2005 Westfield Girls Indoor Track Preview

An infusion of fit soccer players added to the Group IV section cross country champions makes the Westfield Girls indoor track team a strong threat to retain their Union County Relay and Team championships.

Two time all county soccer star Emily MacNeil and cross country stalwarts, Annie Onishi and Meg Driscoll return to make the Westfield four by 800 relay team one of the state’s most formidable. Replacing graduated Deenie Quinn is likely to be, another soccer player junior Miriam Becker-Cohen, who often ran on the relay last year. MacNeil, the county indoor and outdoor champion in the 800 meter run, will also be a force in the 400 meter run and a member of the four by 400 relay team.

“I hope to make it back to the meet of champions this year and the team hopes to defend its county relay and individual team titles,” said MacNeil.

“I’m hoping to get my 800 meter time under 2:18 for the winter because I’ve never done that in the winter season.”

“I am expecting Emily to have a great season, just like I expect the rest of the seniors and returnees to have. She is a captain, she is a leader, and she wants to finish strong,” said Head Coach Jen Buccino.

Another soccer player, sophomore Jillian Kape adds strength to both relays.
Having a soccer coach Katie Egan, who was a championship 800-meter runner at Westfield, while also playing soccer, enhances the soccer-track synergy. Buccino an accomplished runner, welcomes the fitness the soccer players enter the season with, but also knows that the team must merge the two fitness levels from the fall seasons.

“This is track season. Everyone is a track kid on the team right now. The only variations in the training, other than for sprinter and distance, and for those that have experience and those that are rookies. is for those in shape and those that are not ,” said Buccino.

Yet another soccer star, sophomore Erin McCarthy is part of a talented group that includes freshmen Stephanie Cortinhal, Catherine Cognetti, and Corrine Parkinson that add to the middle distance depth, which will be even more needed with Driscoll recovering from an injury that caused her
to miss much of the cross-country season.

“Meg is running again. She will be back to her old form before you know it ,” said Buccino.

While the strength of the team is clearly the middle and long distance runners, the team also should improve in the sprints where freshman Christina Obiajulu joins returnees Ali Fleder and Erica Ammermuller.

The distances will be paced by cross-country stars Jen Danielsson, and Ayn Wisler as well as veteran Caitlyn Berkowitz. The hurdles appear strong with returning co-captains Lauren Nolan and Danielle Parkinson along with Emily Perry and Marlena Sheridan.

Kape and Perry. return to pace the high jump and another co-captain Christina Henry returns, along with Kate Anderson to join newcomers Carolyn Cook and Christina Collucci in the shot put.

2005 Westfield Boys Indoor Track Preview

No boy’s cross-country team in the state was sadder to see the season end than Westfield. Over the last month the Blue Devils had one awe inspiring performance after another that vaulted them past rival Cranford to be the highest rated team in Union County and resulted in star Jeffrey Perrella being named first team all state. Perrella is confident that the success from the fall translates into the indoor track season.

“The momentum we built up during the Cross Country season has really
carried over into the winter season ,” said Perrella.

“Not only are the veteran cross country guys psyched, but incoming athletes from other sports as well as first timers to the high school athletic arena are adding to the excitement.”

Veteran coach Jack Martin takes a more cautious approach. “Winter is a funny time with weather the holidays etc. We will train shorter and
more intensely for a while and see what happens ,” said Martin.

Led by Perrella and senior Rob Broadbent, the Blue Devil distance corps is so deep that they can withstand “losing” one of their top five runners, senior Michael Gorski to the pole vault where along with fellow senior Mike Woods, form one of the most potent pole vault duos in the state. Last season the duo won nearly every pole vault relay they competed in and are strong threats to win the inaugural Group III Relay on January 9.

‘Michael is an outstanding pole vaulter and will concentrate on that event. A
plus this winter is that the state has added the Pole vault to the state championships ,” said Martin.

Juniors Kris Kagan, Ameer Rogers, Jay Hoban, and Raymond Chen,, who along with Perrella will form one of the best cross country teams in the state next fall add the depth that allows Gorski to concentrate on the pole vault.

The Blue Devils may resort to some of their depth behind their top seven in the Union County Relays on January 5 at Dunn Center in Elizabeth, where it is likely that their top rival, Cranford, will rest its top runners in deference to the state meet, four days later.

Broadbent, a 1:59 800 runner last spring, poses the most intriguing situation for Martin after exploding this past fall to drop over a minute from his Holmdel time to finish an astounding 25th in the Meet of Champions. Formerly thought of as an 800 runner, Broadbent could branch into the other long distances this winter where Perrella should be one of the best in the state.

“I hope to be able to remain as lucky as I have been with injuries, few and far between. I will hopefully stay healthy through the cold, hard winter months.,” said Perrella.

“If I stay injury free things should go well, but I know
that isn't very easy. Also, upcoming midterms and late night homework
sessions will make things a little more difficult than in the
beginning of the year and add to the already large amounts of stress.”

Running back Sam Kim, Jake Brandman and John Aleksandravicius are the top sprinters and veteran Tyler MacCubbin returns as the top high jumper and hurdler. According to Martin, the weight team is young and inexperienced and a leader has yet to emerge.


Martin, with the advantage of 35 years of experience, remains on the cautious side. “Hopefully, we will remain healthy ,” said Martin.

“Pretty much the program feels more energetic than it has in past
years. Guys are really getting pumped and are really hungry to turn in
a good performance. A lot of guys are ready to step up and start
running some big times ,” added Perrella.

Westfield Soccer Boys Review 2004

Look up the word frustration in the dictionary and you might find a photo of the 2004 Westfield Boys Soccer Team underneath. The perennially powerful Blue Devils were a mystifying 2-12-3 this season, and almost every team that played them left with the same question “How could such a talented team have this record?”.

Veteran coach George Kapner, who entered the season with a career mark of 172-60-22 over the previous thirteen seasons, was just as nonplussed as everyone else but continued to try and maintain a positive attitude around the team although he admitted it wasn’t always easy.

“At first, it was very difficult.,” said Kapner.
“As the injuries and losses mounted, focusing our time and energy on improving in small increments and competing effectively, creating smaller, attainable goals, gave us a focus that removed some of the frustration.”

Westfield’s first two games-a 0-0 tie with perennial power East Brunswick and a 1-0 loss at Group IV section champion Linden set a bad tone to the season.

In each game we played well only in spurts but still had great scoring
opportunities. Had we finished, I believe that our record would have been the opposite
of what it turned out to be.,” said Kapner.

Two late season games again Scotch Plains teams, Union Catholic and Scotch Plains Fanwood(SPF) perfectly epitomized the season. In the former, the Blue Devils were unable to hold a 1-0 second half lead in the first round of the Union County Tournament and lost to the then undefeated Terriers on a golden goal in overtime.

“I honestly believed, right up until they scored in overtime,
that we would win this game and that the victory would propel us all the way to
the final game of the tournament.,” said Kapner.

“ We played great, but UC played better. In the end, Summit's win in the first round over Linden had the effect that I was seeking for us, propelling them to the semi-finals.”

As tough as that loss was to take, it paled in comparison to the Blue Devils’ late season home match with arch rival SPF. Westfield played the heavily favored Raiders to a standstill and were inches away from winning the game late in regulation when Tom Taylor’s hard shot hit the post. Still, they were seconds away from a scoreless tie when Sean Young scored in the second overtime.

“This was probably the best game we played all year and, to be honest, proved to me that we had not played anywhere near our potential all year ,” said Kapner.

“Both of these games demonstrate a coaching maxim that I absolutely believe in ,” said Kapner.
“Winning teaches you how to win and losing teaches you how to lose. Both UC and
SPF won our games because they believed that they would!”

The Blue Devils’ weakness was easy to pinpoint. They were able to score only ten goals the entire year which left Kapner dumbfounded.

“I really have no idea why we couldn’t score. I know that we did not possess the ball enough during games, but we still created opportunities in almost every match. I saw chances missed this year that baffled me. I have always said that great finishers are
born, not made, but I've never had a team that had no finishers. Next year, I
have vowed to spend more time, personally, with my forwards since finishing was
my best skill when I played.”

Through all the misery, there were two shining lights, one present, the other future.
“(Goalie) Jeff Greenlaw was the saving grace of this team.
The defense in front of him was in a constant state of flux due to injuries and
formation changes during the season. The biggest losses that this team
suffered were injuries to Kyle Fleming and Jeff Thomashow, who would have been the
very center of our defense. I believe that we would have been much more
successful if they had not missed the bulk of the season ,” said Kapner.

While the varsity struggled the junior varsity was nearly perfect, going undefeated and sharing the Union County championship with Scotch Plains.
“Alex Schmidt, did a phenomenal job. Obviously, he helped teach these young men how to win. Coupled with the four sophomores on the varsity and hoping that everyone stays healthy , I believe that the JV success this year bodes well for the varsity
next year ,” said Kapner.

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Emily MacNeil

Even before she had ever coached Emily MacNeil, first year Westfield Girls High School Coach Katie Egan had a healthy appreciation for elite 800-meter runners who also played soccer and with good reason. A 1998 graduate of Westfield, Egan was a star soccer player, and was an 800-meter runner and member of a record setting 3200-meter relay team in the spring.

Egan’s younger brother Brendan, a 2004 Westfield graduate, had combined the speed and endurance gained from running the 800 in track with excellent soccer skills to twice be named first team all Union County as a sweeper. MacNeil, an all Union County player last year and the county 800 meter champion, followed that path this autumn, leading the Blue Devils to an 13-6-3 record which included a berth in the Union County Tournament semi-finals where they lost to Governor Livingston, and the Group IV Section II finals where they were defeated by Watchung Hills. And last spring MacNeil anchored a record setting Blue Devil 3200-meter relay team that erased her coach’s name from the Westfield track record book.

When watching her effortlessly glide down the field with her long loping stride one can
speculate how much better a runner MacNeil would be if she didn’t get all the nicks and bruises inherent with a key defensive position in the rough world of soccer.

But MacNeil is undeterred. “I enjoy track but my passion will always be soccer. I’ve
been playing it for as long as I can remember and winning an important soccer
game is one of the best feelings in the world. The individual wins in races
just can’t compare to a big team victory in soccer.”

While realizing that MacNeil’s presence would greatly enhance the cross-country team, assistant coach Jennifer Buccino accepts MacNeil’s decision.
“Yes, there are track athletes that are playing other sports in the fall, that we would like to have on our team. And yes, they would probably benefit from the distance running we do in cross country and during the winter and spring seasons on track,” said Buccino.

“However, we do not begrudge them their talents in other sports, and can accept their decisions to play something else during the fall season.”

“I never really think about running cross country or its effects on my track
performances. People may speculate but I know that the soccer field is where I should be
and want to be in the fall season. Two seasons of track is all I’d ever want ,” added MacNeil.

And Egan is more than happy to reap the benefits especially in a trying first season where she has lost two defensive starters including junior defender Alison Bridgman and senior defender Justine Palme early in the season.

“Her biggest strength is her consistency. We can rely on her to play a great game, every game we have. She helps set the tone for the rest of the team. When Emily is calm-- so is everyone else ,” said Egan.

“ She also has had to deal with a lot of change this season.” After losing two starting
defenders to knee injuries, we had to move some kids around and play some
girls who have not previously been on the varsity team. I think she has
played a key role in helping our defense to gel over the past ten games.”

MacNeil was at her best in the Blue Devils’ late season game with archrival Scotch Plains, using her speed and anticipation to constantly frustrate the high-powered Raider offense in a hard fought 2-2 tie.

“ I thought the SPF game was a highlight for her. She never let
down, and won some crucial 50-50's for us. I think the entire team feels
very confident having Emily at the back. We will certainly miss her next
year,” said Egan.

“Scotch Plains is always tough competition for us and every year is one of our
biggest games. They are a big rival, mostly because of proximity and also
because I feel we are two very even teams.”, said MacNeil.

MacNeil has been playing soccer since the first grade and credits her club coach, Brian Stentowski, the men’s head coach at Montclair State University, with developing her as a player.. MacNeil has played for her club team, The Parsippany Hurricanes throughout high school . Games continue through the track season.

” It’s tough to balance the two but I try to do my best to make the best of both of them. I really couldn’t imagine giving either one up so I just try to make it work. But the injuries are tough, luckily I haven’t had to deal with any really serious injuries thus far ,” said MacNeil.

MacNeil has been the starting sweeper since her freshman year and as a sophomore
teamed with goalie Megan Connors, and defenders Ashley Kent and Susan Williams
to lead the Blue Devils to the Group IV finals where they lost to Brick Memorial.

“I’m pretty comfortable back there but it’s difficult because there’s new defenders every year, especially this year with some tough injuries. But I think we have really come together and are doing a great job holding down the defense with the girls out there,” said MacNeil.

Her track career has been even more impressive and she figures to be one of the top 800-meter runners again this spring and of the few not running cross-country.
“I think soccer prepared me to be a competitor which is extremely important on
the track. You can train to be faster or have more endurance but having the
desire to succeed and compete is something that I’ve taken from soccer..”

.

MacNeil has plenty of company on the track team. Last season Gillian Kape, Erica Ammermuler, Stephanie Bridgman, Lauren Campo, Miriam Becker-Cohen and Alison Bridgman all ran winter and spring track Becker-Cohen, one of the Blue Devils’ top defenders is also an 800-meter runner and will join Meg Driscoll, Annie Onishi and MacNeil on what should be another great 3200-meter relay team.

MacNeil has an older sister, who graduated from William and Mary last May and now lives in Washington DC. An excellent student, MacNeil plans to pursue a career in biology. Outside of athletics, MacNeil is one of the sports page editors for the Westfield High School newspaper, The Hi's Eye. She’s writing her best story on the dual athletic fields.


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Westfiield Boys Swimming Preview 2004

When hearing long time Westfield boys swimming coach Bruce Johnson discuss his team’s prospects, one can almost deduce a touch of arrogance until you examine his record and realize his teams almost always back up their coach’s confidence.

Johnson will start his eleventh year with a 134-32 record, the most wins for
Any Westfield swim coach, and nine Union County titles, nine sectional titles and six state titles, including the last three years and four of the last five. The
last two Westfield teams were ranked second in the state, behind St. Joseph of Metuchen.

“The last two years we were pretty stacked. Two years ago was the strongest
team I've coached, but last year came very close,” said Johnson.

Westfield graduated four state finalist swimmers, Ryan Bartholomew, Chris
Heinen, Josh Schoenfeld, Sam Gurdus, from last year’s state Public A champions, but the cupboard is far from bare.

“We took major hits the last two years at graduation, but all our main
competition except Hillsborough was hard hit, too. Cherry Hill
East, Vernon and Bridgewater all lost really, really good kids ,” said
Johnson.

Key returnees include seniors Dan Chabanov, Andrew Prunesti, juniors Brandon Cuba, Pat Daurio, and Kyle Murray, and sophomores Luke Baran and P.J. Harley.

“We don't have the kind of depth we've had recently, but you never know when kids will step up and be the next guy to surprise and provide that depth,” Johnson said.

“We have five or six known quantities; a couple of solid
newcomers and maybe a half-dozen veterans who could step up and give us that depth.”

Johnson is also looking for some of his newcomers to duplicate Harley’s
surprise performance last year.

“Last year P.J. was a huge surprise for us, dropping time that was amazing. We have a new sophomore, Colin Sullivan, who will help, and freshmen Matt Blutfield and Matt Green have been looking good,” Johnson said.

“And there's some new guys who definitely are green, but have potential.”

Several veterans who could be ready to step up include seniors Jeff Dresely and Jamie Hanas, juniors Mike Burns, Tom Fringer, Dan McGrory and Evan Vanarelli, and sophomores Phil Anton, Greg Blanton, Brian Corea and Brian Lee.

Johnson backs up his confidence by scheduling the toughest possible teams.
The Blue Devils have a brutal out-of-league schedule that includes Bridgewater Raritan, East Brunswick, St. Joseph Metuchen, Christian Brothers Academy, the Lawrenceville School, Bishop Eustace and Bergen Catholic. Bishop Eustace will be a Saturday night (Jan. 22) double-dual home meet, a concept that produced a turnaway crowd last year against St. Joseph Metuchen and Mount St. Mary.

“We'll lose some of them, maybe even a lot of them, but they definitely get
the kids prepared for the tough meets in the state tournament,” Johnson
said..

“We've always gone for a loaded schedule. Our goals remain the same, county champions, sectional champions, state champions, one at a time.”

The season begins Tuesday, Dec. 7, with an away meet at Kearny. Then comes a string of three straight home meets, Dec. 14 (Plainfield), 15 (Scotch
Plains-Fanwood) and 16 (Union). The archrival Raiders are the only team to have interrupted an incredible domination that the Blue Devils have enjoyed in the Union County championships when they stopped a run of 42 straight titles with a first place in 1999. The Blue Devils have regained the title the past five years to make the record 47 titles in 48 years.

Johnson extends a simple philosophy to his team, which is time tested.

“We just want to outwork every other team, both at high school and club
workouts, and be ready to defend all our titles in February,” he said.
“Everything goes through Westfield. They have to take it from us, which could happen, but we'll try to not let it happen.”

Westfield Girls 2004 Swimming Preview

As anybody who swims competitively knows, swimming is as close to a 365 day a year sport as there is. Even the swimmers who play other sports in the spring and fall don’t stop their grueling workouts at their clubs and competitions go on almost the entire year.

For the Westfield Girls, the regular season will begin Tuesday at Kearny, followed by Plainfield on December 14 and the annual neighborhood rivalry with Scotch Plains Fanwood on December 15 at Westfield.

Westfield coach Jaime Ruszala is ready for a tough neighborhood battle with the Raiders.

“Scotch Plains is a natural rival for Westfield in all sports so we always look
forward to that meet; a lot of the girls know one another and swim on clubs
with each other so they always get psyched up ,” said Ruszala.

In her first season as coach last year, Ruszala led the Blue Devils to a 12-3 season, which included its 12th consecutive Union County championship, the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Public A title, and advanced to the Public A state semifinal, where it lost to eventual state runner-up West Windsor-Plainsboro South. Westfield suffered its only other losses against top-ranked Immaculate Heart and third-ranked Mount St. Mary.

The Mount St. Mary's meet was part of a double dual with the Westfield and St. Joseph's of Metuchen boys, and drew 750 fans, the largest crowd ever to see a meet at the YMCA of Westfield. Over one hundred fans were turned away, and almost one hundred more lined the hallway outside the pool, getting word-of-mouth updates on the meet.

“Last year was a great year overall; the swimmers are quite possibly the best
group of athletes to work with--they worked hard all year and even harder after
losses,” said Ruszala

The schedule will be challenging again with Mt. St. Mary's again this year, as well as Immaculate Heart. and another Saturday night meet (boys and girls) against Bishop
Eustace as well as improving Scotch Plains.

Ruszala believes she has the talent to compete with such a challenging schedule.
“The team looks great this year. We finished our first week and the girls are
really excited for the season. We have a huge sophomore class and six incoming
freshmen.”

Among the twelve graduated seniors were backstroker Becky Fallon ,
freestyler and butterfly specialist Suzanna Fowler and freestyler Danielle Heffernan.

The top returning swimmer is Amanda Dickson, one of Westfield’s senior quad-captains. along with Liz Trimble, Lauren Winchester and Kirsten Selert. Dickson is an all around swimmer.

“All of her strokes are strong. There isn’t much she can’t do ,” said Ruszala.

Other key returnees include seniors Jackie DeLaFuente, who was county champion in the breastroke and also qualified for the Meet of champions, junior breaststroker Callie Meserole and sophomores--Julia Cederroth, Kylie Fraser, Katie Morgan, Brittany Reyes, and DarrellAnn Smith

Dickson shares her coach’s enthusiasm.
“The team is going to be great this year. We have some amazing girls that
will help us get where we want to go. Our goals are to win counties, sectionals, and to make it to state finals, which is our ultimate goal, “ said Dickson.

In addition to the veteran talent, Ruszala has worked six freshmen into the rotation.
“All are extremely hardworking. Elizabeth Hawkins and Alexi Kuska should help us out a lot.”

Dickson is also enthused by the talented freshmen class..
“The newcomers will definitely contribute. We have a great freshman class and
they will be a big part of our team, especially in relays ,” added Dickson.

Ruszala feels fortunate to coach such dedicated athletes.
“Many of them know they're talented, but are really humble. They help each other out and they are nothing short of classy when it comes to their interactions with other teams,” said Ruszala.

“ They are motivating toward one another, and they also cheer for other teams. Most of
the girls bide their time between club teams and the High School team; however, their
loyalty to the High School team is phenomenal. Most of them swim 2-3 times a day while maintaining excellent grades and positive attitudes.”