Winter Season Summary 2021

Varsity Bowling:

Under 3rd year coach Aaron Goldstein, the Bowling Team made great strides toward becoming an elite program in the league narrowly finishing in 2nd place with a 73-9 cumulative record. Season highlights included beating first place Glen Rock handily in their first matchup and the 774 score against Hawthorne, which was the highest single game team score in the league all season! We also bowled our first ever girls match in school history vs Lakeland. Individual highlights included team captain Danny Buckle’s 247 vs Hawthorne, the highest single game in the league all season! The future of the team is incredibly bright with 4 strong returning varsity bowlers in Sebastiano Secades, Camden Vogel, Riley Gallagher and Josh Heerema. Tim Kim, David Zhang and Derrick Zheng will also push for varsity time next year after strong JV seasons. The team thanks volunteer coach Steve Heerema, the great support from parents and the strong leadership of Danny Buckles, all of whom helped make this a season to remember!

Boys Varsity Basketball:

The boys basketball team enjoyed competing together against quality conference and out-of-conference opponents in a truly unique and shortened 2021 season. An overall strong group of seniors were led by Will Critchfield and Isaac Reitz, both 2nd team all league selections, and Richard Jones who received Honorable Mention. Highlights included the two wins over rival HCA which featured an epic defensive battle in the season finale. The team bids farewell to coach Ben Fuller as he moves back to PA and is thankful for the leadership, wisdom and spirit he brought to the program!

Boys JV Basketball

First year coach and program alum Jon Veenstra enjoyed coaching a young and talented group of hoops enthusiasts through a competitive season. Their level of play improved significantly in the course of the shortened two month season. Several players including sophomores David Kim, Noah Chae and freshman Lucas Genuario earned varsity minutes with their performance and will play an important role in the future of the program.

Girls Varsity Basketball:

Coach Barry Veenstra and the team were pleased to have been very competitive in 11 of their 13 games this season finishing at 6-7, including two close ones in the rematches with Hawthorne and Pompton Lakes and three wins in the final week. The season highlight was the come from behind win vs Saddle Brook, outsourcing them 20-6 in the 4th quarter.

Senior sharpshooter Nicole Foster led the scoring with 13 ppg while Junior Gabby Angelucci and Sophomore Katherine Marshall led the rebounding with 8+ per game. With many talented and eager to learn underclassmen returning, the future of the program looks very promising!

Girls JV Basketball:

What this group lacked in quantity of players was more than made up for with coachability and enthusiasm. If not for a (lucky 🙂 buzzer beating shot in overtime, the team would have finished above .500. Not only did the girls fight each JV game, but several gave valuable minutes on the varsity level as well. With so much uncertainty around this winter season, these girls remained committed and united in their effort, making it what coach Stadtlander called “a most rewarding season to have coached!”

Girls’ Middle School Basketball:

Led by a strong 8th grade class including leading scorer Kirsten Braunius and point guard/ floor leader Kendra Heerema, the girls’ middle school basketball team finished undefeated this season! Classmates Jordyn Blands-Pearson, Sadie Vander Pyl and Kayleigh Marshall provided strong rebounding and defensive presence. With 16 girls on the team this year, Coach Araneda is excited about the players returning next year led by 7th grade standout Hannah Leegwater. Soar EC!

Middle School Boys Basketball

The long awaited basketball season arrived as a breath of fresh air with the sounds of bouncing balls, squeaking shoes, and enthusiastic coaches filling the gym once again. Following disappointing early season losses to Butler, Bogota, and Lodi, coach Culp’s team turned the corner with wins against Hawthorne Christian Academy, Elmwood Park, and the rematch with Bogota, featuring a 19 point breakout game by Jack Meserole. Caleb Chae’s 25 point effort kept the Eagles within 3 against a strong Lodi team. Leadership and consistent competitive play was also provided by 8th graders Keith Osae-Twum, Kevin Osae-Twum, and Alex Culp. Despite being a Covid-shortened season,the boys made great progress with their individual skills and teamwork.