Over the past four weeks, Schreiber High School’s winter sports teams have each had their own triumphs. These teams have prevailed in “low risk” sports, such as track, bowling, swimming and diving and gymnastics. These teams began their practices on Jan. 4, and have all had their share of competition in games and matches against other schools. Other sports, considered to be “high risk,” have succeeded just by beginning to practice.
High-risk sports, which includes boys’ and girls’ basketball, competitive cheerleading and wrestling, were all slated to begin at Schreiber on Feb. 1. However, after a snowy setback, student-athletes would wait two more virtual school days to begin. On Feb. 2, Superintendent of Port Washington School District, Dr. Michael Hynes, laid out a set of additional health and safety procedures that these high-risk athletes would need to follow in order to participate. Beginning Feb. 3, the first official day of high-risk sports, students participating in these sports are required to attend classes remotely, through the end of their season on Feb. 27. These students will miss 6 “in-person” school days under the current hybrid schedule, and can attend classes virtually as any other student does on a remote day. Additionally, they must be tested weekly for COVID-19, and routinely test negative for the virus. Lastly, at the season’s end, student-athletes must again test negative for coronavirus returning to in-person schooling. Despite these additional regulations, students and staff alike at Schreiber are excited for all of its winter sports to begin.
High-risk sports at Schreiber are still in their tryouts and preliminary practices. To comply with the various guidelines attached to these sports, practices are held throughout the evening in “pods,” with reduced groups of athletes. The teams are split between gyms throughout the school, and are required to practice at separate times, resulting in practices running from 3:45 until 7:30. However, the low-risk seasons are in full swing.
Both Boy’s and Girl’s Bowling have been incredibly successful, with a combined record of 11-1. The boys are a perfect 6-0, rounding out their past week with wins over Manhasset, Roslyn, and Herricks. Luke Fain was the team’s leader for the week, averaging a score of 194. Schreiber’s Boy’s team had a perfect week as well, topping the same teams as the boys. Brooke Weinstein bowled a new career high of 204, and Christine Worms led the team with an average of 179. Clearly, Vikings’ Bowling is on the right track to begin February, and they hope to continue this success throughout the month.
The track and field teams at Schreiber have also both performed well to begin the year. On the Girl’s team, many athletes are near the top in their events in their conference. Caroline Williams threw her way to the top of the shotput leaderboard, with an amazing throw of over 27 feet. Emily Benson-Tyler, Lilly Dell, and Kaleigh Romero also all rose to the top 5 in their respective events, the 300m, 1000m, and 3k, respectively. The boys’ team also has put on a strong performance to start their season. Michael Cichon completed Schreiber’s co-ed domination in shotput, leading the conference with a 42.75 foot throw. Colin Funk is impressively 3rd in Nassau County in the 1000m event, and Daron Proctor is 5th in the conference in the 300m. Schreiber Track and Field is one of the best in the conference, and they look to continue to prove this in the remaining weeks of the winter season.
After an undefeated first week, Schreiber Swimming now sits comfortably at 3-1. The team has been strong to this point, battling through these rough circumstances to produce a winning record. With the season ending on Feb. 27, they hope to continue their smooth sailing for the coming weeks.
Lastly, Schreiber’s Gymnastics team stumbled out of the gates. They currently are 1-2, on a two-game losing streak after a strong win over Wantagh. However, there is hope, as their two losses have come against Syosset and Plainview, the two top teams in Nassau County, and the girls had higher scores in those matches than in their lone win. Later that week, they recorded a season-best score of 164.5 in a virtual meet against Southside, leading to a potential 2-2 record, but the final results have yet to come in due to a delay by their opponents. Despite this shaky start, there is still success in the Gymnastic team’s future.
As we continue to watch Schreiber’s winter sports, we look forward to seeing wrestling, basketball, and gymnastics competitions begin. With such a short season, though, it may be challenging for these teams to mesh in only a few weeks. However, all of Port is rooting for the continuation of a successful winter for the Schreiber Vikings.
