From exciting sports games to college commitments and inspirational student-athlete stories, Patch brings you a weekly roundup of the top Long Island sports stories.
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In the New Year, Basketball Teams Remain Undefeated
High school varsity basketball is back in action from the Christmas break and there are still undefeated boys and girls teams hitting the hardwood in the new year.
In the Suffolk County boys division, Half Hollow Hills East has a perfect 7-0 season (3-0 in League II) and is tied with Central Islip (6-1). Meanwhile, in League III action, Newfield is 6-0 overall while sharing a 3-0 league record with Smithtown East and North Babylon. In League VI, Amityville is 5-0 overall, just one game ahead of Bayport-Bluepoint, who are 8-2 overall.
For the girls, only two varsity clubs remain undefeated. North Babylon sits atop League III with a 6-0 overall mark, while Huntington leads League IV with a perfect 7-0 overall mark. Sachem East, last year's Long Island champion, which defeated undefeated North Babylon in the county finals, is 4-2 overall and tied for second behind Brentwood (6-1).
In Nassau County, Westbury leads Conference I with a perfect 5-0 record. Southside and Garden City are right behind them at 4-1. In Conference II, Lawrence leads the team at 6-0, with Hewlett (3-2) in second place.
Conference III is led by Bethpage (6-0), but Valley Stream South (5-0) is on the fence. West Hempstead (6-1) leads Conference IV, with Roosevelt (5-3) in second. Friends Academy (3-1) leads Conference B ahead of Oyster Bay (4-4).
For the girls, Massapequa (5-2) leads Conference AA-I with Freeport (5-2) right on their heels. MacArthur leads Conference AA-II with a 6-0 record. In second place is Baldwin (3-1). In Conference AA-III, Elmont is 5-2 with Herricks (8-0) in second place.
In Conference AI, Carey is 6-0 with Wantagh and Garden City (5-1) both tied for second. Manhasset, Division and Roslyn (all 5-1) are tied for the lead in Conference A-II. Floral Park sits atop Conference A-III at 5-1 with North Shore (4-1) just one win back. West Hempstead leads Conference A-IV at 5-3, but Seaford (4-3) is right behind them.
Friends Academy leads Conference B at 7-1 over Oyster Bay (4-2).
More sports stories from Long Island:
West Islip's Aidan Kelly is on the Olympic Luge team
West Islip's 19-year-old Aidan Kelly took third place in a three-man US Luge Men's Singles team after a tight five-week World Cup competition circuit with stops in Lillehammer – Norway, Innsburck – Austria, Winterberg – Germany, Whistler, Canada and Park City, Jute.
Pat-Med Alum Talks Brother's Life-Changing Car Crash
Patchogue-Medford Class of 2013 student Matt Vogel, now playing baseball for the University of South Carolina in his freshman year, talks about his older brother's 2008 car accident that changed his family's life in a recent interview.
Speaking to The Big Spur, Vogel said he was very close to his brother Christopher, who suffered life-threatening injuries in a car accident in July 2008. Christopher Vogel, now 26, was in a coma for months before he passed from the hospital in a vegetative state, according to the report. Nicholas Luongo, Christopher's best friend also in the car, died in the crash.
Sachem East Wrestling wins the LI Challenge
The Sachem High School East varsity wrestling team won the annual Long Island Challenge meet held at 177 Granny Rd. school in Farmingville last Monday.
