Congratulations to the following Section XI Cheerleading Champions:
- Small D1: Sachem North
- Small D2: Mount Sinai
- Large D1: Sachem East
- Large D2: Shoreham-Wading River
- Coed: West Babylon
Congratulations to the following Section XI Cheerleading Champions:
The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) has announced its Executive Committee has approved a capacity limit at its Competitive Cheerleading State Championships scheduled for Saturday, March 5th at Gordon Fieldhouse on the campus of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).
The announcement is a result of the NYSPHSAA Executive Committee’s action to limit capacity to under 400 individuals to accommodate student-athletes on teams who qualified for the event. By holding capacity to under 400, the RIT policy does not require vaccinations or testing for anyone entering their facilities. The Executive Committee approval eliminates the ability to accommodate spectators.
“Due to membership concerns, the NYSPHSAA Executive Committee held an emergency meeting today to discuss our Competitive Cheerleading State Championships,” said Dr. Robert Zayas, NYSPHSAA Executive Director. “Although today’s action of the Executive Committee will result in spectators not being able to attend, all student-athletes will have the opportunity to represent their school and compete for the title of state champion.”
The approval by the NYSPHSAA Executive Committee forces a revision to the original championship format. This will require five separate sessions of competition with the finals in each division immediately following preliminary performances. A final schedule will be released following the qualification of all teams at www.nysphsaa.org.
The event, which was already scheduled to be streamed on the NFHS Network, can be accessed online at www.nfhsnetwork.com.
Congratulations to the Commack girls fencing team on winning a Long Island championship!
Huntington’s Emily Plachta scored the 1,000th point of her high school career in a playoff win over Centereach. Nice work, Emily!
Congrats to Emily Plachta on crossing the 1,000-point threshold on Monday and to the Blue Devils for moving forward in the County Class AA playoffs! https://t.co/erPwy5h2gR @SectXISuffolk #HuntingtonProud #HuntingtonStrong pic.twitter.com/7vRigWQ9VF
— Jim Polansky (@jim_polansky) February 16, 2022
Congratulations to Sayville on winning the Division I Suffolk County wrestling team championship, as well as the individual county champions crowned from across Section XI.
Rick Herrmann Most Outstanding Wrestler: Matt Marlow (Northport, 118)
Jack Mahoney Champion of Champions: Mack Murtha (Sayville, 172)
Ed Luksik Most Pins Least Time: Mack Murtha (Sayville, 172), 4 in 7:13
Bill Knapp Team Award: Sayville

Championship Finals
The New York State wrestling championships will take place in Albany on February 25-26. All tournament info can be found here.
Photos by Ray Nelson
Congrats to the January Nominees for Section XI-Island Federal Scholar-Athlete Award!
Matthew Szypula – Matthew is a two-time captain for Half Hollow Hills West. He has a 4.0 GPA and is a high honor roll student. In addition to being a member of the National Honor Society, Math Honor Society, & Italian Honor Society, he volunteers at Saint Matthews Church and tutors high-risk students.
Alexandra Kelly – Alexandra is a multi-sport phenom and stellar academic student. This past Fall she tallied 29 total points on the pitch for Rocky Point Girls’ Soccer including the game winner over previously undefeated East Islip. Currently she has a 101.66 GPA and will be attending Princeton University next year as a member of their Track & Field team.
Both Matthew & Alexandra have been added to our Watch List and will be finalist for our 2022 Scholar-Athlete Scholarships awarded in June!
Congratulations to the Harborfields, Huntington, Whitman boys swimming and dive team on winning a Suffolk County Championship.
Alex Zhang was also named Most Outstanding Swimmer.
Nine total athletes from the team qualified for the state tournament.
Congratulations to the Newfield/Miller Place boy and girls fencing teams on winning their respective Section XI fencing county championships!
John Glenn won the Section XI Division II team wrestling championship with 277 total points.
Division II Championship Finals Results
Rick Herrmann Most Outstanding Wrestler: Joseph Sparacio (Mattituck, 132)
Jack Mahoney Champion of Champions: Joe LaCorte (John Glenn, 160)
Ed Luksik Most Pins Least Time: Anthony Evangelista (Port Jefferson, 152), 4 in 6:29
Mike Fitzgerald Team Award: John Glenn
The Section XI boys and girls basketball playoff brackets are officially available.
Playoffs begin on Saturday, February 12.
Check for game times, locations and matchups on the Section XI brackets page.
Get your tickets in advance of the event.