Jacob Russo
Sports Director
Jacob Russo joined 12 Sports as the Sports Director in July 2021. Jacob comes to the Southern Tier from KCAU in Sioux City, Iowa, where he worked for three years as the Weekend Sports Anchor and Sports MMJ. Before Sioux City, Jacob graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Media Communications and a degree in English.
While in Iowa and the surrounding tri-state area of Nebraska and South Dakota, Jacob covered the Iowa Hawkeyes, Iowa State Cyclones, and Nebraska Cornhuskers; as well as the Morningside College Mustangs, the back-to-back NAIA Football Champions. He also covered multiple high school championship games in all sorts of sports, and he's excited to see what the Southern Tier has to offer!
As a Tampa Bay native, Jacob is a huge fan of the Rays, Lightning, and Buccaneers, as well as his alma mater of Florida State. He loves video games, all things sports, his dog: Phoebe, and his cat: Simon. After three years in the Midwest, Jacob is excited to be back in the Eastern Time Zone, and hopes to bring a fun energy to his sportscasts every single night.
Have a story idea or any questions? You can email Jacob at jrusso@wbng.com.
Maine-Endwell made it to the state championship game for the third-straight season, but were unable to get their third-straight championship, falling to Section 1′s Rye 28-7.
The Syracuse Orange football team is set to play in the Boca Raton Bowl in Boca Raton, Fla against South Florida on December 21.
The Waverly Wolverines are Class C state champions for the first time ever, after riding their explosive offense to a 46-point performance to win it all.
The Tioga Tigers are just the second team in Class D history to win back-to-back-to-back state championships in football after a dominant offensive showing against Stillwater to win the Class D state title.
The Binghamton Black Bears scored three times in the third period to get their 10th regulation win of the season, 6-4 over the Elmira River Sharks.
Newfield and Chenango Valley squared off in the first round of the Johnson City tournament on Friday night.
In the Charlie Sibley Memorial Tournament at Owego, Elmira and Maine-Endwell battled in the opener.
The Maine-Endwell Spartans have not lost a football game since October 2021, and they don’t want to start now. As the team is just one win away from winning their third-straight New York State title.
The Waverly Wolverines are on the precipice of something that no football team from Waverly has ever done before: become New York state champions. All they need to do to get there is take down top-ranked Fonda-Fultonville.
In 2021 and 2022, the Tioga Tigers football team went undefeated to win the Class D state title. And they look poised to do it again, as the team is just one win away from their third undefeated state championship run in three years.
The Binghamton University athletic department just announced that Binghamton and Le Moyne will start a new tradition with the creation of the “Battle for the Interstate” rivalry between the two schools.
In the first game of the season-opening Johnson City tournament, the Wildcats girls basketball team took on the Union Springs Wolves.
Best known for his versatility, Wendle has played five defensive positions throughout an eight-year career, spending most of his time at second base, third, and shortstop.
Chenango Forks opened up the boys’ basketball season against the Sidney Warriors.
The Cornell Big Red girls’ basketball team eked out a 58-57 win over the Binghamton Bearcats on Wednesday night thanks to some timely free throws from Azareya Kilgoe and a missed layup at the buzzer.
Check out the high school boys’ and girls’ basketball results from around the Southern Tier on Wednesday, November 29.
It came down to the wire, but Maine-Endwell is back in the Class B state championship game after edging out Monroe 29-24 on Saturday afternoon.
Kolsen Keathley scored three touchdowns to lead the Waverly Wolverines to their first ever New York state championship game after a 42-0 win over Salamanca in the Class C semifinal.
Senior Drew Macumber ran for four touchdowns as the Tioga Tigers are heading back to the Dome for the third-straight year after a dominant 63-16 win over Clymer/Sherman/Panama.
The Maine-Endwell Spartans, two-time defending state champs, are preparing for their third straight semifinal game in Class B, as they’ll take on Monroe on Saturday.
The Waverly Wolverines are just a win away from the Class C state championship game, which would be their first ever. But they have to get through the Salamanca Warriors first.
The Tioga Tigers are looking for their third-straight appearance in the state title game, but standing in their way are the Clymer Central/Sherman/Panama Wolfpack.
Nyschot has been solid in both the run and pass game, and that play is a big reason why M-E is an undefeated 11 and 0.
Brenden Stanko scored a hat-trick, helping the Binghamton Black Bears to a huge 6-2 win over the Danbury Hat Tricks.
The Class B state semifinals are a familiar place for the Maine-Endwell Spartans, and they’re heading back in 2023 after a huge win over Section 3′s Indian River.
The Waverly Wolverines are in the state semifinals for the first time since 2011 after dominating Adirondack 49-8 on Saturday afternoon.
The Tioga offense scored six touchdowns, and the defense scored two more, as the Tigers cruised to their sixth-straight New York State Class D Football Semifinal with a huge win over Section 3′s Dolgeville.
Whitesboro quarterback Kyle Meier scored four touchdowns on the ground, leading the Warriors to a 31-7 win over the Vestal Golden Bears on Friday night.
Four Binghamton Bearcats volleyball players team took home six America East Annual Awards, the conference announced Thursday afternoon.
If you ask the rest of the Golden Bears, leading the team is something that Schaffer has always excelled at.
Maine-Endwell infielder/pitcher Lauren Dundon made it official on Wednesday, signing her letter of intent to play softball for St. Bonaventure.
Vestal senior Cat Petteys signed her national letter of intent on Thursday afternoon, officially committing to play softball for the University of Connecticut, better known as UCONN.
Golden Bears field hockey player Kendall Brady has made her commitment to play for Holy Cross official on Thursday afternoon, by signing her NLI to join the Crusaders.
Evan Ashe led the way with 19 points, as the Binghamton Bearcats cruised to their first win of the 2023-2024 season, a 104-50 victory against the Keystone Giants.
The Vestal Golden Bears’ offense was working in the Class B State Championship game on Sunday afternoon, scoring four goals to snag their second-straight state title in field hockey.
For the third straight year, the Whitney Point Eagles are the Class C New York State Champions in field hockey after a 2-0 win over Section 8′s Carle Place in the championship game on Sunday.
The Maine-Endwell Spartans dropped 42 points in the first half of the Class B Section 4 Football championship to help themselves to a third-straight Section 4 title, taking down Owego 69-21.
In a rematch of last year’s Section 4 Class C championship, the Waverly Wolverines edged out the Chenango Forks Blue Devils thanks to a late touchdown and a safety to secure their second-straight championship.
The Tioga offense got going with 21 points in the first quarter and never looked back, rolling to a 55-7 victory in the Section 4 Class D championship game.
Vestal back Liam Nealy ran for three touchdowns, and QB Cam Schaffer tossed two more through the air as the Vestal Golden Bears put on an offensive show in a 40-14 win over Horseheads in the Section 4 Class A football championship on Friday night.
Freshman Kaylee Krysztof led the way with 15 points, but the Bearcats couldn’t keep up with Siena on Thursday night, suffering their first loss of the season 73-64.
Defending boys’ golf state champion Dante Bertoni has made it official, signing his letter of intent to St. Bonaventure University.
Two-time all-state selection Marisa Smith has officially signed her NLI to play women’s basketball for the Binghamton University Bearcats.
In high school football, it’s not uncommon to see a player who gets on the field for both offense and defense. But it is rarer to see someone do it as well as Delhi senior Tanner Bracchy.
The Binghamton Rumble Ponies announced Wednesday morning that longtime general manager John “JB” Bayne has stepped down from the GM position effective immediately.
This Bearcats team looks a little different from last year, with departures from a couple key players.
The Binghamton women's basketball team heads into 2023-2024 with a ton of returning talent on the roster.
The Maine-Endwell Spartans came out firing in the Section 4 Class B semifinal game against Norwich, scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter to go up 21-0.
The one-seed Tioga scored 35 points in the first half on their way to a huge win over the Walton Warriors on Saturday in the Section 4 Class D semifinals.
In the semifinal round of the Class D tournament, the Delhi Bulldogs rolled past Newark Valley 27-0 to earn a spot in next week’s title game.
