South Side High School athletes lauded for stellar seasons

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A bunch of South Side High School’s top athletes were recognized during a Board of Education meeting on March 6.

Carol Roseto, the district’s director of athletics, highlighted athletes who received All-County honors, or higher, during the winter season. She also noted that each athletic team —boys’ and girls’ basketball, winter track, gymnastics, wrestling and swimming and diving — were recognized as scholar-athlete teams by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association

She first recognized gymnasts Gillian Pinsky (All-County in bar), Sydney Brancaccio (floor exercise), Payton Waller (bar and floor), and Erin Agoglia (bar, beam and floor). Agoglia went on to compete in the floor exercise at the New York State championships and helped Nassau County place third.

Eamon McGowan led the boys’ basketball team in scoring and rebounding this season, earning an All-County distinction. He also volunteers his time for Hoops For All, a local program for children and teenagers with special needs.

Senior Kelsey Barrett and Junior Kathryn McMahon were All-County standouts on the girls’ basketball squad. “Kelsey has been the team leader in rebounds for the last two years, and her coach stated that her leadership skill is what made the team a huge success,” Roseto noted. McMahon made the team as a freshman and has started the last two years. She led the team in scoring, averaging 12 points per game for the season and 17 points per contest over the last four games.

Track athletes also excelled this season. Senior captain Justin Seplowe was county champion in the long jump and finished second in the triple jump, also anchoring the winning 4-by-200-meter relay in the conference championship.

On the girls’ side, juniors Carly Woelfel and Kaitlyn Mohr, along with sophomores Avery Brull and Olivia Duca, combined their efforts to earn first place at the Nassau County Class B Championships last month, crossing the finish line in a school-record 10 minutes and 14 seconds.

Woelfel, the team’s captain, was also a county champion in the 3,000-meter race and Duca won the 1,500-meter event. Brull finished the 1,000-meter race in third place.

Senior Olivia Rodriguez “has had so much success, that we could be here all night,” Roseto said. At the conference championships, she won the high jump, placed third in 55-meter sprint and was the anchor leg on the winning 4-by-200-meter relay. At the state championships, she jumped a personal best 5-foot-6-inches to place second. “Cornell will be lucky to have her next year,” Roseto said, noting she also won the Nassau County Sportsmanship Award.

Senior Nick Shimkin, captain of the wrestling team for the past two years, finished the season 33-6, and placed third at the county championship at 120 pounds. He is one of just six wrestlers in South Side history to earn 100 career wins, according to Roseto.

His teammate Kyle Mosher also accomplished that feat, going 230-33 during his six years on the varsity team. He finished the season 45-1, capturing the state title at 160 pounds.