The first two weeks in June are a big deal on the spring high school sports calendar, and for good reason: Normally, it’s when state champions are made and crowned.
2020, however, has proven itself to be anything but normal – the thrilling experience of winning a district championship, of earning a PIAA tournament berth, of capturing a state title, denied to all this spring as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. When COVID-19 upended the school year, it cut short the dreams and high school careers of senior athletes, who were also denied the experience of Senior Night and playing with their teammates one final time.
Although such experiences were lost to the pandemic, the contributions of this year’s senior athletes – the determination, dedication and leadership they displayed both on and off the diamond, court, field and track – will not be forgotten.
The following are some of the area’s senior student-athletes who had planned on wearing their school’s colors this spring, along with reflections from their athletic directors on this historic season.
Central Bucks East
The Patriots’ spring season seniors:
Baseball: Cole Allen, Matthew Beatty, Nicholas Bitsko, David Bloom, Nicholas Carbonara, William Doheny, John Duffy, Erik Hiller, Luke Keller, Kyle Morrison, Jake Quillen, Blake Ravkin, Ethan Weiss, John Williamson, Tyler Young and Adam Zortea.
Boys volleyball: Chris Abraham, Visham Desai, Ethan Dobbins, Ryan Figus, Thomas Gallagher-Teske, Jacob LaBouliere, Connor Quinn, Steve Storm and Christian Wolf.
Boys tennis: Robert Bunting, Peter Kimball, Jacob Shawwa, Jack Shields, Brendan Skowronek and Brett Villari.
Girls lacrosse: Olivia Black, Quinn Ferry, Kiki Fink, Riley Forman, Kristina Furuseth, Sydney Ives, Camille Laprade, Sydney Schupp and Lindsey Thompson.
Boys lacrosse: Joshua Brown, Andre Burnetta, Ryan Gray, James Knepp, Matthew Melendez, Patrick Volko and Benjamin Yerkes.
Boys track and field: Nolan Case, Andrew Conte, Nick Correra, Matthew Curry, Jared Farrior, Kevin Fay, Michael Forcina, Connor Hansberry, Zachary Harrelson, Daniel Heinrichs, Sam Herbst, David Knipe, Jack McManus, Liam Meyers, Carter Moore, Jack O’Donnell, Jack Pierce, Christian Rivera, Gabriel Rosen and Aaron Wang.
Girls track and field: McKenna Brophy, Katerina Brumer, Kyra Cunningham, Morgan Dorsey, Katie Hagerich, Allison Hamilton, Andrea Hayes, Emily Kriner, Irene Macri (homeschooled), Sara Elizabeth McNeal, Jessica Merena, Makayla Romanus, Kaela Sherron, Elizabeth Shewbrooks, Christina Sims, Clea Troy, Olivia Unger, Ling Xu, Madeleine Yetter and Jillian Zelinsky.
Unified: Emma Donnelly, Ali Gallant, Loren Harper, Hanna Kerest, Abi Killough, James Edwin McDonald, Marissa Plack, Danny Romig, Clarissa Rubin, Anna Valko, Connor Loveless, Sarah Scarpill and Colin Reda.
“We are so proud of our CB East 2020 senior athletes and the accomplishments they have achieved,” said Athletic Director John Reading.
Council Rock South
The Golden Hawks’ spring season seniors:
Baseball: Brian Adams, Bennett Bobrin, Pat Gannon, Luke Gergory, Drew Lukomski-LaPolice, Eddie McClain, Emilio Pallante, Michael Rabayda, Zach Ramirez, Jon Schwartz, Brandon Sherwood and Dylan Wichterman.
Softball: Madison Cerruti, Emma Glosson, Alex Hopko, Maura Salamon, Marissa Thompson and Danielle Walters.
Boys volleyball: Dylan Baptiste, Joshua Berkowitz , Shevindu Fernando, Slava Hlushko, Adam Keylin, Alec Rovner, Jatin Singh, Gerry Tasker, Bram Topham, Ethan Wann and Dylan Weselovs.
Boys tennis: Mason Asadoorian, Chris LoSardo and Josh Lukach.
Girls lacrosse: Katelyn Cocco, Paige Goldberg, Kristen Lee, Carissa Longmore, Isabella Mendes, Lauren Mitchell and Claudia Steinmetz.
Boys lacrosse: Brandon Berghaier, Anthony Cuccinota, Kyle Gartenmayer, Sean Kolimaga, Aidan Lynn, Kevin Millevoi, Alex Patrizi, Tyler Perkins and Matt Reifer.
Boys track and field: Joe Branderbit, Jayden Browne, Aidan Crowder, Connor Dickel, Luis Engleton, John Franco, Alex Goldman, Shane Goldman, Logan Helder, Josh Levi, Jared Loeper, Mike Magee, Paul McDonnell, Mike Perry, Joe Ratmansky, Sid Sadel and Chris Sears.
Girls track and field: Caroline Adamsky, Lily DeSimone, Holly Ferrara, Brook Goldberg, Gianna Hollister , Marisa Kilgarriff, Madison Morris, Jessica Pizzullo, Isabella Walters and Nicole Wood.
“Obviously, I am saddened that our senior athletes did not have the opportunity to play or participate in their final season for Council Rock High School South,” said Athletic Director Scott Layer. “However, I am very proud of their accomplishments the past three years, but more importantly, I am most impressed with their character and how they represented our school community in such a positive way. Also, they learned probably one of the most important qualities that an individual can possess and that is resiliency. To be able to rebound from these unfortunate circumstances and continue toward their goals will help them with any obstacle they face in their lives.”
Palisades
The Pirates’ spring season seniors:
Baseball: Daulton Campbell, Tim Cassidy, Cooper Davis, Matthew Petrillo, Zachary Shoemaker and Zachary Wyllie.
Softball: Philippa Russell and Morgan Teman.
Boys tennis: Benjamin Doman, Tim Gehman, Tim Goggin, Sean Johnson, Stephen Reinard and Timothy Weingartner.
Boys track and field: Ashton Foster, Jacob Freeh, Teddy Koven, Ben Pentecost, Cole Smith, Matt Sovil, John Woehr and Gus Yocum.
Girls track and field: Alison Bordeaux, Callie Fair, Amy Farese and Ava Moser.
“Sadly, our spring sports seniors will never get to officially say goodbye. We were able to celebrate them, but only through a video, which just isn’t the same,” said Athletic Director Brian Gilbert. “I feel so bad for these senior athletes that might not be able to ever play the sport they love in an organized fashion again. A sport in which they spent so much time trying to master. It is not just the athletes themselves, I feel bad for the parents who supported their kids in every way possible since they began playing sports.
“I know as a parent of two athletes, you can’t replace the feeling of watching your son or daughter compete. In addition, the feeling as a parent to be able to walk out on the field with their child one last time on Senior Night, with all their teammates around them, can’t be replaced.
“Seniors, we thank you and know you will be missed!”
Pennridge
The Rams’ spring season seniors:
Baseball: Nicholas Christ, Sean Clayton, Paul Croyle, Raymond Knight, Sean Lerro, Ryan McAloon, Kyle Moran, Derek Morgan, Stephen Nace, Alexander Podraza and Nolan Snyder.
Softball: Wiss Chiappetta, Morgan Dewitt, Gianna Iadonisi, Ashlyn McClelland and Victoria Moscariello.
Boys volleyball: Andrew Bergey, Thomas Cassel, Christopher McKinney, Patrick Mehlbaum, Vincent Olindo, Brian Towsey and Zachary Vaneman.
Boys tennis: Carter Barley, Benjamin Bridgwater, Connor McOwen, Brandon Peralta, Jeffrey Ramos, Richard Rindone, Brian Towsey, Joshua Tripoli, Mitchell Wagner and Theodore Zielinski.
Girls lacrosse: Madison Banks, Shaylin Banks, Julia Biresch, Julianna Casey, Jillian Csaszar and Emily Ruddy.
Boys lacrosse: Cheyenne Batchelder, Jack Garner and Austin Swartley.
Boys track and field: Robert Brashear, Thomas DeYesso, Kevin Eble, Marshall Fowler, Jacob Kascsak, Josiah Landis, Liam McCool, Tyler Myers, Patrick Patton, Ethan Saville and John Wasserman.
Girls track and field: Kelly Carroll, Kayla Horn, Alexia Kirk, Meghan Kriney, Abby LaRiviere, Melissa Sicinski, Jocelyn Singer and Lauren Wilson.
Unified track: Kevin Cooper, Riley Fantozzi, Abigail Hulmes, Carley Mains, Angel McCoach and Gina Palatucci.
“This is a special and very talented group of senior athletes who prepared, trained and led by example in preparation for their senior season,” said Athletic Director David Babb. “I believe their best season is yet to come whether it be in collegiate athletics or in their next season of life, I know they will accomplish great things.”
Solebury School
The Spartans’ spring season seniors:
Baseball: Grayson Baker, Morgan Cowperthwaite, Jupiter Shi, Griffin Schenker and Henry Sharp.
Softball: Anisha Adya, Cate Cole and Nicole Cosner.
Boys tennis: Kevin Zhou.
Co-ed golf: Libby Li, Kyle Schlegel and Lily Shen.
Boys and girls track and field: Becca Bozzo, Ben Bunting, Massawa El, Erik Hallberg, Shizhen Liu, Troy McGregor, Amel Ouji, Arlene Ricks, Ethan Stein and David Zaketa.
“Although these young men and women didn’t get the opportunity to put on a Solebury uniform one last time this spring, they represented themselves and their teams with pride in previous years, earning varsity letters, setting personal bests, and winning end-of-season awards along the way,” said Athletic Director Robert Eichem. “They have left their collective mark not only on the athletic program but the school. I wish them nothing but the best as they graduate and begin to leave their mark on the rest of the world.”
South Hunterdon Regional
The Eagles’ spring season seniors:
Baseball: Chris Romano, Scott McCloughan and Robert Reed.
Softball: Emma Bacon, Brenna McCloughan and Alana Catanzareti.
Boys and girls track and field: Patrick Artur, Alex Bauer, Garrett Christopher, Jeff Fox, Cole Garvey, John Ludwig, Brandon Marano, Amos Marley, Tyler Ubel, Malcolm Wilson, Laura Adams, Rylee Bordwick, Olivia Romano, Avery Schaefer and Madison Voorhees.
“While our seniors may have lost an opportunity to play the sports they love this season, that does not change the relationships they have made with coaches, teammates and community members nor the legacy they will leave on their respective programs upon leaving South Hunterdon,” said Athletic Director Jason Miller.
