Mineola Athletic Director Anthony Gulli announced the winners of the Nassau County Winter Sports Awards. Mineola High School was well represented, with winners in nearly all winter sports. On behalf of Mr. Gulli, the Booster Club and the entire sports community, we offer congratulations to these exceptional student athletes. For the record, the winners are:

Girls Bowling:

All County, Nassau County All Star Team: Christina Schulze.

All County: Jennifer Pirrone.

All Division: Joanna Errico.

Boys Bowling:

All County: John Randazzo and Adam Tuthill.

All Conference: Anthony Scapicchio.

Boys Basketball:

All County: Stanley Smith.

All Conference: Matt Damon and Vishal Gandhi.

Wrestling:

All County: Craig Gunder

All Conference: Joe Cerulli, Hernando Gauto, Dan Harvey, and Paul Gonzalez and Basilio Reyes.

Girls Basketball:

All Conference: Katherine Hock

All Division: Erin Cloghessy

Scholar Athlete: Kim Rossi.

The Mineola Athletic Booster Club is proud to announce that they, with the Long Island Rough Riders, will sponsor "Soccer Festival 2000." The festival will be held April 9 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Hampton Street Stadium on Union Street in Mineola (near the Mineola pool).

"We are very excited about this upcoming event. Members of the Rough Riders will conduct skills competitions with prizes and autographs going to the winners," said Booster Club President Mark Debrich. "There will be competition at all age groups up to and including adult, for those who want to accept the challenge."

The ultimate challenge will be a penalty kick contest against Rough Rider goalkeeper Rich "Ozzy" Mattson. Refreshments will be served, raffles available and best of all, you will get to meet and compete against players your own age as well as the Rough Riders themselves. All proceeds will benefit the Mineola Student-Athlete Scholarship Fund. Get your friends and soccer teammates together and come on down Sunday, April 9. The donation is $3 per person. We guarantee you will have a great time.

Varsity baseball Coach Helms Bohringer enters his fifth season at the helm of the Mineola baseball program and has much to look forward to this season. A seasoned squad of returning players and a pitching staff led by senior All-County pitcher Joe Penny should have the Mustangs in the playoff hunt again this year. Coach Bohringer states, "This could be the best pitching staff I have had during my tenure."

Once again, the Mustangs will compete in Conference B-3 against Bethpage, Plainedge, Roslyn, Clarke, Seaford and Sewanhaka. As coach says, "Every game will be show time."

The Mustangs will sport new uniforms this year. The new uniform is gray in color with sleeveless top with the word "Mineola" printed across the chest. The bottoms have a thin red line going down the pant leg. The home top is red in color with "Mineola" printed on the front. Some of the money raised at the annual Mustang Baseball Club Golf Outing helped us acquire these new uniforms. Part of being a winner is the confidence that comes from looking like a winner.

Bohringer is assisted this year once again at the junior varsity level by Barry Silverstein. Joining the caoching ranks this year at the Middle School will be Scott Donellan, who will replace the popular and very successful coach of the past five years, Chris Friedel. Friedel will be missed and we wish Coaches Donellan and Silverstein a good season. Coaches Bohringer and Silverstein have submitted their team profiles. Pay particular attention to the varsity players' names, as we are certain that you will be reading about their success in Newsday, as well as our local newspapers. Good luck boys, and play ball!

Coach: Helms Bohringer. Attended Mineola High School and Adelphi University.

Returning players:

Joe Penny: All-County pitcher; 7-1 last season with a 2.2 ERA.

Billy Liakonis: All-Conference short stop; led the team with 4 home runs and also led the team in RBIs.

Gerard Strein: Intelligent ball player; will be one of our starting pitchers.

Bryan Gabriel: Starting left-hander with a good stick and power.

Brian Sallie: Pitcher/first base; will be looked upon to be a main contributer this year.

Jon Debrich: Takes over the catching duties and is a solid player.

Pete Teemsma: Will use his athleticism as he learns a new position at first base and will be a team leader.

Hot Newcomers:

Junior Steve Bruno's pitching and outfield play will be vital to the team's success; Juniors John Sullivan and Adam Tuthill will be competing for time; their speed will be an asset.

Expectations for the Season: Once again, this year's team is in the B-3 Conference and should contend for the Championship along with Clarke, Plainedge and Seaford. Clarke will be the toughest opponent due to its returning veterans and good coaching.

Coach: Barry Silverstein; attended Lawrence High School and SUNY Old Westbury.

Returning players:

Tom Aupied: Pitcher/third base; excellent power; will give us innings.

John Canavan: OF; speed defensively; contact hitter with power.

Robert Campagna: Pitcher/infielder; solid defense; looking for quality innings.

Bryan Gallucci: Pitcher/short stop; led team in hitting last year; second last year in strike-outs as a pitcher.

J.P. Cifuentes: OF; great speed; outstanding base runner.

Joe Selby: Catcher; excellent defensive catcher; does everything including the little things in the game.

Joe Hazel: Pitcher/OF/infield: excellent power; will be used in 7th position this year.

Peter Danielson: Catcher; excellent defense with some pop in his bat.

Hot Newcomers:

Richie Medlock, Dan Guido, Shon Philip, Adam Minsky, George Harrison, Gregg Weiss.

Players to Watch:

Richie Medlock, Bryan Gallucci, Joe Selby, John Canavan, Joe Hazel, Tom Aupied, Robert Campagna and Greg Weiss.

Expectations for the Season: We're looking for another excellent year. We have a good nucleus returning from last year, along with newcomers, which should put us right there at the top of our division. Defense is the key if we limit our mistakes and not beat ourselves. Our toughest opponent will be Plainview JFK, who beat us last year in a close game. A few costly mistakes hurt us. We will be ready this year. Revenge is sweet.