Montclair High School girls swimming, harriers, track, field pair highlight 21-22
'22 athletes. (COURTESY MHS ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT)
MONTCLAIR - The Montclair girls swimming team, girls cross country and a pair of girls track athletes highlighted the 2021-22 school year.
The Mounties girls swimmers not only took home the North 1 Group A state sectional title in defeating Ridgewood, but also the Essex County Tournament title.
For Montclair girls cross country they were at the top of the heap in Essex County as they won the county championship by getting ahead of the likes of rival Montclair Kimberley and Millburn.
And on the girls track team, senior Kiya Lawson took home the 200-meter State Meet of Champions title as well as coming second in the 100 meter race at the SMOC. At the same meet senior Elizabeth Fitzgerald finished second in the pole vault.
Baseball
It was another big season on the diamond for Montclair baseball if you look at the record.
The Mounties finished with an 18-8 record, but the tournaments were a different story.
Montclair seemed to hit the top pitcher at the wrong time.
The Mounties would defeat three out of the four games against the two teams, Seton Hall Prep and Bloomfield, that reached the Greater Newark Tournament finals in which the Pirates won the title. Montclair had split the season series with Seton Hall Prep.
But for the GNT it was an unfortunate one and out as the second-seeded Mounties fell 2-1 on May to 17th-seeded Barringer as the Bears ran out their top pitcher.
And unfortunately the same scenario happened in the North 1 Group 4 state playoffs and by the same score, 2-1. This time Montclair was the top seed and lost to 16th-seeded Hackensack.
For Montclair they were at their best midway through the season where they had a streak of seven victories in a row and won 11 out of 12 from April 11 to May 5.
In terms of honors, the Montclair trio of senior Nick Levine, junior Anthony Anzaldi and freshman Benjamin St. Pierre, led the way and collected All SEC American first team honors. Senior catcher Ethan Daddabbo headed the local contingent on the American second team along with senior Melvin Matias. In addition, senior Jackson Somerstein and senior Alex Veldran were placed on the American honorable mention list.
Basketball, Boys
The Mounties hoops team had a season that seemed to never catch traction.
Montclair had a month off because of the COVID-19 issues and never really got going and in turn finished with a 6-16 mark.
The Mounties did win their final home on Senior Night in defeating neighborhood rival, Montclair Kimberley, 71-60, on Feb. 22.
Both seniors were named to the All Super Essex Conference Liberty Division. Collin Gibson was joined by teammate, senior Shahaad Sutton on the Liberty honorable mention list.
Basketball, Girls
It was a season that really never seemed to get going for the Montclair girls basketball team.
Because of the COVID-19 outbreak last winter, the Mounties never hit the floor for a game until late January, a month after the official season started and finished with a 5-9 record.
But Montclair ended the season on a high note after not qualifying for the states, the Mounties won their last two games that they hope springs eternal for this winter.
Freshman Savannah Seawall showed prospects for the future after collecting All SEC Colonial second team honors. And senior Ayanna Brantley was placed on the All Colonial honorable mention. And Brantley will not go far for his next part of life as she will play hoops down the street at Montclair State University.
Bowling
The Montclair girls and boys bowling teams might have been bridesmaids in the Super Essex Conference, but it was just another step for the progress of the programs.
Both programs made great strides as the girls ended the 21-22 season with a 9-6 match mark while the boys collected a 9-3 record.
Individually it was boys sophomore Tai Burns who took the North Jersey 1B state sectional high series at 704 on Jan. 10.
On the boys side Burns and senior Sam Philo rolled All SEC first team honors. A pair of juniors, Hudson Zinn and Walker, was pegged for the All SEC second team.
And on the girls side junior Hazel Aiello was pegged for the All SEC first team. Junior Abigail Price and senior Alyssa Phillips collected All SEC second team honors.
Cross Country, Boys
The Montclair boys came in third in the team standings at the Essex County Championships back in October at Brookdale Park.
The Mounties were only behind the winner, Seton Hall Prep and Millburn in the team point totals.
For the Montclair harriers, junior Markus Corredor and senior Charles Ehlis led the Mounties with a fifth and seventh place finish in the county race. Junior Nicholas Maurizi added 15th place finish in the race.
In addition Montclair was tied for second in the team standings in the North 1 Group 4 state section with Ridgewood, only behind Clifton.
In terms of the All SEC American top honors, Corredor, Ehlis and sophomore Sean Overton were pegged for the first team. Maurizi and freshman Troy Dibble were part of the American second team.
Cross County, Girls
Despite a young cross country team, the Montclair harriers would bring home the Essex County team title at Brookdale Park in October.
The Mounties brought home a score of 50, outrunning both rival Montclair Kimberley (92) and Millburn (103) for the county championship.
The Mounties had four runners in the top 12, all sophomores in Avery McAdams (3rd), Maya Kim (4th), Madeline Duncan (7th) and Annabelle Svenson(12th). All four were named to the All SEC American first team.
In the North 1 Group 4 state meet, Montclair came in second in the team standings, but was far behind powerhouse Ridgewood who placed six runners in the top 10 in the race. Mounties McAdams and Kim finished sixth and eighth in the section.
Fencing
Both the Montclair girls and boys fencing teams had plenty to show for it in the 2021-22 season.
The boys fencing team finished with a 9-6 mark and won a match in the state tournament before falling to Newark Academy.
The girls team finished with a 5-5 mark. The girls saber team won first in the state districts. The team comprised freshman Sela Feig, sophomore Addie Goodspeed-Moses, freshman Gabriela Kaplan and junior Olivia Law. In addition freshman Nile Brunson (epee), Feig (saber) and freshman Gabriela Kaplan (epee) qualified for the state individual finals.
The boys foil unit also reached the state finals that included senior Alex Brown, sophomore Charles Moroze and Caleb Blim. Also qualifying was the boys saber team of sophomore Lucas Gilson, sophomore Mitchell O'Keefe and senior Sam Zichelli to the state finals.
Individually, boy fencers Brown (foil), Moroze (foil) and O'Keefe (saber) qualified for the state tournament.
Field hockey
Like a few other Montclair 2022 teams, the field hockey team was another one of almosts in winning hardware.
The Mounties again were taken down by their rival in Essex County by falling 6-0 to West Essex in the Essex County Tournament title game.
And then Montclair lost a 4-3 heartbreaker in the North Group 4 semi-finals to Phillipsburg.
Three of the top seniors on the '22 Mounties will be playing field hockey on the next level, Grace Fitzgerald, Sydney Kovel and Rebecca Murphy are heading to Franklin and Marshall College (Lancaster, PA), Vassar College (Dutchess County, NY) and Clark University (Worcester, MA).respectively. Fitzgerald was named to the All SEC American first team while Kovel garnered All American second team nod.
In addition Natalie Snyder and Phoebe Campbell were added to the All American first team while Julia Magaldi and senior Leigh Naturale picked up All American second team honors. Megan Previdi was placed on the All American honorable mention list.
Football
It was a year of transition in more ways than one.
Pete Ramiccio was the acting head coach in place of John Fiore who was taking a sabbatical for the season.
The result was a 5-5 season for the Mounties.
Two of the losses were by 10 points or fewer and Montclair won two out of the final three games.
For this fall though it will be a new head coach as Jermain Johnson moves over from Belleville to Montclair.
Despite the mixed results, the Mounties were possibly an overtime win away from making it to the North 1 Group 5 state sectional finals.
Montclair dropped a tough 20-14 overtime decision at Passaic Tech in the state sectional quarterfinals. Passaic Tech would go on to reach the North 1 Group 5 finals before falling to East Orange.
The defense was the strength of the 2021 season led by senior linebacker Jordan Williams and junior defensive back Semaj Adams collecting All North Jersey Super Football Conference Freedom Red first team honors. In addition, junior kicker Gage Hammond joined them on the division first team.
The defense was also bolstered by senior defensive lineman Elijah Halley and senior linebacker Max Haley-Coley who were placed on the Freedom Red second team.
The top offensive players for the 2021 Mounties were junior wide receiver Isaiah Holm and senior offensive lineman Wyatt Tobin, both placed on the Freedom Red second team. In addition, senior Yabsria Yemane was named to the Freedom Red special teams second team.
Golf
The Montclair duffers had an up and down season that finished with an 8-7 mark but it was in the top division of the Super Essex Conference in the American.
Montclair finished fifth at the Essex Conference Tournament.
The golf team had a great start of the 2022 spring season going 4-1 including defeating Millburn, Livingston and Seton Hall Prep.
Leading the way this past season was sophomore Felix Hoerrner and senior Jebbie Bauer, who grabbed an All SEC American second team and honorable mention nod respectively. Hoernner finished in the top nine individually in the county tournament.
Gymnastics
The Montclair gymnastics squad might not have taken home a title, but the Mounties were not far behind.
Going into the North Jersey Gymnastics League Division A Tournament, Montclair was confident after defeating Ridgewood in a dual match two weeks prior.
But the Mounties chips did not fall in the Division A tournament. Ridgewood would take it with 101.7 points and Montclair was fourth in the team standings but less than .8 score with 100.375.
In addition Montclair finished fourth in the Section 1 state playoffs
Individually, senior co-captain Elizabeth Fitzgerald came in fifth overall at the Section 1 state playoffs.
The senior qualified for the all around at the state individual championships last November NJSIAA Individual Championships at Brick Memorial. She finished 24th in the state overall. Fitzgerald was 32nd in the vault. She was 18th in the parallel bars, 33rd in the beam and 23rd in the floor.
In addition junior Bianca La Fazia and freshman Sarah de La Rosa, both qualified for the state individual tournament.
Ice Hockey
You can call it a transition season for the Montclair ice hockey team as the head coaching baton was transferred from Mark Janifer to Connor Smith.
In Smith's first season it was growing pains as the Mounties comprised a 4-16-1 record.
But it was against a tough schedule with seven of the 16 defeats coming at the hands of squads that had won ice hockey cups and reached state finals.
For the 2021-22 season, a senior duo led the way for the Mounties on the ice in Miles Roy and Michael Gibbons who were named to the All New Jersey Interscholastic Ice Hockey League (NJIIHL) McInnis Division honorable mention list.
Lacrosse, Boys
The Montclair boys lacrosse's record might not be impressive, 8-11, but they had one of the toughest schedules in the state.
And what was an example of the Mounties potential was what turned out to be the final game of the season. Montclair lost 11-8 at Bridgewater-Raritan, who would eventually win the Group 4 title and reached the Tournament of Champions semi-finals.
Leading the way for the 2022 Montclair squad were three players who were named to the All State Group 4 team in senior Konrad Miklaszewski, senior Charlie Schmitt and junior Luca Ward. Miklaszewski was also named the All Super Essex Conference American defenseman of the year. He garnered All NJILL Fitch-Pitt first team nod.
In Schmitt he was a brick wall in goal against a tough schedule and collected both an All SEC American second team and All Fitch-Pitt honorable mention. Also junior Ian Muchineuta was pegged for the All SEC American first team.
Senior Solomon Brennan racked up the honors with All American and All Fitch-Pitt second team honors along with all- state honorable mention. And sophomore Drew Pfeifer collected All American and All Fitch-Pitt second team honors while also being placed on the all-state honorable mention.
But from the group this season, the four seniors will be playing in college or a post graduate school in hopes for a top college.
From this 2022 squad all four seniors will see work next season with the sticks. Miklaszewski takes his excellence on defense to the Ivy League and Yale University while both Brennan and Seamus Podwoski head to Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH) and Arcadia University (Glenside, PA) respectively on the next level. The Mounties top goalie, Charlie Schmitt, heads to central New Jersey and Peddie School, a postgraduate institution, to play lacrosse.
Lacrosse, Girls
The Mounties girls lacrosse basically ran out of time in their biggest moment for the 2022 season.
Montclair rallied in the Essex County Tournament final in the second half down by four goals to cut it to one, 8-7, with eight minutes remaining in the match at West Essex.
The Mounties kept coming with several opportunities, but could not finish off to get the equalizer.
Montclair would drop the ECT title game, 8-7.
While the Mounties finished with a 9-9 record, they had one of the toughest schedules in North Jersey.
Leading the way this season was the pair of senior Sabrina Martin and sophomore Lizzy Giordano who was named to the All Super Essex Conference American first team. Martin will be playing lacrosse at Temple University next spring.
And the senior pair of Lauren Morganlander and Leigh Naturale garnered All American second team. Both will be playing the sport on the next level, Morganlander at Williams College (Williamstown MA) and Naturale at Ithaca College (Ithaca, NY).
And another senior, Liza Jonasz, was placed on the All American honorable mention and will play at Colorado College in the spring of 2023.
Rowing
The Montclair High School rowing team collected several medals at the Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) National Championships, New Jersey State Championships, Stotesbury Cup Regatta and Philadelphia City Championships during their 2022 season.
In addition several senior rowers will be competing on the next level in college: Seray Decaires, Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, NY), Samara Haynes, Tufts University (Middlesex County, MA), Zoe Larkey and Aidan Brown, George Washington University (Washington, DC), Sam Welsh, Dartmouth College, (Hanover, NH), Lucas Young, MIT, (Cambridge, MA), Emma Demefack, Princeton University, George Harb, Syracuse University, Nate Loewy, UCLA, Gus Moore-Manakas, University California-Berkeley, Maya Padberg and Jonah Scher, University of Massachusetts (Amherst) and Tripp Pitera, University California-Santa Barbara.
Soccer, Boys
The Montclair boys soccer team might not have brought home a state title, but it was a season of almosts.
The Mounties ended their season by losing to the team that would win the Group 4 title, Kearny.
In addition Montclair lost to Seton Hall Prep, the eventual Essex County title winner, in the county semi-finals.
The top players for the Mounties who finished with a 13-3-2 mark were seniors, Patrick O'Toole and Kerem Bulut who were placed on the All SEC American first team. In addition seniors, Nick Levine and Marcos Gutierrez collected All American second team nods. Senior Nick Caldarella and junior Felippo Gaisie were on the American honorable mention list.
Two of his 2021 seniors O'Toole and Joaquin Mendez will be playing on the pitch in college at the University of Michigan and Oberlin College (Oberlin, Ohio) respectively.
Soccer, Girls
It was a season of almosts for the 2021 Montclair girls soccer team on the pitch.
The Mounties came this close to reaching the Essex County and state sectional finals. In total, the Mounties finished with a 12-4-5 record.
Montclair lost in a shootout to Livingston in the Essex County Tournament semi-finals in October.
And then in November the Mounties dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker at Ridgewood in the North 1 Group 4 state semi-final. Ridgewood would go on to win the state sectional title.
In terms of honors, senior Kiera Hessler was the lone Mounties member on the All SEC American first team. And senior Molly Brumbach and junior Caroline Anton were placed on the All American second team. Brumbach will be heading to Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT) for soccer in the fall. And junior Zoe Greengrass and junior Hazel Aiello were part of the All American honorable mention list.
Softball
The Montclair softball squad finished one of the best records in program history in more than a decade.
The Mounties reached the 20-win mark with a 20-7 record that included winning the Super Essex Conference Liberty Division and also winning a state playoff game for the first time in eight seasons.
Montclair defeated neighborhood rival, West Orange, 11-1, in the North 1 Group 4 state opener before falling to Passaic Tech, 11-4, in the quarterfinals.
With the Liberty title Montclair had plenty of honors come their way. Sophomore Hannah Martin, freshman Brooklyn Awad, junior Alana Flynn and senior Brianna Leech were named to the All Liberty first team. Sophomore Maya Gerdes and senior Remi Antinoro were pegged for the Liberty second team while freshman Savannah Seawell and sophomore Olivia Carr were placed on the All Liberty honorable mention list.
Two of the 2022 seniors were expected to play on the next level, Antinoro heading to the University of Vermont and Leech going west to the University of Chicago.
Swimming, Boys
The Montclair boys swimmers had basically a 50-50 season with a 4-4 mark, but they came in third in the Essex County Championships in January.
The balanced Mounties collected 155 points, only behind the team winner, Seton Hall Prep, and Newark Academy.
While it was basically a young team, it was a senior, Leo Powers, who led Montclair and was named to the All Super Essex Conference second team in the 200 individual medley. In addition, junior Ian Habjan was pegged for the All SEC honorable mention list.
Swimming, Girls
It was a big season for the Montclair girls swimming team as they brought home both the Essex County Championship team title and the North 1 Group A title.
The Mounties girls team swam over the competition in January in the county meet scoring 308 points, almost 100 points better than the second place team, Newark Academy.
And then in February, Montclair had an easy time in taking the North 1 Group A championship, 124-46 over Ridgewood. It was the first sectional championship for the girls program since 2015.
In terms of county honors, the Mounties dominated the Super Essex Conference first team. The 200 medley relay team of junior Ela Habjan, freshman Reagan Gilligan, sophomore Carly Frank and sophomore Lily Miklaszewski grabbed All SEC first team honors. Frank and Miklaszewski were tabbed for SEC first team honors in 200 individual medley and 50 freestyle.
The Gilligan freshman sisters, Kiera and Reagan, were part of the 200 freestyle relay team that also received All SEC first team honors. Junior Caitlyn Foung and freshman Avery Dollard were the other legs of the 200 relay. Caitlyn and her sister, senior Lily Foung were pegged for the All SEC first team in the 100 freestyle and 100 breastroke respectively. Habjan also was picked for the first team in the 100 backstroke.
And it was a clean sweep in the relays for the Mounties as Frank, Caitlyn Foung, Miklaszewski and Habjan took first team honors in the 400-meter relay.
Tennis, Boys
The Montclair boys tennis team added to their successful seasons after going 14-8 match record for the 2022 season.
While the Mounties did not bring home county and state titles, they were in the running by falling in the North 1 Group 4 state finals and reaching the Essex County Tournament semi-finals.
Montclair had some quality victories including Livingston, Millburn and Westfield. Montclair had three tennis players garner All Super Essex Conference first team honors in sophomore Tylan Ozkuzey, senior Sol Cornejo and senior Avery Bronner.
On the American second team there is a pair of seniors who were the main first doubles in Leon Wang and Nolan Ogden. Another doubles player, senior Jaden Ruderman also was pegged for the second team.
Another senior, Alex Rougebec along with Rainen Solomon, were named to the All American honorable mention list.
Tennis, Girls
It was a young, inexperienced squad for Montclair that still was able to get a .500 mark at 8-8-1.
What illustrated the inexperience was the final game of the season where the Mounties lost to Ridgewood, 5-0, in the first round of the North 1 Group 4 state sectional tournament.
At first singles it was anchored by junior Alana Flynn. And second singles was taken by sophomore Paloma Donado while another sophomore, Malaya Cornejo held down third singles.
The first doubles was the most experienced with a pair of seniors, Quinnie Parisi and Kathryn O'Keefe. The second doubles that faced Ridgewood will be back in junior Dylan Campanaro and sophomore Eliza Petricoff.
Track and Field, Boys
It was a young Montclair boys team this season who had several qualify for the Group 4 meet only to come up short for the State Meet of Champions.
But most of the Mounties are back for the 2023 spring season.
Montclair boys had some highlights at the Essex County Championships that were held at Woodman Field in Montclair.
Junior Richard Fortune took both the discus and shot put titles. Another couple of juniors want events, Ian Habjan and Alexander Kuzyk took county gold in the javelin and pole vault respectively. Sophomore Sean Overton came in third in the 1600-meters race.
In terms of qualifying for the Group 4 meet, the 400 and 1600 relay teams qualified. Both senior Reuven Frye and sophomore Daniel Nixon were part of both relay teams. The other two on the 400 relay were juniors Jonathan Stewart and Xavier Rao while another junior duo of Tristan L’Horset and Marcus Corredor were part of the 1600 relay. Also Overton reached the Group 4 meet in the 3200 meters.
Track and Field, Girls
The Montclair girls track and field team had some individual as well as team highlights.
Mounties senior Kiya Lawson reached the top of the hill in the 200 meters by winning the State Meet of Champions at Franklin High School on June 18. Lawson also finished second in the 100 meters at the SMOC.
In addition another Montclair senior, Elizabeth Fitzgerald came in second in the pole vault competition.
Both will be competing in track and field in college. Lawson heading to Howard University and Fitzgerald at Williams College (Williamstown MA).
On their own track the Mounties almost pulled off winning the Essex County Championships team title. Montclair finished with 74 points, only behind Livingston with 84.33.
Lawson again led the Mounties at the county championships. The senior took both the 100 and 200 meter titles while anchoring the 1600-meter relay that took gold. The senior grabbed second in the 400-meter run.
In addition Fitzgerald easily collected the county gold in the pole vault by almost three feet against the competition.
Sophomore Avery McAdams grabbed second in the 3200-meter race and third in the 800-meter race.
Volleyball, Boys
The Montclair boys volleyball might have not won an Essex County Tournament game or reached the state playoffs, but the Mounties can take solace in winning their last home game.
Montclair won four out of their last five games including winning a three-game match at home against Newark Tech on May 19.
Leading the way for the Mounties to their 9-8 record was senior Ty Hillman who collected an All SEC Liberty Division first team honor.
Experienced showed on the All Liberty second team with a pair of seniors in Matthew Abate and Matthew Sefjack. A mix of youth and experience was on the Liberty honorable mention list in senior Mark McGoey and freshman Logan Martinez.
Volleyball, Girls
With a relatively young team Montclair kept its head above water.
The Mounties finished with a 10-8 mark and were third in the SEC Liberty Division standings.
Despite the eight defeats, you can't say that Montclair did not go down fighting.
Of the eight defeats, seven went to a third game where Montclair could not pull it out. Four of the three-game defeats were to the teams ahead of them in the Liberty, Montclair Kimberley and Mount St. Dominic.
On the All SEC Liberty first team there was junior outside hitter Jaimee Keys and senior outside hitter Alexandra Reesch. Reesch will be playing volleyball on the next level at Allegheny College (Meadville PA).
The senior defensive specialist Paige Foley was placed on the All Liberty second team. And on the Liberty honorable mention list was junior middle blocker Catherine Carlson and sophomore setter Camila Herrera.
Wrestling
It was a very difficult 21-22 season for head coach Eugene Kline and the Montclair wrestling team.
When he started practices in late fall, the Mounties had a room full.
But COVID-19 and other factors dwindled the team down to a handful and could not fill an entire card for matches.
Despite all the missing personnel, the Mounties finished with a 6-9 mark and reached the North 1 Group 4 state tournament. While it was a 75-6 loss at Livingston, it was to give the seniors a final state dual match and for the younger wrestlers to experience the state playoffs.
Senior Ross Berkowitz reached the state individual regions while adding an All Super Essex Conference Colonial Division first team honors. Two other Montclair wrestlers garnered the Colonial first team nods in seniors, Noah Dnistrian and Al-Tamir Coco.
In addition junior Jesse (Ziggy) Pepper and junior Nelson Clermont were placed on the All Colonial second team.