BC Swimming Breaks Three Records Enroute to County Title

In a race to the very end, Bergen Catholic surpassed Demarest by 12 points (212-200) for the Bergen County Meet of Champions team title and broke three county and one school records in the process.

Bergen's 200 Medley Relay team of Josh Sembrano, John Om, Sebastian Lopez and Liam Kelly (1:37.94), 400 free relay of Sembrano, Rob Farrell, Om, and Liam Kelly (3:14.04) set new County records while Sembrano finished the 100 backstroke in 51.06, shattering a school and county record in the process.

Sembrano also had an oustanding day in the pool claiming third in the 200 freestyle while Om nabbed the runner-up position in the 200 IM and 100 breast stroke. Ralph Cannarozzi (4th, 200 IM and 100 breast stroke) and Liam Kelly (2nd, 50 Freestyle; 3rd, 100 freestyle) also performed well.

The Crusaders returned to the regular season with a stagering 105-65 victory over Paramus Catholic by sweeping all three relay heats, the 50 freestyle, 100 fly, 100 freestyle, and 100 backstroke.

Swimming

River Dell had a tough time at the County Meet of Champions as the girls team tied rival Pascack Regional for 12th place while the boys finished in 16th.

The girls returned to the water and escaped with a 97-73 victory over Hackensack as the Lady Hawks swept the 200 IM (Gabi Denicola), 50 Free (Maddy Toohey), 500 Free( Rebecca Granfield), 200 free relay (Denicola, Emma Schodes, Maddy Toohey, Lienne Barrise), and 400 relay (Maddy Pizzuto, Granfield, Daniella damberano, Julia Lombardi).

The boys fell to the Comets 92-77 as Liam Oberlander anchored the 200 free relay (Steven Aledmir, Brandon O'Connor, Albert Sigueined) with a 1:48.87 first place finish. He also took the 50 Free (23:10) and 100 Fly (56:25).

Basketball

Both the Lady Hawks and Crusaders will compete in the opening County tournament rounds this week as the River Dell girls picked up the #11 seed and Bergen Catholic sneaked in at #15.

The Lady Hawks, who will face #22 Rutherford Saturday 5pm in Oradell, picked up low-scoring match-up victories over Westwood (38-30) and Pascack Hills (40-28).

Bergen Catholic needed a win over Wayne Hills to secure their opening round date with Elmwood Park (Sunday, 3pm at BC) and Gilberto Cue delivered chipping in 18 points for the 59-51 win. Previously the Crusaders dropped a 54-50 decision to Passaic Valley in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament.

River Dell's Dan Desierdero has been on fire this week banking 47 points in three games even though each of those games went against the Hawks, he has continued to lead the squad. River Dell fell to St. Mary of Rutherford (63-42), Westwood (56-49) and Pascack Hills (61-20).

Wrestling

Bergen Catholic has continued to outwrestle the competition and cementing the argument the Crusaders are one of the elite programs in the state and possibly the nation. The Crusaders, who have won 12 straight duals, downed Hackensack (69-6), Roxbury (54-12), High Point Regional 43-28) and St. Joseph Regional (38-17), recording 21 pins and nine major decisions.

River Dell has been equally just as much of a force to reckon with on the mat as the Hawks came out on top over Cliffside Park (52-12), Hasbrouck Heights (49-15), Lyndhurst (60-9), Ridgefield Park (53-24) and Pascack Hills (40-22) with 23 pins and three major decisions.

Bowling

During the Bergen County Boys Championship, River Dell placed 26th overall and then went on to shutout Ramsey (7-0) and defeat Pascack Hills (6-1). The girls split the matches this week, defeating the Cowgirls (5-2) and falling to the Rams (5-2).

Bergen Catholic placed 12th in the Bergen County Boys Championship and subsequently downed St. Joseph Regional (7-0) and fell to Westwood (7-0). Simon Lezaja rolled a pair of high series 695 (against SJR) and 614 (vs. Westwood).

Ice Hockey

After their 4-1 loss to Don Bosco in the Bergen County semifinals, Bergen Catholic defeated Seton Hall Prep, 4-3, and tied Delbarton, 3-3, for the week. Tucker James and Sasha Miniouchine (3 goalseach ), and Kyle Marano (2 goals) led BC this week. Goalies Gennaro Anzevino (62 saves) and Peter Negron (32 saves) split time between the pipes.

River Dell has been focused on improving their standings for the state tournament with a 3-2 victory over Monsignor Donovan and a 2-2 draw with Bayonne. Ben Shapiro leads the Hawks with three goals for the week followed by Greg Rassam and Jack Schaefer with one apiece.

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