Good Morning! With the Border Country Sports Report, I'm Keith Harrington.
It's been difficult to write the last few days as I have been busy working at the Washington County Fair in Greenwich. I work as a gate attendent at Gate C, the gate where staff, vendors and carnival workers hustle in and out several times a day. It is a hectic but sometimes entertaining job I often say I could write a best selling book from my adventures.
One thing that I have learned while working at the fair is how many local student-athletes are highly involved. Thus, I decided to put together a story about a few of the kids I have seen balancing their sports practices with their fair responsibilities this week.
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Local Student-Athletes Also Playing Key Roles at the Washington County Fair
Typically high school athletes are very busy during the summer break. Many of them are either playing in travel leagues, attending camps or tournaments, maybe even working out in the weight room. However, during the week of Aug. 22 to Aug. 28th they find themselves balancing their time between the first week of fall sports practice and their various roles at the Washington County Fair.
It has been a busy yet successful week for Hartford soccer and basketball standout Ray Harrington. Harrington has been spending time on the pitch working out with the Tanagers and in the show ring competing for ribbons, trophies and bragging rights. Harrington has been showing a cow named Deluxe for Liddleholme Holsteins and has won every top dairy cow award there is to win at the fair.
“Showing cattle like being an athlete is a lot of dedication and practice," Harrington explained. "It takes time and work and you have to learn as you go and adjust at times of adversity."
Showing cattle, such as is the case in sports can be a rollercoaster ride.
"Like sports it won't always be smooth, but also like sports you have to have a love and passion to do it," Harrington added.
The Liddle family who Harrington shows for has a long standing tradition in Argyle athletics.
Harrington's counsin Alyce has had a huge job at the fair during the week. Alyce is the Washington County Dairy Princess. As the county's ambassador for the dairy industry, Alyce spends her days at a booth at the AG Building sharing information about dairy farming with cows being milked in the foreground.
Alyce also is in the show ring handing out ribbons and trophies to the winners of various categories and hosting the annual celebrity milking contest. She has had to put her participation in Salem-Cambridge field hockey practice on the back burner for the week, but will be back out on the field next week helping what should be a strong team prepare for the season once the fair comes to a close.
Alyce's brother Josh has been traveling back and forth between the fair and Cambridge-Football practice all week as his team prepares for the season opener on Saturday against Granville-Whitehall.
Granville's Brent Perry has also been seen in the show ring, along with other members of his family competing with the cows from their farm in Hampton. Perry is a three-sport athlete for the Golden Horde. He plays football, baseball and is a Section II wrestling champion. This week he spent his days helping cows navigate around the show ring instead of throwing opponents around the mat.
Former Hoosick Falls basketball start Logan Thayne has family cows at the fair, but has been focusing her week on making money. Thayne scored 547 points during senior season and finished her career with 1,723 points, 1,100 rebounds, and 400 blocks. She was a three-time team MVP for the Panthers and went on to play Division I college basketball for the UAlbany Great Danes before her career was cut short due to a health issue.
At the fair Thayne has been driving around the grounds in an ATV selling ice to the food and drink vendors.
Sitting next to Thayne is the ice salesman, Hongxu Qian. Qian is a senior at Hartford. He attends the Tanagers' cross country workouts in the morning and then heads to the fairgrounds to deliver the ice, then uses his math skills to collect payment or construct an invoice.
Qian's teammate Brynn Tyler should be a contender in both the Adirondack League in Section II in cross country has been participating in a plethora of horse events at the fair. Tyler has been camping at the fair 24/7 before heading back to begin her preparation for the season.
This is just a small sample of the student-athletes who are at the fair each day showing animals and working to make the event the success that is. One thing that is apparrent is that the skills that have served these kids well during sports competitions were at least partially honed at the Washington County Fair.
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With the Border Country Sports Report, I'm Keith Harrington.
