Fall Sports Reach New Heights

The girls and boys Cross Country teams are league champs once again! This is the sixth consecutive time for the girls. The cross country team is predominately freshmen and sophomores, which is good for the future especially because they are such a talented group. Freshman, Kelsey Pereira made a surprise and became the team’s best runner placing second in the league race with the team’s best time.

In Cross Country, the lowest amount of points wins and that is exactly what the girls had. They scored 27 points while the second place team was behind with 47 points. Out of the nine runners placed, the Cliffside Park girls finished with runners in second, third, fifth, eighth and ninth.

The Cross Country boys having won seven times out of past nine years, they were nervous coming into this season. They were basically starting fresh with only two returning varsity runners, including senior Henry Chitic. Two boys from the soccer team joined and were found to be extremely beneficial including that they were apart of spring track earlier in the year. These boys became the team’s first and third runners. The young group stepped up and helped the team win the league title by more than 14 points. They also finished with runners in the top five of the race.

Coach Reggo says she is very proud to have so many titles in such a short time. She credited her team for such hard work and dedication throughout the year. This is why she believes championships are won in the summer!

This is the fourth consecutive year that the girls soccer team has won the league title. However, the road to victory was not easy. The upper classmen had to adjust to the mix of players on the team, including a lot of freshmen who needed to improve their knowledge of the game. They believed things were going to be different than they were in the past so they had to become leaders on and off the field.

The team came into this season hungry for glory and with all their hard work they got exactly what they wanted. Every year girls come and go, but this program sets the bar high starting in January in the weight room, then spring soccer, and finally, summer training.

Coach Cambareri says that his team is a great, tough group with a lot of character that does not take anything personally. He believes that when you get your team to be committed the way his girls are, you are already successful and the rest just falls into place. A lot of commitment in the summer and hard work in the off season was the key to their success this season.

Both Cambareri and Reggo were honored with the title of Coach of the Year in their respective sports this season. Congratulations to the teams and the coaches!