St. Joseph High School’s Sean Finan (8) and East Brunswick High School’s Alec Weissman both have their hands on the ball as they meet at the net during the Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Volleyball Tournament finals played at J.P. Stevens High School in Edison. The Bears beat the Falcons in straight sets, 25-15, 25-18. STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER ERIC SUCAR Metuchen High School boys golf coach Rich Stoner considers the most memorable moment of this season to be the NJSIAA Group I title won by the Bulldogs on May 20. However, Stoner considers his team’s final competition of the spring at the Tournament of Champions on Hopewell Valley Golf Club’s tough course to be “bittersweet.”
“It was kind of quiet on the bus ride home,” said Stoner when he reflected on the day’s events. “We were pleased to have won Group I, but felt we could have done a little more. But that’s good. It’s an indication of how the program has grown.”
Truthfully, Metuchen would not have finished among the state’s best had it not been for the performances of seniors Peter Kim, Jeremy Nevius and Ryan O’Neill. Kim, who played in about half of the Bulldogs’ regular season matches (the team finished 13-0), was the defending state individual champion but finished fourth this year with a 70, two strokes behind Luke Graboyes of Watchung Hills Regional High School. Nevius, coming off a first-place finish in the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Tournament a week before, and O’Neill both carded 79.
Kim is headed to West Point when he graduates next month and was clearly the pacesetter for Metuchen, as he proved to be the perfect complement to a team that had other highly competitive golfers.
“This year was an enjoyable experience for everybody,” Stoner said. “Talk to the other guys on the team. They appreciated the competition Peter provided and, as a result, helped them improve their games. “We’d like to think the program is at the point where it can continue to be among the better teams in the conference,” he added. “I’m not saying that next year we’ll finish as high in the states as we did this season, but we have a lot of young golfers coming back who will make names for themselves.”
Metuchen is heavy with sophomores who gained valuable experience playing in highprofile matches and tournaments. Matt Zeng, Matt Biancamano, Joe Misdea and Brandon Switzer make up the nucleus of a team that will be competitive for years to come.
St. Joseph High School, led by senior Brian Fitzpatrick’s 74, finished a stroke better than Metuchen to place eighth in the team standings. The other golfers in the top four for the Falcons were junior Hartej Gill (82), and senior Steve Taraska and sophomore Gabe Rivera, who both shot 83.
Boys volleyball
A fourth meeting between arguably the two best boys high school volleyball teams in the state, East Brunswick and St. Joe’s, is not yet etched in stone, but the GMC powerhouses are likely to clash for the Central
Jersey sectional title on May 31.
Both survived two first-round matches and are poised to reach the championship round. St. Joe’s, off victories against St.
John Vianney High School and West Windsor Plainsboro High School North, was scheduled to meet Hillsborough High
School on May 29.
The Falcons (38-4) have already met and defeated the Raiders twice in earlier meetings. East Brunswick (29-3) defeated Colts Neck High School and Bridgewater- Raritan High School to reach the finals, where the Bears will meet Old Bridge High School. East Brunswick also holds the upper hand in two early meetings against the Knights.
For St. Joe’s, revenge is a motive ever since East Brunswick prevented the Falcons from capturing a GMC Tournament title a week ago. Head coach Miguel Cabrita looks at the state tournament as a chance to wipe the slate clean.
“The state tournament always represents a new focus,” he said. “It is during this time period that we fine-tune and address any areas that we still see as weaknesses. We push harder and harder every day knowing there is no room for mistakes.”
Cabrita said his team’s maturity and experience assures that it won’t look past Hillsborough.
“We have nine seniors and need to call on that experience to bring out the best in our team,” he said. “Our co-captains — Sean Dacey, Sean Finan, Kurt MacDonald and Greg Vajtay — need to dig deep now and find what it takes to motivate themselves and their teammates to reach new heights.”
“When these four guys are ‘on,’ they can easily take over a match,” he added. “But the greatest part of it all is that the other starters — Bryan Rafano, Michael Hilyard, Ray Kowalski, Alejandro Monsanto and junior Tom Burrell — all play vital roles. Our strength lies in depth. Even if one is having a bad day, we have five others that can get the job done.”
Cabrita believes playing in the GMC, which he said is the best volleyball conference in the state, has helped prepare his team for the matches ahead.
“The good thing about [the GMC] is that we are challenged every game day, and that helps us sharpen our skills,” he said. “We always have to be on our ‘A game,’ or other teams will take us down. So we always have to stay focused and prepared for every opponent we face.”
Softball
With three of the top four seeds in the GMC softball tournament eliminated, secondseed Bishop George Ahr High School finds itself in the driver’s seat to win the crown.
Top-seed East Brunswick, third-seed J.P. Stevens High School and fourth-seed Monroe Township High School were knocked off by lower-seeded teams. The Trojans faced sixth-seed Sayreville War Memorial High School in one semifinals game on May 25, while fifth-seed South Plainfield High School was to meet ninth-seed John F. Kennedy Memorial High School in the other game. The finals were scheduled for May 28 at South Plainfield High School.
The Trojans, the top seed in Non-Public South A, were to see their first state tournament action on May 28 against the winner of Notre Dame High School vs. Mount St. Mary Academy. But as of May 24, Athletic Director Mike Wolfthal was waiting to hear from the NJSIAA to resolve the scheduling conflict with the GMC finals and state tournament games.
J.P. Stevens, the top seed in the North Jersey II Group IV tournament, was still alive and scheduled to face Columbia High School on May 24. In other state tournament games, Metuchen, the third seed in Central Jersey Group I, was to meet secondseed New Egypt High School on May 28.
Baseball
With all area teams eliminated from the GMC baseball tournament, the focus is on those who remain alive in the state tournament.
In Central Jersey Group I, third-seed Metuchen was scheduled to meet 11th-seed Shore Regional High School, with the winner to face the survivor of a game between Keyport High School (10th seed) and New Egypt (second seed) on May 28.
In Non-Public South A, St. Joe’s (ninth seed) was to meet Notre Dame (eighth seed), and Bishop Ahr (16th seed) was to play Gloucester Catholic High School (top seed) with both games on May 24.