Riverhead Blue Waves to be honored with Main Street parade
The Riverhead High School girls basketball team’s historic season will be celebrated Sunday, April 29, with a parade down Main Street, Riverhead beginning at 1 p.m.
The girl’s team went all the way to the state Class AA Final Four tournament in Troy, N.Y. this year, a first in the team’s history.
Along the way, they also won the Long Island Championship, the Suffolk County Class AA championship, the Suffolk County Section XI championship and the were ranked number 20 in the tri-state area by MSG Varsity. The girls finished the season with a 23-2 record before losing to upstate Penfield in the state semi-finals in Troy, NY.
Senior guard Jaylyn Brown was named a first-team All-Long Island player and senior Melodee Riley and junior Shanice Allen made second-team All Long Island. Their coach, Dave Spinelli, also was named Suffolk County Coach of the Year.
The team also was named a New York State Scholar Athlete team for the seventh consecutive year, with a team grade-point average this year of 93.1, according to Superintendent Nancy Carney.
“”This team acted as a catalyst for our community,” said school board vice president Greg Meyer in a press release announcing the parade. “The girls played their hearts out for their team and for this community, and the residents of Riverhead and the rest of the school district came together to support the team in a major way.”
The parade will go down Main Street, turn left onto Peconic Avenue, and end with a short ceremony in the waterfront area, officials said. Steve Failla, the announcer for the team’s home games, will act as the Master of Ceremonies for the celebration, and Coach Spinella will introduce each of the players.
In addition to the team, officials said the parade will also feature the Riverhead High School band, the NJROTC Color Guard, District administrators; students, parents and staff members from every school in the district; town, county, and state government representatives; civic groups; the police department; and the area fire departments, as well as the Blue Krew, the team’s body-painted cheering section.
