Dunkirk City School District champion athletes were honored last week during a report by Athletics Director Andrew Burnside that highlighted progress in students’ behavior.

Burnside touted the varsity girls bowling team, champions of their division in 2025 and second overall in playoff “rolloffs” which included schools from Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties.

Burnside said the varsity competitive cheerleading was also division champs in 2025. He also honored varsity girls wrestling state competition participants Jasileen Morales Salgado and Damarielys Cruz.

In addition, Burnside noted the achievements of varsity indoor track and field star Johnee Thomas, who made his third trip to state runoffs this year.

— Burnside said 212 athletes finished winter sports programs in 2024-25, “not a significant difference” from the 216 in 2023-24.

He was more impressed with the rise in athletes on the second quarter honor roll — 95, up from 71 in 2023-24 — and an increase in the total of scholar athlete teams. Eight teams reached the honor this year, up from five.

Also, there were just 49 discipline referrals in the second quarter this school year, down from 81 last year. Burnside said it is “a remarkable difference. If you think about it, 49 referrals for 212 athletes, which include seventh and eighth graders who sometimes struggle to make the right decisions, is a remarkable, remarkable number.”

Burnside acknowledged “some numbers did go in the wrong direction” — notably absences, which increased by 136. The athletics director seemingly attributed that to a rough flu season, noting that at one point, only three members of one of the basketball teams were well enough to attend a practice.

— The participation in spring sports is “phenomenal… Our retention of athletes is great. Our retention of coaches is exactly where you want it to be,” Burnside said. He said keeping coaches and athletes from year to year has been a point of emphasis since he took over as athletics director “because that’s how you build programs.”

The Dunkirk AD offered statistics showing that baseball, softball, and track and field participation are all up.

The boys’ varsity tennis team has nine boys and 18 girls. “We are not the only team that has that situation,” Burnside said. “What we’re hoping is that the 18 girls that are playing in the spring will hopefully want to continue playing during the girls season in the fall.”

— The renovated athletics lobby near the entrance to the gym has an anticipated opening and dedication of June 5, Burnside said. He said the date was planned in collaboration with the annual dinner for seniors’ college signing announcements.

— A website featuring various team photos of champion Dunkirk High School teams, some dating back to the early 1900s, is now up. It can be accessed through a link on the Dunkirk school district’s athletics page.

— The district is planning six weeks of athletics camps for students in grades two through seven, to be run by DHS athletes and coaches. It’s slated for July 7 through Aug. 15 and will be a fundraiser for Dunkirk school district athletics.

Though Burnside said “we’re still working on some of the finite details,” sports planned to be included are track, volleyball, flag football, basketball, the Unified program, wrestling, softball, baseball, and soccer. “We’re going to be pushing this out soon so we get ahead of other camps and the monetary value will hopefully be enticing enough to get as many kids here as possible,” Burnside said.

He concluded the report with, “We’re very excited with the direction our athletics program is going.”