Mr. Zaleski played Santa for the fifth straight year with the hope of helping every student in need receive a gift during the holiday season. As a 31-year member of Riverhead’s highway department, Mr. Zaleski said he is happy to use his longtime municipal status as a platform to give back to those in need. He was reelected highway superintendent this November.

“It’s really a good thing,” Mr. Zaleski said. “And I’m very humbled, because every year it grows more and more.”

His son Ryan attended school in Riverhead, and Roanoke Avenue Elementary principal Thomas Payton left an indelible mark on Mr. Zaleski as an attentive school administrator. 

“Mr. Payton would literally wait for my son and walk him in to school every day,” Mr. Zaleski said. “So I never forgot something like that.”

The principal keeps a list of local children in need throughout Riverhead’s grade schools—including Aquebogue, Riley Avenue, Roanoke Avenue and Phillips Avenue—and helps distribute the toys throughout the district. 

“[They] make sure all of the children in need get something,” Mr. Zaleski said. 

Roanoke Avenue Elementary School assistant principal Andrea Lopez told the Riverhead News-Review the school is “extremely grateful” for Mr. Zaleski’s generosity. When dropping off toys Monday afternoon, Ms. Lopez couldn’t help but notice the big smile on Mr. Zaleski’s face.

“Receiving all of this for our families and our parents, it really makes their holiday,” she said. “It’s the most gracious thing that he could do. You know things are tight nowadays, and it lifts up the spirits of everybody and makes that bridge between our school and the community that much tighter.”

When collecting the toys, Mr. Zaleski asks that people donate a variety of toys for students in grades 1 through 4—dolls, trucks, board games, paint sets, you name it. This year, roughly 500 toys were donated by community members with the help of Riverhead Moose Lodge 1742, All Suffolk Car Clubs and Fink’s Country Farm.

The toy donation is accompanied by an annual 5K that Mr. Zaleski runs—something residents are likely familiar with from his years of running in town. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Zaleski ran a 5K to support healthcare workers and has run several others in support of local food banks since. 

Mr. Zaleski consistently goes above and beyond for his community, with over a decade of educational, interactive elementary school visits displaying highway department equipment like snow plows and dump trucks. His efforts earned him and the Riverhead Highway Department the Riverhead News-Review’s 2024 Public Servant of the Year award. 

“It’s just all ‘do good to feel good,’” Mr. Zaleski said of his efforts. “That’s basically my motto.”

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Long Ireland Beer Company, a fixture at 817 Pulaski St. since 2011, will be closing its doors on Dec. 31. 

The brewery’s owners announced the decision Saturday, Dec. 13 on social media, expressing sadness and thanking the beer-quaffing public for its support over the past 14 years.

“We have worked endlessly these past years trying to stay afloat, trying to provide a fun and welcoming atmosphere, trying to brew consistently good beer,” the post reads on Facebook. “Even with all of our hard work and dedication — we have come to the reality that it just isn’t enough.”

Suds-loving pals Dan Burke and Greg Martin began brewing beer together in their free time on March 1, 2009. They enjoyed it so much that they quit their day jobs in the heating and air conditioning business and spawned Long Ireland Beer Company two years later.

The pair said New Year’s Eve will be the brewery’s “final hurrah,” adding that they “plan to go out partying as only we can.” 

“Over the next couple of weeks we hope you’ll join us in the tasting room and help us say goodbye on a high note. We have a few fun events left, so if you’ve ever raised a pint with us, made a memory here, or felt like part of our extended beer-loving family — now’s the time to come by and see us,” the post reads.

The company publicly discussed its financial struggles in May, citing declining sales and rising expenses, saying it was difficult to survive and warning that its future was uncertain.

Last month, the company posted an update, saying the community responded and showed immense support. Nonetheless, it wasn’t enough to keep the doors open.

News of the closure prompted an emotional response on social media, drawing nearly 200 comments, many accompanied by crying-face emojis.

“This makes me so sad. We love Long Ireland and have come to feel very ‘at home’ there. We will miss you all so much. We wish you the best of everything going forward,” Ruth Taylor Driscoll wrote.

Irish Crossroads, an Irish gift shop in Sayville, thanked Long Ireland for being “such an important part of the Long Island Irish scene.”

“Pioneers on L.I. for sure, great beer, great vibes, great people! I’m so sorry this (is) the end, I had hoped for a different outcome. Thank you for years of support,” wrote Paul Leone, executive director of the New York State Brewers Association.

Others echoed the sentiment.

“A second family to me, and a second home to many,” wrote Stevie Czelatka. “Sorry to see this. Long live Long Ireland!”

The post Long Ireland Beer Company closing after 14 years in Riverhead appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

The town will hold its 2026 shotgun hunting lottery at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall to select which hunters can access town property during the state’s special firearms deer season in January, Riverhead officials announced Wednesday, Dec. 10.

The lottery is open only to Riverhead residents and property owners. Hunters must appear in person at the Town Board Room, 4 W. Second St., with a current New York State driver’s license and hunting license.

They must have a valid state hunting license, big game tag and landowner endorsement from the town while hunting on town property. The town does not require a separate town hunting license.

All paperwork will be completed on-site before the lottery begins.

Winners will hunt by lottery-assigned dates and times at designated areas within the Calverton Enterprise Park and at 1751 Sound Avenue in Calverton during the Jan. 4-31 season authorized by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, officials said.

The Town Board authorized the lottery and shotgun hunting on town property at its Dec. 2 meeting.

For more information, contact Karen Occhiogrosso in the town attorney’s office at 631-727-3200, ext. 651, or the town recreation department at ext. 737.

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Supervisor Tim Hubbard and his fellow Town Board members looked on with pride as the demolition at 127 East Main St. marked a milestone that has been in planning and discussion for nearly 30 years, the supervisor said.

“A project of this scale does not happen without strong partners and significant investment,” said Mr. Hubbard, who exits his role as supervisor at the end of the month. “These dollars are not only an investment in bricks and mortar, but in our downtown Riverhead’s long-term economic health and cultural life.”

Jerry Halpin, who takes over as supervisor next month after defeating Mr. Hubbard by just 37 votes, also lauded the project.

“From here, we’ll do everything we can to make sure that downtown has the best opportunity to be successful,” Mr. Halpin said. “Whether it’s someone who is currently here, or the new businesses that are coming in.”

New York Secretary of State Walter Mosley joined the ceremony, calling the development a model for community revitalization across the state.

The Riverhead Town Square project is the largest effort backed by the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative, which provides $10 million grants for community redevelopment.

“We’re now witnessing this community utilizing their DRI to build on its strength while also harnessing its history and its unique charm,” Mr. Mosley said. “They have taken a thoughtful and thorough look at how to carefully curate what the future of this land will look like come this spring.”

He noted that demolishing the 1950s-era building that most recently housed the popular Craft’D bar will open up downtown and create a new gathering space.

“It’s reconnecting this community with its history, its downtown and its waterfront,” Mr. Mosley said. “Because when you honor the past, you learn from the past. And when you learn from the past you are able to make room for innovative thinking and projects that will be transformative, turning a site into a destination that is great to live, work and play.”

Also attending the hour-long event were 1st District Legislator Catherine Stark, state Sen. Anthony Palumbo and Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio, who bundled up against temperatures hovering around 32 degrees on the brisk Peconic waterfront. Former Greenport Village mayor David Kapell was also recognized for pushing downtown revitalization efforts on the East End.

At the end of the countdown, Andy Williams’ Christmas classic “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” played as the luminaries watched the demolition crew begin razing the building.

“When you start to see machinery come in, pavements being torn up and buildings prepared to be torn down you’re actually starting to see what’s happening in real time,” Mr. Mosley said. “The plans you started out in meetings are now being put into action.”

J. Petrocelli Development Associates was tapped to develop a five-story, 78,000-square-foot mixed-use building with up to 80 Hilton Tapestry Collection hotel rooms and 12 condominium units, along with restaurant and retail space and 12 underground parking spots.

The project will also include landscaped green areas, an amphitheater, a children’s playground and pedestrian pathways linking Main Street to the waterfront, according to the town.

Riverhead won the competitive $10 million state grant in 2022 after applying every year since the program launched in 2016.

Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin announced Riverhead and the Village of Amityville as winners during a Zoom meeting with town officials, selecting them from among more than 90 applicants, the Riverhead News-Review previously reported.

The town had previously lost out to other Long Island communities including Westbury, Hicksville, Central Islip and Baldwin.

In addition to the $10 million DRI grant, Empire State Development has given $3.2 million to Riverhead in the last five years for the project through Restore New York and Pro-Housing Communities grants. Riverhead Town also secured a $24 million federal RAISE grant from transportation funding.

“It really is a ‘Hunger Games’ when you think about it,” Mr. Palumbo said as he applauded Gov. Kathy Hochul for bringing the state funds to Riverhead. “I think many people mistake the East End as a place where there’s tremendous wealth, that everyone’s from Hollywood, and those of us that live here realize that that’s not the case. To make this kind of investment in our community is really important.”

Riverhead officials cleared the way for the project in 2021 by tearing down deteriorating structures at 117 and 121 East Main St., located opposite The Suffolk. Removing those buildings opened up sight lines to the Peconic River.

This past September, the town used eminent domain to acquire the Craft’D space, paying the owner a $170,000 settlement. The town has also purchased several additional properties in the area over time.

Once the demolition is completed, Mr. Petrocelli said, subsurface testing and structural analysis of the area will take place before the hotel is built.

That process will begin in the spring and he expects the hotel to be fully completed by 2027.

“It takes generations to change a town; you’re not going to do it overnight,” Mr. Petrocelli said Friday. “Once we have another attraction, now our destination gets bigger and I think the hotel is about bringing people here.”

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“We haven’t had numbers like this since like 2019,” Mr. Benedetto said. “Now, there’s three to four guys competing for a varsity spot. The last few years, it was, if you fit the weight class, the spot was yours. You can’t breed competition until you have numbers.”

That competition and drive directly translated to results on Saturday, Dec. 6, at the Andrew Peers Memorial tournament at Walt Whitman High School. After a non-league match against Rocky Point on Friday, Dec. 5, didn’t go as well as they hoped, Riverhead dominated on Saturday.

“Great bounce back from Friday,” Benedetto said. “They wrestled through positions and wrestled to win. Need to keep the momentum going.”

The Blue Waves won the entire event, totaling 270 team points. The win featured five champions, including Jayden Glennerster (110-lbs), Kamel Coaxum (132), Luis Manuel Delacruz (150), Colby Baran (165) and William Stackevicius (190). Riverhead had nine total finalists.

“These kids are hungry,” Benedetto said. “They really want to do well. Before, maybe we had two or three guys that wanted to do well. Now the whole team wants it. They’re all pushing each other and it’s a great sight to see.”

Many wrestlers came back to the program after taking time off. Baran, who has mainly focused on golf, is back after taking a year off. Kevonte Newsom is back for his senior year after taking two years off. 

“I think part of it is seeing the success of all the other sports like basketball, softball and baseball,” Benedetto said. “Once kids see that attention, they want it too. Wrestling is one of those only sports that you can shine on an individual stage. Winning in wrestling is unmatched.”

Another major part of the wrestling resurgence, Benedetto said, is the recruitment at the middle school level. There are talks of reviving the Riverhead kids’ wrestling program. 

“It’s a great effort by middle school coaches,” he said. “We have a ton of freshmen in the program. Joe Gianotti is relentless at Pulaski Street as a phys-ed teacher, just breaking kids down and not leaving them alone until they sign up to wrestle.”

The current struggles in wrestling at Riverhead are directly related to the numbers. It’s hard to argue otherwise. Riverhead has a rich history of wrestling, having produced eight all-state wrestlers and dozens of county champions over the years.  

“If we have to forfeit every other match because we don’t have someone at that weight class, it’s tough to win,” Benedetto said. “It’s tough to keep the kids motivated knowing we don’t have a chance every night. We’re ahead on the scoreboard and then we have to forfeit three weight classes, and all of a sudden we’re behind.”

Now there are wrestle-offs in practice constantly. Spots are decided by what’s shown in practice. Every weight class is earned. Two of the best wrestlers in the program, Zach Gevinski and Christopher Ramos, are in the same weight division.

“Those guys are going to make themselves better every day in practice,” Benedetto said. “Let them decide who is the better wrestler for that starting spot. It’s only making them better and our program better, seeing competition like that. There’s nothing wrong with Riverhead taking first and second in the county for a given weight class.”

With the numbers hopefully on the up-and-up for the years to come, Benedetto has one main focus this season. 

“Get everyone a few tough, hard-fought wins,” Benedetto said. “Once they realize that the hard work translates to success, the sky is the limit. Wrestling is a slow, grinding progression. Winning a tough, 5-4 decision when the stakes are the highest is something everyone needs to feel. It’s a feeling that can’t be replicated. If we get them to feel like a few times, they’ll be chasing that feeling for the rest of their career.”

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Flash forward 24 years later and, effective Dec. 1, Ms. Edwards was officially named director of health, physical education and athletics at Riverhead Central Schools.

“When I saw the position open up, I knew I had to throw my hat in the ring,” Ms. Edwards said. “When you love athletics and you love education and you love being around kids, there’s no job better. It’s my dream job. And most importantly, Riverhead is home.”

After a lengthy interview process in the spring with Bob Hagen, Riverhead’s new superintendent of schools, and the board of education, seeing her phone ring with his name plastered on the screen this summer instantly brought mixed feelings.

“He started talking about how much of a great candidate I was and saying all these nice things about me,” Ms. Edwards said. “Listening to all this, I was waiting for the ‘but.’ I had already programmed myself to accept not getting the position that I didn’t realize, there was no ‘but.’ He just offered me the job.”

After graduating from Riverhead in 2001, Ms. Edwards starred for Springfield College in softball, playing catcher. She smacked 26 home runs in her collegiate career, which set a school record at the time. Following her playing career, she coached at the college level in the Boston area before coming back to Long Island.

“My whole family is here,” Ms. Edwards said. “Family always pulls you back, and that’s exactly what keeps me here today.”

Ms. Edwards accepted a position to coach Pierson in softball and field hockey. During her time there, the field hockey team won a New York State Championship for the first time in school history, and the softball team made it to the state championships three years in a row.

“It was a crazy time because once we started getting success in softball and field hockey, other teams started following suit,” she said. “Baseball started getting good, soccer, every sport wanted that taste of success. At that point, winning becomes the expectation, which is exactly the mentality I want to bring to Riverhead.”

In 2013, Ms. Edwards got an opportunity to head into the administrative field, accepting the assistant athletic director position at McGann-Mercy, a private school in Riverhead. That assistant tag didn’t last long as she fully took over the program shortly after. She held the position until the school closed its doors in 2018.

“While I was at Mercy, I realized this is the job I was meant to do,” Ms. Edwards said. “The opportunity to make an impact on kids across the board and give them a true chance at success was so fulfilling. I wanted nothing more than to do it again.”

She decided to go back to school and received her master’s degree in physical education from Adelphi University. Edwards then accepted a teaching job at Wantagh while being the assistant softball coach for a few years before most recently heading to East Hampton High School to coach their softball team. 

“No matter where I went, I always wanted to come back home,” Ms. Edwards said. “I live in Riverhead. I was born in Riverhead. This was always my end goal.”

When Hans Wiederkehr, Riverhead’s interim athletic director, first heard of the hiring and met Ms. Edwards, he knew instantly she was the right person for the job. 

“Energy,” Mr. Wiederkehr said. “If you don’t have energy in this position, you’re done. And if it’s not positive energy, it’s even worse. She has the energy, and she legitimately wants the best for Riverhead athletics. It’s not just talk. Nobody wants this more than her.”

Mr. Wiederkehr will stay on board to help with the transition and to build off of what’s been done already. The main focus has been on youth sports. In partnership with the booster clubs, youth sporting opportunities have skyrocketed in Riverhead.

There’s football, soccer, basketball, lacrosse — anything youth-related, it’s been started. Most recently, there’s been an emphasis on kid wrestling taking root again.

“Our buildings are full with kids’ sports every day of the week,” Mr. Wiederkehr said, showing off a detailed sheet on his desk. “Parents have stepped up. There’s many volunteers that are committed to turning things around, and both of us are committed to helping do that.”

Another thing Ms. Edwards plans on tackling is the playing fields. 

“We want to make this place pristine and top-notch like our athletes deserve here,” she said. “We’re working hard with the grounds crew to clean this place up. Every day, we have a new project.”

To Ms. Edwards, the budget cuts excuse is gone. There are no more excuses. Riverhead will succeed.

“The fact of the matter is I care,” she said. “This is my home. I know all these long-time Riverhead families. I want the best for this town, and I believe in this town. Riverhead athletics is changing. We’re already seeing major progress. All I want to do is foster that success and make it an expectation.”

The post Riverhead hires Melissa Edwards as its new athletic director appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

The celebration on Saturday, Dec. 6, also featured the school’s annual wreath sale, the lighting of its giant wreath and hot cocoa.

“It’s the start of the holiday season,” said principal Thomas Payton. “This is a magical time of year, particularly for elementary kids, and this kicks it off.”

The annual wreath sale has been a staple for the school since 2011, a year after Mr. Payton became principal. The sale acts as a fundraiser for the school’s PTO, with all of the money going back toward helping the students. 

The school’s fourth-grade singers showed off their voices, belting out three holiday tunes, led by Lily Kutner, the school’s music teacher. Following the special concert, parents joined their kids and looked up to the window above the main entrance, counting down from 10. At the end of the countdown, the window was illuminated by the school’s giant wreath, lit up with multicolored lights.

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Karla and Carlos Vasquez were all smiles at their school’s holiday celebration. (Credit: Brendan Carpenter) Madison Grigg and Amethyst Marshall braved the cold weather to celebrate with their friends. (Credit: Brendan Carpenter) Principal Thomas Payton thanked families for coming out to continue the annual tradition. (Credit: Brendan Carpenter) Music teacher Lily Kutner led the fourth-grade singers. (Credit: Brendan Carpenter) For the first time, the Riverhead Fire Department helped light up a Christmas tree for the school. (Credit: Brendan Carpenter) PTO members Cleydi Amaya, Melissa Mapes, Lindsay Raynor and Karma Marshall helped put together the festive event. (Credit: Brendan Carpenter

Mr. Payton said the wreath was originally donated by a former student’s parent. They asked if they could hang it up, and it turned into a beloved holiday tradition. 

This year’s celebration featured for the first time the help of Riverhead Fire Department, which is located directly across the street. Students, parents and administrators were happy with the surprise addition, taking pictures in front of the tree.

Families also took photos next to a blow-up Frosty the Snowman. 

After the festivities were over, everyone lined up for hot cocoa and chocolate chip cookies from the PTO, warming up holiday-style on a chilly winter night.

“We have the wreath that will be lit through the holiday season. Now, a tree, for the first time, is going to be lit through the holiday season,” said Mr. Payton. “I think that this signifies the holiday season for our students.”

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Andrew Mitchell, PBMC’s former chairman and CEO, still vividly remembers those nights.

“There are many patients today who’ve gone through heart attacks and been brought to the hospital,” Mr. Mitchell said. “They’re alive today because of what Stanley did.”

Early years and the path to medicine

Growing up in Cape Town, South Africa, medicine wasn’t something Dr. Katz ever imagined for himself. He recently celebrated his 79th birthday, but still recalls wanting to be what many boys dreamed of: a professional soccer player.

“Medicine was the last thing on my mind, because I would get queasy in biology class and passed out at my cousin’s bris,” the silver-haired surgeon recalled in a sit-down with the Riverhead News-Review. “But then I desperately wanted to get out of South Africa. It was, at the time, Apartheid era.”

Many of his friends were taking the medicine route for the same reason — a path out of the country. One was already in a program, and when Dr. Katz tagged along to observe a lab, he surprised himself. He didn’t pass out. That realization nudged him toward medicine.

After graduating from the University of Cape Town and interning in Israel, Dr. Katz came to the United States at 26. He spent his 20s and 30s training at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx. He then directed the cath lab at what’s now NYU Langone Hospital in Mineola for nine years before being recruited in 1991 to North Shore University Hospital as chief of cardiology — a position he held for 26 years.

When Dr. Katz started at North Shore in 1991, the hospital was performing 100 stent procedures a year. A decade later, that number had grown to 3,000.

A pilot’s mindset

Outside the operating room, Dr. Katz has another passion: flying. For years, he has piloted a multicolored, four-seat Cirrus out of Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach, a hobby he picked up in his 50s.

He sees a familiar rhythm between the cockpit and the cath lab.

“When I’m doing a procedure, I’m looking at the monitor, but I’m also looking at the EKG and the blood pressure, and I’m listening to the patient’s respiration,” he said. “It’s the same with aviation. You have to be multitasking and monitoring many different parameters all at the same time. There’s a certain risk-taking with flying and the same with interventional cardiology.”

For him, it’s not the thrill but the problem-solving discipline that connects the two.

Coming to the North Fork

In 2016, on the verge of turning 70, Dr. Katz was told the hospital where he worked wanted to move toward younger leadership. Around the same time, PBMC was in talks to join the Northwell system. He knew Mr. Mitchell, who hoped the merger would bring the hospital its first cardiac catheterization lab.

The two spoke, and Dr. Katz expressed interest in coming out himself to help make that a reality. They had dinner, discussed the opportunity and Dr. Katz was hired that year.

“I think what he really set out to do, and what he accomplished, is … establish a standard of care that the people on the East End of Long Island deserved,” said Mr. Mitchell, who retired as CEO in 2022 and has since helped raise millions of dollars for the hospital.

The cath lab first opened in an interim operating room on the second floor in 2017, before plans began taking shape for the permanent home of the program: the Kanas Regional Heart Center.

Mr. Mitchell still recalls watching Dr. Katz sit overnight with patients, just as he had done decades earlier — a hallmark of his approach.

“One of the things that I believe really makes a difference in the care of the patient is if they have some kind of medical advocate, because they don’t know enough to ask the right questions,” Dr. Katz said. “So when I take care of a patient, I act as their advocate. I spend time going over everything with them so that I earn their trust.”

Building programs and raising standards

Once the program got going, it grew quickly and gained credibility. In 2023, PBMC’s cath lab was ranked as one of the top 100 labs in the country — out of more than 1,700 nationwide.

Since Dr. Katz came aboard, the hospital has also built a credible electrophysiology program — putting in pacemakers and defibrillators — and expanded its interventional cardiology capabilities. PBMC became a level three trauma center in 2017, and its next goal is becoming thrombectomy-capable for strokes.

Looking ahead, Dr. Katz would like to see PBMC become a tertiary hospital, where heart surgeons can perform open-heart procedures. That would eliminate the need to transfer patients west of the medical center.

Mentorship and legacy

PBMC president Amy Loeb, who succeeded Mr. Mitchell, credits much of the hospital’s cardiac program growth to Dr. Katz’s influence. She said he commands deep respect, and that it’s clear from speaking with him how patient-centered he is. She describes him as an extraordinary individual.

Alongside his clinical work, Dr. Katz has made it a priority to mentor the young doctors who work beside him.

“One of Dr. Katz’s famous sayings that I love is, ‘Just say yes,'” Ms. Loeb said. “What he has taught those coming behind him is to have that mentality that you must figure out how to find a ‘yes’ for patients. He’s probably trained more interventional cardiologists on this island than anyone else. His fingerprints are literally all over this island and country.”

The post How Dr. Stanley Katz transformed cardiac care on the North Fork appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

Officials invited the public to “witness Riverhead history” at the groundbreaking ceremony at noon at 127 E. Main St.

This announcement comes four months after J. Petrocelli Development Associates was named the master developer by the Riverhead Town Board to construct the $32.6 million Town Square project.

“This has been a long time coming. It’s very exciting,” Mr. Hubbard said during the morning work session.

The plans include a five-story, 78,000-square-foot mixed-used building with up to 76 hotel rooms and 12 condominium units, along with restaurant and retail space and 12 underground parking stalls.

The town purchased three East Main Street properties for $2.65 million in a non-competitive sale over the summer.

It demolished buildings at 117 and 121 East Main St. in 2022, then acquired the former Craft’D eatery space at 127 E. Main St. through eminent domain after the owner accepted a $170,000 settlement offer in September.

The ceremony was originally scheduled for October but was postponed while town officials waited to confirm with the governor’s office on who could attend.

“We have all the dignitaries from the state, the county and different organizations that have funded this project will be present along with elected officials,” Mr. Hubbard said.

The post Riverhead Town Square groundbreaking set for Dec. 12 appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

It was a tremendous turnaround for the program, but entering into a new season, Riverhead is looking to build on that success and prevent a year-two hangover.

“The main thing is, I need the kids to understand that it’s a new season,” Fabian said. “Just because we had success last year doesn’t mean we are obligated to have the same success this year. We still have to have the same mentality of playing hard for the whole 32 minutes, every game.”

This year presents a major hole in the lineup. Riverhead lost two of its stars to graduation in Liam Lennon and Deshawn Watkins. Lennon was the team captain and voice of the team. He provided size, heart and hustle. He led by example. Watkins was a threat to score every time he stepped on the court. He averaged 16.1 points per game and scored as many as 41 points on one occasion.

“Those are big shoes to fill,” Fabian said. “Those guys were leaders on our team. We have a lot of talent returning, and everyone is going to have to chip in to have success. We need our top guys to be the leaders this year.”

Three starters return to the unit from last year. Peter Lagnena is entering his final year as a Blue Wave and in scrimmages thus far has been lighting up the net from deep. The shooting guard averaged around 12 points per game last year and is going to be stepping into a major role this season.

“We’re doing our best to put the best product on the floor,” Lagnena said. “We’ve all been working hard all off-season, trying to get better and blend together as a team. We’re truly a family on and off the court.”

Anaiis Mitchell, who has been the facilitator at the point guard spot since his freshman year, will need to take on the scoring load in his junior season. He’s shown flashes of his ability to get inside and finish strong at the rim — occasionally throwing down dunks in transition. He scored as many as 21 in a game last season. 

“I’ve always been a pass-first point guard,” Mitchell said. “I love to get everybody involved in the offense. But losing two of our big scorers, we all need to get more aggressive, including myself. I think we got a lot of great players this year and can find the same success if we believe in ourselves.”

In the off-season leagues, Landon Zaleski stepped up as a major contributor in the scoring column. He routinely scored 20 points a game by hitting outside jumpers and finding his way into the paint. A junior this year, Zaleski will be a major part of this offense and defense. 

Two transfers headline this year’s team. Josiah Rodney, who previously played at Riverhead before transferring to Southampton last year, is back this year. In his senior season, he’ll be able to score with the best of them and provide that key player inside for crucial rebounds. Arnezz Rountree, a guard from Bellport, will round out the starting five for Fabian. He’s got scoring ability, hustle and bounce.

“We definitely missed Josiah last year, so we’re thrilled he’s back with us,” Fabian said. “We expect him to be a major contributor. He can score off the ball and run the floor well. Arnezz is a flat-out true basketball player. He’s got a motor. He’s long. He’s lanky. He’s fast, and he works really hard.”

A major change this year has been the interest level in basketball in general. This year, the varsity team has 16 players and the JV team has 18. 

“The buzz is back in school,” Lagnena said. “People want to be on a winning team. I think last year showed what we can do and more want to be a part of it.”

Fabian couldn’t go deep in his bench last year and had to rely on the starters to play big minutes. In big games, the starting five would stay out the entire 32 minutes, barring foul trouble. By the end of the game, legs were gone, but they pushed through.

“We truly have depth now,” Fabian said. “I don’t mind going 9 or 10 deep in a game now. It’s going to be a massive difference in our ability to finish games. I have confidence in all the guys on the team.”

Also expected to be major contributors who played big minutes last year are Jack Bartolo and Sentrell Hires. The rotation is still being worked out, but everybody will have a role.

“Our job as returners is to make everyone feel comfortable,” Mitchell said. “The faster we can get a feel for what everyone’s role is going to be, the faster we’ll be able to find success. We did a great job this off-season figuring out what we have. Now we just need to put it all together.”

Riverhead opens its season on Thursday, Dec. 4, in a non-league home game against Ward Melville at 4:30 p.m.

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