Sports

The golf world is totally focused on the 126th U.S. Open underway at Shinnecock Hills, and while the patrons watch, the event itself would not happen without the 3,000 volunteers who line the 7,440-yard course and expansive surroundings.

At Amagansett Square, fans of every level of dedication — from fair-weather to die-hard — came out to watch Game 5 of the N.B.A. finals on the big screen.

For many, golf and fishing go hand in hand. That may be why many prominent golfers love to fish, including Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Greg (the Shark) Norman, Rory McIlroy, Nick Faldo, and Johnny Miller.  

The Robert J. Aaron Memorial Mighty Montauk Triathlon celebrated its 45th anniversary on June 13, with a field of 374 athletes and a familiar face crossing the finish line first.

The 126th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills this week is testing the patience of golfers and fans alike. The wind on the 7,440-yard course is a challenge for even the most talented golfers. The traffic on Montauk Highway is a hurdle for spectators. Tackle those two things successfully and the experience is unmatched.

A fascinating thing has been happening on the East Hampton High School track this spring. A trio of athletes — Bennett Greene, Olivia Chapman, and Olivia Stiglitz — has spent most of their time walking, not running.

The Green brothers of Shelter Island took first and second place in the Old Montauk Athletic Club’s Montauk Mile on Sunday. Mullane Baumiller of Sayville won the women’s mile.

Dropping our four-ounce diamond jigs in the two-knot tide, the drift was perfect. The only thing we needed was the fish to jump on our shiny chromed lures.

The Bonac boys and girls track teams wrapped up their spring season at the state qualifiers at Comsewogue High School last Thursday and Friday. The two teams produced some of the best performances East Hampton has seen in years.

East Hampton High School had plenty to celebrate at its senior student-athlete awards ceremony this week, as 114 athletes were honored with more than 60 postseason awards, ranging from academic all-county recognition to all-New York State honors.

East Hampton’s track and field teams turned up the heat at the Suffolk C County Championships at Kings Park High School last week, the girls finishing second and the boys fourth.

All finishers 21 and over will get a free pint from the Montauk Brewery. There’s also $300 each in prize money for the top male and top female finishers, trucker hats for the first 75 to finish in each race, and awards for the top two finishers in each age group.

Other than striped bass, which have shown up in great numbers and sizes, those on the prowl for bluefish, weakfish, fluke, squid, black sea bass, and blowfish have been mostly met with rather slim pickings.

Two East Hampton seniors will take center stage on June 17, as Mason Miles and Livs Kuplins earn some of the highest honors in Suffolk County athletics.

East Hampton’s underclassmen — and underclasswomen — took the spotlight at the Suffolk freshman-sophomore track meets at Longwood High School on May 18 and 19. Both teams showed off their talented up-and-comers ahead of the county championships this week.

South Fork Lacrosse was knocked out of the playoffs in round one, losing to William Floyd, 13-7, on May 19 — a tough loss, especially for the team’s seniors, who had hoped to extend their high school careers a little longer.

There were two outs, two runners on, and Alexa Schaffer was up. Bonac softball’s head coach, Jason Menu, couldn’t have asked for a better scenario for his team, trailing Hauppauge 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh. His players had pulled within one and his best hitter was at the plate. But sometimes stories don’t end the way we wish they would.

The East Hampton softball team’s second playoff game — this one at Westhampton Beach Saturday — got off to a familiar start. The Bonackers were down 4-0 in the first inning, as they had been against Eastport-South Manor Thursday. But this time the girls couldn’t work their way out of it.

On May 16, parents from 25 schools and 38 track and field teams cheered on 707 male and female athletes from across eastern Long Island at the East End Classic here, and the Bonackers put on quite a show for fans, with several standout performances on both the boys and girls teams and some new school records.

The entire season came down to a single game. Bonac baseball’s 2-0 loss to Westhampton Beach at home on May 12 cost them a playoff berth. Bonac would return the favor, though, winning the final two games of the series and knocking the Hurricanes out of the postseason with a 9-4 victory at home on May 15. 

In their last dual meet of the season, the Bonackers proved that the boys track program at East Hampton High School is back. They lost the league title 71–60 to West Islip on May 14, but finished the season 5-1. It’s an enormous improvement; the team has gone from last to nearly first, putting together the program’s best season in over 20 years.

In the top of the first inning, things didn’t look good. East Hampton was already trailing Eastport-South Manor 4-0 in their first playoff game of the postseason, with the pitcher Izzy Briand uncharacteristically in a hole. It was not the start the Bonackers were looking for, but it didn’t last long. 

The last home game for the East Hampton High School girls lacrosse team on May 12 included athletes of all ages. East End Lacrosse brought some of its elementary school girls to see their high school heroes, creating a lacrosse stick tunnel for the Bonac seniors to run through before their matchup against John Glenn.

Small but mighty. That’s how East Hampton’s head coach of flag football, Erin Gillott, described her senior class last week. It’s a pretty accurate description not just of the seniors, but the football program over all — still in its infancy at just four years old — becoming a small but mighty movement that expanded this spring to include a junior varsity team.

Heading into the last game of the season with a 13-6 record, there was no question that East Hampton’s softball team would be heading to the playoffs, but they ended the regular season with a bang: a 4-3 walk-off win against Westhampton Beach. They host Eastport-South Manor Thursday at 4 p.m. in the first game of the first round of the playoffs.

It would’ve been easy to give up on the Bonackers after they lost their first seven games of the season, but cue Journey. This team simply won’t stop believing.

Last week, the Bonac boys track team improved to 5-0 with a crucial win at Harborfields. On May 14 — if weather allows — they’ll take on West Islip at home for the league championship. Both teams are undefeated, setting up an epic showdown on the Long Lane track.

Bonac softballers won both on and off their home field last week, besting Hauppauge after celebrating the team’s 10 seniors. Also in the game, Izzy Briand, a senior pitcher, recorded her 100th strikeout of the season.

East Hampton girls track hosted Harborfields on May 4, dominating the meet, 114-25. Yani Cuesta, the team’s head coach, was especially happy with the 400-meter intermediate hurdles. 

This year’s May Day 5K drew nearly 800 people to Main Beach on Sunday morning for a run and walk that raised money for the youth mental health efforts supported by the Tyler Project.