Nassau County Team Of The Week: LI Teams In March Madness Action, HS Indoor Track Season Rolls On

NASSAU COUNTY, NY — As winter wraps up and spring springs, Nassau County sports were as exciting as ever this week. Multiple colleges on the island sent basketball teams to the NCAA tournament to take on traditional powerhouses like Alabama and Arizona, while high school athletes from Nassau County sat down with Patch to recap exciting seasons of their own.

To see which athletes were particularly on top of their game, read on as we take you around the Nassau County Team of the Week:

Long Island Schools Bow Out Early In March Madness Play

For Long Island NCAA tournament viewers, Friday was a day full of promise: 13th-seeded Hofstra took on 4-seed Alabama in midwest regional action while 16-seed LIU took on Arizona in hopes of becoming just the third 16-seed to win a game over a #1 seed in tournament action.

For LIU, it was an effort that would prove unsuccessful, as the Sharks shot just 32 percent from the field in a 92–58 loss to the Wildcats. Junior Mason Porter-Brown came off the bench to lead the Sharks in scoring with 15 points, while Greg Gordon added 12 and Jamal Fuller scored 11. Those efforts weren’t enough to unseat the top seed from Tucson, however, as the Wildcats shot 53 percent from the field and 46 percent from three-point range to advance to the round of 32.

Hofstra started out strong, making four of their first eight shots from the field and leading by as many as 10 points in the first half over the Crimson Tide. Alabama overcame some spotty three-point shooting early to whittle that lead away, tying the game with just over a minute to go in the half and heading into halftime up 37-35.

In the second half, the Crimson Tide built a 13-point lead and looked like they might be home free, but Hofstra clawed back into it. A steal and fast break dunk by German Plotnikov cut the Tide's lead to five points with 8:54 left in the second half, but the lead would never shrink farther than that. Alabama was able to extend the gap into the double digits over the final seven minutes of the night, hitting a three-point shot with 14 seconds left to extend the lead to 90-70, where the score would remain.

Freshman and Deer Park native Preston Edmead led the line for Hofstra with 24 points on 9-25 shooting, while Junior Cruz Davis added 14.

Despite the first-round exits for both Long Island representatives in the tournament, the seasons look like successes when viewed in hindsight. Hofstra won the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) championship for the first time since 2020, while LIU won the Northeast Conference for the first time since 1998. It was an especially strong turnaround for LIU, winning a conference title and making it to the big dance just two years removed from a 7-22 regular season.

Valley Stream North Continues Indoor Track Dominance

For the boys’ indoor track team at Valley Stream North High School, conference championships are starting to feel like something of a birthright. The team won its 12th Nassau County Class C championship in 16 seasons this month, winning first or second place in 10 different events.

Individual championships came from senior shotputter A.J. Strojan, junior pole vaulter Max Estrada, junior 1000 meter runner Evan Troung and a 4x800 meeter relay team that had to make up 12 seconds on its last leg to win the title.

That leg was run by Troung, while Strojan brought home North’s 29th throwing championship in the past 10 years.

Joining them with standout performances were Dominick Rios, who finished second in the 55-meter hurdles and 300-meter dash, and freshmen Gavin Trusty and Kyle Farina, both of whom earned all county honors in their respective long distance events.

Baldwin Track Standard Bearers Reflect On Dominant Winter Performances

Baldwin Track and Field had a strong indoor season, culminating in state meet appearances by seniors Breanne Barnett and Brandon Thweatt and junior Savannah Stephenson. Barnett and Thweatt brought home state and federation championships in the 300-meter sprint and 55-meter hurdles, respectively, while Stephenson finished second in the state in her 55-meter sprint.

In a Monday interview, the athletes said their victories felt special.

“It’s really great, because, coming from last year where I just made the podium, to winning, is really something that surprised me and inspired me to more,” Thweatt told Patch.

It was Breanne’s second trip to the state meet, and Savannah’s first. While Barnett brought home a state title in the 300, she actually finished third — two-hundredths of a second behind Stephenson — in the 55-meter sprint. When asked how having a teammate around changed the state meet experience, both girls said it was an extra piece of motivation.

“You want to push each other to do better,” Barnett said.

“Being in the finals together helped me push myself to be better,” Savannah added.

Meanwhile for Thweatt, it was a chance to reach the mountaintop he got so close to summiting last season.

“Last year, during the race, it actually got called back in the middle of it. And I twisted in my ankle a bit, so I wasn't able to run at the full capacity,” Thweatt told Patch. “So coming into this year, I really just wanted to go at my peak and show what I could really do. And being able to win it really shows that my work paid off.”

Seaford Bowler Rolls In The Classroom And At The Lanes

Seaford High School senior Andrew Ceraulo has maintained a 99.3 weighted GPA throughout his high school career while also achieving excellence at the bowling alley. He was selected as the Nassau County High School Bowling Association’s 2026 Todd Heimer Scholar-Athlete award this week, a testament to his excellence both in the classroom and at the alley. To read more about Ceraulo's excellence, click here.

Don't see your team highlighted here? Contact your local Patch editor to tell them who was on top of their game this week. Whether it's a huge win or a big line in the box score, we want to know who's making plays.