Wrestling match canceled

For the second straight year the Shoreham-Wading River-Rocky Point dual meet will not take place. Due to the snow that's currently falling and is expected to continue to fall all night, the match was called early Friday. No make up date is scheduled. The Eagles and Wildcats missed out on their dual meet last year as well when Rocky Point canceled for undisclosed reasons.

Mount Sinai cheerleaders place 2nd

The Mount Sinai junior varsity cheerleaders placed second at the Long Island Cheerleading Coaches Association competition Dec. 14 at Half Hollow Hills West High School. Sachem North placed first while Plainedge and Freeport took third and fourth. The Mustangs will have two more competitions in January before the Hauppauge finals in February.

Congratulations to the Mount Sinai girls.

Brosco, Andrews named All-Long Island

Shoreham senior Bobby Andrews was named Suffolk County's Runner of the Year in Newsday's annual fall awards. Andrews was also the Suffolk Runner of the Year as named by the coaches association. Andrews completed one of the finest individual cross country seasons in school history, culminating in a trip to Oregon for the Nike Nationals. Coach Bob Szymanski was named Coach of the Year.

Also named All-Long Island was Shoreham junior Kaitlyn Brosco in field hockey. On a team where multiple players could score, it was often Brosco in the big spot who delivered. She was at her best in the Wildcats' run to the Suffolk County championship. She scored three goals in the Wildcats' playoff opener, one in the semifinals, two in the small school championship and one against Garden City in the Long Island championship. It was only the second goal Garden City allowed at the point in the season. She finished the season with 20 goals.

In girls soccer Dianna Marinaro was named second team All-Long Island. Marinaro, a South Florida bound senior, was earlier named first team All-State.

In football Longwood senior Moses White was second team All-Long Island as a linebacker. And on another note with White, I just realized Tuesday when talking to coach Chris Meyer at a basketball game that White was still 16 during the season. As a senior. Crazy. At his age, he really shouldn't be graduating until 2010. Imagine the damage he would do next year if he had another full season. And even still, he wouldn't even be 18 yet.

A plunge into the warm, Hawaiian waters...

By Joe Werkmeister

They had hoped for a better sunset to glisten against the Pacific Ocean touching the sky. But when Amy Linnen and Morgan Hoesterey saw the results of a diving/photographic expedition, the results were more than they imagined.

Linnen, a Mount Sinai graduate who became one of the most accomplished high school and collegiate pole vaulters ever, was living in Hawaii last year during the heart of training for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. She and Hoesterey trained together and decided to take a day off one afternoon. Photography was a hobby of Hoesterey and she had just gotten a new wide-angle, "fish-eye" lens. For a test run, the two decided to explore an area called China Walls, which is located on the southern tip of Oahu, Hawaii and sits on Maunalua Bay, which flows into the Pacific. A secluded spot, China Walls is not the typical tourist destination. Just perfect for the adventurous duo.

As a pole vaulter, and earlier in life a gymnast before height became an issue, Linnen was well accustomed to flying through the air. But she does admit, "Diving is not something I'm good at."

Linnen's definition of "good" is clearly different than most people, judging by the images of her dives brilliantly captured by Hoesterey.

From a spot roughly 10 feet high on a rocky cliff, Linnen dove about 30 times into the bay, each time trying a different dive. The swan dive, where she really looks like she's flying, is her favorite. The back-flip also developed into a fan favorite.

"I liked being behind the camera and she didn't mind being in front of it," Linnen said.

Looking back, Linnen admits diving off a cliff probably wasn't the smartest idea considering she was in the middle of training. The hardest part, she said, was getting back up after hitting the water. "I had to wait to be patient," she said. "I had to wait for waves to roll by."

To get back up she had to climb a rock wall, which was covered in sea urchins — which have round, spiny shells — among other creatures.

"The first time I never thought I would get back up," she said. After the second and third tries she found foot and hand holds which she repeatedly used to repeat the process all over again.

"It's amazing what one can accomplish with the support of a friend and a positive outlook on life," she said.

 

Pushing the limits has always been Linnen's way. It's how she could clear 15 feet in the pole vault, one of the most challenging feats in sports. While fear holds most us back, it drives Linnen to the do the unimaginable.

"At first I had a little fear," she said of diving into water that was no more than 8-10 feet deep and even shallower at times. "You have to get over a fear when you do certain things."

The day after her diving exploits, Linnen said she arrived at practice more focused. Mental preparation can be as important as the physical for elite athletes. Linnen's ability to focus separates her from most athletes. Even on the golf range, she says, she's intently focused on being consistent.

As she stared out at the water that day, a scene of tranquility, her athletic instincts took over. Landing in water was different than landing on her feet, but the dives quickly shaped into form. A career in diving, perhaps? Maybe not, but had she begun diving at a younger age, perhaps that would have been the sport for which she trained at the highest level. Water is a natural home for Linnen, who's also an avid surfer. In her pole-vaulting training she often incorporated many water activities into her regimen, the kind of "activities" that make diving off a cliff seem mundane.

"It keeps my soul happy in a sense," Linnen said of her aquatic life.

Part of her training included rock running, which involved sprinting under water with the weight of a heavy rock held against her chest holding her on the sea's floor.

 

While her competitive pole-vaulting career is likely over after her Beijing Olympic bid came up short, Linnen's involvement with the sport is far from finished. In her competitive career she attended the University of Arizona and Kansas. Now she's back east at SUNY-Cortland where she's finishing a degree in physical education. She's also volunteers with the pole vaulters on the track team as an assistant coach.

"With everything I learned," she said, "now it's my time to pay it forward."

After the team's first meet at Cornell a few weeks ago, the pole vaulters all performed well, prompting positive feedback for Linnen.

"It made me smile," she said. "It was reassurance that this is what I was meant to do."

Linnen arrived back on Long Island this week for the holiday break. She'll spend two weeks of her break working at Westhampton Beach schools as part of her field observations requirement.

For the first time in a long time, school is Linnen's top priority right now. While she never neglected her academics, it always fell a short second behind her athletic goals. It's a new challenge now, one she readily looks forward to, to put her full effort toward academics. Her first semester at Cortland went really well, she said, giving school "110 percent of my time."

During break Linnen said Hoesterey plans a visit to Long Island to stay with her. Born in California, Hoesterey has spent the last 10 years in Hawaii and hasn't experienced surfing in the frigid Atlantic waters during winter. Linnen said she can't wait for Hoesterey, whom she described as like a sister, to stay with her. During their adventures they plan to film it, a sort-of mini documentary. She's already made several films, which are on YouTube. A disclaimer before one video fittingly says: "Adventures with Amy, while extremely entertaining, are potentially hazardous, and should not be attempted by the faint of heart of by the weak of stomach."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMe83I9nPj8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWu_l8vjxCU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X6n_V4iCK0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr8RHYEkHw8

Each day presents a new challenge for Linnen. She wouldn't have it any other way.

"If there's no guided path, if there's no goal in mind, I feel kind of lost," she said.

Riding a Wave into winter

The fall season officially came to an end last weekend with the football Long Island Championship games. While no teams from our area made the dance, I was kept busy covering Riverhead for our sister paper, The News-Review. Our sports editor there, Bob Liepa, had a vacation coming these weeks, so I was on double duty laying out the sports sections for The News-Review and our North Fork paper, The Suffolk Times. So if the Sun Sports section is a little thin these weeks, that's why. There's only so much one man can do...

Here's how we covered the Blue Waves' undefeated season and Miguel Maysonet's Hansen Award with the front and back page of the paper:

Having covered the county and L.I. championship games of Riverhead, I could really appreciate just how tough a team the Blue Waves were this year. They didn't have a weakness and we're clearly the top team on the Island this year. If you didn't see them play this year, you missed out.

Now that the winter season is here, we have a lot to look forward to. Wrestling will be huge again this year with Longwood and Rocky Point having two of the deepest teams on Long Island. Shoreham obviously returns two studs with Keith and Neidhart. Miller Place also returns Buonaiuto.

On the hoops scene Longwood boys will be a county title contender. The Lions are off to a hot start with wins against North Babylon and Rocky Point. The Lions nearly put 100 on the board against the Eagles (92). 14 players scored in the game, which is no fluke. The Lions are as deep as any team anywhere. It doesn't mean they're the best team, but on any given night, any one of 10 players could probably lead the team in points. I look forward to seeing them in action.