Cooperstown athletic director Mike Cring made note of Cooperstown’s athletic teams’ success on and off the field of play this school year.

Twelve of Cooperstown’s 18 sports teams earned scholar/ athlete team status and 68 student athletes earned scholar/ athlete recognition.

``We consistently have more scholar/ athletes and more scholar/ athlete teams than any other schools in the Center State Conference,’’ Cring said. ``That’s really something to take pride in.’’

Of course, the stars on the field of play were highlighted as well.

The school year and athletic triumphs began early last fall, when the Cooperstown girls soccer team won their second straight Section Three Class C crown before losing in a state quarterfinal contest. The boys cross country team also won a second consecutive Section Three Class D title, and finished second in New York state after winning a state title in 2005.

In the winter, junior girls basketball player Samantha Fox became the third player in program history to score 1,000 points in her career, and should easily be the all-time leading scorer before she graduates next spring. Fox was presented a basketball commemorating her 1,000th point by girls basketball coach Frank Miosek.

Also during the winter sports season, senior Becky Fisher advanced to state competition in diving, setting two school records along the way. Fisher will continue her swimming career at Division One Colgate University in the fall.

The biggest story of the spring sports season was the baseball team’s march to a Section Three Class C title. Senior shortstop Frank Petroskey, the team’s offensive catalyst, finished with a school record 113 career hits. Petroskey will play Division One baseball next year for the University of Vermont.

After 43 years with the boys track and field program, including 36 as its head coach, Don Howard retired after the recently completed season which included the team’s fifth straight Center State Conference league title.

Howard was honored twice, once with the Ken Kiser Good Sport award presented by the Cooperstown Booster Club, and with a certificate of appreciation from state Senator Jim Seward, which was read by Cring. Cooperstown girls track coach Connie Herzig also presented Howard with a plaque with a pair of running sneakers attached, signifying his retirement.

``This is the culmination of a lot of years of fun for me,’’ an emotional Howard said. ``These past 43 years did not go by slow enough. It’s been a wonderful ride.’’

Chris Gentile’s mother, Penney, was also on hand to accept some of her son’s athletic awards. Chris was a four year varsity tennis player, three-year varsity soccer player and two year varsity basketball player. Along with his nine varsity letters, he also had a grade point average above 88, qualifying him for scholar/ athlete status. Penney Gentile was also presented a basketball by boys basketball coach Dave Bertram, in honor of Chris’s winning three-point shot with eight seconds remaining against Mt. Markham in January.

Cring also announced that the award given each year to the most outstanding tennis player will now be named the Christopher T. Gentile Memorial Award. This year’s winner was Quinn Snyder.

Outstanding athlete award winners for the evening were as follows: Thomas P. Ashford Boys Basketball Award: Zack Sittler; Boys Soccer: Jason Conklin and Luke Banner; Girls Soccer: Rachael Kuch and Anna Kieler; Volleyball: Andrianna Lyons; Girls Basketball: Samantha Fox and Jen Wehner; Golf: Joe Horrigan and Gavin Harris; Tennis: Quinn Snyder; Don Howard Boys Track and Field Award: Will Tirrell and Greg Sorin; Girls Track and Field: Anna Weber and Becky Fisher; Softball: Lisa Covert; Kimberly S. Thering Memorial Award for Cheerleading: Catherine Pashley; Winter Cheerleading: Tirrell Silvera; Girls Swimming: Becky Fisher; Boys Swimming: Ben Otis and Mitch Adsit; Baseball: Philip Pohl; Girls Cross Country: Rebecca Adikes; William Eldridge Boys Cross Country Award: Stephen Scrafford; Eva P. Lieb Memorial Field Hockey Award: Megan Dennis and Jessica Gill; John Winslow American Legion Wrestling Award: Mike Croft; Walter P. Eggleston Memorial Football Award: Lucas Niedzialkowski; Kevin Belrose Defensive Player of the Year Award for Football: Frank Petroskey.

Athletic Director’s Award: Jessica Gill and Kris Reynolds.

Robert James Welsh Award: Lucas Niedzialkowski.

Lester G. ``Red’’ Bursey Oustanding Athlete Awards: Becky Fisher, Luke Banner and Stephen Scrafford.

Cring said the two most prestigious awards of the night are the Ann I. Pink Memorial Sportsmanship Award and the John Terry McGovern Sportsmanship Award. The Pink Award winner was Lisa Covert and the McGovern Award went to Frank Petroskey.

As always, the banquet concluded with Ted Spencer’s 16th annual Senior Sports Anthology video, which features action clips, set to music, of all senior athletes. This year’s video was dedicated to Chris Gentile.