Bernardsville News from Bernardsville, New Jersey • Page 20

Page Twenty THE BERNARDSVlLtE NEWS, THURSDAY, NOV. 28,1985 I Sports In The News STATE CHAMPS: Ridge soccer, Bernards cross country win it all Best In New Jersey The (Photo by harles T. Ztvalick) off another The brUUant season last Saturday when it on the Meet of Mountaineers are the best in New Jersey again among all group classifications. Kneeling, from left: Jeff Simpson, Jeff Friedman, Ranjan Sinha. Standing, from left: I-yle Smith, Tom Praisner and Brad Bono.

Three Bernards runners in cross country meet BERNARDSVILLE Three Bernards High cross country standouts will be competing in the Northeast Regional Qualifier for the Kinney National High School Cross Country Championships at 11 a.m. Saturday at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y. Jeff Simpson and Lyle Smith, who helped Coach Ed Mather's Mounties win their third New Jersey all-groups' championship in five years last Saturday at Holmdel County Park, will be seeking one of the eight qualifying spots in the boys' national championship race to be contested on Dec. 14 in San Diego, Calif. Karen Ahearn, the Eastern Girls' Meet champion in record-breaking time on the Van Cortlandt Paerk course, will be seeking one of eight spots available for outstanding girl runners from Maine to West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Simpson finished third and Smith 1 lth in the New Jersey all-groups' race. Ahearn was third in the state girls' all-groups' race behind North Hunterdon's Jodi Bilotta and Anne Letko. The Kinney qualifier will offer Ahearn an opportunity to avenge her only loss all season, as well as earn an all- expenses' paid trip to San Diego. "I'm very confident that at least one of the three will be going to San Diego tnext month," Mather said this week. "I'm looking forward to making the trip to California.

It's quite an experience for the 32 boys and 32 girls who qualify in four regional races." Shannon Barrett wins regional Jr. Olympic cross country run BERNARDSVILLE Shannon Barrett, a sixth grader at the Middle School in Bernardsville, already has caught the eye of veteran cross country and track coach Ed Mather as a future standout for the Lady Mounties' runners. Shannon, who only began running competitively last spring in the Bernardsville Recreation Run-for-Fun program, was won the New Jersey and Region 1 Junior Olympic Midget Girls' (11-12 years) Cross Country titles in the past two weeks. Shannon finished first in the New 'Jersey Meet, conducted in Newark, and followed up with a victory last Sunday in the Region 1 meet in Monroe, N.Y. She led her team to a third-place finish in the region meet, which qualified it for the National Junior Olympics Championship Meet to be conducted in King of Prussia, Pa.

on Dec. 7. Other midget team qualifiers for lather's Bernardsville Recreation uad. arc Tanya Pace, Jennifer Em- Stacey Reilly, Emily Boyd and itoia Pereerya. Pace finished 20th the region race, while Emmett wu and Reilly 23rd.

The lame group second in the New Jersey Meat. Mather calls team 'best in the East 9 By JACK MACK Sports Writer Bernards High's boys' cross country team, coached by Ed Mather, made a shambles of the competition last Saturday at Holmdel County Park as the Mounties captured their third New Jersey all-groups' championship in five years. Bernards completely outdistanced its foes, scoring 49 points to 138 for the distant runner-up, St. Joseph's of Metuchen. St.

Joseph's actually tied Paul VI of Haddonfield for second place, but St. Joseph's claimed runner- up honors when its sixth runner finished ahead of the sixth runner for Paul VI. Mather was delighted with his team's performance. "I would rate this as the second strongest team we ever have had at Bernards," the veteran coach said. "Winning a state championship with 49 points is excellent, especially when the next team has 138, but our 1982 team won the state title with just 36 points.

"We have the best team in the East without a doubt. Bishop Hendricken High of Warwick, R.I. beat us twice in invitation meets during October, but we didn't have Tom Praisner in top form at that time. There is no way they could handle us now. We have an awesome foursome in Jeff Simpson, Lyle Smith, Praisner and Jeff Friedman and solid fifth and sixth runners in Ranjan Sinha and Brad Bono.

"We had five kids across the finish line in the all-groups' meet before any other school had two. Simpson ran a super race in finishing third in 16:15 and Praisner, Smith and Friedman finished just six seconds apart. Praisner was clocked in 16:44 in placing seventh, while Smith was 1 lth in 16:47 and Friedman 13th in 16:50. "Sinha was our fifth scoring runner, finishing 21st overall. Bono was 29th among all runners.

Morristown expected to make a run at us, but they never were able to mount a threat." Morristown, the Group 4 cham- pion, placed ninth with 254 points. Mater Dei of Holmdel finished fourth with 151 points, followed by Christian Brothers Academy of Lincroft (193), North Hunterdon (201), Del barton School (218), North Edison (237), Morristown and Raritan (259). Ron Faith of Paul VI was the inididual winner in 16:10. Carlos Martins of Newark East Side edged Simpson for runnerup honors with a 16:14 clocking. Eric Sturtevant of Morristown placed fourth in 16:26.

Bernards' bid for a sweep of the all- groups' team title was foiled by the powerful girls' team from North Hunterdon. The Laciy Lions, a solid pre-meet favorite, won their third consecutive championship with 32 points. Bernards was the runner-up with 84 points. The Lady Mounties were paced by the third-place finish of Karen Ahearn, who was timed in 18:51. Ahearn trailed two North Hunterdon runners across the finish line in failing to win for the first time this season.

Jodi Bilotta won the race in 18:44, with teammate Anne Letko second in 18:48. Sandy La Placa (19:18) was fifth and Jeanne La Placa (19:35) finished eighth to give North Hunterdon four runners among the first eight to complete the course. Debbie Fordyce of Bernards (20:06) finished 15th and was the second Lady Mountie to cross the line. Tracey Hinman was 21st, Laura Day 23rd and Jamie Mather 29th for the Lady Mounties. Patti Sullivan placed 41st and freshman Tracey Wills 44th.

Sandra Esposito of Ridge High in Basking Ridge was 13th in 19:58. She led Coach Marty Frezza's Lady Red Devils to a best-ever fourth-place finish with 110 points, Brick Township (104) beat out the Lady Red Devils for third place. Trailing the leaders were Clifton (163), Paul VI of Haddonfield (192), Mater Dei of Holmdel (224), Hunterdon Central (230), Princeton (235) and Red Bank Catholic (248). Red Devils only unbeaten team in state By SANDY STUART Staff Writer Before the soccer season started in September, Ridge coach Rick Hildebrand predicted that his young team with only three senior starters would be one of the best in the school's history. His prophesy was more than fulfilled Tuesday night, as the Red Devils shut out powerful Millburn 3-0 to win the state Group 2 championship.

Ridge, which compiled an incredible 20-0-2 record, was the only soccer team in New Jersey to go undefeated all season. Tuesday's game marked not only the first time Ridge has won the state Group 2 title, but also the first time in the school's history and in Hildebrand's 16 years as coach that the Red Devils have come even close. Ridge's previous best was a loss in the Central Jersey Group 2 championships. The Red Devils' season scoring record of 109-21 (including 11 shutouts) prompted Hildebrand to revise his prc-season assessment of the team. "One of the best" is a phrase that is no longer applicable.

"This is the best team I've ever coached," said Hildebrand Tuesday after receiving the Group 2 trophy. "This is also the nicest bunch of kids I've ever coached. There's not a kid on the team I wouldn't take for my son." Playing in cold rain and on unfamiliar artificial turf at the Trenton State College stadium, the Red Devils won the championship game with a combination of solid soccer skills, teamwork and good luck. Determination to become Ridge's first state soccer champion probably helped, too. "When we were riding on the bus on the way down here, I kept thinking about the past 16 years and all the players I've coached," said Hildebrand.

"I was thinking, we're going to try to win this for everyone." Millburn, with, a 19-3-2 record coming into the game, seemed to dominate in the first quarter, keeping the ball in the Red Devil end of the field for several minutes at a time and firing off a few strong shots that were saved by Ridge goalkeeper Chris Gretchen. Ridge gained more control in the second quarter, setting up the series of quick, one-touch passes that have become the team's trademark. Junior striker Steve Archer put the Red Devils on the Scoreboard midway through the quarter after teammate Craig Kaisand lofted a cross from the right corner. It was the 25th goal of the season for Archer, the team's leading scorer. The Millers tried to retaliate with a goal of their own, but the breaks weren't going their way.

A ball rolling in front of the Ridge net was missed by at least two Millburn players, and a shot by Steve Kepler landed safely in Gretchen's arms. The half ended wtOTMtmmnrWIT ahead in shots on goal (9-3), but Ridge leading the game 1-0. Ridge quickly grabbed control in the opening minutes of the third period, as Archer worked the ball downfield and fired off a quick shot that was deflected by the Millburn goalie. Jeff Schaefer got the rebound and executed a perfect pass in front of the net to Doug Edwards, who kicked in the ball from about three yards out for his 20th goal of the season. The Red Devils threatened again a few minutes later, when defender Paul Feldman, pushing upfield, tapped the ball through the legs of a Millburn fullback to Archer.

The shot was saved and sent back toward the Ridge goal. Millburn's Michael Cogan got off a good shot from the left corner, which "Shannon Barrett, individually, and the Midget Girls team are our best hopes for honors in the National Meet," Mather predicted. "Shannon really has come on strong since last spring." Tracey Wills and Erica Friedman, who ran on the Bernards High cross copuntry team as freshmen, placed 1 lth and 23rd in the Junior Girls (1314) Division at the Region 1 championships. They qualified for the National Meet, along with Jennifer Schenberg, who was 27th. Kelly Diegnan was 37th in the Region 1 meet, with Jennifer Delia RUMO 39th, Dawn Sullivan 43rd, Lisa Kirchenbaum 46th and Ann Marie PuckhaberSlst.

The Bantam Boys team (9-10), which has been in training for only six weeks, finished fifth in the Region 1 Meet. John Ricci and Brian Kennedy led the way, placing 15th and 16th. Dennis Blake was 27th, John Graves 29th, Casey Barry 32nd and Jim Moose 33rd. While they failed ft qualify as a team for the national meet, they will be competing at Group 2 Champions The Bernard. High School girls (Photo by OurfaT.

Zanlefc) rtry team woo Ike Group 2 championship and placed second la the all group meet last Sirarsav. row, left, arc Debbie Fordyce, Jamie Mather and Kara Abeam. Standing, from left: Heather Twwiatot, Patty Sullivan, Tracey Hitman art Laurie Day. bounced off the fingertips of Gretchen and rolled out of bounds to give the Millers a corner kick. A short corner pass to Scott Goldfarb resulted in another save for Gretchen.

had a another good scoring opportunity a few seconds later, when Goldfarb trapped a bad goal kick from Gretchen and crossed the ball gently in front of the goal mouth (RfMnne left comer. Fortunately for Ridge, none of Goldfarb's teammates were there to take advantage of what would have been an open net shot. The Millers managed to keep the ball in the Ridge end of the field for several minutes near the end of the third quarter and continued to pound the Red Devil goal. Ridge's defenders found themselves in the unfamiliar position of having trouble clearing the ball. Problems with the Red Devil defense continued during the early part of the final period, as Millburn tried valiantly to get on the Scoreboard.

Once again, the team seemed to be jinxed, as both Kepler and Hank Sanger missed balls that rolled precariously close to the Ridge net. Millburn's Peter Snyder also had a strong shot that went wide of the goal. However, the Millers persisted and managed to dominate the game with a relentless but unsuccessful assault on the Ridge goal. As one spectator observed, "Millburn can't buy a goal in this game." While Millburn missed several chances to score, Ridge rarely let an opportunity slip away. Midway through the quarter, Schaefer beat a Millburn defender and fired off a strong shot from the left corner, which was deflected out of bounds by the goalie.

Kaisand took the corner kick, which was headed in expertly by Edwards to bring the score to 3-0. It was Edwards' 21st goal of the season and Kaisand's 25th assist. Although it was obvious at this point that Ridge would win the game, Millburn never gave up or weakened its efforts. As the final minutes ticked away, the Millers again came close to scoring, this time on a corner kick. The ball was headed in the direction of the Ridge goal by at least two Millburn players before being cleared by the Red Devils.

When the whistle blew to signal the end of the game, nearly 100 wet but ecstatic Ridge fans streamed onto the fields to congratulate (he team. Hugging one another and chanting, "We're one," the team hoisted their trophy for all to see. Hildebrand said after the game that he hadn't expected the Red Devils to score three goals against Millburn without being scored upon. He credited Gretchen for playing an excellent game and the Ridge defense for making Gretchen'i job easier. "They (the defense) tie tough.

They never give up, they're tenacious," said Hildebrand. "They never believe the other team is going to score a goal. 1 He also praised senior co-captain and center midfielder Cory Dew- mount, who wai slow because of an ankle Injury in Saturday's semifinal fame, for voluntarily removing him (Plane RUaeon page 21.).