Peekskill Sports Roundup

Covering April 15-21, 2025: Tri-County Basketball recognition; Varsity results, upcoming games, College Corner

By Jeffrey Merchan, [email protected]

April 22, 2025

Tri-County Basketball recognition

Peekskill’s tri-county teams and coaches with city staff. (City of Peekskill)

The future of Peekskill basketball looks bright.

This past season, Peekskill’s fifth and sixth grade Tri-County basketball teams enjoyed strong campaigns. The fifth grade team narrowly lost the Division B championship final, falling to Somers – Allegretti, 23-22. Meanwhile, Peekskill’s sixth grade team went 12-2 for the season, moved up to Division A, and made it to the quarterfinals, where they lost to Pleasantville, 55-38.

In recognition of their hard work and achievements, Peekskill’s Common Council honored both teams at its April 14 meeting. During the special acknowledgement, each player and coach received a certificate from Mayor Vivian McKenzie.

According to Community Hub Director Johnathan Zamora, this is the first time Peekskill has competed in the tri-county league in several years. Established in 1997, Tri-County Basketball League (TCBL) focuses on providing competitive basketball for young people residing in Westchester, Fairfield and Putnam counties. The league has approximately 200 teams each season and 10,000 young men and women have played TCBL basketball.

“This was a program that I first learned about through conversations with Dontae [Harris], as something that had happened in years past,” said Zamora at the meeting. (The City held tryouts for their tri-county teams in early October, with final teams set later that month.)

Recreation Leader Dontae Harris, who is credited for reviving the program, also spoke at the Council meeting. “This was a great program for the kids because we want to be a feeder program – because when they get to high school, they have already played together and they already have that chemistry and they know what it feels like to win already.”

“Even though we came up short in the championship, getting there – the fifth grade team – this is the first time they’ve played together as a unit and half the team was fourth graders.” Harris emphasized the importance of younger players facing older competition to prepare for the challenges of varsity-level basketball.

In response to Harris, Mayor McKenzie said, “Dontae, I want you to recognize that your work does not go unnoticed. Putting these programs together and working and getting this to happen – it is really a major accomplishment. We want you to know we see you.”

Varsity results

Peekskill vs Pawling, April 21. (Peekskill City School District)

Baseball: Peekskill (1-4) lost 18-1 to Pawling on Monday, April 21, at Heritage Financial Park.

Flag Football: Peekskill (3-3-2) lost to Ossining, 33-28, on Monday, April 21.

Upcoming games

Softball: Blind Brook (away) on April 22 at 4:30 p.m., Gorton (away) on April 24 at 4:30 p.m., and Poughkeepsie (home) on April 25 at 4:45 p.m.

Spring Track: dual meet vs Sleepy Hollow (home) on April 22, boys meet at Mamaroneck High School on April 26, and girls meet at Yorktown High School on April 26.

Flag Football: Poughkeepsie (home) on April 23 at 4:30 p.m. and Lakeland (home) on April 25 at 4:30 p.m.

Baseball: Poughkeepsie (away) on April 24 at 4:30 p.m. and Barack Obama School for Social Justice (home) on April 25 at 4:45 p.m. (Senior Night).

College Corner

Track & Field – Division 1: Last weekend, the University at Buffalo (UB) track and field program held their annual UB Alumni Invitational, hosting six local collegiate programs. In the women’s 400-meter, Juliette Salazar (Peekskill Class of 2023) finished second with a time of 57.33.

About the Contributors

Jeffrey Merchan, Sports Reporter

Peekskill native Jeffrey Merchan is a 2022 graduate of Peekskill High School. He is the Collegiate Journalist at Peekskill Herald, funded by a grant from the DJ McManus Foundation. He is currently enrolled at Westchester Community College where he is studying journalism. As the inaugural recipient of the McManus grant, he will be covering city government, schools and feature stories with a focus on Peekskill’s growing Hispanic community.

Eric Harvey, News Reporter

Eric Harvey has joined the staff of the Peekskill Herald as a full-time reporter covering a general assignment beat that includes the City of Peekskill and The Board of Education. Harvey, 24, of Stamford, C.T. was a politics and crime reporter most recently at the Bronx Riverdale Press where he was the recipient of a New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest award for a 2023 feature story on the man who co-wrote Martin Luther King’s I Have A Dream speech. A graduate of Champlain College in Vermont, Harvey said he likes working in community journalism because it allows for making a difference. “Peekskill is a beautiful and diverse city with rich story potential,” Harvey said. “I look forward to getting to know the community better and shine a spotlight on your needs and interests.”