Sachem East alum Anthony Stefanelli is a junior gymnast at the University of Michigan. That’s unique because Sachem does not have a boys gymnastics team, nor does any high school on Long Island any longer.

For almost 40 years Sachem had a world class boys gymnastics program, but enrollment dipped island-wide and it changed the landscape of the sport.

Stefanelli, however, competed at private clubs and earned his way onto a Big Ten team that competes at a very high level.

This season he was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team. Some other notes from his junior season, according to the University of Michigan Office of Athletic Communications:

• Scored a 15.200 on vault for a second place finish and a 15.275 on vault for a third place finish at the 2016 Big Ten Individual Finals (April 2) at Ohio State’s St. John Arena
• Placed seventh on vault with a 14.900 at the 2016 Big Ten Team Finals in Columbus, Ohio (April 1)
• Currently is in sixth place in the NCAA Vault rankings with an avg. mark of 15.169 (Wk 13)

The Sachem East Touchdown Club is hosting a Mother’s Day plant sale and car wash on Saturday, May 7 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Tecumseh Elementary School.

Happy Mother’s Day to all!

Sachem North senior baseball player Alex Rosati was named the winner of the Justin Carlo Memorial Scholarship, presented after the game at home on Thursday afternoon.

Carlo is a former Sachem baseball player who died in recent years, but his memory lives on with this scholarship.

Head down to the Medford Sports Complex on Friday, May 6 at 7 p.m. to see Sachem East play Sachem North in the annual Tim Crowley Memorial Baseball Tournament.

There is a chance of rain on Friday night, so if the game is postponed or canceled we’ll keep you updated!

Four Sachem alumni were inducted to the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame on Friday evening at the Hyatt Regency in Hauppauge, N.Y.

Rich Cimini, an NFL writer for ESPN, Laura Gentile, the Senior Vice President of ESPNW, Maria Michta, an Olympic racewalker and Isaac Ramaswamy, a Sachem wrestling coach and teacher, were all honored.

Michta was unable to attend because she is competing in Rome this weekend. Her coach Pete McNeill, also a Sachem alum, accepted the honor on her behalf.

Sachem has more inductees than any other school district in the county. There have been 12 people inducted in the last four years to hail from the district.

Complete list of Sachem inductees in Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame

• John “Jumbo” Elliott (football player), 1993
• Joe Cipp Jr. (football coach), 1996
• David S. Rothenberg (administrator), 1996
• Neal Heaton (baseball player), 1997
• Diane Nelson (equestrian), 2000
• Fred Fusaro (football coach), 2003
• Jack Mahoney (wrestling coach), 2004
• Bill Batewell (baseball coach), 2010
• Risa Zander (basketball coach), 2013
• Jeff Ruland (basketball player), 2013
• Nicole Kaczmarski (basketball player), 2013
• Tom Sabatelle (administrator/athlete), 2014
• Doug Shanahan (lacrosse player), 2014
• Nick Schroeder (interim administrator), 2014
• Ken Freidheim (gymnastics coach), 2015
• Rick Mercurio (lacrosse coach), 2015
• Rich Cimini (media), 2016
• Maria Michta-Coffey (Olympian), 2016
• Laura Gentile (media), 2016
• Isaac Ramaswamy (wrestling coach), 2016

-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro

For the first time in 13 years, Sachem hosted an induction ceremony for its athletic hall of fame. The district inducted 25 members during a special ceremony at Sachem North on Saturday.

The long list of legends included former student-athletes, coaches, administrators and community supporters.

Inducted this year were:

• Bill Batewell, baseball coach
• Pete Blieberg, athletic director
• Sam Cario, multi-sport coach
• Joe Cipp Jr., football player and coach, 1966
• Rich Cimini, sportswriter, 1981
• Brian Dehler, football player, 1978
• James Fabian, three-sport athlete, 1966
• Tony Falco, community leader
• Ken Freidheim, gymnastics coach
• Fred Fusaro, football coach
• Laura Gentile, field hockey / media executive, 1989
• Mark Graebe, basketball and football player, 1975
• Nicole Kaczmarski, basketball player, 1999
• Jack Mahoney, wrestling coach
• Shirlee Manoogian, Swimmer, 2002
• Shawn McNamara, football player, 1979
• Rick Mercurio, lacrosse coach
• Maria Michta, Olympic racewalker, 2004
• James Nolan, superintendent, coach, supporter
• Jeff Price, Swimmer, 1997
• Isaac Ramaswamy, wrestler and wrestling coach, 1985
• Tom Sabatelle, multi-sport athlete and athletic director, 1960
• Frank Schmidt, soccer coach
• Doug Shanahan, lacrosse and football player, 1997
• Risa Zander, basketball coach

Nick Laffin (Ohio State) and Ryan Cole (New Paltz) both helped their schools win volleyball titles this year.

It’s been a pretty good week for Sachem volleyball alumni.

Nick Laffin, Sachem East Class of 2013, helped Ohio State capture a Division I national championship. Ryan Cole, Sachem East Class of 2014, helped SUNY New Paltz capture a Division III national championship.

Dylan Missry, Sachem North Class of 2015, is a freshman at UCLA, which lost to Ohio State in the national semifinals. It was the first time two Sachem alums played against each other in a Division I NCAA volleyball tournament match.

Laffin and Ohio State beat Brigham Young in a three-set sweep to earn the program’s second national crown. The Buckeyes were 31-3 this season.

Cole and top-seeded New Paltz beat Springfield, 3-1, to capture the school’s first volleyball championship, or national championship of any kind.

-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro

Sachem recently started a social feature called “three questions” where students and staff give their take on the school district and their experiences. This week we spoke with teacher, coach and alum Alex Grimm.

Grimm graduated from Sachem East in 2005, the school’s first graduating class, and is a social studies teacher and coach at Sachem North.

What does Sachem mean to you?

“To quantify what Sachem means to me is no easy task! Entering high school can be unnerving for any freshman, but when you are a brand new student from private school and have ZERO friends in a class of over 1,200, it can be demoralizing! But joining the football, track, and lacrosse teams helped not only boost my confidence, it gave me friends and memories that will last a lifetime. Sachem introduced me to coaches like Fred Fusaro, Dave Falco, and Rick Mercurio – all important male authority figures in my young life – who taught me the value of hard work, dedication, and honoring the tradition of excellence Sachem holds dear.

As a senior captain of the football team I met a cheerleader named Taylor, who eventually became my wife in September 2015. Today I live in the district, work in the district, and can only hope to remain in the district until I have children who will someday get to enjoy Sachem the same way I did. To me, Sachem is NOT a building or collection of buildings, or towns, or a sports team. To me Sachem means growing up and learning how to be a good citizen, it means caring for one another and finding people you can call your friends and loved ones. Sachem means PRIDE, TRADITION, and EXCELLENCE become a part of who you are and what you do long after your time as a student here is done. Sachem is Sans Egal, without equal, and unique to any other community I could think of…I am very lucky to be a part of it.”

Tell us one thing people may not know about you…

“After spending the past six years working at Sachem North, I think many of my colleagues and students know that I’m a proud Sachem alum. However, many of them might NOT know that I was a member of the first graduating class at Sachem East High School in 2005. I attended Sachem South as a freshman and sophomore then Sachem North as a junior. In the fall of 2004, Sachem East High School opened and as the district borders would have it, I ended up in a new building.

Although I was bitter at the time (that was an extremely stressful transition as a 17-year-old), I look back on the experience with a positive lens because I got to be part of Sachem history! Recently, I have heard a lot of negative talk from parents and community members about the future of Sachem while it undergoes yet another reconfiguration so I would like to offer this advice: REMAIN OPTIMISTIC! Kids are more resilient than we give them credit for, especially Sachem kids. They will persevere just as the class of 2005 did, making new friends, unforgettable memories, and going on to accomplish great things just like many other Flaming Arrows have before them!”

What is your favorite Sachem story, anecdote, or moment?

“My favorite Sachem moment came six years ago when I returned to Camp Fishkill for the first time since 2003. When the district split in 2004 during my senior year, I lost out on the opportunity to attend the annual football camp in Poughkeepsie and the chance to have some closure to my high school football career. But when I joined the varsity staff as an assistant coach in 2010, I got to head back for some ultimate gratification. The experience is far different as a coach than it is as a player, but the nostalgia still exists for me in the bunks, cafeteria food, sweltering summer heat, and three-a-day practices. Every August brings another trip to Fishkill and another chance to relive my favorite Sachem moment.”

-As told to Chris R. Vaccaro

With an 84-66 win over Commack, the East Arrows wrapped up an undefeated dual meet season that featured an effective mix of seasoned veterans and talented newcomers. This particular contest featured wins by seniors Sam LoCascio, Alex Bergen, Amanda Fitzgerald, and Alex DeCicco, but also saw scoring performances from frosh/sophs Molly Jandris, Christina Artusa, Alexa Palotta, Kaitlin Famiglietti, Juliana Mercado, and both Brooke and Skylar Papele. With the dual meet season now successfully completed, the team’s focus turns to the Championship season, with several major Invitationals providing the final tune-ups.

• 400 Hurdles- 3rd – Shelby Trentini   66.06, 6th – Kaitlin Famiglietti   66.97
• 4 by 1600 Relay- 1st – Val Romero, Ciara Murphy, Rachel Ruggiero, Alex DeCicco   20:54.43, 4th – Jill Manfredi, Lindsey Dodenhoff, Tiffany Ly, Caitlin O’Hehir   22:18.68
• Pole Vault- 1st – Kerstyn Ciulla   10′ 6″
• Discus- 4th – Erin Leonard   104′ 4″, 7th-  Amanda Fitzgerald   98′ 4″
• Shot Put- 4th – Amanda Fitzgerald   35′ 4.5″, 8th – Christina Artusa   31′ 8″
• 1500 Race Walk- 1st – Lauren Harris   6:32.49, 5th – Sam Delano   7:13.65, 6th – Chelsea Benedict   7:13.87
• 800 Meter Run- 4th- Ciara Murphy   2:17.78
• 1500 Meter Run- 2nd – Alex DeCicco   4:31.67, 6th – Val Romero   4:44.60, 9th – Rachel Ruggiero   4:53.25
• 4 by 400 Relay- 5th – Shelby Trentini, Kaitlin Famiglietti, Angela Calabrese, Kaylie Wessberg   4:01.37
• 4 by 800 Relay- 1st – Jill Manfredi, Val Romero, Alex DeCicco, Ciara Murphy   9:25.02, 5th – Rachel Ruggiero, Tiffany Ly, Lindsay Dodenhoff, Skylar Papele   10:05.01

-Submitted by Sachem East coaching staff

Many spring teams in Sachem have clinched playoff spots. First round games begin this weekend and carry into next week.

To view the Suffolk County playoff brackets click the links below!

*Baseball (Sachem North)

*Boys Lacrosse (Sachem North)

*There will also be dozens of Sachem track and field athletes for both high schools in the boys and girls competitions this spring.

Chris Lollo threw a no-hitter for Sachem against Kings Park. / Credit Artie Weingartner

Chris Lollo rose to the occasion for Sachem on Saturday.

Kings Park was one of the hottest teams heading into the Suffolk County Class AA playoffs, but were neutralized by Lollo, who recorded the first postseason no-hitter for Sachem in nearly 30 years.

Sachem North beat Kings Park, 4-0, at home in an outbracket playoff game. The Flaming Arrows now advance to the first round of the playoffs where it will travel to third-seeded Smithtown East on Monday at 4 p.m.

Lollo, a junior, faced 24 batters, had five strikeouts and walked three in the victory. He pitched against Connetquot in a losing effort earlier in the week.

“Monday‘s start was a big difference compared to this performance,” said Sachem coach Tom Gambino. “It was night and day. He was locating, and had a nice rhythm on the mound. We’re happy for him and hope we can keep it going for the rest of the playoffs.”

Sachem’s offense was spurred by Christian Jimenez, who was 2-for-3 with three RBI, and hit a two-out, two-run double. Alex Rosati was 3-for-3 and scored two runs.

Eric Reichenbach threw Sachem’s last playoff no-hitter in 1987, the same year the Flaming Arrows won a Suffolk County championship. Assistant coach Gary Comstock was on that team, as was Bob Kohn, the father of current senior infielder Troy Kohn.

-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro

Sachem East alum Dennis O’Hara was awarded the Bob Courtway Leadership Award during this year’s Hendrix College athletic banquet.

O’Hara, a goalie on the lacrosse team, earned the award for character, leadership, sportsmanship and integrity.

From the Hendrix athletic website:

O’Hara, from Farmingville, N.Y., was a two-time SAA Academic Honor Roll selection. He played in 28 career games and had 23 ground balls, three caused turnovers, 75 saves, four wins, an 8.45 goals against average and a .532 save percentage. He ranks fifth in program history in career saves in fourth in percentage. O’Hara was the captain of the team and worked as an athletics department intern and in the sports information office. He helped raise money for Wounded Warrior, Arkansas Children’s Hospital and Susan G. Komen Foundation. O’Hara also volunteered at Special Olympics, Vilonia tornado relief and the Bob Courtway FCA Breakfast.

Keith Kinkaid

As if playing in the NHL wasn’t honorable enough, Keith Kinkaid is now representing our country as the netminder for Team USA in the IHF World Hockey Championships.

Kinkaid, who plays for the New Jersey Devils in the NHL, made three clutch saves against the Czech Republic in a 2-1 shootout victory on Thursday.

The United  States advance to the semifinals on Saturday against either Canada or Sweden.

After losing four times in the round robin state, the United States were actually underdogs against the Czechs, but are looking up towards an important match in the semis now.

Check out information on the Sachem Youth Football Experience and Sachem Beast Camp below!

Check the fliers below for more information …

Three volleyball players from Sachem East have been selected to the USA High Performance Volleyball Team.

Molly Jandris, a heavily recruited student-athlete with offers to more than 10 colleges, made the A2 team and is an alternate for the A1 squad.

Cierra Dolan and Sarah Mangan were selected for A3 and are alternates for A2.

The three girls are among the top 200 in the country for their age group- a tremendous accomplishment.
Molly will travel to Colorado and Cierra and Sarah will travel to Las Vegas this summer to train at the USA Volleyball Combines.

“I am incredibly humbled and proud to have the opportunity to coach these girls, as well as the other hard working members of the girls volleyball team,” said Sachem East coach Amanda Schmol. “This USA and GEVA HP opportunity is sure to bring great things individually for the girls, and will hopefully help bring us a title in the fall.”

Yes, they broke one longstanding meet record in winning their second consecutive large school county championship. Yes, they broke two school records. And yes, they scored the second highest point total ever (142) to convincingly outscore Connetquot (87) and Bay Shore (78). But how do you explain Sachem East’s outstanding performance in the 2016 Suffolk County spring track and field championship meet? Three words: diversity, depth, and seniors.

The seniors successfully capped off Sachem East’s first Triple Crown, winning cross country, winter track, and spring track and field Suffolk County titles in the same school year, a feat that has not been accomplished in Suffolk since 1999.

Diversity. The Sachem East Arrows scored in 13 of the 20 events conducted in the meet. Sprint events, jumping events, hurdles, throws, distance events, race walk, and relays. No other team was able to score in all the track and field areas, and no other team scored in as many events.

Depth. What really separated Sachem from the rest of the pack were the events where the Arrows posted multiple scorers. The Arrows only had two event winners in the meet, Ciara Murphy and Lauren Harris, but in a total of six events they had multiple scorers (top six places score) in the 15 team championship meet. Murphy and Alex DeCicco led a 1-2 finish in the 800 meter run, and Harris, with Chelsea Benedict, Ariana Cavalino, and Sam Delano, led a 1-3-4-6 finish in the 1500 meter race walk.

Harris broke Sachem alum and Olympian Maria Michta-Coffey’s meet record by 10 seconds, winning in 6:34.25. Sachem East placed two scorers in the pole vault (Kerstyn Ciulla and Jordan Messineo), three in the 400-hurdles (Shelby Trentini, Kaitlyn Famigletti, Skylar Papele), three in the 3000 (Val Romero, Rachel Ruggiero, Alex DeCicco), and four in the 1,500 (Murphy, DeCicco,Val Romero, Rachel Ruggiero).

Seniors. Perhaps the most important word in describing the total team effort exhibited by the 2016 squad is seniors. Sure, the seniors scored most of the team points on meet day, but it was their leadership and their day-to-day efforts throughout the season that directly led to the victory. The daily training grind in all weather, the challenging of one another during workouts, the encouraging and mentoring of rookies and novices, and definitely the positive tone that they set from day one. Seniors were the foundation of the three relay events that closed out the meet by adding 20 points to Sachem’s final point tally of 142.

The 4-by-800 squad featured three seniors (Romero, Jill Manfredi, Murphy) and placed second. The 4-by-100 squad, led by seniors Lauren Alburg, Kerstyn Ciulla, and Sam Locascio, then followed that up with a school record performance (49.92) good for a third place finish.

And in the last event of the meet the 4-by-400 squad, led by seniors Trentini and Kaylie Wessberg, provided the icing on the cake- breaking the School Record with a 3:58.30 clocking and a 3rd place finish (the top 3 teams all broke the former Meet Record).

Next up for the Sachem Squad is the Suffolk County State Qualifier meet which will be held Friday, June 3rd and Saturday, June 4th at Port Jefferson H.S.

2016 Division 1 Championship Top Ten finishers from Sachem East

• 6th, Kristen Heuschneider   2222 points
• 10th, Jasmine Ahmed   2024 points

• 7th, Dana Tyner   16.92

• 10th, Sam LoCascio   13.09

• 1st,   Ciara Murphy   2:18.45
• 2nd,   Alex DeCicco   2:19.44

• 2nd, Shelby Trentini   63.39
• 3rd, Kaitlin Famiglietti   65.12
• 6th, Skylar Papele   67.12

• 2nd, Valerie Romero   12:12.17
• 3rd, Rachel Ruggiero   10:28.15
• 4th, Alex DeCicco  10:28.50
• 8th, Lindsay Dodenhoff   10:48.62

• 2nd, Kerstyn Ciulla   10′ 6″
• 3rd, Jordan Messineo   10′

• 6th, Erin Leonard   105′ 1″
• 8th, Amanda Fitzgerald   95′

• 3rd, Jill Manfredi   7:31.60

• 2nd, Ciara Murphy   4:47.09
• 3rd, Alex DeCicco   4:49.48
• 4th, Val Romero   4:51.47
• 5th, Rachel Ruggiero   4:52.26

• 2nd, Amanda Fitzgerald   37′ 11.75″

• 7th, Molly Jandris   4′ 8″

• 1st, Lauren Harris   6:34.25 (Meet Record)
• 3rd, Chelsea Benedict   7:10.19
• 4th, Ariana Cavalino   7:19.17
• 6th, Sam Delano   7:22.32
• 9th,Hayley DiCarlo   7:51.08
• 10th, Alex Bergen   7:56.13

• 2nd, Rachel Ruggiero, Jill Manfredi, Val Romero, Ciara Murphy   9:42.28

• 3rd, Brooke Papele, Lauren Alberg, Kerstyn Ciulla, Sam LoCascio   49.92 (School Record)

• 3rd,Kaitlyn Famiglietti, Shelby Trentini, Kaylie Wessberg, Angela Calabrese   3:58.30 (S R)

The Charles R. Johnson Memorial Track and Field Scholarship is now in its 10th year.  Due to the generosity of the Sachem Community the organizers have been able to award scholarships to some of Sachem’s finest student-athletes from the  Sachem North and Sachem East Boys and Girls Track and Field Programs.

A little about Charlie in the Classroom: In the Summer of 2006, the Sachem family lost a legend.  Charlie Johnson was a 29-year veteran of the district who impacted the lives of countless individuals both in the classroom and on the track. He began his career as a member of the modified curriculum team at Seneca Junior High School. Many students were fortunate enough to be greeted each day by his smile, quick quip and his classic “Goooood  morning students!” Charlie’s passion for teaching and compassion for his students left an indelible mark at Sachem.

A little about Charlie as a leader: Charlie was a highly respected leader amongst his colleagues and peers within the Sachem faculty. He served as the eighth grade modified team leader at Seneca and later served as the first Social Studies Department Chairperson of Samoset Middle School after reconfiguration.   Throughout his teaching career, he coached cross country, winter and spring track. This is evident today in that many of the coaches in both the North and East boys and girls cross country and track programs were coached by him and mentored by him.

Charlie as a person:  “Throughout his Sachem career, he coached within in the cross country, winter and spring track programs at both the middle and high school levels. Coach “J” always had a special place for his kids.  He guided some of Sachem’s finest trach and field athletes with the same passion and dedication that he bestowed upon his kids in the classroom.  He demanded from them their very best because that is what he gave in return.  He earned several high honors for his coaching and was often selected to coach the Section XI Track Team as it competed in the N.Y. State Championship Meets.  You never heard about the awards he won because he wanted his athletes to get praise as he was always self-conscious when it came to personal achievement.”  — John Horst

“Charlie gave me a great hello when he saw me every winter practice day in the years we coached at North. We shared small talk about our teams and I always felt better about the coaching world and the world in general after our chats. I know Charlie had this effect on everyone – especially on his students and athletes. Charlie would have enjoyed the under the lights middle school athlete showcase over the past two weeks.” –Alex Young

Sachem North’s Jacob Giacalone has been selected for the Under Armour All-American lacrosse game that will take place in July at Towson.

Giacalone will play at Johns Hopkins.

Click here to learn more about the game and see the full roster!

David Foster

Sachem East alum David Foster has been named a Division III Honorable Mention All-American for Cortland lacrosse.

According to Cortland, Foster appeared in 19 games, 13 as a starter. He scored three goals and assisted on another, scooped up 26 ground balls, and tied for first on the team with 12 caused turnovers. He helped Cortland’s defense allow 9.3 goals per game, including seven goals or less 10 times.