THE WHEATLEY SCHOOL
SPRING 2019
INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETIC
AWARDS PROGRAM
East Williston UFSD Old Westbury, New York
May 28, 2019 7:00 PM
THE WHEATLEY SCHOOL INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETICS
SPRING 2019
Opening Remarks……………………………Mr. Michael Scaturro, AD Varsity Boys Tennis………..……….……….……...Mr. Herman Lim
JV Boys Tennis………………………………………..Mr. Pat Clarke
Varsity Golf……………………………………….Mr. Henry Kupstas
JV Boys Lacrosse…………………….………..…Mr. Henry Stanziale
JV Baseball………………………………………………Mr. Joe Fina
Varsity Boys Lacrosse………………………..…….Mr. Paul Selhorn Varsity Boys Track…………………..……... Mr. Robert Capobianco
Varsity Girls Track….………Mr. D.J. Paulson & Mr. Tim Schwalm
Varsity Girls Lacrosse………....Mr. Terry Grace & Mrs. Jenna Stein
Varsity Baseball……………………Mr. Paul Paino & Mr. Matt Haig
Varsity Softball………..…..Ms. Christina Cambria & Mr. Jim Curcio
Special Presentations
Mo Schneider Scholarship………………..……Mr. Michael Scaturro Senior Achievement Awards…..…………..……Mr. Michael Scaturro Roslyn Little League Award……………….………..Mr. Eric Kobrick Walter Wathey Award……………………..………Dr. Karen Klapper George Glaser Memorial Award.………..………….Dr. Karen Klapper Scholar Athlete Awards……………....…………….Dr. Sean C. Feeney Athlete of the Year……………….……..……….Mr. Michael Scaturro
SPRING SPORTS SEASON HIGHLIGHT VIDEO
(Thanks to Mr. Hurley and the Wheatley Video Club)
WHEATLEY TEAM AWARDS
Each season, coaches are given an opportunity to highlight certain players who have proven to be exceptional in one of the following areas:
The WILDCAT AWARD is presented to an athlete in recognition of outstanding performance. The COACH’S AWARD is presented to an athlete in recognition of hard work, dependability, and for being a team player. The UNSUNG HERO AWARD is presented to an athlete who deserves recognition for contributions to team unity and success. The SPIRIT AWARD is presented to an athlete who has demonstrated leadership and instills team spirit among team members.
VARSITY BOYS TENNIS
COACH: Herman Lim
Karan Amin, Captain Julian Chang Nadav Cohen Michael DelGais Benjamin Gilbert Matthew Kreitzer, Captain Alessandro Rossi Manan Shukla Kavin Shukla Alexander Wigginton Zachary Yakubovich Brandon Zhu, Captain The Wheatley Boys Tennis had a very exciting season. It came down to the final home match vs. Great Neck South with the winner of the match becoming the 12th seed in the Nassau County team playoffs. Unfortunately Great Neck North was better than us on that day. We finished the season for a 3rd straight year making the playoffs and a record of 12-3. Wheatley had 5 players entered in the Nassau County Championships at Eisenhower Park. Kavin Shukla/Nadav Cohen and Matthew Kreitzer/Alex Wigginton played Doubles tournament while Karan Amin played in the Singles tournament. Team Alex and Matthew made it to the 2nd round and Team Kavin and Nadav to the third. Karan was the finalist and will represent The Wheatley School and Nassau County in the States Tournament at The National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow Park May 30-June 1.
JV BOYS TENNIS COACH: Pat Clarke
Zain Abdelwahab Khaliq Ahmed Umar Ahmad Adam Aldad Khalil Ali Patrick Barrera Ali Bhalloo Brandon Danialian Cameron Ephrat Adam Fox
Aidan Gee Derek Gilbert Shrey Gulati Samuel Heller Siddant Jain Danyal Khan Edward Kirshner Tyler Konigsberg David Li Jason Liu
Jeffrey Melnikov Benjamin Merone Benjamin Richman
Aidan Sanders Josh Soleimani Ryan Wu
The JV Boys Tennis team had a solid season. We had a large team and were able to give most players an opportunity to compete. Our Singles players, Eddie Kirshner, Josh Soleimani and Sam Heller, all played well and also contributed by filling in on Varsity. In Doubles, our teams did well with second year players Adam Fox, Benji Richman, Tyler Konigsberg, Cameron Ephrat, David Li and Jason Liu all making valuable contributions. The future for Wheatley Boys tennis looks bright.
VARSITY GOLF COACH: Henry Kupstas
Marjan Alagheband James Blennau Cosmo Chang Justin Chang Joyce Chen Gianni D’Arduini Maxwell Davidoff Joseph Dolezal Jonathan Friedrich Andrew Gullotta Dimitrios Kaparos Hannah Kim Diana Kokotos, Captain Hema Kumar, Captain Daniel O’Connell Joshua Roit Anthony Rolo The Wheatley Golf team was a young team this year and made some great strides in setting a good foundation for the future. Our scores as a team improved steadily throughout the season, and we were able to notch two wins in a difficult conference.
JV BOYS LACROSSE COACH: Henry Stanziale
Matan Barr Luke Eberlein Dylan Gidanian Anthony Gracia Nicolas Iglesias Yan Jun Lin Aristomenis Psalidas Daniel Solomon, Captain
JV Boys Lacrosse team had a great season, including big wins against Division and Malverne and finishing our league with a record of 6-1. Most important the players improved their skills, team chemistry and a higher understanding of the sport.
JV BASEBALL
COACH: Joe Fina Kevin Barrett Brian Beierlein Greg Cunney Marco Deodato Gabriel Fallarino Benjamin Gold Andrew Golub Matthew Hetzel William Karikas
Costantine Koutsoftas Angelo Marchione Ryan O’Connell Lucas Prince Kyle Rosenberg Jason Tagios Andrew Thaler Constantino Triantafillou Michael Vitucci
For the first time in a number of years, snow was not a big issue for the JV Baseball team. While we did have to deal with the cold and rain up until the last day, the team was able to play on the field almost from the beginning and that translated into a strong start. The weather never got us down and the positive atmosphere translated into a 15-3 record, 13-1 in division.
On the offensive side, the team had a strong performance, batting .351 and averaging over 9 runs a game. There were many strong individual performances. Kyle Rosenberg led the team in batting with a .565 average. Gabe Fallarino and Angelo Marchione led the team in runs scored with 21. Will Karikas led the team with 24 RBIs.
On the mound, we had 8 different pitchers take the ball. The staff only let up a little over 3 runs a game, and threw 4 shutouts. The “ace” of the staff was Will Karikas with 5 wins. Kevin Barrett struck out 1.5 batters an inning. As our record indicates, all our pitchers kept us in every game. Angelo Marchione and Ben Gold picked up where the starters left off and held our leads.
Overall, it was a very strong showing. It was a young team (13 freshmen), but each player was able to step up when needed. I wish all the players moving up, good luck. Keep working hard. I know you will find success at the next level.
VARSITY BOYS LACROSSE
COACH: Paul Selhorn
Jonathan Breslin, Captain Aidan Coffey Aidan Cozzolino Brian Cumming James Dearborn Colin DeLay Matthew Ferrone Jack Fiorillo Anthony Giunta, Captain Ari Mizhiritsky Greg Seoylemezian Aidan Wong The Wheatley/Carle Place Varsity Boys Lacrosse team had a tremendous year by having a season record of 10-5. This included a 10 game winning streak. We had the opportunity to win our division but lost to Plainedge in the final regular season. Our team earned a playoff spot as the 12 seed in Class C. We ended losing to North Shore who was the 5 seed in the first round of playoffs. The student athletes worked hard all season, and they should be proud of their accomplishments.
VARSITY BOYS TRACK COACH: Robert Capobianco
Cyrus Alagheband Nadeem Al-Okla, Captain Zain Akhtar Ethan Bao Declan Brady Peter Cuomo Gregory Gottlieb Saad Haroon Jake Jacknis Tyler Krause
Michael Liparoto Evan Oliviero Jason Pedro Karthik Pitchayan Bryan Schmuck Scott Schmuck Dillon Silva Alexander Tu Evan Wang Aaron Zachariah
The Boys Varsity Spring Track and Field team had a great season. The boys had to adapt to a new training style which they grew to enjoy. The team’s league standing unfortunately does not reflect the work and dedication the athletes showed during this season. The work we put in this season showed the rest of the leagues what we are capable of and where we are looking to be in the future. To this point we have a freshman, sophomore and three juniors who are still competing at the County Class A meet and look to continue their pursuit to qualify for the state qualifier meet.
VARSITY GIRLS TRACK COACH: D.J. Paulson & Tim Schwalm
Rachel Alayev Sarah Amselem Sophia Caputo Aly Castiglie Anya Chabria Brooke Christman, Captain Aisvaryaa Dhama Grace Ducroiset Rachel Fasulo Nicole Gbenebitse Paula Gbenebitse Shruti Goyal Lauren Hackett Tyler Horowitz Pukhraj Kaur Emilia Keys, Captain Emma Leng Rosanna Lopez Emma Melnikov Juliana Mendes Kaila Nabatian Caroline O’Brien Caitlin O’Keefe
Alexa Oliviero Vittoria Papa Marissa Pedretti Victoria Potrapeluk Krittika Prajapati Kylie Ramalhete Ariella Rayhan Isabella Rios Ashley Roit Dalia Savy Julia Schriefer, Captain Kaitlin Schriefer Kate Seo Anushka Shorewala Rebecca Sparacio Gabriella Testani Valentina Tio Amanda Ustick, Captain Erica Ustick Kayla Vos Alia Yamin Maryam Zakaria Kristin Zachariah
The Girls Varsity Track team is having one of the best seasons in recent memory as they continue to improve their standing in the division, county and section. With much left to be accomplished over the next couple of weeks, the team can currently hang their hat on an improved conference record and overall division meet placing from a year ago. To date, school records have been broken this season by Emmie Keys in the steeplechase and Julia Schriefer, Caroline O’Brien, Caitlin O’Keefe and Emmie Keys in the Distance Medley Relay. Led by all division athletes Brooke Christman (HJ), Nicole Gbenebitse (TJ), Emmie Keys (1500m/3000m) & Julia Schriefer (400H/400m) the Wheatley girls qualified 14 athletes to the Nassau County Class A Championship on May 24th. Heading into State Quals on 5/31 and 6/1, Wheatley athletes will look to punch their ticket to the State Championship in Middletown, NY in events ranging from the triple jump, 800m steeplechase and 4x800m relay. With increased depth on the underclassmen girls roster, next season looks to be another step in a positive direction as we look to acquire the division 4B championship.
VARSITY GIRLS LACROSSE
COACH: J. Terry Grace & Jenna Stein
Melody Arriaza Dani Avila Isabel Avila Jaime Behar Jordyn Behar Julia Braito, Captain Alexis Burke Gabi D’Ayala Jackie Dunne Norah Gidanian Laura Hazelton Marcella Kanes Audrey LaMonica
Melissa Lucio Alexandra Ofsie Nicole Ofsie Grace Quinn Avani Rambharose Orell Rayhan Samantha Rothstein, Captain Sage Silber Jaylyn Soleimani Jade Sullivan Kate Sullivan Brianna Werny
This year was truly exciting. We welcomed many new freshmen this year, and after our first game, something clicked, and we were unstoppable. We celebrated many accolades this year: Sami Rothstein scored her 250th goal, was named a News 12 Scholar Athlete, and named an All County Player. As a team, we worked impressively together to become the Conference 5 Champions. However, our victories cannot only be stated by these accomplishments. Our true strength this year was the way we handled every unique situation, encouraged each other throughout the season, and grew as athletes and as a lacrosse family. Coach Grace and Coach Stein are so incredibly proud of this team.
VARSITY BASEBALL
COACH: Paul Paino & Matt Haig
Frank Asaro Brandon Behar Francis Cappi, Captain Lucas Chiodi Evan Eberlein Edward Kasparian Blake Klein Theodore Koutsoftas Dean Manfredi Joseph Martello
Matthew McCleary Yusuf Meghji Jake Meirowitz Tyler Mosca, Captain Nicholas Papageorge Nicholas Sampogna, Captain Jeremy Samuel Paige Barrett, Manager Hailey Ramalhete, Manager
We came into this season with optimism having just won our fifth county championship in the last six years and returning most of our pitching staff. While we had to find many new position players, we believed that we could compete for another county championship. We struggled early and got off to a very slow start in our league. While we improved significantly in the second half of the season, it was very difficult to make up for our early losses. We fought for a playoff spot right up until the final inning of our final game, but we fell short. The future looks bright as we return many of our starters. I look forward to reviving our winning tradition in 2020.
VARSITY SOFTBALL
COACH: Christina Cambria & Jim Curcio
Elianny Acosta Sariah Arroyo Emma Blennau Rachel Blennau Stephanie Clarfield Jaclyn Denicker Ainsley Forrest Charlotte Goldbaum
Cecilia Jozef, Captain Jayda Rubino Emily Schiesser, Captain Jaina Shah Cydney Siskind Julia Dioguardi, Manager
The 2019 Girls Varsity Softball team should be recognized for all of their efforts throughout the year. With the loss of some key players, the team had to rely on some young members to fill the starting lineup. The team was able to come together at key moments and entered the postseason ready to compete for a Nassau County Championship . The girls won their first playoff game against Malverne and entered a three-game series in the semi-final versus Oyster Bay. Unfortunately, the season came to an end in game three with extra innings. There is much to celebrate, much to learn, and much that will be missed with the departure of three seniors.
The Mo Schneider Scholarship has been established to celebrate Mo’s wonderful legacy as our long-time coach of the Wheatley Boys and Girls Varsity tennis teams and to honor the memory of Mo’s beloved children. Two scholarships will be presented to one deserving male and one deserving female student-athlete. Members of the Varsity Boys and Girls tennis teams have established the following criteria for the selection of recipients for the Mo Schneider Scholarship:
• Graduating senior student-athlete (tennis preferred) • Exemplary academic achievement • Displays positive attitude and sense of humor • Love of and aptitude in English • Promotes equality and fairness • Inspires others to achieve
The Walter W. Wathey Award is named in honor of a loyal and dedicated educator who worked for the East Williston Union Free School District for more than 30 years. Mr. Wathey was the Principal at North Side Elementary School for four years before assuming the Assistant Principal’s position at The Wheatley School for two years. In 1960, Mr. Wathey was named Principal at Wheatley, a position he held for nineteen years. In addition to his visionary leadership and many fine innovations to the academic program, he was dedicated to making participation in the interscholastic athletic program an important educational experience for every student. Mr. Wathey was a veteran of World War II, having served in combat on the European front, and recipient of two Purple Hearts. The Walter W. Wathey Award is presented annually to a senior student-athlete for athletic excellence and outstanding service to The Wheatley School.
The George Glaser Memorial Award was created to honor the memory of George Glaser, a 1965 graduate of The Wheatley School. George represented the epitome of a true scholar-athlete. He excelled in all academic and athletic pursuits. From schoolboy exploits to competition at the national level, George constantly strived to achieve and enjoyed considerable success. His legacy includes a National Championship in the Marine Corps Physical Fitness competition, various Track and Field school records that remained over 40 years later, Co-Captain of Wheatley’s first Nassau County Championship soccer team, charter member of The Wheatley Hall of Fame and a member of the United States National Ski Team. In recognition of his exemplary academic performance, George was also inducted into the National Honor Society. Tragically, George passed away shortly after graduating from The Wheatley School, and the award is dedicated to honor his memory and celebrate his qualities as an exceptional person and student-athlete. The George Glaser Memorial Award is presented annually to the senior student-athlete who most exemplified the qualities of excellence and dedication to the Wheatley athletic program.
ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT WHEATLEY AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Mo Schneider Scholarship Exemplary academic achievement, positive attitude,
promotes fairness & inspires others
Senior Achievement Awards
Roslyn Little League Scholarship
The Walter W. Wathey Award For Athletic Excellence & Outstanding Service
The George Glaser Memorial Award
To the Senior Who Most Exemplifies the Qualities of Excellence & Dedication In Our Athletic Program
Female Scholar Athlete Award
For Scholastic & Athletic Achievement
Male Scholar Athlete Award For Scholastic & Athletic Achievement
Female Senior Athlete Award
For Outstanding Athletic Achievement Dedication, Sportsmanship & Love of the Game
Male Senior Athlete Award
For Outstanding Athletic Achievement Dedication, Sportsmanship & Love of the Game
CONGRATULATIONS!
“THE WILDCATS”
2019 TEAMS!
We want to wish our graduating seniors nothing but continued success in your future endeavors.
Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat!!!!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
EAST WILLISTON UFSD
Board of Education
President Mr. Mark Kamberg Vice President Mr. Robert V. Fallarino, Esq. Mr. Leonard Hirsch Mr. David P. Keefe Mr. Alan Littman
Central Office Administrators
Superintendent Dr. Elaine Kanas Interim Asst. Supt. for Business Mrs. Diane Castonguay Asst. Supt. for Inst. & Pers. Dr. Danielle Gately Director of Buildings & Grounds Mr. Nick Fusco
The Wheatley School
Dr. Sean C. Feeney, Principal Dr. Karen Klapper, Assistant Principal
Michael Scaturro, Athletic Director
Acknowledgement: We would also like to thank the following staff members for their invaluable assistance: Mrs. Patrice Morisco, Brenda Hardman, Athletic Trainer; Tom Rindos, Grounds Crew; Mr. Scott Behnke and his custodial staff; and the game supervisory staff.