The winter sports season for all teams, including those competing in district sports, is coming to an end. Instead of just consisting of NHP students, district sports teams are made up of athletes from all five schools within the Sewanhaka Central High School District, giving students the opportunity to collaborate with teammates from other schools.
The winter season consists of boys swimming, boys basketball, girls basketball, track, riflery, gymnastics, wrestling and bowling. The winter season is the longest of the three sports seasons offered at NHP. These sports had some highs and lows, but the student-athletes that participated in them enjoyed the season overall.
“I really enjoyed this season; we had a great season and made the playoffs. I enjoyed my time with my teammates and can’t wait to play in the playoffs,” said junior Ava Orbon.
The boys swim team had finished off the regular season with a 7-2 record and by coming in 3rd place at their divisional meet. Many of the swimmers performed well in their individual events, and have progressed to counties with the hope of qualifying for the state meet in March. The New Hyde Park swimmers who made it to counties are freshmen Mark Lou and Hunter Nacewicz, as well as seniors Jonathan Chiu and Erik Gliszczynski.
“There is so much I love about the sport and this team,” swimming coach Mr. Chuba said. “Outside of history, swimming has been a huge part of my life. I am happy to share that with the swimmers of the Sewanhaka school district. The swim team has been an amazing experience.”
The gymnastics team also saw a lot of success this season. The Coaches’ Invitational took place February 12 in NHP, and seven athletes on the team qualified for state qualifiers scheduled for later in the month.
The riflery team is getting ready for the Nassau County Team & Individual championships, which takes place in mid-February. The team is excited to show off their hard work, which they earned by practicing three times a week and competing twice a week.
“I like doing a district sport because it allows me to meet new people. Even though riflery is more of a solo sport, I still like how everyone on the team helps each other out,” sophomore Janice Park said.
The wrestling team showed incredible success this season. All Conference honors were earned by Liam Booth, Adam Maarouf and Eamon Griffin. In addition, Adam and Eamon competed at the Nassau County Championships at Hofstra University.
“One of my favorite things about playing a district sport is the new friendships I made with the guys from Carey. If it wasn’t for wrestling, I wouldn’t know any of them,” senior Liam Booth said.
“It was a tough way to end the season, but overall I had a successful season. Making All-Conference and competing at Hofstra were great achievements and I hope to achieve more next year,” Sewanhaka East wrestling co-captain Eamon Griffin said.
The bowling team displayed masterful skills as they won seventh place out of 50 schools in a D1 competition. The team practiced twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Dani’s Strike Zone.
“I enjoy how I’m able to meet new people and connect with them through district sports. For bowling especially, since our team is quite small with only five girls, all of us are pretty close and very supportive to each other, whether it comes to helping each other during practices and games or just talking about our lives,” junior Frances Lin said.
The track team is made up of a dedicated group of athletes who practice throughout the entire week. The team attends meets on a regular basis, and these meets often extend well past ten o’clock at night.
“My favorite part of the coaching track is watching my athletes take off. It is a sport where you really have to work and have patience with the results,” said varsity track Coach Buith. “This is not a sport where you click a button, and everything happens easily for you. When we see the work being put in and then it is paying off in the competitions, it makes us just as excited as them.
The boys finished fifth in the conference which was an improvement from last year. The girls finished ninth but competed with a lot of heart and determination. NHP set five school records in the process. There were three All-Conference athletes and two All-County athletes.
“I really enjoyed this track season! I broke the long jump record for winter track,” sophomore Sharon Xiao said. “I had a lot of fun and hope more people join next year.”
The school’s basketball teams play on a variety of levels for both boys and girls. The junior high teams compete against schools within the district, as it is more of a developmental program. The JV and varsity teams compete against a variety of schools, most being outside of the district. The girls varsity team made the playoffs.
“My favorite part about playing on the team was all the friends I made along the way. I’ve made so many friends this year specifically, and I’m so glad to be playing this sport with them,” said sophomore Angela Vlavianos.
A new addition to this year’s winter sport season is Coach Cobb, an NHP counselor who took on the role of the boys varsity basketball coach. One of Coach Cobb’s favorite days was senior day, in which the boys got a chance to share their senior moment with the varsity girls. The seniors won the game, and the coach enjoyed the feeling of brotherhood that arose from the victory.
“I wouldn’t say that anything surprised me this year, but through the good and the bad the boys always came ready to work and the support around the building was always felt. For that, I would like to say thank you,” said Coach Cobb.
Mr. Maguire, the athletic director, is filled with pride with the performance of the winter sports teams this year.
“I believe it is such an advantage for New Hyde Park to be part of the Sewanhaka Central High School District. It provides our students with a vast array of sport offerings. I am proud of our New Hyde Park student-athletes competing on all teams and wish them the best of luck in the upcoming playoff season,” said Mr. Maguire.
