Piece of Cake: Nine Top Athletes Honored

For nine Ridgewood students, Wednesday's ceremony honoring them for their athletic accomplishments was a piece of cake. The difficult part was balancing school, sports and many other responsibilities asked of these star student athletes.

Matt Beausoleil (The Citadel), Sarah DeVita (University of Virginia), Blair Fuentez (University of Miami), Kaitlin Flood (Delaware), Julia Gould (Holy Cross), InSoo Huang (Brown), Vann Jorgensen (Rutgers), Kayla Polcari (Notre Dame) and Pat Rynkowski (Marist) took photographs signing their letters of intent to college alongside RHS principal Jack Lorenz, as well as their coaches and parents. Of course, each athlete was given a personalized cake featuring an action photo on it.

Beausoleil, Huang and Rynkowski all compete for the boys track team, with DeVita and Polcari on the girls squad. Jorgensen is the midfielder for the Maroons lacrosse team. Flood is on the Ridgewood crew team and Gould and Fuentez play volleyball.

“For me, it was between Marist, Iona and Monmouth,” said Rynowksi of the potential colleges vying for his services. “I really liked the program up at Marist. Running-wise and academically I really felt like I could get through there. I just like the school as a whole." Rynowski will run the 1,500 and would like to try the 3K and 5K in college, he said.

“For a really long time I’ve admired the military and their work ethic,” said Beausoleil on his college choice. “I feel like I’d be doing a good duty serving my country [after graduation].”

While at The Citadel, Beausoleil plans to run the decathlon.

Huang fell in love with Brown after attending his cousin’s graduation at the Providence, RI. School. He plans to major in pre-med, he said.

Though Huang is a sprinter, he also competes in the hurdles.

“I’m really excited,” said the Rutgers-bound Jorgensen, a star on both the lacrosse field and the quarterback of the football team. “I met all the kids on the [lacrosse] team, they’re awesome people. The coaches are great.

“It was a no-brainer for me,” added the midfielder, whose team recently won the Bergen County tournament. “They have everything I want, they have every class I want. I really fell in love with it right away. It felt right.”

Jorgensen plans on majoring in business.

“I loved the campus,” Gould said of Holy Cross, a school gently tucked away in the hills of Red Sox Nation. “It has a very rigorous academic reputation, so that drew to me to the school initially. And the fact that I could play Division 1 volleyball for them was just icing on the cake.”

Gould will be playing libero for the Crusaders.

“I was talking to other schools, but Delaware offered me the best options,” said Flood. “They’re really supportive of student athletes, so it seemed like a really good fit.”

Flood is undecided on a major, but may consider studying education, she said.

Polcari is Fightin' Irish all the way – one of the region's best pole vaulters has always wanted to attend one of the nation's premier Catholic universities. She's been to the school many times between official visits and visiting her family members who attended the Catholic college in South Bend, Indiana. Polcari, who is also a gymnast, is considering majoring in biology and will compete as a pole-vaulter for the Fighting Irish.

DeVita lived in Charlottesville, Va. when she was younger, and she’s always wanted to go to UVA. Her older brother Tommy is currently a high jumper for the Cavaliers. DeVita competes in the hurdles and would like to major in either biology or psychology, she said Wednesday.

Fuentez, who is a setter and record-breaking outside hitter, whittled her list of colleges down to three Atlantic Coast Conference schools: Boston College, Virginia Tech, and the University of Miami.

“I looked at the pros and cons: location, volleyball program, and athletics,” said Fuentez, who ultimately decided to become a Hurricane. She is mulling majoring in business at The U.