18 minute read
Sport Shorts
sportshorts By Jared Lowy
The Varsity Football program, led by Head Coach Brian Bowers, had a season of ups and downs while taking on many of the state’s top football programs. While the team finished 5-6, players competed hard on every single play, pitted against perennial powerhouses like Bergen Catholic, Don Bosco and DePaul Catholic. The Green Wave opened the season 2-0 with big wins over Pope John 49-14 and St. Anthony’s (Huntington, NY) 21-0. In a big Super Football Conference matchup, the Green Wave took on the state’s top program in Bergen Catholic. After falling behind early, Delbarton surged back to cut the lead to 1. The Crusaders ultimately were too much to handle late in the game, and Delbarton dropped to 2-1 with a 28-19 loss. The Green Wave rebounded nicely against Paramus Catholic, before losing a close 14-7 game under the lights to DePaul Catholic. This would start a threegame losing streak, including losses to Don Bosco Prep on Homecoming Day and a home loss to Seton Hall Prep. Delbarton would not give up, nor give in, defeating Clifton 34-27 helping clinch a home state playoff game. For the first time since 2017, Delbarton won a state playoff game, defeating Camden Catholic 42-14 and setting up a
Football matchup with #2 seed St. Augustine. The football season concluded the next week as Delbarton was upended by St. Augustine 28-13. The Green Wave was led by quarterback Robert Russo ’23 who threw for 1810 yards and 16 touchdowns. Senior running back Aidan Papantonis ’22 was one of the state’s most productive backs this year, rushing for 935 yards and 9 rushing touchdowns. In the air, Delbarton had a 1-2 punch of Dylan Hakes ’22 and David Link ’22. Hakes finished with five touchdowns and 415 yards receiving, while Link had three touchdowns and 462 yards receiving. The Green Wave defense was once again one of the strongest in New Jersey, led by captain Chuck Nnaeto ’22 and Patrick Caughey ’22. Nnaeto had 28 total tackles, including two quarterback sacks. Stanfordcommit Caughey finished with 53 total tackles and four sacks. Junior Matt Gemma ’23 had five QB sacks as well, while defensive backs Austin Quandt ’24 and Jack Eisenhardt ’23 each had interceptions, playing extremely well on the defensive side of the field all season long. There was a great deal of young talent within the 2021 season football program and we look forward to seeing these boys return to the gridiron in fall 2022.
FA L L I N G U P
The Green Wave Cross
Country Team, coached by Chuck Johnson, had an outstanding season, finishing 5-1 in the NJAC and a Meet of Champions qualifying runner.
The team was led this season by the competitive success of junior Collin
Boler ’23. Collin, along with his twin brother Brian
Boler ’23,
helped lead the team all season long, while the JV and freshman also had strong showings. At the Roxbury Invitational, the Boler brothers took second and third in the ‘Fastest 4’ race, followed by Collin winning his first race of the season on September 14 against West Morris. The team defeated West Morris, Randolph, Morris Hills, Mendham and Morristown. Collin Boler truly hit his stride towards the end of the season, winning an NJAC Championship, Morris County Championship and a NJCTC Championship. At the NJSIAA Group Championships, Collin took home third overall, advancing to the Meet of Champions on November 20, where he placed 87th overall, running the race despite suffering from an ill-timed stomach bug on the morning of the meet. The team finished in third place at the NJCTC Championships, and the JV squad earned first place honors at the New Balance Shore Coaches Invitational.
CrossCountry
Soccer
FA L L I N G U P
The 2021 season was a triumphant return to the soccer pitch for the Green Wave Varsity Soccer team led by veteran Head Coach Dr. David Donovan. The boys had a full schedule for the first time since 2019 and played well all season long. The team finished with a 17-3-1 record, winning the NJAC American conference, earning a spot in the NJSIAA Non-Public A North Final and a final ranking of #13 in the state.
The Green Wave opened the season 4-0 before losing to St. Benedicts, one of the nation’s top teams, in the Delbarton Soccer Invitational. With a 5-2 record, the Green Wave entered the Morris County Tournament, looking to punch its ticket to the finals for the 8th straight season. Delbarton defeated Hanover Park, Morris Hills and Roxbury, before losing a close match to Randolph 1-1, dropping the final in penalty kicks. Growing back yet again, the Green Wave went on a determined five-game winning streak including Non-Public A North tournament games against St. Joseph Montvale, Montville and Don Bosco Prep. The season would end after a very hard played game against Seton Hall Prep, losing in the Sectional Final 1-0 to the eventual Non-Public champions. Leading the Green Wave offensively this season was Ryan Donovan ’22, team co-captain and the Morris County Player of the Year. In his senior year, he scored 2 goals in the MCT Quarterfinals, 1 goal and 1 assist in the MCT Semifinals, 1 goal in the MCT Finals, and the game-winner to clinch the NJAC conference title. Co-captain Aidan Grant ’22 led the team with 12 goals this season and 7 assists, while Andrew Tremante ’22 chipped in with 3 goals and 5 assists. Before missing the remainder of his season due to injury, Nate Zimmermann ’23 played a big role on offense, chipping in with 5 goals and 3 assists. Juniors Kevin Cull ’23 and Luca Tusche ’23 played solid defense all season long and Parker Smith ’23 was a force in goal for the Green Wave, making 34 saves while posting numerous shutouts throughout the season
Hockey
W I N T E R WAV E
Green Wave Hockey, coached by Bruce Shatel, had a resurgent season, finishing 19-6-2 and a trip to the Non-Public final at the Prudential Center.
The team quickly reached the top of the NJ.com rankings thanks to a 5-11 start, including wins over Bergen Catholic, Gloucester Catholic and Seton Hall Prep. The Green Wave dropped just four regular season games, losing close contests to CBA, The Hill School and Don Bosco, and a road loss to powerhouse Brunswick School.
Delbarton earned the #2 seed in the Gordon Cup Playoffs, dropping a heartbreaking 2-1 semifinal to Don Bosco in a shootout. However, in typical Succisa Virescit fashion, the boys bounced back and came back with two straight wins to open the NJSIAA Tournament. Delbarton faced Don Bosco Prep in the NJSIAA Non-Public semifinal at Codey Arena, defeating the Ironmen 2-1 in an hard-fought win. After trailing early 1-0, Delbarton scored two quick goals, thanks to a game-tying goal by Jack Fidacaro ’23 on a rebound, followed 36-seconds later by the game-winning goal from Jack Olsen ’23. The story of the game would be the goaltending of First-Team, All-State goalie Jason Cai ’23. Cai made 28 saves, including a few game-saving stops in the third period to help Delbarton advance to the Rock for the state final.
The Green Wave season ended at the Prudential Center, dropping the state final 3-0 to #1-seed CBA. Delbarton was led by Cai in net who posted a .952 SV% and allowed only 21 goals on 478 shots. Junior Nick Faccone ’23 led the team in goals with 11, while Max Pendy ’24, Trip Pendy ’23 (with a team high 25 points) and Duncan Stewart ’23 each had 9 goals apiece. Captain James Royse ’22 was solid on both sides of the puck this year, scoring 7 goals and assisting on 7 as well, while sophomore Julian Brown ’24 and freshman Dante Rodriguez ’25 were anchors on defense. The team returns a powerful group of players next season, including Dan
D’Alessandro ’24, Fidacaro, Tim Galvin ’23, Jack Genovese ’24,
Olsen, and Jack Gerne ’25, along with the Pendy brothers, Cai and others. The future looks bright for Coach Shatel and the Green Wave Hockey program.
Basketball
Green Wave Basketball, coached by Dan Whalen, had a strong season on the hardwood, finishing 14-10, with an NJAC Division title and winning the School’s first Morris County Tournament since 2006. The boys played hard all season long, starting the season 4-2 including a homeopening win against West Morris. The team rattled off 4 wins at the end of January before starting the Morris County Tournament schedule. The Green Wave opened the Tournament with a 62-47 win over Montville, followed by a close 43-39 win over Mendham in the quarterfinal. The boys would drop close games to Randolph and Mendham leading up to a huge matchup with West Morris in the County semifinal. For the fourth time this season, Delbarton would face West Morris, coming away this time with a 49-41 upset that sent Delbarton back to the Morris County Final. On February 26, in a packed gym at County College of Morris in Randolph, the Green Wave battled for four quarters, pulling away at the end, defeating Pequannock 62-57 for its first County title since 2006. The team this season was led by its two captains, Skyler Venezia ’22 and Derek Lagios ’22. Venezia led the team in scoring with 341 points this year, including 66 from three and took home First Team, All County honors. He also led the way in rebounds with 96, while Lagios led the team in assists and steals. Julian Radossich ’23, Mike
Vaccaro ’23, Michael Van Raaphorst ’24
and Nick Modugno ’23 were big contributors all season. With a great core group of newcomers and returning players, Delbarton looks to repeat as division champions again in 2023.
Bowling
W I N T E R WAV E
Green Wave Bowling, coached by Kacy Kane, competed in one of the best seasons in recent history. The team finished 7-9, but their record did not reflect on how well the Delbarton bowlers competed this season, at times losing matches by a pin or two. During the State Sectionals at Lodi Lanes, the boys bowled their best three games of the season, throwing an 833, 860 and 927, earning second place in their group, and a berth in the bowling Tournament of Champions. Delbarton earned the TOC berth with a narrow win over Morris County School of Technology by just five pins thanks to Anthony Reale ’23’s final throw of the day. This is the first time the bowling team has ever reached the Tournament of Champions. Competing in the TOC against the state’s top programs, Delbarton emerged an impressive 8th overall. Reale and Robbie Maffucchi ’22 were consistent bowlers this season for the Green Wave. Freshman David Reale ’25 made a significant impact this season and the team returns juniors Gerard Buono ’23, Owen Emge ’23, Connor Toronto ’23 and Luke Towle ’24 next season.
Skiing
Green Weave Skiing, coached by Kevin Malkin, finished its 2022 regular season with a 30-3 record overall, with first place finishes in four of the 6 slalom races. The team also won its conference this season, earning its first conference championship since 2017.
Delbarton skiers finished the season with first place finishes in all three giant slalom races, with Louis Friedrich ’24 finishing in first place in races 1 and two. Evan Dolan ’22 had a great season for Delbarton, finishing third at the Giant Slalom 3 event.
The boys struggled a bit at the Giant Slalom State event, taking 7th overall. Friedrich took second, Ryan Johnson ’24 earned 12th. The team rebounded nicely, placing 4th out of 11 teams at the Slalom States event on February 16, with Friedrich, Dolan and Johnson all placing in the top 10. The ski season was capped off the Race of Champions, with Dolan, Johnson and Louis Friedrich all representing Delbarton in the final race of the season.
Wrestling
Green Wave Wrestling, coached by Bryan Stoll, entered the season with high expectations and one of the deepest rosters in team history, including two returning state champions. Delbarton wrestlers certainly lived up to the preseason hype, finishing the season 7-2, winning the Morris County Tournament, Districts and Regions, finishing the season ranked #2 in the state by NJ.com with three individual state champions. The Green Wave opened the season at the Best of the East, returning to the University of Delaware for the first time since December, 2019. Delbarton put on quite the show, finishing second overall, with Tyler Vazquez ’23 taking home first place at 132lbs, defeating #4 nationally ranked Anthony Santaniello.
The team won the East Coast Catholic Classic with 11 champions, and took first place in the Jack Welch Dual Tournament in Moorestown in late January. The only regular season loss was a close 34-27 defeat to powerhouse Blair, a contest that came down to the final match. Delbarton earned the #1 seed in the Non-Public NJ Team Tournament where it faced a familiar opponent in Bergen Catholic for the NPA North championship. In a rematch from 2019, both teams put on a show in front of a packed crowd in Abbot Clarke Gym. The match ended with a 23-23 tie, with a decision based on criteria. After going through criteria A through I with no decision, Bergen Catholic was finally declared the winner based on criteria J: BC had the greatest number of points for near-falls. The boys rebounded eight days later, winning District 9 followed by a dominating performance at Regionals where Delbarton produced six region champions, sending eleven wrestlers to the NJ State Tournament in Atlantic City. The season came to a historic conclusion in Atlantic City as three wrestlers won individual state titles. Tyler Vazquez ’23 capped off an undefeated season with his first state title at 132lbs, defeating Anthony Santaniello for the second time this season. Andrew Troczynski ’22 won his second state title in a row, winning as the #1 seed at 150lbs, finishing his Delbarton career as a threetime state medalist. Junior Simon Ruiz ’23 won his first state title at 157 lbs, capping off an impressive season by defeating Dakota Morris 5-1.
W I N T E R WAV E
The team remains strong going into next season, with
Chase Quenault ’25, Daniel Jones ’24, John Hager ’23, Cross Wasilewski ’23, Alessio Perentin ’25, Simon Ruiz ’23, Louis Cerchio ’24, Vincent Lee
’24 and others all returning for another run at a team state title. Congratulations to the team on an exciting and historic season on the mat.
INDOOR Track
Green Wave Indoor Track and Field, coached by Andrew Sherwood, competed in a full schedule for the first time since the 2019-20 season. Led by senior Jeff Cianfrocca ’22 and juniors Collin Boler ’23 and Brian Boler ’23, the team performed well all winter long, with Collin Boler breaking both school and personal records. In December, Cianfrocca won the high jump event at both the Gardiner Relays and Christa Racine Invitational. The Freshman and Sophomore team won both the relays and County championships and on January 8, The Varsity team won the 2022 Morris
County Relays followed by winning the
Morris County title on January 18.
Collin Boler ’23 was the big story of the season. At the NYC Armory on January 12,
Boler ran a 4:14.86 mile to win the mile race at the Millrose Games trials, automatically qualifying for the 114th Millrose Games, the first Delbarton runner to qualify for the race since Pat Schellberg’10 in 2010. At the Millrose Games, Boler set a new personal best and School record time for the indoor mile, finishing 4th with a time of 4:12.39, beating Schellberg’s Millrose Games-winning time from 2010. Boler went on to win the 800m at SJTCA and a Non-Public A Championship along with Cianfrocca. At the Meet of Champions, Cianfrocca took 7th in the high jump while Boler took 2nd in the 1600m event. Wrapping up the season, Cianfrocca won the high jump at Nike Nationals, while Boler finished 15th overall with a personal best 4.09.86 time in the New Balance Nationals Mile. Both Cianfrocca and Boler earned All-State honors at the season’s end.
Swimming
W I N T E R WAV E
Delbarton Swim team, coached by Pat Savidge, returned to a full schedule at the pool, finishing 8-3 with a historic regular season victory against St. Peter’s Prep. The Team opened the season 8-0, with wins over Morristown Beard, Hanover Park, Mendham, Morristown, Parsippany Hills, Madison and West Morris. On January 11, the boys picked up their biggest win in quite some time, defeating #6-ranked St. Peter’s Prep 89-81 in Jersey City. Rob Alexy ’23 took first in the 200 and 100-yard freestyle, while Mike Fialcowitz ’24 won the 500-yard freestyle event. Trailing 72-68 with two events to go, Delbarton swept 1-3 place in the 100yard breaststroke, led by Joe Narduzzi ’23 (1st place), helping Delbarton to a small, but much needed lead going into the final race. Needing a first-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay to clinch the victory, the team of Alex Ecko ’23, Vedran Gjivoje ’23, Fialcowitz, and Alexy pulled out 1st by one second to secure the historic victory for Delbarton!
Alexy proceeded to win the 200m freestyle at the NJSIAA Prep School Championships on February 1 and, on March 5, Alexy won the 100-yard freestyle at the Meet of Champions with a time of 45.63, the same event his brother Jack Alexy ’21 won in 2020. Alexy earned First-Team, AllState honors for the 100-yard freestyle to cap off a tremendous season in the pool.
Varsity Squash, coached by Craig Paris ’82, was back on the courts competing in a full schedule this year. The team finished with a 7-13 record, facing some of the top programs in the state. Delbarton players performed extremely well at Nationals, placing 5th in Division 5 at the High School Nationals in Philadelphia. Competing against teams from all over the country, the competition was full of exciting matches.
#1 senior Anand Majmudar ’22 led the team with fellow senior #4 Christian Carbeau ’22. Sophomores Charlie Hepp ’24 and Colin Pryma ’24 had outstanding play at the number two and three positions. Junior #6 Amir Eltaki ’23 played solidly all season and freshmen #5 Will Kramer ’25 and #7 Aiden D’Souza ’25 rounded out the top seven. Senior team support was provided by Nick Perry
’22, T.J. Hanlon ’22, Lex Banker ’22, Matt Failla
’22, Rayyan Ahmed ’22 and Jack Pryma ’22.
Squash
Nine Green Wave athletes signed NCAA National Letters of Intent this year to join collegiate Division I athletic programs next fall. Our Class of 2022 DI athletes are:
Aidan Grant - Bucknell University – Soccer Ryan Donovan - Holy Cross – Soccer Dylan Hakes - High Point - Lacross Jack Sharma - Boston University – Lacrosse Conor Dreyer - Boston College - Baseball Jeff Cianfrocca - Bucknell University – Track David Link - Villanova University - Lacrosse Patrick Caughey - Stanford University - Football Chuck Nnaeto - Elon University - Football The official signings on November 10 (Baseball, Lacrosse, Soccer and Track) and December 15 (Football) took place in Spada Commons and were witnessed by the athletes’ proud families and coaches.
Collin Boler ’23 Runs At 114th Millrose Games
On January 12, junior Collin Boler ’23 became only the second Delbarton athlete in School history to qualify for the Millrose Games. At the NYC Armory, Boler won the Millrose Games Trials by almost 4 seconds with an incredible 4:14.86 mile time. “Collin had an unbelievable race and I’m just so proud of him, ” said coach Collin Frost. “Every race this season for him has been better than his last. He continues to impress me every time he steps out on the track. I’m so happy for him and can’t wait to see what else he can do this season. ”
On Saturday, January 29, Boler took to the track at the NYC Armory for the New Balance Invitational High School Boys Mile race. Facing some of the country’s top runners, Boler set a new personal best and school record for indoor mile time. Boler finished 4th overall with an outstanding time of 4:12.39, setting a new Delbarton School record for the indoor mile, and breaking Pat Schellberg’s 2010 Millrose Games-winning time of 4:12.43.
