Island Trees High School Athletics

High School Wrestling

Three Island Trees wrestlers made All-County at the Nassau County Individual Championship. Junior Joe Cusker (30-10) lost a tough 3-2 match in the semifinal and ended up with a fifth-place finish. Senior Juan Marin (32-10) finished off a brilliant senior season with a sixth-place finish. Senior Mike Cama (33-4) ended his career with a third-place finish in the county tournament. Mike Cama finished his career with 117 wins. The team will be looking to improve in 2005-06 as 11 of 13 starters return. The team also returns 21 wrestlers who placed sixth or better in the league. Coach Garcia and Coach Paletta will be working hard in the off-season to get the team ready.

Middle School Wrestling

The Island Trees wrestling team opened its season with an impressive win over Salk Middle School 42-22. The match was very close in the beginning until the Bulldogs showed determination and rallied to take a huge lead. Wrestlers winning their match by pin were Cory Stimach, George Athan, Anthony Ciaravino, Nick Roa, Bryan Verbitsky, Anthony Wrightington, Mike Caldarera and Steve Schwab. Wrestlers winning their match by decision were Gianluca Sorisi, Joe DeSimone, Mike Alavanja and Jaime Sierra.

Overall, it was a good performance by the Bulldogs. Coach Tuorto and Coach Haggerty were pleased with the outcome. The next home match for the Dawgs will be on Wednesday, March 16 at 4:30 p.m., against the very tough Wantagh Warriors.

Basketball

The eighth-grade girls basketball team continued with their winning streak by defeating Bethpage 32-20. Notable offensive plays were given by Rebecca Burleson, Meghan Carey, Michelle Duffy and Christina Merrill. Outstanding team defense was led by Danielle Doller, Tara Ludewig and Jessica Valencia. The team is currently 5-0.

The seventh-grade Girls Basketball team played a great game against Martlin. As a team, they played well on both ends of the basketball court. Some of the standouts were: Michelle Giordano with 15 points, Anne Badolato with 6 points, Jessica Pierre-Tijero with 4 points and Lauren Sternberg, Kaitlynn VanAlst and Jessica Beissel with 2 points apiece.