Fall Athletes Honored at CHS

With the 2009 Cranford fall sports season in the books, it was time to celebrate the achievements of all the teams, from varsity to junior varsity to freshmen. A large crowd of players and parents filled the high school auditorium Tuesday night for the festivities which honored 377 athletes.

“All of our student-athletes have a lot to be proud of,” said athletic director Marc Taglieri. “Their dedication and hard work continue to make our sports programs a big success."

Each coach received a few minutes to talk about their team with players introduced as a group. The individual teams then stood in front of the large audience of friends and family to get their recognition. Player awards were handed out to every student-athlete, recognizing the time and effort they put in since late August.

Cranford had a lot to recognize this fall season with the boy's and girl's soccer teams earning Union County Tournament championships, and the cross country team capturing a state sectional title.

The boy's soccer team, coached by fifth-year mentor Mike Curci, finished with a mark of 22-1-2, breaking the all-time victory mark, while earning their third consecutive conference championship to go along with their first county title in the 44-year history of the tournament.

“It’s just starting to sink in,” said coach Mike Curci. “When you look back at the season we had, it’s just amazing. Now that the season is over, we’re finally starting to enjoy the accomplishments.”

Not to be outdone, the girl's soccer squad, led by coach Jen Michewicz, was honored for winning the county tournament crown with upset wins over rivals Westfield and Scotch Plains. The Lady Cougars, who finished at 17-3-2, said goodbye to 13 seniors who will go out with great memories.

The girls junior varsity soccer team, under coach Megan Francis, took home the county trophy as well, giving the Lady Cougars the clean sweep and a bright future.

The varsity football team finished with a flourish, capturing three of their last four games enroute to a 4-6 campaign. Coach Erik Rosenmeier spoke of the fight in his team all season long, overcoming some tough early-season losses to end the year on a high note. And with the freshmen team finishing with an impressive mark of 7-2, the excitement is already building for 2010.

The girls volleyball team had tough shoes to fill after having won the 2008 state championship, but head coach Lucy Diaz was not disappointed in her team’s performance this season, finishing with a respectable 17-8 mark, which featured a third consecutive appearance in the county final. The Lady Cougars had a challenging schedule, facing six of the top 10 teams in the state rankings.

The boy's cross-country team finished off a banner season with a sectional championship, to go along with a 9-0 record in dual meets, while the girls earned a mark of 8-1 in dual meets, earning a solid 11^th place finish in the state championships on November 14. Ten out of their 14 runners closed the season out with personal bests on the Holmdel course, leaving head coach John Schiano optimistic for the winter track season.

“I am especially happy for the seniors," Schiano said. "They have worked very hard for four years and this is their first real taste of team success”.

Megan Snyder’s varsity field hockey team will be one to be reckoned with in the future. While they wrapped up the season with a .500 record, they reached their goal of qualifying for the state tournament, which gives them something to build on for next year.

“I’ve asked for more dedication from the girls," said Coach Snyder. We did several days per week, running, conditioning and weightlifting.  We were hoping to build the program through that.”

The girls gymnastics team wrapped up their successful season with a record of 8-2, finishing third in the counties, and ranking 19^th in the state top 20. Coach Michele Charney-Hulse has reason to be optimistic with the majority of her team returning.

“Our freshmen performed very well, although we’re losing three seniors this year," she said. "We have two freshmen that are coming up and I hear they’re at the top of their game, so I have high expectations for the next few years.”

Cheerleading coach Nikki Savino talked about the dedication of her squad, which always made Friday night football more festive for those in attendance.

For sure, there was plenty to cheer about this past season, closing out one of the more successful campaigns in school history.