Schools
Sports Notebook: County Titles in Badminton, Track
The week's highlights include a county champion doubles team, a county champion and a school record in boys track, and a close match in the L.I. girls golf championships.
Badminton: West's doubles team earns Suffolk County championship
The Smithtown West boys badminton team had an embarrassment of riches this season, and that storehouse of depth and experience was on display at the Suffolk County individual championships, where the Bulls' second doubles team won a county title and its top singles player placed third overall.
Seniors Derek Ladaerious and Greg Mayer, West's No. 2 pairing this season, defeated teammates Steve Kennedy and Rich Ardizzone, the first doubles team, in the tournament quarterfinals and went on to win the county doubles championship on Thursday. It was a familiar path for Ladaerious and Mayer, who won a county title last year.
Justin Lin, a junior, took third in the individual singles championships, dropping his semifinal match Thursday against Jesse Levy of Whitman. Jesse Dietrichson of Miller Place won the singles title. Lin had placed second in each of the past two seasons.
West coach Devon Brown said that this year's team, which finished unbeaten and won the first Suffolk County boys championship in school history, was “the deepest lineup we've ever had up and down the board.” Brown, who has coached the Bulls for 10 years, added that he was confident the team would do well because of its experience.
“To finish as strong as we did, that was impressive also,” Brown said.
Ladaerious, Mayer, Lin, Kennedy and Ardizzone were all named to the Newsday All-Long Island team. Ladaerious and Mayer made it last season.
Boys Track: West's Valentino wins county title; Rapp ties school vault record
Mark Valentino became the fourth Smithtown West athlete to win the county title in the steeplechase when he posted a personal best time of 9:42.32 at the Suffolk County Individual Championships and state qualifier Saturday at Port Jefferson High School. Teammate Rob Calamia finished second and Mike Lynch was seventh.
Matt Rapp placed third in the pole vault at 13 feet, 3 inches, which tied a school record. Kyle Budney was fifth at 13-0 and Karl Nilsen placed ninth at 12-6. Devin Mirenda was ninth in the pentathlon, and the top sophomore. Mike McCann took seventh in the high jump at 6-2.
Mike Emerson was seventh in the 800 in 1:57.93 and placed first in his section in the 1,600 in 4:28. Mike Catalano placed sixth in the 3,200 in 9:37.81.
In the girls events, East's Deirdre Connor finished fourth in the 3,000 in 10:30.01. Alyssa Knott of West was ninth, followed by Christy Baars of East in tenth.
Girls Golf: East falls to Garden City, ready for state tourney
The Smithtown East girls golf team followed its Suffolk County championship with a showdown against Garden City's Maroon team in the Long Island championships Wednesday at the Bethpage State Park Red Course.
Garden City edged East by just six strokes, 455-461, earning its third Long Island title in the last four years. Both teams have qualified for the New York State championships, which begin June 10 at SUNY Delhi.
Softball: East run ends against top-ranked Bay Shore
Smithtown East's run in the Suffolk County Class AA softball playoffs came to an end Tuesday in the semifinals with a 9-1 loss to eventual county champion Bay Shore.
Bay Shore, ranked No. 1 in the AA bracket, jumped out to a three-run lead in the first inning and never looked back. Taylor McGowan was the winning pitcher, while East's Corinne Vazac took the loss. East was the 13th seed in the tournament but advanced to the semifinals with road wins over higher-ranked Longwood and Hauppauge.
East finished the season with a record of 14-8. Bay Shore advanced to the Class AA finals and swept Deer Park for the title, finishing with a perfect 25-0 record.
