Newsday from New York, New York • 71

A71 Maine Race Case i A Lee Weiss loves a challenge When members of other Mid wood teams made 4 comment about the wrestlers being -out of shape Weiss the team eaptAiw took it upon himself to prove them wrong Weiss worked out and eventually did 1003 situps breaking the school record will be the first to start and the last to finish Midwood wrestling coach George Hero said surpasses expectations and sets the example He has the self-discipline do all he does and he does it well and inspires the other Weiss has been the captain of the wrestling and tennis teams since his junior year teammates believe in me because I believe in Weiss said push them to reach i goals and they can come to me if they have a problem It always works Until Weiss came to Mid wood as a freshman 1 the Belle Harbor resident hadn't even thought 3 about wrestling having played tennis since he was 5 But a friend got him to try out for the 1 squad flout letting your buddy fight one-on-one? Thirty guys on one and all you get is one kick Wait untQ turned around on you More explicit racial slurs and threats then followed Masotta later says wonder what going to look like dead three six-inch knives in your Another voice then says: be begging to pick some Masotta who is a classmate of Wilmot ends the call saying long Dwayne get the picture? Police believe the two other speakers who were heard on the tape making threats are sophomore defenseman Shawn Mansoff and junior winger Matthew Oliver The three who are all white were immediately suspended from the hockey team indefinitely Disciplinary action also was taken by the university which could mean the players were dismissed from school Federal privacy laws prohibit the university from disclosing the details of student disciplinary actions All three are to appear in District Court in Bangor Maine on Jan 16 to face charges of criminal threatening Mansoff denies involvement and has hired a lawyer If Masotta is found guilty of violating Civil Rights Act he would face a civil penalty up to $5000 is a vicious type of racism and a typically explicit threat of violence that when combined together is nothing but a threat of hate that is directed against thie African-American student because he is assistant attorney general Stephen Wesaler said Wilmot who is home for the winter break said he had no problems with Masotta before the call and that he is trying to get over the incident I felt anger and so forth Right now just trying to move Wilmot said By Alan Hahn STAFF WRITER The Maine attorney office has filed a civil rights complaint against a University of Maine hockey player cm accusations that he left racially motivated threats cm the voice mail of sophomore Dwayne Wilmot a Freeport native and member of the Maine football team Wilmot 18 who is black received a message on Dec 14 containing racial slurs and threats According to court documents three students placed a 11 to dormitory room at 6 that morning One of the callers junior Bryan Masotta a goalie on the Maine hockey team acknowledged making threats Masotta who is from Northford Conn was not available for comment yesterday but in a conversation with the Bangor Daily News he admitted he left the message was a foolish thing that I take full responsibility for" he reportedly said in edition of the paper was a mistake It was something stupid that came out of my mouth This something in my After being read quote Wilmot said yesterday like someone in trouble trying to make The call is believed to have stemmed from an incident that took place at an off-campus football party on Dec 12 where a fight occurred between a hockey player and one of friends who is white While the fight was breaking up Wilmot kicked the hockey player in the thigh A police investigation into the incident concluded Masotta was not at the party According to documents obtained from the attorney office the message included the following statement from Masotta: Dwayne How just fell in love with it said Weiss who is 8-0 'this season at 135 pounds an amazing sport so many aspects to it mental and At first glance tennis and wrestling might not seem to have anything in common But Weiss who went to the quarterfinals of the Cup last year sees similarities have an individual and a team Weiss said definitely a mental aspect to both and you have to do drills a lot Form is important for both and you have to make sure in good The 17-year-old keeps the other aspects of his life in good shape as well He carries a 92 average and scored 1350 on the SAT Weiss was the PSAL 112-pound champion last year and his intelligence played a big part in it j- beaten stronger opponents because always thinking out there always remaining Hero said keeps adding to his arsenal and the hardest thing to deal 11 Hockey Players Suspended Eleven players six from St Raymond and five from Blount St Michael were suspended for three games following a brawl near the end of a hockey game at the Elmsford ice rink on Friday was just a bad incident for both of said Blount coach Jim Clark school hockey fights are never justified I was mad they got involved I told them in the locker room that this hurts us for the next three games But going to have to weather the storm and learn that this is The fight erupted with five seconds left in a 4-4 game St Raymond goalie Steve Savino covered a loose puck and Jeremiah Daughtery attempted to try to pry it away in a last-chance scoring opportunity at precisely the same time the official blew the whistle Prep and Holy Cross The first-place Knights (3-1-2) one point in front of Prep (3-1-1) in the division standings had to battle back from a 6-3 deficit to manage a 6-6 tie Senior center Chris McHugh scored five goals and added an assist the fifth goal coming with 27 seconds left to force the tie In the AA division Farrell (3-0) is two points ahead of both Chaminade (LI) and Xaverian (2-2) The Flyers knocked off Xaverian 5-1 last Friday Christ the King (3-1) is two points behind first place St (4-0) in the division The Royals defeated McClancy (2-2) 3-1 Once a grldder always a grldder Eight years ago Peter Rossomando was Player of the Year in football cm Staten Island Now Rossomando is giving back to the sport he fell in love with The former Port Richmond star who won the award his senior season in 1989 is the defensive line and strength coach of Division II New Haven New Haven went to the final this season before losing to Northern Colorado 51-0 Dec 14 Rossomando has spent his entire life around football After graduating Port Richmond Rossomando earned a four-year scholarship to Boston University where he started at offensive guard his senior season during the Terriers 1993 Yankee Conference title Despite losing to Idaho in the Division I-AA quarterfinals that year he did not leave with a bad taste in his mouth Rossomando knew he wanted to get into coaching originally wanted to be a physical Rossomando said at BU I developed some good relationships with coaches and I decided I wanted to give a little bit back to the sport that gave me so much" Dan DeRoealia and Sylvia King contributed to this notebook Weiss is taking AP American and European history this year and is considering majoring in history Both his parents are teachers but Weiss is considering a law or business career He is applying to Princeton Brown Penn Cornell Haverford and Brandeis history has to offer always has been interesting the study of the past and how the future relates to he said The present is busy for the 5-8 Weiss In addition to the two sports he co-fbunded the Urban Advance to Education Project which works to find scholarship money for students who are economically disadvantaged Weiss is also a member of the student council the Historical Society and sings tenor in the school choir sleep is not the first second or third Weiss said a lot of responsibility but definitely worth As a freshman and sophomore Weiss directed the school Sing which has each class put on a short show For the past year he has been working on a Westinghouse Social Science project on how new immigrants integrate into society studying Russians Hai tains and South Koreans from New York City it was right in front of me the entire Weiss said of the project was really exciting Though SportsCenter remains his favorite television show Weiss has become a fan of flnggif filing parially Hmw nf Alfred Hitehanek and Orson Welles Neil Cohen to stop play Tempers flared between Savino and Daughtery with punches thrown escalating to a fight between those on the ice According to CHSAA rules any player involved in any type of fighting is automaticaly suspended for three games Savino and Daughtery were among the 11 players suspended is bad for both St coach Tom Nolan said got a bunch of good kids on this team This definitely kills us And not good for the The suspension of Savino particularly hurts Savino was only goalie and the 0-3-1 Ravens have high-scoring Fordham Prep awaiting them Friday The St St Michael game served as the undercard for the heavyweight battle between last A finalists Fordham NEWSDAY WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 24 1997.