Leading off today: Three state championship teams in girls lacrosse can now boast of producing the co-players of the year in the classifications following the release of the NYSSWA all-state team.
The Class A players of the year are defender Julia May O'Connor and midfielder Molly Hiney of St. Anthony's, the Long Island powerhouse that captured the CHSAA championship.
The Class C honorees are midfielder Aubrie Eisfeld and midfielder/attack Ava Meyn from NYSPHSAA champion Bayport-Blue Point.
The Class D recipients of the top honor are goalie Maya Soskin and midfielder Ryan Reynolds of Cold Spring Harbor, another NYSPHSAA champion.
Rounding out the list of players of the year is defender Brin Gotham, who helped Victor to the NYSPHSAA Class B crown.
The complete all-state team can be found in our reference section.
Interesting move at La Salle Institute
Former Bishop Gibbons athletic director Pat Moran has left his role as principal at that school to take over as AD at La Salle Institute.
He takes over for Kevin Galuski, who is now serving as assistant athletic director, The Times Union reported.
La Salle Institute has been reeling since Section 2 announced in May that the school would be barred from postseason competition for the 2025-26 school year following a series of rules violations. La Salle's appeal is now on the desk of the state education commissioner following a failed appeal to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association.
"I don't think there is much to change. I am trying to bring my personality, my love for athletics and the relationships I have in Section 2," Moran told the paper. "It has been a very nice transition. I am happy."
Massapequa coach with 'Seinfeld' connection dies
Longtime Massapequa wrestling coach and physical education teacher Al Bevilacqua died at VNSHS Hospice House in East Northport on Sunday, his family said. He was 85.
As noted by Newsday, Bevilacqua was immortalized in an episode of the comedy "Seinfeld." In the episode, called "The Race," Jerry Seinfeld, a 1972 Massapequa graduate, references his high school gym teacher.
Seinfeld "was one of Dad's students, and (Dad) had a lot of visibility and personality,” said Bevilacqua's son Christopher Bevilacqua. “He's one of those guys who's very extroverted and has a lot of energy. He was an easy guy to talk to."
Bevilacqua also coached Ron Kovic, on whom the movie “Born on the Fourth of July” was based. Kovic's autobiography cites Bevilacqua's effect on him both before and after he was paralyzed from the chest down after being wounded in the Vietnam War.
Bevilacqua, a 1957 graduate of Massapequa High, coached wrestling at his alma mater from 1962-77. He taught in the district for 37 years.
Ex-Northville coach's case takes a new turn
Former girls basketball standout Hailey Monroe is suing the Northville Central School District and former coach Jim Zullo over the incident in which Zullo is accused of pulling her ponytail following a state championship game in March.
The lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court in Fulton County alleges Zullo "had a reputation and history of inappropriate, aggressive and dangerous conduct" toward players, including Monroe, and that the district had "actual notice" of the coach's conduct.
Further, it asserts that the district "had been made aware and knew of ... Zullo's propensity to be inappropriately aggressive towards players on the Northville girls' basketball team ... and had a long history of both physical and psychological abuse of students both in and out of the Northville Central School District."
Neither Zullo nor the district immediately responded to requests for comment about the development, first reported by The Daily Gazette.
The lawsuit was filed less than two weeks after Zullo pleaded guilty in Troy City Court to a second-degree harassment charge stemming from the incident. He was ordered to pay court costs of $120, and the conditional discharge requires him to have no contact with Monroe for one year.
