Smithtown Sports Notebook: Feb. 7-13

Boys track: Walter qualifies for state meet

Fred Walter earned a trip to the New York State winter track championship meet by throwing a personal best of 50 feet, 7.5 inches in the shot put at the Suffolk County Individual Championships Saturday at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood.

Walter, a senior, was the only Smithtown athlete — East or West, boys or girls — to qualify for the state meet and is just 4.5 inches shy of the school indoor record. He had set a personal best of 50-5 Feb. 5 at the Suffolk Large School Championships before placing second Saturday. The state championships will be held March 5 at Cornell University.

West coach Peter Schieck said Walter battled through “intense pain” early on thanks to an injury to his throwing wrist, but was able to hit his stride. “Fred has a tremendous work ethic,” Schieck said.

West teammates Mark Valentino and Mike Catalano placed 7-8 in the 3,200 meters with respective times of 9:57.72 and 9:58.2, the third time the duo has broken the 10-minute barrier this season. Sophomores Mike McCann (6 feet in the high jump) and Pat McGuire (2:45.84 in the 1,000) each placed seventh and had the top sophomore finishes in Suffolk.

Anthony Aprile took eighth in the 300 in 38.86 seconds and also anchored the 4 x 400 relay, which finished seventh in 3:37.99.  Rob Calamia led East athletes at the county meet, placing 10^th in the 3,200 in 10:06.09. Teammate Pat Ginty placed 10^th in the 1,000 in 2:47.8.

Girls Track: Six top-10 finishes for East, West

Deanna Caracciola of East had the highest finish among local athletes at the Suffolk County girls championships, placing fourth in the pole vault at nine feet.

East teammate Tristan Bevans finished ninth in both the long jump (15-7.75) and the triple jump (32-4), while Kelsey Amarosa placed fifth in the 1,000 in 3:07.07. East was also sixth in the 4 x 400 relay in 4:26.43 West’s Alyssa Knott was sixth in the 3,000 in 10:49.4.

Boys basketball: East earns playoff berth

Smithtown East earned a spot in the county playoffs Tuesday with a 67-56 victory at home over North Babylon. Once again, Dan Thixton and Jon Feiler led the way in scoring and rebounding. Thixton scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Feiler had 19 points and 22 boards. East (7-6 in League III) lost to Riverhead on Thursday, 57-41. Feiler scored 11 points and Thixton added eight.

West lost twice this week, including a double-overtime crusher at Centereach Friday, 71-68. Ryan Hickey led West with 20 points and Eric Joseph had 13. West fell to Riverhead Tuesday, 67-61. Hickey scored 23 points for West, which is 3-10 in League III.

Girls basketball: East makes the playoffs

Smithtown East secured a spot in the county playoffs Thursday with a 61-47 victory at home over Riverhead. Shannon O’Connor sank five of six free throws in the fourth quarter and finished with 22 points to lead East (7-6), which outscored Riverhead 29-15 in the middle quarters.

Four East players scored in double figures, including Fran Busa (14 points), Nicole Shevlin (12) and Marissa Brennan (11). East lost to unbeaten North Babylon on Tuesday, 76-32. Grennan led East with 14 points and Shevlin had 11.

West lost two games, including a 47-25 decision Thursday at home against Centereach. Kirsten Viscount scored seven points and Katherine Delanty had six. West (2-11 in League III) lost at Riverhead Tuesday, 47-38. Melissa Meyers scored nine points, Viscount added eight and Gabby Cabello had seven.