Sports

Sports Briefs

ROWING: Riverhead pair claims state title East End rowers claimed all three medals by grabbing first, second and third place in the boys junior double in the New York State Scholastic Rowing Championships that were held in Saratoga Springs on Saturday and Sunday. Winning the event was the Riverhead High School boat of Daniel O’Neill and Erik Divan. By winning the event, O’Neill and Divan qualified for the Scholastic Rowing National Championships later this month and the Youth National Rowing Championships in June. Finishing second with a determined sprint were Riverhead High School rowers Joe Conlon and Rowan Sment. Riverhead High School’s Hunter Bingham and Bishop McGann-Mercy Diocesan High School’s Alex Palmaccio, representing the East End Rowing Club, came in third, but received gold medals as the top team among rowing clubs.

In other events, Bishop McGann-Mercy Diocesan High School rowers Elizabeth Parillo and Kara Reese took silver medals in the girls scholastic junior double while their classmates, Lissette Garcia and Danielle Gehring, finished third in the scholastic lightweight girls double. Riverhead High School’s girls senior quadruple sculls boat finished fifth. The East End Rowing Club’s Travis Simon was a silver medalist in the boys single and Marisa Catalanotto finished fourth in the girls single.

RUNNING: Oysterponds 5K goes to Oehrlein William Oehrlein of East Northport won the eighth annual Oysterponds 5K Run on Saturday in Orient. Oehrlein, 46, clocked a winning time of 19 minutes 4.3 seconds. Kevin Barry of Shelter Island was the next finisher at 19:34.6, with Chris Wedge of Katonah taking third in 21:47.7.

Local runners — David Dickerson of Southold (22:53.7), Jacob Skrezec of Orient (23:06.8), Ed Kotula of Shelter Island (23:44.2) and George Fahrbach of Cutchogue (24:04.3) — took the next four places. They were followed by Jim Graziano of Centereach (24:11.9), Dennis Allmer of Yaphank (24:12.1) and Ryan Costello of Orient (24:17.3).

Claudia Ramone, 35, of Southold edged out Catherine Oehrlein of Northport by 2.7 seconds to win the women’s race. Ramone’s winning time was 24:35.6. Catherine Oehrlein was clocked at 24:38.3.

North Fork women claimed six of the next eight places. Michelle Rempe of Peconic (24:48.6) was third, Karen Murray of Southold (24:50.9) was fourth, Grace Williamson of Greenport (26:10.6) was fifth, Libby Koch of Orient (27:12.3) was sixth, Michele Chattaway of Orient (27:34.1) was seventh; Janine Grossman of Dix Hills (28:01.4) was eighth, Karen Crowley of New York City (28:11.8) was ninth and Keturah Green of Orient (29:03.2) was 10th.

After the race started at the Oysterponds School, the runners made their way along Main Road and continued through the village before finishing at a firehouse.

MARCH: Brown to speak at march Bernice Brown, a Riverhead Middle School cross-country and track and field coach, will be the keynote speaker for the Riverhead Community Awareness Program’s 26th annual “Say NO to Drugs March” that will be held in Riverhead on June 3.

Born and raised in Riverhead, Brown has worked for the Riverhead Central School District since 1981. The middle school principal, Andrea Pekar, called Brown “a mentor and a motivator to well over 100 middle school students each year.” She added, “We are lucky to have a Bernice Brown mentoring our young athletes in Riverhead.”

Brown said: “I may coach track and field, but I talk to my kids about social skills, reaching within themselves and treating others fairly. It’s not all about athletics; it’s how you get along with others. Everybody is someone, and no one is left out.”

The march will begin at 9:30 a.m. in front of Pulaski Street School, head south on Roanoke Avenue, then west on Second Street, returning to Pulaski Street School via Griffing and Hallett avenues.

SOCCER: A night of soccer fun Bishop McGann-Mercy Diocesan High School will host “Soccer Fun Night” for boys and girls in grades 5 through 12 on Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. The event, which will be free of charge and held under the lights of the school’s Harold T. Murray Memorial Field, will allow players to participate in drills, friendly competition and learn basic skills.
In addition, Pat Grecco, chairperson of the Long Island Junior Soccer League Scholarship Committee, and a college soccer coach will conduct a workshop on the college soccer recruiting and admissions process. This workshop will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the school library.