Mr. Gleason, 41, suffered a traumatic brain injury from a fall at his home near the Capitol-region school on Nov. 30 and died three days later at Albany Medical Center, according to a GoFundMe campaign.

The fundraiser for his wife, Jaclyn, and their three young kids — Kennedy, Penn, and Tate — has amassed $772,000 out of its $800,000 goal as of Tuesday.

Family, coaches, players and friends lined the hospital’s walls to pay their last respects during a solemn “Honor Walk” before the Wading River native passed away and his organs were donated, according to the GoFundMe page.

The news of the beloved coach’s death has rocked the Shoreham-Wading River school community, especially those involved in the district’s lacrosse program.

Mr. Gleason, a 2003 SWR graduate and stellar lacrosse defenseman, helped the Wildcats win their first state championship in 2002.

“Liam was an exceptional athlete, a champion, and more importantly, a remarkable person,” said Mike Taylor, SWR boys head lacrosse coach.

A community gathering and fundraiser, organized by the SWR Wildcat Athletic Club, is planned for Tuesday, Dec. 16, from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Baiting Hollow Golf Club, with all proceeds going to Mr. Gleason’s family.

In a social media tribute, his former SWR coach Tom Rotanz described Mr. Gleason as the “definition of a ‘players coach’ — never a screamer, never a critic.”

“Standing 6-foot-5 and over 240 pounds, he was a gentle giant, a man whose kindness filled every room he entered. You always walked away feeling better after spending time with him,” Mr. Rotanz wrote. “In my 38 years of coaching, only a handful of players ever made me think, ‘The world would be a better place if more people were like him.’ Liam was one of them.”

Mr. Taylor said in recent years, Mr. Gleason played a role in assisting several top Wildcat athletes, including Jack Erb, Sean Miller, William Miller, Ryan Wilson and George Greene, who plans to attend Siena University next fall.

Mr. Taylor said the SWR lacrosse alum continued to support the high school program, often helping players find opportunities at the next level. Mr. Gleason’s caring quality and desire to stay connected to the Shoreham-Wading River lacrosse community is what Mr. Taylor believes will “always be one of the defining pieces of his legacy.”

“Liam was proud of his roots, and he never forgot where he came from. What made him special was he didn’t just move forward in life, he reached back,” Mr. Taylor said. “He was one of our own, a coach who represented what it means to give back, and he will be remembered not just for the championships and accolades, but for the person he was, for how deeply he believed in others.”

While earning his bachelor’s degree in sociology at the University at Albany, Mr. Gleason played lacrosse under coach Scott Marr from 2004 to 2007. In his last year, the team won the America East Conference championship and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals.

He went on to become the associate head coach at Albany under Mr. Marr, where he helped guide the Great Danes to six straight NCCA Tournaments and a national semifinal appearance, before taking over as Siena’s head coach in 2018.

He led Siena to the MAAC title in May, qualifying the Saints for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 seasons. 

The team was scheduled to celebrate the achievement with a championship ring ceremony Friday, Dec. 5. Instead, a memorial mass was held Saturday at the Siena UHY Center.

To honor Mr. Gleason’s love for lacrosse, interested donors are asked to consider making memorial contribution to the Siena Men’s Lacrosse Coaching Discretionary Fund, 515 Loudon Road, Loudonville, NY 12211.

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With a proven leader in new head coach Dani Braga, the Wildcats have stormed to a 12-0 start in regular-season play — and show no signs of slowing down.

“I think these guys needed a strong voice,” Braga said. “The talent on this team is unmatched. We have the ability to play with anyone, but I felt like maybe the accountability was lacking. We quickly took care of that this season.”

Since that playoff loss, SWR hasn’t dropped a single match, including summer competition in the Town of Brookhaven league, where they won the championship.

“Nobody liked how our season ended last year,” midfielder Andrew Stiene said. “That’s probably one of our worst losses in the history of the soccer program here. Every one of us that returned vowed that wouldn’t happen again.”

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The Wildcats opened the season with five consecutive shutouts, outscoring their opponents, 19-0. 

As the competition stiffened, they continued to deliver. On Sept. 27, SWR faced perennial powerhouse Garden City in a non-league matchup. Garden City, the reigning Class AA state champion, entered the game having lost just twice in four years — but left with a rare defeat after Matt Thomsen converted a penalty kick late in the first half for a 1-0 SWR victory.

“It was a major win for the program,” Braga said. “But I told the boys it doesn’t mean anything really. We want a championship. There’s no time to celebrate. We have bigger goals to accomplish this season.”

The biggest test of the season came three days later against Kings Park — the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season. Feelings of revenge flowed through every player’s veins, vividly remembering the loss they suffered just a season ago.

“We all remember that like it was yesterday,” forward Zach Makarewicz said. “We wanted nothing more than to beat them and to prove that we were a better team this season.”

But early on it was a case of same-old, same-old. The Wildcats gave up two goals in the first half and were unable to find an answer — oftentimes hitting the post or sailing their shots past or over the net.

At halftime, Braga’s fiery speech echoed through the stadium. He encouraged the boys to play within themselves and make the right play. He screamed for effort, and he got it.

Makarewicz scored twice in the second half — the first goal off of a throw in that he nonchalantly tapped with his foot past the keeper and then later scored off a header following a free kick in the Kings Park zone. 

“We’ve been playing with each other since we were little kids,” Makarewicz said. “We all had trust in each other to get back in the game. I got my opportunities, and I took advantage of them.”

That was Makarewicz’s 14th and 15th goals of the season

“Makarewicz is that perfect blend of athlete and soccer player,” Braga said. “He can do things that a lot of people can’t just with his pure athleticism. His speed puts him in a position to make a play and his soccer IQ allows him to find the goals.”

The game went into the golden goal overtime. In the second ten minute period, Makarewicz rolled the ball over to Stiene, who found space and buried it in the corner of the net for the victory. Stiene ripped his shirt off in celebration and ran over to the student section to get embraced.

“Incredible moment for us,” Stiene said. “We fell behind, but nobody quit fighting. We all believed we could still win the game. I’m glad we found a way to win, but we don’t want this to be the highlight of our season. We want that championship.”

The team followed up its dramatic victory with a 7-0 rout at Sayville on Thursday, Oct. 4. Makarewicz netted a hat trick to give him 18 goals on the season, putting him second in Suffolk County.

With three games remaining on the schedule this season, the Wildcats are eyeing the Class A playoffs — and possibly the school’s first-ever state title.

“We are never going to look past the next game,” Braga said. “We’re never going to get too high or too low. To be a champion, you have to take it one game at a time. I’ve done it before as a coach, and I know what we need to do. As long as the boys buy in, which they have, the sky is the limit for this group.”

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“That was my brother’s team,” Baumeister said. “Going into this summer league, that was hanging over my head a little bit. I wanted to do what my brother did.”

It was the only time the Wildcats won the summer league since its inception. That team also made the playoffs when it rolled around to the winter to the actual school season. “That was probably one of the best teams I coached,” SWR head coach Kevin Culhane said. “But after seeing the progress we’ve made with this group, I would say this team could have a chance to be the best I ever coached in 30 years.”

Shoreham-Wading River crossed one goal off the list by upending Rocky Point, 45-29, on Aug. 8, at Sachem North High School to win the championship. They were without two of their best players as well, since both Max Boerum and James Cook were away on vacation.

“That shows the depth of this team,” Culhane said. “The fact that we can go and find ways to win a game without two of our leading scorers speaks volumes for the players we have on this team. They were able to get significant minutes in their absence and that bodes well for our future.”

The opening minutes of the game were tight. Defense reigned supreme and scoring buckets was an absolute premium. But as the half went on, the Wildcats started to extend their lead with steals and defensive ball pressure to open up the transition game.

Brandyn Bland was coming up with crucial rebounds and putbacks; Chris Menokou was nailing triples; Zach Makarewicz was impacting both sides of the ball; Tyler Lievre was running the fastbreak at ease; and Javon Wright was making plays in the paint. Before you knew it, the score became lopsided and Rocky Point couldn’t muster enough courage to make a proper comeback. 

Lievre, Bland and Menokou each scored eight points in the victory. Makarewicz and Wright added six points apiece.

“This is one of the goals we were working towards,” Lievre said. “We did a lot of learning last year and I think we’re ready to show everyone what Shoreham-Wading River is all about.”

The team finished 10-10 last year with a record of 5-9 in League 6, but this year brings new excitement for the Wildcats. Everyone is healthy, everything is meshing and a year does a lot for a team’s confidence.

The boys basketball team has never won a Suffolk County Section XI championship in its history. 

“I don’t want to jump the gun but I think this team has as good a chance as any that have walked through the doors at Shoreham-Wading River High School to put something on that boys basketball banner in the gym,” Baumeister said. “If we just keep working hard and taking it one step at a time, I know we will surprise teams once the school season starts. We always talked about winning a championship since we were kids. Now it’s time to go out and do it.”

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The new year wasn’t as kind to them, losing eight of their next 10 games to miss the playoffs. But with most of the team back this year, they’re trying to channel their beginning-of-the-season energy in the Town of Brookhaven Summer League.

“That was a really tough stretch for us last year,” SWR head coach Kevin Culhane said. “There’s no days off in our league with the amount of talent we have to play. If things aren’t clicking right, and we’re not playing our best ball, it’s hard to win those games.”

So far in the summer league, the Wildcats have shown more of that winning mentality. With everyone having another year of experience under their belt, the chemistry and talent among those on the roster has only elevated. Shoreham-Wading River has won both of their games by over 30 points, including Tuesday night’s 64-33 win over Port Jefferson at Albert G. Prodell Middle School in Shoreham.

“The kids played their butts off today,” Culhane said. “We’re finally at a point where we’re looking as good as we’ve ever seen as a team. We came up with steals and baskets in transition the entire game. We talked about getting ahead and staying ahead, so I’m happy we accomplished that today.”

The lead grew to 40 early in the second half before Port Jefferson started finding its range from the three point line to cut the deficit. The Wildcats, who were missing players due to other obligations, came into the game with only six players, forcing everyone to play big minutes in the hot gym.

“We did get sloppy at times though,” Culhane said. “I know the ball is wet, and I know we’re tired, but we need to play a mistake-free game from start to finish. That is what hurt us last year, and that’s what we need to correct and work on this summer. We need to finish with the same intensity as we started.”

James Cook, was more of a sixth man last year, has emerged as a true threat on the offensive side of the ball. Against Port Jefferson, he scored a game-high 22 points and almost outscored the Royals himself. He would have scored more if he didn’t get into foul trouble and foul out at the end of the game.

“Cook is a great player,” Culhane said. “We always knew he had it in him. He’s got the talent, he just needed to put it all together. We expect big things from him this year.”

Also playing major roles next year will be Max Boerum, Carter Baumeister, Tyler Lievre and Zach Makarewicz. Boerum scored 14 on Tuesday and both Baumeister and Lievre added 10. Makarewicz was among those missing. Those three combined for 10 steals that led to easy buckets at the other end. Lievre also brought down 10 rebounds and collected five assists.

“I feel like people underestimate what Baumeister does for this team,” Culhane said. “Maybe he doesn’t score the most points out of everyone, but he is the glue for us. He does all the dirty work for us. He’s diving after loose balls and consistently coming up with big plays for us. He’s a leader for us entering his senior year.”

With the 2-0 record in the “ACC” division for the Town of Brookhaven, the Wildcats will continue to ride the wave and try to replicate their efforts going forward to stay at the top. They’re back in action Thursday, July 10, against Rocky Point at Albert G. Prodell Middle School. First tip is scheduled for 8 p.m.

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Reigning state champion Gavin Mangano is at the forefront of that conversation having already won nearly every tournament he’s set foot in since he was a varsity wrestler. Last year, not only did he win the New York State championship but he also won the NHSCA High School Nationals, the most prestigious tournament in high school wrestling, later in the year. He’s won the Eastern States Classic title three years in a row, including this year in January.

But this year also brought new challenges. He stepped into a new weight division at 138 pounds. It’s hard to say it’s been much of a challenge to Mangano, though. He skated through the Suffolk County tournament, pinning every opponent along the way in 40 seconds or less. He’s posted an undefeated record this year and has lost only three times ever on a varsity stage — and that was before he even stepped into a high school hallway. The sophomore is poised to bring home another state championship.

“Mangano never leaves any question to who is the best wrestler on the mat,” Condon said. “He just dominates. Can’t say it any simpler than that. He is the best wrestler in the county and he’s continually proving he’s one of the best in nation.”

Shoreham-Wading River earned two other first-place medals back to back when Thomas Matias won at 101 pounds and Shane Cowan did the same at 108 pounds. 

Matias, who came in as the No. 2 seed in the tournament, ripped through the bracket and proved that he should have been seeded No. 1. After two pins to start out his bracket, he earned a technical fall (15-0) in the semifinal before shutting out Parker Menechino of Mt. Sinai, the No. 1 seed, 8-0 to hoist the trophy.

“We knew Matias had a shot to win it all,” Condon said. “He’s a very dedicated wrestler that’s committed to his craft. He’s put in his time to getting better every day and it showed on the mat.”

Cowan, who was one of Shoreham-Wading River’s 101-pound wrestlers last year, moved up to 108 and earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament. Cowan barely broke a sweat in the bracket, pinning every opponent in his way en route to the title.

“They both paid their dues,” Condon said. “They didn’t reach their goals in the tournament last year. It was a learning experience for them. Matias is a freshman and Cowan is an eighth-grader. They have the world ahead of them still.”

Rounding out the state-bound wrestlers was SWR’s 152-pounder Jacob Conti. Though he finished third in the tournament, the 152-pound weight division sent two wrestlers into the states and they hosted a “true second” match, where the second- and third-place wrestlers face off against each other. He pinned Chris Lotten of Port Jefferson in the third period to advance to states.

“Conti has had a great season so far; I believe he has gone 39-8 this year,” Condon said. “We knew he had it in him. He’s young as well but he’s made huge improvements year over year. We expect him to win every time he’s out there. He’s got that ability.”

With four representatives heading to Albany, Condon believes they can make some serious noise on the grand stage.

“I love that my whole team returns next year,” Condon said. “I have no seniors. But they have a chance now to wrestle with the best of the best in the state and get better. We have a lot of work to do in the lead-up. We want them all to place in Albany and build off what they did this year and bring it into next year. But I truly feel that we have a very good chance to do well up there, even with how young we are.”

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SWR’s head coach, Joe Condon, did everything he could to get them to this place. He flooded the schedule with tournaments and meets against some of the best schools in the state. With virtually a brand-new team from last year and without a single senior, the team soared to a 19-5 overall record, beating two teams ranked ahead of them in New York State.

So when the Wildcats eventually lost to John Glenn, 43-29, in the Suffolk County championship at Bay Shore High School Saturday, Condon went immediately to the officials’ table hoping his team might still earn a wildcard bid based on their solid season record.

“No chance for it,” Condon said immediately after meeting with the tournament officials. “The wildcard entry is a joke. It’s only based on how many returning all-county wrestlers you have coming back. But we’re ranked 7th in the state and John Glenn is ranked second. Out of the 16 teams making it, we won’t be one of them. We beat the fourth-ranked team in the state, so head-to-head wins apparently don’t matter. The state has to change the formula and, unfortunately, they haven’t looked into doing it.”

The Wildcats had no chance because they mostly have first-year varsity wrestlers this year — aside from reigning New York State champion Gavin Mangano — as most of last year’s starting lineup graduated. They didn’t have enough all-county wrestlers because most of them were on JV last year. The only way SWR could make it to states as a team was to beat John Glenn — and they fought to do it.

After losing to John Glenn, 46-19, during the regular season, Condon moved some wrestlers around, having a few guys compete at a higher weight class to give them a better chance at winning the overall match. Mangano, Thomas Matias and Shane Cowan were among those to move up a weight class. 

Mangano wrestled at 145-pounds and still won handily with a pin in the first period. Matias, at 108 pounds, defeated his opponent by technical fall, 18-1. Cowan had the job of going against all-state John Glenn wrestler Tommy Aiello and got pinned but went down fighting. 

“Any of these guys will do what is best for the team,” Condon said. “They’ll wrestle anyone and that’s why I have such a great group of kids. They want what’s best for the team.”

This match was much closer than the first time around and, had a few bouts gone the other way, the result could have been much different. One of the closest matches of the night featured SWR’s Jer’Shawn Coffey and John Glenn’s David Rafiq in the 190-pound division. The score was tied 1-1 until literally the final second in the third period before Rafiq earned a takedown and the victory. There was some controversy about whether he got the takedown in time but after officials discussed it, the result stood. 

“I’m super proud of this team,” Condon said. “We’re just scratching the surface of what we’re going to be. Most of the guys out there were freshman and sophomores. They’re battling it out on the big stage against seasoned varsity senior wrestlers. Yes, we’re disappointed that we lost but this entire team returns next year. We’re only going to get better.”

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The losing stretch started right after the new year began with losses against Islip, John Glenn, Mt. Sinai, Miller Place and now Kings Park – all teams within the division – to bring their league record to 3-6.  They haven’t scored more than 50 points since the new year, something that they did regularly during December when they won six games in a row.

“First thing is that we seem to be playing teams right after they had a bad or tough game and they step up against us as a rebound,” SWR head coach Kevin Culhane said. “Another thing is we just haven’t been in sync offensively. The teams are playing us much tougher defensively and we’re having trouble getting our offense going.”

Kings Park on Friday kept the pressure on defensively almost the entire game, forcing the Wildcats to speed up their offensive possessions, oftentimes resulting in turnovers. The inexperience level of the guards seemed to shine through, forcing possessions instead of running their regular offensive sets.

“We have a slow half court offense and Kings Park did a good job of taking that away from us,” Culhane said. “We tried to move faster and ended up forcing a shot instead of creating one through our plays.”

A lot of the disconnect has been a result of losing senior captain Jack McInnis to injury, who was seen on the sideline using crutches. 

“He was really the glue on the team,” Culhane said. “The guy who calms everyone down and takes control. We definitely miss him out on the court. He always made a huge impact.”

McInnis missing has forced other players to step up including freshman Tyler Lievre, sophomore Zach Makarewicz and junior James Cook, who each had strong moments in the game against Kings Park. Lievre scored six, Cook netted five and Makarewicz added two. To win, the team will need more from each of them.

Lievre has scored as many as 24 points in a game this season. Makarewicz scored 18 points two separate times. Cook scored 12 in a game early in the season. The team has capable secondary scorers, they just need to put it all together for the entire game.

Junior Max Boerum, who is an essential part of the offense, has scored as many as 18 in a game. Senior center Dylan McClelland has scored as many as 13 in a game. 

Many can score individually but can they score as a team? That’s what is going to be on the agenda as Shoreham-Wading River commences a 11-day layoff before they face Hampton Bays on Jan. 28. 

“We’re going to work on a lot of different things,” Culhane said. “We’ll tweak some stuff. I feel like our defense has been solid. We need better rebounding on the defensive boards and we need better cohesion on the offensive end. We need to win a few games out of the break and then it’ll be a battle the rest of the way to get into a playoff spot.

Playoffs or not, the Wildcats took a huge step forward this year after posting a 4-16 record last season. They currently own a 8-7 overall record. To make the playoffs, they’ll need to win four of the final five league games.

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“It was a good opportunity to see how we would fare with our guys that haven’t seen the court much in live game situations,” Culhane said. “I would have liked to play better today like we did in our other scrimmage. This was as bad as I’ve seen our guys. We just didn’t have it together today. The effort was good but the communication and intensity I felt we lacked.”

This season comes on the heels of some impressive off-season results that perhaps shine some light on potentially winning a bunch of games this year. In the Town of Brookhaven summer league, the Wildcats made it to the semifinals after a successful regular season. They also posted a winning record in the fall session, which is quite the contrast to the last few regular school seasons.

The SWR boys side hasn’t posted a winning record since the 2020-2021 season and last year was the worst of them all, as the Wildcats won just four of their 20 games. But this team, which features mostly younger players, has the makings of a winning nucleus. 

“It’s not going to be just one or two guys who dominate the ball this year,” Culhane said. “We have, I think, seven guys that can score and play great basketball for us. They have the ability to turn this thing around and step up and help us.”

One of those players is freshman point guard, Tyler Lievre. Though he’s young, he’s got the basketball IQ to help the team come up with baskets on the offensive side of the court. In the scrimmage against Smithtown Christian, he knocked down some shots and also found wide open players for easy layups. 

Dylan McClelland, who towers over almost every other player on the court, was on the receiving end of many of Lievre’s dishes. His ability to establish a post presence for the Wildcats is something they haven’t really had in recent years. Carter Baumeister is the heartbeat of the team and a force on both sides of the ball.

Wing play will be key for the Wildcats in the coming season. The ability to knock down shots from the outside changes the dynamic of any team. Max Boerum has shown promise and come up with big baskets from the outside more consistently than anyone else on the team. Jack McInnis, James Cook and Zach Makarewicz give the team that extra energy and can also score with the best of them. They’ll be rotated in and out as Culhane fine tunes the lineup.

“I think the biggest difference this year is that we actually have basketball players,” Culhane said. “We always have had athletes that also play basketball in the years past, though we could probably match anyone’s energy level. Getting shots to fall in the hole was another challenge.”

The top players this year haven’t played major minutes yet for varsity; while there will be some expected growing pains, the talent level is there to make the playoffs. It’s just about them buying into Culhane’s system and playing the way he wants them to play.

“The communication on the court is the biggest thing for us,” Culhane said. “I think the effort is there for the most part. I know this sounds simplistic but we just have to execute the offensive and defensive situations. They need to know each situation and how to react properly. We need better ball pressure and recognition of what the other team wants to do. And ultimately, offensively we need to run our plays flawlessly so we get those open shots.”

The Wildcats will play a few non-league games before opening up their league season Dec. 9 at Kings Park.

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Through their first three games this season, the Wildcats have posted a 3-0 record, scoring 16 goals while giving up only one. Energy and positivity are high and head coach Rob Marine-Mancuso is doing everything he can to keep his team on track from start to finish.

“I’m lucky to work with a hardworking bunch of guys,” Marine-Mancuso said. “It’s on them to not have that drop-off this year and keep the motivation running throughout the season. Even though we’ve had some early exits in the playoffs the last couple of years, it’s not like they haven’t been close games. We’ve just been on the wrong side of one-goal games.”

Last year, SWR dropped four of their last five games, including a 1-0 loss to Amityville in the playoffs. Though they were all by one goal, losing game after game dinged team morale and the Wildcats weren’t able to work themselves back out of that hole before the playoffs began. But that was last year. The players on this year’s team are committed to competing for a Suffolk County title.

“We have incredible firepower up front,” senior captain Patrick Morano said. “Any one of those guys can score us a goal on any given day. And our chemistry is on another level this year. Nobody is fighting with each other. We’re trying to put it all together and go far. Maybe even states.”

Goal scoring has been spread out pretty evenly through the first three games as Marine-Mancuso shuffles through his lineup, going deep down the bench and rotating players so they stay fresh. There’s not a lot of drop off from the starters to the backups.

Co-captain Samuel Sweet leads the team in points so far, with three goals and two assists. Sophomore Zach Makarewicz, who scored the second goal of the game against Bayport-Blue Point after catching up to a through ball down the right side, has tallied four goals in the first three games. Andrew Stiene has been busy setting up his teammates, assisting on four goals thus far. Tyler Nowaski, a junior, scored two against Bayport-Blue Point to up his total to three on the season.

“It’s great being so deep up front,” Marine-Mancuso said. “With the style of play we have, the ball kind of just finds the open person. There’s no room for selfishness in this offensive attack. Whoever finds the ball in front of the net is taking the shot. I feel comfortable with any of our guys to finish the opportunities.”

SWR’s varsity team rarely counts many underclassman but this year’s squad has five sophomores in Makarewicz, Evan Degroot, Owen Dubato, John Zoumas and Richard Cordano. Marine-Mancuso simply couldn’t keep them in JV. 

“They all had incredible seasons last year on JV and they deserve to be here,” the coach said. “If I didn’t see them getting significant minutes on the team I wouldn’t have brought them up. Having them on the team only pushes everyone else to work harder.”

So far, the overall group of players seems to be meshing well with their ability to communicate and pass the ball with ease throughout the field. 

“It’s our chemistry this year,” fullback Ryan Saville said. “We’re all on the same page trying to achieve the same goal. The more we can stay together as a team the more likely we’ll be playing some meaningful games at the end of the season.”

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Shoreham-Wading River Central School District

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