Winter Athletic Season Wrap-up

As spring athletics kick off, the Ranney Athletic Department is celebrating all the Middle and Upper School students who participated in the winter 2014-15 sports season. Below, the coaches provide a wrap-up.

Boys’ Varsity Basketball (Coach Drew Eldridge )
The 2015 Ranney Panthers overcame the loss of four starters from last year’s team and an early injury to one of its senior leaders. The 2015 team quickly became committed to new coaching staff’s philosophy, leading the panthers to capture the 2015 Panther classic. The team was led by senior John Mejia and junior James Geraghty. The panthers battled to a 5-17 season record. The future looks bright with sharpshooters Joseph Mahoney ’17 and Corey Natofsky ’17 returning to the team as well as major contributor Samuel Metzger ’17 .

Girls’ Varsity Basketball (Coach Tom Moriau)
The Varsity Girls’ Basketball team concluded another successful season this year. The team ended its season with a record of 12 wins—including Ranney Varsity Girls’ seventh straight Panther Classic Championship title—and 10 losses. The girls defeated Doane Academy in the finals of the Panther Classic Tournament 38-27. The team had great chemistry and each member of the team improved throughout the season. The 2014-15 season demonstrated the true definition of the word “team” each day at practice and in every game. All 18 girls worked hard together to gain success. The result of their hard work led to the team’s qualification for its third straight Shore Conference Tournament and third straight NJSIAA State Tournament. The Panthers were led by three talented and inspiring seniors: Grace Wilgucki, Francesca Fischer and Jeeda Ani. Junior Erin Kennedy and Freshman Kaitlyn Serpico filled out the starting five. Freshman Zahrah Siddiq and Sophomore Mari Patient contributed valuable minutes throughout the season. The varsity roster also included senior Ireland Clancy, junior Christine Raso and freshmen Allison Sobieski, Victoria Cuciniello, Madeline Blumenkrantz and Gabriella Snyder. The girls’ basketball program was able to field a junior varsity team this year as well to give our younger players valuable experience. Members of the Junior Varsity Girls’ Basketball team included Davin Flowers, Alya Hozayen, Tyler Odon, Rachel Chalnick and Ashley Biswal, along with some members of the varsity squad.

Varsity Fencing (Coaches Mo and Nicholas Tkach, a Ranney alum)
As a first-year head coach for the Ranney fencing team, I focused on the foil squad’s amazing potential and on building the foundation of our other five squads. Our Girls’ Foil Squad (Nicole Vaiani, Emily Brodsky, Olivia Eaddy, Niya Klayman and Madison Acker) earned the following results over the season:
• Santelli Tournament: 9th out of 46 high schools
• District 3 Championship: 5th of 14 high schools
• Individual State Championship: Nicole Vaiani made it to top 21 fencers
• Prep State Championship: our women’s foil squad won the title
• Individual Prep State Championship: Vaiani placed 1st and Emily Brodsky placed 7th
Our additional squads saw great individual effort among: Alec Taffin in epee, T.J. Spicer in foil and Rebekah Lo in sabre.

Indoor Track (Coach Nancy King)
Winter’s brutal cold forced the Panthers winter track team indoors for most of the season, but even without track or road to practice on, the team was able to push personal and team records forward. Jared Rush ’17 started his season by setting a new school record in the 800, and finished the season by shaving 11 seconds off that time at the NJSIAA Group Championship. Team Captain Ryan Eaddy ’15 pushed his school record in the 55 to a new low at the Shore Coaches’ meet, and set a new record in the indoor 200 at Prep States while scoring points for the team in both the 55 and 200 at the Lawrenceville meet. Charles Fabricant ’17 and Jack DeNicola ’17 both raced to personal records in the 55 in each meet, setting the stage for a strong comeback next season. Natalie Lombardi ’16 scored points at Prep States, finishing 5th in the shot put with a personal best toss. Sarah Awad ’16 ran the 200 and 55 in her first season, steadily improving her own records. With snow and cold making practicing the hurdles particularly challenging, Victoria Martorana ’16 was also able to steadily improve her form and her time throughout the season. With only one graduating senior, Captain Ryan Eaddy, the team is looking forward to a strong season next winter. Ryan holds school records in the indoor 400, 200 and 55, and the outdoor 400, 200, 100 as well as the javelin.

Varsity Swimming (Coach Emmett Walling)
The boys’ team finished its dual meet season 5-5 with a team of 12 swimmers, ultimately finishing in 17th place at the Monmouth County Championship and 14th at the NJISAA Championship. The girls’ team finished its dual meet season with a record of 4-6 with 17 swimmers on the roster. The girls finished in 11th place at the Monmouth County Championship and 10th at the NJISAA Championship. Junior Audra Smires qualified for the Meet of Champions, competing in the 50 and 100 Freestyle events at the Gloucester Institute of Technology. Read more about Smires  and the swim team’s successful season.
 

Middle School Cheerleading Squad (Coaches Janine Mitreuter and Jane Guadagno)
The Middle School Cheer team, led by eighth-grade captain Samantha Riebesell, welcomed the 2014-15 season with a few returning squad members and several new sixth graders, including seventh- graders Jacqueline Baron, Charlotte Clark, Sarah Farber, Marisa Riebesell and Daniela Warren, and sixth-graders Olivia Batista, Jillian Chandler, Gina Hanna, Sarah Pasquale and Abigail Schaaf. The girls were able to turn into a cohesive team quickly and performed at Middle School girls’ and boys’ basketball games throughout the season. The team never ceased to amaze me with its talent and ambition; the team members were supportive of one another, including the novice cheerleaders as they learned stunting. Their determination and sheer excitement drove them to learn new cheers and stunts throughout the season.

Middle School Varsity Boys’ Basketball (Coach Denis Noonan)
The Middle School Boys’ Varsity Basketball team had one of the most successful seasons in the history of Ranney School. We had a dynamic and unique team full of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders. Many highlights of the season were led by Scottie Lewis ‘19 and his dominant play but the team worked together and for each other which was incredibly inspiring. The team went undefeated in league play with a record of 13-0 and captured the Bay Shore Conference Crown with a huge victory over Keyport Middle School. Ranney School basketball is on the rise—and it started with this group of young men.

Middle School Varsity Girls’ Basketball (Coach Eileen McEnery)
The Middle School Girls’ Varsity Basketball team achieved tremendous success, both as a team and individually. Having 11 players on the roster with drastically varying game skills, basic fundamentals were a priority throughout the season. Every day, the team remained focused and vigilant as it strengthened dribbling and passing skills. As the team’s basketball game improved, confidence became visible and victories began to pile up. Jane Mallach ’20 led the team in points this season, scoring a total of 84, and Lilly Blumenkrantz ‘20 was right behind her with 60 points. Katherine Geraghty ’19 and Jenna Wilen ‘20 dominated in the paint, grabbing numerous rebounds that led to several team victories. Overall, the Panthers finished in 3rd place, right behind Keyport and the extremely talented Union Beach teams.

Middle School Swim (Coach Daniel Szymanski)
Ranney’s Middle School co-ed swim team did a fantastic job this season with a record of 7-1. Each meet had different challenges but every student put in his/her best effort. Joseph Strizhak ‘19 broke his own record in the 50 breast stroke, swimming a 35.83 and setting the Ranney Swim Invitational record at the same time. Siblings Jack ’19 and Tara Crilly ‘20 swam against each other in multiple meets and went back and forth all season. In the last meet of the year, the officials declared a tie on their last race against each other. At the Ranney Swim Invitational, several swimmers hit personal best times and received metals. The boys’ team placed 2nd and the girls’ team placed 3rd out of six schools.