It was a fall season to remember for so many athletes in our Nassau County area. As happens every year, the cream rose to the top in a plethora of autumn sports.
From the gridiron to the swimming pool, from the tennis courts to the gymnasiums, a ton of great performances were seen.
With the high school football season officially over for our teams, the bow has been put on the 2022 fall campaign. Here’s a look back at some of the performances to remember:
FOOTBALL: Several area teams made the playoffs, but the only public school team to win a round made it all the way to the Long Island Championship game.
Competing in Conference IV, North Shore High School went undefeated in the regular season and captured its second straight Nassau championship, beating West Hempstead in the title game.
The Vikings could not quite defend their LIC, though, losing to Suffolk champ Bayport-Blue Point, 35-7 in the championship game.
Chaminade once again shone on the gridiron as well, but fell to St. Anthony’s in the CHSAA AAA semifinals.
GIRLS SOCCER: The Wheatley School had an outstanding season, reaching the Nassau Class B final before losing to Seaford, 1-0.
FIELD HOCKEY: Manhasset reached the Class B final for the second consecutive season, but once again was upended by Garden City, 2-1 in the final. Still, it was a fine season for the Indians in head coach Steve Sproul’s final year before retiring.
GIRLS SWIMMING: It was an absolutely sensational season for the Herricks girls swim team, with two individuals and two relay teams making the state finals in Webster on Nov. 18-19.
Then while there, senior Kailey Simons missed out on a state title in the 50 freestyle by two-hundredths of a second, snaring second place, and also finished second in the 100 backstroke.
Her teammate, senior Katie Yee, also excelled at states, grabbing third place in the 100 butterfly and fifth in the 200 IM. Both Herricks’ relay teams finished fourth as well.
Manhasset freshman Samantha Anderson, who won the county title in the 500 freestyle, had a smashing states meet as well, placing fourth in the 500 free and sixth in the 200 free.
Manhasset freshman diver Victoria Wang snagged a third-place finish for her team at states.
GIRLS TENNIS: The Schreiber girls tennis team kept its dynasty rolling, bringing the Class A county championship back to Port Washington once again. And once again the Vikings didn’t stop there, as they went to the large school state semifinals after beating Harborfields for the Long Island championship.
In the state semis played at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Schreiber won its semifinal but fell in the team championship to Scarsdale.
In the individual tournament, the doubles team from Schreiber of Ellie Ross and Dasha Perfiliev nearly defended their state crown, losing to a duo from Burnt Hills in the championship match.
Elsewhere, Manhasset and Roslyn enjoyed strong seasons, with each making the state team semis, and at Great Neck South the team of Kyra Diaz and Madison Lee had a wonderful postseason, reaching the finals at the county championships, then advancing to the semifinals at the state championships.
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY: Schreiber sophomore Ashley Carillo continued her great career by winning the Class I Nassau cross country meet, in 19:27.89.
Great Neck South’s Isabella Spagnoli won Class II counties in 18:53.48 and then won the Class A state qualifier as well.
At states, Spagnoli finished 40th, while Carillo placed 48th.
BOYS BADMINTON: Great Neck South continued to roll in local badminton play, as the boys saw Melvin Thu win the singles title for the county. GNS then reached the team finals but fell in a close match against Jericho, 4-3.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Mineola advanced the farthest of the local teams, reaching the semifinals of the county Class A playoffs, before losing to top seed South Side, 3-0. New Hyde Park enjoyed an undefeated regular season but fell to South Side in the opening round. Wheatley reached the semifinals of Class B but lost there to North Shore.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL: Schreiber reached the semifinals of the Division I bracket before losing, while Roslyn advanced to the finals of Division II before falling to top-seeded Calhoun.
