the guardian - saint joseph regional high schoolsaintjosephregional.org/pdfs/theguardian.pdfthe foxy...

Vol. 57 Issue 9 Saint Joseph Regional High School, Montvale, NJ Thursday, May 7, 2020

The GuardianThe GuardianSJR Announces Honors Societies for 2020

ASPA 1st-Place High School Newspaper 2016, 2017, 2018

Though the annual Honor Society Induction ceremo-ny was yet another victim of the Covid-19 pandemic, St. Joseph Regional High School proudly welcomed fifty-two students into its various honor societies.

The National Honor Society, of which SJR has been a member since 1965, is an organization that seeks to recognize academic achievement, leadership, service and character. Though junior/senior applicants must have a cumulative gpa of 93 or better to be considered, the fact that they have demonstrated concerned service to others, exemplary character and leadership in all sit-uations, is an equally important criteria for induction.

SJR Principal Mr. Michael Bruno has an-nounced that forty-four students have been selected for induction into the Theodore James Ryken Chapter of the National Hon-or Society for 2020: Jeremy Acosta, Brian Brennan, Maximiliano Brizzio, Zachary Bruffy, Ryan Buck, Quinn Burns, Jack Cen-trelli, Nicolas Cevetillo, Michael Connors, Ricky DeMario, Matthew Emmer, Marce-lius Figueroa, Nick Freeman, Vahn Friday, Joseph Gil, Giovani Gomez, Luis Granata, Benjamin Hajek, Thor Hansen, Marcel Johe, Anthony Klymenko, Liam Krey, Jack Long, John Lynch, Dominick Mas, Michael Mazzei, Justin Medina, Tyler Mikita, Liam Mitchell, Kellen Moros, James Morrison, Justin Mucci, Andrew Nemkov, Nicholas Nemkov, Liam Ourderkirk, Nicholas Piccinich, Frank Pis-erchia, Sean Raleigh, Logan Rivera, Patrick Roscio, Paul Serrilli, Tomas Spero, Tyler Tofts and Lucas Villanueva.

The Spanish Honor Society welcomed six-teen new members, including Jeremy Acosta, Nicholas Anastasio, Zachary Bruffy, Ryan Buck, Matthew Emmer, Benjamin Hajek, Liam

Krey, Michael Mazzei, Tyler Mikita, Benjamin Pich-ardo, Sean Raleigh, Generoso Romano, Paul Serrilli, Christopher Silebi, Jake Spinosa and Tyler Tofts.

The French Honor Society recognized Carlos Buelvas, Ricky DeMario, Vahn Friday, Marcel Johe, Jack Long, John Lynch, Liam Mitchell, John Ouderkirk and To-mas Spero as its newest members.

And the Tri-M Music Honor Society, recognizing contributions to the performing arts, announced the induction of Maximiliano Brizzio, Quinn Burns, Mi-chael Connors, Benjamin Hajek and Brendan Moran to its ranks.

By Mr. Michael Bruno ‘05

These candles each represent a different aspect of the NHS Inductees, including scholarship, service, leadership, character,

and wisdom.

2 The Guardian, Thursday, May 7, 2020

Feature

Please email Letters to the Editor to [email protected]

Lend Me a Tenor Earns 5 “Foxy” Nominations

Editors-in-Chief: Chris Flug, Ryan Collins, Gavin HughesManaging Editor: Quinn Burns, Aidan Woods, Sebastian McChesneyChief Writer: Sebastian McChesney Editorial Page Editor: Gavin HughesEntertainment Editor: Quinn BurnsPhotography Editors: Matthew WebbStaff Writers: Carlos Buelvas, Ryan Collins, Jake Epstein, Sebastian McChesney, Dean Tobin, Aidan Woods, Ashton Samson, Ryan Sodora, Gavin HughesModerator: Mr. FitzSimons, Mr. Donnelly

The Guardian StaffThe Guardian Staff

SJR’s 2019 production of Ken Ludwig’s comic farce “Lend Me a Tenor” received five nominations from the Montclair State High School Theater Awards program (aka, “The Foxys”) including Best High School Produc-tion of a Comedy.

Seniors Marc Rivera (Best Actor in a Lead Role as Max) and Zack Mackiewicz (Best Actor in a Supporting Role as Tito Morelli) also received nominations, as did Hope Urdang (Best Lead Actress as Maggie Saunders) and Chloe Hodnett (Best Supporting Actress as Diana). This year’s winners will be announced in an on-line presen-tation from Montclair State on May 19.

The Foxy Awards recognize non-musical pro-ductions from among high schools in New Jersey. The inception of the Montclair State Theater Awards coincided with SJR’s decision to add a play to its performing arts schedule in 2008. Since then, SJR has been the most hon-ored school in the state at the Foxy Awards.

In 2008, SJR’s production of “The Crucible” was named Best Drama and Ryan Mati ’08 was Best Lead Actor. In 2009, SJR’s first performance of “Lend Me a Tenor” was named Best Comedy. In 2010, “A Few Good Men” was named New Jer-sey’s Best Drama and Best Overall High School production; Andrew Van Buskirk ’10 was named Best Lead Actor.

In 2016, “You Can’t Take it With You” was named Best Comedy. In 2017, Chris Marzulla ’18 was named Best Lead Actor in “Ordinary People”, and in 2018, “Ru-mors” was named Best Comedy and James Zitelli ’18 was named Best Actor.

To put it in perspective, St. Joe’s has presented eleven plays in the past twelve years (our spring 2018 produc-tion of the musical “Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Spelling Bee” did not qualify for this Awards program). With this nomination, every single one of SJR’s spring pro-

ductions has been nominated as either Best Drama or Best Comedy and five have taken home the Foxy.

Nobody does it better. Good luck to all of this year’s nominees.

By Mr. Barry Donnelly ‘71

Marc Rivera ‘20 shown as Max in “Lend Me a Tenor”.

Photo by Joanie TroastPhoto by Joanie Troast

The Guardian, Thursday, May 7, 2020 3

FeatureKnight Talks: TJ Caleca ‘05 & Greg Torchon ‘10

One of the early casualties of the Covid-19 pandemic was our annual Career Day program. In order to connect our alums to students with similar career interests, Mr. Steve Odierno ‘99 and Mrs. Arlene DiFiore, Director of Guidance, devised “Knight Talks”, a series of online conversations with different alums each week.

“Knight Talks”, a newly developed online series featuring SJR alumni offering career advice and insights on topics of interest to the SJR community, launched its first session on Wednesday, April 29th. Speaking to an audience of about 70, entrepreneur and philanthropist TJ Caleca’05, the first featured speaker, shared candid and heartfelt advice on his road to success after SJR.

Caleca reminisced fondly about his time at SJR. “I have great memories of SJR, where I learned a set of core values that have guided me in life.” A key memory for him is the dedication of his teachers, especially Mr. Robert Mackie. He explained that Mr. Mackie held his feet to the fire and taught him accountability.

“It would have been a lot easier for him to let me slide by rather than keeping me focused and in line. I realize now how much work that was for him, but I am forever grateful to him.” Mackie and Caleca now serve as peers on the SJR Board of Consultants.

Another one of his mentors who held him to task was his football Coach, Tony Karcich. “He was a dynamic, tough guy who taught me to do things right in football, and in life. Finish the play, win as a team, and lose as a team” were les-sons in football and in life that he attributed to his beloved coach. Caleca took a less traveled path after high school. With the support of his mother, he decided to forgo college and start a personal training business, which was an im-mediate success. He used downtime between clients to buy depressed real estate, and continued on his path to success. “I was young, inexperienced and had all the answers. My success reinforced my arrogance.”

By the age of 22, “I found humility very quickly when I was scammed by a friend.” He invested in bad deals that caused him to loose both his savings and his mother’s. “My arro-gance got in the way and I had not done my homework. I got humility then.”

Not to be kept down, and now wiser as a result of his mis-takes, he went back to gentrify depressed areas in Newark and Paterson and founded his company Proud Living. The name Proud Living is rooted in SJR football.

“Coach Karcich demanded that we show “pride” in all we did, on and off the field; I expect the same in my family, my business and employee community.”

Today, Proud Living Companies is a vertically integrated owner and manager of real estate focused on multifamily and mixed-use real estate in New Jersey. On the philan-thropic side, Proud Living Foundation is committed to developing strong ties to the communities through charita-ble acts such as college scholarships, community food drives and Thanksgiving meals to those in need.

Most recently, Caleca’s foundation teamed with SJR and pledged lunches for coronavirus front line responders and medical personnel if the school reached its goal of 5,000 sandwiches for the food pantry.

This week (May 6), Greg Torchon from the Class of 2010 was the featured speaker on “Knight Talks”. Greg played basketball at SJR and at SUNY Potsdam. After a series of injuries derailed his playing career, he began studying bio-mechanics in an effort to better understand why. This led him to his current career as a successful personal trainer in New York City.

Greg’s message was really to find a career that you are truly passionate about and research what you need to do to be the best. Greg’s love of sports (and the obstacles he faced as an athlete) brought him to research how he could help himself and eventually help others. Though he majored in busi-ness and communications, he became certified in personal training while in college. His training opened the door to his modeling opportunities; he is a sports model for Nike, Under Armour, using his great fitness and love for sports in another way.

Greg spoke highly of his experience at SJR, giving special shout-outs to Coach Doherty, Dan Davis, Joe Kievit, Frank Coppola and Dan Distaulo.

By Quinn Burns ‘21


Feature

Internships provide opportunities for high school students to take a glimpse at the real world. This is exactly the case for our SJR seniors.

Over the course of the 2019-2020 school year, 17 seniors took part in different work disciplines. The internships are offered in three seasons: fall, winter, and spring. Each season requires students to complete 100 hours in approximately 10 weeks. According to the program’s coordinator, Mrs. Jennifer Errity, the goal is to gain insight into a field that one is interested in studying in college. It teaches seniors important skills, such as time management, office etiquette, and standing out amongst your peers.

But the primary purpose of the internship pro-gram is to prepare college-bound students for the various tasks that take place during adulthood. It also opens many opportunities for students to flourish in a work environment and helps them to choose a career path. Nick Gam-bassi ‘20 said, “I gained a positive work experience and learned that my internship is something that I want to turn into my occupa-tion one day”.

Alex Efelis ‘20 was one among three students who interned in the field of sports medi-cine, and his experience has taught him a lot about his future

path in the field of science. The senior spent his winter working for SJR athletic trainers Garrett O’Donnell ‘87 and Kristin Kelleher, with whom he helped tape injured athletes before practice, restock supplies, and on game days, made sure all supplies were there. He does not believe that he will become a physical therapist, but this intern-ship has shown him that his true major of interest is biology.

Carlos Buelvas ‘20 spent the winter interning in the field of digital marketing through social media. While working for ProudLiving Communities, Buelvas made social media posts for the compa-ny’s Instagram. The posts usually had one of two goals: advertise the company or advertise a spe-cific apartment on sale. Although these two goals seemed very generic, Carlos’s favorite part of his internship was the creative liberty he had. “If I felt inspired to make a dog-themed post after seeing my friend’s dog, I can do that.”

His job was all about making creative content to

Internship Program Continues to GrowBy Dean Tobin, Ross Foothorap, Carlos Buel-vas and John Santino


Feature

draw attention to the company. Buelvas said, “I am currently planning on studying communications in college and digital marketing is something that falls under that umbrella.”

Rocco Ambrogio ‘20 spent his time creating billing plans for KESEF Accounting Services. At the start, Ambrogio believed he would definitely go into college for accounting. However, his work oppor-tunity allowed him to see that his true interest is in finance. He is very appreciative for the internship program, and is not sure if he would’ve figured out his passion otherwise.

He recommends the program for anyone who still doesn’t know what he wants to major in going into college. “Through this internship, I have discov-ered my passion. This experience has helped me immensely.”

Aidan Garabed ’20, who had an engineering internship at Multi-Phase Electrical Services, said “The most challenging part of my experience was figuring out what I was doing. I needed to learn electrical symbols and terms I had never even

heard of!

I also needed to learn how to use Bluebeam and pdf editing programs, which was foreign to me. Over time, I became moderately skilled in these aspects. My mentors, Dan Kelly and Matt Del, were a huge help. I always felt that they answered my questions adequately and made time to help me out. They were trying to expose me to an engi-neering career to see if I would like it”.

As seen in these four cases, internships are great opportunities for students. They need to work within one’s schedule, which can sometimes be difficult to manage. Mrs. Errity said, “It is really up to the student. We plan around their sports. They work hard to balance it, and they seem to work it out. It is a life lesson and can’t be learned in the classroom. It is something very beneficial for college.”

Not only is the program beneficial, but it is also gaining popularity. The program began in 2015 as a test with only 8 students. Since then, they have added more internships each year. Next year will be the start of the sixth session, and they hope to add a few more spots.

Internship Program Continues to Grow


FeatureSJR Sandwich Challenge

Counter-clockwise from top right, all pictures L-R;

Paul Armetta ‘21 showcasing the ingredients used to make a PB&J;

Max Brizzio ‘21 preparing ham and cheese sandwiches for the collection;

Mac Connors ‘21 making the most of quarantine, and assisting with the food collection efforts;

The Ramballa family contributing to the more than 5,000 sandwiches collected;

Jake Persuad ‘23 representing the freshmen class for the sandwich challenge.

All photos courtesy of Mr. Scott Donnelly ‘02.


FeatureSJR Food Drive

Clockwise from top left, all pictures L-R;

Mr. LoGiudice shown next the food collected for the Office of Concern in Englewood NJ;

Mr. Scott Donnelly ‘02 putting in the heavy lifting to support the food drive;

Although school may be closed, the parking lot was bustling with cars dropping off donations;

The final sandwich tally for each grade shown on the scoreboard;

Despite these trying times, the SJR food drive collected 2,400 pounds of food, valued at $6,700.


Entertainment

You can’t hang out with friends, go to restaurants, vacation, greet your neighbor or touch anything that isn’t your own. You feel as if you’re having a break-down, like you are about to implode and run outside. Don’t do that. Instead, take my suggestion. First, watch three dark films about the psychological effects that being isolated can have on someone mentally unstable, to confirm that you’re handling yourself really well in comparison. Then, watch one that presents positive messages.

1. The ShiningStanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”, a masterpiece of modern horror, is the quintessential cabin fever movie. From the film’s ominous commencement, to it’s frigid denouement, you will never feel safe, always thinking that you are secluded in The Overlook Hotel alongside Jack Torrance. There are so many things to love about this film; the phenomenal acting, haunting score and eerie vibes.

One aspect that contributes to its success is how well Kubrick weaves the film’s many themes of madness, isolation, and addiction into its main point: in a place where one is left alone, at his purest self, the truth will be revealed about who he really is, for better or for worse. Enjoy this epic masterpiece. I hope that while in quarantine, you don’t discover anything ghastly about who your family members truly are. Instead, find a sense of joy realizing that you’re definitely handling yourself better than Jack Torrance.

2. The Lighthouse Imagine working in 1890 New England as a lighthouse keeper on a small island, in the middle of nowhere, where you are forced to work strenuous days and nights, with a wretched, domineering boss who you cannot escape. Meals are mediocre, at best, the weather is unpredictable, and the sound of the foghorn and seagulls are ever present. Director Robert Eggers takes this framework and

builds upon it, crafting a complex and ambiguous film that offers no clear answers. The movie is a master-ful portrayal of what it is like for a man who isn’t of sound mind to be placed in circumstances that only exacerbate his condition. The isolation, lack of physical contact, relentless sounds of the ocean and the harsh-ness of nature conspire to create a deep descent into madness. “The Lighthouse” would not be successful without committed actors and the right atmosphere. Luckily, Eggers cast Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattin-son, two men of immense talent, who execute hercu-lean monologues, delivering what might very well be their best work. Watching them, you could become easily entranced, but snap yourself out of it, otherwise you will find yourself dancing around the living room, singing “Doodle Let Me Go.”

3. Taxi Driver Have you ever thought what it would be like for a mentally un-stable man to have no companion except his thoughts? If you haven’t, watch Martin Scorsese’s dark film, focusing on Travis Bickle, “God’s lonely man,” who can’t connect with anyone and obsesses about the decadence swarming in 70’s New York. It will really make you think about how relatable his

concerns were and how, if someone helped him, maybe they could have been expressed without violence and heartbreak. See this movie, but express your desire for reform unlike Travis, if you can manage…

4. Ready Player One“Ready Player One”, by Steven Spielberg is a story of positivi-ty that inspires people to come together and face reality. In such a moment as one that we are living through now, it is important that this message is made abundantly clear. Despite our separation, by social distancing and using tech-nology to our advantage to imple-ment a new way of learning, we are

coming together to fight our enemy, just as the charac-ters in this film do. Watch this film and always remem-ber, “we can be heroes,” even if it’s just for one day.

Keeping Your Sanity in QuarantineBy Ashton Samson ‘23


Sports

Saint Joseph Regional High School will rejoin the Gordon Conference for ice hockey, beginning with the 2020-2021 season.

The Green Knights had previously competed in the Gordon Conference from 1985-2000, winning the title in 1986, 1990 and 1992. SJR also captured New Jersey State Championships in 1989 and 1991. Since 2000, SJR has competed in several different leagues, most recently the Big North and Egan Conferences. The pro-gram captured both the league titles and Cup champi-onships for both conferences in 2020.

“This opportunity became possible due to the recent success and leadership of Larry Mahurter,” explained Director of Athletics Damion Logan ‘96. “Coach Mahurter has developed an outstanding program. It is time for the Green Knights to advance to the Gordon Conference.”

The Gordon Conference is New Jersey’s elite high school hockey league. In each of the past thirteen years, the Conference has produced the New Jersey state champion. Current member schools include Ber-gen Catholic, Christian Brothers Academy, Delbarton, Don Bosco Prep, Gloucester Cath-olic, Pope John, Seton Hall Prep, St. Augustine and St. Peter’s Prep.

SJR’s recent successes made the move attractive for both the pro-gram and the league. In the past three seasons, the Green Knights have assembled a 55-15-5 record that has included consecutive league championships, an Egan Cup (2020) and two Big North Gold Cups (2018, 2020).

“Our Gordon Conference is elated that Saint Joseph Regional will be joining the premier scholastic league in New Jersey,” said NJIIHL Presi-dent Patrick Genova. “SJR’s addition will enhance the level of play even further while the existing Gordon schools look forward to the addi-tional competition.”

The program will begin Gordon Conference play in November 2020. The team will continue to participate in the Bergen County Tournament and plans to travel to New England for a pair of out-of-state games.

“We’re excited to take the next step for our team and our school,” said head coach Larry Mahurter ‘87. “The hard work and success of our student-athletes these past few seasons have laid the foundation for our pro-gram’s continued growth in the Gordon Conference.”

Though SJR will lose a group of seniors who made major contributions to this year’s success, the team will return two of its top scorers in Justin Hughes and Thor Hansen and an experienced and extremely talented defense corps that surrendered less than a goal a game this past season.

And perhaps most critically, Tomas Spero returns in net after a junior year in which he posted a 1.10 goals against average and a .945 save percentage.

“Our return to the Gordon Conference represents a significant commitment to athletic excellence on the ice,” furthered President Kevin McNulty ‘78. “We look forward to exciting competition next winter.”

SJR Hockey Joins Gordon ConferenceBy Mr. Scott Donnelly ‘02

SJR Varsity Hockey 2020 team captains.


Feature

Kevin Rooney ‘02, owner of TGA Premier Golf and Tennis of Bergen and Westchester County, turned his love of golf into a successful career and returns for a second year as the SJR golf coach. I was able to sit down with him, prior to our current quarantine, to talk about his plans for the team and his outlook on the golfing industry.

After graduating magna cum laude from the University of Tampa with a double major in marketing and sport management, Rooney returned to the northern New Jersey area with the goal of finding a job that combined his love of golf with his recently-earned degree. It did not take long for him to achieve that goal. At the age of twenty-two, he became a franchise owner of TGA Premier Golf in Bergen County and the young-est franchise owner in the organization’s history. TGA allowed him to use his marketing major, to continue being involved with golf on a professional basis and to introduce the sport he loved to youth in the area. TGA, short for Total Golf Adventure, provides af-ter-school opportunities for elementary school chil-dren to learn the sport of golf right in their own school. It was the perfect fit for Rooney. He could use his degree and share his love of golf. “I liked the idea of having an impact on local children and communi-ties where I grew up,” Rooney explained.

Since then, his business has evolved into a multi-sport company, offering a total of eight sports, including golf, tennis, flag football, ultimate Frisbee, lacrosse, vol-leyball, floor hockey and cheerleading. Rooney was on the golf and bowling teams while at SJR. Reflecting on the people he met while in school, he re-marked, “I developed some great rela-tionships that I still value to this day. I learned what it meant to be hardworking and dedicated to whatever I set out to do. Those values have stuck with me and helped me be successful in my profes-sional and personal life.” As the SJR golf coach, he has a lot of plans in store for the team. There was a great deal of interest this year with 28 students, mostly underclassmen, attending

the initial meeting. Rooney was pleased to see such en-thusiasm for the sport and hopes to form a club team and instructional clinics to foster that interest, once the players return to the course. His ultimate goal is for the golf team to make the state tournament, which will require a 60% winning per-centage.

“We will work on each player’s score and I plan to show them how to navigate a golf course in order to give them the best chance to shoot the lowest score they can,” he explained. Rooney advised that you need to have a short memory with golf so “you forget about the bad shot or bad round and focus on what’s ahead.”

His enthusiasm and love of the sport he has played since ten years of age are palpable. He’s eager to share his knowledge and proficiency with the SJR students. And it’s not just a high school sport. He emphasized that golf is a great sport to play in high school and beyond. “It can be played the rest of your life - compet-itively, recreationally or in business careers.” Rooney is committed to “doing what I can to help each individual excel and achieve his goals.” The Green Knight golfers are truly fortunate to have access to his experience, enthusiasm, and expertise.

Talking Golf With Kevin Rooney ‘02By Quinn Burns ‘21

Tom Walsh ‘19 talking strategy with Coach Rooney.


SportsTremendous Disappointment for SJR Lacrosse

No SJR team is more devistated by the cancellation of the 2020 Spring sports season than lacrosse. This year’s senior-laden Green Knights squad was poised for greatness after improving steadily in each of the past three seasons.

NorthJersey.com ranked St. Joe’s as #2 in its Top Ten, behind Ridgewood, but ahead of both Bergen and Bos-co. The team moved up from the Jacobson Division to the Gibbs Division, the toughest conference in Bergen County and one of the strongest in the state.

Head coach Dan DaPonte said, “It was our decision to join [the Gibbs Division], but we might have been forced to anyway. Last year, we played four of the six Gibbs teams (BC, DB, Northern Highlands and Rama-po) on our own, so the move means we will add Ridge-wood and Mountain Lakes, two nationally respected programs, to our schedule.”

In 2018, the Green Knights were 14-6 overall and 7-0 as Jacobson Division champions. In 2019, SJR finished 13-6, won the league title again, and beat both Bergen Catholic and Don Bosco.

“This year, I fully expected us to compete for the Gibbs Division championship with a veteran team led by our seniors,” DaPonte said. “Every team in the group was capable of beating the others on any given day, so it promised to be great competition. What’s more, I thought we would compete for the Non-Public A title, and be ranked among the top ten in the state at the end of the season.”

This year’s senior class includes a host of Division I and Division II commits, and a number of players who have been varsity starters for two or three years, and who have already set team and individual records. Among them, on offense, are Troy Santise, Travis Al-derton, Eric Manfredonia, Dom DelPonte and Dylan Auerbach. Alderton recorded more than a hundred ground balls last year, and Auerbach, a three year starter, posted in 500th faceoff win against Don Bosco. Junior Zack Riegler was expected to be a key offensive contributor on attack, and sophomore transfer Owen Finetto was expected to be a huge addition at midfield. On defense, Ryan Fitzgerald would have been another three-year starter, and senior net-minder Rob Zevzav-adjian would have been starting his fourth year as well. He’s made more than 500 career saves, and posted a .628 save percentage as a junior.

“Personally, I liked being in the position to make big saves and help the team in big situations,” he said. “Al-though lacrosse is a team sport, you need to have the confidence that you’ll stop the shot, one on one, lead the team and win games. But given whats happened now, it’s really all about our team, and in that regard, this situation has been very tough, especially for se-niors. We really believed this was our year to make a statement.”

Like everyone else, Zevzavadjian, who recently com-mitted to Rutgers, has been staying active, going on runs, working out and stretching and facing shots a couple times each week.

“This senior class came in as freshmen during my second year at SJR,” DaPonte says. “Despite what has happened, I will never forget this group of seniors, as I watched them grow up from freshmen. They have truly helped change the narrative of our program.”

Information Provided By SJR Lacrosse Coaching Staff


Feature

After finishing with a 19-9 record in 2019, head base-ball coach Mark Cieslak was looking forward “to SJR being one of the top teams in the state”. His expec-tations seemed entirely justified, and so everyone’s disappointment runs deep.

First, the team had outstanding senior leadership. “An-drew McDermott, Anthony Panissidi, and Nic Adamo have been among the best captains our program has ever had,” said Cieslak. “They had our team focused, working hard, and staying ready to compete.”

Secondly, unlike last year when inju-ries took a tremendous toll, the Green Knights looked to have a healthy, for-midable pitching staff in Jimmy Roma-no (First Team All-League in 2019 and a Duke University commit), Sean Hard (First Team All-League, Third Team All-County at first base last year, Bos-ton College), Jude Zern (Maryland), Brendan Lysik (Texas Tech), Ryan Myles, and Myles Nova, along with a healthy Hunter Sabbers.

Thirdly, the Green Knights had a host of talented and experienced players returning. Cieslak says, “Ellis Garcia (Honorable Mention All-League in 2019) had been projected as one of the top hitters in the area according to nj.com, along with one of the top

gloves at shortstop. Albert Serrano brought tremendous athleticism to his game; a dif-ference-maker in football and basketball, he would have continued that trend in baseball. T.J. Roman and Thomas Quinn also brought their experience as seniors. Both are fast, smart and extremely athletic, while Sebastian Vargas would have given us another reliable left-hand-ed pitcher.”

Cieslak anticipated that several newcomers would make their mark, including sopho-mores Angel Colón and Casey Knuckles who anchored last year’s freshman squad. How-ever, he also cited a number of other potential impact players.

“Mike Roman looked to be a key utility infield-er, bringing a slick glove and senior leadership to an already deep roster,” he said. “Peyton Mikita was a se-nior with power, while Dan Maglio would have been a solid back stop who would have given senior Nic Ada-mo a break behind the plate. In addition to helping out at first base, Kyle Turanick looked to be a reliable arm out of the pen, along with seniors Jake Leopold, Patrick Basile, Frank Guanci, and Daniel Young. Frank Conforti is another senior with some pop, while Tyler Mikita, Nick Sorrentino and underclassmen Matt Fer-nandez and Shane Comer all looked to round out the roster as potential first year varsity players.”

Pandemic Ends Promising Baseball Season

Information Provided By SJR Baseball Coaching Staff

Andrew McDermott (above) was an All County and All League First Team Selection last year, and Anthony Panissidi (top) received Second

Team All League Honors.

the guardian - saint joseph regional high schoolsaintjosephregional.org/pdfs/theguardian.pdfthe foxy...

Documents