The 2025 North Jersey High School Sports Awards, Presented by HSS and powered by The Record and NorthJersey.com, were held June 27 at Passaic County Technical Institute.

More than 300 area athletes were honored, including the Players of the Year in 33 sports and the area’s overall winners for Boys Athlete of the Years, Girls Athlete of the Year, Coach of the Year, Boys Team of the Year, Girls Team of the Year, two Charlie McGill Scholarship awards, Courage Award, Lifetime Achievement Award and USA TODAY Studio IX Trailblazer Award.

Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman CJ Hanson, a former DePaul Catholic football standout, was the guest speaker.

Here’s a list of all the award winners:

Boys Athlete of the Year, Presented by HSS — Benjamin Shue, Bergen Catholic

Benji Shue is best known as the greatest thrower in North Jersey history, holding both the Bergen County shot put and discus records. But the Bergen Catholic senior is much more than just a track athlete. He started the last two seasons at offensive guard for the Crusaders who have won four straight Non-Public A championships in football and has been a medalist in the last three straight wrestling championships at 285 pounds. Despite a painful injury to his pectoral muscle that prevented him from throwing the shot, he retained his state discus title. He’ll be throwing at the University of Texas.

Girls Athlete of the Year, Presented by HSS — Sarah Rodrigues, Wayne Valley

Sarah Rodrigues is one of the most decorated girls swimmers in North Jersey history after becoming its first two-time state champion in 16 years. She took home gold in the backstroke in each of the last two years and set the New Jersey record in that event. With elite speed across the board, Rodrigues qualified for the Olympic Trials last summer and racked up nine Passaic County titles.

USA TODAY Studio IX Trailblazer Award — Sue Liddy, Holy Angels

Fresh out of Upper Iowa University in 1974, Sue Liddy came home to her family in Closter and got a job teaching and coaching at nearby Holy Angels in Demarest. She stayed at the all-girls school for five decades. Liddy coached varsity softball, JV tennis and even served as athletic director, but her first love was basketball. She spent 51 seasons leading the Angels on the court, winning 822 games, five Bergen County championships and a state-sectional title. Factor in her 334 victories in 38 softball seasons, and her varsity ledger shows more than 1,100 wins.

Coach of the Year — Rob Violante, Bergenfield

Former Bergenfield football coach Rob Violante is the North Jersey Coach of the Year. Violante, a legendary player at Somers High School in New York, took over the Bears program in 2011. He guided an undermanned program to the playoffs five times and won 61 games in his tenure. He also served as spring track coach. He was Coach V in and around Bergenfield. He was respected by his rivals, adored by his players and appreciated by all in the North Jersey community. Violante was tragically killed in a car accident on May 14 at age 45, leaving a legacy of kindness, creativity and compassion. He will be sorely missed.

Courage Award — Johnny Jackson, Ridgewood

Jackson delivered one of the most inspirational seasons in North Jersey boys basketball history. He was diagnosed with cancer, Stage 4B Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and everyone thought his senior season was finished. He endured a dozen chemotherapy sessions, played his entire season in pain. He led Ridgewood to a school-record 26 wins and a sectional title. And he surpassed 2,000 career points.

Charlie McGill Scholarship — Solaris Paul, Kennedy

Paul proved that determination can take you all the way to the top. The Paterson native came to high school without ever having wrestled before and leaves as the first state champion from a Paterson school in over 50 years.

Charlie McGill Scholarship — Marco De Croce, Demarest

Projected to be a superstar at the high school level, DeCroce lost his father tragically before the start of his prep career, and heading into junior year, broke his foot in a football scrimmage. DeCroce overcame this adversity to become a leader for the Norsemen’s basketball program and earned a shot at playing football at Fordham.

Lifetime Achievement Award — Bill Vacca, Passaic Tech

Bill Vacca’s career in high school athletics spans more than five decades. The current secretary and treasurer of the Passaic County Coaches Association was the athletic director at Don Bosco Tech in Paterson before that school closed and is now Director of Facilities at Passaic Tech. He is a past President of the DAANJ, the oldest active organization of high school athletic directors in the country. He’s served on number athletic committees at the conference, county and state level. Vacca is involved with the Paterson Old Timers, an organization dedicated to keeping memories alive for local sports legends and supporting disadvantaged youth. He is involved in the Do Good Student Support Group that raises scholarship for high school seniors. He’s happily married to his wife, Shawn, and is a resident of Totowa.

Boys Team of the Year — St. Joseph golf

St. Joseph enjoyed the greatest season in New Jersey high school golf history. The Green Knights not only won every nine-hole match, they won all nine 18-hole tournaments, including the all-groups Tournament of Champions. Brothers Rory and Michael Asselta and the team’s lone senior, Liam Moloney, were the stars. But a record seven Green Knights qualified for the Bergen County Individual Championship, including sophomores CJ Antifonario and John Fenton, freshman Justin Peck and junior Darren Coyle. This could be the beginning of a dynasty.

Girls Team of the Year — Old Tappan volleyball

Only a handful of programs in North Jersey have completed an undefeated season in girls volleyball, and Old Tappan now can boast two. The Golden Knights finished 2024 with a record of 25-0, winning the Bergen County and Group 2 state championships. They placed two players on the All-North Jersey first team – setter Addison Gioffre and outside hitter Samantha Kranzler – and finished No. 1 in the North Jersey Top 20. The state championship was their 14th all-time.

Boys basketball — Declan Wucherpfennig, Bergen Catholic

Declan was the centerpiece of Bergen Catholic’s drive to league, county, sectional and state titles. At 6-foot-7, he can score from anywhere on the court. He averaged 19.1 points and 11 rebounds and scored 1,186 career points. He’ll continue his career at Fairfield.

Girls basketball — Allie Shenloogian, Park Ridge

This is the first repeat Girls Basketball Player of the Year pick since Michelle Sidor from Saddle River Day in 2019. Shenloogian led North Jersey in scoring… again. She led the Owls back to the sectional final… again. And she is now No. 5 on the all-time Bergen County scoring list for girls basketball with 2,337 career points.

Boys bowling — Joey Parrilli, Hackensack

Parrilli carried the highest average in North Jersey at 215. Individually, he finished 13th in the Bergen County tournament, but his impact on team success was evident. The two-hander led Hackensack to the Big North Freedom Division title, and his clutch 290 in the sectional tournament lifted the Comets into the semifinals. Parrilli was also one of three bowlers to earn Athlete of the Week this school year.

Girls bowling — Samantha Seneres, Bergen Tech

Serenes is a senior from Little Ferry who led North Jersey with a 203 average. She won the Bergen County individual tournament. And for good measure, she had North Jersey’s best finish at the state individual finals, advancing to the second round and placing 10th. You’ll probably still see her around Bowler City in Hackensack next winter, as she has committed to bowl for two-time national champ FDU.

Hockey — William LoSauro, Ridgewood

LoSauro began the season as New Jersey’s top freshman prospect and exceeded expectations. He had 31 goals and 31 assists for the Maroons as the program reached the state final for the first time in school history. LoSauro had nine multi-goal games, including scoring twice to help erase a 3-0 deficit to Ramapo in the final five minutes of regulation in the North, Public quarterfinals. He capped that performance with the game-winning goal three minutes into overtime.

Boys indoor track — Owen Keating, Pompton Lakes

Keating was undefeated against New Jersey competition and became the greatest pole vaulter in North Jersey history. The senior, bound for Binghamton University, won the state and Eastern States titles and was a Nike All-American. He cleared a Passaic and North Jersey record of 16 feet six inches, and cleared at least 16 feet four times. No other North Jersey pole vaulter has ever cleared less than 15-9 indoors.

Girls indoor track — Jenna Monaco, Dumont

Monaco had a season for the ages. Only one other North Jersey athlete, boy or girl, had ever won three group titles in the same year before Monaco won the Group 1 55 hurdles, 55 dash and pole vault this winter. The junior had never won a state group championship in any sport before Dumont took the girls group 1 title this winter. And Monaco took second in the State Meet of Champs pole vault and medaled in the 55 hurdles as well.

Boys swimming — Dimitri Melnikov, Bergen Catholic

Melnikov went out on top, leading his team to the Bergen County title by winning four events. He earned a pair of state medals and set the school record in the individual medley.

Girls swimming — Sarah Rodrigues, Wayne Valley

Rodrigues capped a legendary career by winning her second state title in the backstroke and finishing with six Passaic County records. The Wayne Valley senior is committed to swim at Texas.

Boys wrestling — Ryan Burton, St. Joseph

Burton took home his second state title as a senior and became the all-time wins leader at St. Joseph. The Virginia Tech commit was also a big reason why the Green Knights finished as the No. 1 team in the state.

Girls wrestling — Olivia Georges, DePaul

Georges locked up her second state title by pinning through the region and state tournament at 145 pounds. The DePaul junior is ranked seventh in the country at her weight.

Baseball — Nick Becker, Don Bosco

Becker was the heart and soul, or more precisely the glove and bat, in the center of Don Bosco’s sweep to league, county, sectional and state titles. The smooth-fielding senior shortstop batted .394 with 25 runs and 27 RBIs. He had two huge homers in the state tournament, including a two-run homer in an 11-inning, 5-4 win over Christian Brothers Academy in the Non-Public A state final. He’s committed to Virginia.

Boys field — Benjamin Shue, Bergen Catholic

The senior leaves as the all-time recordholder in North Jersey in both the shot put and discus and has 29 of the top 30 performances ever recorded in the discus among North Jersey throwers. He’s a six-time group champion with three wins each in the shot and discus and the first North Jersey repeat winner in the discus despite throwing the last month with a partially torn pectoral muscle.

Girls field — Caroline Ognibene, Old Tappan

It’s hard enough to be a state medalist in any event, not to mention two totally different disciplines, the high jump and the pole vault. And especially when they’re often held at the same time the length of a football field apart. Ognibene, just a sophomore, became just the second girl in New Jersey to medal in both events at the State Meet of Champions this year to cap a remarkable year in the field.

Boys golf — Rory Asselta, St. Joseph

Asselta produced the greatest season in New Jersey high school golf history – and he’s only a freshman. He won a staggering seven of nine 18-hole tournaments while leading St. Joseph to team titles in all nine. He captured the all-groups Tournament of Champions with a record 8-under-par 64. He won the season-ending Bergen County Individual Championship by 10 shots with a record 12-under 131.

Girls golf — Inha Jun, Holy Angels

Jun helped build Holy Angels into a New Jersey high school girls golf dynasty. She’s a four-time first-team All-North Jersey pick and two-time Girls Golfer of the Year. She led the Angels to four consecutive Bergen County crowns and the last three all-groups Tournament of Champions titles. She won this year’s Big North title and closed her career by shooting 1-under-par 71 and finishing second at the TOC.

Boys lacrosse — Brady Scioletti, Don Bosco

Scioletti is one of the top-10 recruits in the country and it’s not hard to see why. He broke Don Bosco records for career goals and points and won a county title all four years. He’s committed to play at Duke.

Girls lacrosse — Elizabeth Crames, Mahwah

Crames started all four years at Mahwah, but none were quite like this one. As a senior, she ranked No. 1 in Bergen County in saves, save percentage and goals against average. After setting the Mahwah record for career stops, she will continue her career at Long Island University.

Softball — Gabriella Shadek, Immaculate Heart

The IHA catcher made team and individual history in her high school career. She was part of a Blue Eagles senior class that won four straight Bergen County titles – the first time that’s ever happened in school history. Shadek also set a state record with 49 career home runs. She will play for Duke.

Boys tennis — Ian Batra, Weehawken

Batra had an undefeated regular season to earn first-team NJIC honors and eight wins within the conference. A four-star recruit in tennis rankings, Batra won the first singles flight in the Hudson County tournament and qualified for the state singles championship tournament as the No. 2 overall seed. Batra reached the state semifinals, the best mark of any boys tennis player in school history. Batra has verbally committed to Stevens.

Boys track — Luke Pash, Ridgewood

The senior solidified his credentials as the greatest high school distance runner in North Jersey history, when he added an outdoor 3,200 State Meet of Champions to his 2024 1,600 crown and back-to-back state indoor 3,200 titles. He’s just the second North Jersey boy to win both the 1,600 and 3,200 state crowns. A highly sought after recruit, he will run at the University of North Carolina next year.

Girls track — Gina Certo, Holy Angels

The senior did almost anything a North Jersey girl has ever done in the 400 meters the last three years of her career. She become a rare three-time medalist in the State Meet of Champions and broke 56 seconds in the race a dozen times, more than any athlete in area history. She also was North Jersey’s top 200 runner the last two years and will continue her stellar career at Boston College.

Boys volleyball — Ylan Tapper, Garfield

The outside hitter led the Boilermakers to their first Bergen County championship and their second straight sectional final. He also led North Jersey in kills with 436 – almost 90 more than the next closest competitor. Garfield finished 21-10, meaning they won 20-plus matches in each of his last two seasons. For his career: 958 kills and 181 aces, including 60 this spring.

Boys cross country — Luke Pash, Ridgewood

Pash earned the Record’s Boys Cross-Country Runner of the Year for the second straight time. The senior became the first North Jersey runner to win the State Group 4 title since 2003 and was the first repeat winner of the Bergen Meet of Champions since 2010. He’ll run at the University of North Carolina.

Girls cross country — Dominique Cameron, Leonia

It was quite a first cross-country season for Cameron. A sophomore, she became the first boy or girl from her school to win the Bergen County Meet of Champions and the second sophomore in the last 25 years to earn the title. She led all North Jersey runners with a fifth place finish at the State Meet of Champions.

Field hockey — Krista Lilienthal, Pompton Lakes

Lilienthal has meant as much to her team as any player in North Jersey over the past four seasons. She led the Cardinals to four consecutive Passaic County titles while scoring 158 career goals, which is why she is winning this award for the fourth consecutive year. She’ll represent all of New Jersey, as she’s continuing at Rutgers.

Football defense — Alex Orecchio, Old Tappan

If we just had an overall “Player of the Year” award, it would be Orecchio, who played quarterback, wide receiver, defensive back and kicker for the Golden Knights. He accounted for seven interceptions on defense, and scored 24 total touchdowns, either throwing, running or receiving on offense. He’s committed to Johns Hopkins.

Football offense — Nolan James Jr., DePaul

The Notre Dame commit was the centerpiece of DePaul’s high-powered offense, rushing for 1,921 yards, including 244 yards and two scores in the Spartans’ Non-Public B championship win over Pope John.

Gymnastics — Avery Lauterback, Emerson

The senior capped her career in style, winning the sectional title in the all-around for the third time and finishing seventh in the state championship in bars.

Boys soccer — JJ Ruehlemann, Waldwick

JJ Ruehlemann is the North Jersey Boys Soccer Player of the Year after winning a state title in his final year at Waldwick. The Warriors forward led the state with 40 goals and broke the school single-season record. He will continue his career at Williams College.

Girls soccer — Nicole Crane, DePaul

Nicole Crane is the North Jersey Girls Soccer Player of the Year after leading DePaul to league, county and sectional titles. The senior forward scored a career-high 18 goals to earn her spot as an All-American. She signed to play at Penn State.

Girls tennis — Britney Lee, Ridgefield Park

The Scarlets went winless during Lee’s sophomore year. But in 2024, she led them to a 5-11 record – which equaled their win total from the previous nine seasons combined. Lee also stood out as an individual, going 19-1 and advancing to the state singles quarterfinals. Fun fact: The only girls to beat her in the past two years were the ones who played for the 2024 state title.

Girls volleyball — Samantha Kranzler, Old Tappan

Kranzler led the undefeated Golden Knights in kills and aces, helping them finish 25-0 – the second perfect season in program history. After helping Old Tappan capture its sixth Bergen County title, she averaged 13 kills per match in the state tournament for the Group 2 champions. She is a three-time All-North Jersey selection.

In an event bursting with pride and youthful exuberance, the Valley Today welcomed several graduates of the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber‘s Arising Leadership Program. The program, designed to cultivate the next generation of confident leaders, concluded with a memorable graduation ceremony that highlighted the growth and achievements of its participants. In today’s episode, host Janet Michael, shares the experiences and speeches of both the graduates and program sponsors. Click here to listen.

Cynthia Schneider, the CEO of the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber, delivered an inspiring opening speech to the graduates. She praised their dedication and growth throughout the program. “You all have already mastered many leadership principles. You showed up. That is number one. Your employers are looking for people who will show up on time every day, and you did just that… You’ve made some new friends. I hope you have,” she expressed warmly.

Cynthia emphasized the importance of confidence and clarity that the program aimed to instill in the students. “The program was designed to cultivate leaders in the arising generation that radiate confidence. I remember when we were putting this program together two years ago that we wanted young people that would radiate confidence and I think that’s what we are seeing.”

One of the highlights of the evening was the speech by Ava Funkhouser, who was elected by her peers as a speaker for the graduation ceremony. Ava reflected on the personal growth and unexpected discoveries she made during the program. “When I first started this program, I thought we’d be learning about leadership in a traditional sense… But what I didn’t expect was how much I learned about myself and what kind of leader I want to be,” she shared, her words resonating with many in the room.

Ava beautifully articulated the essence of leadership, saying, “It’s about listening. It’s about caring. It’s about showing up for people, even when things feel uncertain. Being a leader is about who you are when nobody’s watching and who you become when people are counting on you.”

Janet interviewed several students, including Ava Funkhouser, Kobe Kerns, Kiahna Venable, Brenden & Colton Luttrell, who shared their favorite aspects of the program and the friendships they formed. Kobe highlighted the unexpected enjoyment and learning experiences: “When I first started, I thought it was gonna be this boring thing. I’m doing it just for the experience of learning new things. And then when I got into it and I started meeting my people and my fellow friends, it just clicked to me that this is actually really fun and I actually had a lot of fun.”

The program’s success would not have been possible without the support of sponsors like Carmeuse Lime and Stone. Logan Thompson, the Area Operations Manager, expressed the company’s dedication to local leadership and community involvement. “Leadership is very near and dear to Carmeuse’s heart… We want to be one of the places that attract people in a program like this to come back and work in the area.”

Kaleigh Finchem, who created and led the program’s first batch of students, saw it flourish under its new leadership. Sharing her sentiments, she remarked, “It’s just really nice with these kids. They come out here, they have an expectation of what they think this program’s gonna be… But I’ll tell you what, three days in, it’s like they come out of their shell.”

As the event wrapped, Cynthia sat down with Janet to reflect on the program’s success and its bright future. She shared the long-term vision for the program and its impact. “This is the culmination of an almost 10-year goal… And now getting that vision, like having the program was a vision. I’m just in awe of how beautifully it’s rolling out.” Cynthia highlighted the vital role of sponsors like Carmeuse Lime and Stone and shared her confidence in the program’s continued success. “Because of them, we then had the confidence to launch knowing that we could pay for every student.”

The evening concluded with a celebration of camaraderie and shared experiences among students, parents, and organizers. “Our future is looking pretty bright,” Janet Michael remarked, reflecting the collective sentiment of hope and optimism for the leaders of tomorrow.

If you are interested in supporting the Arising Leadership Program or participating in its Community Leadership counterpart, visit regionalchamber.biz for more information.

One of the big questions around TNT Sports no longer having NBA rights is what would happen with NBA TV, which is owned by the NBA itself, but operated by TNT Sports.

And while the sides did come to an agreement last fall that will see continued highlights for Bleacher Report and House of Highlights, the future of NBA TV wasn’t spelled out at that time. But it’s now clear that whatever its future holds, TNT Sports won’t be a part of it.

That news comes via a memo that TNT Sports CEO Luis Silberwasser sent to employees Friday. In the memo, Silberwasser mentions that this deal will end as of October 1, and that they made several proposals to keep operating the network, but couldn’t work out a deal with the NBA. Awful Announcing obtained that memo. Here it is in its entirety:

Hi everyone,

I want to provide an update on the future of NBA TV and our digital partnership with the league. After discussions with the NBA in recent months, we have mutually decided to part ways at the end of the 2024-25 season.

We made several proposals to continue to provide services and operate the NBA TV network and related digital assets. However, we were unable to agree on a path forward that recognized the value of our expertise, quality content, and operational excellence that our fans and partners have come to expect from TNT Sports. We will work closely with the NBA on a transition plan for the league to assume the responsibility of programming and operating NBA TV and NBA.com, which will be effective October 1.

It’s important to note that, as part of our new NBA agreement announced late 2024, we will continue to be digital and content partners with the league in other areas of our business such as Bleacher Report and House of Highlights, along with our ability to license and create NBA related content for our TNT Sports properties, and live games in some of our key international markets.

I understand the impact of this news to our team members, especially those who work exclusively on our NBA TV productions. In the coming weeks, we will hold meetings with those who contribute directly to the NBA partnership as we begin to embark on a thoughtful transitional phase.

If you have any immediate questions, please reach out to your P&C partner and we will make every effort to transparently discuss this matter with you.

I’d like to thank everyone who has worked tirelessly on NBA TV and our digital partnership throughout these playoffs, this week’s NBA Draft, and historically through the years. You have delivered a fantastic experience for NBA fans with an emphasis on quality that will be impossible to replicate.

Luis

It’s not entirely surprising that the sides couldn’t figure out a way to extend this partnership. Much of the logic for TNT Sports with operating NBA TV was that it fit in nicely with their NBA on TNT coverage. That saw many people, both in front of and behind the camera, work for them on both of those networks. It would seem significantly harder to operate NBA TV without NBA rights elsewhere (although it is notable that Silberwasser indicates they wanted to do that, making “several proposals”), especially with that network receiving less exclusive games in recent years.

The overall cord-cutting environment may also factor in to how desirable NBA TV is to work with the league on. While national league-specific networks haven’t faced quite as much turmoil as regional sports networks to date, fewer people with cable or equivalent bundle packages means less subscribers for league networks too. NBA TV was in just 33 million homes in May, slightly more than half its peak, and there are questions about its future in the overall TV ecosystem with so much programming and viewing shifting to streaming services.

For TNT Sports, this looks like a further refocusing of their efforts on the rights they do have. They’ve got a swathe there, including baseball, college sports, NASCAR, and more, and they’ve received some praise recently for their French Open and FIFA Club World Cup work. But it is interesting to see them exit this long-running partnership; while the NBA launched NBA TV in-house in 1999, the now-TNT Sports had been operating it since October 2008.

For the NBA, there’s also probably some logic in ending this partnership if TNT Sports’ proposals weren’t appealing to them. The league has significantly boosted its in-house content efforts in recent years, so it’s possible they could return to operating NBA TV themselves. They also have three new/existing media partners now; while Amazon probably doesn’t want to get into the cable network business (and NBC did make their own move out of that business on the sports side with the closure of NBCSN), ESPN’s certainly in it, so there could be some level of deal struck there (or even just a content-sharing or content production deal, where the NBA still runs the channel itself but can bring in content from their partners).

Thus, the league would seem to have options on what to do with NBA TV. And we’ll see which way they eventually decide to go as we get closer to that October turnover date. But it is interesting to see them and TNT Sports move on from this long-running partnership.