The biggest story in sports news was the continued excellence of the North Shore High School football squad.
Even though the Vikings lost the Long Island Class IV title game to Bayport-Blue Point, the team did win its second consecutive Nassau County IV championship.
North Shore dominated that contest on both sides of the ball. It was the defense that got the Vikings on the board in the first quarter. With the game scoreless, Michael Granelli rushed through West Hempstead’s offensive line to block a punt. Teammate Pat Godfrey recovered it in the end zone to give North Shore a 7-0 lead they never relinquished.
During the playoff run, the toughest contest was a Nov. 10 17-14 win over Malverne.
In this game, the Vikings got off to a strong start, leading 14-0 going into the fourth quarter. However, Malverne, to their credit, battled back, scoring two touchdowns to tie the game.
North Shore still had its ground game. Can anyone stop it? With time running out, the Vikings’ offense put placekicker Michael Fleming in a position to win the game with a 31-yard field goal. With 5 seconds on the clock, the cool and collected Fleming did just that, nailing the three-point attempt to send North Shore to the Nassau County title game.
Roslyn High School fielded its usual assortment of top stars. Most prominent was Shani Sirota, the top female gymnast in Nassau County. Sirota is the top female athlete Roslyn High School has produced since the track and field legend Emily Lipari.
Sirota clinched her top position with an amazing performance in February at the State Qualifier and Nassau County Individual County Championship at Roslyn High School. Sirota qualified for the state tournament by sweeping the All-Around, the Vault, the Uneven Bars, the Balance Beam, and the Floor Exercise titles. Her commanding performance earned her All-Around champion honors for the third consecutive year. Other gymnasts, we can be sure, will be glad to see Sirota graduate this spring.
For the weekend, Sirota scored 37.80 in the All-Around, a 9.525 on the Vault, 9.45 on the Uneven Bars, 9.50 on the Balance Beam and 9.325 in the Floor Exercise.
Roslyn High School football star Dylan Goodman continues to be a double-threat on the gridiron. Last year, Goodman, playing in his junior year, had 25 receptions for 626 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
For his efforts, Goodman has been named to Newsday’s Top 100 high school players for the 2022 season.
“His athleticism allows him to line up all over the field as he will split plays between quarterback and wide receiver,” the article stated.
Goodman plays for a Roslyn squad that joins forces with Friends Academy in local action.
The senior is small and fast, checking in at 5’10 and 165 pounds of blazing speed.
In lacrosse news, Alex Gatto had such a great career that he was able to sign a National Letter of Intent to play Division I lacrosse at the University of Michigan. To celebrate the event, the high school held a ceremony, hosted by Athletics Director Michael Brostowski, one that was attended by Superintendent Allison Brown and Alex’s family and friends.
This summer, Roslyn resident Ethan Wachsman placed bronze in the Maccabi Games in Israel for the sport of karate. Wachsman was abroad for three weeks with a program called IsraelConnect where he represented the United States Delegation.
When the Maccabi Games arrived, Wachsman traveled with the United States Delegation to train and compete at the games in Israel. In his time there, he received the opportunity to explore the country and train with international coaches.
“Overall, this was a unique experience for me,” Wachsman explained. “Especially in the United States, [karate] is not a Jewish dominated sport; there weren’t many Jewish athletes that I had encountered.”
Growing up, Wachsman noticed this gap between his culture and his sport, which is part of what made this experience so unique.
“To have a competition full of great athletes that were all Jewish and shared my common heritage was really awesome,” Washman continued.
