Luchsinger third in 'B' final

Mount Sinai graduate Tom Luchsinger was third in the 200 butterfly 'B' final Wednesday.


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Smit sets American record

Julia Smit won the 200 IM Tuesday night at the National Championship in Indianapolis in American record time. It was the fastest time in the world this year. The previous record was set by Katie Hoff at last year's Olympic Trials.

Smit will compete in Rome at the World Championships at the end of the month.

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LIVE: Girls Lax State Finals

Here we are again, the Class C state finals with the Shoreham-Wading River girls lacrosse team at SUNY Cortland. The 'Summer of 69' is blasting over the speakers as we get ready for the championship game. The Wildcats hope to add the 'Summer of '09' to '08 and '07 with title No. 3.

The Wildcats, after a very impressive 21-11 win against Carthage yesterday, will take on Honeoye Falls-Lima, 18-6 winners against Nyack. Honeoye Falls comes into the game with a 19-2 record and having not allowed more than 10 goals this season in any one game. Can the Wildcats do it today? The first draw is set for 9:30 a.m.

The key for the Wildcats will be a strong first half. If the Wildcats can take a lead into halftime, even if it's minimal like two goals yesterday, they've always shown a tendency to wear teams down over a game. So for Honeoye Falls (Section V) to have a chance, it'd be wise for them to take a lead into halftime and have the Wildcats chasing.

I'm led to believe Honeoye Falls is good at controlling possessions and not giving the opposition many scoring chances. No matter how good your defense is, if the other team has the ball enough, it will score. So to have not given up more than 10 goals this season means Honeoye Falls doesn't give the opposition a ton of chances.

The Wildcats were excellent on draws yesterday, especially in the second half which allowed them to build up the lead.

The leading scorer yesterday for Honeoye Falls was Lindsey Powell. She scored six goals with an assist. Jill Maier and Maggie Stankaitis both scored three. Amanda Willison had five assists.

.............................

Here's the starting lineups:

HF-L

Attack: Taylor Burgart, Nora Stambaugh, Maggie Stankaitis, Trisha Schunk

Middies: Jill Maier, Anna Legrett, Amanda Willison

Defense: Hillary Cox, Ashley Moyer, Erin York, Maggie Wilk

Goalie: Emily Stankaitis

SWR

Attack: Jen DeVito, Megan Gersbeck, Rachel Wiederkehr, Codi Mullen

Middies: Stephanie Anderson, Chelsey Newman, Kaitlyn Brosco

Defense: Julie Hudecek, Isabelle Mahoney, Alex Franck, Sam Villafranca

Goalie: Michelle Verbeeck

.........................

Stephanie Anderson is on the opening draw for SWR. Falls wills the draw but SWR gets it back on a turnover. The Wildcats first shot goes out of bounds and Falls gets it back.

Rachel Wiederkehr has a shot saved at 22:30. Falls takes over. Wildcats regain on turnover.

Wiederkehr misses on a free position at 21:40. Wildcats keep possession.

1-0 SWR. Wiederkehr converts this time as the Wildcats go ahead at 21:29. Credit DeVito with the assist.

2-0 SWR. Anderson leaps in front to catch a feed from Brosco and scores at 20:00

Falls gets the draw. SWR gets it back after a charge.

DeLea misses a free position at 19:35.

2-1. Lindsey Powell converts a free position at 18:10 to put Honeoye on the board.

Falls wins the draw.

2-2. Powell ties it with her second straight goal at 16:44

Falls wins its fourth draw in five tries.

3-2 HFL. Sierra Sarkis scores and the Wildcats trail by one at 16:10

Wildcats win the draw.

3-3. Newman scores her first on a bounce shot to tie the game at 15:42.

Wildcats on the draw.

DeLea shoots and misses and the Falls goalie is closest so the Wildcats lose it.

Verbeeck makes her first big save at 14:00.

We have a time-out at 12:40. Looks like a TV timeout. SWR has possession.

4-3. Wildcats regain the lead when Anderson scores in front after catching a feed from behind the cage from Gersbeck at 11:31.

Wildcats on the draw.

5-3 Newman scores again on a feed from Brosco to equal the biggest lead at 9:56.

Falls on the draw.

Wildcats defense forces a turnover and the Wildcats are trying to clear with under 9:30 to go.

This game has a much more deliberate pace than the start of yesterday's game .

6-3. Brosco scores her first to give the Wildcats their biggest lead at three with 6:32 to play.

Time-out on the field at 6:32. Looks like a Falls time-out.

Wildcats on the draw. But they lose it and Falls comes the other way.

6-4. Anna Legrett scores in transition to get the Cougars back into the game at 4:12.

6-5. Just like that it's back to a one-goal game when Powell scores her third on a free position at 3:40.

Wildcats get the draw and will look to expand their lead.

7-5. DeLea does just that with an open look in front. Give the assist to Brosco at 3:10.

Brosco scores but the goal is waved off because of a charge call at 2:40. Falls ball.

8-5. After an initial save on DeLea, DeVito gets in and puts it in with 1:05 to go. A huge goal there.

8-6. Falls scores with :03 to go when Amanda Wilson converts in front a feed from Powell.

HALFTIME:

SWR 8, HF-L 6

So the Wildcats have a two-goal lead going into the second half, the same margin as yesterday. The Wildcats offense has proved up to the task against this tough defense. They're on pace for 16 goals at this rate, which would shatter the high mark allowed by the Cougars this year, which is 10. 

Halftime Stats:

SWR Goals—

Anderson, 2 goals

Newman, 2 goals

Wiederkehr, 1 goal

Brosco, 1 goal

DeVito, 1 goal

DeLea, 1 goal

SWR Saves—

Verbeeck, 2

H-FL Goals—

Powell, 3 goals

Sarkis, 1 goal

Legrett, 1 goal

Willison, 1 goal

H-FL Saves—

Stankaitis, 6

.................................

2nd HALF

The opening draw of the second half goes to Shoreham.

A yellow card on HFL has the Wildcats with a man-advantage with 24:48.

9-6. Anderson scores right away as the Wildcats equal their biggest lead again at 24:43.

Verbeeck with a save on a free position and the Wildcats come the other way.

A DeVito goal is waved off for a charge at 17:35. But SWR gets it back.

The pace has slowed here with under 14:00 to play.

Falls is in transition and Powell misses a golden opportunity one-on-one with Verbeeck. She simply lost control of the ball before she could shoot.

The clock stops at 12:41 as Codi Mullen is down on the turf. Trainer's come out to check on her.

She's being carried off the field. She's hobbling off without putting any pressure on her left leg. So we hope she's OK and can maybe come back in the final minutes.

10-6 Wiederkehr scores in front on an assist from Anderson with 12:15 to go and the Wildcats have their biggest lead.

Falls gets the draw and needs to get something going right away. But Franck forces a turnover, scoops a ground ball and the Wildcats clear.

11-6. Wiederkehr scores again on a feed from DeVito with 11:30 to go. But another SWR player is down on the ground. It's Brosco and she is able to walk off the field on her own.

11-7. Powell scores right off the draw to get the Cougars back into it. There's 11:08 to go.

Cougars win the draw.

Big save for Verbeeck at 10:50.

Another save for Verbeeck on a low shot. Wildcats looking to clear. Newman brings it across midfield and the Wildcats set up. SWR turns it over and Falls has it under 7:30 to play.

Verbeeck denies another shot. Wildcats come the other way.

12-7. Wiederkehr scores her third straight for SWR at 6:38 on a feed from Brosco.

Time-out on the field.

SWR wins the draw with Anderson. The Wildcats can't score and Falls clears the other way.

12-8 The Cougars inch closer with 5:36 to play on a goal by Powell.

We're approaching the 4 minute mark. Wildcats ball.

13-8 DeVito with a nice spin in front and she bounces the ball in with 3:51 to go. Give the assist to Ali Davis.

Wildcats get in on a turnover but then give it right back with under 2:20 to go.

Now SWR ball with 2:00 to go.

13-9 Powell scores her sixth with 1:22 to go.

Time-out on the field with 1:22.

Wildcats win the draw and will look to kill the clock on a third straight state title.

But Falls forces a turnover and charges the other way.

13-10 Legrett scores with :51 but is there enough time for Falls? Doesn't look like it.

Falls wins the draw for a little intrigue in the final minute.

13-11 Here's another goal! Maier scores off the draw off an assist from Willison with :38 to go.

Falls drives but the ball ends in Verbeeck's stick and that's it.

SWR 13, H-FL 11

FINAL SCORE

LIVE: Class C State Semifinals

Game time for the Class C state semifinals between Shoreham-Wading River and Carthage is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Both teams are on the field warming up and after a lot rain fell last night, it looks to be OK this morning. It's an overcast sky, but nothing that looks too threatening. 

The Wildcats haven't played many games this early and I'd guess neither has Carthage. It'll be interesting to see if the early start has any effect. I'm sure at this point in the season both teams are ready to go even if they started the game at 2 a.m.

The first half of the semifinals last year was the toughest stretch the Wildcats had in Cortland last year. The Wildcats have been able to come back when needed, but they'd be smart not to fall behind again. Especially against a Carthage team that has put up huge offensive numbers this year.

The starting lineups:

SWR—

Attack: Megan Gersbeck, Codi Mullen, Jen DeVito, Rachel Wiederkehr

Middies: Chelsey Newman, Kate Brosco, Steph Anderson

Defense: Isabelle Mahoney, Julie Hudecek, Alex Franck, Sam Villafranca

Goalie: Michelle Verbeeck

Carthage—

Attack: Katie Ferris, Alexis Egeberg

Middies: Kailah Kempney, Megan Serota, Emily Sauter, Gabrielle Kamide, Amy Tiernan, Katherine Deronda

Defense: Joelle Percy, Olivia Roggie, Kara Fahsel

Goalie: Ellyse Richardson

Well, only two players were announced as attack for Carthage, so we'll see who else ends up playing there...

...................................

We're ready for the opening draw. It'll be Steph Anderson against Katie Ferris. The draw goes to SWR.

1-0 Right off the draw the Wildcats score on a goal by Chelsey Newman at 24:50. Wow.

2-0. Jen DeVito scores in front and the Wildcats are rolling to start. The goal at 24:33.

Carthage wins its first draw and sets up possession. Villafranca forces a turnover and the Wildcats get the ball.

Brosco turns it over at 23:12. 

2-1 Ferris scores in front in transition on a feed from Gabrielle Kamide at 23:00

Carthage takes its second draw.

2-2 Katherine Deronda splits two defenders and scores to tie the game at 21:58

Carthage takes the next draw.

3-2 Carthage. Ferris scores on a feed from Deronda at 21:47.

4-2. Right off the draw Ferris scores again at 21:38.

The Wildcats get possession after Carthage loses it out of bounds after the draw.

The Wildcats hit back-to-back pipes. Both Wiederkehr sisters hit the right post.

4-3. Brittany DeLea scores on a free position to get the Wildcats back within one at 19:38

Carthage takes the draw. 

5-3. Ferris drills a shot on the free position a step in for her fourth goal at 18:57.

5-4. Anderson scores in front on a feed from Rachel Wiederkehr who caused a turnover and kept the ball in bounds off the endline at 18:14

Wildcats win the draw and set up possession.

5-5. DeVito scores in front on an assist from DeLea at 17:38.

Comets on the draw. Verbeeck makes her first save of the game at 16:55.

6-5 SWR. Brosco scores on the free position at 16:00.

Amy Tiernan with a great play on defense to force a turnover with under 13:10 to play.

Comets turn it over on the other end and the Wildcats clear.

7-5. Anderson scores on a free position at 11:43.

Verbeeck with a great save in front at 10:35.

Ferris has gotten some good looks in front but has missed high or wide on a couple shots.

Wildcats turn it over and the Comets are coming the other way. The scoring has finally slowed a tad from the electric start.

Verbeeck with her third save at under 9:00. She's come up big after allowing the initial string of goals.

Verbeeck with back-to-back saves and she's been the difference so far.

7-6 Ferris scores in transition on a feed from Kamide at 4:40.

The Wildcats win the draw.

Anderson on a drive to the cage gets hit and she's down and slow to get up.

She takes a few deep breaths and will stay on the field. It's Carthage ball, however.

The Wildcats force a turnover when Carthage's goalie throws away a clearing pass.

8-6. Wiederkehr scores a super quick shot on an assist from Newman at 1:27

Carthage goalie comes up with her first save in the final seconds.

That's halftime:

SWR 8, Carthage 6

The winner of this game will face Honeoye Falls-Lima, which leads Nyack 13-2 at halftime.

Halftime Tally:

SWR Goals:

Anderson, 2 goals

DeVito, 2 goals

Newman, 1 goal, 1 assist

DeLea, 1 goal

Wiederkehr, 1 goal, 1 assist

Brosco, 1 goal

Carthage:

Ferris, 5 goals

Deronda, 1 goal, 1 assist

Kamide, 2 assists

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2nd Half

Wildcats win the opening draw.

9-6. Wiederkehr scores again in front on an assist from Brosco and the Wildcats have their biggest lead of the game at 24:01.

Verbeeck with her first save on Kempney.

10-6. DeVito scores to put the Wildcats ahead by four on a feed from Wiederkehr.

The Comets need a time-out. Carthage hasn't substituted at all that I can recall, so the Wildcats depth should wear the Comets down here in the second half. We've seen it time and time again. Carthage's goalie has struggled so far and the backup, Valerie McGuire, a freshman, is warming up.

10-7. Ferris leaps in front and almost slam-dunks the ball into the cage on a feed from Kamide at 21:55.

Wildcats win the draw, their third of the second half.

Big save against Anderson and the Comets are flying the other way. But Verbeeck comes up with a save the other way.

Mahoney with a great play on defense to force a turnover at 18:20.

11-7. Wiederkehr scores on a feed from Anderson as Vlahakis screamed "Rachel!" as the play developed. There's 17:49 to go.

It's the Wildcats on the draw.

12-7. DeVito scores what might be a back-breaker as she catches a feed on the left side off a free position from Wiederkehr at 17:12.

Wildcats win the draw.

13-7. Anderson scores on a free position and the Wildcats are starting to run away with it now. There's 16:31 to go.

14-7. Brosco scores on the free position and the Wildcats have doubled Carthage with 15:32 to go.

The Comets have pulled their goalie and it'll be McGuire in.

Carthage gets the draw, only its second of the second half.

14-8. Ferris scores on a feed from Deronda at 14:21. That's her seventh goal.

The Wildcats have outscored the Comets 6-2 in the second half.

SWR will call a time-out at 14:21.

Verbeeck makes her ninth save at 13:51.  She then makes a save on a low shot on the free position by Kempney.

15-8 DeVito scores on a free position feed from Newman, just like earlier when she connected with Wiederkehr. 12:39 to play.

Ferris gets a yellow card at 12:28.

16-8 DeLea scores unassisted at 12:12.

17-8 Brosco with a great shot inside the top-left corner at 11:58

17-9 Deronda scores at 11:41

Draw goes to SWR.

18-9. Anderson scores on the free position at 10:53 and that equals the most goals Carthage has allowed this season.

19-9 DeVito scores on a low roller after catching the feed in front from Brosco at 9:29. We're into running time.

Wiederkehr gets whistled for a yellow at 8:46.

Vlahakis has put in a lot of the bench players to get everyone some experience on the big stage.

19-10. Tiernan scores on a feed from behind the cage from Kamide at 6:11.

19-11. Kempney scores at 3:34

Verbeeck will take a seat for Sara Bates and leaves to a loud ovation from the SWR fans.

20-11. Corinne Wiederkehr scores her first on a feed from Caitlin King at 3:03

21-11 Gersbeck scores her first after the ball was initially saved but it bounced out of the goalie's stick and went in. This is the most goals they've scored this season.

LIVE: L.I. Class C Finals

It's time for the Class C Long Island championship between defending state champion Mount Sinai and Manhasset. The opening face-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.

The Mustangs, coming off a win against John Glenn last Thursday, have their hands full against a very talented Manhasset team that comes in as the favorite. The Indians are the No. 1 ranked team in the state in Class C with a 17-1 record. Their only loss came against Comsewogue in non-league back in April, 11-10, in overtime.

Last year the Mustangs' defense overwhelmed Cold Spring Harbor, and while their defense is strong again, it'll be a lot tougher this year against Manhasset. The Mustangs don't have much depth and were able to overcome it against Glenn in the finals. We'll see if they can do it again.

...............................

Manhasset has a number of offensive weapons, led by senior attack Connor English. He has 65 goals on the season with 16 assists. The Indians have seven additional players with double figure goals this year.

The starters for Manhasset:

Attack: Zac Koufakis, Kevin Heenan, Connor English

Middies: Drew Belinsky, Jeff Izzo, Jeff Molinari

Defense: Brad Cappellini, Kevin Coleman

Goalie: Jack Meyer

Mount Sinai:

Attack: Chad Marino, Jon Hoeg, Ryan Maurer

Middies: James Dawson, Shane Henry, Joe Bongiorno

Defense: Casey Stroh, Connor McPartland, Connor Stroh

Goalie: Matt Poillon

................................

The opening face-off goes to Mount Sinai.

The Mustangs are off to a deliberate start here offensively and Joe Bongiorno fires the first shot and misses. But the Mustangs regain possession. Hoeg also gets a good shot that doesn't get through and the Indians set up their first possession with under 10:00 to play in the first quarter.

Drew Belinsky fires a shot that's saved by Poillon, his first attempt.

Poillon makes his second save, this time on English. Good start for the Mount Sinai sophomore.

A fastbreak for Manhasset is converted by Kevin Heenan from Jeff Izzo with 7:24 to play. 

1-0 Manhasset.

2-0. Manhasset's English makes it 2-0 with an unassisted goal with 7:06 to play.

Manhasset turns it over on a stall. They take it out of the box and must give it back to Mount Sinai. But the Indians come right back the other way. Poillon makes a save on Heenan, his third of the game.

2-1. Bongiorno puts the Mustangs on the board with a shot from the right side that snuck inside the left post with 4:51 to go.

Another save by Poillon, who's had a terrific start to the first quarter.

3-1 Zac Koufakis scores on a feed from Izzo with 2:31 to play.

The Indians win the next face-off. They've been dominant so far.

Poillon makes his fifth save with 2:00 to play.

4-1. Glen Tompkins scores his first goal on a feed from Koufakis with :58.3 to play.

That's the end of the first quarter. It's 4-1 Manhasset. The Indians had 8 shots on goal compared to 1 for Mount Sinai. Manhasset had 15 shots total.

..................................

Manhasset controls the face-off of the second quarter.

We have our first penalty of the game. Mount Sinai's Henry gets called for a cross-check with 10:45 to play. He'll sit for a minute.

Poillon makes a save on English and then clears it across midfield, but he loses it out of bounds and the Indians take over. There's 10:08 to play. 

The Mustangs kill off the man advantage.

The Indians turn it over and the Mustangs take over with 9:15 to play.

Mount Sinai calls its first time-out with 8:52 to go. There's also a penalty on Heenan for offside. It's a 30-sec. penalty.

4-2. Bongiorno slices the Manhasset lead, scoring off a feed from Chad Marino with 8:27 to go.

5-2. A great feed from English to Molinari makes it 5-2.

6-2. Right off the face-off the Indians strike again. This time it's Heenan from Koufakis at 7:07.

Poillon nearly scored a goal. He charged straight toward the goal on a clear and fired a shot that missed with under 6:00 to go.

A penalty on Brad Cappellini for a slash with 4:51 to go. It's a one-minute penalty. Let's see if Mount Sinai can convert.

6-3. Henry converts right away with his first goal on a feed from Ryan Maurer at 4:45.

It's a 9-2 lead for the Indians on face-offs behind Ricky Buhr.

Mount Sinai goes back on the man advantage after another slash penalty at 3:40.

The Mustangs will call a time-out and try to set up a big possession here, down by three.

6-4. Another goal for Mount Sinai and it's Ray Diaz cutting in front, catching a feed from Marino at 3:10. Just like that it's two-goal game.

The Indians turn it over right away and the Mustangs will try to cut it to one.

6-5. Bongiorno converts another tough shot, this time from the right side, he bounces it in just inside the left post. Henry gets the assist and we've got a ball game! The goal comes at 2:20.

The Indians get the face-off. A shot by Molinari is wide right and Poillon controls it. Hoeg gets pushed in transition but there's no call. The Indians control and Poillon makes a great save on English. It's Mount Sinai back the other way.

The Mustangs turn it over at :9.1

Poillon makes save, his eighth of the half, to end the second quarter.

END 2: Manhasset 6, Mount Sinai 5

The Mustangs trailed by four in this game at 6-2 before ending the half with three goals. The Mustangs held the Indians scoreless over the final 7:07.

Some halftime stats:

Face-offs: Manhasset 11, Mount Sinai 2

Shots: Manhasset 24, Mount Sinai 12

Saves: Poillon 8, Meyer 0

Ground Balls: Manhasset 20, Mount Sinai 7

..................................

Great first half for the underdog Mustangs. Now we're ready for the third quarter.

Manhasset gets the opening face-off.

7-5 English with a great move around the cage skips a shot in to give the Indians a two-goal lead at 10:18.

The Mustangs turn it over but then get it back in Manhasset territory.

A shot by English is saved at 7:10 by Poillon. Manhasset has the ball. Connor Stroh is guarding English.

8-5 English scores his third and it's back to a three-goal lead at 6:47

Henry has a shot saved at 6:08 as he charged down the middle. It's his first save of the game.

Henry hits the cross-bar at 4:30 after a great spin move.

Mustangs turn it over after a solid defensive stand by the Indians.

9-5 AJ Diaz scores at the buzzer on a feed from English. A real tough way to end the third quarter as the Indians equal their biggest lead of the game.

END 3: Manhasset 9, Mount Sinai 5

.........................................

Manhasset wins the face-off and now holds a 14-3 advantage.

10-5. Koufakis rises high and scores his second to give the Indians their biggest lead of the game at 10:26. That's four straight Manhasset goals.

Drew Belinsky has a shot hit the right post for Manhasset at 8:45

Mount Sinai goes on the man advantage at 8:20 for a slash. The Mustangs are 3-for-3 on man-ups. 

10-6. Bongiorno scores his fourth on a long shot off an assist from Marino at 7:48.

Mount Sinai calls time-out at 6:00. Time is running out. The Mustangs need a quick goal here coming out of the break to give themselves a chance at the comeback.

Mount Sinai loses it after the break and the Indians set up the other way looking to kill clock.

The Indians appear on their way to the state semifinals as we're under 4:00 to play. Manhasset still holds a four-goal lead.

Manhasset calls a time-out at 3:27 and that should be it.

FINAL SCORE: Manhasset 10, Mount Sinai 6

Live: Girls Lacrosse Long Island Championship

We're here at Hofstra University where the Shoreham-Wading River girls lacrosse team is seeking its fourth straight Long Island championship. The Wildcats once again are playing the Manhasset Indians, who have been on the losing end of the last three meetings between the two schools.

A few notes before the game:

I spoke briefly with coach Bob Vlahakis and he said the girls are ready to go. Freshman Alyssa Fleming, who was injured at the end of the county championship game when struck by the stick of a Mount Sinai attacker on a shot attempt, had been cleared and is OK to go. Fleming plays on defense and while young, is an important member of that crew.

Another new face would can expect to see briefly is Ali Davis, a sophomore, who after a great preseason had a setback because of an injury that kept her out pretty much all year. Vlahakis said Codi Mullen has played a lot more in the midfield this year as opposed to attack to make up for Davis' absence. But Davis will get about a five-minute shift at some point today.

Another note: Manhasset only arrived on the field with about 15 minutes left on the clock before the announcements are scheduled to begin. Not sure if they delay in getting on the field will have any effect on the team. But the Wildcats were on the field for at least 15 more minutes warming up.

The crowd still filing in here at Hofstra. Only about 40 people in the bleachers with eight minutes to go before game-time.

As is always the case, the key for Shoreham is to win draws and maintain possessions. When the Wildcats have the ball, they will score often enough. The only way to beat the Wildcats is to have a lot more possessions and a lot more chances to score. Manhasset needs to get off to a fast start in this game I think.

We're mere moments away from the opening draw!

The opening draw will be between Stephanie Anderson and Ryan Wenk. It goes to Shoreham and we're off.

SWR turns it over on its first possession. Alex Franck intercepts a pass and shovels it over to Michelle Verbeeck in cage and the Wildcats are running. But the Wildcats turn it over themselves.

1-0 Manhasset, Wenk cuts across the middle, catches a feed and scores with 22:27 left.

Wildcats get the draw but turn it over again. Wildcats still have no shots.

2-0 Manhasset. Olivia Walters scores and it's the Indians ahead by two with 21:13 to play.

Wildcats win the draw behind Chelsey Newman. And Wenk gets whistled for a yellow card. Big call there. Let's see if the Wildcats can capitalize. 

Wildcats immediately turn it over again. A nice play by Newman on defense has the Wildcats running. Kate Boden is fouled and will get the free position. Her shot is saved.

Verbeeck makes her first save with 19:45 to play.

There's an injury time-out with 19:14 to play. Manhasset's Jenny Vlahos is helped off the field slowly.

Manhasset has the ball and a 2-0 lead. Verbeeck makes her second save and the Wildcats turn it over yet again trying to clear.

With 17:55 to play Verbeeck makes another save and is keeping this game close for Shoreham. The turnovers continue to pile up for SWR.

Steph Anderson will get a free position shot and it's saved with 16:10 to play. Manhasset gets the ball.

Rachel Wiederkehr is denied on a free position and the Wildcats are 0-3 thus far.

Anderson gets hit hard, there's no call, and she's down on the ground. She'll slowly walk off the field and Kait Brosco hustles in to replace her.

Manhasset is playing very physical against Shoreham and it's working so far.

Another free position, this time Brittany DeLea, is saved.

Under 12 minutes to play and the Wildcats are still scoreless.

3-0 Wenk scores her second on a low shot to the left corner and the Indians are rolling now with the three-goal advantage. There's 11:18 to play.

Wildcats are 4-0 on draws but it hasn't helped yet.

Another turnover for SWR with under 9:00 to play.

4-0 Wenk scores off a feed from Allie Perez with 8:22 to play.

The Wildcats need a time-out as the Manhasset fans give a standing ovation to the Indians.

At this point the Wildcats simply need a goal to try to get on some kind of a roll. The Indians defense has been phenomenal thus far and has forced the Wildcats into a ton of turnovers. And the Wildcats are 0-4 on free position attempts. Hard to believe.

This is familiar for Manhasset. The Indians haven't allowed more than four goals in an opening half since Farmingdale scored six April 23.

Manhasset wins its first draw with about 8:00 to go.

Anderson has checked back in for SWR.

Megan Markham for Manhasset gets called for a yellow card with 6:42 to play.

4-1. Brosco finally gets SWR on the board with a bounced shot on a free position and it's 4-1 with 6:40 to play.

Manhasset wins the draw. Brosco forces a turnover then assists in front to Jen DeVito and the Wildcats are back. 

4-2. DeVito from Brosco with 6:05 to play.

SWR wins the draw and will try to cut the deficit to one. But a turnover and the Indians control the other way.

5-2 Stephanie Shapiro scores and the Indians go back in front by two with 4:23.

The Wildcats win the draw and turn it over again.

The Wildcats will get possession with under 2:00 to play.

5-3. Anderson scores in front off a feed from DeVito with 1:13 to play.

Big draw coming up. If the Wildcats can get this to one before halftime they'll be feeling OK. But it's the Indians who come away with it. 

Newman forces a turnover with :47.5 to play and gets it out to Brosco. The Wildcats can't score, however, and the Indians get it with under :30 to play. A turnover, though, and DeVito feeds to Rachel Wiederkehr.

5-4 Wiederkehr from DeVito. A huge goal before halftime.

At halftime it's Manhasset 5, SWR 4

To start the second half it'll be Anderson vs. Wenk on the draw. The Wildcats have not led in this game.

Vlahakis will keep Verbeeck in the game to start the second half.

We're waiting for the TV to finish up before the second half begins....

Actually now it's Wiederkehr on the draw. Manhasset controls it.

The Indians turn it over on their first possession.

5-5. DeVito scores off a feed from Brosco and just like that the game is tied. 23:09 to play.

Manhasset wins the draw. Verbeeck makes a save and the Wildcats are rolling the other way.

6-5 SWR. Anderson scores off a feed from DeVito and now the Wildcats have their first lead of the game with 22:01 to play.

Manhasset gets the draw and is 3-0 to start the second. The Indians are looking to answer what's been four straight SWR goals.

6-6 Kerri Fleishhacker scores on a free position to tie the game with 21:02 to play.

SWR wins the draw.

7-6. DeVito takes it herself down the left side and scores to put the Wildcats back ahead with 19:52 to play.

SWR wins the draw and sets up the offense.

A yellow card on Manhasset and it's Maggie Reichenbach with 18:32 to play

SWR turns it over in front and the Indians clear with under 18:00 to play.

Jenny Vlahos loses it to Fleming and the Wildcats clear it.

8-6 Anderson scores down the middle off a feed from Codi Mullen and the Wildcats have their biggest lead of the game with 15:52 to play.

9-6. Wildcats win the draw behind Newman and DeVito charges down the middle and scores her fourth of the game with 15:43 to play. Brosco caught the feed on the draw and passed it to DeVito.

SWR wins another draw.

10-6 Wiederkehr scores on a free position and the Wildcats are dominating the action now with 14:50 to play.

This matches the biggest lead for either team. Since Manhasset led 4-0 it's been SWR outscoring the Indians 10-2.

11-6 Brosco bounced in a shot from about 10 yards and the Wildcats are pulling away now with 13:45 to play.

11-7 The Indians get back on the board with Fleishhacker scoring with 12:06 to play.

12-7 Brosco scores on the free position and it's the Wildcats back in front by five with 9:43 to play.

12-8 Wenk scores from Fleishhacker with 7:03 to play.

With under 4:00 to play the Wildcats are on their way back to Cortland.

I'm headed down to the field for the final minute.

Back with a final score in a bit.

12-8 IS THE FINAL

SWR OVER MANHASSET

LIVE: Boys Class C County Finals

Just arrived at Stony Brook for the Class C county championship after putting together Friday's paper that hits newstands tomorrow.

Mount Sinai currently holds a 4-3 lead in the first quarter after coming back from early 3-1 deficit.

Mount Sinai has a two-man advantage with under 3:45 to play. They score on a goal by Joe Bongiorno to go ahead 5-3 with 3:35 to play.

John Glenn cuts it to 5-4 with 1:40 to play.

To open the second half Jon Hoeg scores to put the Mustangs ahead 6-4 with 11:38 to play.

Mount Sinai goes a man-down for 30 seconds on a Hoeg penalty. Ken Meinsen scores on a tough shot assisted by Matt Gannon to make it 6-5 with 10:46 to play.

Bongiorno forces  a turnover and the Mustangs clear and set up possession with under 10 to play. A low shot by James Dawson is saved at 9:15 and Glenn takes over.

Donald Brown catches a feed to the left of the cage from Nick Meinsen and scores to tie the game with 7:31 to play.

Mount Sinai wins the face-off and Chad Marino scores on an assist from Hoeg, who had the ground ball off the face-off. It's 7-6 Mount Sinai with 7:22 to play.

Time-out on the field with 4:55 to play. Still 7-6 Mount Sinai.

The pace has slowed here. Mount Sinai calls a time-out even as a potential fast-break was developing. There's 2:41 left in the second quarter.

Henry scoops a ground ball in front of the cage and whips in to give the Mustangs an 8-6 lead with 1:50 to play.

Mount Sinai goes on a man-advantage with 1:10 to play for one minute after an illegal body check. The Mustangs turn it over and Glenn calls time-out with :58 to play.

Henry had a great chance in transition in the final seconds of the second quarter but shot was wide left on the bounce. Hoeg gets whistled for a push, 30 second, with :1.7 to go. He's shaken up on the play and is being helped off the field.

That's halftime: Mount Sinai 8, John Glenn 6

Glenn strikes right away with a goal by Tom Forsberg assisted by Matt Gannon to make it 8-7 with 11:43 to play. 

Bongiorno scores off an assist from Ryan Maurer and it's 9-7 with 10:24 to play.

A Glenn penalty is on Joseph Gannon for a slash with 8:24 to play. Big possession for Mount Sinai holding a two-goal lead. Henry converts a long shot off a feed from Hoeg and the Mustangs have their biggest lead of the game. It's 10-7 with 7:38 to play.

Gannon scores on a bounced shot that sneaks its way into the cage after coming up and hitting the crossbar and falling in to make it 10-8 with 5:40 to go.

Glenn gets the face-off on an illegal procedure.

John Glenn goes a man-down with 3:30 to play on a trip.

Bongiorno makes it a three-goal lead again after converting a feed from the left side from Henry. It's 11-8 Mount Sinai with 2:46 to play.

At the end of the third quarter it's Mount Sinai 11, John Glenn 8

Opening face-off goes to John Glenn in the fourth. 

The scoring has really slowed since a back-and-forth opening quarter. We have a time-out with 4:59 to play and Mount Sinai still holding a three-goal lead.

Henry hits the left post with 4:10 to go but Mount Sinai regains possession. A push gives it back to Glenn, which needs a goal fast with under 3:30 to play.

With 1:56 to play there's a time-out by Mount Sinai. Poillon came out of the cage to scoop a ground ball and carried it to near midfield before dumping it off. Barring a meltdown in the final two minutes, the Mustangs are on their way to a second straight county title and date with a powerhouse Manhasset team Tuesday back here at Stony Brook.

Mount Sinai turns it over with 1:06 to play. But the Mustangs regain it momentarily. Casey Stroh comes up with a big ground ball and the Mustangs clear with under :40 to play.

FINAL SCORE: MOUNT SINAI 11, JOHN GLENN 8

LIVE: Girls Lax County Finals

Now it's time for Rocky Point vs Sayville. The rain has slowed and it looks like we should get through this game without a hitch. Keep your fingers crossed.

Northport just won a thriller in the Class A game, coming from one goal down late to win it in the final seconds. We'll see if this game can match the excitement.

Draw control so important in girls lacrosse, was key for the Eagles in their regular season win. The Eagles jumped out to an 8-1 lead by controlling possession. If they can do that tonight they'll be on their way to a rematch with Garden City for the Long Island title Saturday.

It'll be Abigail Ross for Rocky Point against Kathrin Gallo for Sayville on the draw. Sayville wins it. DePompeo drives down field to start the game and feeds Emily Meier for the goal.

1-0 Sayville, 24:25. Meier from DePompeo

1-1. Caitlin Gargan weaves down the middle and scores to tie the game with 21:01 left.

Rocky Point defender Sara Davis gets whistled for a yellow card with 19:31 left. Gallo gets a free position shot and pulls it back out. A shot by Meier is saved by Rocky Point goalie Julie Nolan, her second of the game.

Another great save by Nolan as O'Reilly wrapped around the cage with under 18:00 to play.

2-1 Sayville. Connie Neilsen scores to put Sayville back ahead with 16:46 to play.

This game has not started the way Rocky Point would have hoped in terms of possession. It's been all Sayville with the ball.

3-1. DePompeo catches a feed in front of the cage from Meier, spins around a defender and puts it home with 15:11 to play.

Another yellow card for Rocky Point and it looks like Davis again, her second.

4-1 Gallo scores in transition from Kelly Santangelo after a Rocky Point turnover and the Golden Flashes are dominating play. The Eagles need a timeout with 12:32 to play.

Sayville wins another draw and the Flashes are back in the offensive zone.

5-1 Jordan Lite scores from a feed from Arielle Theofield and the Eagles are in serious trouble with 11:25 to play.

Sayville wins another draw and has a 5-2 advantage.

6-1 Lite scores again from Meier and now the Eagles are in danger of getting blown out here. There's 10:33 to play and it's been all Sayville.

On defense the Eagles are getting whistled for a lot of fouls. 

7-1 DePompeo converts on a free position with 9:54 left.

This is the worst I've seen Rocky Point get handled in a game since Northport dominated the Eagles in a regular season game last year. 

DePompeo got whacked pretty hard on the goal and has to come out of the game.

Come to think of it, this also pretty reminiscent to the Garden City game in the LIC last year.

Rocky Point needs to get this deficit down before halftime to a manageable margin.

Sayville's Olivia Cabral gets whistled for a yellow with 6:15 to play.

7-2 Jessica Hassett storms down field to finally score for the Eagles with 1:07 to play and halt the Sayville momentum.

Nolan makes a huge save in the final 10 seconds on a free position to keep the score at 7-2. 

The key for Sayville that half was draw control. It's been a problem in the playoffs for Rocky Point in years past and it's currently an 8-2 advantage for the Golden Flashes. If that doesn't change dramatically in the second half, the Eagles are going home.

The good news is Rocky Point held Sayville scoreless the final 9:54 of the half so perhaps the Eagles have gotten their defense together. But the first half was the exact opposite of the regular season meeting between the teams. In that game DePompeo and O'Reilly never seemed to have the ball. This time the same can be said for Mupo and Ross for Rocky Point.

As the second half begins it'll be Aimee Capps on the draw for Rocky Point as the Eagles look the shake things up.

Gallo won the draw easily but the Flashes turned it over to start.

8-2 Theofield converts the free position and the Flashes are back in front by six with 21:23 left.

Another yellow on Rocky Point. This time it's Gargan.

8-3 Mazzeo scores the first second-half goal for Rocky Point with 15:58 to play.

Sayville wins yet another draw and regains possession.

Another yellow and this time it's on the Rocky Point coach. 

A shot by Mupo, her first in a long time is saved with under 13:00 to play.

Another yellow card by Rocky Point and now it's Ross with 10:29 to play.

8-4 Mazzeo scores and Rocky Point needs to win every draw from here on out. There's 8:12 to play.

The Eagles will try Gargan on the draw this time. Sayville wins it after a long run for a ground ball...

Now it's Haley Sachnez for Rocky Point with a yellow card. 

We're under 4 minutes to play and Sayville appears on its way to a county title.

8-5 Mercier scores to cut it to three with 3:05 to play.

Sayville will call a time-out, but with the way the Flashes have dominated the draws, it's hard to envision Rocky Point getting enough possessions to tie the game with so little time left. If they can win this draw, though, it could be an interesting finish.

Sayville wins the draw and sets up possession looking to kill clock.

Gargan gets another yellow, her second. She's done.

8-6: Hassett flies down field and skips a shot in to make it a two-goal game with :59.3 to play.

Sayville wins the draw again and the Flashes are moments away from wrapping it up.

Another yellow on Rocky Point and it's Tracey Wandle.

8-7 Capps scores from Ross with 4:0 to go but only four seconds remain!

Sayville hangs on and wins it 8-7 

It was the first county title in school history for the Sayville girls.

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Live here from Dowling College for the girls lacrosse county championships starting with Class C: Shoreham-Wading River vs. Mount Sinai.

The teams are both being announced to the crowd and we're moments away from the start. Shoreham is seeking its sixth straight county title and fourth straight against Mount Sinai.

The Cablevision TV crew is here, first time I can remember a television crew covering a game on Long Island. I guess it goes to show the growing popularity of girls lacrosse. So keep in mind to look out for the game on TV whenever it's available.

The opening draw is Erin Fitzgerald for Mount Sinai against Stephanie Anderson for Shoreham.

Brittany DeLea is opening the game guarding Fitzgerald. I'm sure she'll see a lot of different people on her throughout the game. Kaitlyn Brosco did a great job against Fitzgerald in the county finals last year.

But she couldn't stop Fitzgerald on her first shot as she scores to put Mount Sinai ahead 1-0 with 22:03 left.

1-1. Brosco comes in, immediately catches a feed from Chelsey Newman and scores with 20:10 left.

2-1 SWR. Anderson charges down the middle after the draw and scores unassisted. 

3-1 SWR. Anderson converts on a free position with 19:08 left. 

Shoreham is 4-1 on draws so far. If you can't win draws against the Wildcats, you don't win.

4-1 SWR. Newman from Rachel Wiederkehr and the Wildcats are cruising with 18:12 left. 

5-1 SWR. DeLea bangs in a free position with 12:33 left.

Mount Sinai is struggling winning draws and clearing. The ground balls are all going to Shoreham.

6-1 SWR. Anderson charges down the middle again and scores on a low shot to the right corner with 10:23 left. Mount Sinai calls its first time-out.

Mount Sinai wins the draw, its first in a long time and only second of the game.

Brosco just got called for a yellow card with 9:17 left.

7-1 SWR. Anderson converts again, this time from a feed behind the cage by Kate Boden with 5:53 left.

Fitzgerald scores her second on a free position to break a 7-0 run. But a stick violation has nullified the goal. Shoreham gets possession.

8-1 SWR. Brosco scores again, this time on  a feed from behind the cage from Jen DeVito, her first assist with 1:53 left.

9-1 SWR. Wiederkehr scores on a free position and the Wildcats are in full control with :39 left in the half.

9-2. Fitzgerald scores on a free position and this time it counts with :28 left.

At the end of the half it's all SWR, 9-2

As the rain falls here at Dowling, the second half begins with Anderson winning the draw for Shoreham. 

Mount Sinai has two yellow cards to open the second half.

10-2. DeVito scores on a feed from DeLea in transition with 20:04 to play.

10-3. Fitzgerald scores on a terrific move down the left side. She ripped a rocket to the low right corner with 19:25 left.

11-3. Brosco scores right off the draw on a feed from DeVito to quickly halt any Mount Sinai momentum.

12-3.  Wiederkehr converts a free position and now we're one goal away from running time with 16:03 left.

12-4. Fitzgerald scores her fourth with 14:38 left. It's Fitzgerald or nothing for Mount Sinai.

13-4. DeVito caught a great feed high from Anderson and whipped it low into the cage with 11:57 left.

13-5. The first goal for Mount Sinai other than from Fitzgerald is scored by Catie Faulkner with 10:55 left.

13-6. Danielle DellaRocca, an eighth-grader, scores on a free position with 9:45 left.

14-6. Anderson again scores as the Wildcats are 4:38 away from another title.

Fitzgerald gets a yellow with 2:37 left on a hit to Alyssa Fleming, who's down on the field.

15-6. DeVito scores in transition from Brosco with 2:19 left.

With the win Shoreham advances to play Manhasset, surprise, surprise, Saturday in the Long Island championship at Hofstra. It'll be the sixth straight meeting between the two schools with Shoreham holding a 3-2 edge.

The final from Dowling is SWR 15, Mount Sinai 6.

Nice start for baseball teams

The league season got under way today for local baseball teams and three came away with victories. Rocky Point earned a 9-1 win against East Hampton, Miller Place beat Shoreham-Wading River, 7-1, and Longwood blanked Patchogue-Medford, 8-0.

The Eagles have gotten off to a strong start with three wins and no losses. They beat Comsewogue and Mount Sinai in non-league. Pitcher Tim Popko is already 2-0 on the year and won the league opener Monday with a complete game and six K's. Phil Rado has been red hot at the plate. Against Comsewogue he had three hits, against Mount Sinai he hit a 2-run homer for the team's only runs and against East Hampton he went 4-4 with two doubles and four RBIs. Now that's how you start a baseball season!

The Panthers won on the back of their ace, Thor Miller. That was a tough way for the Wildcats to have to start the season on a chilly, windy afternoon against a hard-throwing lefty. The next two games should be pretty competitive. Shoreham needs to make sure its gets at least one of the next two. In a league this competitive, starting 0-3 is far from ideal.

For the Lions they picked up a real nice win against the Raiders. As expected, the Raiders did not go with ace Marcus Stroman for the opener. With the win, behind a shutout by Jimmy Knudsen, the Lions are in good shape to get two of three in the series. That would be a perfect way for the Lions to open in League I, where plenty of tough games lie ahead.

David Wright mustache?

In speaking with Shoreham baseball coach Sal Mignano today, he mentioned how his son and friend started a Web site dedicated to David Wright growing a mustache. The site launched last week and has gained serious traction. ESPN's Bill Simmons mentioned it on his podcast Monday and the folks at SNY have been in contact with them for an interview. Blogs across the world wide web have picked up on the site. The power of the Internet never ceases to amaze.


So to join the cause, check out www.thewrightstache.com


Personally, I have to say it's a brilliant idea. More mustaches the better.

About a year back in a column I handed out an award for best local mustache. It went to Tom Rotanz, SWR lacrosse coach. If I were to do it again, at this time, it might have to go to Longwood wrestling coach Ethan Prifte (below, left). His fu manchu is a sight to behold!

New look to Sun Sports

If you haven't picked up a copy of this week's North Shore Sun, this is how the new back page looks this week. As part of an overall redesign we've been working on for close to a year, the sports section now begins on the back page, similar to the tabloids like Newsday and the Daily News. This guarantees a color page every week and an easier way for readers to find the sports.

If you have any comments on the new look, fell free to comment. We'll still be working to tweak certain things over the next three months or so. I hope everyone enjoys!

Video: Lions lose in title game

Longwood hoops fans may not want to watch this, but here it is, highlights from the Class AA county championship:

State Track Results

Here are local results from today's state championship in track and field in Ithaca.

Boys 3,200

1. Bobby Andrews, SWR, 9:13.67

19. Kyle Wightman, SWR, 9:50.29

Boys 1,600

2. Bobby Andrews, SWR, 4:20.65

Boys Triple Jump

11. Dannie Holland, Longwood, 43-05 1/2

Girls 1,500

3. Janie Turek, MS, 2:56.96

Girls 600

21. Jenny Johnston, Longwood, 1:40.72

Girls 55 Hurdles

Semifinals

14. Kayla Murphy, Longwood, 8.64

Girls 300 

Preliminaries

9. Janet Mellor, MS, 40.85

Girls Shot Put

5. Ashley Clasen, SWR, 39-06 3/4

Girls Pole Vault

17. Christi Nassauer, MS, 9-00

Complete results are available here.

Video: Lions defeat Bay Shore

The Longwood boys hoops team defeated Bay Shore in the semifinals and will take on North Babylon for the county title tonight. 

Lions fans should come out in full force tonight at Farmingdale State. The Lions have only won one county title in their history and could make it two tonight.

College lax season begins

While snow still covers the ground on Long Island, college lacrosse teams are playing games across the country. There are obviously numerous local athletes, boys and girls, playing at some of the top programs. Throughout the season I'll try to keep tabs here on how some of the lax stars are doing.

One name that jumps out in girls lacrosse is Colleen McCaffrey, who starred at Mount Sinai. She's playing at Hopkins and has gotten off to a terrific start in her freshman year. She already has seven goals and one assist for the No. 14 team in the nation. She has a team-high 14 shots for Hopkins, which is 2-2.

McCaffrey scored once in Hopkins' 18-9 win today against Cincinnati. 

Rocky Point graduate Brianne LoManto has seen limited action in goal for the defending national champions, Northwestern. She's played in four games and has totaled 34 minutes of action. She's stopped four shots while giving up three goals. As a freshman she'll be a backup to starter Morgan Lathrop. Northwestern is 5-0 and has outscored opponents 99-34.

145 Consolation: Volpe vs. Tompkins

Rocky Point junior Anthony Volpe placed third in the state at 145 by winning this match against Ryan Tompkins.

189 Semifinal: Buonaiuto pinned

You don't see this very often. In fact, only once before. But Zach Buonaiuto was pinned in the 189 semifinals by Matt Loew of Wantagh. Buonaiuto settled for fifth place for the second straight year.

215 State Final: James vs. Butler

Longwood senior Ernest James won a 4-0 decision against Steven Butler in the 215-pound finals of the New York State wrestling championship.

135 State Final: Dutton vs. Lenzi

Rocky Point junior Stephen Dutton won a 10-1 major decision against Fordham Prep's Andrew Lenzi at 135 pounds in the state finals.

119 State Final: Keith vs. Flamio

Steven Keith wins a 6-4 overtime decision in the 119-pound finals of the state championship.

LIVE: State Finals

215 pounds
ERNEST JAMES (LW) vs. STEVEN BUTLER (PORT JERVIS)



1st Period
Scoreless period
2nd Period: James gets two on back points.
3rd Period: James gets a reversal for a 4-0 lead and he hangs on to win it.
James wins his first state title. James was in control throughout the match and Butler never got a good shot in. A great way for James to end his high school career, bringing back a state title to a school that was won a ton over the years.


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160 Pounds
T.J. NEIDHART (SWR) vs. JAMES BRUNDAGE (OSSINING)



1st Period:
Neidhart falls behind 6-1. He got taken down plus two back points. Then a reversal at the end.
2nd Period:
Neidhart falls behind 13-3 and is in serious trouble. He needs a dramatic turnaround in the final period.
3rd Period:
Neidhart rallies late but it's not enough. He falls 17-10 to place second, his best finish in his career.

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135 Pounds
STEPHEN DUTTON vs. ANDREW LENZI

1st period:
Dutton jumps out to a 7-1 lead.
2nd Period:
He maintains the 7-1 lead going into the third.
3rd Period:
Delayed because of some blood on the mat. But Dutton is in full control of the action. He'll star the third on bottom.
Dutton pulls it out with no problem, 10-1, for his first state championship. He caps off his season with an undefeated record and beats the defending state champion in the finals. After after disappointing state tournament last year, Dutton makes no mistakes this year. He is the 2008-09 135-pound State Champion.


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119 Pounds
STEVEN KEITH (SWR) vs. JUSTIS FLAMIO (MAHOPAC)



1st period:
Keith gets a takedown for a 2-0 lead.
2nd Period:
Not good for Keith. He gets reversed and it's 2-2.
3rd period:
Keith goes ahead late 4-2 but gets reversed with :07 to go forcing overtime.
OT:
Keith gets the two with :31 left in OT for the State title. Wow. A very, very close match and Keith pulled it off to become a two-time state champion.

Keith finishes off the year undefeated and avenged his loss last year in the state semifinals. While Keith and Flamio don't see each other that often, the stakes are always extremely high when they do and it leads to some dramatic moments. Two years ago it was Keith. Last year it was Flamio. And now in the rubber match it was Keith.



..........................


At 103 Huntington's Damon McQueen lost a wild match, 9-8, for his first loss of the season. He fell against Brian Realbuto of Somers (Section I). That's McQueen's first loss of the year.

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OK, we're ready for action.

96 POUNDS
COREY RASHEED (LONGWOOD) vs. MIKE SORIA (KINGS PARK)



1st period.
Rasheed falls behind 2-0.

2nd Period.
It's a 5-0 deficit for Rasheed who hasn't gotten anything going.

3rd Period.
Soria hangs on and wins it 7-0 for the state title. Rasheed settles for second. The only two losses for Rasheed this year go to Soria. Rasheed never could any offense going once Soria took the lead in the first period. He was on bottom most of the time. The first period started with a lot of dancing, but about midway through Soria took a good shot and got a takedown. From there it was all Soria.

Still, a tremendous season for Rasheed. No doubt he'll be back here again.

............................


We're still waiting for the festivities to finish before we get to wrestling.


The Parade of Champions is underway!


I'll be shooting video as well of the five local matches and I'll have them up in their entirety sometime tomorrow. So if you're not here, or you want to see it again, log back in sometime tomorrow.


I'm going to do this blog of the finals a little different, so the most recent info is at the top of the post. I think it'll make it a little easier to follow along.


..........................


OK, looks like we're up and running again.

We're minutes away from Parade of Champions and the beginning of the 2009 State Championship. This promises to be a good show, especially from our local wrestlers. Of the five local wrestlers competing, all have a good chance to win. Corey Rasheed at 96 will look to avenge his only loss of the season against Mike Soria of Kings Park. Soria is a junior while Rasheed is just a seventh-grader. Rasheed did put up a good fight against Soria in the county finals and it's not unreasonable to think he can win in the finals. Either way, a fantastic performance by Rasheed as a seventh-grader to place this high in the state tournament.


At 119 Steven Keith is the favorite to win against Justis Flamio. I'd be very surprised if Keith were to go down. He's been so strong and consistent this year, you have to like his chances to close it out with an undefeated season.

At 135 Stephen Dutton has already beaten Andrew Lenzi this year and I like his chances to do so again. Like Keith, Dutton is undefeated this season. He's looking for his first state title. He's only lost three matches in the last three years.

At 160 T.J. Neidhart should have a tough match ahead of him. Neidhart hasn't dominated his matches, but has done enough to win. And that's ultimately all that matters. But I'd expect another very tight, low-scoring match in the finals against James Brundage.

At 215 Ernest James has already beaten the top seed and defending state champion. In the semifinals he had the very rare win that didn't come via pin. It should be an equally close match in the finals when he faces Steven Butler, who survived a 4-2 overtime decision against Zeal McGrew, the one wrestler to beat James this year. James is a senior, so this is it.

VIDEO: Semifinal Highlights

Here are clips of Steven Keith, Stephen Dutton and Ernest James from the semifinals. All advanced to the finals along with Corey Rasheed and T.J. Neidhart. I missed Rasheed's match, so no video of that. And Neidhart wrestled at the same time as James, so you might notice him wrestling in the background.

Day II Pictures

A few pictures from the early session of Day 2 of the State Championship in Albany.

Photos by Grant Parpan

Updated Team Standings

Scores are kept by section and individual school.

The sections are as follows:

1. Section XI, 219.5
2. Section I, 178.5
3. Section II, 177
4. Section VIII, 148
5. Section IX, 146.5

The team standings:

1. Wantagh, VIII, 74
2. Port Jervis, IX, 64
3. Fox Lane, I, 63
4. Shenendehowa, II, 54
5. Longwood, XI, 53
6. St. Anthony's, C, 51.5
7. Rocky Point, XI, 46.5
8. Shoreham-Wading River, XI, 44
8. Wayne, V, 44
8. LaSalle, II, 44
49. Miller Place, 11

Consolation Finals

At 103 Malik Rasheed will wrestle for fifth place. He takes on Tim Schaefer. Just like the first match in the quartefinals, Rasheed pulls out a 3-2 win to take fifth in the state. Not a bad finish for the freshman. Schaefer gave up an escape in the third for a neutral start which was the difference in the match. The coaches for Lancaster were not too pleased with that decision to give up a point. Especially afterward when it costs him the match.

So Malik is done for the day and the season. As the wild card, he takes fifth place, his best finish in his short career.


.........................


At 145 Anthony Volpe will face Ryan Tompkins for third/fourth. Tompkins lost in the semifinals to Brian Herold of Macarthur. Tompkins is from Beacon (Section I).

He wins an 8-3 decision to take third place.


...........................

At 160 Billy Coggins will face John Paris of Amsterdam, the same wrestler he lost to in the quarterfinals. They're scoreless after a one-minute first period. Coggins gets two with 1:00 left in the second to take a 2-1 lead which he holds onto going into the third period. Coggins gets another points to make it 3-1. He gets two more to go ahead 5-1. He wins it 5-3.


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In the final consolation at 189 Zach Buonaiuto is taking on Marvin Titus-Casseus, the same wrestler he beat in the county final. Buonaiuto takes a 4-3 lead in the second period. He falls behind 6-4 after two. He wins it 10-6 to take fifth.

Buonaiuto was pretty emotional after the match as he hugged it out with coach Dom LoRe. A long career, the best in Miller Place history, had reached its end.

That wraps up the consolation finals. A few more matches are finishing up right now in the heavyweights and then the arena will be cleared and set up for the finals. The arena opens back up at 5 p.m. and around 5:45 will have the parade of champions with wrestling at 6.

More Wrestleback Matches

Longwood freshman Malik Rasheed is facing Brandon Ling in the consolations for the right to wrestle for third/fourth. After the second period he holds a 2-1 lead. They had a restart with :03 left in the second and Ling got the escape point to close the gap.
Rasheed got in trouble at the start of the third and fell behind 3-2 after a takedown with just over 1:20 to go. Ling is riding on top and Rasheed is unable to get anything going as the clock ticks away. With :18 left they restart with Rasheed on bottom. He needs an escape to tie it. He can't get it and Ling hangs on to win it 3-2. Rasheed falls to the fifth/sixth place consolation final. He'll face the loser of Jimmy Morris vs. Tim Schaefer.


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An update on team standings:
Section XI is cleaning up. You'll remember the semfinals last year was a disaster for Section XI as wrestler after wrestler fell to the wrestlebacks. It's been a different story this year and Section XI could very well end up with 5-6 state champs. Section XI is guaranteed two with a pair of Suffolk wrestlers facing each other in the finals. At this points I would say anything less than five Suffolk state champs would be a disappointment.


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They just announced the team points and Section XI has 200 1/2 for first place. Section I with 158 1/2 is in second place. The last time Section XI had the most points was 2005, which was also in Albany. Section XI had 255 1/2 points that year.


Our next wrestleback should be Anthony Volpe vs. Paul Morabito of Spencerport. Volpe takes a 5-0 first-period lead against Morabito. He closes within four at 5-1 in the second. Volpe hangs on 6-2 for the victory and will wrestle for third/fourth in a little over an hour or so.


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Next up is Billy Coggins vs. John Velieri, the same wrestler Neidhart beat in the semi's. They're tied after one period. Coggins starts the second on top. Coggins gives up an escape early on to fall behind 1-0. Just like when Neidhart faced him, it's another low-scoring match with neither wrestler able to get many shots in. Coggins closed in on a shot in the final seconds of the second but ran out of time before he could convert any points. In the third period he starts on bottom. An escape can tie it. After seven seconds they start again with Coggins on bottom. Coggins gets lifted with about 1:35 left and gets put on his back. Velieri gets the pin with :56 left. Coggins goes down by fall in the third period and will have to wrestle for fifth/sixth.

Velieri pins in 5:04.


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Next up is Zach Buonaiuto vs. Christian Boley of Brockport, a matchup we thought to see in the semifinals. This will be a good test to see which wrestler can bounce back from disappointing losses against the same wrestler. After one period they're scoreless. Buonaiuto starts the second on top. Buonaiuto goes to work in the second period, picking Boley up off the ground. But it doesn't lead to any points yet with 1:22 left. Boley starts down with :50 left in the second. Buonaiuto falls behind 2-0 after two and needs to rally in the third.

Buonaiuto quickly gets one back to make it 2-1 with 1:52 left. With :40 left Buonaiuto stops for an injury timeout. It's something with his left leg. Trainers are rubbing his left ankle. Buonaiuto gets taking down at the end and falls 4-1. The best he can do now is take fifth, which he did last year. Not the finish Buonaiuto had hoped for.

Local Final Matchups

The finals are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. (at least I think, the semifinals started about 20 minutes earlier than scheduled).

Here are the matchups for our local wrestlers:

96 Pounds
Corey Rasheed - Longwood
vs.
Mike Soria - Kings Park

119 Pounds
Steven Keith - SWR
vs.
Justis Flamio - Mahopac

135 Pounds
Stephen Dutton - RP
vs.
Andrew Lenzi - Fordham Prep

160 Pounds
T.J. Neidhart - SWR
vs.
James Brundage - Ossining

215 Pounds
Ernest James - Longwood
vs.
Steven Butler - Port Jervis

LIVE: State Semifinals

A crazy morning so far here in Albany. I won't get into all the specifics, but an early start to the tournament this morning has me playing catchup. All the media seats are taken as well, so I'm forced to stand as I type. Ahhh!

Anyway, the good news is Corey Rasheed won by fall in :54 in his semifinal match against Joe Barbato of Wantagh.

His brother, however, just lost at 103 to Damon McQueen of Huntington, 6-3.

Next up at 119, Steven Keith recorded a first period pin of John Belanger of Shenendehowa. He'll move on the finals for the first time since his sophomore year. While he was upset in the semifinals last year, he didn't allow that to happen this year. That gives us two local wrestlers in the finals thus far. Two more than last year.


In the finals Corey Rasheed will face Mike Soria of Kings Park in a rematch of the county final. So Suffolk County is guaranteed of at least one state champion. Rasheed lost to Soria in the county final and it was his only loss of the year. What a story it would be if he could avenge his one loss as a seventh-grader to win a state championship.


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Next up is Stephen Dutton vs. Jimmy Kloc of Iroquois.

Dutton dominated the match against Kloc jumping out to a 5-0 first-period lead. He nearly got the pin at the end of one but had to settle for three back points. He went ahead 10-0 in the third period before having to pause with a under a minute to go so he could .... wait for it .... throw up in a garbage can. He then proceeded to finish the match off with a 12-0 win to advance to the finals for the first time since his freshman year.


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Next up is Anthony Volpe vs. Zach Clemente, who is the top seed at 145.
Clemente comes into the semifinals off a 2:28 pin of Clint Schaefer of Lancaster in the quarters.

Volpe fell behind 2-0 after a quick takedown by Clemente. In the third he fell behind 7-2, his only points coming on escapes. There was an injury delay when Volpe was shaken up midway through the third. On the restart Clemente let him up for the escape to make it 7-3. He then went on the attack and got a takedown for the 9-3 lead. Clemente showed why he's the top seed with a solid all-around effort. Volpe never got his offense going and Clemente hung on for the 9-4 victory.

So that leaves us with still three wrestlers in the finals.
Malik Rasheed, Billy Coggins and Anthony Volpe are all still alive for the chance to take third.


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Dutton will take on defending state champion Andrew Lenzi in the finals. Dutton defeated Lenzi in the finals at Eastern States this year and did so fairly handily. That was the matchup everyone expected in the finals a year ago and now we have it this year.

Keith is facing familiar rival Justis Flamio, who he beat at Eastern States this year in the finals. Keith lost to Flamio in the semifinals at states last year and beat him in the state tournament two years ago.


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Next up is T.J. Neidhart vs. John Velieri at 160. Velieri is the No. 2 seed and comes off a 2-1 double overtime win against Clayton Reeb of Cheektowaga.

As the semifinals are going on, wrestlebacks are underway on two mats. So Coggins is on deck where he'll face Chris Marvin of Wayne. This is a critical match because a win guarantees his spot as an All-State wrestler. At this point it's win or go home. Marvin was pinned in the quarterfinals in 5:55 by James Brundage. Coggins won his first wrestleback last night against Kevin Matyas, 6-1.

Coggins and Marvin are scoreless after one period. Coggins starts on top for the second period. They remain scoreless as they fall out of bounds with 1:00 left in the second. A great move by Coggins on a restart to get Marvin on his back where he gets three points for a near fall. He takes the 3-0 lead into the third period. Coggins starts on bottom for the third period. With 1:08 to go Coggins will start on bottom after going out of bounds. Coggins came real close to getting a pin but Marvin was able to wiggle his way free. Coggins still gets points and takes an 8-0 lead with :42 to go.

Coggins hangs on for the 10-0 major decision to make himself an All-State wrestler. Now the question is where he places, anywhere from third to sixth.


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The one mat got way ahead of the other, so Ernest James faced Paul Glover before Neidhart's match. Neidhart started wrestling on the opposite mat while James was going. James pulled out the huge win against the defending state champion, 5-2. He scored 2 in the second on a takedown but was immediately reversed for the tie. At the start of the third Glover gave up one to allow for a neutral start. James hung on to the 3-2 lead until scoring two more to secure it with :19 left. So that gives us four local wrestlers in the finals.

Meanwhile, Neidhart took a 1-0 lead on Velieri who came back to tie it in the third. Neidhart was riding on top in the third but couldn't get any points. So the match heads to overtime. With :22 left they'll have a neutral start. Neidhart gets his two on a takedown with :03 left as Shoreham coach Joe Condon leaps in the air in celebration. Neidhart is headed to the finals and has surpassed his placing of last year. We now have FIVE local wrestlers in the finals. Neidhart wins that 3-1.


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Next up is Zach Buonaiuto at 189 vs. Matt Loew of Wantagh.

Buonaiuto fell behind 2-0 before getting an escape in the third to make it 2-1. But then Loew got him on his back and secured the pin to end Buonaiuto's bid for a state title. It's only the second loss of the season for Buonaiuto, who had hoped for another shot at Austin Meys, who handed him his only previous loss. So now Buonaiuto must settle for trying to place third. It's been quite the tournament for Loew who upset No. 2 Christian Boley in the first round, which we thought would be an advantage for Buonaiuto. Boley placed third in the state last year. But Loew had put together an incredible tournament run so far with wins against the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds. Next up he'll face the No. 1 seed in Meys.

So that ends the semifinals here in Albany for our local wrestlers.

We end up with five in the finals: Corey Rasheed (96), Steven Keith (119), Stephen Dutton (135), T.J. Neidhart (160) and Ernest James (215).


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As much as Buonaiuto hoped to get another shot at Meys, I don't know if he could have pulled it off. Meys has been by far the most dominant wrestler in this tournament. In three matches thus far he hasn't even wrestled the equivalent of one period. He has pins of :25, :20 and :52 for a grand total 1:37.



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In the other 215 semifinal, Zeal McGrew of Burnt Hills went to overtime against Steven Butler, the No. 2 seed. They were tied at two after three. Butler got the takedown to win the match 4-2. So James will face Butler in the finals. The only wrestler to beat James this year is McGrew. So a chance for redemption for James won't happen. But I think he's OK with that.