The Mineola Athletics Department student athlete spotlight shines on Zach Buongiovanni and Sean Fraccalvieri.
Zach Buongiovanni
The senior athlete spotlight shines brightly on standout senior Zach Buongiovanni. As a three-sport athlete Buongiovanni is an multli-talented student athlete. Buongiovanni is a member of the golf, basketball and baseball teams at Mineola. While excelling on the course and court Buongiovanni is most outstanding on the baseball diamond. As a four year varsity baseball player, he has part of many successes in the program and has been an integral part of each team that he has played on. His ability to play infield, pitch and hit for contact and power have made him a critical part of the team’s success. Buongiovanni has been able to find great balance with his busy athletic life and academics. He holds a 95 average in school and in whatever spare time he has finds a way to be part of many clubs in school. He is a member of the National Honor Society, the Physical Education Leadership program, the National Art Honor Society and Athletes Helping Athletes.
Buongiovanni states that his favorite class in school is sports marketing because he loves sports and Mr. Block is a great teacher. As a graduating senior Buongiovanni has many fond memories including being a part of Conference Championship team in 2019, playing in the Reggie Carter basketball game and making bonds with his teammates and coaches.
Currently Buongiovanni is undecided about which college he will attend, but he is looking forward to the process. He is also looking forward to the big senior events like graduation and prom. Buongiovanni long term goals are to get his MBA and succeed in business and finance. A word of advice to future Mustangs from a four-year, three-sport athlete with a 95 average are as follows, “Cherish the memories that you made and appreciate every moment of your experience; it goes by way too fast.”
Sean Fraccalvieri
Sean Fraccalvieri or “Frac” as his coaches like to call him is squarely in the spotlight as one of Mineola’s most outstanding basketball players. Fraccalvieri has been a dedicated member of the basketball program from seventh through 12th grade and has shown improvement every year. As a sophomore he was brought up to play varsity basketball. In his junior year, Fraccalvieri average 13 points per game and earned a reputation as one of the better outside shooters in the conference. His hard work, consistency and love for the game helped Fraccalvieri to achieve some fantastic moments on the court. A highlight of last year’s season included Fraccalvieri going to the foul line against Valley Stream South with no time left on the clock. Mineola was down by two points and Fraccalvieri had three free throws. All the work and time in preparation led up to that moment where he connected on three clutch free throws to win the game for the Mustangs. Needless to say it is one of Fraccalvieri’s best memories and one he will take with him far beyond high school. In addition to his ability on the court he is also a high achieving student holding a 3.5 grade point average. His favorite class is government. He enjoys learning about politics from great teachers. He is looking forward to the remainder of his senior year and choosing a college. His advice to up and coming Mineola basketball players is to “try to find a balance between school and sports.”
—Submitted by Mineola High School
