Currently viewing the tag: "Catoctin Youth Association (CYA)"

CYA Wrestlers Represent at State Qualifier

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Aaron Meekins

There are two words that every athlete would love to have next to their name: State Champion. For youth wrestlers, the path to being a state champion starts at the Maryland State Wrestling Association (MSWA) Qualifier. There are four qualifiers around the state based on geographical area. On February 12, three wrestlers from Catoctin Youth Association (CYA) attended the Central/West Qualifier at Northwest High School in Germantown, Maryland. All three of them qualified for the MSWA State Tournament, which will take place March 11-12 at the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury, Maryland.

Ashton Thompson, one of CYA’s eighth-grade leaders who sets a strong example for the younger grapplers on the team with his work ethic and technical skills, took home first place at the qualifier in the 106-pound division. Gracen Baer, a third-grade student athlete from Sabillasville Environmental School won third place at the qualifier in the 63-pound division. Xavier Meekins, a third-grade student athlete from Thurmont Elementary, won first place at the qualifier in the 56-pound division. All three will represent CYA in Salisbury and look to add State Champion to their wrestling resumes.

In addition to CYA being represented at the state level, all the wrestlers are gearing up for the very competitive end-of-season Mid Maryland Wrestling League Championship Tournament that will take place on March 5 at Urbana High School. This year’s team has many talented experienced and new wrestlers that look forward to putting forth strong performances with the hopes of returning to the podium or getting there for the first time. Dan Gable, one of the most famous wrestlers of all time once said, “Gold medals aren’t made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.”

Through the first half of the season, CYA wrestlers have put in the sweat, showed their determination, and showed they have guts. The tournament will be a great chance to put their skills to the test.

CYA Wrestling will finish their regular season with a home match on February 26 at 9:00 a.m. at Catoctin High School against the War Hawks and Maryland School for the Deaf. Please come out and support the team. Concessions are available and admissions are free. It will be their last tune-up before the MMWL Tournament, where they will face off against teams from Washington, Frederick, and Carroll counties. Keep an eye out in next month’s edition of the Catoctin Banner to see how they did.

*Correction/addition to last month’s article: At last year’s 2022 MMWL Tournament, Ashton Thompson placed second in his division at 95 lbs., and Shawn Smith also placed second in his division at 105 lbs.

CYA Shoot-a-thon Scores Big Again

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Ryan Tokar, CYA Basketball

On Sunday, February 5, Catoctin Youth Association (CYA) Basketball held its annual Shoot-a-thon fundraiser. This is the largest annual fundraiser for our program, and proceeds go toward necessities like gym rentals, uniforms, equipment, paid officials, and league fees. With registration numbers up this year now that the majority of COVID-19 restrictions on indoor sports have gone away, it was critical to offset some of the increased expenses incurred by the league. The community came out in support of the program in a big way once again this year, with the Shoot-a-thon bringing in over $13,000 in online and cash donations.

The idea behind the Shoot-a-thon is simple. Players collect money from sponsors for a chance to win prizes. To be eligible for prizes, each player must raise at least $50.00; however, they can continue to raise additional money above and beyond that. Prizes are given out to the top overall fundraisers and to the players who have the highest overall percentage of shots made. The number of shots attempted is based on the age group of the player, with anywhere from 20 to 100 shots being attempted. In most cases, shots are attempted from the free throw line; however, the younger ages are moved in several feet closer and shoot on lowered rims. CYA Basketball programs consist of youths aged kindergarten all the way through high school. The boys and girls high school teams served as volunteers to help record the scores for younger players.

The winners of this year’s highest shooting percentage were: Dallas Baker—Highest Overall Percentage Foul Shooter; K-1st Clinic—Maverick Williams; Girl’s 2nd-4th—Emma Santos; Boy’s 2nd-4th—Cole McCauley; U12 Boys/Girls—Robert Brooks; U14 Boys/Girls—Mason Hewitt; and Mid MD Boys/Girls—Madelyn Myers and Chase Cregger. Overall fundraising winners were: 1st Place—Kaydense Cox, 2nd Place—Zayden Jones, and 3rd Place—Bryson Duman. Winners were each awarded a Dick’s Sporting Goods gift card. The teams with the most overall donations also earned a free pizza party.

Along with the $13,000 raised, the league also collected several hundred non-perishable goods, which were donated to the Thurmont/Emmitsburg community to help those in need. Players received raffle tickets for each item they donated, and there were several great prize baskets given away. Nicole Kelley won the Movie Basket, featuring a Warehouse Cinemas gift card and all the snacks you need for a movie night; Ashlyn Vaughan won the Baseball/Softball Basket, which included a free Thurmont Little League registration with other themed items; and Chase Shoemaker won the Football Basket with a free CYA Football/Cheer registration and a football/pump/tee pack. CYA Basketball also donated a themed basket with a free registration, and one basketball set, shoe charms, and a Gatorade bottle/towel package. This was won by Willow Bullis. And finally, there was a gift card tree featuring several local establishments, which was won by Peyten Wills.

There were activities throughout the afternoon, including music, a face painter, and team/individual photos. All in all, it was a great day and a wonderful event. CYA Basketball would like to thank the community, parents, and volunteers for their support. Without you, it would not have been such a tremendous success.

Players show off their designs, complements of Face painting by Elizabeth.

Shoot-a-thon participants pose with non-perishable goods collected during the event.

Plans for New Building at Eyler Road Park Fields Underway

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Blair Garrett

A brand new activities building at Eyler Road Park Fields simplifies a lot of the issues facing local athletics programs.

For more than a decade, the plans for one central building to house equipment and a multitude of other purposes has fallen through. This year, the Catoctin Youth Association (CYA) has battled through challenge after challenge in providing the people of Thurmont with a quality building to kick off the fall season.

The common denominator for many of society’s problems seems to stem from the coronavirus situation, and it’s certainly contributed to complications completing the building.

“We had to redo the plans for the building because the price of lumber has doubled, and it put the building way out of range for us,” Jerry Ferson, Vice President of CYA Football and Cheer said. “We put out a GoFundMe account, and we’ve got some more fundraisers, but I think we were going to be short about $30,000.”

With the cost for building materials being at an all-time high, allocating the appropriate amount of funding to complete the project had been a major concern for CYA. Fortunately, the program has been able to make some tremendous adjustments to try to keep the plan on track.

“We had to scrap the whole thing and start over,” Ferson said. “Instead of a two-story building, we went with a one-story building with a loft built inside for filming and announcing.”

This building has had plans in the works for a long time, and with the condition of the current buildings at the Eyler Road Fields, it couldn’t come at a better time. “The soccer facility and our facility are falling apart,” Ferson said. “Termites have gotten into the buildings, and last year I stepped through the floor.”

The building’s main purpose is to consolidate all of the equipment that is spread across multiple facilities into one area, as well as providing announcers and scoreboard operators a press box to keep games and tournaments running smoothly. “It’s for all of the CYA organizations that use Eyler Fields for storage, and it will also be used for filming games,” Ferson said.

Aside from the poor condition of the current facilities, the security of the equipment at the fields is a top priority for CYA. The building will provide some much-needed protection for equipment like lights for the fields, which have been vandalized and had gas siphoned from on multiple occasions.

“Our buildings have been broken into at least four times,” Ferson said. “This will be a nice, secure facility.”    

There have been plenty of snags with the county, getting things approved and making sure all regulations in the plans are being met. Ferson and the rest of CYA have had hoops to jump through to keep the ball rolling.

It’s now or never to get the project up and running, with the financial deadline looming at the start of 2022. “If we don’t use the money by January 1, 2022, we lose the money for the grant,” Ferson said. “We feel like if we don’t do it now, it will never get done.”

The Youth Association is a group that put in a tremendous amount of time and effort into the community, and they have felt a lot of support from the people who make up our great local towns.

“We’ve done a lot in the community, and they’ve given a lot back,” Ferson said.

CYA has a GoFundMe available on its website for locals to donate to help complete the construction of the building.

You can find out more information and ways that you can donate online at www.catoctinfootball.net.

CYA Basketball Registration Now Open

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Catoctin Youth Association (CYA) offers kindergarten through U19 boys and girls teams. All team/league information, tryout/evaluation dates and times, and player fees are listed on the CYA Basketball website. Please register online at www.leaguelineup.com/cyabasketball.

Coaches wanted! If you are interested in coaching, please contact Jason Smith at jasonsmith008@comcast.net. Curriculum provided.