From the Falcons' Nest: Spring Sports Preview

Friday March 4th marked the beginning of the spring sports teams at Monmouth Regional and one team got its first practice in before all the others, tipping off spring season at 6:30 Friday morning. The pitchers and catchers of this year's Monmouth Baseball team were practicing an hour before school started. This time and effort will be exerted throughout the season, not because they have a stacked group of athletes and upperclassmen, but because they do it every season under Coach Jarmusz. Entering his 25th season as the head baseball coach at Monmouth Regional, he looked more excited than ever when I saw him in the hallways during school on Thursday. 

This team is full of seniors who have varsity experience. This group includes Bill VanMeerbeke, who will be pitching at New Jersey Institute of Technology next year, David Katz, Max Schmardel, Robert Murray, Will Douglas, Chris Lastella, Jake Aumack, Jeff Schopka, Danny Carroll, Tom Denbleyker, TJ Eckstein, Anthony Truncale, and Steven Staba. This team also includes big-time recruit, junior Luke Cahill at pitcher and third-base, and junior Brian Blaney in the outfield. Most of these players are returning starters or have seen varsity playing time. Their record last year was 13-10, but they ended the season with a huge upset victory against rival Ocean Township in the State Tournament. They look to build off this momentum and the experience they have as players, and as coaches, to have a season that brings them to a State Championship.

For the Softball team, they look to have success under the leadership of only three seniors on the team, all of whom are returning varsity players. Senior Nicki Mauro will be one of their top players and will play in the outfield, and seniors Sam Carreta and Taylor Lewis will do the same in the infield. Junior Karly Garibaldi is a returning starter at catcher, sophomore Colleen Phelan is returning to the infield, and sophomore Samantha Smith is a returning varsity pitcher for the Falcons. The softball team is very young, and they are also very excited to finally play in some scrimmages and games. Their goal this season is to make it into all three tournaments: the Shore Conference, Monmouth County, and state tournaments.

For the boys' tennis team, they look forward to building off a .500 record last season. Seniors Bobby Crimi, Phil Kraus, Joe Lee and juniors Carlo Romano, Avi Garg and Jarrett St John are all the top-returning players for this team. This team is very excited to improve as individuals, as well as to improve their record as a team from last season.

The girls' lacrosse also had their first practice on Friday. This team lost a lot of players to graduation, as well as seniors who decided not to play, but still are determined to have a successful season. This team had a .500 record last season, and they were able to host the first state game at Monmouth Regional in the history of the lacrosse program. The senior class includes Tara Patti, who had a great season last year, scoring her 100th goal in her career, as well as her 100th goal in a single season. She scored 10 goals in two different games last year, and she looks to lead the offense with her scoring, as well as with her assists. Haley Bowen is another senior who has varsity experience. She earned her varsity letter as a freshman, and she has been a starter on the defense ever since. She looks to lead the defense, which is important because the team has lost their varsity goalie from last season. Seniors Alexa Policari and Julie Rodriguez are returning varsity players at the forward position as well. This team has a very athletic and deep group of underclassmen. Juniors Jackie Gage, Jodi Taylor, and Lauren Gould are the leaders of this talented group. Sophomore Cassandra Bowe is a returning starter for the team as well.

Senior Haley Bowen has been extremely excited for this season. "After the loss of some key players, we show a lot of potential with our mix of team veterans and the up and coming players on our team. I am mostly excited to start playing in the scrimmages to create chemistry with our talented and athletic group girls."

Senior Tara Patti is also very confident with the team and looks forward to start competing once again. "With all the determination we have and hard work we have put in, I am confident that we will have a fun and successful season that I will remember forever."

The boys' and girls' track teams started fresh on Friday afternoon. With a new look of coaches and players, both teams are excited to train together and to win meets. Coach Gottdenker is the new head coach of the boys’ team after the retirement of Coach Buckiewicz after last season (he still teaches at Monmouth). Coach Roach is the new head coach of the girls team after the departure of Coach Lamberson, a football and track coach at Monmouth who is now the Athletic Director at St. John Vianney High School.

Both teams also lost a lot of players to graduation last summer. Even with this, there are a lot of returning varsity athletes to the boys and girls teams. For the boys’ team, seniors Brandan Ford and Brandon Mayes, a pair of football players, will lead the team of sprinters this season. Brandan Ford, an All-Division Wide Receiver and also the January Student of the Month, will also be a part of the hurdling team with Junior Keone Osby, another football player. Junior Kerry Rugenstein, who made it to states for the Indoor Track Tournament with his 400-meter time, will run that event with Ford, as well as lead the distance running team with seniors Steve David and Sam Murray. The jumping team will include senior Charlie Jones, senior Brandon Mayes, and Junior Keone Osby, and Senior Joseph Bayona will be one of the top pole-vaulters this year. The throwing team includes five varsity football players, senior Brandon Wall, senior AJ Visconti, junior Max Neis, junior Chris Rolke, and junior Anthony Baklouk, as well as sophomore Zach Neis. These five throws will compete in the shot put, discus throw, and javelin throw events.

For the girls’ team, senior Stephanie Skove will be a part of the running, jumping, and pole-vaulting teams and she is returning as one of the top triple jumpers and pole-vaulters in the Shore Conference. Junior Tyler Major will be a top sprinter and jumper for the team this season, along with Deseree Johnson and Reina Joseph. Junior Jade Smolokoff will be a big part of the running team as well. For the throwing team, junior Tyler Buck will be throwing all three events and she returns as one of the top javelin throwers in the Shore Conference. Juniors Lillian Robles and Joanna Stanton are also a big part of this throwing team that looks to be one of the best in the Division.