Nassau

Willie Mitchell bounds up and down the stairs, time and again, like in football practice, only these aren't stadium steps he's taking but the narrow, spiral staircase of a 19th-century shell in Bolton Hill. His uncle is renovating the house and Mitchell, a college cornerback, lends a hand during semester break.Some vacation. Mitchell charges up each step of the three-story rowhome as if he were in on a blitz."Willie must climb these stairs 100 times a day," says Renny Bass, his uncle. "It's good training; it keeps him fit for football."

Al Hawkins may be too good a baseball pitcher for Maryland's football team.Hawkins, one of the premier three-sport athletes in New Jersey, excels as a quarterback, shooting guard and baseball pitcher for Elizabeth High. The Terps could sign Hawkins to a letter of intent in football, but may end up losing him to baseball, depending upon where he is taken in the June draft.The letter of intent signing period begins Feb. 7, and Maryland has received 17 oral commitments to date, but none from a quarterback.

SALISBURY -- Jason Coffman scored seven goals as Salisbury State defeated Franklin & Marshall, 20-10, yesterday.Salisbury State (6-0), ranked No. 2 in Division III, scored seven straight goals during a six-minute stretch in the first quarter to break a 2-2 tie. Coffman had two goals and two of his four assists in the run.Middlebury 12, Western Md. 4Roy McKinnon scored three goals, and Middlebury (2-0) shut out host Western Maryland (1-4) in the second quarter as the Panthers posted a non-conference win.Sophomore Dean Coccia (Chesapeake-AA)

NEW YORK -- He forever will be appreciated for his sturdiness and his tenacity, for being an iron horse. But even Strike the Gold finally just wore down.The 1991 Kentucky Derby winner has been retired, trainer Nick Zito announced yesterday, a day after the 5-year-old son of Alydar finished third in Belmont's Nassau County Handicap. There were no serious injuries, just signs that Strike the Gold was starting to feel the effects of four hard seasons and 31 races."Over the years, he accumulated a lot of wear and tear," Zito said.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- West By West, a newcomer to the American Championship Racing Series, held off a late surge from Maryland-owned and Maryland-trained Valley Crossing and won TTC the $400,000 Nassau County Handicap yesterday at Belmont Park.Pimlico Special winner Devil His Due finished fourth as the 9-5 favorite, a half-length behind 1991 Kentucky Derby winner Strike the Gold, who made his customary late run but finished third.Devil His Due, current ACRS point leader, carried high weight of 123 pounds, giving the winner 9 pounds.

CORNING, N.Y. -- Essex Community College will get a chance to shift the junior college spotlight away from Herkimer County today.Essex won its first National Junior College Athletic Association title in 1991, but the Knights and everyone else in the relatively small world of two-year lacrosse have taken a back seat recently to Herkimer, the upstate New York power that a year ago made it three NJCAA championships in the last five seasons.The two will meet today (1 p.m.) for the national title at Corning War Memorial Stadium.

NEW YORK -- Freshman forward Sylvester Banks (Southwestern) led Dundalk (4-1) with 23 points and 11 rebounds as the Lions downed Nassau (3-2), 86-82, in a semifinal of the Fashion Institute of Technology Tournament. Dundalk faces host FIT in today's final at 5.Sophomore guard George Raikes (Mervo) scored 22.NASSAU -- Vonessen 2 1-2 5, Hall 9 5-5 26, Letlo 1 0-2 2, Rease 8 1-4 15, Finnely 4 0-2 11, Twible 3 8-10 14, Keys 0 1-2 1, Bagget 4 0-0 8. Totals 33 16-27 82.DUNDALK -- Bankins 4 3-4 11, Bazemore 7 4-6 18, Raikes 8 4-8 22, Hood 0 2-2 2, Ennels 3 0-0 6, Autry 2 0-0 4, Banks 10 3-6 23. Totals 34 16-26 86.Halftime--Dundalk, 44-42.

Essex Community College's lacrosse players turned green with envy when they saw those rings given to the champions.That was two years ago, after Essex bowed to Nassau (N.Y.) CC in the National Junior College Athletic Association championship game. The Nassau players left with rings. The Essex players left runners-up."The kids came back here hungry," said Essex coach Tim Puls. "They saw the rings the champions wore and wanted them. They put a picture of the awards ceremony in our locker room.

Shades of Dr. James Naismith. If ever a basketball game started from scratch, it is the Washington Bullets preseason contest against the Miami Heat this afternoon at Carnival's Crystal Palace Resort in Nassau, Bahamas.The first National Basketball Association game played on this resort island will be staged before a sellout crowd of 4,500 in what is advertised as "the biggest tent in the world."More a year in planning, every item needed to conduct an NBA game -- balls, a portable floor, glass backboards, electric scoreboards, clocks, sound systems and bleacher seats -- had to be imported at considerable cost from the United States.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Festin launched a spectacular rally turning into the stretch to win the $500,000 Nassau County Handicap at Belmont Park yesterday.The Argentine-bred 5-year-old came from last place to win by seven lengths over 19-1 shot Gervazy, with favored Farma Way another two lengths behind in third."