It’s a spring of Pequa satisfaction.
This week, the Massapequa women lacrosse staff received the county title over Port Washington, 11-9, whereas the boys lacrosse staff reached the finals in opposition to the identical faculty — simply as each its softball and baseball groups additionally earned a date for the Nassau championship.
“It’s a sports town. Boys, girls, all fall, winter and spring,” Massapequa baseball supervisor Tom Sheedy informed The Publish.
“They’ve played in elimination games and tournaments their whole life. It’s another game. … They’ve been through the pressure.”
Nonetheless, this yr, issues are hitting nearer to residence than ordinary, with much more on the road than some trophies.
Massapequa has been entrenched in a contentious authorized battle in opposition to the state’s 2023 mandate to take away all Native American-connected logos in New York colleges.
President Donald Trump has even gotten concerned, strongly siding with the city after a plea from faculty board president Kerry Wachter, who’s welcoming Secretary of Training Linda McMahon for a campus tour over the difficulty Friday.
“I think if it is our last year being a Chief, then it’s a good way to go out,” Twelfth-grade softball catcher Sienna Perino mentioned forward of the staff’s 6-2 victory in Thursday’s Sport 1 of a best-of-three sequence in opposition to Oceanside — the college that beat Massapequa within the finals final yr.
Revenge tour
The highest-seeded softball staff nicknamed itself “vengeance” for the 2025 season as motivation to get the job carried out in opposition to No. 3 Oceanside this time round, Perino mentioned.
Added senior valedictorian and outfielder Samantha Portz: “We’ve become a family, and we know when we step on the field … we’ve built that connection. We trust each other. I definitely think that will help us move forward.”
Off the diamond, the place the staff posted an 18-5 document, “vengeance” has a number of meanings, Perino added.
The ladies additionally want to make a press release and feed off the nationwide consideration the tight-knit South Shore group has garnered since Trump declared, “LONG LIVE THE MASSAPEQUA CHIEFS!” on Reality Social — posting a photograph with a faculty shirt within the Oval Workplace simply days later in April.
“It represents who we are,” Portz added. “This town is really close. We’re all proud to represent our community, the school, as Chiefs.”
Swinging for the fences
The second-seeded Chiefs baseball staff (16-7), which is gearing as much as battle next-door rival No. 1 Farmingdale, additionally goals to place an exclamation level on the 2025 season as uncertainty surrounds the identify.
“I’ve been here 30 years. There’s never been a player, ever, not very, very proud to be a Chief,” Sheedy mentioned. “It means the world to them. The players are definitely aware of what’s going on, and they feel very strongly about how they hope it turns out.”
Senior lefty pitcher Thomas Harding is taking city satisfaction to coronary heart and galvanizing others on the squad to do the identical.
“I think that with the possibility of the name being taken away, we are more motivated to keep the name alive — and keep its legacy,” he mentioned.
Emblem lamentations apart, Massapequa has unfinished enterprise after an excruciating semifinal loss to Port Wash final season — particularly for its potential final class of Chiefs.
“We also have to have a sense of urgency that this could be our last game,” senior first baseman Jason Romance mentioned. “So we have to play harder than ever. … It would be very cool if Trump watches us play.”
Sheedy additionally goes to the properly for a younger participant with large recreation expertise — Tenth-grade JV call-up catcher Ryan Huksloot, who performed within the 2022 Little League World Collection with Massapequa Coast.
“The big thing with us is that we rode how we felt back then,” Huksloot mentioned. “So if we keep riding the vibes right now and we stay within ourselves, then it’s gonna be an easy road for us.”
And regardless of how the finals go — or the litigious battle over the identify — nothing will change how the gamers look again on their years with MHS.
“I’m very proud to be graduating and playing as a Chief,” senior softball pitcher Shea Santiago mentioned.
“We all love being a Chief,” Perino added. “Once a Chief, always a Chief.”
