Spring Track
Hen Hud track and field athletes delivered strong performances at the Section 1 state qualifier meets held June 5 at Arlington High School and June 6 at Suffern Middle School.
In Class B boys competition, Olivier Birotte placed second in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 59.13. Vincent Valdes Cabada earned fourth place in the long jump with a leap of 6.20 meters, while Taiten Robinson finished fourth in the pentathlon, scoring 2,447 points.
On the girls’ side, also in Class B, Sophia Savatgy won the 200-meter dash in 24.93. Nisaa Emery finished fifth in the 100-meter dash at 13.12. The 4×100-meter relay team – Savatgy, Emery, Elyse Smith, and Michelle Ikokwu – placed second and tied the school record with a time of 49.93.
Several Hen Hud athletes have qualified for the New York State Outdoor Track & Field Championships, set for June 13-14 at Middletown High School. Representing the Sailors will be Savatgy (100-meter, 200-meter), Victor Delgado (1,600-meter, 3,200-meter), and the 4×100-meter relay team of Savatgy, Emery, Smith, and Ikokwu.
Flag Football
Hen Hud’s varsity flag football team capped off its historic season with a special visit to the New York Giants’ training facility on Wednesday, June 11. The Sailors were among several title-winning teams from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut invited to the celebratory event at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
During the visit the Sailors met Giants co-owner John Mara, head coach Brian Daboll, and players Jameis Winston, Brian Burns, Darius Slayton, and Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Each team in attendance was awarded a trophy and posed for photos with the Giants.
“It was a great culmination of all the great things they accomplished this season,” said head coach Craig Solomon to the Hendrick Hudson School District. For a press release from the district, click here.
Girls Lacrosse
Courtlandt Lodge No.34 Free & Accepted Masons recently recognized two senior members of the Hendrick Hudson varsity girls lacrosse team with scholarship awards.
Lena Pfeiffer received the Samuel Topper Scholarship. Samuel Topper was a long time Hendrick Hudson High School science teacher. Every year, local schools nominate their top science seniors for the award. Pfeiffer will attend Cornell University this fall, where she plans to major in Chemistry with a minor in Biological Sciences.
Kayla McCarthy received the Paul Matthews award, which is presented to the senior child of a Mason who exemplifies the meaning of Masonry. The award is named after the organization’s longtime secretary. McCarthy will continue her athletic and academic career at Long Island University, where she will play Division 1 lacrosse and study Criminal Justice.
Spotlight of the Week: Craig Solomon
In many ways, Craig Solomon lives and breathes Hendrick Hudson.
A Montrose native and a member of the Hendrick Hudson Class of 1988, Solomon has been a steady presence in the district since the 1990s. The longtime physical education teacher and coach has spent the past three decades shaping student-athletes in the same hallways he once walked as a teen.
After two years teaching in the Bronx, Solomon returned home in 1994 to join the physical education staff at Hen Hud High School – and immediately stepped into the football program.
“One of my old phys ed teachers became the head coach that year,” Solomon recalled. “They had an open position on the staff. He offered it to me and I’ve been doing it ever since.” Solomon was just 24 years old at the time.
He quickly became a mainstay on the football field, including as part of the coaching staff that led Hendrick Hudson to the sectional championship game in 1999. Despite a strong season, the Sailors fell to Harrison in the title game, 30-6.
“I honestly think if we didn’t have to play Harrison – we had a very good chance of winning states,” Solomon said. Hen Hud finished the regular season 7-1 that year.
Though best known for his work in football, Solomon’s coaching resume stretches far beyond the fall season. He led the boys lacrosse program for nearly 20 years before stepping away around 2016, guiding teams to six sectional finals and helping several standout players reach Division 1 college programs.
Most recently, Solomon has made history as head coach of the varsity flag football team, which just captured its first-ever Section 1 Class C championship – in only the program’s second year.
The win was a deeply emotional milestone for Solomon: his first sectional title in any sport at Hen Hud.
“It was very satisfying,” he said. “We thought we were going to be good. As the season went along, I was like, ‘Alright, maybe we can finally get one’. But the final was a lot more competitive than the first time we played [Ardsley], so I was worried about it. But the girls played well, and we were fortunate enough to win.”
In an email to the Herald, Athletic Director Thomas Baker shared his admiration for the team – and its coach.
“When the team won, the girls were so excited to come over to him and celebrate with him,” Baker said. “Seeing that celebration with him and the girls was a tremendous championship moment.”
After their 13-12 victory over Ardsley in the Class C final, Hen Hud advanced to the regional finals, where they fell to Owego Free Academy, 40-14.
“We got beat. They were better than we were,” Solomon said. “I think the goal for the girls this season was just to win the section. Everything after that – whatever happened, happened.”
Solomon credited the team’s strong core of players for its success. “I was very fortunate to have such great girls to coach,” he said. “They’re great football players and they are tremendous role models for the student-athletes in our school.”
That team culture helped fuel a 10-6 finish in 2024, followed by a championship run in 2025. Due to his success this year, Solomon was named Class C Coach of the Year – though, in typical fashion, he shifted the spotlight to his players.
“I was very humbled that the other Class C coaches recognized me,” he said. “But all the great things those girls accomplished were one hundred percent because of their hard work and commitment.”
He also credits assistant coach Dina Bertoline, a fellow Hen Hud alum and P.E. teacher, for helping him make a smooth transition from coaching boys to girls.
“She’s the best,” he said. “She’s still growing as a coach but we make a great team.”
Bertoline echoed that same mutual respect, calling her experience with Solomon one of the highlights of her coaching career.
“It has been a blast coaching flag football with Solomon the past two years,” Bertoline said. “He is an amazing coach that puts in the work to make his players not only better athletes but even better teammates and people.”
“He has an incredible football IQ. He studies opponents’ films to recognize tendencies, formations, and anything to help prepare our girls to be successful,” she said.
Coaching alongside Solomon has been a full-circle experience for Bertoline. “Solomon was my P.E. teacher back when I was in high school, so now getting to know him as a person, a colleague, and a friend has been special.”
The flag football program itself was born just two years ago, thanks to a group of determined students – including Class C Most Valuable Player Lucy Mager and 2024 graduate Hailey Pearson – who approached Athletic Director Baker to advocate for a team. Solomon and other P.E. teachers started running informal after-school practices, and interest exploded.
When the head coaching position was created, Solomon applied – and never looked back.
Now, as flag football continues to grow in Section 1 and across the state, Solomon is proud to have helped establish something meaningful. “It’s such a fun game,” he said. “For a lot of the girls, if they’re not a lacrosse player or a softball player, this gives them another team sport to be a part of.”
Even with eight seniors graduating this year, Solomon isn’t worried about the future.
“I’m very excited,” he said. “We have a ton of returning talent that have been in the program for the past two years. I’m also looking forward to the incoming freshman, because there was a big interest at our middle school clinics.”
Still, next year will be his final season at Hen Hud. Solomon plans to retire from teaching and coaching at the end of the 2025-26 school year.
“I’m turning 55 soon. Next year is my last year,” he said. “Since I’m retiring from teaching and not driving up to Westchester for my job anymore, I’m not going to be coaching at Hen Hud either.”
While it’s bittersweet, Solomon is at peace with the timing and proud to leave on a high note.
‘Hopefully we can compete and maybe get another one next year,” he said.
For some coaches, success is measured in trophies. At Hendrick Hudson, Craig Solomon will be remembered not for championships, but for the countless lives he impacted across three decades. Whether in football, lacrosse, flag football or P.E. class, his philosophy has always been rooted in growth, wellness, and opportunity.
“Health is so important,” he said. “If you’re not healthy or you don’t live a healthy lifestyle – it doesn’t matter how smart you are, you can get sick or even pass away.”
“In our department, we stress learning about the body and living a healthy lifestyle and foods to eat. We also try to offer a wide range of activities so all students can find something that they’re interested in and actively participate in class.”
On the field or in the gymnasium, Solomon’s impact has been lasting. “It’s still a pleasure teaching and working with high school kids,” he said. “Just watching the growth of the athletes and then helping them get into a college, helping get them recruited, helping get them noticed – it’s all great.”
His advice for all athletes? Enjoy the game but “use athletics as a way to go to the best college you can academically.”
After three decades, Craig Solomon is one year away from taking his rightful place amongst the most respected and influential coaches in Hendrick Hudson’s history.
