Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Male Athlete of the Year:
Bobby Kistner, Hasbrouck Heights

BOBBY KISTNER

Kistner used both his arm and his legs to quarterback Hasbrouck Heights to nine straight wins and a BCSL-National Division football title. Even in the Aviators’ lone defeat to Glen Rock in the North 1, Group 1 semifinals, Kistner brought them back from deficits three different times and led them on an 70-yard drive down to the Glen Rock 2-yard line before time ran out.

On the basketball court, the Aviators were not expected to have a good season. But with Kistner asserting himself as a defensive stopper and a solid three-point shooter, the Aviators were one of the biggest surprises in North Jersey. He hit 38 three-pointers and averaged nearly 10 points per game as Hasbrouck Heights made both the Bergen County Jamboree and the state tournament.

Kistner then took his talents to the baseball diamond where he set the tone both in the batting order and in the field as the team’s shortstop. He slugged three homers and led the Aviators in runs scored as they again advanced to the Bergen County Tournament and the North 1,
Group 1 state tournament.

Runner-Up:
Kai Dominguez, St. Joseph’s (Montvale)

KAI DOMINGUEZ

Dominguez led the Green Knights in receiving yards and touchdowns in football this past year. He caught touchdown passes in St. Joe’s first two state tournament wins, and followed in the section final against Immaculata with the biggest catch of his career. With the score tied early in the second half, he hauled in a 19-yard grab on a third-and-16 to keep the drive alive. St. Joe’s scored on the next play and cruised from there to the Non-Public Group 3 title with a 27-6 win.

Dominguez averaged double-digits in scoring on the basketball court and led the team in three-pointers. His best game came in the Bergen County Jamboree semifinals where he scored a game-high 19 points to lead St. Joe’s past top-seeded Pascack Hills.

He made his mark as well on the baseball diamond, mainly in a weekend he’ll never forget. Dominguez scored the game-winning run in the Non-Public A North semifinals against archrival Don Bosco, snapping its 55-game winning streak against New Jersey competition. Then in the Bergen County final, he threw out a runner at second from right field to end Ramapo’s only scoring threat. He did his job at the plate going 2-for-3 with a stolen base, a run scored, and an RBI as St. Joe’s won its first county title since 2005.

Honorable Mention:
Kevin Herget, Park Ridge
Michael Kuzurian, Memorial
Chris Carillo, Leonia
Jason Sofman, West Milford
Lou Baroody, Lyndhurst
Jose Matta, Union City
Ryan Durr, Wayne Valley
RJ Voorman, Ramapo
Travis DellaVolpe, Wayne Hills
Dan Deighan, Lakeland

Female Athlete of the Year:
Ana Drehwing, Ramapo

ANA DREHWING

Drehwing was an integral part in a state championship, a county championship and was also the leading scorer for the girls’ lacrosse team.

On the soccer field, the senior provided leadership to the midfield. Whether giving the Green Knights another scoring option or marking an opposing team’s offensive threat, Drehwing was a big part of Ramapo’s success. The Green Raiders finished the season as Group 3 state champs.

Drehwing was the glue on the hardwood for Ramapo. She played well throughout the Bergen County Tournament. In the semifinals, she held Pascack Valley standout Maggie Ely to a single basket and hit a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to help the Green Raiders pull away. In the final, her three-point play with less than two minutes to go helped Ramapo win its first-ever county crown.

Drehwing's best sport is lacrosse, where she became Ramapo’s all-time leading scorer this season. Drehwing finished in the top 10 in North Jersey in both goals and assists, leading Ramapo to the Bergen County semifinals and the Group 2 North Quarterfinals, where they lost to eventual champion West Essex.

Runner-Up:
Nolyn Birch, Park Ridge

NOLYN BIRCH

Birch was the centerpiece of three separate teams that made it to at least the North 1, Group 1 semifinals. The 5’8” senior was a presence in the middle for the Park Ridge soccer team defensively. She was most dangerous on set pieces, whether serving the ball into the box or using her height and athleticism to win a ball in the air.

On the basketball court, she was again in the middle of everything as the team’s center and leading rebounder. Behind her rugged play inside, the Lady Owls reached the North 1, Group 1 final.

Birch was equally as imposing on the softball diamond as a strong-armed catcher. The senior batted over .400 with four home runs and a team-high 33 RBI’s. She tripled in the sixth inning and scored the game-winning run in a North 1, Group 1 semifinal win over Cedar Grove.

Honorable Mention:
Brittany O’Keefe, Rutherford
Floriana Borova, Cresskill
Jessie Shevins, Tenafly
Kelsey Spoelstra, Eastern Christian
Kelsey Wimmerschoff, Park Ridge
Shannon Waters, Secaucus
Tracy Wright, Fair Lawn
Jessica Janosz, Lakeland
Stephanie Pasquale, Pompton Lakes
Laela Brock, Paramus
Jen Mateo, Union City
Andrea Innis, Secaucus
Holli Bastinck, Wayne Hills
Kristina Meyer, Paramus

Boys’ Team of the Year:
Teaneck Basketball

TEANECK HOOPS

Led by point guard Javae King-Gilchrist, the Highwaymen returned to the status of being one of 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:
Wayne Hills Football

WAYNE HILLS FOOTBALL

Without a standout star on either side of the ball returning, it was perceived that this might have been the year when an opponent would snap the Patriots' state-record of consecutive victories. However, the Wayne Hills players were not going to let that happen.

As usual it started with the vaunted offensive line led by Christian Avedissian. The line opened up holes that tailbacks Ronnie Driesse and Brian Dowling ran right on through. The respect for the running game allowed quarterback Mike Quinn ample enough time to find receivers Bryan Ogden and Justin Hourihan, often in the end zone for scores.

Ryan Daddurno and Mike Waller led the Patriots’ defense, which consistently smothered opponents into submission. Along with Paul Drake, Ryan Salerno, and Ogden, the defense was as balanced as the offense was. With one of North Jersey’s best kickers in Tim Divers, the Patriots clicked in all aspects and rarely had their streak threatened.

The biggest threat came in the North 1, Group 3 state sectional semifinals when Pascack Valley gave them everything they could handle before the Patriots pulled out a 17-10 win. That gave their North 1, Group 3 state final opponent, Lakeland, a glimmer of hope. But that was quickly dashed as the Wayne Hills saved its best for last. The Pats controlled the game from start to finish in a 35-6 victory, which marked their 52nd straight win and fifth sectional title in a row.

Honorable Mention:
Ramsey Hockey
Don Bosco Football
Park Ridge Baseball
Pascack Hills Tennis
Paterson Catholic Basketball
Harrison Soccer
St. Joe’s (Montvale) Football
Bayonne Volleyball
Ramapo Tennis
Clifton Soccer

Girls’ Team of the Year:
IHA Soccer

IHA GIRLS SOCCER

With a ton of talent returning to the pitch, IHA had its sights set on a special season. Although head coach Steve Silver stresses having fun and taking the season one game at a time, the players knew their season would be measured on whether it won county and state titles.

Villanova-bound Jaclyn Wood, a four-year starter, was as solid and consistent as any player in Bergen County this year. She prided herself on locking up the opposing team’s best player and did it better than anyone in the state to make the job of IHA keeper Kate Courter much easier.

Offensively, Erin McGovern developed into a quarterback of sorts for the IHA attack. With weapons like Tara Schwitter, Rachel Wechsler, Tara Wilk, and CJ Graetzer as her disclosure, McGovern was able to spread the field and control the game.
IHA allowed just one goal in the Bergen County Tournament and finished it off their third Bergen County title in four years by beating Ramapo on its home field, 2-0.

The memory of a blowout 3-0 loss to Gloucester Catholic in the 2007 Non-Public A state final was still in the back of the minds of the IHA players heading into this year’s state final. This time, there would be a different outcome. They scored early and often against Red Bank Catholic in cruising to the title with a 4-0 win.

They finished with season with a 23-1 record. The Blue Eagles’ only loss came in a hard-fought 1-0 defeat to Pennington, which finished the season ranked No. 1 in the country in national polls by both the NSCAA and ESPN.

Runner-Up (Tie):
IHA Softball and Paterson Catholic Basketball

IHA GIRLS SOCCER

If a team is going to win league, county, and state titles, everything needs to fall into place at the right time. No team exemplified that more than the Immaculate Heart Academy softball team.

From a clutch pitch or homerun from the aforementioned Miquel, to a game-winning hit by Juliette D’Ambrosio, to a great defensive plays from Taylor Cosentino, Kelsey Trujillo, and Alexis Durando, to a hook slide by Carly Piccinich, someone always stepped up and made the big play to keep the Blue Eagles’ championship dreams alive.

IHA’s tournament runs finished with one heart-pounding win after another for head coach Anthony Larezza. Miquel’s walkoff homer brought IHA a county title. They followed with one-run wins over DePaul and Mount St. Dominic, and finished off the season with an amazing 5-4, 11-inning win over Bishop Ahr in the Non-Public A state championship game.

It was the first time since 1996 that IHA won the triple crown of league, county, and state titles; and they finished as the New Jersey’s top-ranked team.

ESSENCE TOWNSEND

Paterson Catholic was 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 shot at repeating their success from this past year, it will be hard to top the way they dominated the opposition.

Honorable Mention:
IHA Volleyball
Pascack Regional Gymnastics
Northern Highlands Volleyball
Ramapo Soccer
IHA Swimming
Ridgewood Lacrosse
Saddle Brook Softball
Lakeland Soccer
Northern Valley/Old Tappan Volleyball
High Tech Softball