Cliff Utz Jr. remembers sitting in the back seat of a DeSoto as a 4-year-old on Dec. 7, 1941, when he first heard the news. The car was driving on a bridge over Hashamomuck Pond in Southold when a radio bulletin detailed the news of Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Mr. Utz was at too tender an age to fully appreciate what that meant. What was more telling to him was his father’s reaction. READ
Two poster-sized photos that are to be hung in the Mattituck High School wrestling room are a reminder of who Mattituck/Greenport/Southold no longer has. That is Jack and Luke Bokina, who last season became the first twins from Long Island to win state championships.
That’s a big hit, but it’s not the only one. READ
If it hasn’t happened already, former Mattituck/Southold high school girls lacrosse players will be bumping into each other as college teammates and/or opponents in the near future. Three Mattituck seniors have inked national letters of intent for NCAA Division I schools. That will raise the number of Tuckers to go on to play college lacrosse up to 11. READ
And now the post-Liz Dwyer era begins.
With its 45-26 loss to Carle Place in last year’s Long Island Class B final, the Mattituck High School girls basketball team bid farewell to Dwyer, their all-time leading scorer who graduated with 1,821 career points over five seasons.
But Mattituck has lost more than Dwyer. The Tuckers lost six players from last season’s 19-4 team to graduation and don’t return a single starter. READ
A basketball team sends five players out onto the court at a time, but needs more than five players to go far in the playoffs, if not even to just reach the postseason.
As far as its first five goes, Greenport may have as good a starting lineup as most high school boys basketball Class C teams in New York State. READ
It wasn’t until days after the fact when the thought finally occurred to Catherine Hayes. In all of her years playing soccer, she had never won a championship of any kind before. This was her first one.
Not a bad way to start, though, with a national championship. READ
The goal for any returning county runner-up wrestler would have to be the same: Take that next step up the podium. 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
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
