Garden City Sports Highlights

Well, Nancy Kalafus and the Garden City High School coaching staff have had another phenomenal year in 2010. But there is no honor that makes the school any prouder than being named, for the fifth time, Scholar/Athlete Team School of Distinction by New York State.

You have read about them all year – the ups and downs of Garden City high school sports successes, and in our humble opinion below are the highlights of the year for Garden City Trojan sports (and yes, there are two number 1's on the list):

• Girls Soccer – After winning the Long Island championship over Sayville and the Nassau County championship over South Side, the Lady Trojans, coached by Mike Heedles, went on to defeat U.S. top ranked and undefeated Rye High School for their first ever state championship. The team posted 15 shutouts and an 18-2-2 overall record to make soccer history in Garden City. The magical run was led by Christina Cesarini, first team All-State, and Barbara Sullivan, first team All-Long Island. 

• Girls Lacrosse – With a perfect regular season record, a county championship and a fifth consecutive Long Island championship, the Lady Trojans and coach Diane Chapman went to Cortland and swept through the playoffs en route to their fifth state championship. Led by five All-American selections – Shannon Mangini, Barbara Sullivan, Kelly Weis, Mikaela Rix and Caroline Tarzian, the girls finished a spectacular season.

• Girls Winter Track – After winning the Nassau County championship for a fourth straight time and a state championship relay, Coach Erica Fregosi brought her talented runners to Boston for the Nike Nationals and they stamped themselves as one of the best teams in the country by winning the Sprint Medley Relay Championship with a U.S. #1 time, winning the 4x400 championship and taking a silver in the 4x800. Emily Menges (Georgetown) and Catherine Cafaro led the way with Michelle Rotondo, Taryn Schmelzinger and Taylor Hennig all garnering All-American status and championship rings.

• Girls Field Hockey – The sport of field hockey on Long Island has become synonymous with Garden City for a reason and this year, under Coach of the Year Diane Chapman, was no different. The girls captured their 17th consecutive county title, sixth consecutive Long Island championship and went to the state finals again. Captains Mikaela Rix and Caroline Tarzian led a talented and young team into the state finals for a fifth straight time. Alex Bruno was named Nassau County Player of the Year and Catherine McTiernan received the state sportsmanship award during the state tournament.

• Girls Outdoor Track – On the outdoor track head coach Charles Cuzzo added to his success with the girls program with another county championship, state champs in the 4x400 and 4x800 relays and seven All-State runners. At nationals in North Carolina, the girls brought home two All-American relay teams with a silver and bronze medal, with the 4x800 relay having the #3 all time U.S. time. As a team, the Trojans finished eighth out of 137 teams that attended the New Balance Nationals.

• Boys Lacrosse – The Garden City program is the first in Nassau County history to win five straight county championships. Coach Steve Finnell employed a stifling defense to take the Trojans to their first Long Island championship in a decade and their sixth state final. Senior Stephen Jahelka and Brian Fischer were named All-Americans for the second year in a row.

• Girls Swimming – For the 12th straight season the girls' swim team won the Nassau County championship, this year with a meet record 614 points.  Coach Anne Sullivan sent nine girls to the state championships in Buffalo, led by senior and Maryland bound Megan Zarriello and Kelly McGrath, the Good Sport Award winner for Nassau County.

• Football – Coach Tom Flatley brought the Trojans to the Long Island championship game for a record 12th appearance after capturing the Nassau County championship against Carey. Harvard bound Stephen Jahelka was the leader on both sides of the ball, with help during the season from Brian Fischer (Harvard) and Mark Ellis.

• Girls Fencing – The Garden City girls' varsity fencing team won its second straight county championship under the direction of coach Michael Kreidman. Leading the team throughout an undefeated regular season were captains Liz Mallozzi, Coleen Way, Kaitlin Sullivan and Jan Gong.

• Girls Tennis – Jacqueline Raynor won the Nassau County singles championship and went to the New York State finals. Garden City's talented tennis singles champion will continue playing tennis at Quinnipiac University.

• Girls Golf – Samantha Sessa won the Nassau County tournament, had a top-30 finish at states, and along with Erica Gambardella helped bring a fifth straight Nassau team championship to Garden City.