Top-10 Sports Moments of 2011

One of the privileges of covering the West Islip community is their outstanding devotion to athletics.  And it's not just one sport.  

The fall season saw more than four varsity teams make the postseason.  Two went as far as the county semifinals.  

Let's revisit the action and see what some of the best moments were. 

10. 

Why was this such a big deal?  Oh, I don't know, maybe because the Journal is one of the most circulated papers in the country.  And the writer obviously felt it necessary to include the Lions when talking about the rapid growth of the sport. 

9.  

Led by head coach Karyn Storan, the team featured four seniors, three juniors, four sophomores, and two middle Udall students.   All-County performer Paula Pecorella led the team in uneven bars and floor exercise while seventh-grader Hanna Battaglini won the team's Most Improved award.

8.  

The fundraising efforts of the WI Hoops Club were incredible this past fall.  Not only did they throw a huge benefit concert (that featured the band Big Shot), but they took the money and donated it to multiple sports teams.  And they achieved their main goal of installing a brand new digial scoreboard in the gym. 

7. 

The Lions got off to a sizzling 9-0 start to the season this past fall, and it didn't go unnoticed.  Newsday had them as the No. 2 ranked school on LI and ESPN had them at No. 19 in their national poll.  Oops almost forgot, and the NYSSA had them as the top-ranked girls team in the state at one point also.

6. 

Sean Sepe, who's committed to St. Johns in the fall, led the Lions all the way to the county finals, where they fell to behemoth Brentwood.  Sepe led the team with 18 goals and Sean McAllister tallied a remarkable 124 saves. 

5.  

Jon Reese, a member of both the golf and lacrosse teams, recorded his first ever hole-in-one this past fall on a short par-3 at Timber Point Golf Course.  He only needs one more to tie yours truly.

4.  

In other news, the sky is blue and water is wet.  That’s how regular it has become for the boys to win the Class A crown.  But so much credit has to be given to the players and coaches, especially playing against top teams every year. Also, Kyle Turri made the best save I've ever seen in this one.  

3.  

You think brain surgery was gonna stop Emily from playing soccer again?  Guess again.  The senior returned to the team following extensive rehab and helped the Lions claim a spot in the county semis. 

2.  

Three ACL tears (in the same knee) weren’t enough to keep Ilario from grabbing a touchdown pass in the first game of the football season. 

1.  

Certainly not a happy moment, but by far the most talked about.  Farmingdale scored late in OT which ended the Lions' astonishing 40 game-winning streak.