Sports

Times/Review marks 25 years of awards

Times/Review Newspapers celebrated a silver anniversary of sorts on Friday when the company presented its annual athlete of the year awards for the 25th straight year. Among those honored were several multiple winners of the award, which is presented to the top female and male athletes in the 10 high schools in Times/Review’s coverage area for the 2009-10 school year.

Riverhead High School senior Katie Skinner (cross-country, winter track, track and field), Greenport High School senior Sarah Golden (soccer) and Mattituck High School senior Emily Ianno (soccer, basketball, track and field) received the award for the second straight year. Bishop McGann-Mercy High School senior Kristin Bieber (basketball, softball) won the honor for the second time in three years.

The other award winners are: Greenport’s Sean Heaney (wrestling), Longwood’s Jordyn Holt (soccer, winter track, track and field) and Thomas Scala (football, winter track, baseball), Mattituck’s Nick Cosgrove (football, lacrosse), McGann-Mercy’s Bradly Frabizio (football, soccer, track and field), Miller Place’s Kaitlin O’Connor (field hockey, basketball, softball) and Nick Parella (soccer, basketball, lacrosse), Mount Sinai’s Janet Mellor (cross-country, winter track, track and field) and Tyler Badamo (baseball), Riverhead’s Mike Smith (football, winter track, track and field), Rocky Point’s Kara Mupo (soccer, winter track, lacrosse) and Stephen Dutton (wrestling), Shoreham-Wading River’s Kaitlyn Brosco (field hockey, lacrosse) and Ryan McAlary (football, basketball, baseball) and Southold’s Nicole Van Bourgondien (soccer) and Kevin Parma (soccer, basketball, tennis).

The athletes were recognized during a reception at Times/Review Newspapers’ headquarters in Mattituck on Friday. With these latest inductions, The Suffolk Times has made 136 selections, The Riverhead News-Review 102, and the North Shore Sun has added another 68 names to the honor roll.

The following are profiles of local athletes of the year:

SARAH GOLDEN

Greenport High School

The statistics that Sarah Golden put up during the last soccer season were like video-game numbers. They are unreal. Almost too good to be true.

In 2009 the senior forward produced 33 goals, ranking her second on Long Island. She led Long Island with 20 assists.

“The amount of goals and the amount of assists that she scored is not something that I expected,” said Kevin McGoey, who was in his first year as Southold/Greenport’s coach. “She played absolutely wonderfully. She came into preseason with the idea that she was going to score a lot of goals, and she kept that goal in mind throughout the season.”

No wonder awards came pouring in to her after the season. Golden made the all-state second team and was selected the League VII most valuable player.

Over the course of her three-year varsity career with the Clippers, she accumulated 57 goals and 39 assists. She would have undoubtedly had more, but she chose to play field hockey instead of soccer her freshman year.

Off the field, Golden is quiet, but on the field she is a study in intensity.

“Her intensity, the minute she steps on the field is just incredible,” McGoey said. “When she’s on the field, she makes her presence known, whether it’s in a game or in practice. From the second she steps on the field, she’s giving it 110 percent, and she never lets up.”

Referring to the club teams Golden has played for, Greenport Athletic Director Robbie Costantini said she is “incredibly dedicated and wanting to excel.” He said, “When it came to soccer, she had goals in mind.”

Golden, whose older sister Jessica was an athlete of the year for 2007-8, will play for Farmingdale State.

SEAN HEANEY

Greenport High School

When it comes to toughness, Sean Heaney has it — mentally and physically.

That toughness undoubtedly contributed to Heaney’s remarkable senior season with the Mattituck/Greenport wrestling team. He was a Division II county champion at 189 pounds, and received the team’s award for its most outstanding wrestler.

Dominating opponents with his calm, business-like approach, Heaney entered the state tournament with a 32-0 record, and finished the season with a 34-2 record. He won all the tournaments he entered last season, except for the state tournament.

“He was pretty dominating all season,” Tuckers Coach Cory Dolson said. “He’s just a really tough kid. He’s not going to let anyone push him around out there.”

Heaney won his second Section XI championship in four years with a 6-0 defeat of Port Jefferson’s John Proios in the final. In his first three matches in the county tournament, Heaney won on pins that consumed all of 1 minute 53 seconds.

After losing in the quarterfinals of the state tournament, Heaney lost his second bout in the wrestlebacks on a rare defensive pin by Warsaw senior Zak Griffith at 1:58 of the match.

“Probably the most controversial match I’ve ever been a part of,” Dolson said. “Obviously, that last loss is going to sting. It’s not going to go away.”

Heaney, who sometimes went up against opponents 30 pounds heavier than him, fell one win shy of all-state recognition. Over the course of four varsity seasons in which he was a fixture in the lineup, he compiled a staggering 114-32 record. Dolson ranks him up with Louis Troisi and Ryan Connell as among the best wrestlers he has coached.

“You wish you had 30 guys who had that mentality,” said Dolson.

Heaney will attend Buffalo State, which does not have a wrestling team.

EMILY IANNO

Mattituck High School

Defined almost as much by her competitiveness and hustle as for her athleticism, Emily Ianno has made her mark on the soccer, basketball and track and field teams she competed on.

For the track team, Ianno set a school record in the pentathlon with 2,656 points. Among the senior’s personal-best performances are 17.12 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, 4 feet 10 1/2 inches in the high jump, 15-9 1/2 in the long jump and 2:45.75 in the 800 meters.

Ianno competed in the pentathlon in the state championships. Despite being stricken with a stomach virus, she still earned 2,420 points, leaving her in 20th place. Earlier in the season, Ianno had finished first in the pentathlon in both the Suffolk Division III meet and the county individual championships.

“Emily’s an athlete that can do pretty much anything,” her track coach, Jean Mahoney, said. “She has a gift.”

Playing forward and sometimes midfielder for the soccer team, Ianno scored a team-leading 16 goals. She was an all-county selection and received the Bob Muir Award as the team MVP. She also had the hardest shot on the team, according to Coach Ed Barbante.

“She hated to lose,” Barbante said. “She was fearless. She was not afraid to go up against anybody. And she had very deceptive speed. Once she got in the open field, forget it, no girl was going to catch her.”

Ianno, who will attend LeMoyne College (N.Y.), was also a four-year starter for the basketball team. Her basketball coach, Steve Van Dood, called her one of the best rebounders he has ever coached. This past season, the all-league power forward averaged 10.2 rebounds as well as 9.1 points and 3.6 steals per game.

“She had a desire,” Van Dood said. “You could see that in her face when she played. She hated to lose. That type of desire doesn’t show up in the box score.”

“Emily, she sets the bar, the measure of what an athlete is,” Mattituck Athletic Director Greg Wormuth said. “She does not like to lose, that’s for sure.”

Van Dood said he will most remember Ianno for her reaction when his team posted a big win over Wyandanch last season and Ianno threw the ball up in the air as time expired. “I just remembered the elation in her face,” he said. “Then she went into dance mode. That look on her face was priceless.”

NICK COSGROVE

Mattituck High School

Jim Anderson, the former Greenport/Southold/Mattituck/Shelter Island football coach, has coached Nick Cosgrove for six years at various levels, and believes Cosgrove was a captain for each of those teams. “That [says] something right there,” said Anderson.

Cosgrove was a two-way starter for the Porters last season, playing tight end, linebacker and some fullback. He was also the team’s long snapper for kicks and punts. “He was a great long snapper,” Anderson said. “I don’t think he missed a snap.”

In recognition for his efforts, Cosgrove was named to the all-division second team, and he received the Porters’ Coach’s Award.

“He’s very quiet, but very tough,” Anderson said. “He’s got great hands. He’s one of the guys I’m going to miss.”

Cosgrove was an all-division attackman/middie and captain for the Mattituck/Greenport/Southold boys lacrosse team. As one of only four seniors on the young team, which was in its second varsity season, he rarely left the field. Cosgrove was valued as an all-around player who could shoot, pass and scoop up ground balls. He was so dedicated to his team that he often practiced after practices. He shared the team’s most valuable player award with Matt Miller.

“He was on the field 99 percent of the time,” Tuckers Coach Tim Corcoran said of Cosgrove. “He was a smart player. He really was just a pleasure. He was just a nice kid, always willing to work hard.”

Cosgrove has played for several club lacrosse teams. He will continue playing that sport next season for Mesa State College in Colorado.

NICOLE VAN BOURGONDIEN

Southold High School

The name Van Bourgondien is listed several times among the past athlete of the year winners. Betsy Van Bourgondien won this honor three times, and Kim Van Bourgondien won it the last two years. Now it’s time to make room for another Van Bourgondien: Nicole Van Bourgondien.

Nicole Van Bourgondien, the cousin of the other two Van Bourgondiens, brought skill and versatility to the soccer field that the Southold/Greenport Clippers put to good use. She could play as a midfielder or forward. If she was asked at times to drop back to play defense, no problem.

“She had a very strong season,” Southold/Greenport Coach Kevin McGoey said. “She was asked to play different roles with the team. She really had an all-around game that benefitted the team.”

A technical player with excellent skill, Van Bourgondien helped the Clippers’ ball-possession game. The senior was also a critical part of the offense, forming a wonderful partnership with Sarah Golden. Van Bourgondien recorded 21 goals and 18 assists last season. The all-county player’s assist total was the second-highest on Long Island.

“I knew she was a talented player, but I wasn’t sure of what to expect from her on the field, but she came in and worked hard every day, and her hard work paid off for her,” McGoey said. “She’s very technical. Her skills are excellent. She helped us keep possession of the ball; and she linked up well with Sarah Golden. She has a natural feel for the game.”

Southold Athletic Director Rich Triandafils said Van Bourgondien is an incredibly gifted player.

“She had a tremendous year with the girls soccer team,” he said. “I never saw a girl who could kick a ball as far as Nicole does … She’s someone who worked very hard at her sport, and it paid dividends.”

McGoey appreciated that Van Bourgondien accepted her responsibility as a leader on the field and as a role model off of it by volunteering to help run an after-school soccer club for elementary school students.

Van Bourgondien will play soccer next season for Philadelphia University.

KEVIN PARMA

Southold High School

Over the course of his 16 years with the Southold High School boys soccer team, Andrew Sadowski has coached some exceptional players. If Sadowski were to select an all-Sadowski team of the top 11 players he has coached, it would undoubtedly be an impressive side. While some positions might be open for debate, Sadowski knows one thing: Kevin Parma would be on the team. “He’s certainly right up at the top,” said Sadowski.

An all-state midfielder, Parma is a great soccer talent. After joining the varsity team for the playoffs his freshman year, Parma earned a starting position as a sophomore, and has remained in Southold’s lineup ever since.

The senior can smack in some spectacular goals, but he also loves to pass, and made teammates better with his unselfish play. He helped the First Settlers to three straight county finals, two of which they won.

“Through this all, his head never got filled with, ‘I’m so good’,” Sadowski said. The coach said teammates respected Parma. “They knew how good good he was,” Sadowski said, “but there was never a sense of arrogance.”

Hidden behind a humble exterior is a fierce competitor. “He’s extremely competitive in anything, whether it be ping-pong or badminton, but if he wins, you never hear about it,” said Sadowski.

That competitive nature served Parma well in other sports, too. He was an all-conference basketball player, averaging 14.6 points per game and knocking down 29 three-pointers. In tennis, he was an all-conference player as well. He and his first doubles partner, K. J. Metz, reached the third round of the Conference IV tournament. They finished with a 14-1 record.

“He’s just naturally talented,” Sadowski said. “It doesn’t matter what sport he plays, he’s just good.”

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