HHS boys sweep X-C opener

RAIDER ROUNDUP

By: Rudy Brandl
   
   The Hillsborough High boys opened the cross country campaign by sweeping Bridgewater-Raritan (23-36) and Watchung Hills (15-50) at Pleasant Valley Park.
   Senior Joe Bernardo won the race in 16:55. Jordan Magath (17:15) and Jason Walton (17:23) weren’t far behind in second and third place, respectively.
   Other Raiders who contributed in the tri-meet opener were Alex Brown (17:55), Justin Risso (17:59), Tony LaGreca (18:10) and Brian Keohane (18:16). This quartet finished in the 7-10 positions in the race.
   The HHS girls’ cross country team earned a split of the season’s first tri-meet last week at Pleasant Valley Park. Hillsborough (1-1) defeated Watchung Hills (21-40) but lost to Bridgewater-Raritan (16-42).
   Freshman Ashley Smolinka led the HHS girls by finishing fifth in a time of 20:55. Robyn Paterno (8th, 22:10) and Meredith Mayes (9th, 22:26) also cracked the top 10.
   The remaining Raider girls completed a six-pack that stayed within just over a minute of each other. Nicole Rocha finished 11th in 22:46, Ali Buerkle placed 12th in 22:49, Alyssa Ciccotelli took 15th in 22:23 and Rebecca Deteresa was 16th in 23:33.
   Smolinka led the HHS girls again in Saturday’s Mount St. Dominic Invitational in Lincoln Park. She finished fifth in 21:02.
   Both HHS teams were scheduled to host Montgomery in a Wednesday afternoon dual meet at Pleasant Valley Park.
Gymnasts open
with sweep
   
Hillsborough began the 2006 gymnastics campaign with a South Jersey League sweep of Bridgewater-Raritan and Shawnee. The Raiders scored 107.475 points to easily defeat both opponents.
   Sophomore Chrissy Weber won the all-around (37.175) with a dominant opening performance. Weber finished first on beam (9.275), bars (9.45) and floor (9.25) and took second on vault (9.2).
   The Raiders dominated on beam, sweeping the first three places with Christina Rhoades and Kristen Shaw scoring 8.775 to tie for second behind Weber. HHS also went 1-2 on bars with Weber and Rhoades (9.175).
   Other HHS girls who contributed to the team score included Mary-Kate Lynch (8.925) and Kelly Weber (8.35) on vault, Jess Leinbach (8.3) on bars and Lynch (9.15) and Rhoades (8.85) on floor.
   The Raiders (2-0) were scheduled to compete at Cherokee this week and host a tri-meet with Montgomery and Ridge Thursday.
Volleyball girls
win three matches
   
The HHS girls defeated West Windsor Plainsboro North, Warren Hills and Ridge by 2-0 scores to improve their volleyball record to 3-2. Head coach Todd Sudol feels confident his team is on the right track and could qualify for the state playoffs in just its third year of existence.
   "We’re getting there," Sudol said. "We’ve never beaten West Windsor (North) before and we won two tough games against them today."
   Friday’s 25-20, 25-22 victory over WWPN showed the Raiders can win under pressure. They rolled over Warren Hills and Ridge by more lopsided scores, but Friday’s match was a real tussle.
   Senior hitter Patty Manhart led the team with six kills and 10 digs. Junior setter Christina Galera continued her impressive season as the team’s quarterback with 18 assists. She also added two kills and two aces. Samantha Jackson had six kills for the winners.
   In the victory over Warren Hills, Jackson (5) and Manhart (4) combined for nine kills to lead the offense. Galera had 15 assists and junior Linsdey Watts chipped in with three kills and two blocks.
   Shana Ramandi notched 10 digs in the victory at Ridge. Jackson (4 kills, 2 aces), Manhart (4 kills, 7 digs) and Galera (9 assists, 8 aces) also ignited the Raiders.
   Hillsborough was set for another busy week that included home matches vs. Mount St. Mary and West Windsor Plainsboro South and a road contest at North Hunterdon.
Tennis girls back
on winning track
   
Three lopsided singles victories propelled the Hillsborough girls to a 4-1 triumph over Montgomery last week.
   Emily Mannix dropped just one game, Paige Aiello lost two in each set and Reciel Arribe gave up three in the second set against the Cougars. The first doubles team of Caitlin Katzelnick and Mae Ling Strang posted a 6-1, 6-2 victory.
   Montgomery gained its point at second doubles, where the HHS duo of Alary Price and Justine Turnbull dropped a tough 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) match.
   The Raiders (2-1) were scheduled to host Bridgewater Raritan and play at North Hunterdon this week. Next week’s slate includes the Somerset County Tournament.
Girls win 2 of 3
soccer blowouts
   
The Lady Raider soccer team was involved in three lopsided contests last week. After winning the first two by scores of 7-0 over Phillipsburg and 4-0 over Immaculata, the HHS girls absorbed a 5-0 drubbing by Prep school powerhouse Pennington Saturday afternoon.
   Hillsborough scored six times in the first half vs. Phillipsburg before applying the brakes in the final 40 minutes. Jenna Stickle and Mary Bednar led the offense with two goals and one assist apiece.
   Junior midfielder Lauren Cusick had a big game with one goal and three assists. Lindsay Dragelin and Kelly Nagel added goals for Hillsborough.
   Phillipsburg did not manage a shot on goal, making it an easy shutout for Taryn O’Connor and Kelsey Morrison. O’Connor made five saves in Thursday’s shutout win at Immaculata.
   Four different Lady Raiders scored – Bednar, Megan Cull, Cusick and Erin Suozzo. Cull and Suozzo notched their first varsity goals. Katie Marino, Heather Mutz and Cusick added assists for the winners.
   O’Connor made 15 saves but they weren’t enough in Saturday’s loss to Pennington.
   The Lady Raiders (2-2) were set to travel to North Hunterdon before returning home Thursday vs. Watchung Hills on the stadium field.