East Hampton High’s boys swimming team last week closed out the regular season with two wins, over Sayville-Bayport and Central Islip, to finish the regular league season at 4-2 and at 4-4 over all. Indoor track competitors, among them Melina Sarlo, who broke the school’s shot-put record, fared well at Last Chance qualifying meets over the weekend. And the boys basketball team on Saturday morning rebounded from a lopsided loss to Hauppauge with a 58-48 win here over Eastport-South Manor.
“We bounced back from having played our worst game to probably the best game we’ve played this season,” Bill McKee, the boys basketball coach, said Sunday.
His team, he said, couldn’t figure out how to solve Hauppauge’s zone trap defense, and had as a result shot poorly in the 69-33 loss on Jan. 22. “Hauppauge’s the best team in the league — they put a lot of pressure on us. . . . It was over early. There were tons of turnovers. But I’m proud of the way we came back against Eastport. We moved the ball well, we were more patient on offense, we didn’t settle for 3s.”
“Colin Kelly had 16 points and 16 rebounds. Liam [Fowkes] had 18 points, six assists, and six rebounds. Mike Locascio came off the bench when Toby Foster got into foul trouble and scored 8 points. Zach Dodge had his usual steady game with 9 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.”
“As I say, it was probably our best game. I’m hoping we can build on it . . . we’ve got a busy week coming up, at Comsewogue on Monday, at home with Hills West on Wednesday, and at Rocky Point on Friday. They’re all at around .500 and hoping to make the playoffs. At 2-9 we’re out of the running, but we can be spoilers.”
Seniors Shine
The swimming team defeated Say-Bay 85-78 on Jan. 23 and Central Islip 99-54 last Thursday.
“Our senior captains enjoyed the opportunity to shine in their final home meet,” Craig Brierley, the team’s coach, said in an emailed report. “Emmet McCormac took first in the 200 individual medley with a best time, and helped all three relay teams win. Jack O’Sullivan took second in the 50 free, and helped the 200 free relay team to a first-place finish. Owen Robins took first in the 100 butterfly with a best time, and swam the winning 400 free relay team’s first leg.”
East Hampton’s winners in the Say-Bay meet were the 200-yard medley relay team of Cristian Sigua, Abe Stillman, Robins, and Liam Knight; McCormac in the 200 and 500 freestyle races; Robins in the 200 individual medley; O’Sullivan in the 50 free; Knight in the 100 butterfly; Nick Chavez in the 100 free; the 200 free relay team of Robins, Chavez, O’Sullivan, and Knight; Sigua in the 100 backstroke; Knight in the 100 breaststroke, and the 400 free relay team of Robins, O’Sullivan, Chavez, and McCormac.
The League 2 championship meet will be held at Ward Melville High School in East Setauket today at 4:30 p.m. The county meet will be on Saturday, Feb. 10, at Stony Brook University at 9:30 a.m.
Last Chance Meet
Turning to indoor track, Yani Cuesta, the girls coach, said in an email that while she had taken only a few competitors to the Last Chance meet at Suffolk Community College-Brentwood Saturday, they had done well. Sarlo, she said, with a heave of 31 feet 10 inches, had broken the school’s indoor shot-put record that Sara Van Asco set in 2000. Laura Martinez won the freshman 3,000 in 11 minutes and 20.65 seconds. Sara O’Brien was second in that race among the sophomores, her 11:20.48 being a personal record. Greylynn Guyer was fourth in the open 1,000, P.R.ing in 3:12.6, and Angie Castillo was seventh in the sophomore 1,500-meter racewalk.
“We had a 4-by-800 relay team ready, but because of time constraints the relays were canceled,” Cuesta said.
Kevin Barry, the boys coach, said the efforts of his 4-by-800 team of Brayan Rivera, Griffin Beckmann, Benson Edman, and Edmar Gonzalez-Nateras, “running the fastest 4-by-8 time in eight years, a 9:00.7, good for fifth place in the large schools division, put them in Saturday’s large schools meet.”
Another possible championship meet entrant, in the long jump, is Chris Chimbo, “a soccer player who just started long-jumping a few weeks ago, and has already jumped a season-best 18-5 1/2.”
Barry added that East Hampton’s boys and girls teams, who are combined in the sport with Pierson (Sag Harbor) and Bridgehampton, find themselves in the large schools division for the first time, exceeding the large-small schools cutoff by nine students. “Next year, with a combined enrollment below 900, we’ll be back in the small schools division,” he said.