Wednesday,
June 24, 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 Athletes of the Year.
Male Athlete of the Year:
Corey Caddle
St. Peter's Prep
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Corey Caddle did it all on the gridiron and on the baseball diamond for St. Peter's Prep. |
Caddle is not just a two-sport star for St. Peter's Prep, but one whose leadership always seemed to life his entire team in big spots with championships on the line. The Fordham-bound, do-everything Caddle was the most versatile player on the gridiron for the state's
No. 1 ranked Marauders.
Down 6-0 to Paramus Catholic in the Non-Public Group 4 title game, Caddle caught a quick slant from Brandon Wimbush and did the rest. He broke a tackle on his way to the end zone for a 14-yard TD that gave Prep the lead for good en route to their first state title and No. 1 ranking since 2005. Caddle finished the season with nine TDs and led the team in passes defensed with 14.
On the baseball diamond, Caddle was also a threat to impact a big game in several different ways. As a speedster with power, he paced one of the state's best offensive lineups at the top of the Marauders' batting order.
He hit over .400 with a pair of homers and was only caught once in 19 stolen base attempts. It was on the mound where he won his biggest game, though. Facing one of New Jersey's best pitchers, Marist's AJ Candelario, in the Hudson County semifinals, Caddle tossed six shutout innings in a 2-0 win as Prep won every game this season against Hudson County competition, including a 2-1 win over Memorial to take home the 2015 Hudson County title.
Runner-Up:
Mike Pepper
Ramsey
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Ramsey's Mike Pepper was a standout in three sports as a senior. |
Pepper is an increasingly rare three-sport star, achieving both individual and team success in all three sports. The 6-foot-3 senior was a big target both on the pitch and on the hardwood. Coming up big when it counted was something Pepper seemed to thrive on throughout the season and even more so during the state tournament.
During the Rams' North 1, Group 2 section final showdown against Pequannock in soccer, he scored one of the more amazing goals in school history. He took a pass and flicked the ball over a defender to himself before volleying a shot off the crossbar and in two minutes into the second half for the only goal Ramsey needed in a 2-0 win. In a Group 2 state semifinal loss to Hackettstown he scored the lone goal for the Rams, his fifth of the state tournament, and he finished the season with 11 goals and 13 assists.
Pepper then moved his winning ways to the basketball court where he patrolled the paint for a surging Rams team. He scored four straight points to kick off a 13-0 run that was the crucial spurt in a 70-60 win over Rutherford for the Rams' first Bergen County Jamboree win since 2000 as the Rams won 14 of their first 15 games. He followed that up with a team-high 13 points in a loss to eventual Jambo finalist Teaneck.
Pepper averaged a double-double (12 points and 12 rebounds per game) to lead the Rams to the North 1, Group 2 section final and one of the best seasons in school history with a final 25-3 record.
He capped his senior year by being the leading long jumper and triple jumper for the Ramsey track team, which won a North 2 section title this season.
Honorable Mention:
Zach Chakonis, Don Bosco
Jovani Haskins, Bergenfield
Keith Woetzel, Ramapo
Ron Kruis, Midland Park
Joe Giles-Harris, St. Joseph's Regional
Nick Goodwin, Wayne Valley
Jeremy Zaukas, Waldwick
Matt Giacose, Ramapo
Matt Ferrara, Cresskill
Mike Cerilli, Ramsey
Girls' Athlete of the Year:
Julia McClure
Secaucus
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Secaucus' Julia McClure is a Division 1 hoops player, a Player of the Year in volleyball and a darn good shortstop. |
McClure makes it a Hudson County sweep of the Barton's Best Athlete of the Year awards by putting together quite an impressive senior year to cap her career as one of New Jersey's best ever Group 1 athletes.
McClure never even played organized volleyball before entering high school. Four years later, she was honored by the Star-Ledger as its Player of the Year and rightfully so after doing a little bit of everything for the Patriots. She was a threat to make something happen no matter where she was on the court. Her numbers were simply staggering with 511 kills, 266 digs, and 145 service points.
In the four matches that included the Hudson County semifinals and final along with the Group 1 state semifinals and finals, McClure was sensational. She averaged 18 kills and 12 digs per match in those four big wins before adding an 18-kill, 17-dig effort in a first-round Tournament of Champions sweep over Group 2 champ River Dell for the Patriots' school-record 33rd win of the year.
McClure's first love, though, has always been basketball. This season she was as well-rounded as any player in North Jersey, doing it all on both ends of the court. The 5-foot-8 McClure had the incredibly rare mix of being able to score in a variety of ways and also be a rock defensively with the ability to effectively guard all five positions.
The better the competition, the better McClure seemed to play. In a two-week stretch early in the season, McClure dominated. Against Non-Public A North finalist Paramus Catholic, she had 25 points, 15 rebounds, and six steals. She followed that up with another double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds) in a win over eventual Group 3 finalist Northern Valley/Old Tappan in the championship game of the Joe Poli Tournament. Then, on the road against Group 2 finalist Westwood, she dropped in 20 points to go with 10 rebounds in yet another win.
Her most impressive performance came in the Hudson County final against three-time defending champion Lincoln and double-double machine Kiante Johnson. McClure held Johnson to just six points, only the second time in her varsity career without scoring double-digits, as Secaucus won its first-ever Hudson County title with a 54-34 triumph as the Patriots set another school record with a final record of 27-1.
The last of McClure's 12 varsity letters came in softball where she was Hudson County's best power-speed combo, not to mention a solid glove at shortstop. Despite missing a few early games, she still led the team with nine HRs and 12 stolen bases.
McClure will continue her athletic career this coming fall as she accepted a scholarship to play basketball at Division 1 Wagner College.
If there is one knock against the Secaucus standout, it is that she --along with her compatriot Patriots Andie Lennon and Kendall Caruso -- has officially chickened out of a Barton's Challenge. The group has turned down an opportunity to have a three-point shootout against an aging sports writer and it is now officially a forfeit.
Runner-Up:
Dani McMahon
Saddle River Day
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Dani McMahon is a three-sports standout and is already committed to play lacrosse at Stanford. |
Following in the footsteps of her sister Izzy, the 2013-2014 Barton's Best Female Athlete of the Year, Dani McMahon is also a three-sport athlete who thrived both in basketball and lacrosse for Saddle River Day's emerging athletics program. She also plays soccer and, while the team is still going through growing pains, McMahon led the team in scoring.
On the hardwood she turned heads as one of Bergen County's most tenacious defenders. Her ball-hawking skills were on full display in the Bergen County quarterfinals. She constantly disrupted the offensive rhythm of Northern Highlands and led all players with five steals as Saddle River Day advanced to the Bergen County semifinals for the first time in school history with a 48-45 upset over the No. 2 seed and defending BCT champ.
Against Immaculate Conception in the county semis, the Lady Rebels looked dead in the water down 16 at halftime. McMahon fueled a charge to start the third quarter with three straight steals during a 12-1 run. Although SRD eventually fell short, McMahon showed no fear and led the team with 12 points and six steals.
Lacrosse has been McMahon's bread-and-butter ever since she first picked up a stick. Already committed to Stanford University, McMahon battled through constant double and triple teams to post another brilliant season.
McMahon was effective on the draw and not afraid to go coast-to-coast for a goal once securing possession. She finished the season with 89 goals and a career-high 55 assists to pace Saddle River Day, who made both Bergen County semifinals and the Group 1 quarterfinals for the first time in school history.
Honorable Mention:
Emily Crevani, Northern Valley/Old Tappan
Veronica Corcoran, Northern Valley/Demarest
Victoria Corcoran, Northern Valley/Demarest
Kendall Caruso, Secaucus
Jen Stoll, Lakeland
Alex Mesropyan, IHA
Karlie Brogan, Ramapo
Andie Lennon, Secaucus
Hannah Cermack, Ridgewood
Ashley Russo, Saddle Brook
Caroline Lovisolo, Northern Highlands
Kelly Douglass, Clifton
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