7. Wantagh wrestling
Pat Smith won only six regular-season matches during his freshman season on the mats with the Wantagh wrestling team, but the rookie heavyweight came through when it mattered most. Smith’s pin of MacArthur’s Jonathan Ruby clinched Wantagh’s third straight Nassau County dual meet championship on Feb. 1. Coached by Paul Gillespie, Wantagh came into the county finals unseeded, but held the program’s recent championship form by defeating Seaford and Calhoun before upsetting top-seeded Locust Valley and fourth-seeded Massapequa. The Warriors then rose to the occasion against their neighborhood rivals MacArthur with a 43-28 triumph. Joining Smith in picking up key bouts during the championship match were Jonathan Loew, Kyle Quinn, Joe Hill, George Albert, Steve Pambianchi, Matt Langan, and Nick Vines.

8. Carey softball
The rallying cry on the softball diamond at Carey was to go from good to great. That mission was accomplished by coach Anthony Turco’s squad on May 20. Pinch-runner Keva Moore scored the go-ahead run on an errant throw with two outs in the top of the seventh inning to give the Lady Seahawks a 4-3 victory over Island Trees and a sweep of the best-of-three Nassau Class A championship series. It was Carey’s first county title since 2005. After the first two batters were retired, pitcher Jenna Turato singled. Moore was called on to pinch-run for Turato, and immediately went to second on a wild pitch. Brianna Pinto then smacked a single deep into the hole at short, and Moore came around to score when the throw to first sailed wide.