Oct. 14: Shoreham-Wading River 3, John Glenn 2

In a matchup of two major soccer programs in Suffolk County, Shoreham-Wading River escaped with a 3-2 victory in overtime to seal the league championship and a perfect 15-0 record so far this year. After John Glenn scored in the first half, Zach Makarewicz scored to answer before half. The Knights took the lead again in the second half before Matthew Thomsen nailed the equalizer. In the overtime period, it was Makarewicz again that buried the game-winner from a picture perfect pass from John Zoumas. The clear number one seed heading into the playoffs, the Wildcats will await their opponent.

Oct. 11: Central Islip 4, Riverhead 2

Riverhead is still looking for their first win of the season under new coach Nic DeZenzo. In the loss against Central Islip, Riverhead scored twice for the first time this season but Jeysson Maldonado stole the show netting a hat trick in the win. Riverhead (0-11) will travel to Newfield on Friday, Oct. 17, for a 4 p.m. game in hopes of that elusive first victory. 

Field Hockey

Oct. 14: Riverhead 1, North Babylon 0 

Riverhead kept their playoff hopes alive with an overtime thriller over North Babylon. After a scoreless regular time, Julianna Kramer found the goal unassisted in overtime to seal the victory for the Blue Waves. Casey Hubbard made eight saves in the victory. Riverhead (6-6) will travel to Walt Whitman (7-4) on Thursday, Oct. 16, in a game that may make or break their season. Game time is slated for 4:45 p.m.

Oct. 9: Bayport-Blue Point 4, Shoreham-Wading River 1

After starting out the regular season 6-0, Shoreham-Wading River has struggled of late, losing their last four of five matchups. Smithtown West (10-3), Eastport-South Manor (10-1), East Islip (9-2) and now Bayport-Blue Point (12-0) have landed the Wildcats in the loss column. Cate Leonard scored the lone goal for Shoreham-Wading River (7-4). That’s their first goal in three games. The Wildcats will try to right the ship on Friday, Oct. 17, against Greenport/Southold/Mattituck. 

Football

Oct. 11: Longwood 36, Riverhead 0

Riverhead’s tough year on the gridiron continues with a 36-0 loss to Longwood on Saturday. Don Nelson’s first year as Riverhead’s head coach hasn’t exactly gone according to plan. Longwood’s Kyon Sarwari led the team in the victory with 159 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. Riverhead (0-5) will host Patchogue-Medford (2-3) for homecoming this Saturday, Oct. 18, at 1:30 p.m.

Oct. 10: Miller Place 38, Shoreham-Wading River 14

After Shoreham-Wading River went into halftime leading 7-6, following a 14-yard touchdown pass from Noah Gregorek to George Greene, Miller Place took over in the second half. Miller Place’s Camryn Hardy took over the game running for 233 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Panthers to victory as they scored 32 points in the second half. Shoreham-Wading River (2-3) will travel to John Glenn (3-2) on Saturday, Oct. 18, for a 2 p.m. kick off.

Girls Soccer

Oct. 9: Islip 4, Shoreham-Wading River 3

Despite Mia Mangano’s hat trick, Islip got the better of Shoreham-Wading River in the battle of two Division III giants. The game needed overtime to decide it and it was Shea Lagiglia who found the back of the net for Islip to seal the winner. The Wildcats have already secured a playoff spot despite the loss and will finish out the regular season to determine their seeding. Shoreham-Wading River (8-2-2) will host Amityville on Saturday, Oct. 18, for a 10 a.m. game time.

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The high school held a ribbon cutting for the grand opening of the school store last Thursday. According to principal Frank Pugliese, the school store has been in the works for about six years and took around eight months to build.

“We had several different ideas in place,” he said. “We were going to go [with] kind of a mobile situation and, quickly through Renu [Contracting Services], this idea of building this free-standing structure came to light as something that we could do, and it very quickly materialized from there.”

The new school store was dubbed “The Den” by students through a poll. Currently the graphic design students are sketching out various ideas for a logo. Getting student input was paramount, said Tracy Von Eschen, the district’s director of special education and pupil personnel services.

“That was important to us, that as much as possible of this grand opening and all things were student driven,” she said.

The Den will function as an extension of the academic classroom during the school day and as a club during non-school hours, she added.

Michael VanDenburg of Renu Contracting Services donated $5,000 to help students kick off the store. 

The store will be run by students with disabilities participating in the school’s RISE work study program as well as mainstream students who will serve as peer partners. It will help students sharpen their vocational skills to be successful employees in the future, Ms. Von Eschen said. The store is a “safe haven” for the students to practice their skills, she added.

“They’re really working on functional academic skills and career development as part of their curriculum,” she said. “The store is going to give them a setting to take skills they learn in the classroom and generalize it into a real-world setting and then from here, learn how to take it from our school store really into the real world.”

There are currently over 12 students that will be contributing to the school store and cycling through other vocational learning opportunities.

“Some will work in more front-facing roles, others will be doing things a little bit more behind the scenes, but over time our goal is to have all of the students be able to be comfortable in all of those different facets,” Mr. Pugliese said.

The school store is open Tuesday through Thursday from 6:45 to 8 a.m. 

Currently the store offers breakfast snacks, Mr. Pugliese said. They hope to eventually be able to offer school spirit wear and school supplies.

District Superintendent Gerard Poole said this also helps spread school spirit.

“Having a school store and the colors and a place to gather, it’s not just the vocational aspects of it but it also brings some energy and vibrancy to the school, which is really important for the school day,” he said.

Mr. Poole also thanked teachers Cailtin Gould and Matthew Millheiser, who he said are going “above and beyond” and are going to be working with students to keep the school store operational.

“I thank them for their energy, the program is going to be successful and grow and become something more and more fantastic every year because of the teachers that are leading that,” he said.

Mr. Pugliese said the district is very grateful to be able to have these types of opportunities for their students. 

“This comes together because we have a district office administration, we have a Board of Education that are always so forward-thinking,” he said. “This was something that has gone through so many different permutations that when we saw the opportunity to enhance what already is a very strong program — the fact that everybody jumped on it and championed it, just speaks volumes to what we’re all able to do when everyone recognizes what’s in the best interest of kids.”

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Riverhead is coming off a tough year in League I with a record of 0-6. But with most of their starters returning, there’s some optimism coming into the season.

“We only graduated two seniors last year,” Riverhead head coach Jake Benedetto said. “So everyone’s back and they’re all pretty much juniors now.”

Though the Blue Waves roster numbers may be low compared to the other teams around League I, the talent level they have in house should allow them to compete with anyone. 

Zachary Gevinski, a freshman, comes into varsity as a very polished competitor. “He’s wrestled his whole life,” Benedetto said. “He’s a very accomplished wrestler and has won many tournaments over the years. He’s a freshman but it’s not a real freshman experience level.” Gevinski will wrestle at 101 pounds for the Blue Waves.

Benedetto expects a handful of his wrestlers to not only compete in the Suffolk County individual tournament after the league season but also place high. Some of those wrestlers are Christopher Ramos (116 pounds), Jared Knight (131), Macklin Jordan (131), John LaCorte (138), Brody Reister (138), Axel Lopez (145), William Stackevicius (152), Colby Baran (170), Kyle Cuevas (190), Everett Foster (215) and David Castillo (285.)

Many of the returning wrestlers attended Army Ranger Intensive Camp in West Point during the summer. The results were apparent.

“They live like a cadet,” Benedetto said. “They get woken up at 5 a.m. by a drill instructor and run up hills and wrestle three times a day. They dedicated a week of their summer to intensive training so we can only hope it’s going to pay off.”

As a freshman last year, Baran won two tournaments and placed in all the other ones as well. His potential impact this year has only grown. LaCorte battled some injuries last season and Benedetto expects him to bounce back and be a major contributor. Castillo is a transfer coming in from Southampton High School. The junior placed third in his weight class at the Suffolk County tournament last year.

“I just want to prove to the rest of the team that the culture we instill as coaches is working,” Benedetto said. “We put an offseason program together, we did a lift program, I teach how to diet the right way and sleep the right way and now we’re beginning to win. You have to teach the program from the bottom up so that when they’re seniors, the fruits of their labor is apparent.”

Knight is the team’s lone senior this year and his improvement from sophomore to senior year is what Benedetto wants the rest of the team to emulate. Knight only won two matches his sophomore season. 

“Knight did everything I ever asked of him,” Benedetto said. “Every camp, every club, every lift, and just listened and bought into the system that I preached. His junior season he got 17 wins and placed in every tournament. Our goal for him this year is 25 wins and All-League. That’s what I want every guy’s progression in here to be.”

Riverhead will open its league season Dec. 13 against Walt Whitman.

Shoreham-Wading River graduated seven members of last year’s team that finished second in League VII with a 3-1 record. But their two most accomplished wrestlers return to bolster a squad looking to win the league title and compete for some New York State individual championships.

Gavin Mangano, an eighth grader last year, won the Suffolk County tournament and made it all the way to the state finals in the 110-pound weight class. Mangano ultimately ended up losing by one point in the finals against Darren Florance, a junior hailing from BGAH high school upstate near Binghamton.

Mangano will wrestle in the 118-pound weight class this season and SWR head coach Joe Condon expects him to again compete for the state title. 

Chris Colon took fifth in the state tournament last year as a junior after winning the Suffolk County championship in his weight class. Colon, who will wrestle at 124 pounds, will be a force to be reckoned with entering his final season as a Wildcat.

“Those two are our two big guns this year,” Condon said. “They’re both very polished wrestlers and I don’t expect either of them to give up many points during the season and should be right back in the thick of things in the state tournament.”

Other wrestlers Condon expects a big impact from include Zack Wilson (215 pounds), Nate Spuhler (170), Frank Pizzi (152), Jacob Conti (145), Brady Kitchen (116), John O’Neil (131), Shane Hall (131), Gio Aliotta (138), Kevin Castro (160), Wes Hoden (285), Shane Cowen (101) and Thomas Mattias (101.)

Wilson and Spuhler each placed fourth in the county tournament last year. The duo are seniors this year and expect to make some noise when that tournament comes around again.

“We have a mix of a lot of experienced veterans but also a lot of new guys with some serious talent,” Condon said. “We’re the smallest school in League VII but we compete with the best of them.

“Being a young team we’re kind of taking a different approach to the beginning of this season,” the coach continued. “We’re doing a lot more teaching this year with the amount of young guys that are on the team. I am super happy with the progression of everyone and they’re buying into the program. You can tell that they’re really committed, and that’s the most important thing.”

Shoreham-Wading River will open their league season Dec. 13 against Bayport-Blue Point.

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RIVERHEAD

Voters approved the budget of $191,999,210, an increase of 13.1% over the previous budget. The measure passed by a margin of 1,333 to 769.

Four seats were available on the Riverhead Central School District’s Board of Education, with seven candidates competing. Incumbent Virginia Healy won a second term as a board member. She will serve alongside newcomers Erica Murphy, Cynthia Redmond and James Scudder, who will take over the seat vacated by Laurie Downs and begin his term as soon as the vote is certified. The other new board members will be sworn in July 1.

SHOREHAM WADING RIVER

Voters approved a budget of $84,794,360, a $1.7 million, or 2.16% increase from the previous budget. Three incumbents were reelected: Katie Andersen (546 votes); Michael Lewis (563 votes) and Henry Perez (529 votes).

GREENPORT

The Greenport Union Free School District budget of $23,709,875 passed by a vote of 381-129, an increase of 9.63% from the previous budget. Incumbent and board vice president Kirsten Droskoski beat challenger Amanda Clark by a vote of 268-240.

OYSTERPONDS

Oysterponds’ school budget passed by a vote of 117 to 10, and school board vice president Janice Caulfield and board member Jeffrey Demarest were reelected. The library budget passed, 112 to 15.

MATTITUCK-CUTCHOGUE

Mattituck-Cutchogue School District voters approved a budget of $44,016,344, an increase of 2.77% from last year’s budget, by a vote of 550 to 164. Proposition No. 2, which authorized the board to draw $4.3 million from the capital reserve fund for school roof repairs, passed 622 to 97. Patricia Arslanian and Lorraine Warren prevailed in the trustees’ race.

NEW SUFFOLK

New Suffolk voters approved a budget of $1,188,656, an increase of 8.2% from last year, by a 51 to 4 margin. Running uncontested, Brooke Dailey garnered 50 votes.

SOUTHOLD

The Southold Board of Education budget of $33,168,000, carrying a tax levy of 2.94%, passed by a vote of 449-87. Proposition No. 2, which will fund new school boilers, passed by a vote of 492 to 41. The library budget passed by a vote of 442 to 92. Scott Latham, Thomas Grattan Jr. and Brian Tobin won seats on the school board.

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