JEFF GRANIT staff East Brunswick’s Alysse Congiusta was among the GMC’s top performers this season, earning her a spot on the All-Conference team, as selected by the GMC’s coaches.
As the scholastic fall season comes to a close with this weekend’s state championship football games, it is time once again to recognize the local athletes who distinguished themselves in their respective sports.
Upon the completion of each season, the local high school coaches get together and vote on the top players and coaches in the Greater Middlesex Conference.
The following are this year’s crop of standouts who have been selected as All-Conference performers.
Boys soccer
The boys All-Conference soccer team is headed by East Brunswick’s Zach Simi, who led the Bears to a No. 1 ranking in the GMC and emerged as the conference’s most dangerous player. Simi notched 30 goals this year, despite being the center of the opposition’s attention in all of the Bears’ games this season.
He is joined on the All-Conference team by Monroe’s John Jensen, who notched 10 goals and 21 assists for the Falcons this year, and Scott Modzelewski, who emerged as one of the GMC’s top defensive players this year.
Among the other players to earn All-Conference nods were Spotswood’s Tim Logan, who notched 14 goals and 13 assists for the Chargers; East Brunswick’s Evan Laubcher and Josh Sims, who had seven and 11 goals, respectively, for the Bears; Old Bridge’s John Leone, the Knights’ top scorer with eight goals and six assists; South River’s A.J. Parillo; Woodbridge’s Garrett Keating, who led the Barrons with 12 goals and 12 assists; South Amboy’s Pablo Panagos; Metuchen’s Dan Ziznewski; Piscataway’s John Castro; JFK’s Ricky Bodek (nine goals, five assists); New Brunswick’s Shane Mendez; Colonia’s Gianne Cerbone; and St. Joseph’s Farris Fakhoury.
St. Joseph’s Mike O’Boyle was selected as the coach of the year after leading his Falcons to their first GMC Tournament title since 1991.
Girls soccer
The All-GMC girls soccer team is headed by a pair of East Brunswick players who helped the Bears finish another season as the conference’s top-ranked team.
Both Lauren Esposito and Kristie Lang were selected by GMC coaches after putting together stellar seasons for the GMC champion Bears, with Esposito, a junior forward, scoring 12 goals (including the game-winner in the GMCT final win over Old Bridge), and Lang, just a sophomore, leading the team in points with 15 goals and 11 assists.
Old Bridge also had a pair of players earn All-Conference nods in sophomore Kat Johnston, the Red Division leader with 28 goals, and Kim Cannon, the senior midfielder who was the heart and soul of the Knights.
They are joined on the All-Conference squad by South River’s all-time leading scorer Christine Mongelli, who finished her stellar career with 115 goals (including a GMC-leading 36 this season); Spotswood’s Jamie Kuhn, who finished with 19 goals and 19 assists; Monroe’s Laura Gibbons, who keyed one of the GMC’s top defenses from her sweeper position; as well as Metuchen’s Kristen Edwards, Edison’s Susie Zavitoski, J.P. Stevens’ Lindsay Hames, Piscataway’s Jen Vroman, Colonia’s Erin Maher, Woodbridge’s Julie Quinn, Sayreville’s Kim Griffith, Spotswood’s Noelia Romero, New Brunswick’s Jasmine Lyons, JFK-Iselin’s Ashley Alda, and South Brunswick’s Allysa Bollaci.
Old Bridge’s Rob Lozzi was selected as the Coach of the Year after leading the Knights to their first Red Division title, the first time a team other than East Brunswick took home the divisional crown.
Field Hockey
The All-Conference field hockey team is headed by a quartet of Sayreville players after the Bombers finished the season ranked second, behind South Plainfield.
Lynn Olender led the way for the Bombers, scoring 12 goals and dishing out seven assists, while Jessica Antonucci was the team’s top scorer with 16 goals and two assists. Junior midfielder Jen Latz controlled the middle of the field for the Bombers, while senior goalie Aimee Pitti recorded 10 shutouts and boasted an .839 save percentage in the cage.
East Brunswick had a pair of players earn All-Conference nods in senior Katie McMillan and senior sweeper Julie Beck, while Old Bridge seniors Amanda Hobson and Krystina Miller represent the Knights on the All-Conference team.
Monroe’s senior forward Alexa Cosentino and South Brunswick senior goalie Carissa Berardi also made the squad, as did Piscataway’s Tramaine Shaw, and South Plainfield’s Tarryn Carlton, Jessica Manning, Stefanie Miller and Ngozi Okparaeke.
Sayreville’s Lynn Taylor was named Coach of the Year after leading the Bombers to a 14-4-1 mark this year, and their second straight appearance in the GMCT finals.
Girls tennis
J.P. Stevens’ Lucy Zhang leads the list of All-Conference tennis performers after the sophomore won the GMC first-singles titles, where she beat another All-Conference performer, East Brunswick’s Anna Tarasova, in the final. She later advanced to the quarterfinals of the NJSIAA Tournament, becoming the only unseeded player in the field to reach the Elite Eight.
Tarasova enjoyed a stellar freshman campaign and helped lead the Bears to yet another GMC title, along with teammates and fellow All-Conference performers Luiza Kiyamova, Jenny Tsay, Christine Miunteanu, Katherine Chen and Merrin Rosenberg.
The rest of the team includes Zhang’s teammates Maria Kuznetsova and Ryan Johnson; North Brunswick’s Eva Cseh, who led the Raiders to an undefeated regular season and the White Division crown; and Highland Park’s Sophie McMahon.
JFK’s Michelle Egan was selected as the Coach of the Year after leading the Mustangs to a 17-3 season and the No. 4 ranking in the GMC.
Girls gymnastics
The All-GMC gymnastics team is headed by a trio of Bishop Ahr gymnasts who led the Trojans to the state championship this season.
Senior Kristen McRell got the nod as the top all-around performer, while teammate Caitlin Miller was the best on the balance beam. Sophomore Jill Dean was selected as the top performer on the floor exercise, while Ashley Ann Chosney got an at-large nod to the All-Conference team.
Old Bridge sophomore Amanda Chirlin was chosen as the top performer on the balance beam, while teammates Heather Burnett and Melissa Felcetti received at-large selections. East Brunswick’s Diana Koster got the nod on the vault, while her teammates Alysse Congiusta and Rachel Cohen were at-large selections.
South Brunswick’s Laura Chirico and Piscataway’s Diana Woo were the other at-large selections, while Old Bridge coach TaraLynn Butth was selected by her peers as Coach of the Year.
Girls volleyball
Old Bridge seniors Jamie Capra and Lynn Ginsiorsky led the list of All-GMC volleyball performers after leading the Knights to a 17-6 mark and the GMC championship. Both players saved their best play for the postseason, as the late-blooming Knights shocked East Brunswick in the GMCT finals.
East Brunswick is represented on the All-GMC team by seniors Jessica Castles and Kathleen Cammidge, while South Brunswick seniors Heather Domotor and Ashley Milotta also were selected after leading the Vikings to a 16-9 mark. Senior Rachel Seaton was the lone representative from J.P. Stevens, while Piscataway’s Sofia Gutierrez and Lauren Guarneri were also selected. Piscataway coach Toni Tassio was named Coach of the Year.