Newsday's Marcus A. Henry Award: Meet this year's six finalists

This award, in memory of former Newsday sports reporter Marcus A. Henry, is presented annually to a Long Island high school student who excels in the classroom and in athletics, and also displays great leadership. The winner will be announced next week at newsday.com/hs and a profile of the recipient will be published in Newsday.

Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez, Long Beach wrestling 

There are people who come into your life and change it forever. That can be said for Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez. His arrival in Long Beach in 2022 left an everlasting imprint on the school and in the community.

Sibomana-Rodriguez, his adopted name, won three state wrestling championships in the past five years. He  did that despite a death-defying experience as a 6-year-old in his homeland of Congo.

He was playing outside his village of Rutshuru in the jungle of the Virunga National Park, a vast animal preserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa, when a troop of chimpanzees attacked him and two family members. His brother and cousin were killed. Sibomana-Rodriguez survived but was left with horrific injuries to his lips, ears and face. His right ear and facial muscles were gone and the middle finger on his left hand was bitten off.

He was brought to the United States in December 2015, by a New York-based, nonprofit surgical care program at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital where a team of surgeons began his care. Dr. Alexander Dagum, the executive chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Stony Brook Medicine, and Dr. Leon Klempner, an associate professor of dentistry at the Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine and the founder of the nonprofit organization Smile Rescue Fund for Kids teamed to care for him.

“His journey from Day One is just so incredible,” said Marissa Rodriguez, his adoptive mother. “It’s deep and heartwarming because so many people were a part of that journey. And Dunia has taken his opportunity and been spectacular in the classroom, on the mat and in giving back to his community. He is humble and thankful.”

Sibomana-Rodriguez, 18, was honored by the Yankees during the 17th edition of the HOPE Week initiative (Helping Others Persevere & Excel) on June 16. They put together a fabulous graduation party and celebration for family and friends in the Delta 360 Suite before he left for his first day of college at the University of North Carolina. 

Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton asked him to throw out the first pitch. 

“The New York Yankees organization is just amazing,” said Miguel Rodriguez, Dunia’s father. “First-class all the way and what a fantastic send-off for my boy.”

Sibomana-Rodriguez graduated Long Beach High School with a straight A average. He dedicates much of his free time volunteering at the Long Beach Gladiators youth wrestling club, teaching young athletes the basics of wrestling. He teaches children, ages 4 to 12, in night workouts. For the past four years, he has also volunteered at the Skudin Surf School in Long Beach, working with younger surfing enthusiasts. He assists young children in confidently balancing on the board to get into the water, helping them catch their first wave and giving them that overall experience. He also served as an extra set of eyes, monitoring safety protocols in the ocean and assisting the more experienced trainers.

Said Marissa, “The kids absolutely loved him.”

Sophia Buffardi, Sayville lacrosse, soccer, track & field

In Sayville athletic director Ryan Cox’s mind, Sophia Buffardi is a no-doubt future Sayville Hall of Famer.

For most people in Buffardi’s shoes — ranked Inside Lacrosse’s No. 4 class of 2026 prospect and a North Carolina commit — Cox said they’d solely focus on lacrosse. But Buffardi isn’t like most athletes.

Instead, beyond leading Sayville to two lacrosse state championships, she helped the soccer team win its first Long Island championship in November and qualified for nationals all four years she was on the winter track and field team.

“She's a tremendous athlete, one of the best female athletes that I have come across in my entire career, and I've been doing this for over 25 years,” Cox said. “But what makes her special is the person she is — the most humble, caring, respectful student that I've ever had the privilege to be around. So, not only is she one of the best athletes I've ever seen, she is the most humble, respectful and caring kid I've ever met.”

On June 8, Buffardi was named Suffolk’s top female scholar-athlete, winning the Butch Dellecave Award. Yet Buffardi’s impact stems well beyond what she’s accomplished on the field.

Throughout high school, Buffardi has been part of the National Honor Society, taken nearly 10 AP courses and has a 102.77 weighted GPA. Outside the classroom, she was named the captain for the winter track & field and lacrosse teams as a senior.

Buffardi described herself as a quiet leader who works hard every day to help others and be the best version of herself — hoping to inspire her teammates in the same way. In addition to her teammates, Buffardi has also become an inspiration in her community.

Beginning in the ninth grade, she volunteered to work with younger soccer and lacrosse players. Over the last two years, Buffardi said she took a more extensive role in coaching and training younger girls.

“Being able to see them grow was even more special too, and you learn a little stuff about yourself along the way as you teach the younger kids and younger girls,” Buffardi said. “It's really special getting to work with some of the young girls, because then you rub off on them, and you make them see what you do, and they want to do that.”

Because of everything Buffardi exemplifies, Cox said that when her name comes up as a Sayville Hall of Fame inductee, it’s a “rubber stamp.” Until then, Buffardi begins her time at Chapel Hill this fall, where she’ll try to help the Tar Heels win their second national championship in the last three years.

“She's set the stage for the future,” Cox said, “but her legacy will last for a very long time here.”

Laney Vomero, Miller Place softball

Laney Vomero loves giving back to her community.

The senior spent the last four years as a member of the Miller Place Service Club, which offers students the opportunity to participate in hands-on community service projects. Vomero has worked at soup kitchen in Rocky Point, made greeting cards for veterans, collected toiletries for soldiers, planted flowers for Miller Place teachers, donated Easter baskets to Miller Place children, collected coats for a coat drive and done plenty more.

“I immediately knew the service club was something I wanted to do,” Vomero said. “I just wanted to be able to give back to the community and I really like volunteering. I loved being a part of it, it was very rewarding.”

Vomero has also been a softball camp counselor for six years and has given hitting and fielding lessons to young players.

She was president of Athletes Helping Athletes this year and has been a member since she was a freshman. The club’s mission is to teach fifth-grade students the values of sportsmanship, civility and kindness and the dangers of bullying, vaping and drug and alcohol use.

“It’s really special that we can be approachable for young kids and they can look up to us as role models,” Vomero said. “I remember when I was younger and the athletes came in for my class.”

A six-year varsity player, Vomero has helped lead the Panthers to three straight Suffolk Class A softball titles, two Long Island crowns and the program’s first state championship in 2025. The Stony Brook commit has a 100.47 weighted GPA and plans to major in communications or journalism.

She served on the Section XI Student Leadership Council this year, discussing matters that would better athletes, coaches and officials.

As an older sibling, Vomero is a natural leader. She also credits her experiences with her deaf grandmother, Mary Jane Bonura, toward her leadership qualities.

“I’ve always made it a point to make sure she understood what was going on in conversations or to help convey her words to others,” Vomero said. “It’s important to me to make people feel seen, protected and happy.”

Samantha Heyman, Half Hollow Hills flag football, tennis, basketball

Samantha Heyman was inspired to join the Limb Kind Foundation after watching her grandfather rehabilitate himself physically and mentally after having a leg amputated. Four years ago, Heyman joined as a student ambassador, and now says the foundation has become a nationwide community service.

Alongside other student ambassadors, Heyman coordinates fundraising events. The money raised supports the Limb Kind Foundation’s mission team — made of certified prosthetists, technicians, therapists and amputee mentors — which provides prosthetic care and prosthetic limbs to children in developing countries.

“I just hope that the little things that I do — even if it's just impacting one person, just impacting two people — if I can change one or two lives, that's an accomplishment to me,” Heyman said. “I just want to be that person that could be able to brighten up someone’s day.”

Heyman was president of the National Honor Society, volunteered with Budding Friendships and Friendship Circle — working with children with special needs — and is helping to found her school's Sports Medicine Club, which she hopes will be running in the next year or two.

After has a 99 weighted GPA and scored a perfect 36 on the ACT, Heyman will study neuroscience at the University of Texas beginning in the fall.

For her on-field success, Heyman was named the National Football Foundation’s James Conrad Metzger Top Scholar-Athlete. Over the last four years, while also playing tennis and basketball, she was Half Hollow Hills’ starting quarterback, leading the team to this year's state Class A title.

But for that to happen, Heyman had to take a risk. Despite playing varsity badminton in eighth grade, she decided to forgo playing the sport in hopes of bringing flag football to Half Hollow Hills.

That required her to take the initiative and help spearhead a successful effort to bring a flag football team to her high school. Entering her ninth-grade year, she succeeded, but it wasn’t all smooth at first.

“At first it really wasn't great, to be honest with you,” coach Mike Lupa said with a laugh at Heyman’s early play. “But she's just so driven and so coachable that we just kept putting in work, kept putting in work, kept putting in work and then, you know, you see what she is today.”

Heyman ended her high school career with 12,898 passing yards, 197 passing touchdowns, 4,192 rushing yards and 52 rushing touchdowns. She threw for 70 TDs this season in leading Hills to a 19-0 record. 

Heyman is hoping Texas will seen offer women's flag football as an official sport.

“She’s just an all-around person,” Lupa said, “always willing to give and never looking to receive anything in return, just does it out of the goodness of her heart.”

Ryan Leary, Carle Place football, soccer, basketball

Ryan Leary was a place-kicker in football during his junior year at Carle Place, but he thought he could do more, He wanted to be a wide receiver. "I could definitely do that," Leary said. So leading into his senior year, Leary played wide receiver for the first time while still playing soccer and, later, basketball.

However, Leary was told by district superintendent Ted Cannone on Aug. 21 that he could play soccer and football only if he was just the kicker for the football team, citing safety issues.

Despite winning a state title and being named first team Newsday All-Long Island in soccer as a junior, Leary chose football.

On Oct. 3, a state ruling allowed Leary to play both sports. And by that point, he established himself on the gridiron, eventually helping Carle Place break its playoff drought and earning a spot at Pace University to play football and basketball.

“I knew that I would just be able to help the team win, and honestly, I didn't think it would take me this far, but I'm definitely glad that I played,” Leary said.

Despite playing varsity soccer beginning in eighth grade, Leary said he didn’t want to play collegiately. Leary, Carle Place’s all-time leading basketball scorer with 2,064 points, said he tried earning college basketball offers for three years — which didn’t come until he started getting football offers.

“He's a role model to other kids,” Carle Place athletic director Justin Block said, “and in such a small community, you use someone like Ryan to say, 'Hey, look at Ryan Leary. You want to be like Ryan Leary someday?’ He's like a legend to some of these younger kids in our elementary and middle schools.”

Leary has constantly been around younger kids who look up to him by referring and coaching their CYO league games. Meanwhile, he was part of Carle Place’s student organization body for the last two years, helping organize the events including homecoming and pep rallies.

In the classroom, Leary has a 96 weighted GPA and began taking college-level courses as a junior. Leary also helped create the senior mentorship program this year where students in middle school classes help out teachers and students..

“I really just want to try to get back to the community as much as possible because they do a lot for me,” Leary said. “So I just love to give back, especially seeing kids happy.”

Zahara Saintyl, Uniondale basketball, volleyball

Helping others is second nature for Uniondale's Zahara Saintyl.

Saintyl is a strong advocate for mental health. She co-founded the school's wellness center and annual SEL Day, a global campaign for social-emotional learning to support children's academic recovery, mental health, and well-being. She also started her own organization, P.A.T.C.H. (Providing Aid To Combat Homelessness), which organizes donation drives to collect essential shelter items such as medical supplies, hygiene products, school supplies and food, and donates them to homeless shelters across the United States and in Haiti.

She also volunteers at the Ronald McDonald House, which supports critically ill children and their families. There, Saintyl prepares home-cooked meals for the patients and their loved ones. She also created her own website for Blood Cancer United to help raise money for patients and help spread awareness for the disease.

"I didn't just want to notice the need, but I actually wanted to do something about it," Saintyl said. "Volunteering reminds me that life isn't about what I accomplish, but how I treat people and how I use my time to help others. It made me more compassionate and patient over the years."

That dedication extends into the classroom. Saintyl maintains a 4.0 GPA, is a top 25 student at the school and has been accepted into the Sophie Davis program. She hopes to become a pediatric cardiologist.

"Serving the community is something that I want to continue to do no matter where life takes me," Saintyl said. "It's become an essential part of who I am. I want to carry that with me because I know how much of a difference we can make."

Beyond her community service, Saintyl is also an award-winning model who has appeared at New York Fashion Week on numerous occasions and has won pageants since the age of 8.

Saintyl excels in basketball and volleyball. The 6-1 forward averaged 20.5 points, 10 rebounds, and three steals per game, earning Newsday's second-team All-Long Island honors. She also had a standout season in volleyball, totaling 132 kills, 42 aces, and 39 digs. But according to her coaches, her stats only tell a fraction of the story.

"She's been a role model," basketball coach Nolan Dunkley said. "Zahara is the standard. She encourages everybody around her and motivates them to be the best they can be."

Volleyball coach Dan Spelendore said, "Zahara inspires all the kids to want to do more. I don't know if anyone can replicate what she has done for us."