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Winter Classic a slam dunk for youth players By JoRDAN VAlloNE jvallone@liherald.com
Tim Baker/Herald
The St. Raphael’s CYO Winter Classic basketball tournament is one the East Meadow community looks forward annually. Brayden Schwarz, left, on the fifth-grade St. Raphael’s team, tries to manuever around two defenders, during a game on Feb. 24.
If you live in East Meadow and you love basketball, chances are you’re familiar with the annual Winter Classic basketball tournament in the gym at St. Raphael’s Roman Catholic Church. The 10-day event features Catholic Youth Organization, or CYO basketball teams, between fourth- and eight-grade. This year’s tournament ran from Feb. 15 through Feb. 25, with 40 teams participating from throughout Long Island. It gives young athletes a chance to showcase their skills and sportsmanship. The inaugural tournament tipped off in 2007 with a small number of teams, but has grown into a highly anticipated event that players and fans alike look forward to. Teams that reach the semifinals and finals are given NBAstyle player introductions before games, in which they walk onto the court to a show of strobe lights. “The winter classic — it’s always just exciting to be COnTinuEd On pagE 10
Maggie Li and Andrew Cheng are E.M.’s top achievers By RACHElE TERRANoVA rterranova@liherald.com
The top two students in East Meadow High School’s Class of 2024 have succeeded in much more than academics. Valedictorian Maggie Li and Salutatorian Andrew Cheng have gone above and b e yo n d cl a s s ro o m wo rk , g e t t i n g involved in a slew of extracurricular and athletic pursuits while collecting academic awards. The pair never set out to become the top achievers, but thanks to a love of learning and a little competition, they now find themselves at the head of the senior class. Li was named a National Merit Semifinalist, and earned an AP Capstone diploma. She is also the class vice presi-
dent, editor in chief of both the Jet Gazette and Perspective Literary Magazine, president of the English Honor Society and treasurer of the Math Honor Society. As well, she is a sprint captain of the girls’ track and field team, and was chosen to be a part of East Meadow’s Peer Leader program as she looks forward to majoring in computer science in college. “I’m really interested in coding a lot — that’s another hobby of mine,” Li told the Herald. “When I found out that I could do it in school, I was like, yeah, that’s what I want to major in. What I like about computer science as a field is that it’s so broad, I can find my specialization.” What’s most valuable to Li, she said, is the community of support she has
found in East Meadow. Not long after the coronavirus pandemic began, she decided to join the track team to make friends. “After the pandemic I was like, OK, I need to start talking to more people,” Li said. “I joined a lot of clubs, saw what stuck and what didn’t. And track was a big thing. Over the years I worked hard, I put in the effort, and I saw the rewards of my effort.” Cheng, the second-ranking senior, is committed to science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, classes. He earned an AP Scholar with Distinction Award, is a National Merit Semifinalist, and was captain of the Math Team and president of the Math Honor Society. He runs for the boys’ track and field team, works at Mathnasium, a tutoring busi-
ness, and directed East Meadow’s Multicultural Show, an annual event that showcases different cultures. Students can wear traditional clothing, or share a performance. “That really opened up to me the whole community in East Meadow,” Cheng said. “Especially now, with a lot of new students coming in from in the city, Queens, and (other) countries.” Cheng also wants to study computer science in college, and said he has always been drawn to the problem-solving aspect of the field, and finding ways to translate his love of math into realworld applications. “I like looking at the intersection between computer science technology and its integration into education,” COnTinuEd On pagE 2