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Mustang Sports Highlights

By Bob Nelson

Now that the holiday season has past, it is time to bring you up to date on how our Mustang teams are doing this winter. All of the teams have finished their preseason non-league matches, and are well into their regular league matches. The basketball teams are especially proud this season, as the Mineola gymnasium underwent some much needed renovations this summer. They are now proud to play on a newly finished floor. The lighting and sound systems have also bee upgraded. Two student athletes contributed their artistic talents to this project. Senior Jessica Hegmann (basketball) and senior Mark Brown (wrestling and baseball) designed and drew the Mustang team mascot on each end of the basketball court. This excellent drawing was then covered with many coats of polyurethane and will be a part of our high school heritage for many years to come. Thanks go to the school board, Mr. Tony Gulli and the district administration for their support of this project.

Celebrity Basketball Game Feb. 27

The Mineola Mustang Athletic Booster Club is pleased to announce that on Feb. 27, we will host a celebrity basketball game featuring former National Football League players. This night promises to be great fun. You will have a chance to see these fine athletes play teams made up of Mineola faculty, parent organizations, local service organizations and others. More information will follow in the next few weeks, but you should mark your calendars now. You will not want to miss this event. All proceeds will go to the Booster Club to help support their scholarship programs.

Also listed in this column are the remaining schedules for the winter teams. There is nothing more fun and exciting than watching a high school competition. Come on down and see for yourself. January is "Spirit Month" at the high school. Each Friday night you can see the various teams compete and get a real sense of how spirited Mineola HS is. Refreshments are available. Come on out and support our athletes.

For more information, call the athletic office at the HS.

Boys Basketball

12/13

Congratulations to the JV boys basketball team which captured the championships of the Garden City Tournament by defeating Garden City 54 to 49. Matt Damon led the way for Mineola with 20 points, while James McQueen grabbed 15 rebounds. In Friday's opening round game the Mustangs beat Oyster Bay 50 to 22. The offense was a team effort with Dave Terezo grabbing five steals. This was the first JV tournament championship since 1987.

12/13

On the varsity level, the Mustangs lost in the championship round to Oyster Bay after defeating Garden City the night before. Bobby Manu was chosen to the All-Tournament team. Bobby also captured the three point shooting contest by sinking eight of 10 three-pointers in the final round.

12/22

Another victory for the boys varsity basketball team was against Carey with a score of 57 to 41. The Mustangs were led by Bobby manu who scored 31 points including six three-pointers. Stan Smith contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Boys Bowling

12/8

Both the boys JV and varsity bowling teams had a match on Dec. 8. They competed against Jericho and both teams won. The varsity team had highlights including a high game for John Pirrone with a 265 and also for Anthony Scapicchio with 222 and 208 for Dan Maloney. John Pirrone bowled a high three game series with a score of 647.

The JV team did well also. Matt Brown bowled a 157, Adam Tuthill bowled a 169 and Eric Kruse bowled two games with scores of 186 and 178.

12/10

The boys varsity bowling team also competed against Lawrence on Dec. 10. They won the match with a score of 8 to 3. They lost the first game by six pins. Anthony Scapicchio bowled a 198, 219, 197 to equal a 614 series. John Randazzo bowled a 182, 225, 200 to equal 607 series. Dan Maloney bowled a 188 and John Pirrone bowled 188, 182, 232 for a 602 series. Team stayed together to win the last two games. They won the last game by seven pins.

On the JV level, Tom Brown bowled a 175, 186, 172 to lead the team. Adam Tuthill bowled games of 170 and 178. Eric Kruse bowled a high game of 216 and Billy Delia bowled a 156.

12/15

The bowling team competed again on Dec. 15 against Hewlett. The varsity team continued to win their third straight match. Mustangs are now in second place. High games by Anthony Scappichio with a score of 221 and John Randazzo with 191 and Dan Maloney scored 200. John Pirrone also did well with a score of 210.

The JV team had an exciting match. They lost to Hewlett with a score of 0-11. Although, all the games were very close. The high games were by Adam Tuthill with a score of 152, Matt Brown with a score of 161, Eric Kruse with 162 and Billy D'Elia scored 156.

12/17

The most recent bowling match took place on Dec. 17 against Syosset. Both teams lost to Syosset with a score of 0-11. Varsity bowled against the league leading team Syosset and lost 11-0. Syosset bowled a 3 to 800 series game. For Mineola Dan Maloney bowled a 216 and John Pirrone bowled a high game of 249 and a 626 three game series.

The JV team lost as well. The high games for this team were Adam Tuthill with a 194 and Billy D'Elia had a 170. Eric Kruse had a game of 189, 192, 189 for a 570 three game series.

Gymnastics

1/5

Mineola varsity gymnastics held its first official home meet on Jan. 5. Mineola defeated Great Neck North with a score of 114.6 to Great Neck North's 109.9. The top All-Around performances were by Dana Culleny of Mineola and Sarah Ariam of Great Neck North. Mineola's victory was due to their high score on vault. Two new high scorers on this event are Colleen Bowler and Diane Macedo. Both girls recently learned to execute handsprings. As the team learns more, they move toward a more competitive season.

Girls Basketball

12/22

Congratulations to the girls varsity basketball team for their win against East Meadow with a score of 44 to 23 in the Great Neck South Tournament. Katie Zunno led all scorers with 19 points. Nikki Adams and Jessica Hegmann led with eight rebounds each.

12/16 and 12/20

In addition, the JV varsity girls basketball team is doing well also. The first week of their season was filled with excitement. The JV schedule is very competitive this year. Although they did not defeat their first two opponents, Elmont and Baldwin on Dec. 16 and 20, in non-league competition they have improved with each game.

The opening season game versus Roslyn was a strong performance. Erin Cloghessy scored 10 points followed by Erin Sanderleaf and Ashley O'Neil with 10 and 9 points.

The next league game was against the powerhouse Lynbrook. A missed three-point shot at the buzzer by Lucy Sousa ended the game 44-42. Ashley O'Neil led all scores with 20 points. Samantha Didrikson had a great defense game, dominating the boards.

Mineola Students Hit the Airwaves

The girls and boys bowling team and the Mineola girls basketball team were featured on the radio on Jan. 6 at 9 p.m. on the "Halftime Howie Show," radio station BAB 1240 am. The athletes were very excited. Three players from each team were featured, including Bill Smith, the girls varsity bowling coach and the girls varsity basketball coach Denise Zunno.

Girls Varsity Basketball

Congratulations to the girls varsity basketball team for its impressive win against Baldwin 68-59. Jessica Hegmann had an outstanding game, having 14 rebounds and 20 points. Katie Zunno led all scorers with 23 points. Outstanding defensive performance by Katie Sharp.

Girls Gymnastics

The girls gymnastics team defeated Great Neck North in competition last night by a score of 114.6 to 109.9

Leading the team was captain Dana Culleeny. Dana came in second on the balance beam, floor exercise, uneven bars and vault.

Nikki Weber placed third on the balance beam and vault.

Liza Laurino and Collen Bowler tied for third on the floor exercise.

Congratulations to the whole team for a splendid victory.

The girls' next home match is Jan. 21.

Girls Bowling

12/15

The marquee matchup of the season to date pitted The Mineola Girls Bowling team against Lawrence this past Monday. Both teams were unbeaten and tied for first in their conference.

The Mustangs came out hot with a 712 team game to take a 170 pin lead. Christina Schulze's 212 and Joanna Errico's 189 led the way. Things nearly fell apart after the second game, as Lawrence turned in an outstanding 691 to take the second game and close the pin count to just 39.

The Mustangs wouldn't let that lead slip away, however, and took the third game and total pins with the help of Melissa Danielson's 166 and Tracee Eger's 160. The final: Mineola 8, Lawrence 3.

12/17

Wednesday saw the second meeting of the year against Jericho. After a sluggish start, Mineola found its form with a season leading team game of 717. Errico (192), Schulze (176), Tara Fairgrieve (176) and Eeger (170) were outstanding and sealed an 11-0 victory. The Lady Mustangs currently sit at 41-3, and have a five point lead in their conference.

Girls Varsity Basketball

12/19

Congratulations to the girls varsity basketball for their exciting win against fourth ranked Lynbrook 77-60. Jessica Hegmann led all scorers with her career high 28 points and 15 rebounds. Katie Zunno added 20 points and nine assists. Excellent defense by Nicki Adams. The Lady Mustangs remain undefeated.