The Mineola High School varsity wrestling team started its season slowly but finished strong in 2006. "By the middle of the season, things had gone as planned. We were missing anywhere from five to seven possible varsity starters we thought we would have. So, the dual meet season became very difficult. When our season had reached 2-8, the boys on the team, led by our captains Nick Tonini and Leo Morales, continued to work hard. They never gave up, unlike some of their other teammates chose to do. As our season came to a close, we finished up at 9-10. We won seven of our last nine matches," said head coach Dan Guido.

The coach seems to be very passionate about this year's squad. "The team continued to work hard and prepare for the Nassau County Championship Tournament at C.W. Post. Their practice and patience again paid off, as 12 of the 18 boys finished in the top six. Seven of those wrestlers earned All-County honors. Five of our wrestlers advanced to the county finals. Although they all came up short, it was a very successful and positive finish for us going into next year," coach Guido said.

All-Conference honors went to junior Zane Kearney, who took fifth place and wrestled his best matches of the year. Freshman Rich Baierwalter also had an excellent year and finished in sixth place. Sophomore Mike Granath just missed out on All-County honors. He took fourth place and had a good season. Junior Carl Nunziata also narrowly missed out on All-County. He placed fourth and lost a closed 2-1 decision to his Mineola teammate Kevin Brostek in the consolation bracket. Freshman Mike Gonzalez also finished fifth. The coach also pointed out that Chris Granath, Mike Goldstein, Nick Kalanzopolous, Leonard Dul, Mike Reis, Neil Palumbo and Patrick Martorella all wrestled well, but didn't quite finish in the money.

Troy Kearney and Paul Krumholz missed the tournament due to late season injuries. All-County honors were accorded to Helder Santiago and Kevin Brostek, who both won one-point matches to make All-County. Santiago defeated an opponent who had beaten him during the season. Mike Roo and Leo Morales both gave valiant efforts, but were a little overmatched and finished in second place. Both were named All-County performers. This was the second straight year Morales has made All-County. He was also an All-Conference football player, Mike Gross lost a wild overtime match 22-20. Mike Marques (All-County in soccer) also wrestled in his second county final in two years, He gave up an early lead and could not make up the ground, losing a hard fought match. Senior Nick Tonini lost a heartbreaker by a score of 8-7. He was also in his second final in two years.

"Even though none of the Mustangs became county champions, they have a tremendous effort and should be proud of themselves. We're looking forward to next year. We only had three seniors on the squad (Nick Tonini, Leo Morales, Neil Palumbo). They'll be missed. But, with more than 20 wrestlers back and with a little hard work, next year could be a good one," said coach Guido.

The Mineola High School boys winter track and field team completed a successful season, finishing third in the conference championship on Jan. 13.

The Mustangs scored 54 points, an improvement of nearly 40 points over last winter. Coach Mike Santa Maria's squad was made up of just three seniors, along with six juniors, 12 sophomores and three freshmen. Seven of the boys earned All-Conference honors. They are junior Matt Siwinski in the 55 meters, junior Claudio DeMatos in the mile, junior John Valente in the 600 meters and conference champion Rob Olszewski in the shot put. The 4X800 relay team of DeMatos, juniors Rob Maloney and Danny Sanchez and senior Tijo Thomas finished first with a time of 9:16.2.

At the Class B County Championships on Feb. 11, the boys took their performances to another level. The 4X800 relay team of DeMatos, Maloney, Sanchez and Thomas took their time down to 9:02.6, the fastest in the school since 1976, and finished in third place. All-County shot putter Rob Olszewski hurled the shot more than two feet further than his previous best and took third place. He improved his mark again at the state qualifier meet four days later with a modern school record of 42 feet, 11.5 inches. "I want to congratulate these boys on a great season," said coach Santa Maria.

The coach said goodbye to three athletes who had noted accomplishments in their time on the team. They are:

Tijo Thomas, captain, All-Conference in the 4X800 meter relay.

Tiago Barbosa, fifth in the conference in the 55-meter hurdles.

Rob Olszewski, two-time conference champion in shot put and All-County.