This week we feature the Mineola HS varsity rifle team. The team is coached by Mark Miller. Coach Miller has had a lot of success with this sport over the years. It seems that each year, Mineola produces an excellent team of sharpshooters in both air and cartridge. This year the team has many young shooters, but based on the results of the early matches, it seems that once again, Mineola competes strongly, even with first year shooters. Here is what Coach Miller had to say about this year's rifle team:

Coaching Staff: Varsity, JV, Club - Mark Miller

Head Coach Profile:

HS Attended: Mineola High School

College Attended: Nassau Community (AS), Springfield College (BS), Queens College (MS).

Returning Players: Chris Kang - 1st year varsity shooter last year.

Expectations for the Season: To be honest I was expecting six members of last year's squad to come out this year but only one did. We would have had a very competitive Air Rifle Team but those shooters failed to come out for the team.

We are ranked at the bottom and near bottom in both Cartridge and Air Rifle. I'm looking for us to gain experience, get better and have fun this year.

Players to Watch:

Capt. Jr. - Chris Kang - only shooter with varsity experience from last year.

Capt. Jr. - Johnny Kang - 1st year varsity shooter

Soph. Rick DiCandia - 1st year varsity shooter

Soph. Ricky Marques - 1st year varsity shooter

Freshman Steve Bonette - 1st year varsity shooter

Freshman Pio Park - 1st year varsity shooter.

All of our opponents will be a challenge.

Game Highlights

12/10

Mineola 409 - Garden City 465

The varsity rifle team opened its air rifle season on Thursday, Dec. 10, and lost to Garden City 465 to 409. This year's varsity team consists of Jr. Capt. Chris Kang, Jr. Capt. Johnny Chang, Soph. Rick DiCandia, Soph. Ricky Marques, Freshman Steve Bonetti and Freshman Pio Park. The three top scorers for Mineola were Chris Kang - 143, Pio Park - 138, and Ricky Marques - 128. (In air rifle all scores are out of 200).

12/15

Mineola 421 - Valley Stream 547

Mineola's varsity rifle team went up against one of the best teams in the county in air rifle, Valley Stream, and lost 547 to 421 on Dec. 15. The top three scorers for Mineola were Chris Kang - 142, Ricky Marques - 141, and Pio Park with a 138. Top score of the match belonged to Joe Fitzgibbon who shot an outstanding 192 out of 200.

12/17

Mineola 446 - Baldwin 417

On Dec. 17, the Mineola varsity rifle team won its first match by a score of 446 to 417 against Baldwin. In each of Mineola's first three matches improvement has been shown (409, 421, 446). The top three scores out of six count for the team score in air rifle. The top three for Mineola in this match were Chris Kang - 150, Pio Park and Ricky Marques, who both shot a 148. Right behind them were Rick DiCandia - 146, and Steve Bonetti with a 143. Mineola's next three matches will be cartridge (22) matches.

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Mineola HS is also fortunate to have a varsity girls gymnastics team. Coached by Brenda White and assisted by Maureen Connolly, it seems that each year interest grows in this demanding sport. Mineola graduated some excellent all-around gymnasts last year, but this year's team is strong in numbers and determination. Coach White submitted the following team profile:

Coaching Staff: Brenda White and Maureen Connolly - assistant.

Head Coach Profile:

HS Attended: New Hyde Park

College Attended: Cortland

Returning Players:

Nicole Weber - all-around gymnast

Diane Macedo - all-around gymnast

Liza Laurino - beam, floor competitor, very graceful.

Patti Rose - beam, vault, uneven bars, very strong.

Sarah Helmich - all-around competitor.

Expectations for the Season: We expect to make great strides this year. Many of the competitors are coming in new to the sport but the girls determination and perseverance will enhance their scores.

Hot Newcomers: Christine Dougherty, Danielle O'Connor, Kelly Fay, Alicia Eisen Cuandra, Elise Giangrade.

Players to Watch: Kerrin Hughes - soon to be a leading all-around competitor!

Who will be your toughest opponent this year and why? Our toughest opponent this year will be Oceanside because many of their gymnasts are experienced.

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Here are some highlights of the varsity winter teams as they compete in regular season play:

Coach Young

12/21

Mineola 8 - Lynbrook 3

Eric Kruse 243, John Randazzo 224, 279, 246 = 649 series.

12/23

Mineola 11 - Garden City 0

Brief summary: Anthony Scapiccio 198; Eric Kruse 191, 198; John Randazzo 199; John Pirone 194.

1/4

Mineola 0 - Garden City 11

Brief summary: Lost to league and county leader, Great Neck South.

Anthony Scapicchio 189; John Randazzo 220, 206; John Pirone 196, 223, 217 = 636 series.

1/6

Mineola 8 - Garden City 3

Eric Kruse 210; Tom Brown 213; John Pirrone 197, 193; John Randazzo 235, 211, 223 = 669 three game series.

12/21

Mineola 8 - Lynbrook 3

Adam Tuthill 181, 190, 213

Billy D'Elia 205, 199, 170

Bryan Gallucci 197, 180

Matt Brown 176

12/23

Mineola 0 - Hewlett 11

Brief summary: Billy D'Elia 167

1/4

Mineola 6 - Great Neck South 5

Adam Tuthill 181, 190

1/6

Mineola 11 - Garden City 0

Adam Tuthill 234

The boys varsity basketball team beat a high ranked Wantagh team 47 to 43 in the league opener. Using a full-court man to man press, the Mustangs were led by Steve Philip and Vishal Gandhi who each scored 13 points. Matt Damon contributed 11 points in the winning effort.

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As more highlights become available each week, I will be sure to keep the Mineola community informed about how their Mustangs are doing. 'Till next week...

Note: Last week we featured the varsity girls basketball team profile. Because of a printing error, one of our players did not make it into the paper - sophomore Ashley O'Neill, backup pointguard, has been described by Coach Zunno in the following way, "Ashley has tremendous potential as a basketball player. She is an excellent shooter and will give the Lady Mustangs valuable minutes when our starting pointguard gets into foul trouble or needs a rest. Ashley epitomizes the term 'team player' because she plays with heart and hustle." We apologize to Ashley for the oversight.