Boys Winter Track Team Displays Stunning Athleticism

On the weekend of Jan. 6, the Connetquot High School indoor boys track team ran well against both New York City and Long Island high school teams, first at the Freedom Games, held at the Ocean Breeze Track and Field Athletic Complex on Staten Island, and locally at the Suffolk County Community College Athletic Complex in Brentwood. The facilities for both track meets were filled with talented high school student-athletes, along with their supportive fans.

Student-athlete Matthew Lopez’ impressive time of 2:42.13 in the 1000-meter race took 10th place at the Freedom Games, while Jeremy Betolet’s 39’8” earned 11th place in the triple jump event. At Sunday’s Crossover Games at SCCC, Dmitri Cavanah took ninth place in the mile run with an incredible time of 5:13. Tom Domozych and Mike Domozych are currently ranked second and third, respectively, in the pole vault for Suffolk County high school track.

Fans and coaches were impressed with the weekend performances and look forward to continued effort and improvement as the season continues.  


CHS Wrestling Alumni Reunite

The Connetquot High School wrestling team and Coach Bill Santoro welcomed Bay Shore High School on Wednesday, Jan. 3 in a gym filled with lively fans that came to support the current T-Birds and honor five decades of wrestling excellence, as 30 alumni wrestlers were also in attendance. 

Before the featured Bay Shore-Connetquot matchup, Coach Santoro called for his wrestling alumni to assemble on the mats, in front of family, friends and T-Bird wrestling supporters. Coach Santoro introduced each alumnus, several of whom had been selected All-State, All-County and All-American. Santoro, who was a championship wrestler for Connetquot in the mid-1960s, proudly mentioned the alumni achievements, as well as those that currently coach in Long Island schools.

The Bay Shore-Connetquot match was the exciting experience that was anticipated, and the winner would not be determined until the last three matches of the night.  

“This was a very exciting matchup,” said Coach Santoro. “We tip our hats to Bay Shore, as they came from behind to win the meet by a score of 38-27. Both teams now stand at 3-1 in league competition.”   

Top performers for the home team were Yanni Balasis, Ryan Obert-Thorn, Dalton Otto, James Scaribino, Sean Schaller and Steven Wilkinson. Following the match, the alumni wrestlers mingled with their former teammates and family members, and shared experiences and praise for the 2017-2018 Connetquot wrestling team.