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 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.
Parent 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!
Boys’ varsity basketball team earns sportsmanship award
Congratulations to our boys’ varsity basketball team for receiving the BCANY Sportsmanship Award for Class C.
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




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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Abigail Orlando – Honorable Mention Section IX Class D All-Section
Ava Kirschke – Honorable Mention
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
Alec Pawliczek – 2nd Team Small School All-State Team
Shannon Sgombick – 2nd Team All-State Class “C”
Katie Mulhare – 5th Team All-State Class “C”
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.
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.
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
Maddie Rosado – Junior Defender
Shannon Sgombick – Junior Midfielder/Striker
Jason Mitchell – Junior Forward
Alec Pawliczek – Junior Defender
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.
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.
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.
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.