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.

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.

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.

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

VIDEO: Day 1 in Albany

Here are a few video highlights of Day 1 of the state wrestling championship:

LIVE: Wrestling Quarterfinals

We're set for the quarterfinals here in Albany and to start off is Corey Rasheed vs. Will Montgomery of Seaford at 96 pounds. Montgomery won a 1-0 decision to reach the quarters.

Here we go: Good match early on as both wrestlers fight for position. Rasheed gets the early two with about a minute left in the first. He's riding on top and maintains a 2-0 lead after one. An injury timeout delays the start of the second. Corey had some issue with his right hand, but it's quickly resolved. Rasheed starts the second period on bottom. Rasheed is having problems getting off bottom. He's slowly working his way toward the edge of the circle and gets out of bounds with :56 left in the second. He'll start on bottom again. A real rough period for Rasheed but he manages to gain a point. A late escape gives him a 3-0 advantage going into the second and he'll start on top for the third. Rasheed really survived a tough stretch.
A reversal makes it 3-2 with 1:13 left. We get a whistle and an injury timeout for Montgomery.

Rasheed gets another point to go ahead 4-2 but Montgomery ties it with under a minute to go. Rasheed quickly reverses to go ahead 6-4. An escape by Montgomery makes it 6-5 with :38 to go. This is quite the match. They'll have a neutral start with :38 after blood on the mat is cleaned.

They go out of bounds with :23 left and will start neutral. Rasheed is hit with a stall warning. The match is delayed again with blood on Montgomery. It was a good thing because he nearly had a takedown on Rasheed.

There's 14 seconds left. Rasheed hangs on and gets a takedown for the 8-5 win. A very impressive victory for the seventh-grader over a junior.

Meanwhile, Malik Rasheed was wrestling at the same time and pulled out a 3-2 win over Tim Schaefer, the No. 3 seed from Lancaster.

C. RASHEED, 8-5, OVER ERIC MONTGOMERY


M. RASHEED, 3-2, OVER TIM SCHAEFER


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


At 119 pounds Steven Keith won a 12-3 major decision against Brentwood's Alex Gomez in a rematch of the county final. My original post on his match didn't save when I tried to publish, so I have to do this again...

KEITH, 12-3, OVER ALEX GOMEZ


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


Next up is Stephen Dutton vs. Josh Halladay at 135

Before that happens, another big development to note: The No. 2 seed at 189, Christian Boley of Brockport lost in the first round. Boley placed third in the state last year at 189 and was upset by Matt Loew of Wantagh. This clears the path for Buonaiuto to reach the finals against Austin Meys, who is the top seed. Buonaiuto will face CJ Floor of Port Jervis in the quarterfinals first. If he wins, he'll get the winner of Loew vs. Ken Hamilton of Niagara Falls. A big break for Buonaiuto, we'll see if he can capitalize.

Now we're set for Dutton.

Dutton gets the quick 2-0 lead and takes control of the match. Dutton is so fast on the mat it's hard for wrestlers to react to his moves. Add in his strength and it's easy to see why he's undefeated this year and has only lost three matches since entering high school. The first period ends with Dutton ahead 2-0. It's not often he leads a match only 2-0 after one period. But this is the state tournament and nothing is easy. Dutton starts the second on bottom.

Now he goes to work in the second and grabs a 5-0 lead. He's riding on top. He's working to flip Halladay on his back but they reach a stalemate with :35 left in the second period. Dutton maintains that lead going into the third period.

In the third period Halladay gets a point after Dutton is hit for a stall, which the Rocky Point coaches don't understand. It makes it 5-1 with a minute remaining. Now it's Halladay who's warned for a stall, but no point. Dutton gets in an awkward position and gives up another point on a stall. He hangs on for the 5-2 decision.

It's been awhile since Dutton had a match that close. He was never really challenged in the county tournament.

STEPHEN DUTTON, 5-2, OVER JOSH HALLADAY


That now makes our local wrestlers 13-for-13 today.


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



Next up, 145
Anthony Volpe vs. Luke Speno (Fox Lane)

Speno won a 17-1 tech fall in the first round against Tony Carlo of Monsignor Farrell. He is the four seed while Volpe is the five. Speno comes in with a 36-1 record. This could be the end of our perfect streak today.

Update on the semifinal matchups tomorrow: Malik Rasheed will face the wrestler he lost against in the county final, Huntington's Damon McQueen. Rasheed struggled against McQueen and will have a hard time beating him here. His brother Corey will take on Joe Barbato of Wantagh who is also a wild card. He fell as the No. 11 seed and he beat the No. 3 Alec Dierna in the quarterfinals. Steven Keith will face John Belanger of Shenedehowa. He is the No. 4 seed.

Now we're set for Volpe vs. Speno

Volpe takes a 2-0 lead early in the first and comes real close to getting a pin. He gets three back points to storm ahead 5-0. Volpe came out this period ready to wrestle. Wow. He jumps ahead 8-0 and is dominating the action. An electric first period closes with Volpe ahead 8-0. I'm sure that has to be one of the better periods he's had this season.
Volpe got two more in the second period and he's closing in on a tech fall with a 10-0 lead. The action is stopped, though, and the score is now 10-2. Not sure where those two came from for Speno. Volpe gets an escape to go ahead 11-2. Now he's just got stay smart and close it out.

At the end of the second, Volpe leads 11-2. Now it's 12-2. Speno earned a takedown with about :33 left in the third to close it to 12-4. Volpe started to relax a bit in the final period with the big lead.

The final score is 13-5 and Volpe is definitely excited as he flexes his arms to his fans in the crowd. He's on to the semifinals after a very impressive quarterfinal win.

VOLPE, 13-5, OVER SPENO

So now we're 14-for-14 with five matches remaining in the quarterfinals.

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


Next up we'll have two matches at the same time at 160 with Coggins and Neidhart.

Coggins is set to face John Paris of Amsterdam who comes in off a pin against Nick Matthews of Kingston.

Neither wrestler can take control in the first period. Coggins goes on his stomatch with about :10 left in the first and stays there to ride out the period. They're notted at zero going into the second where Coggins will start on bottom. He gets the escape for the 1-0 lead. He takes the 1-0 lead into the third period where Paris starts on bottom. He gets the escape to tie it at 1. A takedown with 1:20 left gives Paris the 3-1 lead. He closes to 3-2 with just over a minute left. A takedown makes it 5-2 and Coggins is in trouble. He starts on bottom with :42 left. Coggins goes down 6-4 for the first local wrestler's loss of the day.

PARIS, 6-4, OVER COGGINS

Neidhart is underway in his match vs. Pat Brady of Carthage. He gets a late takedown for a 2-0 lead in the first. Neidhart gets the pin in the second period to advance to the finals.

NEIDHART, PIN, OVER BRADY


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


So it looks like we won't have 9 state champions.... Coggins goes down 6-4 and now Neidhart, who lost to him in the county finals, has a chance to earn the higher placing. Of course, if Neidhart loses in the semis, the two could very well face again. Coggins will have a busy schedule now to fight for third. He'll wrestle again tonight and will need four more wins to claim third. He needs to win at least his next two matches for a chance to place.



Buonaiuto is taking on the sixth seed CJ Floor of Port Jervis. Buonaiuto takes a quick 2-0 lead and then gives up and escape. He goes ahead 4-1 and as usual is riding on top. He gives up another escape, though, and he seems confident in his ability to get points. Buonaiuto gets in trouble and loses back points. It’s 6-6 after one. He nearly got pinned.
Buoanituo recovers to dominate the second and get the pin with :43 left.

BUONAIUTO, PIN 3:17, OVER FLOOR


James also got a pin, so quick that I didn’t even see it happen. YIKES! Next thing I know coach Mike Picozzi is sitting next to me. I’m here looking for James and it’s already over.

JAMES, PIN, OVER SHERIDAN


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


That wraps up the quarterfinals for us. An awesome day of wrestling for local wrestlers as they combine to go 17-of-18. The only loss coming for Coggins, who was the top seed at 160. He'll try to bounce back for third place.

The semifinals begin at 10 a.m. Saturday.

LIVE: State Wrestling Championship

******KEEP REFRESHING*******


Just arrived at the Times-Union Center where wrestling has been underway for about an hour and a half. So far four local wrestlers have competed and all have won.

The results are as follows:

96 pounds: Cory Rasheed (Longwood) pinned Derrick Gray of Indian River in :36.

103 pounds: Malik Rasheed (Longwood) won a 10-5 decision against Zack Hammell.

119 pounds: Steven Keith (SWR) pinned Jim Widger of St. Francis in 1:15.

135 pounds: Stephen Dutton (RP) won a technical fall against Brian Latham.

The quarterfinal matchups are as follows:
C. Rasheed vs. Will Montgomery (Seaford)

M. Rasheed vs. Tim Schaefer (Lancaster)

Keith vs. Alex Gomez (Brentwood)

Dutton vs. Josh Halladay (Johnson City)
................


I just got to see my first match and Anthony Volpe against Mike Perry of Massena. Volpe jumped out to a fast 6-2 start and was in control throughout the match. Volpe didn't score in the second period, but was never in trouble. He got into a slightly awkward spot early in the third when Perry got ahold of his left leg. But he quickly recovered and got a reversal to go ahead 8-2. Volpe needed an injury timeout midway through the third. It looked like something with his left leg. But he appeared OK and finished off the match. Volpe gave up an escape with :42 left and then Perry got it to 8-4. Then he got a takedown with about :10 left, but couldn't add anything else with Volpe on his stomach.

Final Score: VOLPE 8 - PERRY 6


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


Interesting note at the 135 bracket. Dutton was originally listed as the second seed in the bracket, but he's at the top spot now that the bracket is posted. A great quarterfinal matchup is Paul Liguori of Wantagh against Andrew Lenzi of Fordham Prep. Them facing each other in the quarterfinals seems a bit early. Lenzi won a state title last year and was the wrestler everyone expected Dutton to face before he was upset in the first round. Dutton beat both wrestlers this year and Liguori was probably the closest match of the year. He beat Lenzi at the Eastern States and didn't have too much trouble. An undefeated regular season really pays off when he gets that high seed and avoids having to beat both Liguori and Lenzi. And when he does face one of them, it'll be in the finals.


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


160 Pounds: Coggins vs. Rob Grabher (North Shore)

Coggins gets a takedown with :46 left in the first period to go ahead 2-0. A late escape point for Grabher makes it 2-1 after one period. Coggins gets an escape early in the second to go back ahead by two, 3-1. He then reverses Grabher for a 5-1 lead with under a minute left in the second. He takes a 5-1 lead into the third period. An escape point gives Coggins a 6-1 lead. A takedown puts Coggins ahead 8-1 and he's in full control. Interesting note, Grabher was ranked fourth in Nassau at 152 in the rankings of Feb. 3. A nice job by him to get to the state tournament by winning the Nassau title.
Coggins held on 8-1 to make our local wrestlers 6-for-6 so far in the first round.

COGGINS 8 - GRABHER 1

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

160: T.J. Neidhart vs. Darin Wignall (Depost/Hancock)

A scoreless first period, not many shots by either wrestler. Neidhart starts the second period on bottom and earns the escape point for a 1-0 lead. Neidhart goes ahead 3-0 with about 1:15 left in the second. Neidhart gets two more just before the second period ends for a 5-0 lead. A neutral start to the third period and Neidhart is being patient. He makes his move after about 20 seconds and gets another takedown for a 7-0 lead. Neidhart closes it out 9-0. And local wrestlers are 7-for-7.

NEIDHART 9 - WIGNALL 0

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

Zach Buonaiuto vs. Josue Cardenas (Portchester)

Buonaiuto fell behind early 2-0 before taking a 4-2 lead into the third period. It was a slow start for Buonaiuto but he turned it on in the third period and won it 9-2. Video to follow.

BUONAIUTO 9 - CARDENAS 2

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

Ernest James vs. Patrice Castor (East Ramapo)

James takes a 2-0 first-period lead. In the second James takes a shot at Castor's right leg and earns the takedown. An injury time-out forces a delay with seven seconds left in the second period. Not sure what's wrong. Actually, it looks like a problem with Castor's head gear. He's got a crazy mask on that looks like some kind of hockey goalie helmet. You can't see any of his face. Wild stuff. The period resumes and James closes it out with the 4-0 lead. James starts down for the third period. James goes ahead 6-0. James rides on top the final period and twists Castor on his back to get the pin with 12 seconds left. James in jeopardy of the rare non-pin win. He's only had a couple of those this year. But he pulls it out in 5:48.

JAMES PIN OVER CASTOR, 5:48

Next stop: Albany

Wrestling fans should expect a great showing from Section XI and specifically local wrestlers from the north shore, at this year's state championship, which begins Friday at the Times-Union Center in Albany.

As noted in Friday's North Shore Sun, I'll be up in Albany blogging live during the two days. So to keep track of wrestlers from Longwood, Rocky Point, Shoreham and Miller Place, this is the place.

I'll be leaving early Friday morning, so I'll probably miss the early part of the first round. I'm hoping traffic won't be too bad...

The schedule is as follows:

FRIDAY
10 a.m.: Parade of Champions/National Anthem
10:30 - 2:30 p.m.: Preliminaries
2:30-4:30 p.m.: Quarterfinals
4:30-6:30 p.m.: Wrestlebacks
6:30-8:30 p.m.: Wrestlebacks

SATURDAY
9:30 a.m.: National Anthem/Special Awards
10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: Semifinals & Wrestlebacks
12:30 - 2 p.m.: Wrestlebacks/Consolation Semifinals
2-3:30 p.m.: Consolation Finals
6 p.m.: Finals

If you log on before I get settled in at the Times-Union Center, check here for the early results:
http://www.nysphsaawrestling.com/results.html

Once again, the local wrestlers competing are as follows:
96 - Cory Rasheed, Longwood
103 - Malik Rasheed, Longwood
119 - Steven Keith, SWR
135 - Stephen Dutton, Rocky Point
145 - Anthony Volpe, Rocky Point
160 - Billy Coggins, Rocky Point
160 - T.J. Neidhart, SWR
189 - Zach Buonaiuto, Miller Place
215 - Ernest James, Longwood

Neidhart, Rasheed earn wild cards

UPDATE 2/25/09: Malik Rasheed of Longwood is now slated to compete at 103 after a wrestler dropped out, Longwood coach Mike Picozzi confirmed. Picozzi did not know which wrestler dropped out, but the Lions will now send three wrestlers to the state meet. Malik joins his brother Corey and 215-pounder Ernest James. Malik was originally listed as an alternate for the wild card berth.

Shoreham-Wading River senior T.J. Neidhart earned a second consecutive at-large bid to the state wrestling tournament. After placing second at 160 he'll get a chance to contend for a state title. He placed third in the state last year at 145.

Another local wrestler who will be headed to the state meet is Longwood seventh-grader Corey Rasheed, who lost his first match of the season in the 96-pound county finals. The experience of a state tournament at such a young age should go a long way in his development. His brother Malik, a freshman, is an alternate at 103. Malik also placed second in the county tournament. Twelve wrestlers in total from Suffolk County earned at-large bids and two were listed as alternates. This is the third year of the at-large bids.

That brings the total number of local wrestlers guaranteed to be competing this weekend up to 8:

96-Corey Rasheed

119-Steven Keith

135-Stephen Dutton

145-Anthony Volpe

160-Billy Coggins

160-T.J. Neidhart

189-Zach Buonaiuto

215-Ernest James

The wild card entrants from Section XI were as follows:

96-Corey Rasheed

96-Max Soria

112-Peter DeTore

119-Alex Gomez

125-Tyler Sinisgalli

125-Adam Troy

130-Kyle Wade

140-Nick Terdick

152-Chris Carlucci

160-TJ Neidhart

189-Marvin Titus-Casseus

215-Eric Wooley

Lions-Raiders Preview

The Longwood basketball team takes on Patchogue-Medford Tuesday in the Class AA quarterfinals for a chance to advance to the semifinals against the winner of Lindenhurst/Bay Shore. The Lions have beaten the Raiders twice this season, but both games have been close. The Raiders feature a dynamic scorer in Marcus Stroman, who can take over a game with his shooting ability. He can score from anywhere on the court. Expect the Lions to mix up their looks at him defensively with Tajric Boggs and Kyle Weeks getting the early assignment. As with any good scorer, you want to force him to take tough, contested shots. If he gets easy looks early in the game, that could allow him to get hot, at which point it doesn't matter if his shots are contested.

Jordan Jackson scored 20 points in the Raiders' playoff opener so the Lions will have to keep an eye on him as well. They'll also need to get a body on the 6-8 center, Nick Sergio. He doesn't have great range, but if he's left open down low he'll control the boards and get second chance opportunities. The Lions will rely on Jimmy Knudsen and Marcus Hunter to grab the boards.

The Raiders were competitive in all six games against their top League I rivals this year but went only 1-5 in those games. Their one win came at Lindenhurst Jan. 16, 71-68. Sergio had 20 points in that win. The Lions can't let that happen Tuesday. Stroman will get his points, but they can't allow the other guys to put up a big number as well. In their five losses they lost by an average of 5.6 points.

History has been on the Lions' side as of late in the rivalry. In the last three years they've won five out of six games.

Jan. 24, '09: Longwood 68, Pat-Med 62

Dec. 16, '08: Longwood 69, Pat-Med 65

Jan. 29, '08: Pat-Med 73, Longwood 66

Jan. 5, '08: Longwood 69, Pat-Med 65

Feb. 12, '07: Longwood 73, Pat-Med 54

Jan. 19, '07: Longwood 58, Pat-Med 58

Quarterfinals Matchups Are Set

Top-seeded Longwood hung on against Sachem North Tuesday night. Click here for a full recap.

So the quarterfinals set for next Tuesday are as follows:

1. Longwood

vs.

9. Patchogue-Medford

4. Lindenhurst

vs.

5. Bay Shore

3. Bellport

vs. 

6. North Babylon

7. Walt Whitman

vs.

15. Deer Park

Obviously the big surprise is No. 15 Deer Park upsetting No. 2 Brentwood. The Indians fell in double overtime, 84-81, for the quick exit. It's not terribly surprising when you consider the skill of Josh Malone, who poured in 29 points for Deer Park in the win. I saw him this year light up Riverhead and he can really score. J.J. Moore added 28 for Brentwood, but it wasn't enough. Brentwood returns most of its team around Moore so the Indians will be back next year.

Last year in AA the higher seed won every game throughout the bracket. Not so this year. I don't really consider No. 9 Pat-Med winning as an upset, though. The Raiders are a legit team, their record was just hurt by playing in League I. Should be a good one next week at Longwood.

VIDEO: Wrestling County Championship

Here's a highlight package of all the local wrestlers in the county finals from Saturday. Six locals won titles with Steven Keith, Stephen Dutton, Anthony Volpe, Billy Coggins, Zach Buonaiuto and Ernest James.

Be sure to pick up Friday's paper

Friday's edition of the North Shore Sun will have extended coverage of this weekend's wrestling tournament, with stories on all the county champs from our coverage area. Also, a video package will be up on this site, as well as the Sun's homepage by Monday night or Tuesday. I still have to edit the video. So check back for that as well.

A few quick thoughts on the tournament:

• There really weren't many surprises. Going back to early December, of the 15 wrestlers ranked No. 1 in the county, 10 of them went on to win the county title Saturday. The only winners who weren't ranked No. 1 two months ago were Mike Soria (96), Nick Meinsen (125), Dan O'Malley (130), Ryan Rheaume (152) and Billy Coggins (160). Meinsen and Coggins were ranked second.
  

• Everyone seemed to enjoy Hofstra in terms of the actual facility. Space was very good (better than Stony Brook) and the seating brought fans right on top of the action. The seats looked pretty comfortable as well. It was interesting to watch the Hofstra staff transform the arena from its original six-mat format to a two-mat format for the finals. The staff worked very diligently to get everything in order, which included dissembling the stage for the main table, opening up all the closed seats, rearranging the mats and setting up the tables for press row. At that time the TV crew came in and starting running wires everywhere to get their setup in order. I sat back, watched and ate some pizza. 
  

• Next year could be problematic for a sight to host the tournament. Stony Brook won't be available yet next year as the construction remains on hold due to a lack of financing. But I've heard next year all the county tournament's are supposed to be the same weekend. And Nassau wants to use Hofstra. If that's so, where does that leave Suffolk?
  

• From what I could tell nearly all the wrestlers and coaches stayed in hotels nearby the arena rather than driving all the way home. Seemed to make sense, especially for schools like Mattituck, where it's more than a 2-hour drive to Hofstra. 
  

• I was a little disappointed with the attendance for the finals. It was a good crowd, but by no means close to a sellout in the 5,000-seat arena. As Hofstra staff was setting up the arena, I heard a man whom I presume to be the guy in charge of the operation, say a sellout was expected. I didn't think that was going to happen, especially considering the farther drive. But still, I thought the top sections of the arena would fill out a little more.
  

• I don't know if I agree with Ken Collado as the MOW. I know he's the only returning state champ, so that gives him a little extra cred, but I don't think he had the most dominant run through the tournament. The 112 class is a very tough weight, no doubt, but Collado didn't even record a pin or tech fall in the tourney. In the quarterfinals he won 2-0 against Longwood's Nicky Hall, who is just an eighth-grader. When you look at a guy like Dutton from Rocky Point, he barely broke a sweat in his four wins. Is that because his weight class is that much inferior or is he just that much more talented? I would argue the latter. Even guys like Buonaiuto and James were utterly dominant with four pins each. James pinned a guy in the finals who was undefeated. And even Keith, who won the award last year, could have been considered. He gave up one give-away point the entire tournament. But, I don't get to vote for the award, so my opinion doesn't matter....
  

• It was nice to see Longwood, one of the predominant wrestling programs in the history of the tournament, crown a county champ again. James was the school's first champ since Mike Tricarico at 189 in 2006. It was also the school's best team finish since 2002 when the Lions finished second to William Floyd. Now there's a school you don't expect to win a county title these days...
  

• Rocky Point's three county champs was also a first in school history. The Eagles had crowned two in a tournament before.
  

Section XI State Qualifier Video

Here's some video highlights of the boys and girls Section XI track state qualifier Feb. 10.

Some qualifiers included Ashley Clasen (SWR), Janet Mellor (MS), Janie Turek (MS), Jennifer Johnston (LW), Kayla Murphy (LW), Bobby Andrews (SWR) and Kyle Wightman (SWR).

It's official, Longwood No. 1

The Longwood boys were seeded No. 1 in the Class AA outbracket as revealed Thursday afternoon. The Lions will host Sachem North Tuesday at 6 p.m.

To view a complete bracket, log on to sectionxi.org

Longwood boys win, could earn top seed

The Longwood boys basketball team capped off a 10-2, 16-3 regular season with a win against Sachem East, 74-39, at home Wednesday night. Now it's a waiting game to see how the seeds shake out.

Longwood finished the season as co-League I champs along with Brentwood (10-2) but finished with a better overall record. The Lions also won the only common game between the two schools. Longwood beat St. John the Baptist, a team Brentwood lost to. That said, it would seem to make sense Longwood earns the higher seed over Brentwood.

The Lions could be the top seed, especially after Bay Shore in League II somehow lost to Central Islip Wednesday, 43-42, on a last-second 3-pointer. So instead of 13-1 and 17-2, Bay Shore ends 12-2 and 16-3. 

Here's my rough prediction as of Wednesday night: (I'm always curious to see how close I get to predicting these seedings...)

1. Longwood (10-2, 16-3)

vs. 

16. Connetquot (7-7, 9-11)

9. Pat-Med (7-5, 13-5)

vs.

8. Copiague (9-3, 13-6)

5. Walt Whitman (12-2, 14-5)

vs.

12. Riverhead (7-5, 12-7)

4. Bellport (12-0, 16-3)

vs.

13. Deer Park (6-6, 9-10)

3. Brentwood (10-2, 14-5)

vs.

14. Sachem North (7-7, 9-10)

11. West Islip (9-5, 10-9)

vs.

6. Lindenhurst (9-3, 15-4)

10. Hills East (9-3, 11-7)

vs.

7. North Babylon (10-2, 14-5)

15. Hills West (6-6, 7-12)

vs.

2. Bay Shore (12-2, 16-3)

Again, this is just my guess. If it turned out like this, obviously if you're Longwood you don't want to see Marcus Stroman in round 2. That's rough. But on the plus side, Brentwood and Lindenhurst would be on the opposite side of the bracket, so the Lions would only have to face one of them and that would be in the county finals. I valued North Bab as a league champ pretty low, so I don't necessarily know if that'll hold up. But I think Lindy as a third-place finisher still deserves a higher seed than just about every other team in the county. Probably even Bellport, too.

We'll find out for sure Friday morning... And then we'll break it down fo' real.

SWR boys hoops in playoffs

No big surprise here. The Shoreham-Wading River boys clinched a playoff spot with a win Monday night against Mount Sinai. The Wildcats and Longwood are the only boys teams to earn playoff spots this season.

On the girls side, only Shoreham and Mount Sinai are in. The two teams met Monday as well and Shoreham won to improve to 11-3 in League VI while the Mustangs fell to 8-6.

For an updated look at potential playoff seeding, let's start with the boys.

In Class AA, with Bay Shore's win Monday night against Walt Whitman, I'll guess the Marauders take the top seed in the playoffs. They're currently 12-1 in League II and 16-2 overall, the best record in AA. I think Longwood should get the No. 2 seed, assuming a win Tuesday against Sachem East. The Lions would finish at 10-2 and 16-3. From there you'd have Whitman (11-2, 13-5), Lindenhurst (8-3, 14-4), Bellport (11-0, 15-3) Copiague (9-2, 13-5) and North Babylon (9-2, 13-5) all vying for the next five seeds. All of those teams should host a first-round game. Don't be shocked if Pat-Med, a fourth-place League I team, sneaks in as a seven or eight seed.

A lot is still riding on the last game of the season for all these teams.

In Class A, the Wildcats finished 7-7 in league and will be a bottom seed, likely to face an outbracket game and then have to go on the road to East Hampton or Harborfields. Expect their playoff run to be short.

As for the girls, the first question is who gets the top seed in Class A, Harborfields (13-0, 16-2 League V) or John Glenn (13-0, 16-2 League VI). This is a big question for Shoreham. As a four seed, if the Wildcats win, they'll have to go on the road to the No. 1 seed. I think they'd like their chances against the Knights, a team they've played so many times before. Remember, the Wildcats, after losing twice by big margins in the regular season, nearly beat them last year on the road. Maybe, just maybe, they'd be able to pull of the upset this time in a similar, low-scoring game. Having to face a team like Harborfields that you're completely unfamiliar with doesn't sound good to me. I'd rather face the team that you know exactly what it can do. And hope you're due to win one.

First, though, the Wildcats will likely have to face a team like Amityville. The Wildcats beat the Warriors twice in the regular season, but they're a dangerous team. Sayville or Comsewogue could be in the mix as well for a five seed, although both teams have worse records than Amityville. But sometimes the seeding committee likes to have first-round matchups of League V vs. League VI teams. You never know....

Another Boys Hoops Roundup...

We're down to the final stretch in high school basketball before the playoffs begin. So let's take a look at where boys team's stand and how the playoffs might shake up.

Only one local team has clinched a playoff spot and that's Longwood in League I. The Lions face first-place Brentwood at home tonight for a chance to earn a share of the league title. If the Lions can win out these next two games, including a home game against Sachem East, the real interesting question will be which team gets the higher seed? Brentwood or Longwood? The Lions would have the better overall record, but Brentwood played the tougher schedule. Longwood did beat St. John the Baptist, a team Brentwood lost to. An Indians win tonight makes it a moot point. Brentwood has won three straight against Longwood, all at Brentwood. Longwood won its last home meeting against the Indians last year.

Here are the current standings:

Brentwood 9-1

Longwood 8-2

Lindenhurst 6-3

Pat-Med 5-4

Floyd 3-6

Sachem East 2-7

Ward Melville 0-10

The only other local team with a chance to clinch a playoff berth is Shoreham-Wading River in League VI. The Wildcats are 6-7 and should get their seventh win when they play Mount Sinai Monday at home. Miller Place and Mt. Sinai are eliminated from contention.

Here are the standings:

East Hampton 12-1

John Glenn 10-3

Amityville 9-4

Bayport 9-4

SWR 6-7

Miller Place 4-9

Mt. Sinai 1-12

Westhampton 1-12

In League V Rocky Point is eliminated from contention with a 4-9 record.

Harborfields 11-1

Huntington 10-2

Kings Park 10-3

Comsewogue 7-6

Islip 6-7

Rocky Point 4-9

Hauppauge 3-10

Sayville 0-13

So let's take a look at possible playoff positioning:

In Class A the bracket is set up for seven teams, but we'll have more teams make it. As of now there are eight teams clinched with another two as possibilities. Shoreham should make it nine and an Islip win against Rocky Point would make it 10 teams. So we're looking at outbracket games to get in the dance. Shoreham will definitely be an outbracket team, playing either a Comsewogue or Islip.

My guess would be if 10 teams get in that the 9 and 10 would play an outbracket for the right to play the No. 1. Then the 7 and 8 would play for the right to play the No. 2.

Something like this:

9. Comsewogue

vs.

10. SWR

7. Amityville

vs.

8. Islip

1. East Hampton

vs.

9-10 Winner

4. John Glenn

vs. 

5. Kings Park

3. Huntington

vs.

6. Bayport-Blue Point

2. Harborfields

vs.

7-8 winner

That'd be a tough bracket right there.

Back to Class AA:

This is where things get real tricky. A lot of good teams without a couple really dominant teams as sure 1 and 2 seeds. This won't be easy to break down and the season's final few games will go a long way toward determining these final seeds.

So far 11 teams have clinched a playoff spot. The bracket is set up for 16 teams. From League I through IV there are at least one or two teams that stand one win away from clinching. So within the next few days we'll have a better picture of what teams are in. There are simply too many important games left to accurately predict how the seedings may fall. Among them are Longwood-Brentwood tonight, Hills West-Bellport, Whitman-Bay Shore and Copiague-North Babylon. These games all have huge ramifications toward playoff seeding and potential league titles.

It should make for an exciting prelude to the playoffs.