Florida Union Free School District > Athletics

Athletics

Florida Union Free School District believes that participation in sports provides a wealth of opportunities and experiences that benefit students in the classroom and in life. The district offers students opportunities to participate in a wide-range of various sports across three seasons. Florida UFSD is a member of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, competing as a member of Section IX and the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA).

The girls soccer team poses with their coaches, showing off their section win plaque.

The mission of New York State interscholastic athletic programs is to foster the quest for excellence by creating an educational and competitive experience within an atmosphere of sportsmanship. Successful programs develop individual and team potential by promoting high standards of competence, character, civility and citizenship.

A group of high school soccer players full team wearing blue soccer uniformsholding a plaque

OCIAA logoParent information and alerts for sporting events

Did you know?

  • You can access OCIAA schedules by following this link: http://section9sports.org
    • Click on school schedules, select your school-specific schedule page and go!
  • You can subscribe to game change notifications for your child’s teams:
    • Go to your school’s schedule page and click the link to subscribe;
    • Receive text or email of notifications of dates, times, site changes and cancellations.
  • You can follow OCIAA and Section IX athletics on Twitter:
    • @OCIAASport
    • @SectionlXSports

SPARTAN ATHLETIC NEWS

 

Girls basketball team, 10 individuals named scholar athletes

Congratulations to our winter scholar athletes for 2022. This winter, the girls basketball team received team recognition along with 10 individuals.

At the end of each sports season, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) honors those teams and individuals that excel academically.

To receive scholar-athlete team recognition, the team’s average GPA must be greater than or equal to 90 for 75 percent of the roster.

If a team does not meet the scholar-athlete criteria, the individuals on that team with a 90 or above GPA are named individual scholar-athletes.

 

Scholar Athlete Team:

  • Girls Basketball

Individual scholar-athlete status:

  • Kaitlin Stolowski
  • Kassidy DeGroat
  • Camila Fuentes
  • Shannon Sgombick
  • Joshua Medina
  • Bernard Rebaya
  • William Shannon
  • Kayla Valenti
  • Kyra Falone
  • Calleigh Perrino

Shannon Sgombick honored by NYS sportswriters/coaches

Shannon Sgombick was selected to the 10th All-State Class “C” Basketball Team by New York State Sportswriters and Coaches Organization for Girls Sports. Congratulations to Shannon on an awesome season!

A high school basketball player, waring a white uniform with blue and orange stripe down the side. It is an action shot, with her dribbling the ball. She is wearing a paper mask and her long dark hair is pulled into a ponytail.

Boys’ varsity basketball team earns sportsmanship award

Congratulations to our boys’ varsity basketball team for receiving the BCANY Sportsmanship Award for Class C.

Thirteen high school boys , all wearing white basketball uniforms with Spartans written on them in blue and orange and numbers underneath. All are wearing masks. The back row has eight kids standing and the front has five boys kneeling.

Four Spartans chosen to All-Division V Team

Congratulations to four of our varsity basketball players who were selected to the All-Division V Team:

  • Gavin Acuna
  • Cole Buchalski
  • Kassidy DeGroat
  • Shannon Sgombick
A high school boy with short hair, wearing a gray tshirt that says Bronx Bombers. He is smiling.
Cole Buchalski
A high school boy wearing a white jersey that says Seward 12 on it in blue and orange. He has short, dark hair and is smiling.
Gavin Acuna

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A high school girl with long blonde hair, wearing a beige shirt. She is smiling.
Kassidy DeGroat
A high school girl with long dark hair, wearing a pink shirt. She is smiling.
Shannon Sgombick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition, Shannon Sgombick was selected to the BCANY’s (Basketball Coaches Association of New York) Top 50 Girls Basketball Players in Section 9. Now that is simply awesome!

Shannon Sgombick and Tony Durante are the Seward  athletes of the month for February

Shannon  is a junior, playing in her fourth season on the Seward varsity girls’ basketball team. In addition to being a dedicated student in the classroom, Shannon leads in most offensive and defensive categories. She just completed a milestone of 1,000 career points. Shannon ended the 2021-2022 season with 1,004 career points. As a captain, she brings leadership, experience, dedication to her team and the sport of basketball.

A high school basketball player, waring a white uniform with blue and orange stripe down the side. It is an action shot, with her dribbling the ball. She is wearing a paper mask and her long dark hair is pulled into a ponytail.

Tony is a junior center on the Seward varsity boys’ basketball team. In addition to being a dedicated student in the classroom, Tony is a defensive presence for the Spartans. His shot blocking and rebounding led the Spartans to the Section IX playoffs. Tony had his best offensive games down the stretch this season.

Two male basketball players. The one on the left is wearing a blue uniform with an orange stripe down the side. He is number 23 and his arms are up playing defense. The player on the right is wearing a white basketball uniform with orange down the side. He is shooting the basketball.

Melissa Cutrona and Joshua Medina are the Seward athletes of the month for January

 

Melissa is a sophomore who was recently inducted into NHS and is a varsity cheerleader. Melissa is dedicated on and off the mat. Her versatility, dedication, and commitment to her team is second to none.

A high school girl with long brown hair. She is standing by a window. She is wearing a blue, orange and white cheerleading outfit that says Spartans on it.

Joshua Medina is a junior on the varsity basketball team. He is an extremely versatile team-oriented player. Joshua  brings constant energy to the  team. His dedication and commitment does not go unnoticed.

An action shot of a high school basketball game. A young man dressed in a white basketball uniform that says SEWARD on it has the ball. He is running. A boy wearing a green basketball uniform is in front of him.

Bernard Rebaya and Kayla Valenti are the Seward athletes of the month for December.

 

Bernard Rebaya is a two-year varsity starting guard for the boys’ varsity basketball team. He brings experience and leadership on and off the court.

A shiny wooden floor in a gym. There is a young man wearing a white basketball uniform with the number 15. The jersey says Seward. He is wearing a blue mask and dribbling a basketball.

Kayla Valenti is an eighth-grader and is a starter on the varsity girls’ basketball team. Kayla brings energy, skill, and competitiveness to her game.

A photo from the side, a young woman wearing a white basketball uniform, with blue and orange stripes down the side. She has her dark hair pulled back into a pony tail and is wearing a black mask. She is holding a basketball.

Three Spartans named to Section IX Class D All-Section volleyball team

Congratulations to Kailey Stolowski, Abigail Orlando and Ava Kirschke for being named to the Section IX Class D all-section volleyball team.

Kailey was named first team. Her teammates Abigail and Ava were named honorable mention.

Kailey Stolowski – 1st Team Section IX Class D All-Section

A high school girl with long dark hair holds a volleyball and smiles. She is wearing a white long-sleeved volleyball shirt with the number 8.

Abigail Orlando – Honorable Mention Section IX Class D All-Section

A high school girl with long dark hair holds a volleyball and smiles. She is wearing a white long-sleeved volleyball shirt with the number 11.

 

Ava Kirschke – Honorable Mention 

A high school girl with long dark hair holds a volleyball and smiles. She is wearing a white long-sleeved volleyball shirt with the number 10.

Four Spartan soccer players named  all-state

Congratulations to Jason Mitchell, Alec Pawliczek, Shannon Sgombick and Katie Mulhare for being named all-state soccer players.

Jason Mitchell – 1st Team Small School All-State Team

A high school boy dressed in a blue soccer uniform with the number 6 in orange. He is on a field and about to kick the ball.

 

Alec Pawliczek – 2nd Team Small School All-State Team

A high school boy in a blue and orange soccer uniform. He is about to kick a soccer ball away from the net.

 

Shannon Sgombick – 2nd Team All-State Class “C”

A high school soccer player wearing a blue soccer uniform dribbles the ball along the sideline. She has dark hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Katie Mulhare – 5th Team All-State Class “C”

A high school girl in a green goalie's shirt and black pants kicking a soccer ball away.

Kassidy DeGroat and Garrett Gill are the November Athletes of the Month

Kassidy DeGroat is a senior co-captain of the varsity soccer team. She has been a four-year varsity starter, this year taking command at midfield. During the 2021 season, Kassidy had career highs in goals with seven and assists with three.  Her highlight of the season was when she scored the tying goal in the Section 9 Class C final against Millbrook, which the Spartans went on to win. Kassidy is gearing up for her senior season  of varsity basketball.

An action shot of a young woman with long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. She is dribbling a soccer ball on a field. She is wearing a blue soccer uniform with orange cleats. There is a girl in a white and blue uniform running toward her. This is a night game.

 

Garrett Gill, a junior, is a three-year starter on the varsity soccer team. He is a well-rounded athlete that can play any position on the field.  Garrett brought experience and leadership during this soccer season. He is a Triple Spartan, as he also plays varsity basketball and baseball.

A young man with shoulder-length curly brown hair, wearing a white headband and a blue soccer jersey with the number 8 in orange. Behind him is a soccer net and blue sky and green grass and trees.

Three teams, 31 individuals are fall scholar-athletes

Congratulations to our fall scholar athletes for 2021.

At the end of each sports season, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) honors those teams and individuals that excel academically.

To receive scholar-athlete team recognition, the team’s average GPA must be greater than or equal to 90 for 75 percent of the roster.

If a team does not meet the scholar-athlete criteria, the individuals on that team with a 90 or above GPA are named individual scholar-athletes.

Seward Scholar-Athlete Team Awards:

  • Boys’ Soccer
  • Girls’ Soccer
  • Volleyball

Individual scholar-athletes:

  • Joe Santiago
  • Val Emanuel
  • Megan Greenhill
  • Ava Kirscke
  • Abby Orlando
  • Madison Schreibeis
  • Kailey Stolowski
  • Cole Buchalski
  • Edward Celiz
  • Alex Cotes Aguilar
  • Garrett Gill
  • Nathan Panuska
  • Timothy Raines
  • Izzet Sarki
  • John Schultz
  • Aiden Vogt
  • Derrick You
  • Sophia Brady
  • Kassidy DeGoat
  • Camila Fuentes
  • Alexa Gafa-Byrne
  • Shannon Madigan
  • Alana McLeod
  • Katie Mulhare
  • Maddie Rosado
  • Shannon Sgombick
  • Angelina Vargas
  • Taylor Vogt
  • Shannon Maher
  • James Walsh
  • Kristen Celiz

 

Five Seward soccer players named to Section IX all-stars

Congratulations to our Section IX all-star soccer players:

Katie Mulhare – Senior Goal Keeper

A high school girl in a green goalie's shirt and black pants kicking a soccer ball away.

Maddie Rosado – Junior Defender

A high school girl in a blue and orange soccer uniform running on the field with a soccer ball at her foot.

Shannon Sgombick – Junior Midfielder/Striker

A girl in a blue and orange soccer uniform, number 12. She is in the process of kicking a ball.

Jason Mitchell – Junior Forward

A high school boy dressed in a blue soccer uniform with the number 6 in orange. He is on a field and about to kick the ball.

Alec Pawliczek – Junior Defender

A high school boy in a blue and orange soccer uniform. He is about to kick a soccer ball away from the net.

 

Shannon Sgombick and Jason Mitchell were also selected to the All-Section IX team.

Congratulations to our Spartans!

Abby Orlando and Eddie Celiz are the October Athletes of the Month

 

Abby is a ninth grader playing in her second season on the varsity volleyball team. Abby is a talented individual both on the court and in the classroom.

A high school gir with long curly hair smiling widely. She is holding a volleyball and wearing a white jersey with the number 11 in blue.

Eddie is a senior playing in his 4th season on the boys’ varsity soccer team. Eddie is a 3 year starter with a GPA of 95.639 and ranked 3rd in his class.

A high school boy with short dark hair smiling widely. He is standing in front of a soccer net and is wearing a blue soccer jersey with the number 11 in orange.

Shannon Sgombick, Cole Buchalski are September Athletes of the Month

Soccer players Shannon Sgombick and Cole Buchalski have earned Athletes of the Month honors for September 2021.

Shannon has been a starter on the girls’ varsity soccer team since she was in eighth grade. She leads the team in scoring and assists with 28 goals and six assists. On Friday, she scored her 100th career goal as a junior. Her dedication to the sport clearly does not go unnoticed.

A young woman in high school with a long dark pony tail smiles. She is wearing a blue and orange soccer jersey, with the number 12 on it and a spartan on the upper right side. Behind her is blue sky, white fluffy clouds and green trees.

Cole is a third-year varsity soccer player and two-year varsity starter. This year, he is the team captain. He brings experience, leadership and dedication to his team. Cole’s midfield play helps Seward control the tempo of each game.

A high school boy with light hair, wearing a blue soccer jersey with the number 10 in orange and a spartan in the upper right side stands in front of a soccer net with blue skies, white fluffy clouds and trees behind him.