Thursday,
June 19, 2014
By Richie 'Ballgame' Barton
Male Athlete of the Season:
Jabrill Peppers, Paramus Catholic Track
|
JABRILL PEPPERS |
Jabrill Peppers is well known in North Jersey, New Jersey and around the United States for his football exploits, but some people actually forget that he is also one of the best sprinters in the nation. To move that fast carrying 200 pounds of muscle is an ability that has amazed coaches, competitors and fans alike with the Michigan-bound senior attracting attention wherever he goes.
After winning both the 100 and the 200 at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions as a junior, Peppers set his sights on doing it again as a senior.
He just did that with blistering times in both events to outlast Ridgefield Park standout Chris Estrella, including a 21.03 in the 200, the fourth fastest time in state history to become just second athlete ever to win back-to-back 100 and 200 M of C titles.
Peppers will take his speed to the collegiate football field as he will play next season at the University of Michigan.
Runner-up:
Daniel Wright, Saddle River Day Tennis
|
DANIEL WRIGHT |
After surprising most in the New Jersey scholastic tennis community by reaching the semifinals of the NJSIAA state singles tournament as a junior, Daniel Wright came back this season with a renewed sense of confidence and a belief that he belonged among the state's elite players.
Wright did not overwhelm his opponents with punishing ground strokes or a big serve-and-volley game. He just kept hitting the ball back deep and to the corners to set up a point using his brain, more like a chess match than using his brawn in a prizefight. No matter who was on the other side of the net, Wright tailored his game to whatever he saw as a possible weakness and then attacked that area.
The Bucknell-bound senior ripped his way to a Bergen County Groups 1-2 first singles title and those points helped Saddle River Day win its first county title in any sport by besting rival Dwight-Englewood. While a Bergen County championship match against Group 3-4 champion (Fair Lawn's Freddie Zaretsky) never materialized as it was supposed to the day following the county finals, fate intervened as the two met in the NJSIAA Round of 16.
Wright won that match and another to advance to the semifinal round. He played his best set of tennis the entire year in the first set, but eventually dropped the next two in a 2-6. 6-4, 6-4 defeat to eventual state singles champ Michael Chen of Holmdel, which was Wright's only loss of the year. Even though he did not reach his ultimate goal of being a state champ, he'll still go down as one of the most consistent players to ever come out of Bergen County and the best to ever play for Saddle River Day.
Honorable Mention:
Isaiah Quiroz, St. Joseph's Regional Baseball
Chris Estrella, Ridgefield Park Track
Brandon Pilovsky, Hudson Catholic Baseball
Holden Rosen-Grupp, Northern Highlands Lacrosse
T.J Ward, St. Peter's Prep Baseball
AJ LoPresti, Indian Hills Baseball
Tyler Lee, St. Peter's Prep Volleyball
Shane Woelfel, Mahwah Baseball
Chris Blewitt, Bergen Catholic Lacrosse
Freddie Zaretsky, Fair Lawn Tennis
Joe Fisco, Emerson Baseball
Erick Alonso, Bergen Catholic Golf
Ryan Brown, Wayne Valley Volleyball
Nico Symington, Ridgewood Baseball
Female Athlete of the Season:
Devin Durando, Indian Hills Softball
|
DEVIN DURANDO |
From the outside, Devin Durando should have had no worries coming into her senior season. Having already won a Group 3 state championship last year and with a Division 1 scholarship to a program that made the NCAA Tournament this season (University of Albany), she could have hit the cruise control button for 2014. That was never going to happen as she strove to not just repeat her success, but to be perfect.
It did not always go as planned for the hard-throwing right-hander, but when a big out or a big hit was needed, Durando always found a way to make an impact on the game. Each one of the 34 games the Braves played ended the same way, with Indian Hills on the right side of the scoreboard, but it was in the big games when Durando got the key outs in the circle.
In the highly anticipated Bergen County final between IHA and Indian Hills, the No. 1 and 2 teams in the state and both undefeated going into the game, Durando got into some early trouble but also wiggled out of a pair of jams late in the game to give her team a chance to win, which they did on a walk-off homer.
Durando won all six state games in the circle for Indian Hills with her best performance coming against Northern Highlands as she tossed a four-hit shutout in the North 1, Group 3 final. She batted over .400 and was among the team leaders in RBIs, but it was in the circle where she made her mark. With her undefeated 32-0 season, she became the first pitcher ever to have two 30-win seasons in her career and only the third ever from Bergen County to win two state titles on her way to a 74-6 career record.
Runner-Up:
Steph Thomas, IHA Softball
|
STEPH THOMAS |
While this particular season ended in heartbreak for Thomas, it does not diminish one of the best scholastic softball careers ever by a player in New Jersey. In the circle, Thomas was her usual dominant self with an ERA well below 1.00 on her way to a record-setting season.
She broke the all-time record in New Jersey in both wins (113) and shutouts (69). Thomas was also quite a hitter for the Blue Eagles, batting .535 and earning All-American status.
Honorable Mention:
Angelina McGuire, IHA Softball
Maddie Levine, Indian Hills Softball
Corinne Myers, Westwood Track
Ashley LaGuardia, DePaul Softball
Nicole Parks, Ridgewood Softball
Katie Garbarino, Saddle Brook Softball
Josette Norris, Tenafly Track
Darby Kiernan, Ridgewood Lacrosse
Victoria Torp, West Milford Softball
Daniella McMahon, Saddle River Day Lacrosse
Gabby Slade, Immaculate Conception Softball
Cindy Ha, Demarest Golf
Daniella Ibarra, IHA Softball
Shelby Allen, Indian Hills Softball
Heather Ronchi, Paramus Catholic Softball
Annie Yost, Lakeland Lacrosse
Carly Lesko, New Milford Softball
Lorena Alvarez, Saddle Brook Softball
Nicole Kim, Bergen Tech Golf
Boys' Team of the Season:
St. Peter's Prep Volleyball
The Marauders have been among the state's elite for the past decade with this season being more of the same. They faced the best New Jersey had to offer and nearly came through all of it unscathed.
After cruising to another Hudson County title, they beat Livingston to win the North 2 section title and advance to the Tournament of Champions. In the semifinals against North 1 champ and state power Fair Lawn, they had to fight their way off the deck several times to keep their season alive. After dropping the first game, Prep was four points from extinction facing a 21-17 deficit in the second game before roaring back to force a third and deciding game.
With the score tied at 24, the two-plus hour match had come down to two points. After a net violation gave the Marauders match point, Alex Donaleski served up an ace to lift St. Peter's Prep into the NJSIAA state final. The match ended in a three-set loss to Southern Regional, but a state final berth and a 28-2 final record still gives the Marauders plenty to be proud of.
Runner-Up:
Bergen Catholic Lacrosse
The Crusaders were expected to have a good year as usual. But for them to be as dominant as they were came as a bit of a surprise to everyone except those wearing a Bergen Catholic uniform. Despite playing a loaded schedule, they often dominated the competition with a stout defense led by Kurt Holuba and Casey Heffernan along with a top-flight sniper in Chris Blewitt up top.
Along with winning a Bergen County title, the Crusaders gave eventual Tournament of Champions winner Delbarton everything they could handle in the Non-Public state final before eventually falling, 6-5, in overtime. It was their only loss of the year as Bergen Catholic set a school record for wins in a season with 19.
Honorable Mention:
St. Joseph's Regional Baseball
Ridgewood Lacrosse
Bergen Catholic Golf
Hudson Catholic Baseball
Northern Highlands Tennis
Ridgefield Baseball
Marist Baseball
St. Peter's Prep Baseball
Fair Lawn Volleyball
Don Bosco Baseball
Girls' Team of the Season:
Indian Hills Softball
|
THIS IS WHAT 34-0 LOOKS LIKE |
Out of the thousands of high school softball teams that have ever taken the field in New Jersey, none of them have ever played 34 games in a season and won every one.
That is until now.
Whether it was a pitcher's duel, a slugfest, a wild and wacky game, or just a masterpiece by both teams, the Braves always figured out a way to win against arguably the toughest schedule in the state.
With league, county, and state titles to its resume along with an undefeated record, Indian Hills will be at or near the top of the conversation of the best softball teams ever to come out of New Jersey.
Runner-Up:
IHA Softball
Led by Steph Thomas, Angelina McGuire, Daniella Ibarra, and Rachel Pollard (IHA's four Division 1-bound seniors) along with an influx of young players, the Blue Eagles walloped the opposition into submission time and time again.
Unfortunately for the Blue Eagles, their season ended with one-run losses in which they led going into the seventh inning in both the Bergen County final and the Non-Public A North final. But the collection of talent was among the best to ever take the field by a team from North Jersey and they finished with a 31-2 record.
Honorable Mention:
Immaculate Conception Softball
DePaul Softball
Ridgewood Softball
Northern Highlands Softball
Ridgewood Lacrosse
TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT
OF THIS STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com. |