Salute to the champions: Winter 2025-26 season

Championship-winning moments from the 2025-26 high school sports winter season on Long Island. 

Farmingdale cheerleading

The state Class A title slipped from the Dalers’ grasp for three years in a row. They were right there, knocking on that championship door, but unable to get through, finishing third, second and second. And this trip to Binghamton didn’t start out exactly as planned as the team was forced from one bus to a replacement after reaching the Queens border on its way upstate. Not the way you draw it up.

But the Farmingdale team overcame all obstacles to capture the school’s second state Class A title in the Visions Veterans Memorial Arena. The Dalers pushed their elite skills to the limit and earned the state title over defending champion Sachem East (second place).

With a senior-laden group that has worked together for four seasons, the Dalers wowed the judges with a difficult routine with elite skills.

“We pushed the skill level every year,” Farmingdale coach Caitlin Beatrice said. “And they held themselves to high standards and had a love for each other.”

Farmingdale’s senior captain and backspot Jasmin Lawrence said there was a special connection on the team.

“We were confident we could do the most difficult routines,” Lawrence said. “And that’s because we had confidence and trust in each other.”

Ward Melville cheerleading

The three-peat was inevitable.

Ward Melville won its third straight state coed cheer title with an experienced group of seniors and a blend of underclassmen. Led by senior main base Ian Licavoli, who is committed to cheer at University of South Florida, the Patriots performed flawlessly at the Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton. They edged second place Freeport, 85.8-85.0.

“We focused on our skills and treated each other like family,” Licavoli said. “We built a trust amongst each other and our mental toughness helped us develop our physical skills. It’s been such a great experience here at Ward Melville.”

Ward Melville coach Georgia Curtis, in her ninth season, has grown the Ward Melville program into a winner.

“Half of our team were seniors,” she said. “The other half will follow in their footsteps. They learned from the best.”

Ward Melville captain Jessica Scardino called Ward Melville’s run of three crowns historical.

“This group of seniors has had so many historical moments together. We won the school’s first state title and then we did it again and again," she said. "We did everything together from film work to getting into the right mindset. We didn’t come this far, just to come this far.”

The Patriots only came to win.

Mount Sinai cheerleading

Mount Sinai, one of Long Island’s standout cheerleading programs, failed to qualify for the state tournament in 2025. The Mustangs had won six state crowns under Megan Wesolowski in her first 10 years.

“It was odd that we failed to win the county to qualify,” Wesolowski said. “But that made this season even sweeter. The girls really came in and worked together toward a state title.”

Mount Sinai won the school’s seventh title in Wesolowski’s 12 years with an outstanding performance at the Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton.

Injuries to some key athletes made the march to a state Class C crown even tougher.

“We were very young,” Wesolowski said. “We had two seniors — but they were leaders. And they took a special group of underclassmen and showed them how to practice and how to win.”

Wesolowski credited seniors Jordan Lumley (main base) and Kennedy Kearns (backspot) for being great motivators and the driving force behind the team’s run to the state title.

“We had a huge influence on our younger teammates,” Kearns said. “They’ll be even better moving forward.”

Boys swimming & diving 

Three Long Island athletes solidified themselves as the best of the best at the state swimming championships on March 7.

Johnny Macko, Bellmore-Merrick

The junior secured two state titles in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle events. He notched a time of 1:39.47 in the 200 and 4:28.31 in the 500.

Macko said the feeling of touching the wall and seeing his name in the top spot was unbeatable.

“I’m just ecstatic,” Macko said. “I work so hard, I train every single day, and it’s great because I’m making my family proud, I’m making my team proud, I’m making my friends proud. It’s just a really nice feeling to show everything I’ve been working for.”

Andrew Koek, Manhasset 

The senior became Manhasset’s first state titlist since 1993 when he won the 100-yard breaststroke in 54.64 — a Manhasset record. After finishing in second place last season, the MIT commit said securing the state title was the ideal way to close out his high school career.

“It felt great earning second, but I knew I was chasing first,” Koek said. “I was thinking about that before my race and it really motivated me to lock in and have a phenomenal swim. It’s my last high school swim, so I really wanted to end it well. I’m still shaking from it.”

Matthew McGrane, the Nassau boys swimming coordinator and Koek’s coach, said Macko and Koek’s performances are a testament to Nassau’s strength. “We have some amazing swimmers and for them to come up here on the biggest stage in high school swimming and have such success is really impressive,” McGrane said. “We’ve always had a strong sectional team, but this year we’re especially strong and it speaks volumes to everyone that’s involved.”

Gavin Buckley, Chaminade

The senior won the 200-yard freestyle federation title with a time of 1:38.67, which which broke his own school record and helped the Flyers to a second-place team finish with a score of 180. Coach Angelo Pellicone said his ability to stay calm under pressure is what makes him great.

“Gavin’s demeanor is really special,” Pellicone said of the UNC Wilmington-bound star. “He’s relaxed, but he’s super intense at the same time. He just loves to race and it showed today. His process of putting the work in every day is second to none.” 

Tristan Yang, Jericho

The senior had been on the state stage before. Four years in a row, in fact.

The UPenn commit began his career with a state title win as a freshman in 2023. He finished in second and third place the following two years. At the state diving championship on March 6, Yang knew it was his last chance to get back on top.

Yang earned his second state title in 1-meter diving with a score of 582.6 — 61.1 points higher than the second-place finisher.

“The past two years really motivated me to work harder,” Yang said. “I showed up every day and the consistency paid off. I knew this was my last go so I wanted to be my best.”

Diving coach DJ Volosevich said Yang’s resilience paved the way for a career that will go down as one of the best in Nassau history.

“The way he stepped up after two rough patches really shows the work ethic he has as a young athlete,” Volosevich said. “He put in the extra time in the weight room and in the pool and he got what he wanted. He wanted to win the state and he did just that.”

Garden City gymnast Charlotte Seebrath

Seebrath wasted no time making her name known in the gymnastics world.

The Garden City junior transferred from Valley Stream Christian Academy in the fall and immediately made a statement. She earned state titles on vault (9.75) and bars (9.775) at the gymnastics state championships on Feb. 28. She placed fourth in the all-around with a score of 38.25.

Her gold medals marked Garden City’s first gymnastics state titles. Her numbers were near-perfect, but she said the experience was even better.

“I think about my technique so much when I’m performing, but the best part is having good energy when I finish,” Seebrath said. “Sometimes, it’s not even about the score. It’s about the way I feel after and the energy I get from my teammates. Sometimes, that can be better than any score that I get.”

According to assistant coach Jen Soper, Garden City has not been represented at the state meet in at least 10 years. In only her first year with the program, Seebrath etched her name in the history books.

“We knew from the beginning that she was going to do great things,” Soper said. “She brought such a positive energy to our team and just great camaraderie. She’s definitely a leader, she has great composure and it inspires the other girls. They look up to her.”

Bellmore-Merrick hockey

Bellmore-Merrick fell short in heartbreaking overtime fashion in the Nassau hockey final to Long Beach. Luckily for the Bulldogs, the top two teams in Nassau qualify for the USA Hockey New York state tournament.

Bellmore-Merrick turned this opportunity into its first state championship in program history.

At the state tournament, the Bulldogs went unbeaten in pool play. Then they saw a familiar face in the state semifinals — Long Beach.

It was 3-3 after two periods before Bellmore-Merrick won, 8-4. Anthony Max Vitale scored three goals.

“To have the opportunity to play them in this game, it’s just fitting,” Bellmore-Merrick coach Pat Braglia said. “As heated as this rivalry is and the dislike there is, it’s a true level of respect and why this rivalry is so great.”

In the state title game, Bellmore-Merrick faced St. Francis (Buffalo). Jourdan Luskoff and Luke Tepfer scored to give the Bulldogs a one-goal lead after two periods.

A hard-fought game was tied at 2 with five minutes left. Jackson Austin then deflected the puck into the net with 2:52 left for the lead.

Henry Lagalia made 32 saves in net, and Bellmore-Merrick won, 4-2, to capture the state title.

“It’s just all the guys here — we’re one big family,” Lagalia said. “We do everything together, and I was just so pumped. It was difficult losing to Long Beach, but we came back stronger than ever and took this state title home.”

GIRLS WRESTLING

Four Long Island girls wrestlers won state titles at the second annual event at MVP Arena in Albany on Feb. 26.

Gabrielle Severin, Bethpage, 120, Sr.

Severin had quite the week in late February. She announced her commitment to Oklahoma State University two days before the state tournament. Then, she steamrolled her way to the 120-pound final, where she met freshman phenom Gigi Sullivan of Monroe-Woodbury.

Severin trailed for most of the match, but her takedown with 7 seconds remaining secured a 6-4 win and a state title. As soon as the final buzzer sounded, she ran off the mat and jumped in the arms of her father, Sean, who is also Bethpage’s coach.

“That was the coolest moment of my life,” Sean Severin said. “I told her she had to just keep it close and not get overaggressive early on and she would win the match late. I didn’t think it would be that late, but she executed the plan perfectly.”

Severin was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler. She went 42-2 and finished her career 107-34. 

Haley Gonzales, Hicksville, 132, Sr.

There was only one way for Gonzales to end her high school career — with another state title.

She defeated Groton’s Carmen Bishop by technical fall, 10-0, in 1:46 in the 132-pound final. It was her second straight state title. Gonzales went 18-0 and surrendered just one point the entire season. She will wrestle at Felician University.

Gonzales burst onto the scene in the summer of 2024 when she won a Fargo National title as the No. 31 seed in the pool of 85 wrestlers. Gonzales leaves behind quite the legacy with a national title, two state titles and two Nassau crowns.

“When I started wrestling, I was a nobody. I wasn’t even going to wrestle,” Gonzales said. “But I wrestled and it changed my life.”

Aaliyah Morrow, Bellport, 152, Sr.

Morrow had an excellent junior year, but she turned herself into an unstoppable force as a senior. She won an 8-0 decision over Ja’Niyah Simmons of Canandaigua to claim the 152-pound title. Morrow celebrated her title win with a playful takedown of her coach, Joe Scioli.

She bulldozed her way to the final with three technical falls in 2:03.

Morrow went 24-2 and will wrestle at the University of Sioux Falls. She dominated her way to her second straight Suffolk title. She was the state runner-up last year, when she was pinned in the final.

“After my loss last year, it made me work so much harder this year,” Morrow said. “I was so close and I was just working all year, thinking about getting pinned in the finals last year.”

Naomi Gonzalez, Valley Stream North, 235, Sr.

It was the moment Gonzalez waited for since she started wrestling at 3 years old.

After being taken down by defending state champion Peyton Mullin (Dundee), Gonzalez stayed calm. She took Mullin down with a front headlock and secured the pin in 1:22 for the 235-pound title.

She had the most pins in the least time with four in 3:39. Gonzalez went 17-1 and won her second straight Nassau title.

Gonzalez took third in last year’s inaugural state tournament and took second and sixth in the state invitational the two years prior. “I went in this match saying, ‘Win or lose, this is the last match of my high school career,’” Gonzalez said after the final. “I was like, ‘I better give it my all and if I don’t, that’s on me.’ So, I just went out and did what I do best. I just wrestled.” 

BOYS WRESTLING

Five Long Islanders won Division I state titles at the MVP Arena in Albany on Feb. 28. 

Xavier Seabury, North Babylon, 110, Soph.

Seabury lost one match all season. He avenged it in the state final. Seabury defeated Long Beach’s Ethan Andreula by 1-0 decision for the Division I 110-pound final. Seabury scored the lone point on an escape with 1:49 left in the third period.

He lost to Andreula in the finals of the Eastern States Classic by 3-1 decision. Seabury led that match, 1-0, before Andreula was awarded two stalling points and an earned escape in the third period.

Seabury (47-1) became North Babylon’s second state champion and first since Anthony Sparacio claimed the 120-pound title in 2016.

Seabury defeated two-time state champion and Penn State commit Will Soto (Newburgh Free Academy), 4-1, in sudden victory in the state semifinals.

When a late scratch rearranged the top seeds in the loaded weight class, North Babylon coach Paul Turano said, “The focus is to keep wrestling like the best kid in the weight class because that’s what we think he is.”

Seabury proved that sentiment to be true.

Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez, Long Beach, 118, Sr. 

Sibomana-Rodriguez capped his spectacular high school career by capturing a third Division I state title. The Long Beach senior won a 7-1 decision over Manhasset’s Will Russell at 118 pounds to become Long Beach’s second three-time state champ, joining Al Palacio (1980-82). He earned his 200th career win in the second round of the state tournament, of which he was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler.

“I’ve put in the work and seen the results,” said Sibomana-Rodriguez, who joined Long Beach’s Jacori Teemer and Syosset’s Vito Arujau as the only wrestlers to win five Nassau Division I titles. “I’ve been lucky to have great coaches and teammates who care about me. And I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the love and support of my family.”

Sibomana-Rodriguez, who is committed to North Carolina, went 46-3 in his senior year and 209-17 for his career.

Sibomana-Rodriguez has persevered throughout his life. When he was 6, he survived an attack by a troop of chimpanzees while playing with family outside his village near the Virunga National Park in the Congo. While his brother and cousin were killed in the attack, he survived with traumatic injuries to his lips, face and right ear and has had 21 surgeries to reconstruct his face.

“He has become a symbol of perseverance and courage,” Long Beach coach Ray Adams said. “What he has done is touched all our lives in a positive and spiritual way. He’s proof that you can come all the way back from a life and death ordeal. He’s amazing.”

Dunia won the freestyle high school nationals in Fargo, North Dakota last summer (July). That is considered the toughest tournament in the country. 

He recently won the NHSCA senior national in Virginia Beach.

“He’s been at the center of our program since the eighth grade,” Adams said. “He’s become a role model and a leader for all of our athletes.”

Jake Nieto, Massapequa, 138, Jr.

It wasn’t Nieto’s most dominant tournament performance, but it ended the same way as all the regular season tournaments he wrestled in with the junior on top of the podium.

Nieto defeated Lindenhurst’s Anthony Severino by 6-4 decision for the Division I 138-pound state title.

After a loss to Freeport’s Christian McCravey in December, Nieto was unstoppable. He won the Eastern States Classic, led Massapequa to the dual meet state title and won the Nassau crown with a 25-9 technical fall over McCravey. Nieto went 44-1 and improved his career record to 150-15. He joined his older brother, Luke, who won a state title last year for Plainedge. 

“It’s great to build a legacy as state champion brothers,” Nieto said after his state title win. “But hopefully I can win another one next season and rub it in his face a little bit, that I have one more.”

Camryn Howard, Bellport, 157, So.

Howard has cemented himself as one of the top wrestlers in the country. He won the 157-pound title at the USA Wrestling National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota, widely considered the toughest wrestling tournament in the nation.

The Bellport sophomore continued to dominate once the high school season rolled around — all the way to the state final. Howard defeated George Johnson of Iona Prep, 21-6, by technical fall in 4:33 in the 157-pound final for his second straight Division I state title to cap a 48-0 season.

Howard bulldozed his way through the tournament with a pin and three technical falls in 11:05. He is Bellport’s first two-time state champion and owns a career record of 190-7.

“He’s a very special wrestler,” Bellport assistant coach Rob Cuffie said. “His love for the sport and his intelligence separates him from the competition. Cam can analyze every opponent and decide what he needs to do to win. He learns quickly and drills constantly to perfect his moves. He’s wound differently and has a confident approach to all of his matches.”

Of his 48 wins this season, two were pins and 46 were technical falls — 44 of which came in the first period. He was not taken down or reversed all season. Howard and Jesse Jantzen of Shoreham-Wading River are the only wrestlers to win four Suffolk titles by their sophomore season.

“He’s obsessed with being the best of the best,” Bellport coach Chuck Maragioglio said. “He’s an ultracompetitive kid. He has an unbelievable work ethic. Even when you think he’s at the top of his game, he’s finding ways to improve. It’s remarkable how he never disconnects and his mind is always on getting better.”

Devin Downes, Plainedge, 215, Sr.

Downes punctuated a dominant career with an exclamation point. He pinned Minisink Valley’s Zach Filip in 2:43 for the Division I 215-pound title. It was his third straight state crown, making him Plainedge’s first three-time state champion. The Maryland commit picked up four pins in 9:45 in the state tournament. Downes won a 9-3 decision over Filip for the Eastern States Classic championship in January. He also pinned his way to a third straight Nassau title.

Downes went 43-4 and 208-30 for his career. Still, he felt he needed a third state title to cement his legacy.

“To me, this is the most important tournament,” Downes said after his first match of the state tournament. “Getting this one really puts a stamp on everything for me. I had a lot of people that wouldn’t pay attention to me when I was younger and now, I just want to prove to them that I’m here to stay.”

DIVISION II STATE CHAMPION

Gavin Mangano, Shoreham-Wading River, 144, Jr.

The target on Mangano’s back only got bigger when he announced his commitment to Penn State in September. The junior spent the season widening the gap on his competition.

He defeated Ashten Haley (Cobleskill/Richmondville) by 7-5 decision for the Division II 144-pound title. It marked his third straight state crown.

Mangano picked up three technical falls in 5:05 on his way to the finals.

He became just the third wrestler to claim four Eastern States Classic titles with a 17-3 major decision over Pittsford’s Samson McKissick-Staley, who won the Division I 150-pound state title.

Mangano went 47-2 and improved his career record to 214-5. He is one state title away from joining Jesse Jantzen as the only four-time champions from Shoreham-Wading River.

“I want it more now,” Mangano said. “I have that drive to be the best. I want to be better than Jesse Jantzen. I just have to keep pushing. This is a reminder that I have to keep working hard. People can catch up to you.”

Massapequa: D-I dual meet state champion

Massapequa celebrated the 75th year of its wrestling program with a Division I state dual meet championship. And the team did it in fine fashion.

Massapequa beat Minisink Valley, 31-30, the state’s defending Division I champion, in a wild semifinal. It was only the second time Minisink Valley failed to reach the final in the eight years of the tournament.

And then Massapequa avenged its only dual meet loss of the season against Shenendehowa with a 42-21 win in the championship.

Coach Mike McCann pointed to the loss to Shenendehowa earlier in the season as an opportunity to learn and reset. His lineup moves and a completely healthy lineup helped them cruise to an insurmountable 31-8 lead in the final.

Massapequa team captain Joe Brooks produced a 23-point lead with a 5-0 win over Ethan Young at 165 pounds. Brooks said the focus was on getting to the final and proving they were the team to beat all season. It was personal.

“We peaked at the right time when it mattered the most,” said McCann, whose team finished with a 26-1 dual meet record. “And it was a complete team effort.”

Miller Place: D-II dual meet state champion

Miller Place made its way through the Division II state bracket and into the final only to see an old foe — Shoreham-Wading River. Miller Place had beaten SWR for the Suffolk D-II title and here it was ready to do battle for the state crown and bragging rights on eastern Suffolk’s north shore.

For the third time in a two-week span, Miller Place beat SWR, enabling the Panthers to earn the school’s first Division II dual meet state championship with a 45-24 win.

Coach Matt Kaszubski led the Panthers to the best season in their 52-year history with a dual meet record of 24-4.

With the score tied at 24, Brice Browning trailed Jer’Shawn Coffey 9-4 in the second period. He used a body lock to put Coffey to his back for the pin in 3:09 and a 30-24 Miller Place lead. The Panthers reeled off 21 unanswered points to end it.

“It’s hard to beat a quality team like Shoreham once,” Kaszubski said. “Our kids were outstanding and met the challenge three times.”

Commack boys bowling

Commack went 16-0 in the regular season and dominated at the county championship, knocking down over 7,000 pins to earn an opportunity to compete at the state championship for the second time in three years.

Two years ago, Commack surprised everyone by becoming Suffolk’s first wild-card team to win the county final and then placed third at the state tourney.

This year, the Cougars totaled 1,183 pins in Game 3 and 1,205 in Game 5, the two highest totals of the event as they rolled to the program’s first state title.

“We had a lot of guys return that were on that team two years ago,” Andrew Schaefer said. “That definitely gave us a lot of confidence and we knew what areas we had to improve on.”

Leo Recine had a 1,338 series with the third highest six-game series of the event. Luke Jovans’ 1,334 pins were fourth best.

“Two years ago, we didn’t even expect to be here,” Recine said. “This year we knew we were coming here to win it.”

East Islip girls bowling

East Islip made a third straight appearance at the state championship but was still searching for its first title since 2014. It trailed entering the penultimate game before knocking down 1,078 pins to take the lead en route to winning the crown.

Makayla Boyd set the tone for the big game with eight straight strikes and a 244. “That fifth game is where everything started to click for us,” Boyd said. “We stood together as a team and kept picking each other up until we broke through.”

East Islip hit a bump in the road during the regular season, losing a league match to end a winning streak that surpassed 160 matches. First-year coach Genesis Dawson was able to refocus the group and push them toward a third straight county title and the state crown.

“We all knew that it was possible,” Brooke Andresen said. “So we still had confidence in each other to get this done.”

GIRLS TRACK

Esmia Thomas, Roosevelt, Sr., 55 meters

She knew, from the moment that she placed last at the state meet in 2025, that she would be leaving 2026 a champion.

“The dog mentality in me makes me feel great. It makes me feel like I can do anything. If I put my mind to it and I say that I can do it, then I’m going to do it.”

Breanne Barnett, Baldwin, Sr., 300 meters

She successfully defended her title in 38.09 with her former teammate and friend Sariah Doresca — a three-time state champion in the 55 — in attendance. “I wanted to show her that I’m still a great runner in my own right.”

Maggie McCormick, Bay Shore, Sr., 1,500 meters

She was always blocked by Floyd alumna Zariel Macchia and Bayport-Blue Point alumna Sophia McInnes. Getting to run behind them taught her how to become a state champion, which she did in 4:23.25.

“I’m honestly really grateful for being able to race with them so much,” she said. “It was a blessing and a big motivator.”

Friends Academy 4 x 400-meter relay: Cynthia Eustache, Sr., Lana Alvarez, Soph., Maia Madeira, Jr., Ariana Madeira, Fr.

The 3:57.56 was the thrill of a lifetime for sisters Maia and Ariana Madeira, who ran the relay’s final two legs to win the NYSPHSAA Division II state title.

“It’s so cool; I’m so happy we could be able to do this together,” Maia said. “I couldn’t ask for a better person to pass the baton to.”

North Shore 800-meter relay: Tula Belle Gumm, 8th, Joanna Kenney, Sr., Sloane Bonvicino, Fr., Chloe Connolly, Sr.

They entered the day as the No. 2 seed, but Connolly scratched herself out of the 1,500 so she can have fresher legs for relay.

That decision led to a 9:33.26 to win the state title in the NYSPHSAA Division II 4x800-meter relay

“I was going to double and do both, but we had to win this as a team,” Connolly said. “We have an eighth grader and a freshman who kicked butt today, and I’m just so proud of them.”

Section XI Intersectional Medley Relay: Olivia DiGaetano, Connetquot, Sr., Wilorda Frenel, Islip, Soph., Chelsea Cornelia, Deer Park, Jr., Leah Nowakowski, Sachem North, 8th

It is a unique event that does not get run at all until the state meet.

The four legs of the relay are comprised of the top runner from each section of New York State who missed the cut to qualify for the state meet in the 300, 600, 1,000 and 1,500, respectively.

These runners either placed third at the section’s state qualifier meet and did not own the qualifying standard to clinch an at-large bid, or they placed fourth, which is automatically a disqualification from competing in the event individually.

They are then assigned into one team with a differently-lengthed leg.

For Suffolk — which is Section XI — DiGaetano placed fourth in the 1,000 at the state qualifier meet, Frenel took fourth in the 300, Cornelia was third in the 600 and Nowakowski was fifth in the 1,500.

However, one of the four girls in front of Nowakowski scratched from the meet, forcing her into the medley’s anchor spot.

DiGaetano split the 1,000-meter leadoff leg in 2:59.02, before Frenel took the 200 in 25.72.

Cornelia took the 600-meter third leg in 1:38.47 before

Nowakowski won it with a 5:12.48 1,600-meter anchor. The quartet combined for a 10:15.68.

Boys track

Brandon Thweatt, Baldwin, Sr., 55 hurdles

It is no surprise that Thweatt is now a state champion hurdler. After all, he was trained by a state champion hurdler.

Tristan Brown, who won the 2024 outdoor state title in the 110 hurdles before graduating, took Thweatt — then a sophomore — under his wing. Hurdling beside Brown in practice every day planted the seeds for Thweatt to become the best in the state.

“I’m just carrying his legacy, because he won a state championship himself,” Thweatt said, “so this feels amazing.”

He won his race by surprise, as he entered the day tied for the fifth seed. However, none of that mattered after he ran a personal-record 7.26 seconds to win.

“I was a little weary going in,” Thweatt said. “I hadn’t raced against any of them all season. Now, running against them, that was the push I needed to get me to a [personal record].”

Holy Trinity 4 x 200-meter relay:  Erric Hayes, Sr., Gabriel Nathan, Sr., Darnell Rink, Jr.,  Jalen Josey, Sr.

The Titans successfully went back-to-back after winning last year’s NYSPHSAA Division II state title. They lost a couple of major pieces, like coach Eugenia Bradshaw and former third-leg runner Christian Balkcom. They almost never made it to the state meet due to an erroneous disqualification in the CHSAA Intersectional championships.

However, any and all road blocks or growing pains meant nothing to the Titans in the end.

“We are very grateful to be here,” Nathan said. “We were faced with even more adversity at the beginning of the season, but we just pushed through that. Adversity is nothing but a word.”

Port Jefferson 4 x 800-meter relay: Christopher Nam, Sr., Lucas Sweeney, Sr., Sean Grossman, Jr., Sviatoslav Zalizniak, Sr.

Not only did the Royals’ 8:04.02 make them NYSPHSAA Division II state champions, but it solidified them as one of New York’s premier distance-running programs. The title accompanies their consecutive Class D team state championships in cross country, showing that they can win in other environments, as well.

“It’s about the program itself,” Zalizniak said. “We’ve known each other for four years, and you can see our progress throughout the years. It just shows the strength of this generation of our program. It’s an exceptional feeling.”

St. Mary's girls basketball

St. Mary’s was determined to win a girls state basketball title this season after losing in the final last year.

The determination paid off on March 8 at Manhattan College as St. Mary’s defeated Christ the King, 62-52, to win the state CHSAA Class AA title and cap a season in which it went 22-3, with big wins over Baldwin and St. Anthony’s.

It was the second state title in four years for St. Mary’s.

“We wanted to finish our senior year with a win,” guard Kayla Solomon said. “We really wanted to prove a point to everyone. People usually doubt us because we’re the smaller team, but that gave us confidence to play hard every single game.”

Solomon, who scored her 2,000th career point in the state semifinal, had 29 points in the championship game, including six three-pointers. Tiana Thompson added 22 points.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the season,” Solomon said. “It felt amazing knowing all our hard work paid off. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of girls because without them we wouldn’t have had the season we had.”

Holy Trinity boys basketball

Holy Trinity had just defeated St. John’s Prep to advance to the final possible day of the season — state championship day in Class A of the CHSAA.

Tristan Thomas was asked after the semifinal that March night at SUNY Old Westbury why this boys basketball team was special.

“This team is special because nobody has an ego here,” the senior said, “and we all play defense, and we’re all locked in every practice.”

Then this team finished off its special season.

Holy Trinity defeated Canisius five days later at Erie Community College for the program’s first state crown since 2014 after claiming its first NSCHSAA tournament title since 2022.

“It’s amazing,” said Steve Gnus, the first-year head coach who had been a longtime Titans assistant. “It really feels good and really satisfying to end the season on a win.”

Thomas averaged 15.9 points in the 24-4 season. The 6-3 Molloy-bound forward was especially good in the postseason, averaging 22 points across four games.

“He works so hard on his game,” Gnus said. “He works hard on every possession.”

Junior point guard Ryan Reid gave Holy Trinity great defense in the league tournament and 23 points in the state final.

Junior guard Myles Reid, Ryan’s twin brother, was the NSCHSAA Defensive Player of the Year.

Senior guard Jagger Verzosa made 53 threes and also excelled defensively. “We just love defense,” Verzosa said.

Manny Ayeye, a 6-4 junior wing, averaged 14.8 points and sank 52 threes.

In the end, they could all call themselves two wonderful words — “state champs.”

Stony Brook School boys basketball 

There’s nothing quite as sweet as a program’s first title. It’s a feeling Stony Brook School’s boys basketball team got to savor this winter after taking down Dalton in the NYSAIS Division B state championship on Feb. 25 at Manhattan’s Spence School.

“They played hard, they believed in one another,” coach Ron White said. “They were resilient.”

Stony Brook School (20-7) made the state semifinal in 2024 and state final in 2025. Injuries plagued both squads late. “My freshman year, we made it to the PSAA championship. We lost,” Orlando Morris said. “We made it to states, and we always lost; we came up short. So, it feels good to finally make it. We deserve it.”

When you add in the team’s first league title — besting Long Island Lutheran Regional in the PSAA final — there’s little doubt that the work guys like Morris, Simon Ogwuche David, James Augustine, Matija Jevic, Jeremiah Coty and Gabriel Walcott put in has paid off.

“We battle it out with each other in practice, so practice is harder than the games,” Coty said. ‘So, we’re competing with each other, but once we get in the game, we all got each other’s backs. And we’re going to compete for each other.”

Iron sharpens iron. And come the playoffs, there was nothing sharper than the claws of the Stony Brook Bears.