Massapequa Challenger Game Pits Main Campus V. Ames On Senior Night

MASSAPEQUA, NY. — While Section VIII basketball playoffs are heating up, Massapequa hosted an intra-campus game Wednesday night. Students from the main campus took on a squad Ames Campus in Massapequa’s Challenger program’s senior night.

The Challenger program gives students with special needs from grades 6 through 12 the chance to compete in soccer, basketball, cheerleading and track, extending the opportunity to ungraded students and students who are beyond 12th grade. Most of the time, those students compete against students from Amityville, Bethpage and Levittown, but on Wednesday the action stayed within the district.

Seniors Madison Buckvar and Olivia Razzano were at the center of the action Wednesday night, being celebrated by basketball coach Sal Calderone and cheer coach Kathleen Wegener for their contributions to the program over several years.

For Calderone, the night was a great opportunity to show the kind of community that exists for Massapequa students, as well as a chance to see the student-athletes grow both on and off the court.

“The support is from top to bottom,” Calderone said. “Everyone wants to make sure that these athletes have smiles on their faces the entire time.”

District officials said the crowd of students, staff, parents and community members in the gym maintained a raucous environment, with cheerleaders rallying the crowd and loud cheers being heard after each bucket.

Members of the Best Buddies club and Massapequa’s basketball program were also on the court Wednesday night, supporting the teams before, during and after the game.

For Calderone, that outpouring of support from both within the student body and without is one of the most important parts of the program.

“It’s been a great year,” Calderone said. “It’s nice that as a community, everybody supports these athletes 100%.”

Calderone called the challenger program a "shining light" in the district, again citing the way the program brings the student-athletes, their peers and the community together. While Wednesday was senior night, it wasn't the end of any challenger careers: challenger track and field will be picking up right where the hoops action left off for the spring season.