__________________ Merrick _________________
tlake Team
Part of the Louise Pi
HERALD Page 3
1259618
Office 516-623-4500 Cell: 631-241-7117 elliman.com Lisa.pellegrino@
At Kennedy, Color Run fun
1111 125028 1166
ultant Real Estate Cons Top Producer
Vol. 27 No. 24
JUNE 6 - 12, 2024
$1.00 $1.00
Event inspires unity among teen athletes By JoSEPH D’AlESSANDRo jdalessandro@liherald.com
Tony Bellissimo/Herald
Kennedy softball players celebrated after their 10-1 win over West Islip in the Long Island Class AA title game last Friday in Bellport.
Kennedy High School defeats West Islip for Long Island title By ToNY BEllISSIMo tbellissimo@liherald.com
On the way to helping lead the Kennedy softball program to its first-ever Nassau County championship, senior pitcher Lia Fong allowed a total of 10 runs in six playoff games. So when she took the circle in the bottom of the first inning of last Friday’s Long Island Class AA title game against West Islip with a 4-run cushion, the “pressure was off,” Fong said. She struck out the side in the bottom of the first, and went on to fan 11 more batters as the Cougars continued their historic season with a convincing 10-1 victory over West Islip at Martha Avenue Recreation Park in
Bellport. Sophomore Samantha Kapitansky scored 3 runs, Fong drove in a pair, and freshman courtesy runner Kayela Heaney and sophomores Kayla Indich and Bella Parzych all scored twice as Kennedy advanced to play Clarence in a state semifinal next Friday at 3 p.m., once again in Bellport. “We started strong, and Lia was incredible,” Kennedy coach Krista Thorn said. “We got a little scouting in, but these girls have been learning things on the fly all season long, and they’re extremely coachable. It’s been an awesome ride with them.” Kennedy, which outlasted MacArthur on May 28 to capture its first county crown in program history, hasn’t allowed more than 3 runs in any postseason game. West Islip’s ContInued on pAge 6
The inaugural Unity, Sportsmanship and Civility Summit was held at the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District’s Brookside School on May 17, educating leading figures in high school sports on how to keep their athletic programs positive, both on and off the field. The USC summit was spearheaded by Eric Caballero, the director of athletics for Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, as well as nine other athletic administrators from around Nassau County. They gathered a total of 400 Section 8 coaches and student athletes to represent their school districts. Section 8 is the Nassau County division for sports in New York. The event, coordinated in response to recent uncivil behavior of athletes, featured four guest speakers and a full day of workshops, seminars and activities. The goal of the USC Summit is to “focus on the three pillars that are important to educationally based athletics and unity, sportsmanship, and civility,” Caballero said. “They will
weave that into their presentation with an interactive activity, so to speak music, getting the kids up and focusing on why we’re there in the first place.” “It’s a big tur nout,” said Stacy Brief, an event organizer for the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide, which hosts similar wellness summits. “The schools have sent four student athletes and two coaches, as well as some of the athletic administrators from each school across Nassau County. We’ve got towns from all the way from Valley Stream to all the way up to Locust Valley, we’ve got Seaford, we’ve got Freeport. There really are not very many districts that aren’t here today.” The USC Summit brought together many schools and organizations to support a common message: Individuals can improve their communities. “It’s really important to be mindful of how you take care of yourself and how you take care of other people,” Brief said. Luke Perfetti, a lacrosse player from Wantagh High School, expressed that good behavior should be done for ContInued on pAge 4