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Explore CDSWOY All-Time Roster Members

Addyson Galuski’s resume is already impressively full: State champion, all-state athlete, leading scorer in Waterford-Halfmoon girls’ soccer history.
The best word to describe Amanda Chambers, a member of the UAlbany cross country and track & field teams, is perseverance.
Amber Kolpakas has led the Golden Eagles on the volleyball court since she was in eighth grade. “I had always been interested in volleyball,” Kolpakas said. “I joined my school’s team in sixth grade and was asked to play JV the next year. By the end of seventh grade, I was pulled up to varsity for sectionals.”
Amelia Canetto, a senior at Taconic Hills, combined all that throughout her high school career, which saw her star athletically, achieve academically and make her mark within her community.
After four years playing field hockey at Lock Haven University, Amy Stevens transferred to Russell Sage College as a graduate for the 2023 season. Though playing for the Gators only for one year, everyone in and out of the program can agree that Stevens made an outsized impact on the Russell Sage field hockey team.
During her career at Averill Park High School, Anna Jankovic stood out with her athletic and academic achievements, but it was the way she treated others that impressed so many people around her.
Ariana Dingley started playing soccer because she liked doing whatever her older sister was doing. But as she progressed in her career, soccer became something she enjoyed in her own right. Dingley began playing soccer at just five years old and never stopped working on her craft. She would go on to star for Lansingburgh and was twice named Section 2 Class B Colonial Council All-Stars First Team and was honorable mention two more times in four years with the Knights.

Kara Bacon

2023 Grand Collegiate Woman of the Year
  • Class:

    2023

  • Sport(s):

    Scholastic

  • Induction:

    2023

Written by Jim Schiltz for The Daily Gazette

Warrensburg senior Kara Bacon recorded a rare and impressive triple this past school year when she was named an Adirondack League first-team all-star in three sports while maintaining her academic standing as one of the high school’s top students.

“My parents when I was very young said good grades are the way to go,” said the 18-year-old. “As I got older, it became part of me. I can be described in so many ways, but above all I want to be described as intelligent. There’s more to me than athletics.”

Bacon will be attending Le Moyne College to play softball while studying in its six-year physician assistant program. The four-time NYSPHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award winner will head that way after graduating third in her class with a 97.5 average, and with a resume that includes George Eastman Young Leader and Innovation and Creativity scholarships.

“Kara embodies all of the characteristics necessary for being a student-athlete,” said Warrensburg athletic director Scott Smith. “She is motivated, dependable, focused, and goal oriented.”

Bacon is a big hit on the softball field, as well, twice earning first-team league all-star status for her superb hitting, base running and work as a catcher. Her twin sister, Warrensburg valedictorian West Point-bound Kailey, handled the pitching duties.

“Kara’s knowledge of the game of softball is astounding,” Warrensburg varsity softball coach Teresa Colvin said of the Section 2 Class C all-star. “Her affinity for game strategy has earned her the respect of her coaches and our softball league. Kara called every pitch of every game that she caught on varsity with much success, and the ability to call the game placed her firmly among the top catchers in the area.”

Bacon is a versatile performer and plays both catcher and outfield with her Glens Falls Titans travel team. She will be a member of Le Moyne’s first Division I team in 2024 after its move up from the Division II level.

“We all had a good idea that they would be going Division I sometime in the next four years. It happened to be this year, and I’m thrilled about that,” said Bacon. “Warrensburg is a pretty small school and the last Division I softball player was a pitcher when my mom was in school.”
Bacon was a member of Warrensburg’s varsity soccer, softball and basketball teams for five, four and three years, respectively. In soccer she was three-times selected a league first-team all-star and twice made the Section 2 Class C all-star team including in 2022 when she was additionally named the Offensive Player of the Year.

“Statistically, it will be very difficult to replace Kara next year,” said Smith, Warrensburg’s varsity soccer and basketball coach and an assistant with its softball team. “She fills up the stat sheet in every sport she plays. What will be even more difficult to replace will be her leadership skills and her ability to make those around her better. She not only leads by example, but she is also a vocal leader with her teammates,”
Bacon served as a team captain in all three of her sports, and is a volunteer official for youngsters who play them..

“If I wasn’t going into the medical field, I would go into coaching,” Bacon said. “I have a passion for sports, and I love to share my knowledge.”
Bacon was a member of Warrensburg’s French and Varsity clubs and has volunteered for Red Cross blood drives and the Honor Society Book Fair. She has been a student ambassador for the Wounded Warrior Project and the Community Halloween Trail.

“I don’t like to sit at home,” said Bacon, who was a 2021 HOBY Leadership recipient and 2020-21 President’s Award winner. “My big thing is if someone asks for help, I’m going to give it. This community has given me so much, and I want to give back.”

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