Sachem Central School District

Newsday Top Athletes

Several of our Sachem students have been designated as Top 100 athletes by Newsday for the fall season. To recognize this achievement, we asked them to share a team goal, personal goal and a highlight as a Sachem athlete.

Field Hockey Top 50
Jessica Nodell, Sachem North, Senior
Team goal – “To support each other and work together as a team.”
Personal goal – “To continue to challenge myself and play to the best of my ability.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “Playing field hockey has been a rewarding experience for me at Sachem and one that I hope to continue playing in college.”

Morgan Quirk, Sachem North, Junior
Team goal – “My team goal for this season is to all work together seamlessly through better communication and support for one another, on and off the field.”
Personal goal – “A personal goal of mine for this season is to continue working on my leadership skills along with my communication with my teammates.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “A highlight of being a Sachem Athlete is the opportunities that I have been given to demonstrate my love and passion for the sport, while being able to be a role model for younger athletes playing field hockey.”

Kayla Richter, Sachem East, Senior
Team goal – “Work together, trust each other, and take it a game at a time to get to LIC”
Personal goal – “Be a leader on and off the field, be a person my teammates can rely on and look up to”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “Beating a team we haven’t beat in five years recently, they are such a strong team but it proved that when we work together as a team we can accomplish so much.”

Boys Soccer Top 100
Luka Verbanac, Sachem North, Senior

Girls Soccer Top 100
Stephanie Tator, Sachem East, Junior

Football Top 100
Angelo Portillo, Sachem North, Senior
Team goal – “To win the SCC and the LIC.”
Personal goal – “I want to make All-County and possibly All-State.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “My biggest highlight was winning both rounds of the playoffs last year against teams we lost to already, and then making it to the SCC.”

Lucas Singleton, Sachem North, Senior
Team goal – “Making it far into season and become better players.”
Personal goal – “Having the best season I can as a player and leader. Being the best player and or RB on the Island.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “Always a great staff and community behind us.”

AJ Vurchio, Sachem East, Senior
Team goal – “Long Island championship.”
Personal goal – “Boomer finalist and five touchdowns a game.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “Beating Melville 2023.”

Girls Volleyball Top 50
Samantha Madigan, Sachem East, Senior

Lea Rowett, Sachem North, Senior
Team goal – “To make playoffs.”
Personal goal – “To improve my serving.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “Committing to play division one lacrosse at The University Of Massachusetts Lowell.”

Boys Volleyball Top 50
Bryan Kuhl, Sachem North, Sophomore

Ryan McKeon, Sachem East, Senior
Team goal – “Win states.”
Personal goal – “Beat every team we lost to last year.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “The team/school mentality.”

Sam Morreale, Sachem North, Senior
Team goal – “To win a county, Long island, and state championship.”
Personal goal – “To be the suffolk county MVP and win a county championship with my little brother.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “My highlight as a sachem athlete is been being able to represent Sachem North Volleyball as a captain for the last two years, and being able to lead and be a role model for the next few generations of Sachem volleyball players.”

Tyler Rooi, Sachem East, Senior
Team goal – “My team goal for the season is to be League Champions this year. This is the first year in a while wear we have a chance to go far. I would also love to have a playoff game at home this year.”
Personal goal – “My personal goal for this season is to be Elite 8.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “My highlight as a sachem athlete is beating Sachem North in the 2022 season.”

Jake Spring, Sachem North, Senior
Team goal – “To win our very last game.”
Personal goal – “To constantly improve every time I step on the court in practice and in game.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “The great treatment we receive. Every sports team in sachem is in full support of other sports teams. All the student athletes understand the pressures that come with being a student athlete and they have each other's backs”