Monday,
June 22, 2015
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
What is the No. 1 reason that North Jersey high school athletes work so hard at their respective sports? It's for the chance to be one of Barton's best, of course. North Jersey's most highly anticipated postseason awards spectacular continues with Barton's Best: Male & Female Teams of the Year.
Boys' Team of the Year:
Bergen Catholic Wrestling
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Nick Suriano is the best wrestler in the state wrestling on the best team in the state: Bergen Catholic, our
2014-15 Team of the Year. |
The Crusaders were on a mission here. While the ultimate goal was to finish as the No. 1 team in New Jersey, they quietly had other items on the agenda. They wanted to put as many wrestlers as possible atop the podium at the NJSIAA state championships and get a good gauge on the gap between themselves and every other team in the state.
After finishing the 2013-2014 season as the state's No. 1 ranked team, it was pretty obvious that the Crusaders were the carrot every other top team in New Jersey was chasing after. Despite all of that pressure every single match, Bergen Catholic ran roughshod over competitors both in and out of New Jersey.
To put it more simple terms, out of the other six state team champions the Crusaders faced four of them. They beat four by a combined score of 193-72 with the closest of those matches being a 49-26 win over Brick Memorial, which finished No. 2 in the state.
BC capped the season in dominant fashion both in the state team tournament and also at the NJSIAA individual state championships, beating three quality programs (Don Bosco Prep, St. Peter's Prep, and St. Augustine) by a whopping 137-38 margin for a fourth straight state title. Good things apparently come in 4's for BC as undefeated Nick Suriano, Joe Grello, Kevin Mulligan, and the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the state finals, Shane Griffith, all took home the gold to cap one of the best seasons ever by a New Jersey wrestling squad.
Runner-Up:
St. Peter's Prep Football
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St. Peter's Prep won the Non-Public Group 4 state title, the toughest bracket in the state and one of the toughest in the country. |
The Marauders have long been dominant within the borders of Hudson County. With a senior-dominated squad filled with size, speed, and experience the sky was the limit this past season
Led by all-state quarterback Brandon Wimbush, receivers Kolton Huber and KJ Gray, and fantastic two-way players in Minkah Fitzpatrick, Corey Caddle, and Dave Tolentino, the Marauders obviously had the talent, but it was their conditioning that proved to be there difference in the loaded Non-Public Group 4 state playoff field.
Locked in a tight game at halftime with Bergen Catholic in the Non-Public Group 4 state semifinals, the Marauders methodically pulled away by controlling the line of scrimmage and not allowing a single point on their way to rally from a 14-10 deficit at the half to a 31-14 win.
In the Non-Public Group 4 state final rematch with Paramus Catholic, it was more of the same with PC threatening to take the lead late in the first half. Then Huber pulled off maybe the most remarkable play of the year when a PC drive stalled. He took the attempted punt right off the foot of the Paladins' punter and went untouched to the end zone for a 14-6 lead.
PC cut the lead to two points but the Marauders never panicked. Once again, they wore down a tough opponent up front and allowed Wimbush to shine in his final high school game. He floated a TD pass to Fitzpatrick then had a scintillating 64-yard run that all but capped the program's first state title in nine years.
Honorable Mention:
Paterson Eastside Basketball
Harrison Soccer
Emerson Baseball
Westwood Football
Pascack Valley Football
Don Bosco Prep Baseball
Ridgewood Lacrosse
Bergen Catholic Golf
Fair Lawn Volleyball
Girls' Team of the Year:
IHA Soccer
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IHA's soccer team finished with an undefeated season and a No. 1 national ranking. |
Taking over the Immaculate Heart Academy girls' soccer program in 2012, Brandon Silva had a vision for this program to continue its ascent, a process started by Steve Silver. The Blue Eagles had designs on being the best in Bergen County as well as all of New Jersey. For that to happen, it was apparent that there was one team in particular that IHA had to go through: Northern Highlands.
Behind sweeper Lizzie Miller and goalie Taylor Lupi, both first team all-state selections, IHA opened the season with 10 consecutive shutouts. After allowing a goal against Passaic County champ Wayne Hills, the Eagles reeled off seven more shutouts heading into their Bergen County final showdown against Northern Highlands. Having tied in the previous year's final and with both teams coming in undefeated, it was widely considered the most highly anticipated game in the history of girls' soccer in New Jersey.
In an entertaining and physical match, the score was knotted at 1 before Alex Mesropyan scored a great goal with 6:26 to play that stood up as IHA cracked Northern Highlands' state-record 88-game unbeaten streak with a 2-1 triumph. As gratifying as that win was though, without an outright state title it would put a damper on an otherwise amazing season.
The Blue Eagles dominated both the Non-Public A North section final against Oak Knoll and the Non-Public A state final against Holy Cross, but had to fight through adversity in both to become champions.
Julianna Shrekgast finished a cross from Princeton commit and New Jersey's supreme playmaker Sophia Gulati with just over six minutes to play as the Blue Eagles survived a scare by overcoming a 1-0 second-half deficit for a 2-1 win over pesky Oak Knoll.
In the Non-Public A final, IHA did everything it possibly could through regulation and into both overtime periods but was unable to finish anything off. With time winding down, the Blue Eagles continued to push forward until finally breaking through. Freshman sensation Rebecca Jarrett was taken down in the box and Mesropyan delivered the game-winner on a penalty kick with 2:29 to go as IHA finished off the best season a team could have by going a perfect 22-0 record, winning both county and state titles, and finishing No. 1 among both statewide and national polls.
Runner-Up:
IHA Volleyball
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IHA's volleyball team won its sixth Tournament of Champions title, a state record. |
Some of the names and the faces were different, but the motto remained the same. One serve, one pass, one set, one swing at a time. That philosophy allowed this year's IHA team to focus on doing all the little things needed for a team to become a champion.
It started with a great setter and it is quite a luxury for the Blue Eagles to have the best one in the state, junior Caitlyn Floyd. Floyd, who was named the Gatorade New Jersey Player of the Year, ran the offense with precision to consistently put her teammates in positions to succeed. She finished the season with 956 assists and now has over 3,000 for her career with one more year still to play.
The main beneficiaries were Kristin Kirwan and Annabel Reyes, who each had over 300 kills. Throw in a defensive wizard, libero Maeve Kenny, and before they knew it, The Blue Eagles were in a familiar position: Standing on the mountaintop looking down at their competition both in Bergen County and in New Jersey.
They capped off the season with a three-set thriller in the Tournament of Champions final to win the program's record sixth T of C crown in the past seven years.
Honorable Mention:
Northern Highlands Soccer
Ridgewood Lacrosse
Northern Valley/Demarest Volleyball
IHA Basketball
Secaucus Volleyball
IHA Softball
Immaculate Conception Basketball
Secaucus Basketball
Ramsey Softball
Westwood Basketball
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