Congratulations to Memorial’s long-time girls’ volleyball coach John Wengerter, who collected the 400th victory of his storied coaching career with a thrilling three-set win over Bayonne Wednesday, winning 25-20, 25-19 and 25-18.
Wengerter, who is also the architect of the boys’ volleyball program in the spring, now has a 400-78 coaching mark with the girls at Memorial.
During his tenure, Wengerter has guided the Tigers to 14 HCIAA championships, two Hudson County Volleyball Coaches’ Association tourney crowns and two appearances in the NJSIAA Group IV state finals.
It is a nice milestone for a man dedicated to the growth of volleyball in north Hudson…
Speaking of volleyball, is there a hotter team right now than Union Hill, which has captured nine straight matches, heading into the HCIAA and state playoffs? The Hillers were hovering near the .500 mark, but the winning streak has catapulted their record to 14-5 overall and 10-2 in the league. Yadie Maldonado has been a major reason for the Hillers’ success with her consistent play…
In the state playoffs, Memorial earned the ninth seed and will play host to Cherry Hill West in the first round in the Group IV state playoffs. Emerson was the 10th seed and will host Washington Township in the opening round.
In Group II, McNair Academic is the second seed and will face Mahwah, while Lincoln is the 13th seed and will face Hawthorne.
In Group I, Secaucus is in a very unfamiliar position, occupying the ninth seed. The Patriots, who own the state record with 17 state championships, will have to tangle with long-time nemesis North Arlington, which earned the top seed in the bracket…
The field for the HCIAA Coviello soccer playoffs has been set and undefeated Emerson, which captured the league title a year ago and rolled through the regular season this year without a blemish, looks like a sure-fire favorite to win it all again.
The top-seeded Bulldogs, now 14-0 and ranked No. 14 in the state, will face cross-town rival Union Hill in the first round this weekend. North Bergen earned the second seed and will play host to No. 7-seed Hudson Catholic in the first round.
The other first round matchups include Memorial, the third seed, facing No. 6 Ferris in West New York, and No. 4-seed St. Peter’s Prep playing host to Bayonne.
All of these games were slated to be played Sunday, Nov. 2, beginning at 11 a.m…
Can any team knock off Emerson? Strange things always happen in the league playoffs, but it appears unlikely that Emerson coach Angelo Avella and his star striker Mauricio Castillo will have anything to worry about…
Right now, the local cross country scene is being dominated by two performers, Brian Lang of St. Peter’s Prep and Christine Capetola of St. Dominic Academy.
Both Lang and Capetola won both the Jersey City and South Hudson championships last week, leading their respective teams to the overall team titles as well.
Neither Lang nor Capetola have lost a race to a Hudson County runner this season. As the season winds down toward the state sectionals next weekend, Lang and Capetola are definitely two runners to watch… — Jim Hague