Tuesday,
June 17, 2014
By Richie 'Ballgame' Barton
Male Athlete of the Season:
Nolan Borgersen
Westwood Football
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NOLAN BORGERSEN |
Borgersen, a 6-foot-2 junior wide receiver, was expected to be an impact player on a Westwood team hoping to make some noise in the state. With a grueling off-season's worth of work with senior quarterback Craig Carmilani created a quarterback-receiver chemistry that was simply unmatched in all of New Jersey this past fall.
No matter what defense was designed to stop him and the powerful Westwood offense, Borgersen always figured it out and found a way to get his numbers. He caught 85 balls for 1,894 yards, both single-season records in the history of New Jersey high school football. He also had more than 100 receiving yards in 11 of the Cardinals' 12 games and scored at least two touchdowns in 7 of those 12 games on his way to 27 total touchdowns on the year.
Borgersen's last touchdown of the season was his biggest. Facing Waldwick/Midland Park in the North 1, Group 2 state sectional final, Borgersen set the tone right from his first touch of the game. He took a shovel pass, hit the hole, and then outraced the entire defense to the end zone for a 92-yard score that set the tone in leading Westwood to its first section title in six years with a 26-7 victory.
Runner-Up:
Modou Sowe
Harrison Soccer
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MOUDOU SOWE |
Sowe was a rock as an outside fullback for Harrison and finished his career with a stellar senior season. The 6-foot-4 senior was a matchup problem for every team Harrison faced not only because of his size and skill set, but also because because of his ability to make overlapping runs to start a counterattack or win a ball in the air on corner kicks.
After bursting on the scene his junior year as a scoring threat from the back, he became even more confident heading into his senior season with a desire to help Harrison return to its championship form. He not only was the anchor of a defense that allowed just nine goals in 24 games, but also found the back of the net 19 times to go with six assists in leading the Blue Tide to both a Hudson County and a state sectional title.
In Harrison's vaunted history as one of New Jersey's preeminent boys' soccer programs over the past four decades, Sowe became the first ever named a first-team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Honorable Mention:
Spencer Aukamp, St. Joseph's Regional Football
Orlando Neto, Cliffside Park Soccer
Jabrill Peppers, Paramus Catholic Football
Minkah Fitzpatrick, St. Peter's Prep Football
Kurt Holuba, Bergen Catholic Football
Alec Lam, Northern Highlands Soccer
Mark Fossati, St. Joseph's Regional Football
Rocco Giovinazzo, Old Tappan Football
Daivon Ellison, Don Bosco Football
Luis Mendoza, DePaul Soccer
Brandon Wimbush, St. Peter's Prep Football
Eric Lewis, Ridgewood Football
Jonathan Hilliman, St. Peter's Prep Football
Tommy Hatton, St. Joseph's Regional Football
Female Athlete(s) of the Season:
Nia Reed
IHA Volleyball &
Clare Shea
Northern Highlands Soccer
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NIA REED |
The only question concerning Immaculate Heart Academy standout Nia Reed coming into the 2013 season was, how could she possibly improve? Remarkably, the 6-foot-3 senior elevated her game to another level in finishing off her career as the most dominant hitter ever to play in New Jersey.
Double or triple-blocks were just mere speed bumps for Reed, who used her jaw-dropping leaping ability and timing to consistently hit over those blocks and power her way through anything in her path. She put down 510 kills and finished with 1,394 for her career in leading IHA to a state-record 46 wins and another Tournament of Champions title.
Reed will look to make a similar impact for the Penn State, the defending Division 1 national champion, . She will not only look to follow in the footsteps of former IHA star Ariel Scott (who led all players with 21 kills in last year's NCAA championship match) but also create her own legacy.
Shea represented everything that a team could ask for in a leader. She was poise, physically fit and a vocal leader, but most importantly, Shea is a player that gave it her all every time she stepped on the field. While her numbers were not eye-popping she shone brightest in the biggest of games. The senior did it throughout the season with a nagging back injury that would have kept most players on the sidelines, but with history on the line and a chance to write her own storybook ending, Shea was not going to let anything stand in her way of leaving her high school career just as she entered it, as a winner.
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CLARE SHEA |
Shea, the state's most dangerous scoring threat in the air, also showed she could score in other ways and saved her best for the state tournament. After a hat trick against Lakeland in the section quarterfinal round, she had a goal and an assist in a 5-0 win over River Dell to win the North 1, Group 3 title. She scored a beautiful goal that was the game-winner in the Group 3 semifinals against West Morris Central. As fate would have it, Shea scored on the final shot of her high school career.
Her penalty kick in the 50th minute was the icing on the cake that clinched Northern Highlands' third straight Group 3 state title and No. 1 ranking in New Jersey. For her efforts, the Army-bound Shea was named both the Gatorade New Jersey Player of the Year and was the first North Jersey player to be named National Player of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Honorable Mention:
Carly O' Sullivan, Bogota Volleyball
Hana Kerner, Northern Highlands Soccer
Valerie Shklover, Fair Lawn Tennis
Maria Bellinger, Paramus Volleyball
Caitlyn Floyd, IHA Volleyball
Josette Norris, Tenafly Cross-Country
Caroline Chagares, Ramapo Soccer
Lauren O'Keefe, Northern Highlands Field Hockey
Brooke Runge, Demarest Volleyball
Olivia Budinich, Old Tappan Volleyball
Camille Didio, IHA Soccer
Jessica Chakonis, Paramus Volleyball
Morgan Busacca, Northern Highlands Soccer
Christina Fabiano, Wayne Hills Field Hockey
Jackie St. John, IHA Soccer
Lisa Jouravleva, Ramapo Tennis
Boys' Team of the Season:
St. Joseph's Regional Football
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SJR's QUAI JEFFERSON |
The Green Knights ramped up their schedule in an effort to not only to repeat as Non-Public Group 3 state champs, but to also make a splash on the national stage. They did both of those right from the first half of their first game of the season when they scored touchdowns on six straight possessions against perennial national power DeMatha (MD) on their way to a 42-14 romp.
That was merely the beginning as the Green Knights were dominant in consecutive wins over a pair of state champions (Paramus Catholic and DePaul) and a state finalist (St. Peter's Prep). Although their quest for a perfect season ended with a Thanksgiving Day loss to Don Bosco Prep, They finished out the season in style with a 62-14 thrashing of Pope John (Sparta) to repeat as Non-Public Group 3 state champs and finish as the No. 1 ranked team in New Jersey for the second straight year.
Runner-Up:
Northern Highlands Soccer
Under head coach Sean Devore, the Highlanders have been a growing program that has pushed to be considered among North Jersey's elite teams. To be in that conversation, the Highlanders had not only play well against, but also beat some of those elite programs on the way to either a county or state title. This year Highlands took a major step forward with a rock solid defense, great goaltending, and clutch goal scoring from numerous players throughout the season.
After an early-season loss to Ramapo, the Highlanders were not beat again in regulation. Their only other loss came in Bergen County semifinals to Don Bosco Prep on penalty kicks. Behind junior keeper Alec Lam, the Highlanders allowed just five goals over their final 15 games, including none in the Group 3 state final against Allentown in which the two teams were declared Group 3 co-champions.
Honorable Mention:
Paramus Catholic Football
DePaul Football
Harrison Soccer
Pascack Valley Football
Pompton Lakes Football
Cliffside Park Soccer
St. Peter's Prep Football
Don Bosco Prep Football
Ridgewood Football
Don Bosco Prep Soccer
Girls' Team of the Season:
Northern Highlands Soccer
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NORTHERN HIGHLANDS GIRLS SOCCER |
Before the season even began, the buzz around the Bergen County soccer fields was whether Northern Highlands could surpass the vaunted record of 60 consecutive wins set by the great Ramapo teams of the late 90s. With that record looming over the Highlanders every time they stepped on the field, it could have easily consumed them and made them crumble under the intense pressure. However the truly great teams do not just deal with adversity, they thrive on it.
As fate would have it, they would have to go through archrival Ramapo to earn the record. The Highlanders did just that with a hard-fought 2-1 victory for their 61st straight win. Although that streak came to an end at 65 games when IHA tied them in the Bergen County final, it was only a hiccup in history.
Led by National Player of the Year Clare Shea along with lightning fast striker Hana Kerner and marking back Morgan Busacca, both all-state selections, along with the emergence of defender Sarah Kelly and goalie Kayla Klatt throughout the state tournament, Northern Highlands won its third straight Group 3 title and finished once again as the No. 1 team in New Jersey and No. 2 in the United States.
Runner-Up:
IHA Volleyball
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IHA'S SENIOR CLASS |
The aforementioned Nia Reed was simply dominant from the first match to the last, but it was not just her thriving in big matches. Sophomore setter Caitlyn Floyd proved herself to be New Jersey's best and most consistent setter. Larysa Iwaskiw and Emma Ray were the perfect complements to Reed at the net and Maeve Kenny was an underrated libero for the Blue Eagles.
IHA bulled its way past the opposition to Bergen County and Non-Public state titles before setting its sights on retaining the Tournament of Champions trophy. Although they did face some adversity during the T of C, the Blue Eagles always found a way to rise to the challenge.
After dropping its only game against New Jersey competition in the T of C semifinals against Bogota, IHA rallied for the win. Then trailing by five in the second game in the Tournament of Champions final against North Hunterdon, Kaitlyn Powell and Dana Scheffler came up with some big serves to right the ship as IHA kept its dynasty going with a sixth T of C title in the past 7 years. IHA finished the season with a New Jersey record 46 wins.
Honorable Mention:
Bogota Volleyball
IHA Soccer
Old Tappan Volleyball
Northern Highlands Field Hockey
Ramsey Soccer
New Milford Soccer
Ramapo Tennis
Demarest Volleyball
Northern Highlands Tennis
Paramus Volleyball
McNair Academic Tennis
Holy Angels Tennis
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