June 21, 2022
By Anastasia Loutroutzis
Staff Writer
Baseball, 18-10 record
“We stand out because of how young we are. There was a point one time this year when we had five sophomores on the field at one time [Jake Mayer, Matteo Morelli, Jack Nowinski, Anthony Pizzuti, Micheal Rizzo]…. Two season highlights were beating Dwight Englewood [on May 4], and beating Leonia for the third time [on June 1] in the state playoffs. Dwight was huge because it put us in first place in the league, and the Leonia win was fun because it was a tight game and advanced us to the second round.” – sophomore Michael Rizzo
Girls Flag Football, 5-3 record
“It was the first ever season of girls flag football, so it will go down in history and be the season that the rest will reflect on. Playing our first home game was an experience like no other. Actually being able to play and win on our home field is such a cherished memory…. A distinct highlight from this season was when I threw two touchdown passes to Jaylene Rivera [during a game against New Milford]. Those highlight videos I played on repeat all night.”
– senior Maria Hantzaras
Lacrosse, 8-5 record
“Being a small program, we’ve always been underestimated, [but] this season is different. Our new assistant and head coach, Coach Amato and Coach [Azarello] really changed the outcome of the season by being tough on us and always expecting more from us each time we step on the field. Compared to the other years’ performances, we have really stepped it up this year due to our new coaching staff.” – freshman Matthew Branco
Boys Track and Field, undefeated in the league
“[Our season] did not go as expected. I did even better than I thought. I jumped over 20 feet this year and triple jumped over 41 feet, which I was very proud of this season…. By far, our best team performance was our league win over Leonia and Dwight Englewood. They were extremely tough teams, [but] we took it home for an undefeated league season. The biggest season highlight had to be when we went to the Bergen County Group Meet of Champions [on May 20-23]. We all had massive PRs [personal records] and felt even stronger.”
-senior Brandon Rivera
Girls Track and Field, undefeated in the league and North Jersey Girls Sophomore Champions as well as runners up for a State Sectional Title in North 2, Group 2
“My favorite team performance was when my team was at the sophomore championships, and we needed a few more points to win, so we had to give it our all in the 400-meter relay. We battled the whole race and were able to win and take home the championship…. I broke the school record [which was previously 17-2] in long jump three times. I jumped a 17-3, 17-6 and 18-1 on the same day at the Gene Littler County Championships [May 13 to 14]. I also was a state sectional champion for Group 2, North 2 in the triple jump, while jumping a personal best of 34-11. I was a part of the sophomore team that won, and I [moved] on to the second round of states for the 400-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, long jump and triple jump.” – sophomore Julia Tozduman
Softball, 15-7 record
“I played my heart out with all of my closest friends, and it was a great way to go out as a senior…. I have never seen another team that praises each other’s success like we do…. This season did not go as expected because of the many hardships we faced. We lost our catcher to an injury before the season started, which was a big loss, many of us were struggling with sickness and personal situations that caused some to come and go. However, I think we achieved our goals…. winning our league championship. We had a bad start with our record in the league, but we came together, and we were champions in the end because of our hard work and determination.”
– senior Jaylene Rivera
Boys Volleyball, 6-14
“All the players on our team are first year players and none of us have ever played volleyball in our lives and we adapted to the game and it turned out to be successful…. A personal highlight I had was earning 11 kills against Bergen Charter [on May 4] which was one of the best teams in the NJIC,” Slaby said. “Another season highlight I can remember is when me and my teammate Daniel Gozdek had a race on who would get the most kills this season, even though he had a head start with me having an ankle sprain and missing the first six games, we competed every game against each other…. At the end of the season I beat him by one kill.” – sophomore Matthew Slaby
PHOTOS BY ANGELA ELLIS, LORS PHOTOGRAPHY AND MVPSHOTS
