SULLIVAN COUNTY – And just like that, summer is drawing to a close and student-athletes are returning to the fields, pitches, trails and courts to begin conditioning and preparing for the upcoming Fall season.

For many of the schools across the county, varsity football kicked off on Saturday. Players reported to their coaches to start their pre-season workouts as we speed towards the upcoming school year.

For the remaining varsity sports, practices began yesterday, August 21, with cross country, soccer and volleyball athletes reporting.

With many returning faces and plenty of new ones, kicking off the 2023-24 season will hope to set the tone for the winter and spring seasons to follow.

Tri-Valley will be defending titles in both cross country and football, after winning the State Championship and Section IX Championship respectively. Their soccer team reached the Section IX Championship and will look to return.

“We’re back today for the first day, celebrating our great fall and getting started on replicating that for this season,” Tri-Valley Athletic Director Jason Closs said.

Tri-Valley will be introducing Volleyball at the intramural level, but their intention is to play interscholastically next year.

Meanwhile, the other schools across the county will look to succeed in their respective classes across the OCIAA spectrum.

The 8-man division will get their first taste of game action on September 2, with many of them playing at multi-school scrimmages hosted by Tri-Valley and Sullivan West.

Among the many changes this upcoming year, Liberty will be introducing their new mascot, the Redhawks. Another change for this season is the introduction of the AA classification. The sixth class will cause some changes in the divisions throughout.

Some of these changes include Monticello Volleyball, Girls Soccer and Boys Soccer moving to AA, Liberty Volleyball, Boys Soccer and Girls Soccer moving up to A, and Sullivan West Girls Soccer moving up to B.

These changes will upset some of the county rivalries, as some of the games will not have as much of an effect on standings, but will offer schools opportunities to face new divisional opponents.