The leaves have all fallen, there’s frost in the air, and with the final Long Island Championship football games being played right after Thanksgiving, the fall season is officially now in the rearview mirror.
But before we turn our attention to indoor sports, let’s take a look back at some of remarkable team and individual performances from the fall season in our area of Nassau County:
FOOTBALL: It was a magical season for the Manhasset football team. Led by legendary coach Jay Iaquinta, Set lost only one regular season game (to Garden City) and played flawlessly in a Class III semifinal win over Floral Park at Hofstra.
Led by speedy running back Atif Heathington and a hard-hitting defense, Manhasset overcame injuries and marched into the county title game for the first time since 2021. But the Garden City juggernaut proved too strong and the Trojans beat Manhasset, 49-14, at Hofstra.
Glen Cove also had a season to remember, as the Big Red rode senior running back Devon Gonzalez into the Nassau II semifinals. But an early-game injury to QB Jadyn Johnson hurt and Glen Cove was defeated 34-6.
At the Long Island Championship level, Wantagh won its first LIC since 2016, beating Bayport-Blue Point to win the Class IV crown, while Massapequa defended its title in Class I with a thrilling 42-40 LIC win over Floyd.
GIRLS TENNIS: Herricks High School senior Angel Walia finished her high school career in style, in the best way possible: She is a state champion.
Showing poise and power, and recovering from a slipup in the final few games of the match, Walia defeated Olivia Dartawan of Niskayuna High School (near Albany), the runner-up last year, 6-2, 7-6.
Walia had to win five matches at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens to claim Herricks’ first girls’ state champ since Liz Jaffee in 1981.
Almost joining Walia among Nassau County winners was the Great Neck South duo of junior Madison Lee and seventh-grader Gabrielle Villegas. The South team won four matches to reach the doubles final, but were defeated by a Horace Greeley duo in the final round. Still, a wonderful result for the Great Neck pair.
In the team competition, Port Washington reached the large school finals but fell to eventual state runners-up, Syosset. Neverthess, the Vikings had a very young lineup and expect to be very strong again next season.
CROSS COUNTRY: It had been 40 years since any Nassau County team had won a boys’ cross country title.
But that drought was emphatically ended by Manhasset. Set dominated all comers at the county meet, and then, led by junior Blake Sealy, captured the Class B state championship by 49 points.
Coach Steve Steiner and his squad weren’t the only harriers who shined; Port Washington’s boys won the conference title, while on the girls’side, Great Neck South’s Isabella Spagnoli took second place individually at the county meet, while Ashley Carillo finished fifth in Class 1.
The Manhasset girls team also took the team title at conference, with North Shore finishing second in its division.
BOYS SOCCER: Floral Park won its first state championship in the sport in school history, winning the Class A title, a year after rival Mineola reached the final four as well.
The Knights were stingy on defense all year and finished off a marvelous season with a 2-0 win in the state title game over Schalmont. Mineola fell in the semifinals to Lawrence.
In Class AA, Glen Cove reached the championship game before falling to Garden City, while New Hyde Park fell in the semifinals.
GIRLS SOCCER: The North Shore team had a terrific season this fall, advancing to the championship game of Class A, after an 11-6-2 season. The Vikings, led by Sam DiBenedetto’s 15 goals, were looking for their first county crown since 2017, but fell to Wantagh, 1-0, in the title match. It was the Warriors’ first-ever county title in the sport.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL: The Roslyn boys volleyball team captured its first county title since 2021 with a dominant four-game win in the Division II county championship match over Lawrence. Senior Zach Kuppersmith, the only senior starter, led the way as the Bulldogs completed a fantastic season that saw them lose only three matches.
In the Long Island championship, eventual state champion Eastport-South Manor ended Roslyn’s season in three sets.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: The Wheatley girls team had a very successful season, advancing to the championship game of the Class B playoffs, but fell there to Oyster Bay in four sets.
Mineola, fresh off a L.I. championship and state semifinal run in 2023, fell in the semifinals of Class A, while in Class AAA, Port Washington fell to Massapequa in the semifinals.
GIRLS SWIMMING: Once again Nassau County swimmers and divers made a terrific showing at the state championships, held this year in Rochester. Manhasset junior diver Victoria Wang won the county crown and then came so close to a state title, finishing second by 10 points. Teammate Samantha Anderson grabbed two state Top 10 finishes as well, in the 200 and 500 freestyles, finishing 8th and 6th, respectively.
Herricks’ Natalie Wu also had a fantastic state meet, as the junior placed second in the 100 buttefly, and helped Herricks get fourth in the 200 medley relay. Teammate Kayra Patan, a 10th grader, was fifth in the 100 breaststroke. Roslyn’s Carina Dai, a sophomore, was sixth in the 100 butterfly and 10th in the 100 breast.
FIELD HOCKEY: Manhasset once again had a terrific season, reaching the Class B finals, but for the third year in a row, it saw its dreams of glory ended by Garden City. This time it was an overtime goal by the Trojans that did in Manhasset, in a 1-0 loss.
In Class A Port Washington made the semifinals, falling to East Meadow, 1-0, in OT.
BOYS BADMINTON: Finally, it was another banner year for the Great Neck South badminton player Haoran Xia, who won the county singles title.
Great Neck South fell in the team competition to Plainview-Old Bethpage, 4-3 in the team semifinals.
