Bellport High School and first year athletic director Patrick Hayes had a year to remember in 2023.
The Bellport Captains had a year full of both team and individual accomplishment. All three seasons saw a team make the postseason paired with a healthy amount of All-League, All-Division, and All-County athletes.
In the fall, the Clippers had a football season to remember. Led by head coach Jamie Fabian, Bellport was 7-1 in league play and was 10-2 overall. The Clippers won the Suffolk County Division II Championship, besting Northport by a score of 35-14. They would see their season come to an end during the Long Island Championship as they lost to Garden City.
The football team brought home plenty of individual hardware as well. Coach Fabian was named the Division II Coach of the Year.
Jason Hunt, Donte Phillips, Justin Miles, Luis Rodriguez, and Alex Brigadir were All-County Selections for Bellport. Three of the five guys who made All-County were also All-State Selections. Jesse Barnes, Jaiden Green, Kyle Brown, and Treyvon Holland all made first team All-Division while Josh Kelley, Caleb White, and Tyler Burke made second team All-Division.
Switching over from one form of football to the other, the boys soccer team had another successful season that saw them make the county playoffs once again. Jon Carlos Rodriguez, William Escobar, Jesse Barbecho, Nick Reinoso were all named All-League for the Clippers soccer team.
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Aiden Donaghy would round out the soccer achievements as he was named Academic All-County for his prowess both on the pitch and in the classroom.
Rounding out the playoff appearances for the fall season was the girls volleyball team. They were led by All-League selections Skye Dodge, Ashley Schultz, and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year Gianna Bowe.
One team Patrick Hayes made sure to mention to us was the girls soccer team. The girls varsity team was selected by the coaches in League 2 as the “Sportsmanship Team” for the 2022 season.
During the winter season, the boys basketball team had a season most schools would consider a success. The Clippers sent another team to the County Finals as they would yet again fall in the big game, but they had a lot to be proud of. They were League II Champions and their Head Coach Peter Grossi won the League’s Coach of the Year award.
The basketball team was led by All-League, All-Conference, and All-County selection Samir Bell. Joining Bell on the All-League team by Jason Hunt and Xavier George.
The team that really performed out of this world this season was the boys wrestling team. As a team, Bellport won the League IV Championship and finished fifth overall at the County Championship Meet under the leadership of League IV Coach of the Year Charles Maragioglio.
Individually, this team was also dominant. They had a total of seven individual League Champions and thirteen wrestlers make it to the County Championship meet. Jaiden Green, Camryn Howard, Mikael-Anthony Neris, Luis Rodriguez, Henry Caceras, Bobby John, and Isiah Green all brought home a League Title.
They also sent three guys to the state meet this winter, two of which came back with All-State Honors. 7th-Grader Camryn Howard (placed 8th in his weight class) and Jaiden Green (placed 5th in his weight class) took home All-State Honors, capping off a successful wrestling season.
On the track, Ella Masem joined in on the All-State party as she would have one of the best indoor track seasons in recent memory. She made the state meet as a member of the eventual State Champion Intersectional Relay – which is when each section in New York pairs four runners that were All-County selections and put them into a Distance Medley Relay– and in the process set a new state record with her fellow section-mates.
As the school year started to wind down, we saw yet another Bellport team make a playoff appearance. This time, it was the girls lacrosse team who punched their ticket to the playoffs. They were led by All-County performer Andie Pedatella and All-County Honorable Mention Brynn Johnsen.
On the Baseball Diamond, the team may not have made the postseason but it was a season to remember for Jake Russo as he was named All-County.
Wrapping up the All-County appearances for the Clippers were track athletes Vincent Pitre Jr. and Izaiah Green.
Bellport High School and South Country Schools had a great year in 2023. The goal for the 2023-24 school year is to grow.
“My only goal for next year is to grow,” said Hayes. “I am super proud of the athletes at our school and I am excited to see how much we can grow as a community next school year.”