Newsday has released their “Top Player” lists in the various varsity fall sports and William Floyd is well-represented with seven featured student-athletes. The Colonials have three student-athletes representing football, and one each representing girls’ soccer,  girls’ tennis, girls’ cross country and field hockey.

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Football – three student-athletes were named to Newsday’s Top 100 High School Football Players for 2023 (Coach: Paul Longo)

The Colonials are off to an impressive 3-0 start with victories over Connetquot (31-0), Ward Melville (31-21) and Sachem East (42-7). They travel to Lindenhurst on Friday, September 29, to battle the 2-1 Bulldogs.

Wally Crane, senior, linebacker/tight end: Newsday described Crane as a “three-year starter who had 53 tackles, two sacks and an interception as a junior for a Floyd defense that allowed 75 points last season, the fewest in Suffolk.”

Javon Delaney, senior, linebacker/tight end: Newsday said of Delaney that “he had 41 tackles, one sack and an interception as a junior. The Floyd defense allowed a county-low 75 points last season.”

Caden Lesiewicz, senior, S/RB/K/P: Newsday describes the do-it-all Lesiewicz as “a returning All-Long Island player. He was the recipient of the Tom Cassese Award, given to the most outstanding defensive back, and Paul Longo award, given to the most outstanding kicker. He had nine interceptions as a defensive back and 52 kicking points last season.”

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Girls Tennis – one student-athlete named to Newsday’s Top 30 Long Island Girls’ Tennis Players for Fall 2023 (Coach: Dave Pia)

The Colonials have an impressive 8-3 record (3-0 in League play) with wins over Ward Melville, Southampton, Mattituck, Sayville, Smithtown East, Riverhead, East Hampton/Bridgehampton/Pierson, and Shoreham-Wading River. They have five matches left before the playoffs including today at home against Ross.

Adrianna Filippelli, senior, singles: Newsday said “The Colonials are once again in the county championship conversation in no small part to the play of Filippelli, who Coach Dave Pia said is ‘more mentally relaxed’ in the role at first singles this season.”

"Adrianna has gotten off to a great start this year! She has already beaten the No. 1 players from Half Hollow Hills East, Sayville and Harborfields - all top players on their top teams,” added Coach Pia. “Adrianna's outstanding work ethic and strategic game play has elevated her to one of the top players on Long Island."

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Girls Cross Country – one student-athlete named to Newsday’s Top 25 Girls’ Cross Country Runners for 2023 list (Coach: John Ryan)

The Colonials are off to a fast start at 3-0 with wins over Middle Country, Longwood and Central Islip.

Zariel Macchia, junior: Zariel has been blazing trails all across the Long Island, New York State, and on the national and world running scenes for the past several years, and looks to continue to build upon her legacy!  

Newsday highlights her Class A championship last year, in which she finished with a time of 18:02.6, 15.8 seconds faster than the second-place finisher!

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Girls Soccer – one student-athlete named to Newsday’s Top 100 High School Girls’ Soccer Players for 2023 (Coach: Mark Dawson)

The Colonials have two wins and two ties so far on the season with victories over Newfield and Central Islip and ties with Westhampton and Brentwood. Next up for the Colonials is an away game on Thursday, September 28, at Commack.

Kayla Gilmore, senior, midfielder: Newsday describes Gilmore as “a multi-sport athlete committed to Maryland for lacrosse. The versatile midfielder scored nine goals and had four assists last season.”

Along with soccer, Gilmore excels in lacrosse and basketball. This past lacrosse season, she led all of Suffolk County in goals (64) and was named to the All-American and Academic All-American team.

This was on the heels of a basketball season that saw Gilmore tally her 1,000th career point, becoming just the fourth Colonial in program history to reach that milestone. She was also named the League II Player of the Year and All-State by the NYSSWA. She has accepted a scholarship and committed to play lacrosse at the University of Maryland. 

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Field Hockey – one student-athlete named to Newsday’s Top 50 Field Hockey Players for 2023 list (Coach: Maria Carucci)

Victoria Nelson, senior, forward: Newsday said of the star senior forward: “She possesses great speed and skill to lead William Floyd’s offensive attack.”

Nelson, a multi-year starter on the varsity team, has helped lead the Colonials to six wins so far this season. With the playoffs in sight, Nelson and her teammates will continue to play hard and give their best effort each and every game.

With only three games remaining, the Colonials next matchup is against Huntington on Thursday, October 5 at 5:45 pm at the Lincoln Avenue Sports Complex.

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Good luck to all of the talented student-athletes and their teams this season!