Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Male Athlete of the Season:
Matt Braun, Ramsey Hockey

Braun was rock solid in goal from the first game of the season until the last in leading Ramsey to its best season ever season as it became the first Bergen County public school to win a state championship.

The 6’ junior used his size and experience to his advantage by effectively cutting down angles for opposing shooters. Ramsey had steadily grown into a public school power in recent years, but came up short in the state tournament. This year, the Rams finally broke through thanks to a magnificent performance from Braun, who saved his best for last.

Braun saved all 40 shots he faced as Ramsey defeated Kinnelon, 2-0, in the Public B state final. Overall, he allowed just two goals in four state tournament games. Ramsey had the best season by any Bergen County team in over a decade, going 25-1-2. Braun had 14 shutouts and had a 1.07 goals-against-average on the season.

Runner-Up:
Frank Cagnina, Queen of Peace Wrestling
After losing in the semifinals and eventually taking third place in the state tournament at 112 pounds as a sophomore, Queen of Peace’s Frank Cagnina was devastated. More importantly, he was determined not to ever have that feeling again and trained that much harder.

After ripping through the BCCA tournament and the regular season, Cagnina set out to make a statement at the state tournament down in Atlantic City. The junior did just that by allowing just two points and cruising to the 125-pound title (he also won the 103-pound title as a freshman) with consecutive 7-1 victories in the semifinals and finals.

Cagnina will look to take his place among North Jersey's all-time great wrestlers next year when he can capture a third state title. He finished with an unblemished 44-0 mark this year and has a staggering 126-4 career record. Cagnina is also on pace to not just break, but shatter the New Jersey state record for career victories at 158.

Honorable Mention:
Dominic Cheek, St. Anthony’s (J.C.) Basketball
Emmanuel Ajagbe, Bogota Wrestling
Javae King-Gilchrist, Teaneck Basketball
Carlo DiPiazza, Bergen Catholic Hockey
Dave DellaTorre, River Dell Wrestling
Karon Abraham, Paterson Eastside Basketball
Adrian Bak, Ramapo Fencing
Joe Orecchio, Don Bosco Prep Wrestling
Justin Crosgile, DePaul Basketball
Greg Hoffman, Park Ridge Track
Myles Davis, St. Peter’s Prep Basketball
Fuquan Edwin, Paterson Catholic Basketball
Sean Buckley, St. Peter’s Prep Fencing

Female Athlete of the Season:
Sarah Halejian, Ramapo
To have the weight of team’s success resting squarely on one’s shoulders is enough pressure to deal with in itself. Although just a sophomore, that was the weight that Ramapo’s Sarah Halejian brought to the court every single day. Her goal was to find a way to make her team better each and every day.

Halejian, a 5'6” point guard, showed remarkable poise. She controlled the pace of the game and was comfortable playing both in the half-court and in an up-tempo game. As the season went on, Halejian became more assertive as Ramapo entered the Bergen County Tournament.

The Green Raiders advanced all the way to the county final where they trailed St. Mary’s (Rutherford) by four points. With hopes of a county title slipping away, Halejian remained cool under pressure. She scored 12 of her game-high 17 points, including nine straight during one stretch. With less than a minute to play in a tie game, she hit a pair of free-throws those proved to be the winning points in a 44-43 triumph in Ramapo’s first county title.

Halejian averaged over 18 points per game as Ramapo advanced to the North 1, Group 3 final and finished with a record of 27-3.

Runner-Up:
Tori Cervone, Northern Valley/Demarest Swimming
Cervone solidified herself as one of the best scholastic swimmers ever to come out of Bergen County with an unbeaten senior season. After winning a pair of Tournament of Champions titles as a sophomore, Cervone did not compete her junior year in hopes of qualifying for the Olympics. She fell short of of that goal, but returned for her senior season with a new passion for high school swimming and the hunger to repeat as a state champ.

At this year’s T of C, Cervone shined against stiff competition. She won the 200-meter individual medley with a meet-record 2.02.56 in a thrilling photo finish over Ohio State-bound Emily Crenan from Haddonfield. Then, she blew away the field and set another meet record in the 100-meter butterfly, beating the field by nearly a full second in a time of 55.49.

Cervone finished her career with eight NBIL titles, six Bergen County titles, and five individual school records. She will continue to compete next year at Clemson University.

Honorable Mention:
Starr Breedlove, Paterson Catholic Basketball
Jessica Russo, Wayne Valley Fencing
Bryeanne Ravettine, IHA Swimming
Tiffany Conner, Teaneck Basketball
Sonja Shirak, Clifton Bowling
Taylor Wootton, Rutherford Basketball
Lauren Rhein, IHA Bowling
Michelle Feldman, Pascack Hills Basketball
Jennifer Yamin, Northern Highlands Fencing
Lindsey Lopez, Immaculate Conception Basketball
Nicole Sisco, Fair Lawn Basketball

Boys’ Team of the Season:
Teaneck Basketball
Led by point guard Javae King-Gilchrist, the Highwaymen returned to the status of being one of the the elite teams in North Jersey in exciting fashion. With each thrilling win, the community rallied more and more around the Highwaymen and their legendary head coach Curtis March.

In the Bergen County Jamboree finals against St. Joe’s (Montvale), Jonathan Blue’s three-pointer midway through the fourth quarter to put Teaneck ahead in a game that went right down to the wire. Shomari Barber blocked a game-tying field goal attempt at the buzzer as Teaneck became the first public school to win the title since they did it back-to-back in 1998 and 1999.

As thrilling as that win was, it was only a prelude to more wild victories in the state tournament. First it was Owen Barnes’ layup at the buzzer in a one-point win over Northern Valley/Old Tappan. Then they survived an overtime battle with West Milford to win the North 1, Group 3 section title. For their next trick, the Highwaymen mounted a comeback in the Group 3 semis to beat Shabazz before eventually falling to Neptune in the Group 3 title game.

Runner-Up:
Ramsey Hockey
It is not often when a public school from North Jersey is talked about as being among the state’s best ice hockey teams. In fact, it is debatable whether any public school from the area had ever had a more successful season than Ramsey had.

From the brilliance of the aforementioned Matt Braun in net, to the scoring touch of Tyler Bishop and Jon Kirk, to the all-around play of senior captain Michael Gwon, the Rams clicked on all cylinders from day one with their only setback of the season coming against Public A champion Ridge.

After a loss in the Public B semifinals a year ago, the Rams were going to settle for nothing less than a state title. They outscored their opponents 14-2 and never trailed in any state tournament game in winning the school’s first state crown in hockey.

Honorable Mention:
Paterson Catholic Basketball
Pascack Hills Basketball
St. Peter’s Prep Basketball
Paterson Eastside Basketball
Bergen Catholic Wrestling
Northern Highlands Hockey
St. Anthony’s Basketball
Ramapo Fencing

Girls’ Team of the Season:
Paterson Catholic Basketball
The Lady Cougars were not the deepest team in North Jersey by a long shot. But when their starting five walked on the floor, they had a decided advantage over their opponents in size, athleticism, and talent.

The attention largely focused on 6'6" Maryland-bound center Essence Townsend. She averaged less than 10 points per game, but averaged nearly 15 rebounds and nine blocks per game to become a game-changer on the defensive end.

Townsend's presence in the paint allowed the quick guard tandem of Starr Breedlove and Briana Cook to take chances in the passing lanes to kickstart their fastbreak. Along with Leah Johnson and Shaquanna Marshall, there was no more imposing starting five in North Jersey.

After an early-season loss to Pascack Hills, the Cougars went on a tear that will likely never be matched in the way that they did it. They won 28 straight games, all of them by double-digits. Their closest games came in the Non-Public North B section final and Non-Public B state finals when they won each game by 13 points. They followed that up with a first-round Tournament of Champions upset over third-seeded Bloomfield Tech, 56-41, before losing to eventual T of C champ St. John Vianney in the semis.

They finished the season with a 29-2 mark and will return everyone but Townsend next season. While they will have a good shhot at repeating their success from this past year, it will be hard to top the way they dominated the opposition.

Runner-Up:
IHA Swimming
Three years away from being the top team in New Jersey after nine straight years as the best, IHA was determined to get back to the perch it felt was its own. As usual, they were dominant in winning their 19th straight NNJIL and 10th consecutive Bergen County crowns, but the Blue Eagles met their match in a regular-season contest against highly-regarded Westfield.

Lia Kunnapas used a late surge to finish second in the 400-meter freestyle in the last race to secure a narrow 87-83 win for IHA. With teammates Bryeanne Ravettine, Chloe Conjares, and Danielle Romain providing balance and depth to the lineup, the Blue Eagles made a statement in the state tournament.

They won each of their three state tournament matches by at least 50 points, including getting a measure of revenge. After a loss to Holy Spirit in the 2007 Non-Public A semifinals (the only time IHA did not reach a state final), they made up for it with an impressive 112-58 victory to end the season as New Jersey’s top-ranked team.

Honorable Mention:
Pascack Hills Basketball
Passaic County Tech Basketball
Ramapo Basketball
IHA Bowling
Teaneck Basketball
Pascack Valley Basketball
Holy Angels Fencing
New Milford Basketball
Northern Highlands Fencing
Ridgewood Bowling