Athletics News
National Junior Olympics Qualifier
Senior John Anfossi qualified to represent New York
state in the long jump at the 2012 USATF National Junior Olympics Track
and Field Championships, which will take place on July 23-29 at Morgan
State University in Baltimore, Md. John is pictured competing at the
Region 1 Championships, where he qualified for nationals with a jump of
6.30 m.
All-State Athletes
Three Long Beach High School athletes earned All-State honors in the spring varsity season.
Senior Matthew Barry and junior Ethan Bogard made it to the semifinals
in doubles in the state tennis championships. Before qualifying for
states, Barry had a 13 and 0 regular season in second singles. Bogard
went 13 and 0 in the regular season in third singles.
Senior David Henry finished fourth in the triple jump at the NYS Public
High School Track and Field Championship, breaking his own school record
with a 46'7 ¾” jump. This performance qualified him for the NYS
Federation meet, where he finished in second place, competing against
the top students in public and private schools throughout the state.
Henry also qualified for states this year in the winter track and field
season.
Spring Sports Awards
The spring varsity sports season ended on a high note as
the community gathered to acknowledge team and individual
accomplishments at the Long Beach High School Spring Sports Awards
Night. Special recognition awards were given to graduating seniors who
have distinguished themselves not only in athletics, but also in
academics, sportsmanship, leadership, citizenship and team spirit.
Among the notable team accomplishments, the girls badminton team
finished a 12-0 season, clinching the conference championship for the
third consecutive year. The boys track and field team achieved a 13-0
season, going on to be named division champions.
Three spring athletes earned state honors. Senior Matthew Barry and
junior Ethan Bogard made it to the semifinals in the state tennis
championships. Senior David Henry finished fourth in the triple jump at
the NYS Public High School Track and Field Championship, breaking his
own school record with a 46'7¾” jump. This performance qualified him for
the NYS Federation meet, where he finished in 2nd place, competing
against the top students in public and private schools throughout the
state.
Among the other athletes to earn individual honors, there were two
county champions, one division champion, 14 All-County, one All-County
Honorable Mention, 22 All-Conference, six All-Division and one
All-League player named.
Proving to be equally accomplished in the classroom, the girls
badminton, girls golf, girls lacrosse, girls track and field, boys
tennis and boys track teams all earned scholar-athlete status, achieving
team academic averages of 90 percent or higher.
“There is nothing like athletics for building community pride,” said
Superintendent David Weiss. “You worked through pain and failure to get
where you wanted to be at the end of the season, learning that through
perseverance you can achieve great things. Let the lessons you learned
on the athletic fields carry over for you throughout the rest of your
lives.”
Dylan Palacio to Attend Cornell
Senior Dylan Palacio has committed to wrestle at Cornell
University—a Division I program—in the fall. Dylan won the 2012
National Wrestling title and the 2012 State Championship title in the
160-lb class. He is also the first Long Beach wrestler to earn the
coveted Triple Crown, earning state titles in high school, Greco-Roman
and freestyle wrestling. Dylan hopes to study business at Cornell. (L to
r): Coach Ray Adams, Dylan Palacio and his father Leo Palacio, who is
an assistant wrestling coach at Long Beach High School.
LBMS Athletes Receive Free Heart Screenings
The Long Beach City School District joined
forces with the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of
New York and local realtors to offer free voluntary heart screenings for
Long Beach Middle School eighth graders who plan to participate in
district sports programs. A total of 54 participants registered to
receive both ultrasound (echocardiogram) and electrocardiogram (ECG)
exams.
The program is administered by Dr. Rubin Cooper, Director of Pediatric
Cardiology at the center. The ultrasound exam is conducted to identify
abnormalities that may not be apparent on customary pre-participation
physical examinations. The exam evaluates the size and function of the
left pumping chamber of the heart (left ventricle) and the size of the
main artery of the body (aorta), as well as the function of its valve
(aortic valve). Abnormal left ventricular size (cardiomyopathy) or
abnormal aortal size or function may result in abnormalities of heart
function when an individual participates in organized competitive
sports.
Funding for the program was provided by the Jason F. Gruen Research
Foundation. The program was introduced to Long Beach Middle School
through the efforts of Neil Sterrer, Director of the Long Island Board
of Realtors, as part of its “We’re More than Realtors” community
outreach program. Arnold Epstein, District Director of Athletics,
Physical Education and Health, and Sabrina Cantore, Executive Director
of Pupil Personnel Services, facilitated the program with Barbara Young,
the district’s nursing coordinator. School nurses Lori Field, Mary Beth
Thurston and Elizabeth Lebowitz assisted Ms. Young. Continental
breakfast was provided by Max Bialystok in Long Beach.
Susan Gruen Helsinger founded the Jason F. Gruen Research Foundation in
honor of her son Jason, who died from an undiagnosed heart condition in
1985 when he was a sophomore at Manhasset High School. Since that tragic
event, Ms. Gruen Helsinger has worked tirelessly to help diagnose
life-threatening heart conditions in other children. More than 200 Long
Beach Middle School athletes have been screened through this program
over the past four years.
IB Dance Concert
The high school auditorium became a stage for
world dance as students in the International Baccalaureate (IB) dance
class presented their spring dance concert. The concert consisted of
dance numbers that reflected African and Irish folk dances, traditional
ballet and modern dance movements that students have been learning
throughout the course of the year. Many of the routines featured
choreography, costume design and staging by IB dance students and their
teacher, Christianne Donohue. Through their choreography, students were
challenged to create movement that enhanced the rhythms, tempos and
accents of the music.
“My goal for this performance was to introduce dance as a true
performing art to the students, faculty and community members of Long
Beach High School,” said Ms. Donohue. “My intention was to allow the
students to explore movement from all angles and to learn that dance is
more than fancy tricks. It is about moving from within the body in space
using various rhythms and patterns.”
The IB dance course, which was offered for the first time this year,
integrates the study of dance performance, compositions and analysis.
During the course of the year, students explored dance styles from
cultures throughout the world. In addition to gaining performance
skills, they studied master choreographers from past centuries and
learned to compose their own dances through a variety of improvisational
techniques and creative projects. By exploring a wide variety of dance
forms, from ballet to modern to folk dance, they acquired a well-rounded
understanding of the significance of dance in every culture and the
pattern of its development throughout the world.
IB Dance is offered through the Athletics, Physical Education and Health
Department. “I am proud of the accomplishments of our first IB Dance
class,” said Director of Athletics, Physical Education and Health Arnold
Epstein. “I look forward to seeing many more students benefit from Ms.
Donohue's talent and expertise.”
