SWR athletes honored for college signings

Four Shoreham-Wading River athletes were honored Monday afternoon for signing National Letters of Intent to continue their athletic careers in college next year.

The signees ranged from baseball and softball to gymnastics. 

Two baseball players, seniors Jack Massa and Tyler Osik will be playing college ball next spring. Massa signed with Canisius College in upstate New York and Osik signed with Coker College in South Carolina.

Massa and Osik have keyed Shoreham to an 11-2-1 start this season. Both players have been on varsity for the past three seasons.

Massa, a catcher, first saw time behind the plate as a sophomore for Shoreham. Coach Sal Mignano said Massa was always a strong defensive player. And now as a senior, his bat is just as strong.

Mignano said Massa just recently settled on Canisius after originally planning to attend SUNY Oswego. Canisius, a Division I school that competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, came in with a later offer for Massa as the team found itself in need of a catcher.

For Mignano, seeing Osik’s high school season near its end is a career coming full circle. Mignano coached Tyler’s father, Keith, who played 10 years of Major League Baseball.

“I’ve known his parents since they were 11-years-old,” Mignano said.

Osik plays third base for Shoreham and has been a standout player in the field and at the plate.

“He always knew the game real well and knew what to do,” Mignano said. “Now he’s in the best shape of his life. He’s worked hard to get in great condition.”

Softball player Brittany Mahan signed with Hillsdale College, a Division II school in Michigan.

“It was hard at first,” Mahan said of the college search. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do. My sister goes to Hillsdale and when I went to visit her I fell in love with the school.”

Mahan is a four-year varsity player who plays shortstop.

Mahan said the small campus at Hillsdale reminds her of home.

“The people there are so nice,” she said.

The fourth signee was Camille Drouin-Allaire, who is headed to George Washington University for gymnastics. While Shoreham doesn’t have a gymnastics program any more, Drouin-Allaire has honed her craft most recently at Gold Medal Gymnastics Center in Rocky Point.

She became a Level 10 gymnast in 2010.

Drouin-Allaire is a standout in the classroom as well. She doubled up her course load this year to graduate a year early.

Her top event, she said, is the vault.

See a video of Drouin-Allaire in action below: