The Mineola High School winter track and field teams had themselves quite a season. The good things started at a field event meet in which Nicole Lapin broke the school record in the high jump, soaring over five feet. Of the nine Mustang athletes who took part in that first meet, six brought home medals.

The boys and girls squads both participated in a four-meet series known as the "Friendship Games." For the first time, three Mustang relays qualified for the championship portion of that meet. Coach Kristin Degnan explained, "Points are earned throughout the four meets with the top teams receiving awards at the championships."

The girls 4X400 meter relay team, made up of Lauren Mobyed, Julia Yan, Christy Peter and Kasey Hughes, broke the school record and finished third overall in the series. The girls were presented their trophies by Olympic gold medalist Derrick Adkins. Senior high jumper Joe Stigliano placed fifth overall and received a trophy.

The conference meets brought great success for Mineola. The girls team finished in second place, earning a conference plaque for the second straight year. Medal winners included Lauren Mobyed in the 1000 Meters, Amy Kemmler in the racewalk, Allie Kain in the 55-meter high hurdles, Ali Carnabuci in the shot put and Christy Peter, Katie Keegan, Jamie Silva and Julia Yan in the 4X400 meter relay. Keegan also had an impressive night by improving her time in the 600 meter by nine seconds and her time in the 400 meters by five seconds. Eight Mineola girls received All-Conference honors and will receive plaques at the awards dinner March 16. Among those who will be honored are Lauren Massa in the 1,500 meter racewalk, Julia Yan in the 3,000 meters and Jess Donahue in the shot put. Junior Nicole Lapin showed her commitment to the team by competing despite and injury. She was able to defend her conference championship in the high jump. Sophomore Kasey Hughes once again raced like a veteran, earning All-Conference honors in every event in which she competed. Hughes finished second in the 55 meters and was a conference champion for the 4X200 meter relay team, which also included Michelle Bucalo, Allie Kain and Lauren Mobyed. All four of the girls received All-Conference honors. Coach Degnan feels great about the future too. She noted that 27 of the 32 girls on the winter team return next year. She has her eyes on the conference championship.

The boys conference meet also resulted in a pleasant surprise. The 11 boys combined to grab second place as well. The boys earned their first team plaque. Alex Jansen started it off by winning the conference championsip in the 1,000 meters. Craig Strein followed with a brilliant race in the 600 meters to take third place, earning himself All-Conference honors for that event. Avi Thomas and Matt Shanahan finished second and third respectively in the 300 meters and were named All-Conference, earning 14 points for the team in the process. Thomas had an impressive night. He earned All-Conference honors in three events. He took third place in the shot put, second in the 300 meters and was part of the conference champion 4X200 meter relay team. Joining Thomas on the relay team, also earning All-Conference honors, were Craig Strein, Matt Shanahan and Joe Stigliano. Another All-Conference honor went to Stigliano for his second place finish in the high jump. He also won a medal in the 55-meter hurdles. Medals were also won by Chris Boeshore, Edgar Galindo, Alex Jansen and Tijo Thomas in the 4X400 meter relay. Calvin Chan scored points in the 55-meter hurdles and Rob Olzsewski scored points in the shot put. It was a great improvement for the boys squad, which improved on last year's sixth place finish.

The great performances just kept on coming in the county meet. The Mustangs had three individual county champions. Joe Stigiliano won the high jump; Chris Boeshore took the boys pole vault while Nicole Lapin took the girls pole vault. Additional All-County honors were garnered by Alex Jansen for his third place finish in the 1,000 meters, Nicole Lapin for finishing second in the long jump and the foursome of Avi Thomas, Stigliano, Shanahan and Jansen in the 4X400 meter relay. Thomas earned three medals in all three events in which her participated. He was also fourth in the long jump and triple jump. Coach Lapin was very happy to point out that several school records were set at the county championships - Jansen in the 1,000 meters, Boeshore in the pole vault; Thomas in the triple jump and Thomas, Stigliano, Shanahan and Jansen in the 4X400 meter relay.

Three members of the girls squad also set school records - Lauren Mobyed in the 1,000 meters; Lauren Masssa in the 1,500-meter reacewalk and Kasey Hugues in the 300 meters.

Then came the state qualifier meet. Nicole Lapin qualified for the state championships in the pole vault for the second straight year. The meet will be held in Syracuse on March 6.

Joe Stigliano set a school record by clearing six feet in the high jump. That was good for third place overall. Jess Donahue closed out her successful season by competing in the shot put. The foursome of Michelle Bucalo, Allie Kain, Lauren Mobyed and Kasey Hughes place fourth in the 4X200 meter relay. Avi Thomas, Joe Stigliano, Matt Shanahan and Alex Jansen ran their second fastest time of the season at the meet. Same deal for the girls foursome of Kasey Hughes, Lauren Mobyed, Katie Keegan and Julia Yan in the 4X400 meter relay. In fact, the girls and boys 4X400 teams met the qualifying standard for the prestigious Penn relays, which will be held in April.

"Congratulations to all of the members of the winter teams. They've only been around three seasons and have made their impact on Nassau County track and field," said Coach Degnan.

Mineola Bowling Round-Up

The Mineola High School boys bowling teams rolled through an up and down season. Both the varsity and junior varsity squads finished with a 727 average, which was 18th best in the county. However, only the top 16 teams qualify for the team tournament.

For the third consecutive season, sophomore Anthony Tretolo was an All-County award recipient. Tretolo finished with a 204 average and qualified to compete in the Nassau County tournament where he finished 34th. Other award winners were seniors Peter Marson and Vito Errico, who were named All-League. Both finished with 182 averages. Chris Williams finished with a 158 average.

The Mustang junior varsity squad was paced by sophomores John Carnabuci (147 average), Matt Ponte (143 average), Brian Ciuffo (154 average), freshman Paul Tapias (130 average) and Joe Calvao (125 average). Coach Helms Bohringer is hoping these young men will make the push toward a varsity spot next year.