were down 19-13 in the fourth set before rallying for the historic win.
Warwick had not won a Section 9 volleyball title in 30 years and advanced all the way to pool play in the state semifinals in Glens Falls.
After a run to the Class AA state semifinals, the Cornwall Green Dragons seemed slayed, trailing Churchville-Chili 2-0 with less than 10 minutes to go in November at Middletown High School.
That’s when some Cornwall magic happened. The Green Dragons scored three goals in the final 9:42 to cap a dramatic 3-2 win. Cornwall midfielder Aaron Schulman scored the game-winner with 25 seconds remaining.
Cornwall lost to Long Island powerhouse Garden City, ranked 21st in the nation, 2-1, in the state final. It was, perhaps, the most successful boys’ soccer season in school history.
Only an eighth-grader, Monroe-Woodbury’s Gigi Sullivan, became the first girl to win a Section 9 Division I (large school) boys’ wrestling championship.
Sullivan earned a 3-2 win in the 101-pound final, qualifying her for the state tournament. Charlie Wylie of Port Jervis won a small-school Division II boys’ sectional title in 2024. Wylie followed that up by winning a girls’ state title at 107 pounds in February. Sullivan has battled injuries this year, but is expected to be a force on the mats for years to come.
Guard Zoe Mesuch became just the sixth girls’ basketball player in history to reach the 2,000-point milestone in February.
Mesuch, joined Tammi Reiss (Eldred, 1983-88, 2,871 points), Katina Mack (Monticello, 1987-1991, 2,586 points), Becky Hagerdorn (Warwick, 1979-1983, 2,164 points), Jeannie Miller (Tuxedo, 1981-85, 2061 points), and Laura Foley (Tuxedo, 1979-1983), 2046 points) in the exclusive club.
Mesuch is now starting at the Navy as a freshman, averaging 11.4 points per game. She has already been named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week twice.
The Chicago Cubs made Ethan Conrad, three years removed from Saugerties High, the 17th overall pick in July’s Major League Baseball Draft.
Shortly after, Conrad, an outfielder, signed with the storied franchise for $3.56 million. After graduating from Saugerties, Conrad went on to play at Marist College, where he led the NCAA in triples in 2024. His achievements earned him multiple honors, including First Team All-MAAC and a spot on the MAAC All-Championship Team.
Earlier this year, he transferred to Wake Forest for one final collegiate season before entering the draft. Conrad sustained a dislocated left shoulder and a labral tear while diving for a ball in a game in March and underwent surgery. He did not play for the Cubs in 2025 but is still regarded as a top prospect.
“Ethan is a five-tool player who is a gamer,” Wake Forest baseball coach Tom Walter said. “This is a great pick by the Chicago Cubs. Ethan will be a guy who will play in the big leagues for a long time and is a potential All-Star. His bat-to-ball skills are elite, and he is just scratching the surface of his power potential.”
In what was the biggest upset in Section 9 football in nearly 25 years, Saugerties shocked Port Jervis 22-21 in the Class B championship in November.
Port Jervis, which had its sights set on a state title repeat, beat Saugerties 48-14 a month earlier at Glennette Field. That game was tied 14-14 at halftime, before the Raiders ran away with it.
Many called Saugerties over Port Jervis the biggest local upset since Red Hook shocked defending Class B state champion Rondout Valley in the 2001 Section 9 title game. Rondout Valley entered the game on a 17-game winning streak and began the year by beating the Raiders 20-0, holding them to 25 total yards.
The win over Port Jervis gave Saugerties its first Section 9 title since 1993. The Sawyers advanced to the state playoffs, losing to Sleepy Hollow 46-26 in the first round.
1. Before he wrestled a match at Penn State, prized recruit P.J. Duke arrived in Happy Valley with three wins over former NCAA champions, all pulled off this summer.
The biggest came in June in the 154-pound freestyle final at the Final X event at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Duke pinned four-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis to clinch the best-of-three championship. Duke defeated two former NCAA champions to win the USA Wrestling Senior World Trials last month.
That was impressive, but Diakomihalis was at another level than those two formidable opponents. He won four NCAA titles at Cornell University, is a two-time U.S. national champion in freestyle, a two-time Pan American Games champion, and a 2022 World Games silver medalist.
Duke finished his career at Minisink Valley in February, winning his fourth state championship. He went 152-1 in high school and is now a 157-pounder for the Nittany Lions. He was named the Big Ten Wrestling Freshman of the Week earlier this month. Duke is 6-0 on the year with five pins and an injury default victory.
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Looking back: The local sports stories that defined 2025 – Mid Hudson News
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