With the River Dell wrestling team sporting a 13-1 record, it's not surprising that one Golden Hawk has his own amazing record. Junior Nick Baranello (182 pounds) has pinned himself to a 23-1 record. “Wrestling at River Dell has been great, being on a competitive team each year along with good coaches and workout partners is awesome,” said Baranello. Dominating on the mat this season along with his teammates, Baranello and the Hawks have their goals for the rest of the season in mind. “The team goals for our team stay the same each year, we are always looking to be league champs and go into …
Michael Ramirez is a senior wing player on the Bergen Catholic hockey team and he would not have wanted to accomplish his goals anywhere else. The Paramus-native has learned many things as a Crusader and finds it difficult to grasp that this will be his final year there. “My time as a crusader has been unreal to say the least,” said Ramirez. “I’ve met some of the most helpful and most inspirational people here at Bergen. Now that my senior year is almost halfway done I don’t know what it’s going to be like not being able to wake up every day and go to Bergen and play sports for the school.” …
From running on the pitch with the soccer team to competing on the track during the winter and spring, Jamie Woods has overcome injury to become a star junior hurdler on the River Dell track team. “The season is going well so far,” said Woods. “Our coaches are training and preparing the team and myself for upcoming events.” Goals are good for any team or any athlete to have and Woods has already thought about what she wants to accomplish this season. “The main goal for the team and I in our winter season is to come out and win leagues. My main goal is to win the 55 hurdles in leagues.” It …
Jack Lippin, a junior at Bergen Catholic has now changed his gears from the football season to the winter track season. Lippin’s specialty is the shot put and 25-pound weight throw, which he participates in during out of state meets. Big things could be ahead for the shot put standout and he has major goals for both his team and himself during this season and when the season comes to an end. “My team goals are for us to get better every week and for many of us to qualify for many big meets and grow as a team. My personal goals are to have personal best throws every meet and by the end of the …
Senior Chris Fasano has a very important job maintaining the flow and pace of the game for the River Dell basketball team, and he does his job well. His responsibilities depend on the circumstance of the game and the directions given from the head coach. “It depends on what Coach Van Saders wants to do, in certain situations he likes to push the ball up the court and in others we want to run through offense and get a good look,” said Fasano. “My job is to maintain offense and pace. It’s an in game decision type thing.” The team looks good so far as they try to compete for the league and …
Luke Cervino has overcome a lot during his basketball career and he is ready to make his senior season a memorable one. Cervino can play both point guard and shooting guard for the Bergen Catholic Crusdaders who are looking to accomplish big things this season. “We look great and are starting to gel,” said Cervino. “It takes some time getting everybody on the same page with a few of us coming off of football, especially for me playing point guard.” Toughness is Cervino’s trademark and that is proven by the fact that he has overcome heart surgery his freshman year, along with a torn MCL and …
Ryan Callahan is coming off a great football season at River Dell where he earned 1st team all league honors. He is now donning his #39 jersey for the hockey team and expectations are high. The team has started off with a rough schedule but Callahan warns that they are not a team to be taken lightly as he has team goals and personal goals in mind for this season. “I’m looking to play an all-around solid game; hitting, passing, scoring, blocking shots and making good plays for all 45 minutes,” Callahan said. “As a team, I’m looking for everyone to improve every single day, and for everyone’s …
Hayley Degnan and her River Dell teammates are looking to return back to the state championship this season. Degnan, a senior has basically swam in every race imaginable during her career at River Dell and will surely miss her time swimming there. “I have mixed feelings about this being my senior season,” Degnan said. “On the one hand, we have a really strong team this season and I think that we are going to do extremely well. On the other hand, I am absolutely dreading the end of this season. We all have become so close that I can’t imagine not being a part of the team anymore.” The team has…
Stefan Schuster can be found running often as the talented River Dell athlete runs cross country, winter, and spring track. The junior standout participated in both the Bergen County Meet of Champions and State Sectionals this past season and many memories were made. “The team this year was the best I’ve been on during my running career,” Schuster said. “Our highlight of the season was our third place finish at the Bergen county group race. Almost everyone on the team ran a personal best time that day and we were all extremely happy to medal.” Schuster’s personal favorite race is the 3200m …
There is still exciting football to be played for the Bergen Catholic Crusaders as they prepare for their their State Championship game against Don Bosco following the first ever Thanksgiving Day game against Paramus Catholic. Senior cornerback and slot receiver Chucky Wingate is ready to take the field and continue his successful senior season. Proud to be a Crusader, he has enjoyed every second of playing and wearing red and gold. “I believe it has been a blessing to play with a tremendous group of individuals in my final season as a Bergen Catholic Crusader,” Wingate said. Wingate’s mental…
The River Dell Hawks have won the division title and took part in the semifinal game of the state playoffs against rival Ramsey. Lenny Smith, a senior center and linebacker has played a big role in the team’s success and he wouldn’t trade in his time playing at River Dell for anything. “Playing at River Dell over the years has been a great experience,” Smith said. “The coaching staff throughout my four years of playing here has been great; they never stop working on trying to improve each players skill set. Playing with all my friends here has probably been the best thing about it. We all …
Lindsey Clark was asked to make a big adjustment this season, and she has done so in stride. The River Dell junior has been playing libero for the first time this season for the volleyball team and has thrived in her new position. She understands what the position entails and she has had a successful run of it thus far. “My responsibility of a libero is to serve receive, dig, and pass,” Clark said. “My job is to cover as much of the back court as possible, especially the corners.” The strongest part of Clark’s game has to be her serve receive and ability to pass a good ball to her server off …
Noreen Byrne has made a statement already in her freshman year for the River Dell soccer team. Byrne plays both midfielder and outside forward and has learned a lot already about the game and her teammates both on and off the field. “All the girls have welcomed me very warmly, and have opened my eyes to a lot about the game that I never saw before,” said Byrne. “They've even taught me important lessons off the field, like respect and teamwork and coach [Steve] Grenz is, to put it frankly, a great coach. He has our backs, and is always there for us, which I've found to be very important when …
Senior year has come for Alex Derner, and so has a lot of success kicking for the River Dell football team. The Golden Hawks have had an exceptional season on the field and Derner has been a big part of the success. This season, Derner has made a 32 yard field goal and scored approximately 40 extra points for the Golden Hawks. Surprisingly, Derner did not expect to have such a successful first year kicking but he worked extremely hard during the offseason with kicking coach Pat Sempier and it has certainly paid off. Derner and his teammates have goals in mind for the rest of the season. “The …
The Lady Hawks Volleyball team (13-2) has had an incredible run thus far this season with everyone contributing and with the postseason looming. Sophomore Kalette deMarrais has been a major part of what has been going on this season in the setter position. deMarrais has been averaging 20 assists a game for River Dell, which is an incredible statistic. She has been on a tear as of late with 240 assists for the season to date, but she is certainly not taking all the credit for the stats all for herself. “It always feels great to contribute to the team, but a high number of assists just means …
Craig Marulis has been playing soccer for most of his life, which explains how passionate he is for the game. After starting the season at the forward position, Marulis, a senior is now a stopper due to a team injury. Injuries have been a big part of this season for the team but Marulis and his teammates have been playing well despite the adversity. “Looking ahead as a team, I first want everyone to also get healthy," said Marulis. "We have a couple of guys hurt, so getting them back on the field would be really important going forward. This team has come a long way, and I hope that we …
The lights were bright and the cameras were on at Granatell Stadium in Ramsey, on Friday September 30th. John Tsimis certainly did not disappear under the lights as he had himself an amazing game against #1 Don Bosco. Tsimis scored two touchdowns, with one of them being a highlight play where he jumped above defender Yuri Wright for the catch. Despite the loss, Tsimis and the Crusaders came out of the game with positive feelings. “It was a great game and it was a great atmosphere that night," said Tsimis. "We came up just short but we played really good.” Tsimis is in his junior year and is a…
The River Dell field hockey team has had its ups and downs so far this season but the team has been working through a tough beginning of the year schedule. This past week the team defeated Westwood 2-1 and tied with Ramsey 1-1 as the team worked extremely hard in both games. Senior goalkeeper Erin Smith has kept her head up and has been doing a great job at goal. Smith’s save percentage is at an extremely impressive 80%. She has already had some highlight moments this season, with one special one in particular occurring before the season even started. “I attended Goal Keeping clinics with …
The Bergen Catholic Crusaders cross country team is on the rise and junior Mike Whalen has been a huge contributor. Whalen won both dual meets that he participated in last week against DePaul (17:58) and Paramus Catholic (18:12). He also finished in 11th place in the junior race at the Magee Class Invitational in Elizabeth, with a time of 17:40. Personal bests were also set at the Warinanco Park and Garret Mountain Courses for Whalen, but he and the team have other goals in mind as well. “I have set a couple goals for myself," said Whalen. “The first is to break 17 minutes at Darlington and …
Erick Alonso is a sophomore forward for the Bergen Catholic Crusaders and his stat line has been quite impressive. On September 9th, Alonso scored two goals and recorded an assist against Passaic. He then followed that game up with a two goal and two assist performance on the 10th against Iona Prep. Next up came Alonso showcasing his physicality against Don Bosco Prep. Alonso has been a big spark for the Crusaders and he feels good about what awaits the team for the rest of the season. “This season we have some high expectations to have a big year," said Alonso. "Our main goal is to play …
