As 22-mile-per-hour winds swirled around Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium, and the wind-chill factor made it feel like 12 degrees, the Riverhead Blue Waves huddled inside their locker room preparing for the Division II county championship against West Islip.
A calm silence fell over the group. READ
Sometimes it’s easy for a championship team to forget how difficult it was to become a championship team. That’s one reason why repeat titles aren’t easy to come by.
But Mattituck High School boys golf coach Paul Ellwood didn’t need to tell his players that — their winning tradition aside — they couldn’t take things for granted in 2018.
And they didn’t. READ
The Mattituck girls volleyball team earned a trip to Glens Falls and the New York State Championship with a sweep of East Rockaway Sunday afternoon at Farmingdale State College. READ
Frank Massa, in his 32nd year as Mattituck High School’s girls volleyball coach, said he hasn’t made a decision on how much longer he will remain in coaching. What he does know is that he’s nearing the end of the road.
That’s just one reason a clearly delighted Massa rejoiced in Mattituck securing its sixth Long Island championship Sunday, earning the Tuckers a trip to Glens Falls for the state tournament that will be played next Saturday and Sunday. READ
Welcome to Sunken Meadow State Park, home to one of the most grueling cross-country courses in New York State. It’s a place known for breaking down runners and bringing up their times.
As described by DyeStat.com, the five-kilometer course starts with a flat 1,200 meters before the runners hit steep Snake Hill. Then they move on through a picnic area and take a half-mile climb to the base of notorious Cardiac Hill, which extends for some 200 meters of steep terrain.
“Snake kills your calves while Cardiac just kills you in general,” said Mattituck senior Christian Demchak. READ
The youngest runner on the Mattituck High School girls cross-country team just happens to be the fastest. It’s a little unusual, but it’s also a testament to Ava Vaccarella’s ability.
Personal records seem to be a weekly occurrence for the eighth-grader, so perhaps it was to be expected when Vaccarella ran her fastest time ever at Sunken Meadow State Park Saturday. The fact that she did so in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championships just made it that much sweeter. READ
More than a decade ago, visual artist Michael Dweck began photographing cars at Riverhead Raceway. READ
Payton Maddaloni, a junior in her fourth year on the Mattituck High School girls cross-country team, didn’t know eighth-grader Ava Vaccarella before this season. It didn’t take Maddaloni long, however, to understand how much of an impact the newcomer would have on the Tuckers. READ
Things had started off so easily for Mattituck that it was disarming when the Tuckers suddenly lost their game and were in danger of losing a match that had looked all but won.
That’s how it is with volleyball quite often, though. Without warning, momentum can shift from one side of the net to the other. Just how to win it back is the key. READ
The success of the first-year Mattituck/Southold/Greenport girls soccer team was validated by a Suffolk County Class B championship and a trip to the Long Island final. Then, just like that, MSG’s season was all over — gone with the wind. READ
