18 Sports Plays of the Week – 3/25
(Video Courtesy: @UVASoftball, NFHS Network, NCAA.com, @FAUBaseball)
The 18 Sports team showcases the top plays from the past week in the Twin Tiers. Top honors this week include a long range shot on the court, a highlight reel goal on the ice, and 3 home runs on the diamond. Hornell's Jordyn Dyring opens this week's list with a huge three point shot, in the NYSPHSAA Class B Girls Basketball Championship game.
Advertisement
On the ice, Elmira College's Erika Goleniak netted a sweet goal in the NCAA D-III Tournament Quarterfinals, against UW-River Falls. On the softball diamond, Elmira grad Sarah Coon blasted a game-tying, 2-run home run for the University of Virginia. The clutch hit helped the Cavaliers past Cal, in a 6-5 comeback win.
In college baseball, former Elmira Pioneer John Schroeder crushed a massive home run, for his 2nd of the game for Florida Atlantic University. The 2 home run night for Schroeder came in an in-state rivalry game against Miami. In Division III, Connor Stone unleashed a moonshot, 2-run home run for Elmira College, in a 7-6 victory over Penn College.
You can watch the 18 Sports Plays of the Week on Tuesday's on WETM 18 News.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WETM - MyTwinTiers.com.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CBS News
2 days ago
- CBS News
Ranked 4,292nd in the world, Edina golfer Jimmy Abdo soars at U.S. Amateur
Ranked 4,292nd in the world, Jimmy Abdo had no place making as much noise at the U.S. Amateur as he did. But he did it anyway. "Still kinda doesn't feel real," said Abdo, 1.5 days removed from arriving back in Minnesota. "Just from start to finish it felt like it was gonna be one of those weeks I'll never forget." A native of Edina, Minnesota, Abdo plays Division III golf. This weekend's field featured all of the prestigious players in the college game. Abdo got through stroke play, his goal, then won in the rounds of 64, 32 and 16, before finally falling in the quarters. "Yeah, we just kept playing some good golf. Took down some pretty big names. Obviously I surpassed my goal by a mile," he said. "Even beyond that, too, I made a big name for myself and put my name out there for a lot of people to see and hear my story." Abdo wasn't even on the starting six at Edina High School until he was a junior. His best finish at the state tournament was 11th, which led him to start his college golf career last year at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter. "That's the really amazing thing about Jimmy and his game, a lot of people back down against tough competition and it actually allows him to go to the next level," said Scott Moe, Gustavus' head golf coach. Abdo has been passed over by big college programs. He's learned to relish the underdog role. "I think that's my favorite part about it. It's fun to be the guy that no one thinks belongs there or really can get the job done," he said. Anonymous no more, Abdo's ranking will soon skyrocket. One week, opening big doors for the future. "I honestly don't know. There's a bunch of things that could possibly happen and I haven't really made any full decisions yet, so I'm not 100% sure," he said.


San Francisco Chronicle
5 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ben Bartch's improbable path to becoming 49ers starter built on bulk via vile smoothies
Have you heard about the third-string Division III tight end who became a fourth-round NFL draft pick in two years? That's not a setup for a punch line. It's the story of Ben Bartch, the San Francisco 49ers ' new starting left guard who changed his football fortunes by changing positions and transforming his body. Need tips on gaining 93 pounds in a presidential term? Bartch is your man. Bartch, 27, a sixth-year NFL veteran, is among the league's unlikeliest players. There are zero-star high school recruits and then there's Bartch, who pitched himself to coaches at Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minn., where the Johnnies compete in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference against the likes of Hamline University and the College of St. Scholastica. Bartch arrived on campus as a 6-foot-6, 215-pound tight end from Blanchet Catholic High School in Salem, Ore. His mom, Jennifer, recalls he was a 'stringbean.' His teammate and roommate, Richard Carriveau, termed him a 'skinny twig.' Four years later — after he had four catches in his first two seasons — Bartch was a behemoth off to the big leagues: a 308-pound All-America left tackle, he became the first Division III player drafted in five years when the Jaguars took him 116th in the 2020 draft. 49ers' Shanahan wants to play starters Saturday. With 27 injuries, should he? Ostler: Colton McKivitz, 49ers fans' pet scapegoat, uses criticism to fuel his climb Bartch called his parents after his sophomore season to tell them about his position switch. Asked whether she thought the change would pave a path to the NFL for her son, Jennifer began laughing before answering. 'No,' she said. 'Not at all. Like, not at all. … But then it was like, 'So now I guess we have to sign up for NFL+.'' Carriveau, a linebacker, explained that he and Bartch both spent their first two seasons stuck behind All-Americans. Their dream? Start for their last two years, get their degrees and get on with their post-football lives. Instead, Bartch became the fourth Division III player drafted in the first four rounds in 30 years. 'It's an insane story,' Carriveau said. 'I don't think Ben realizes it.' Bartch is a free spirit who has a kindred spirit in larger-than-life tight end George Kittle. They recently discussed a quote that captures their shared outlook: You don't have to be fearless to be brave. Bartch's improbable path to the NFL hasn't been his only adventure. He studied abroad in South Africa in college and served as a computer lab tutor for local children. He slept in the back of the 'Green Hornet,' his 1995 Chevy Silverado, when he road-tripped from Jacksonville, Fla., to his hometown of McMinnville, Ore., after his rookie season. His mom noted he never has been burdened by 'limiting beliefs' about the places he can go or what he can accomplish. He joined the track team as a senior at Blanchet and won a state title in the discus. His outlook is part of why offensive line coach Chris Foerster identified Bartch to replace starting left guard Aaron Banks, who signed a big-money contract with the Packers in March. Bartch isn't a slam-dunk solution after making just 22 starts in his first five seasons of a career that was derailed by a severe knee injury in 2022. But Bartch has appeared impervious to his stressful situation this offseason. Foerster began by saying, 'I love Ben Bartch' when asked about his new starter with a perma-smile. 'The guy's got a good attitude,' said Foerster, a 32-year NFL veteran. 'About football. About life. He's got a good perspective on things, and I like that with a guy. Because you want them to take it seriously. But life and death every day? It's seven months. It's seven days a week. And life and death every day is a tough way to live. So guys who do that usually don't make it. He cares. But bad things are going to happen. And it's how are you going to recover from them?' A Catholic, Bartch credits his faith for a perspective that lessens anxiety and helps him handle adversity. He has made just five starts since he suffered a dislocated knee that included ligament damage three years ago. Last year, after an impressive fill-in start in a loss to Buffalo in December, he suffered a season-ending ankle injury the next week. He missed the start of training camp with a quadriceps injury. And he left practice Tuesday with an elbow injury that could sideline him for about a week. 'I'm a man of faith, and I have that trust in a bigger plan,' Bartch said. 'And I'm filled with a lot of gratitude. I think you control certain things, and there's certain things in life you can't control. I don't look back because I'm not going there. I'm grateful for it all, good and bad. Because that's life. That's football.' Bartch is still playing football because he rarely stopped eating during his final two college seasons. The endless buffet began when he was a 245-pound tight end determined to start at left tackle. He gained 30 pounds in three months before his junior year by eating five meals and consuming 200 to 250 grams of protein a day. His food consumption has taken on a mythical quality. His strength and conditioning coach, Justin Rost, referenced the 'loaf-of-bread story' that involved a jar of peanut butter and a tub of jam. There's also the eating-two-pounds-of-spaghetti-in-one-sitting story (Said Rost: 'I thought that was disgusting.') And Carriveau wistfully recalls his blender that Bartch used to make his 'diabolical' smoothies, as if the appliance should be residing in the Smithsonian. Jacksonville's 4th-round pick: Ben Bartch's college transformation 😳 — PFF College (@PFF_College) April 25, 2020 Bartch's smoothies were nasty enough to gain national attention before the 2020 draft, with Bartch making the concoction live on ESPN during the NFL scouting combine. As prospects worked to wow scouts, Bartch nauseated the audience. The ingredients: seven scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, grits, peanut butter, a banana and red Gatorade. 'Ben would throw up because he'd eat so much food,' Rost said. 'So then we decided he had to drink it. It was like, 'You've got to figure out how to drink some protein.' So he made this crazy smoothie. And then the smoothie made him puke because it was so disgusting. People are always like, 'You must be the guy behind the smoothie.' I disagree. It was mostly Ben's idea of what to put in it.' 'So my big contribution to the whole shake,' he explained, 'was just flavoring.' The hard-to-keep-down smoothie was a reason Bartch began routinely knocking down linemen and linebackers late in his first season as a starter. He'd been a violent blocking tight end — Rost recalls him knocking off an opponent's helmet with a crushing blow as a sophomore — but he packed an even bigger punch after packing on the pounds. 'You watch your buddies play, but he's on offense and I'm on defense,' Carriveau said. 'So I didn't really pay attention until I started watching film and I'm like, 'Wow, I didn't know Bartch could block this well.' And then we'd go up against each other in practice and he'd lay me on my butt. And it was like, 'Where did this come from?'' Bartch became an NFL prospect because he retained the movement skills of a tight end despite adding the equivalent of about 12 gallons of water to his frame during college. Foerster noted his flexibility and athleticism make Bartch a 'good fit' for the 49ers' offense, which requires offensive linemen to sprint to make second-level blocks. 'I wasn't a fat kid my whole life, and that's no disrespect to my brothers that are bigger dudes,' Bartch said. 'But I think that's been an advantage as far as being able to move and bend in different ways.' Bartch has to work to remain a bigger dude, consuming about 5,200 calories daily to maintain his 315-pound frame. He said he has given thought to his post-football future when he can shed weight, but he's in no rush to get started. He's still busy enjoying a life no one imagined for him when he was a third-string Division III tight end. Not even Bartch, a free spirit never burdened by limiting beliefs, fully envisioned the heights he'd reach and just how big he'd become.
Yahoo
09-08-2025
- Yahoo
Exclusive: The Body Confidence Lesson Kylie Kelce Wants Every Girl to Hear
When Kylie Kelce talks about body confidence, it's not in the glossy, vague way we sometimes hear in ad campaigns. She's speaking as a mom of four (adorable!) girls, a former Division III field hockey player, and a coach who knows how much strength — physical and emotional — it takes for young athletes to stay in the game. That's why she's partnering with Dove on its new Fans of Confidence campaign. The campaign supports Dove's Body Confident Sport program, an evidence-based curriculum for coaches designed to help girls ages 11–17 feel seen, supported, and encouraged to keep playing. More from SheKnows Kylie Kelce's 'Kitchen Phone' Just Might be the Solution We Need for Our Teens For Kelce, the message is truly personal. 'When I was a freshman in high school, I was talking to a friend of mine who was a boy, and I had bent down next to his desk, and he was like, 'Oh, your thighs are thick.' And I looked down at my legs, and I was like, 'Yeah, because I'm a field hockey player.' … That is the moment where I was like, 'Why wouldn't I have strong legs, right?' And it was so obvious to me at that point,' she recounts in an exclusive conversation with SheKnows. 'It wasn't necessarily what my body looked like, it was what it could do for me and how it benefited me in my sport, and how the idea of strength and being muscular was an asset to me as an athlete,' she continued. 'So that having that experience myself, I want to make sure that the girls that I'm coaching [and] my own daughters understand that your body is not only valued by what it looks like … in sport, no one cares, right? Like, if you're able to run for long distances, or you're able to have endurance, you're able to have strength, you're able to translate that into your sport. Nobody cares [what it looks like], and that's important. It's so important.' Kelce says the Body Confident Sport program is key to helping coaches and parents support girls in staying active. 'You have so many young girls right now quitting sports because they don't feel like their body fits it, or because they've been told that their body is not meant for that sport. I think that it just speaks volumes about Dove that they are willing to put so much into this. And I'm so, so grateful to have the opportunity, because this is something that's clear and something that's truly important to them.' As a coach, Kelce sees her role as much more than teaching skills. 'Coaches are there to make sure that the culture of the team is that of a positive and encouraging environment … to recognize how they can uplift each other, both on and off the field. And so those positive relationships with your peers are often influenced by, like I said, the culture. So as a coach, I find it super important to not only encourage body positive talk just very blatantly, but also to make sure that they feel supported, that they feel that they can continue with their sport.' At home, she's deliberate about modeling that mindset — which hasn't always come easy. 'I honestly have had to switch up the way I speak about myself,' she confesses. 'I make it a point in front of our girls to model the way I would like them to speak about themselves … We talk a lot about, like, 'Wow, look at how strong you are.' The compliments that we give are a little bit different, and I feel like they're starting to shape the way that they think about themselves.' One recent 'proud mom' moment: when Kelce's oldest daughter Wyatt told her sister Elliotte, 'Wow, you are really strong!' 'It's so simple and it's such a fleeting moment, but at the same time, I'm like, 'Yes, that was the way to say that,'' Kelce gushes. Seeing her daughters learn how to compliment each other in ways that build confidence feels like such an accomplishment For Kelce, the message she hopes to leave — with her daughters and her players — is simple: strength, support, and encouragement matter. When girls feel supported in their bodies, they stay in the game, she says — and they carry that confidence with them into every part of life. Watch Dove's moving and inspirational 'Fans of Confidence' video here. Best of SheKnows These Raw & Beautiful Breastfeeding Photos Show There's No 'Right' Way to Nurse 'But I Hate School': What To Do When Your Teen Dreads Going Back Rugged Meets Romantic in These 'Quiet Western' Names: All the Charm, None of the Grit Solve the daily Crossword