The 2001-02 season has been another strong one for the Mineola High School girls bowling team. The varsity squad, coached by Mrs. Valerie Liese, clinched first place in the conference with a win over Sewanhaka on January 17. As of now, the Lady Mustangs have won 10 of 11 matches and look forward to the county playoffs on Saturday, Feb. 2, at the Garden City Bowl.

Mineola is currently ranked third in Nassau County and the team is pointing toward defending its county championship from last season. In order to repeat as champions, the ladies will have to beat top-ranked Jericho. Christina Schulze, Jennifer Pirrone, Lauren Anderson, Lauren Landy and Diana Crowe have been key members of the varsity squad. Jennifer Boyle will be added to the roster for the county playoffs. Mineola is ranked number one in its conference for high series, high game and high average. Schulze is ranked as the number one female bowler in the county, with a 200 average, while Pirrone is ranked number eight with a 177 average. Schulze's high game for the season is a 269. Pirrone's high game for the season is 268. Anderson bowled a high of 212 and has an average of 146. Landy's average is 132 and has been a reliable member of the team, according to Coach Liese. Crowe recently moved up from junior varsity as a first-year bowler. She averages 130. Schulze and Pirrone will be competing in the girls individual championship tournament on Feb. 9 at Garden City Bowl. Schulze was the New York State champion last year and is looking forward to defending her title. If either the team or an individual bowler place first in the county tournament, they will travel to Niagara Falls on March 2 to compete in the statement championships.

There's a new excitement in the Mineola High School athletic department this winter. For the first time in somewhere between 20 and 25 years, Mineola is fielding a track and field team. Between the boys and girls, 23 athletes are competing. Coach Kristin Degnan said, "I am grateful to Athletic Director Ralph Amitrano and the Mineola School District for making it possible to bring back a track and field program to the community." The coach went on to say, "I am very excited about the progress the team has made this season. Every athlete on this team is very determined and motivated. Each week the performances of our athletes are improving."

The roster of the Mustang track team is made up of the following boys: Mike Antoniou, Ryan Barry, Chris Boeshore, Matt Grilo, Dan Guido, Tim Palma, David Rivera, Joe Stigliano, and co-captains Trumainn Thurmond and Anthony Wong. The girls roster includes Kristina Aven, Juliet Barber, Beth Basile, Stephanie Cifuentes, Joanna Cohen, Jessica Donahue, Denise Fitzpatrick, Amy Kemmler, Kirstie Kwarteng, Nicole Lapin, Jaclyn Mondello, Kaitlyn O'Neill and captain Filomena Palumbo.

The Mustangs reopened the track program with an early December debut in the Long Beach relays. Coach Degnan said, "The presence of the new Mineola team was felt right at the beginning of the meet when Trumainn Thurmond ran the fastest 200-meter split of the day as part of sprint medley relay team that also included Joe Stigliano, Ryan Barry and Dan Guido."

The girls got started by setting school records in the sprint medley relay, the 4X400 and shot put relay. In fact, the shot put relay team, made up of Jessica Donahue, Nicole Lapin and Filomena Palumbo, finished fifth. The Mineola boys squad set school records in the sprint medley relay, the 4X800 and distance medley relay. Remarkably, in their first competitive meet, the boys 4X400 relay team of Trumainn Thurmond, Anthony Wong, Tim Palma and Joe Stigliano set both meet and school records with their exciting second-place finish. Thurmond again ran the fastest split of the day in the 400 meters.

In their second meet, Trumainn Thurmond placed in two events, taking fifth in the 55-meter dash and 4th in the 200-meter dash.

Meanwhile, Juliet Barber won her heat in the 200 meters. Stephanie Cifuentes ran a personal-best time in the 200 as well. Later that week in a meet at Nassau Community College, Mike Antoniou and Matt Grilo competed in the shot put for the first time and accorded themselves well. Tim Palma finished fourth in his heat of the 600-meter run, while David Rivera and Trumainn Thurmond both placed third in their heats of the 55-meter dash. Joe Stigliano placed second in his heat of the 300-meter run and had a personal-best day in the high jump. Thurmond also finished second in 300-meter heat, while Anthony Wong won his heat in the 300 meters.

As is always the case in a start-up program, it takes athletes time to see how they stack up against outside competition. So, the coach has to encourage them to keep improving, even if it seems as though they are behind their competition. And so far, it looks and sounds like Coach Degnan has accomplished that task very well.

The Mineola track team also competed during the holiday break. Coach Degnan said, "We had several athletes place in the top three in their heats and had outstanding performances during the break."

Anthony Wong, Joe Stigliano and Amy Kemmer finished first in their heats. Some team members also had top-ten finishes in their events. David Rivera got the semifinals in the 55-meter dash and finished eighth overall. Joe Stigliano placed ninth in the high jump. Mike Antoniou and Matt Grilo were seventh and eighth overall in the shotput. Meanwhile, Nicole Lapin was the top freshman and placed eighth overall in the high jump, while Filomena Palumbo and Jessica Donahue were sixth and seventh overall in the shot put. Palumbo brought home a medal for her performance.

Right after the first of the year, in a meet on Jan. 2, Matt Grilo and Mike Antoniou finished third and fifth in the shotput and brought home medals. Later that week, the girls track team had a strong outing in a Friday night meet on Jan. 6. Senior Filomena Palumbo brought home her second medal of the season as she finished fourth in the shot put. Freshman Juliet Barber also won her heats in both the 300 and the 600-meter runs.

The best day of the inaugural season so far may have been efforts the weekend of Jan. 12 and 13. Twenty-two Mineola athletes competed and 13 brought home some hardware. Nicole Lapin and Joe Stigliano both earned fourth place finishes in the high jump. The shot put relay team of Jessica Donahue, Denise Fitpatrick and Filomena Palumbo took a fourth place medal. The boys 4X400 meter relay team won its heat and took third overall. Tim Palma, David Rivera, Dan Guido and Trumainn Thurmond make up that relay squad. The freshman girls mile medley team of Juliet Barber, Stephanie Cifuentes, Amy Kemmler and Joanna Cohen earned a second place medal.

The first Mineola track and field team in 20-something years has been doing itself proud and continuing to improve. They can further gauge their progress at the conference championships.