Athens Wins First-Ever District 4 Title; Tops Central Columbia, 4-1
By: Tim Birney | NTL Sports | May 30, 2025 | Photo courtesy Tim Birney
W'PORT - Sophomore Gretchan Hiley had another outstanding performance in the pitcher's circle, and senior Gretchen Schmieg contributed the "biggest hit of her life" to lift Athens to a 4-1 win over Central Columbia and the program's first-ever District 4 softball title in the Class 4A championship game here Thursday afternoon at Elm Park.
Athens coach Brian Wendela, who also coached Waverly to its first Section IV title in the state playoff era in 2019, said the Wildcats used a familiar formula Thursday.
"First of all, no coach is good without good players, and we have a lot of good players. I think we proved that right here.
Read the full story on Valley Sports Report.
Tim Birney is the founder / owner of River Road Media Group. He was born and raised in the Valley, graduating from Waverly High School in 1984.
Birney earned an Associate's Degree in Journalism from SUNY Morrisville in 1986 and a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism / Public Relations from Utica College of Syracuse University in 1988. He began his newspaper career at The Daily Review in Towanda in 1989, before moving on to The Evening Times in 1995. He spent more than 10 years at the Times, the last four as Managing Editor.
River Road Media Group includes five sites in "The Sports Reports" family that cover 24 school districts in five counties: Valley Sports Report (launched Aug. 10, 2009), Tioga County (NY) Sports Report (Aug. 13, 2018), and Northern Tier Sports Report (Aug. 31, 2020); Northern Tier West Sports Report (March 15, 2021) Southern Tier Sports Report (Aug. 16, 2021).
