MHS fall teams celebrate season

Awards presented to athletes

by Mary Ellen Zangara, Correspondent
   Manville High School’s fall athletes were honored recently at the annual sports awards dinner sponsored by the MHS Booster Club held at St. Mary’s Parish Center.
   Each of the fall teams and athletes were honored for their achievements during the 2007 season. MHS athletic director Pat LaMastro welcomed everyone for the evening.
   ”I’d like to thank all those parents, friends and relatives who came out tonight to watch your children and friends receive their awards. I know they are happy to have you here and I sure am too. I’d like to thank our booster club. We are small in numbers; about four of us that are very active. I’d like to thank my coaching staff for an outstanding job this fall season. They are out there everyday working with your children providing proper instruction. Parents, I would like to thank you for letting us work with your children. Without your children, we could not have a program, so thank you so much.”
   LaMastro also thanked the Board of Education, school administration and the Borough of Manville. Steve Venuto announced each coach as they came up to speak about their team.
   First up was Jim O’Connor, the head cross country coach. O’Connor really had fun this fall.
   ”This year’s team was the most enjoyable team that I have had in a long time,” he said. “We had a great group of kids. Other coaches would disagree with me that I have the best athletes and best kids and I am really happy to have them all. Meet after meet after meet this year the kids ran better and better. Highlights of the season were the county meet where we were able to beat the Bound Brook girls’ team and boys’ team and beating a rival is big. We were very happy to do that.
   ”We competed in the Skyland Conference and all the coaches knew it was a difficult thing there. The Skyland Conference teams are probably among the best in the nation on the girls’ side, so our conference is very tough. Our girls rose to great heights and we were able to score our first victory ever in the Skyland conference a very close 27-28 victory. That was exciting for me. We finished the season placing sixth in the Central Jersey sectional meet. We just missed qualifying for the state meet which would have been a first for the program.”
   Awards for the girls’ team were presented to first-year letter winners Evanna Tchir and Amanda Velez. Second-year pins went to Jennifer Gomez and Arielle Mizov and third-year pins to Katelyn Harodetsky and Casey Shields. Alissa Teodorczy received a participation certificate.
   Boys’ team first-year letters were presented to Randy Gomez and Ryan McKee, second-year pins to Andrew Franko and Jason Pfoutz. Third-year pins were awarded to Sasa Todorovic and Adam Wolcott. Nicholas Janner received a participation certificate.
   Special Awards of Most Valuable Player were awarded to Todorovic and Shields, Most Improved to Pfoutz and Harodetsky, the Coaches Award to McKee and Tchir and the Scholar Athlete to Pfoutz and Jen Gomez.
   Cheerleading awards were presented next beginning with jayvee coach Nicole Borbely.
   ”Throughout the season, each member of the jayvee squad demonstrated to be a team player,” Borbely said. “Whether it was in a summer workout, helping each other with practice, or working overtime for competition. They have each shown that working together has many great accomplishments. Also keeping up with your academics while participating in an after school activity of sport can be quite a challenge.
   ”Many of you however have successfully done all three. Therefore, I think the greatest achievement this season has been an ability to find a balance between each one of your responsibilities. This kind of dedication and commitment will help you be successful later in life. I hope that you continue to work hard and make positive choices. A special thank you goes out to the parents. They were your support, mentor, and ride back and forth each day. Parents, you are definitely an integral part of your child’s success.”
   Borbely then presented participation awards to Victoria Approbato, Ashley Costantini, Krista Demeter, Veronica Matisak, Kaitlyn Pornovets and Rhiannon Zuhone.
   Varsity coach Rachel Lopa continued with the cheerleaders.
   ”We had a very successful season this fall,” Lopa said. “The girls began a very up beat season in June at Manville High School with a couple days of learning their 2007 competition routine. In addition to several practices held over the summer, many of the girls also attended a UCA cheer camp at Rutgers University. During camp, they learned skills, routines and techniques to prepare them for the fall season.
   ”We started a tedious practice schedule, which ran form the middle of August until Thanksgiving. The girls challenged themselves to a lot of hard work this season by learning that individual growth goes a long way when face with obstacles. Once again our girls played a big part in raising the school spirit level at MHS.”
   Lopa thanked the four seniors Natalie Chiribao, Eliana Loaiza, Jarixa Maldonado and Denna Markey for all their hard work and dedication and wished them happiness and success in the future.
   ”A special thanks goes out to our captain and four year varsity cheerleader Denna Markey. Denna thank you for all you have done for MHS cheerleading over the years. You’re consistent dedication and upbeat attitude was a constant form of encouragement for many. Gook lick in everything you do and hopefully we will see you flying through the air while cheering at the collegiate level.”
   First-year letters were presented to Cassey Agans, Natalie Chiribao, Eliana Loaiza, Jarixa Maldonado and Sandra Rock. Second-year pins were given to Courtney Daruk, Megan Janes and Kimberly Jones. Denna Markey received a watch as a fourth-year award winner. Special awards included Most Valuable Player to Jones, Most Improved to Maldonado, Coaches Award to Markey and the Scholar Athlete to Chiribao.
   Football continued the program with jayvee coach Rob Snyder.
   ”This year we would probably define our season as a success. We finished 3-1-1 with our final win against Bound Brook. We were a small team so a lot of our guys were playing Friday nights as well as Mondays. On a jayvee level, we also require those guys to come back and practice all week with our varsity program ready for our Friday night games. So it is a very tough task for these guys to learn about high school football as well as learning an adjustment as a freshman into high school.”
   Head varsity football coach Brett Stibitz began by thanking the administration for giving him the opportunity again to coach the team. He then thanked the cheerleaders and his coaching staff of Chris Casamento, Chris Cebula, Ned Panfile, John Bentz, and Rob Snyder. He also thanked the parents for their feedback and communication with him throughout the season before speaking about his team.
   ”We had a wide range of experience, dedication and motivation,” Stibitz said. “What you see in front of you guys was amazing. We had great expectations going into the season. We thought we could shoot for a 500 season. These guys were prepared mentally and physically for every game to achieve one goal, to get one more win. Unfortunately, we did not get that last win and we ended our season 2-8.
   ”This team taught me a lot. I have been in Manville and it is hard to motivate an 0-10 team but it is a lot harder to motivate an undefeated team, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0. It is one of the hardest things to motivate a team that is really on the brink of being a great team taking it to the next level and throwing in the towel. You guys really pulled it together and grasped what it really was to be a team and have an ultimate goal of performing every single week in a positive manner.”
   Stibitz went to acknowledge seniors Billy Fisher, Mike Bezick, Glen Hall, Anthony Palovick, Brian Rock and Dennis Petrone. Special mention went to four-year varsity players Petrone and Palovick.
   Participation awards were presented to Justin Babich, Karol Blicharz, David Castro, Keegan Forke and Brian Zarnowski. Letters were given to Scott Alpizar, Angelo Bell, Michael Hopkins, Joshua Michalski, Jake Piscaldo, Victor Roskowski, Christopher Schaefer and Mark Walyga. First-year pins were presented to Michael Bezick, William Fisher and David Olmsted. Second-year pins to Ryan Jankowski, William Mazzucca and Kevin Sellar. Joseph Burnett, Glen Hall and Brian Rock all received third-year pins. Palovick and Petrone received a watch for their four years participating.
   Special awards of Most Valuable Player were presented to Rock, Most Improved Player to Palovick, Coaches Award to Hall and Scholar Athlete to Alpizar.
   The boys’ soccer awards followed with coach Tim Moore.
   ”I had the extreme pleasure of being the boys’ soccer coach this fall. Although we didn’t win a lot of games, we did win more than last year. In fact, we scored more goals, let up less goals and played in more competitive games compared to last year. That in my opinion is progress. Thanks to the hard working and dependable seniors, this team, I hope will be thought of as the start of a successful Manville soccer program.
   Moore reflected on some of the highs and lows of the season.
   ”It makes me think about this year’s best and worst moment and both involve the same player. When the ball went off of Cesar’s leg in the last minutes of the De Val game, I almost cried. It would have been our first win; it ended up our first tie. After that game, we lost about six in a row and things looked sour. Then we got the chance to play Bound Brook. Alex had three goals that day basically winning the MVP award on that effort alone.
   ”The game was tied there were less then two minutes left then Cesar forced the referees to call a penalty on Bound Brook’s goalie. If we made this goal, we would win. David took the shot and it rebounded off of the goalie, at that moment, I thought nothing would ever go our way then out of nowhere, here comes Cesar getting the rebound and scoring the game winning goal.
   ”The players went nuts, the fans went nut and Bound Brook started to cry. Without this win, the season would have been a bust. Cesar no longer remembered as the guy who scored a goal against his own team, but now the player who scored the winning goal in our best game of the season.”
   Moore went on to say that “this team is a family of sorts. There are two Saultzes, two Calderons, two and a half Valverdes and two Lozadas. And there are more to come – another Hernandez to impress me, another Zangara to annoy me endlessly, another Saultz to make me laugh and hopefully another Valverde for me to scream at. Lasting memories, wonderful kids and a solid base of talent to build upon. What more could a first year coach ask for?”
   The coach thanked seniors Andrew Saultz, Jimmy Lozada, Anthony Valverde, Drew Evanylo, Chris Kocur and Alex Maillard.
   Participation awards were presented to Shawn Kaminski, Ryszard Kloskowski, Bryan Picado, Joshua Saultz, Brian Valverde and Ernest Yakobchuk. First-year letters were given to Frank Calderon, Juan Calderon, Daniel Castro, Jason Diaz, Richard Hernandez, Ronnie Lozada and Bryan Munoz. Second-year pins went to Douglas Bradley, Pawel Maziarz, Cesar Mora, Andrew Saultz and Matthew Zangara. Third-year pins were awarded to David Brozyna, Chris Kocur, Alex Maillard and Anthony Valverde. Drew Evanylo and Jim Lozada both received a watch for their four years on the team. The special awards of Most Valuable Player went to Maillard, Most Improved Player to Bradley, Coaches Award to Evanylo and Scholar Athlete to Kocur.
   Girls’ soccer coach Erin Delaney began by thanking everyone for their support and guidance throughout the past season.
   ”I would like to start with a quote from Chauncey Billups after a close loss in the first round of last year’s NBA playoffs: ‘Tough times come and go, but tough people don’t’.’ That statement say quite a bit about my team’s recent season. It was a roller coaster of emotions for everyone involved that ranged from one of the spectrum to the other, but for those who were there throughout, they never gave up. This group refused to succumb to the pressure of playing dominant, more experienced teams in sometimes hostile environments which was the true measure of their character and achievement.
   ”I’m proud to have coached of a group of girls that were hard-working, positive and talented athletes. It was my privilege to have seen these young women demonstrate tenacity this past season that helped them not only develop into stronger soccer players but leaders off the field as well. I can only hope that they can see past the negatives and draw upon the positives to help them in the future whether it is in competitive sports at some level or elsewhere in life. The group that helped keep this team focused and working as a unit throughout the course of the season were my seniors. They were my coaches on the field, the individuals who led by example, and their departure will leave a void that will be difficult to fill. However, I’m sure we have quite a few current underclassmen who will be more than capable of stepping up to their leadership role.
   It’s unfortunate that several of the talented underclassmen suffered injuries that prevented them the playing time that would have entitled them to earning varsity letters. The desire, toughness and talent were certainly there. I’m looking forward to working with all the underclassmen next year.”
   Delaney spoke about each of her seniors Sylwia Kolodziej, Juliana Andrade, Awilda Valdez, Samantha Aichele, Rhianna Lebedz, Lucy Yakobchuk and Monica Ozieblo. Coach Delaney then presented the participation awards to Sabrina Broyzna, Rebecca Burke, Yanikza Cerdas, Nicole Cruz, Corinne DeSantis, Melanie Gonzalez, Serafima Isachenko, Angelika Lazur, Erin Lipot, Dana Mortensen and Marjorie Silva.
   Letters were given to Tara Covert, Anna Isachenko, Sylwia Kolodziej, Christine Pohl, Sylwia Pupek and Awilda Valdez. A second-year pin was awarded to Amy Evanylo, while Samantha Aichele, Juliana Andrade, Monica Ozieblo and Lyutsiya Yakobchuk. Rhianna Lebedz was the only four-year award winner and she received a watch.
   The special awards included the Most Valuable Player to Lebedz, Most Improved Player to Anna Isachenko, the Coaches Award to Aichele and Scholar Athlete to Lebedz.