LET S GO JETS!!! Hi Everybody!

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1 LET S GO JETS!!! Hi Everybody! It has been a very successful winter for the East Meadow High School athletic program. Our teams have won conference championships in boys winter track, wrestling, girls bowling, and boys bowling! Congratulations to our athletes and coaches for their success. There is still more season to come! The midterm exam week will give us a brief break from competitions. When the contests continue there will be only a few opportunities left to prepare for playoff time. Here is some of the latest and greatest news: The boys varsity basketball team continues to make a second half push to reach the playoffs for the third consecutive season. After a disappointing 1-4 start to conference play, the Jets have won 2 of their last 3 games to put themselves right in the mix for the second to fourth place spots in Conference AA2. Baldwin has already clinched the conference championship. The Jets sandwiched two victories around, no other way to put it, a very bad loss to Baldwin. The Jets beat the 2 nd place Port Washington Vikings and avenged an earlier season loss to the Oceanside Sailors with a resounding victory. In both wins, the Jets were paced by their senior captains Joe Forrler and Brandon Callaghan. Callaghan has been one of the leading scorers in the conference over the past month of the season, and capped it off with a career high 26 points versus the Sailors. Forrler, finally recovered from an ankle injury, has returned to his all conference form, averaging double digit points and rebounds over this three game stretch. Against the Vikings the Jets used a strong start to propel them to victory. Taking an 18-0 lead, the Jets never looked back, as the Vikings were able to get the lead down to single digits only in the final minutes before the Jets pulled away for the double digit victory.

2 Junior Joe Minucci continues to open up the inside game with his strong three point shooting, with Forrler and junior Austin Birnbaum reaping the benefits in the paint. The Jets pounded the Vikings inside all night, shooting 35 free throws and controlling the glass. Birnbaum is currently averaging double digit rebounds! After a sluggish first quarter against the Oceanside Sailors, the Jets exploded the rest of the way to finish with a season high 73 points. The Jets were able to open a 12 point half time lead thanks to a 3 point buzzer beater by senior guard Kenoshan Joseph. The Jets rode the momentum as the third quarter started to go on a 12-0 run, capped by three treys from Minucci, and three fast break layups converted by Callaghan. The Sailors never got closer than 20 the rest of the way. In the Jets best performance to date, senior point guard Ryan Bergmann led a magnificent floor game, dishing out 6 assists while totaling 7 points of his own. Ryan continues to play great defense, as no guard seems able to beat him off the dribble. The Jets got excellent contributions off the bench from Joseph, senior Alex Berger and junior Tom Zitzmann. It was a total team effort that the team hopes will propel them forward to finishing out a successful season. Coach Justin Szwejkowski and the JV boys team currently have an 8-5 record. Since the holiday break they have defeated Hicksville by 33 points, Valley Stream Central by 11 and Port Washington by 34. Unfortunately the past 2 games have been losses, including an exciting battle with Baldwin lost on a buzzer beater. The squad relies on the leadership and play of Will Ayers, Kyle Leibel, and Nick Forrler. Each contributes a great deal of minutes on the court and are equally important to the success of the team. The month of January was very successful for the girls JV basketball team. The girls had wins against Hicksville, Valley Stream Central and Port Washington to complete the first half of the season. High scorers for the Jets include Hannah Arbuse and Nicole Giblin. Defensive powers on the court have been sophomore Alyssa Fernandez and freshman Helen Flores. Helen is currently leading the squad in

3 defensive rebounds. The girls have worked together to pull out some very impressive wins. After breaking their winning streak with a tough 9 point loss to Baldwin they fought hard to take down Oceanside at home this past Tuesday The last time the Jets played Oceanside they won in the last few seconds on a 2 point put back by Imani Abreu. A few challenges await the Lady Jets as the season comes to a close. Plainview JFK is next for the team, whose record stands at 9-4. The girls varsity basketball team has had a difficult time lifting off in the New Year. Although the Jets are working hard, wins have been elusive. A heartbreaking last second loss to the playoff bound Eagles of Valley Stream Central was certainly a bright spot. In that contest freshman Emily Shurina scored 19 points and senior Nicole Gogh added 15 to keep the Jets in contention throughout. Key injuries to junior starting point guard Gabby Heim and sophomore Nikki Kane have also played a role in the Jets idling on the tarmac, but with a third of their league season remaining the girls are getting healthier and sticking together as they look to end the season soaring. With games at Plainview JFK, the squad's one league victory, and rival Hicksville traveling to East Meadow for a home game, the Lady Jets seem poised to make some noise in the final weeks of this campaign. Senior night is Monday, February 9th, when Myasia Smith and Nicole Gogh will be honored for their contributions to the program during pre-game festivities. Also that evening, our program will host Woodland night, as the middle school girls basketball squads will be in attendance. The Jets overall record at this time is 4-9. Neither rain, sleet nor snow can keep the East Meadow track teams from getting in their work on the track this winter. The girls track team is a young group with a great deal of potential. There have been several strong performances this season. At the University of Rhode Island Invite, Emily Puciloski (600M), Hailey Arm (55M) and Alexia Moustakis (1600M) ran well. The conference championships at St. Anthony s produced several place winners. Laura Tynan was 4 th in the high jump with a height of 4 6, Neena Reddy (9.84) was fourth in the 55 high hurdles, and Johannah Brown (31 2) was 6 th in the triple

4 jump. Bronze medals were earned by the 4X800M squad of Puciloski, Moustakis, Annika Kahl, and Anisa Elbasty. The 4X200M team of Brown, Arm, Sam Green, and Kaela Vorrasi also took third. Coach Lago and Coach Josepher are excited about the number of personal best performances they have witnessed over the past few weeks. A personal record or PR is something a track athlete is trying to accomplish at each competition. Sarah Son was able to PR in the mile at the Friendship games, while Kiara Jones (300M) and Nicole Barry (600M) placed in their events. Achieving a PR at the Armory this week were Neena Reddy (55HH), Alyssa Fama (triple jump), Sam Green (55M), and Ursala Khan (1600M). This steady progression will help lead to more championships! The boys varsity bowling team captured their conference championship and is the county s 2 nd ranked team heading into the postseason. The team has counted on the bowling of Tom Burke (196 avg.), Joey Franzese (195), Dave Siska (194), and Joe Villani (203) for their success. In taking 2 out of 3 games from Uniondale last week, all four bowlers had a series over 600 with Burke bowling a 255 and 233 in the first 2 games. Siska added a 246 in game 1. The conference championship came down to a matchup with Clarke. The match was not determined to the very end with the Jets taking 2 out of 3 games for the win. Joey Franzese was a monster on the lanes and bowled a 695 series with high games of 255 and 235. Dave Siska was solid with a game 3 high of 212. Tom Burke came up clutch in game 3 making a 4-10 split in the 6 th frame turning the momentum the Jets way and they never looked back. The Jets move on to the County Championships on Saturday 1/31 to try and repeat as county champs. The East Meadow wrestling team has continued its winning ways by capturing their conference championship and winning the Harold Earle Dual Meet tournament at Valley Stream Central last weekend. Wins over conference opponents Baldwin (61-14), Hicksville (61-12), Sewanhaka West (48-21), and Sewanhaka East (51-21) are even more impressive after starting each match with a 6 point deficit due to

5 forfeiting the 99 lb. weight class. The consistency at each competition has been a team strength. Lightweights John Massoud (106), Shawn Regan (113), and Dan Rivers (120) get the Jets started right. Through the middle of the lineup there has been strong wrestling from Matt Girsch (126), Andre Cunha (132), Mike Choi (138), Joe Gangi (145), and Dan Grigonis (152). Cunha and Choi are exciting wrestlers to watch, capable of putting opponents to their back in the blink of an eye. Solid heavyweights are key to the success of any wrestling team in dual meets and our big men have not disappointed. Josh Levenson (160), Jed Puk-Silverstein (170), Jesse Weiner (182), and Mario Froehlich (195) have held down their end of the lineup. The Jets finish with the combination of Marcos Watkins and Joe Antuofermo in the 220 lb. and 285 lb. weight classes. Each has the talent and savvy to take on all competitors. Next up for the team are the Nassau County Dual Meet championships next weekend, followed by the qualifying and Nassau County individual tournaments. The team aspect is still important in the latter two competitions, but the main focus moves to the individual as each wrestler will strive to stand atop the podium as a county champion at Hofstra on February 15 th. Thanks for your support of East Meadow athletics it is appreciated! Have a nice weekend and..let S GO JETS!! UPCOMING HOME CONTESTS Friday 1/23 BJV basketball vs. Plainview JFK 4:30 BV basketball vs. Plainview JFK 6:30 Tuesday 2/3 GJV basketball vs. Hicksville 4:30 GV basketball vs. Hicksville 6:30 Friday 2/6 BJV basketball vs. Valley Stream Central 4:30 BV basketball vs. Valley Stream Central 6:30

6 Monday 2/9 GJV basketball vs. Port Washington 4:45 GV basketball vs. Port Washington 6:45