When someone has coached as long as Dan Guido, he knows there are years when he can be confident in the cast of veteran athletes he has and then there are years when he knows he'll be challenged by a young but enthusiastic group.

This season, Guido faces the latter with his Mineola varsity wrestling squad. "After finishing as league champs in 2001 and taking second in 2003 and 2004, this is a rebuilding year," said Guido.

Only one senior and four juniors lead the Mustangs this season. The rest of the squad is made up of some very talented but young freshmen and sophomores. At this writing, the varsity squad had competed in three tournaments.

"Our experienced juniors and seniors have done very well," Guido said.

The lone upperclassman Julio Gauto took fourth in the Hank Paris Tournament and was the East Meadow Tournament champion at 171 pounds. Junior and team captain Nick Tonini placed second twice and third in three tournaments. Junior Bryan Gallego placed third in the Hank Paris Tournament while juniors Tiago Rodrigues and Leo Morales placed fourth in two tournaments.

"The ninth and tenth graders have done an awesome job at the two junior varsity tournaments coming up with numerous champions and place winners. They have also defeated Great Neck North and Herricks' JV teams at one double-dual meet, plus they defeated Glen Cove and Great Neck South in another meet. Our JV's also defeated Chaminade's ninth grade team, winning 22 of 24 matches by pins," Guido said.

The coach has reason to be optimistic about the upcoming season. "With the improvement of some strong ninth and tenth grade wrestlers, some with varsity experience from last year's quad, we are looking to do well in those league matches," Guido said.

Here is the Mustang roster with weight classes and year in school:

103 Lbs. - Zane Kearney (10th)

112 Lbs. - Mike Granath (9th)

112 Lbs. - Chris Granath (10th)

119 Lbs. - Nick Tonini (11th)

119 Lbs. - Nick Kalanzopoulos (9th)

125 Lbs. - Mike Vansconcelos (10th)

125 Lbs. - Helder Santiago (9th)

125 Lbs. - Carl Nunziata (10th)

130 Lbs. - Mike Gross (10th)

130 Lbs. - Marco Santiago (9th)

130 Lbs. - Gabe Garcia (10th)

130 Lbs. - Sean Wachter (9th)

135 Lbs. - Mike Marques (10th)

135 Lbs. - Kevin Brostek (10th)

140 Lbs. - Tiago Rodrigues (11th)

145 Lbs. - Bryan Gallego (11th)

152 Lbs. - Marlon Cardona (9th)

160 Lbs. - Jon Hock (10th)

171 Lbs. - Julio Gauto (12th)

171 Lbs. - Mike Reis (9th)

189 Lbs. - Leo Morales (11th)

Boys Varsity Hoops

Mineola varsity boys basketball coach Scott Donnellan saw his team complete its non-conference schedule with a 2-5 record. The Mustangs opened the Conference A-IV schedule with a 79-43 loss at Manhasset. Sean Bailey led Mineola with 14 points while Pat Cahill added 9 and Mike DeStefano had 8. John Cloghessy came off the bench to score 6 points.

Mineola played its home opener Jan. 7 against Westbury. The Mustangs lost to the Green Dragons 85-50 after playing a tough game. DeStefano scored a career high 21 points. Bailey added 9 and Claudio Saaverdra scored 6.

Mineola went back on the road to face Lynbrook, a team to which the Mustangs lost in the consolation game of the Garden City Tournament. But, this was a different Mineola team. Sparked by a 10-2 run in the first quarter, the Mustangs showed they had come to play. Bailey had 8 of the team's 16 points in the first quarter. He finished with 23 points and 17 rebounds.

After some hot shooting by Pat Cahill in the second quarter, the Mustangs went off on another 14-4 run and held a 26-24 halftime lead over the Owls. The third quarter saw Lynbrook briefly take a one point lead. But, Mineola rallied behind Bailey (7) and Cahill (5), who scored all 12 of the Mustangs points in the quarter. Mineola then outscored the Owls 12-10 in the fourth quarter as Bailey added another 6 points in the final quarter including a huge shot with 1:30 remaining. DeStefano and Nelson Lopes added three huge free throws to ice the win.

"With the win, our confidence has increased and we're back in the mix for one of the playoff berths in the conference," said Donnellan.

Mineola hosts Great Neck North on Tuesday, Jan. 18 and Island Trees on Friday, Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. as part of the 5th annual Reggie Carter night.

Mineola Girls Bowling Update

As of this writing, the Mineola girls varsity bowling team is in contention to make the county finals. The team is averaging close to 600 pins per match and is ranked 12th in the county.

"The team's success so far is thanks to the outstanding bowling of Danielle Rivera, Jenn Boyle, Erin O'Neill and Kelly Munson," said coach Valerie Liese.

Rivera is a sophomore and has been extremely impressive this season. She bowled eight games over 200 and is ranked as one of the top female bowlers in Nassau County. Boyle, the captain of the team, had guided the Mustangs to be successful in close matches. First year bowler Erin O'Neill has been a terrific addition this year. She bowled 212 and 196 in critical matches. Third year bowler Kelly Munson has been a consistent and reliable bowler throughout the season.

The Mineola squad is aiming to finish the season in the top 16 so it can qualify for the county tournament in Garden City on Feb. 12. "I've been very encouraged by the team's steady improvement and competitive spirit throughout the season," said Liese.