The Mineola High School Cross Country team experienced something new. The year started with the largest contingent to come for the sport since it was reinstated and perhaps ever. Both the boys and the girls improved in ways that coach Kristin Frazer applauded.

The boys started their season in September in a meet at C.W. Post University. The freshman boys team of Joe Wellbrock, Tobin George, Kevin Varughese and Bryan Vesely took second place. Wellbrock set a school record at the distance of 3,000 meters (3K) with a time of 11:49.

Wellbrock continued a record-setting season with a 15:23 in the 4,000 meters (4K) and a school record in the 5,000 meters (5K) with a time of 19:11. Fellow freshmen Tobin George and Kevin Varughese helped Wellbrock to lead the team by finishing in the top four Mineola runners each week.

Newcomers Danny Sanches and Chris Vera helped round out the top six. Junior Danny Sandhes set a junior school record in the 5,000 meters with a time of 20:22. Kenny Rauert set a sophomore record in the 4K with a time of 19:55. Edgar Galindo set a senior record in the 4K with a 17:32 and a senior record in the 5K with a 22:42. Junior Zane Kerney improved his times from last year by over 2:30 to be a member of Mineola's top five. Senior Ryan Fong set a senior record in the 5K with a 23:46 and held it for four weeks until Galindo beat it. Sophomore Matt Wojis improved his time by almost five minutes and won his first cross country medal. Senior Matt Vuolo improved his time by almost seven minutes in the 5K. At the fresh-soph county championships, Wellbrock finished 11th and was voted All-Division by the coaches.

The girls cross country team started the season with two very clear goals - qualify for the county championships as a team and improve on their best ever record. They met both goals. The girls finished in the top five teams in the conference and rang up a record of 11-2. The Mineola girls also placed in the top five in the conference championship meet to qualify as a team for the county championship. Five girls who qualified are junior Lauren Mobyed, sophomore Nicole Wissler, junior Alia Fater, senior Jamie Silva and senior Samantha Hegmann.

Mobyed led the team the entire season and set two school records in the process in the 4K with a 16:44 and the 5K with a 21:01. Wissler was the Mustangs second runner for most of the season. She set a sophomore record for the 4K at 18:16 and the 5K at 21:27. Senior Chelsea Rosner only competed in six meets, but she made the most of them. Rosner set a senior record in the 4K at 18:22 and 5K at 21:51. She improved her 5K time by more than two minutes from her junior year. Fater proved to be a great addition to the team and was the third runner most of the season. She improved her time over two minutes in the 5K. Silva was a solid number four runner. Seniors Samantha Hegmann, Sarah Lasrosa and Lauren Napolitano provided leadership and motivation through the season.

"One of the great stories is Samantha Hegmann. She joined the team three years ago just to get in shape. She started running the 5K in just over 40 minutes. Samantha's determination and perseverance were an inspiration to the team," said coach Frazer.

On two occasions this season, Samantha was the deciding runner for the team. The Mustangs won two tie-breaks because their Samantha was in front of the competitor's sixth girls. Her determination paid off as she took her original time of 40 minutes and improved it over the years to a personal best time of 25:28.

Mobyed, Wissler, Fater, Silva and Hegmann all ran their personal bests at the conference championships and finished fifth to advance to the county championships as a team for the first time. Mobyed and Wissler finished 13th and 14th respectively to earn All-Conference honors. They were also voted All-Division by the coaches.

The county championships were run at Bethpage State Park. Mobyed ran a school record time of 21:01 for 3.1 miles, finished fifth and qualified for the New York State Championships, which were held Saturday, Nov. 12.

The Mineola High School varsity football team completed a hard fought season with a record of 3-5. While the squad was on the verge many times of breaking through, two games in which the team was winning but lost in the final minute cost them a trip to the playoffs,

The first of those crucial defeats came in a driving rain storm in ankle-deep mud under the lights at Hampton Stadium. Mineola carried a 9-0 lead unto the fourth quarter and still lead 9-7 with under five minutes remaining. But North Shore scored two late touchdowns and won 21-9. Two weeks later, Mineola held a 22-8 lead in the fourth quarter at East Rockaway, but East Rockaway went ahead with a touchdown and two-point conversion with 30 seconds remaining for a 23-22 victory.

"Although we played hard, these close losses were hard to overcome. But, we also had some exciting victories," said coach Dan Guido.

The Mustangs defeated Friends Academy 17-8 on a late field goal from junior Mike Roo. Then, junior Chris Orlando sealed the victory when he intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown.

Mineola also defeated Locust Valley in overtime 21-14. The winning points came when senior running back Tiago Rodrigues scored on a nice 20-yard run. Senior safety Nelson Lopes then assured the victory when he made a hard-hitting stop on a fourth down play.

The Mustangs played their best game of the season in their final home game as Mineola defeated Oyster Bay 35-21. The entire offense played well, including junior quarterback Jon Hock's running and passing, running by backs Chris Orlando (Jr.), Tiago Rodrigues (Sr.) and Ian Stanisic (Jr.), pass receptions by John Cloghessy (Sr.) and Mark Dadich (Jr.), excellent blocking by Kurt Hetzer (Jr.) and the offensive line made all the difference in the game. That line was made up of seniors Claudio Saavedra, Leo Morales, Dave Gouveia, Dom Marques and juniors Mike Roo and Dan Campos.

Leading the defense were seniors Rob Kiss, Charlie Molina, Rob Olzsewski, Dan Roo and Nelson Lopes. Others contributing to the season were seniors Doug Parada, Justin Gonzalez, Kevin Tiseo, Tom Gadjaszsewski, Tijo Thomas and juniors Brian O'Malley, Matt Harrison, Matt Siwinski, Kevin Brostek and Rob Maloney.

"The boys worked hard and played well all season. The school and the community should be proud of the effort of all the players and the way they play the game. I'd like to extend special congratulations to some of our seniors," said coach Guido.

Tiago Rodrigues is the winner of the unsung hero award. John Cloghessy and Nelson Lopes are National Football Foundation Scholar Athletes. Leo Morales was selected All-Conference and Dave Gouveia was chosen as Honorable Mention All-County. Gouveia and Morales will play in the senior All-Star game on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. at Hofstra Stadium.