Montclair High School’s athletics teams had an incredibly successful season and one that finally felt like normal. Some of these teams competed for the first time since 2019 and showed just how resilient they are. See below highlights of our spring sports courtesy of Athletic Director Patrick Scarpello and the team coaches.
Pictured left: MHS college-bound athletes courtesy of Wilhem Young, Deputy Chief of Operations, Montclair Police Department
Crew
The crew team consisted of 87 coxswains and athletes with the boys’ team slightly larger at just under 50. The team mainly raced on the early season Manny Flick series in Philadelphia which consisted of three events. The Mounties showed good early season speed before the championship races later in the spring.Highlights of the season were the girls’ varsity 4 which remained unbeaten in school races all season.
Their wins included the Philadelphia City Championships, Stotesbury Cup regatta (see pic left, above) and the SRAA National Championships. The girls team also picked up other wins along the way which included the girls JV 4 also winning at Stotesbury as well as victories at the Overpeck Spring Regatta.
The boys’ varsity 8 took silver at Philadelphia Cities and then split into a 4 which took silver at Stotesbury and 4th at SRAA Nationals. The boys JV 8 took gold at Stotesbury. The three events we won at Stotesbury matched our biggest haul of wins at this prestigious race and is for many schools the highlight of their season. Finally, a small number of athletes raced at the US Rowing Youth Nationals in Sarasota Florida. This event consists of not only the top schools in the country but also the very best club programs. The clubs are very strong and draw athletes from a wide range of school districts. Although we didn’t do as well as hoped, the event provided valuable experience for the athletes, especially those who are eligible to race on the team next year. Rowing is dominated by private schools and clubs and the fact we as a public school are able to compete at the very top of junior rowing is a testament to the dedication of the athletes and the massive support of their parents. The AD, the school and the district’s huge support enable us to compete as equals against the very best in the country.
Baseball
The baseball program had a fine season on all three levels. The freshman team played many exciting games and finished with a record of 11-8. The junior varsity team advanced to the semifinal of the JV Essex County tournament finishing with a record of 13-7. The varsity team had a historic season.
Photo credit: Andrew Garda, Montclair Local
They won the Group IV Section I tournament for the first time since 1964. Also, the team won the North title advancing to the overall group final for the first time in school history (see pic above and
Montclair Local story.) The team finished with an overall record of 24-7-1, the most wins since 1969.
Softball
The Montclair High School softball team finished with a 17-8 record. It was the most wins since the 2011 season. Three players were honored with first team "All-League" honors: Aliyah Andrews, Hannah Martin and Brianna Leech. Maddie Flynn, Alana Flynn and Remi Antinoro were named to the second team. Maya Gerdes and Ella Baschwitz were Honorable Mention.
Boys’ Volleyball
The Mounties Boys volleyball team finished a season that showed how truly grateful they were to be playing again. After a winless 2019, and a complete shutdown in 2020, the team completed the 2021 campaign with an overall record of 9-4. The Mounties captured second place in the Liberty Division at 7-2. The only two losses came at the hands of division winner East Orange Campus High School. Team leaders Kemaree Johnson (Team MVP) and James Piorkowski were selected 1st Team in the Liberty Division. Newcomer Jude Eaves and veteran Elliot Lasiter were chosen for 2nd Team. Hugo Pierrel and Ty Hillman received Honorable Mention. The Mounties were 5-0 before dropping the first match to East Orange Campus, got to host a SEC 1st Round Match and participated in the NJSIAA State Tournament. Six seniors will graduate from the program this year.
Girls’ Lacrosse
Photo credit: Andrew Garda, Montclair Local
The Montclair High School girls lacrosse program had a great 2021 spring
season, filled with lots of individual and team highlights. Varsity
ended the season with a 7-11 record. Despite being under .500, seven of the losses were by one to the top ranked teams in the state, including Ridgewood, Westfield, Mendham, and Morristown. Some of the individual highlights include: Senior captain Katie Giordano scoring her 100th career point and 100the career goal; sophomore goalie Talia Cohen-Vigder getting her 100th career save; and sophomore Megan Previdi breaking the program record with nine assists in a single game. The team also finished the season with several highlights. The team advanced to the ECT semifinals, along with the NJSIAA Group 4 semifinals, after a tremendous win over a top ranked team, Bridgewater Raritan. In addition, the team finished the season ranked 16th overall after competing neck and neck with the best teams in the state. Our JV and freshman team had an awesome season as well - showing lots of growth and improvement in lacrosse IQ and stick skills. This was especially evident against Mountain Lakes, in which the girls secured a great team victory. The program as a whole made big strides this year, and we are looking forward to what next season brings!
Boys’ Lacrosse
The team finished the season 12-6 and beat the two Top 10 teams in the state and two Top 20 teams in the state (the program has not beaten a Top 20 opponent in the last five years). Here are some other highlights: Placed 2nd Place in the Essex County Tournament Made it to the Semifinal Round of the Group IV North State Playoffs Won its first program Fitch-Pitt Conference victory over opponent Westfield Won 1st Team Fitch Pitt Conference player Three 2nd Team Fitch Pitt Conference players One Honorable Mention Fitch Pitt Conference player Two 1st Team All State Players Two 2nd Team All State Players One Honorable Mention All State Player Four 1st Team Super Essex County Players Three 2nd Team Super Essex County Player One Honorable Mention Super Essex County Player Coach Diehl voted Group IV Coach of the Year One All American Two Academic All Americans Boys’ Tennis: 2021 MHS boys’ tennis had a very successful season. After losing the entire 2020 season to COVID, the team only had ONE returning starter (at second doubles) from it 2019 #5 team in NJ and N1 Group 4 title winning team. Despite this, the team should finish in the state Top 20 and had a winning record, despite losing many tight matches against some of the best Top 20 teams in NJ. Here are the highlights: Third in the SEC American Division (4-4), the top division in the conference, behind only Millburn (who we lost to twice 3-2 both of which came down to the wire) and Newark Academy, the undefeated #1 team in the state and USA. Essex County Tournament semi-finalist North 1 Group 4 finalist losing a very close 4-1 match to Bergen Tech, the eventual Group 4 finalist Defeated rivals and tennis powerhouses Livingston HS and MKA twice Team almost entirely made up of underclassmen to return in 2022
Golf
This was a rebuilding year for the golf team. We came into the season with high hopes but we had a hard time getting the results we wanted. That being said, all the teams in our division were under the same constraints. The SEC American division for golf was the toughest division in high school golf in the state. West Essex, Newark Academy and Millburn were ranked in the Top 5 in the state. I'm really proud of our team, they never gave up and fought hard in each match. The only defense in golf as a team is to make the other team play better, and our team did that. For highlights, we qualified for state sectionals for the 7th year in a row (skipping over last year). We played tough and all but one of our players shot below 90 in that tournament. We finished 6th out of 19 teams in the county tournament, just behind Livingston and Seton Hall. We have a good foundation for next year. We are losing three seniors, but we have a core of five consistent players to start next year.
Track & Field
Pictured: The Montclair High School girls track and field team with its SEC
American Division trophy after competing at the Super Essex County
Conference American and Liberty Championships
All athletes who finished in the top 8 are all state athletes and also
finished the season ranked top 10 or better in the state of New Jersey.
See
season wrap-up prior to the more recent results below.
Elizabeth Fitzgerald: Pole vault 4th
Stephanie Webb: 200 11th
Kiya Lawson: 400m 24th, 200 8th
Girls 4x100: Stephanie Webb, Ella McAdams, Anna Glorie, Kiya Lawson 2nd
Girls 4x400: Ella McAdams, Stephanie Webb, Krisantha Spencer, Kiya Lawson 5th
Jessie Legister: 400m State Champion, 200m 3rd (only person in the state of NJ to break 48 this year. Not only once but two times)
Oscar Counsell: 1600 7thTruman Williams: 200 14th
Boys 4x100: 2nd
Truman Williams, Jessie Legister, Michael Robinson, Reuven Frye
Boys 4x400: 4th
Truman Williams, Lawton Haynes, Reuven Frye, Jessie Legister