#b#South Builds on Its Cross Country Dynasty#/b#
The High School South cross country teams put on a strong showing at the Mercer County cross country championships on October 23, adding a girls’ team and boys’ individual title to the program’s already impressive resume.
The South girls claimed their fourth straight county title by their widest margin yet, 53 points ahead of second place Princeton. South’s top five runners all finished in the top 18, led by senior Christina Rancan, who finished second in 18:57.
Rancan was followed by Julia Mao in sixth (19:50), Kelsey Kobus in ninth (19:56), Liz Petrov in 13th (20:07); and Alex Hesterberg in 18th (20:28).
High School North’s girls placed seventh, paced by Veda Donthireddy, who was 20th in 20:30, and Julia Grande, 22nd in 20:32.
The South boys, the five-time defending county champions, could not retain the team title, but senior Tim Bason kept the individual title in South’s hands for the fourth straight year.
Bason led the Pirates to a third-place team finish with his time of 15:42. South placed the remainder of its scorers in the top 30, with Dexter Benkard in 16th (16:45); Alex Petri in 22nd (16:54); Sam Williams in 24th (16:55); and Josh Forest in 27th (16:58).
The North boys trailed South by 22 points to take fourth as a team. Freshman Matthew SantaMaria was North’s top finisher with a time of 16:33, good for 13th place. Jonathan Logan (16:47) and ShuMing Teoh (16:49) claimed 18th and 19th, Nic Stalzer was 26th (16:57), and Atharv Kulkarni was 36th (17:18).
The WW-P teams will return to Monroe’s Thompson Park, the site of county meet, for the state sectional championships on Saturday, November 7.
#b#Football: North Hopes for Playoff Berth#/b#
High School North earned its third and fourth wins of the season with a 29-12 defeat of Hamilton West on October 23 and a 31-28 victory over Ewing on October 30.
Quarterback Malik Thompson was the star of the Hamilton game, throwing for more than 250 yards and two touchdowns and scoring one more on a 70-yard interception return. Thompson recorded two more touchdowns — on an 86-yard fumble return and a 25-yard run — while C.J. Markisz ran for two more, and Steve Schilder kicked a field goal in the fourth quarter to put the game just out of reach for Ewing.
The Knights’ final regular season game takes place Saturday, November 7, at Princeton, with North sitting firmly on the bubble for a state playoff spot. The seedings for the state tournament will be announced Sunday, November 8, and include the top eight teams in each section. North was ranked ninth heading into the Ewing game.
The South Pirates, meanwhile, fell to Princeton, 34-7, on October 23, and Northern Burlington, 49-9, on October 30 to remain winless. Zylon Cooper’s fourth-quarter run accounted for South’s only points against Princeton, while Scott Cochrane ran for South’s lone touchdown against Northern Burlington.
The Pirates last chance for a win comes at Steinert on Saturday, November 7.
North (4-4). A 29-12 win over Hamilton West on October 23. Touchdowns: John Owens (50-yard pass); Matthew Phelan (6-yard pass); C.J. Markisz (4-yard run); Malik Thompson (70-yard interception return). Extra point: Steve Schilder, 3. Two point conversion: Thompson.
A 31-28 win over Ewing on October 30. Touchdowns: Markisz (4-yard run, 8-yard run); Thompson (86-yard fumble return, 25-yard run). Field goal: Steven Schilder.
South (0-8). A 34-7 loss to Princeton on October 23. Touchdown: Zylon Cooper (6-yard run).
A 49-9 loss to Northern Burlington on October 30. Touchdown: Scott Cochrane (1-yard run).
#b#Boys’ Soccer: South Falls in County Final#/b#
After an easy 6-1 in over Trenton in the opening round, No. 7 North met No. 2 South in the quarterfinals of the Mercer County Tournament on October 24, and it was South who came away with the 1-0 win. A first-half goal by Luke Hansen turned out to be the game winner, with Luke Balestrieri making five saves to keep the Pirates on top. Oliver Sapon had eight saves for the Knights.
South had advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-2 win over Hamilton West in the opening round. The Pirates played No. 3. Steinert in the semifinals on October 26 and again eked out a 1-0 victory, this time thanks to a goal in the eighth minute by Matt Stein.
Facing No. 4 Pennington in the final on October 29, the Pirates fell behind in the 19th minute and never caught up, falling 3-1. David Philbin recorded South’s lone goal in the 56th minute.
North (9-6-1). A 6-1 win over Trenton on October 21. Goals: Michael Bamford; Alex Lu; Vincenzo Pugliese, 2; Josh Schupak, 2. Saves: Brendan Kerins, 2; Oliver Sapon, 3.
South (13-5-1). A 7-2 win over Hamilton West on October 21. Goals: Anthony Amore, 2; Bashar El Sherif, 3; David Philbin; Dima Tymofyeye. Saves: Luke Balestrieri, 4; Griffin Valentine.
A 1-0 win over Steinert on October 26. Goal: Matt Stein. Saves: Balestrieri, 5.
A 3-1 loss to Pennington on October 29. Goal: Philbin. Saves: Balestrieri, 6.
#b#Girls’ Soccer#/b#
North (7-7-1). A 1-0 loss to Princeton in the first round of the Mercer County Tournament on October 21. Saves: Claudia Bianchine, 6.
South (7-9). A 1-0 loss to Steinert in the first round of the Mercer County Tournament on October 21. Saves: Julia Koepp, 22.
#b#Field Hockey: Teams Go Quietly in Tourney#/b#
With a bye in the first round, the No. 4 North field hockey team opened Group 3 state tournament play against No. 5 Middletown South on November 2 and lost, 1-0.
Competing in Group 4, No. 8 South faced No. 9 Cherry Hill East the first round on October 26 and lost, 4-3.
North (9-6-3). A 2-0 loss to Notre Dame on October 27. Saves: Lauren Hausheer, 15.
A 3-1 win over Holy Cross on October 29. Goals: Carolyn Ciolfi; Sara Gostomski; Gitika Maheshwari. Saves: Hausheer, 6.
A 1-0 loss to Middletown South on November 2. Saves: Hausheer, 13.
South (6-14). A 5-1 win over Nottingham on October 21. Goals: Adela Agnew; Yelin Jung; Megan Kramer; Marisa Loury; Yael Yonash.
A 6-1 loss to Burlington Township on October 22.
A 4-3 loss to Cherry Hill East on October 26.
#b#Girls’ Tennis#/b/#
The South girls left no doubt about which WW-P tennis team was better with a 5-0 defeat of North on October 29. The Pirates won all five matches in straight sets.
North (14-13). A 5-0 win over Ewing on October 23. Singles 1: Audrey Chen; Singles 2: Amanda Binder; Singles 3: Nora Binder; Doubles 1: L. Bokka & I. Sachar; Doubles 2: K. Briggs & J. Vereen.
A 3-2 loss to Princeton on October 26. Singles 1: Chen; Singles 2: A. Binder; Doubles 2: M. Herring & C. Tan.
South (21-2). A 5-0 win against Notre Dame on October 21. Singles 1: Stephanie Ji; Singles 2: Kimberly Wong; Singles 3: Manogna Konduri; Doubles 1: M. DeSouza & E. Zhang; Doubles 2: D. Muniappan & R. Shanmugan.
A 5-0 win over Lawrence on October 22. Singles 1: Claudia Siniakowicz; Singles 2: Angela Weng; Singles 3: DeSouza; Doubles 1: M. Konduri & M. Wong; Doubles 2: M. Liu & E. Zhang.
A 5-0 win against Trenton on October 23. Singles 1: Konduri; Singles 2: DeSouza; Singles 3: Zhang; Doubles 1: M. Liu & H. Wang; Doubles 2: A. Pappu & N. Sachdeva.
A 5-0 win against Allentown on October 26. Singles 1: Siniakowicz; Singles 2: Caroline Zhou; Singles 3: Ji; Doubles 1: K. Wong & M. Wong; Doubles 2: M. Liu & H. Wang.
A 5-0 win against Moorestown on October 27. Singles 1: Siniakowicz; Singles 2: Weng; Singles 3: Zhou; Doubles 1: S. Ji & K. Wong; Doubles 2: Konduri & M. Wong.
A 5-0 win over High School North on October 29. Singles 1: Siniakowicz; Singles 2: Weng; Singles 3: Zhou; Doubles 1: S. Ji & K. Wong; Doubles 2: C. Zhou & M. Konduri.
A 5-0 win over Robbinsville on October 30. Singles 1: Siniakowicz; Singles 2: Weng; Singles 3: Ji; Doubles 1: Konduri & Wong; Doubles 2: M. DeSouza & Zhang.
#b#Volleyball#/b#
South claimed the North Division title in the West Jersey Interscholastic Volleyball League with a 2-0 win over North on October 22. Jinae Park had 22 assists and two kills for the Pirates, while Vrinda Gupta had three aces and one assist for the Knights.
North (12-13). A 2-0 loss to Delaware Valley on October 29.
South (23-5). A 2-0 win over Delaware Valley on October 26.
A 2-0 loss to Hunterdon Central on October 28.
A 2-0 loss to North Hunterdon on October 30.
