June
13, 2005
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| Brian Cushing had 103 tackles and nine sacks on defense and scored 14 TDs in leading BC to the state title. |
Male
Athlete of the Season:
Brian Cushing, Bergen Catholic Football
After
getting off to an uncharacteristic
0-2 start, Bergen Catholic was reeling and needed some sort of spark to get
the season back on the right track. It needed to look no further than its
two-way leader, senior Brian Cushing. A devastating tackler at the middle
linebacker spot, Cushing also made his presence felt on offense and special
teams.
This was no more evident than when the Crusaders faced the state's top-ranked team and archrival, St. Joe's of Montvale. In leading the team to a 56-42 triumph, Cushing did it in every aspect for the Crusaders. He had 114 yards rushing, 118 yards receiving and five touchdowns, including one on a kickoff return. Oh yeah, he also had 12 tackles on defense.
Cushing
finished off a four-year quest by leading the Crusaders to a Parochial Group
4 title with a win over another rival, Don Bosco Prep, in Giants Stadium.
In another epic performance, he had 12 tackles, three sacks, 186 rushing yards,
and scored both of the Crusaders' touchdowns in a 13-10 victory. The USC-bound
Cushing finished the season with 103 tackles and nine sacks on defense and
caught eight touchdown passes and ran for six more.
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| Ramapo senior Jimmy Taranto netted a career-high 31 goals and added 21 assists to lead the Raiders to another state sectional championship. |
Runner-Up:
Jimmy Taranto, Ramapo Soccer
Taranto was a nightmare for opposing defenses on the front line for Ramapo, which won the North 1, Group 3 title for the third consecutive year. Whether on the run or in the box, his ability to defeat numerous defenders with either foot was unquestioned and virtually unmatched in the state. But it was his blinding speed and tremendous balance that proved to be the most defining feature of his game.
He was not just your average speed demon though. Taranto could finish when given the opportunity and did plenty of that this fall. He netted a career-high 31 goals and added 21 assists to lead the Raiders to a 21-2 mark. Taranto, who was the only North Jersey player to be named an All-American, will continue his career at the University of Virginia next fall.
Honorable Mention:
Tim Diamond,
Lakeland Football
Cristhian Acuna, Harrison Soccer
Chuck Kaliades, Ridgewood Football
Michael Ray Garvin, Don Bosco Football
Andi Saliasi, Manchester Soccer
Jason McCourty, St. Joe's Regional (Mont.) Football
Mike Lamego, Queen of Peace Football
Chris Guerriero, Saddle Brook Cross-Country
Jerome Hayes, Bayonne Football
Danny Oquendo, Hackensack Football
Mike Brown, St. Peter's Prep Football
Will Walsh, Kearny Soccer
Vin Esposito, Northern Valley/Demarest Football
Jon Borrajo, Clifton Soccer
Brent Weiss, St. Joe's (Mont.) Football
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| Karolina Kowalski led North Arlington to the Group 1 state title. |
Female
Athlete of the Season:
Karolina Kowalski, North Arlington Volleyball
Coming into high school as a freshman, Karolina Kawolski had never even played volleyball outside of a pick-up game in a gym class. But North Arlington head coach Don Cooper saw something in her that was special and only needed Kawolski to believe it as well. Four years later, with plenty of coaching and hard work, Kawolski made school history, literally.
She was the key ingredient to a North Arlington team that boasts five senior starters, all of whom started as freshmen. As a 5'9" setter, Kawolski was a complete package and always the best athlete on the court. But for all the accolades she garnered over her first three varsity seasons, there was one glaring omission from her resume, a Group 1 state title.
Kawolski was dynamite from start to finish this past season with her picture-perfect sets from anywhere on the court. She averaged over 10 assists per game and finished with 563 on the season. The FDU-bound senior also had a 92 percent serve percentage, 157 kills, 75 aces, and 27 blocks for the Vikings (23-3), who finished the season ranked fourth in the state.
Runner-Up:
Chelsea Steinberg, Ridgewood Gymnastics
Just a sophomore, the diminutive Steinberg has proved herself to be among the all-time best gymnasts ever to come out of Ridgewood High School. She holds all but one school record (the vault), but she picked up the most important piece of hardware at the NJSIAA Gymnastics Championships.
Steinberg took gold in three of the four individual events and was just .1 point from sweeping all four. With the effort, she finished first in the all-around competition to leave no doubt as to who was the best gymnast in New Jersey. Her 9.625 in the vault, 9.7 on the beam and 9.525 in the floor exercise all were good enough to take 1st place. She also impressed with a 9.625 on the uneven bars and was just .05 out of first place. Steinberg currently holds the school record in all events, except the vault, which she could surpass as a junior.
Honorable
Mention:
Sarah Volkomer,
Glen Rock Soccer
Lauren Cash, Northern Highlands Tennis
Brittney Steinbruch, Ramapo Soccer
Jessey Finizio, Pascack Valley Volleyball
Christina Gomez, Northern Highlands Soccer
Mallory Erickson, Pompton Lakes Field Hockey
Tara Ricciardi, Wayne Valley Soccer
Audrey O'Donnell, IHA Volleyball
Meredith Parilla, Ramapo Soccer
Liz Wiseman, Wayne Hills Field Hockey
Kayla Devlin, Clifton Soccer
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| QB Chuck Kaliades led Ridgewood to a second straight state title and a school record 11 wins. |
Boys'
Team of the Season:
Ridgewood Football
The NNJIL showed itself to be the strongest league in the state with three teams winning state championships and two others making it to section finals. But there was no more impressive squad than Ridgewood, which passed every test it faced this season. Led by the running attack of Brian Mercer, Paul Gallo, and senior quarterback Chuck Kaliades, the Maroons were virtually unstoppable on the ground. They could both chew up clock and score on a long back-breaking touchdown run.
The only blemish on the Maroons' record was a last-second loss to Hackensack during the regular season. They avenged that loss in the biggest game of them all, the North 1, Group 4 state championship game.
Kaliades
hit Nick Restivo to for a 25-yard touchdown, giving Ridgewood the lead for
good, 13-7. Mercer and Gallo added second-half touchdowns to maintain the
lead. Michael Nunn's last-minute interception thwarted the last Comet threat
and clinched Ridgewood's second straight state title with a 27-20 victory.
The Maroons finished with a school-record 11 victories.
 |
| Eric Santigato quarterbacked Lakeland to a perfect season, including a state championship. |
Runner-Up:
Lakeland Football
Lakeland suffered through a multitude of injuries during the 2003 campaign and stumbled to a 3-7 finish. But everyone in the Lancers' locker room knew that 2004 was going to be a different story. They just did not know just how big the turnaround was going to be.
It started with a win over archrival West Milford to start the season and it never stopped. Led by the senior trio of quarterback Eric Santagato, tailback Andrew Dajko, and all-purpose star Tim Diamond, the Lancers were unstoppable throughout the regular season.
Their biggest test came in the North 1, Group 2 section final against Lenape Valley that took two overtimes to complete. Diamond booted the game-winning field goal to lift the Lancers to an undefeated 12-0 season and a state title. A far cry from when Lakeland went winless in 2000.
Honorable
Mention:
St. Joe's
(Mont.) Football
Westwood Football
Kearny Soccer
Queen of Peace Football
Harrison Soccer
Bergen Catholic Football
Ramapo Soccer
Wayne Hills Football
Don Bosco Prep Soccer
Girls'
Team of the Season:
Pascack Hills' Tennis
It is rare when a small school shows it can play with the usual state powerhouses on the tennis court. But there is an exception to every rule and this year is was Pascack Hills that threw a monkey wrench into the state tournament.
The Cowgirls went through the NBIL undefeated for the second consecutive season, including two victories over both Northern Highlands and Pascack Valley, two teams that went on to win section titles. They ripped through the Bergen County Groups 1-2 tournament before setting off on an impressive state tournament run.
After edging out Bernards, 3-2, to win the Group 1 state title, the Cowgirls sent even more shockwaves throughout the New Jersey tennis community in their next two matches during the Tournament of Champions.
Facing Cherry Hill East, the defending T of C champion, the Cowgirls faced a 2-1 deficit before getting a pair of clutch performances. Third singles player Annie Feldman pulled out a win and the match went down a third-set tiebreak at second doubles. Danielle Hirschberg and Marla Feldman took over, winning seven of the nine points to clinch the upset.
The season ended in a loss to eventual champion, Montclair Kimberly Academy, but not without a convincing victory at first doubles by Alyssa Jaffe and Jen Winikoff over the state's top ranked doubles team at the time.
Runners-Up:
North Arlington Volleyball, IHA Volleyball, Northern Highlands Soccer
(Writer's
Note: I wrestled with this one all week, but I genuinely could not choose
between the three as to which should make it over another. So here it is,
like it or not.)
 |
| North Arlington won the Group 1 state volleyball title. |
North Arlington Volleyball
After three years of tasting bitter defeat following a successful regular season, the senior-dominated team was on a mission for a state title. They refused to be denied and the hard work paid off in the end. Karolina Kowalski and Pam Campanaro provided the big 1-2 punch for the Vikings, but fellow seniors, Danielle Romero, Christine Melillo, and Jessica Treanor all came up with crucial plays during their state tournament run.
For a
Group 1 school with a lack of size in terms of height and enrollment, this
was a team that could pass and hit with the best in the state. North Arlington
proved that throughout the season and especially during the Group 1 state
tournament. Kawolski was nearly unstoppable as the Vikings downed Bogota to
earn North Arlington's first-ever state title in volleyball. With the win,
the NA made it to the Tournament of Champions where it fought hard before
losing in a three-game battle with Livingston, the state's No.2 ranked team.
 |
| Kate Smith helped IHA make a run in both the Bergen County and state sectional tournaments. |
IHA Volleyball
With Bergen County stacked with talent as usual, Immaculate Heart Academy did not figure to be a major player in either the county or the state tournament this season. While they won neither crown, the Eagles made North Jersey and the rest of the state take notice that they were a force to be reckoned with.
With the dynamic duo of Audrey O'Donnell and Kate Smith hitting away, there was not much opposing defenses could do when either one or both got on a roll. The Blue Eagles pulled off a slew of upsets throughout the Bergen County and the Group 4 state tournaments.
O'Donnell
was consistent throughout in leading the team to an upset over top-seeded
Northern Valley/Old Tappan to receive the school's first-ever Bergen County
semfinal berth. In the state tournament, IHA, the No. 6 seed, topped third-seeded
Ridgewood and second-seeded Southern Regional before falling to eventual Tournament
of Champions winner Bridgewater-Raritan in two close games.
 |
| Christina Gomez helped Northern Highlands to its second Bergen County title in the last three years. |
Northern Highlands Soccer
The Northern Highlands' soccer team was about as dominant and consistent as a team could be up until its final game. The Highlanders ripped through the Bergen County tournament the same way they ripped through the NBIL, without a loss. Led by standouts Christina Gomez, Danielle Schulmann, Momoko Aoe, and keeper Jen Byer, the Highlanders won their first 22 games.
Their season came to a crashing halt with a shocking 2-1 loss to Ramapo, a team they had beaten twice during the regular season and in the Bergen County final, in the North 1, Group 3 title game. But only that could take away from a season in which they outscored opponents by a whopping total of 104 goals to eight.
Honorable
Mention:
Ramapo
Soccer
Wayne Hills Field Hockey
Glen Rock Soccer
Northern Highlands Tennis
Ramsey Soccer
DePaul Catholic Volleyball
Pascack Valley Tennis
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