THE CRIMSON SUN - Morristown-Beard School

THE CRIMSON SUNVol. 13, No. 4The Student Newspaper of Morristown-Beard School70 Whippany Road, Morristown, NJ 07960April 2012Student Heroes: The Firemenand EMTs of MBSSenior Athletes SignWith Divison I CollegesThe Story BehindKipp’s MuleBlood Drive collectsfor 25th yearBy William DruckerFrom 8:30 to 3:30 onMarch 1, the MBS communityopened its doors to readyand willing blood donors, collecting103 units, 74 wholeblood and 29 double red cells.Donors entered the gymthrough an archway of balloonscelebrating the school’s25th anniversary of the drive.“I thought it was a verysuccessful drive, especiallywith the number of doublered cells donated,” said BloodDrive director and art teacherLaurie Hartman. “Ourcaptains were very helpful,and I’m proud of what thecommunity contributed.”110 donors met in theBlood Drive director Laurie Hartman greets donors as they enter.Winter Workshops sweepthrough the curriculumBy Zach GrayEvery two years,winter workshops make theirway onto the scene at MBS.Each student signs up for fourdifferent workshops, rangingfrom Current Events Aroundthe World to History of Rockand Roll Music to Guacamoleand Salsa from Scratch.Roger Richard, Directorof Academic Support,labored for months to coordinateworkshop offeringsand make this whole programpossible. The greatestdifficulty this year, hesaid, was keeping a balancebetween workshops offeredto Middle School studentsand Upper School students.main gym during the schoolday, filled out their registrationforms and got checkedby nurses for blood pressure,heart rate, and iron levels.The 90 donors who werecleared advanced intothe main area, where ateam of nurses waitedto help these volunteersthrough the process.Medical volunteershelped the donors lie down onbeds, disinfected their forearms,tied an elastic bandto concentrate the blood,inserted the needle and beganto draw blood.Continued on Page 3.Photo: Jessica GreeneEstimating howmany students should be allowedin each workshop isnever an easy task, either.“The difficulty is thatone never really knows whichworkshops are going to provepopular,” said Mr. Richard.During this shortweek of fun, students had sixshorter classes and spent thelast two hours of the day onWednesday and Thursdayexploring the spectrum ofofferings, Workshops provideda chance for UpperSchool students to interactwith Middle Schoolers andfor all students to interactwith different teachers.Page 5 Page 3 Page 5Blood Drive Captain Lacey Nussbaum comforts a fellow student while she donates for the first time.Coffee House: no sugar neededBy John HorowiczThe aroma of freshcoffee filled the air as ChrisDeBono poetically rapped beforethe mellow group of individualswho attended CoffeeHouse on February 17. Thevibe was relaxed and thelights were dim. Homemadecookies and cupcakes filledthe tables in Wilkie Hall.“Swell,” said co-producerMichael Koslov, commentingon the evening. Attendeesseemed enthralledby the array of events. “Goinginto this, we didn’t knowwhat to expect because itwas experimental,” saidMitch Green, co-producer.“I enjoyed the company,good company,” saidnormally cynical Joshua Schramm.The New Media Club,which ran the Coffee House,made $80 in donations, aremarkable feat since CoffeeHouse was a free event.One student wasmoved by a scene from ParallelLives by Kathy Najimyand Mo Gaffney, actedout by Juniors ErikaAtkinson and Rachel Moss.“The Coffee Housewas really better than I[expected],” senior DevonSeelig said. “I really likedCharlie’s song with Casey.”Seelig is referring to an untitledsong by Charlie Hill.Photo: Jessica GreeneAlong with Chris DeBono’s“Impossible,” there weretwo original pieces. Anotherhighlight includedthe House Band’s classicrock numbers, performedby Audio Visual DirectorChris Finn, chemistryteacher Scott McCormick,Dean of Faculty Dr. JohnMascaro, and Hill, a senior.Overall, the CoffeeHouse surprised and amazedpeople. “Smooth, relaxed,”says Koslov referring to theaudience. “I think the crowdwas laid back so nobody reallycared when thingschanged or went wrong.”Photos: Rob StoneChris Debono (left) raps and Danielle DiRaddo plays the guitar at the surprisingly successful Coffee House.

March 2012News3Another Blood Drive successContinued from Page 1Veteran donors whoknew the routine, like mathteacher Liam Fitzsimmons,stayed cool, calm and collected.For those who were moreanxious, captains stayedwith donors every step of theway to help them through it.Afterwards, captainsescorted relieved donorsto the canteen to eatsweets to get sugar backinto their systems. Thewhole process takes aboutan hour, a small amountof time that can save lives.Ms. Hartman tookover the responsibility24 years ago, after oneof her students was diagnosedwith leukemia.She recalled that earlierblood drives were onlyheld once a year in theold Commons room, nowGrant Hall, with onlyfour beds. Now the drivehas grown into the gymwith 12 beds and is heldtwice a year. She hopesto organize a third drivein the summer, for thosewho were not able to donatethis time because ofwinter sports or the play.“I am proud that Iwas able to contribute,” saidsenior Dylan Krouse, a coordinator.“I think it’s anamazing cause that the communityorganizes and contributesto.” Other studentcoordinators included GraceFleming and Zach Gray.Over the past 25years, the MBS drive hascollected 2,809 donationsand received recognition andawards from The Red Cross.2nd Diversity SummitApril 21Saturday9am-3pmat MBSPhotos: Jessica GreeneJanet Crowley, MBS Book Store Manager, (above) tries to relax while donating blood.News BriefsAthletes sign with Division I collegesBy Ben SchreiberMBS Seniors ZachGray, Jackson Kramer,Max Moog, and TatianaJohnson have all signedletters-of-intent to pursuetheir sports in college.After seeing successas teammates on the baseballteam, first-baseman ZachGray signed to play for LehighUniversity while shortstopJackson Kramer decidedto play for Lafayette College.Last spring Gray batted.489 while being named tothe All-Prep, All-Conference,All-State, and All-Areateams.“Lehigh has a great balancebetween academics and athleticsand I can’t wait to playat the next level,” said Gray.Kramer also had atremendous season, batting.378 and making All-Prep,All-Conference, and All-Areateams. Not only is Kramerexcited to play baseball, heis also looking forward toenrolling in a great school.“[Lafayette] plays a reallycompetitive schedule and I’mexcited to match up againstsome of the best teamsin the country.”Max Moog practices his soccer game to prepare for the next level.Photo: Jessica GreeneThen there’s Max Moog, whosigned a letter of intent to playsoccer for Loyola Universityin Maryland. Moog, a defenseman,helped the Crimsonachieve a ten-win season thisfall. Also reaching ten-winswas the Loyola Universitymen’s soccer team, who wonten-games for the 37th timein program history.When questionedabout playing for such anaccomplished team, Moogreplied, “The . . . coach isvery supportive . . . Makingmy commitment to Loyolawas not hard at all sinceit seemed to be the best fitfor me as a student anda soccer player.”Tatiana Johnson alsosigned a letter to play basketballat the University ofRhode Island. Johnson hasexcelled at MBS, becomingthe fifth player in school historyto score 1,000 points. “Iam elated to have the opportunityto play division 1 basketball,”she said. “I am a littlenervous because there isa huge difference in the levelof play, but I am extremelyexcited to challenge myself.”

Reviews4 March 2012Bat Boy in Yo’ Face:The greatest play to grace the placeBy Harry OkunBat Boy has about asmuch in common with youraverage school play as a fouryear-old’spuppet showhas with Star Wars. It wasserious-freakin-ly incredible.This performancewas Broadway-worthy;in fact, it was better thansome Broadway plays.A potent, powerfulplay, driven by anunbelievably talentedgroup of actors, Bat Boyis not just a comedy or adrama--it’s an emotionalmaelstrom that willmake you stare in shockand awe. If you thoughtit was going to be silly,you were dead wrong.This play is as intense asa punch in the face, andtwice as hard-hitting.Bat Boy is a playabout Hope Falls, a smalltown of ex-miners andranchers, and their encounterwith a mutantferal boy, played by CharlieHill, who was amazingat acting, singing,and climbing all over thehanging bars of his cage.With those pointed earsand fangs, he really lookedfreakish, but it was his performancethat stood out.From animal to manto murderer, Hill made youlook past the implausibilityand just go with the flow.The other actors were just aseffective playing more humanroles. MBS theatreveterans Harrison Kronfeld,Rachel Donahue, and SamanthaCocuzza all showedtheir talents as father, mother,and daughter of the Parkerfamily.Kronfeldstepped outside hisusual light-hearted roles tobecome the terrifying yetsomehow tender, Dr. Parker.His facial expressions wereconvincingly dark and menacing,as was his wielding ofthat cyanide-laced syringe.Cocuzza and Donahuehad an intense motherand daughter dynamic andshined on their own too. Therest of the cast displayedrange as well, both in voiceand in character. Manyplayed both genders, includingthe occasional animal,inanimate object, and whatI think was actually a satyr.Undoubtedly, ChrisDeBono was the funniest,whether dressed in drag as aprotective mother or in leatherjacket as a rocker, partwrestler, part everythingReverend Billy Hightower, healways got laughs or giggles.Max Schmidt probablyplayed the most diverseset of characters, appearingas an old lady, a dark teenwith anger issues, and theaforementioned creaturethat I thought was a satyr.Tyler Smith did a very goodjob as the unsure Sheriff,especially impressive in hisfirst theatre performance.Susanna Mathewsplayed a commanding MayorMaggie, while Casey Millerand Austin Fernandezeach convincingly portrayedtwo Taylor children. Therest of the actors withoutnamed roles showed someof the most amazing singingand dancing skills toever grace the MBS stage.These cast membersformed a single, constantlyshifting entity where eachperson enhanced and stoodPhoto: Steve PatchettMax Schmidt belts out a rocking solo as an angry teenager, but he also played an angry old woman,in BatBoy,A potent,powerful play,driven by anunbelievablytalented groupof actors.out from the whole: KyleFisher, Erin Hargrave-Kerns,Pooja Aggarwal, Ashley Aracena,Rachel Butensky, EricFernandez, Sarina Morales,Rachel Moss, Kyle Movsovich,Lacey Nussbaum,AlexaRojek, Kayla Terry, LaceyNussbaum, and Nancy Zhu.Bat Boy is a seriousplay, and it’s not exactly forthe faint of heart. If the violenceand subtle referencesto incest don’t disturb you,the devilish glares from Dr.Parker and the terrifyingchanting coming from the unblinkingensemble will surelyget you queasy., but theseprovide the powerful effect.The scenes thatplay out in the songs standout. In “Comfort and Joy,”the company transformfrom reddish voices of madnessin Kronfeld’s head toconcerned townspeople in ameeting to a Christian choirin Charlie’s imagination,all in the span of a minutewithout ever breaking pace,or falling out of character.Those two words,comfort and joy, becomeinfused with menace,hope, or innocence dependingon the context.Some songs were actuallyscary, like “WatchaWanna Do?” and theaforementioned “Comfortand Joy”, while otherslike “A Home forYou” or the appropriatelynamed “Apologyfor a Cow” were actuallypoignant. The showstopperhad to be “I’m Not aBoy,” which was strongand also really sad.In the capablehands of directors SusanSpeidel and Jim Ruttman,who also organizedattention-getting costumesand play’s fluidchoreography, respectively,this play became astunning piece of theatre.Under multicoloredstrobe lights, the stageitself shone, with lightingcontrolled by Craig Stelzenmullerand Rob Sambrato.Credits for props andoverall design go to HollyLehmann, Mark Lehman andothers, who chose, designed,or built some of the wondrousor hilarious objects onstage.The music was outsourcedto musical directorJerry Rife, with accompanistBen Kraus. Of course,we can’t forgetthe studentswho devoted many hoursto making everything functional.Under stage managerDanielle Ciccodicola, TitlopeOgunsola, Jillian Griffith,Daniel Collins, Hugh Daley,Michele Diamantis, DanielleDiRaddo, Emily Evans, KevinGlancy, Peter Hoeller, BenMiller, Christopher Monaco,Yin Yin Petersen, Carina Steficek,Scott Beshar, and JuliaSweeney all did their bestto get Bat Boy ready to fly.Photos: Steve PatchettMax Schmidt (above left), Kyle Fisher and Tyler Smith stand around and marvel at the BatBoy (on wagon), Christopher DeBono leads a revival meeting (center frame), and Samatha Cocuzzatalks with Charlie Hill, the rehabilitated Bat Boy, in a tender moment.

March 2012By Tom Vurno with reporting by Hugh DalyThe car was upsidedown, planted next to a tree,three blocks away from TomO’Brien’s house on an OctoberE.M.T. The blood lapped overthe broken glass and cement,but he wasn’t certified yet, sohe had to watch the parade ofday in 2011. At this blue uniforms cut the tense redtime, O’Brien was preparing body out of the seat and carryA bright blue, beautiful mule to heaven...By CJ PostighoneA vibrantly bluemule dizzied with mazes anda man smoking a pipe standsoutside the book-store at TheMorristown Beard School.The students have seen themule dozens of times butnever have thought to thinkof where it came from orwhat kind of a story could bebehind it. Incredibly, a formerstudent here enduredthe harsh reality that hislife did not go as he wouldhave planned if he couldcontrol his own destiny.This is a harsh realityonly a select few of us canunderstand. Unlike most ofthe Upper School students,Kipp Sujet spent many ofhis high school days in ahospital, often confined toa single room in isolationwith the diagnosis of Leukemia,a type of blood cancerthat many do not survive.As Kipp endured theseclusion of a hospital room,Features5Local Heroes: Students by day, EMTs and firemen by nightTom O’Brien responds to an E.M.T. call.to be an emergency medicaltechnician. While most kidsare spending their weekendsrelaxing, Tom O’Brienwas running out of his houseand going to the accident.This was his first accident.People surround thecar trying to get a better lookat the driver, who’s hangingfrom his seat belt, upsidedown, his hair is grazing thefloor, matted with blood, as hecalls for help. The policemaintain a perimeter; theyeven try to hold O’Brien backbefore he explains he is anPhoto: Jessica Greenehim off in the ambulance.“I couldn’t help thisguy. He was upside downbleeding. All I could do waswatch,” Tom said in an interviewfive months later.The guy’s impressive.Behind the relaxed attitudeand the Vineyard Vines jacketis someone who has seenenough human tissue andbone marrow to make Rambofeel a little uncomfortable.More impressive is his coolnessunder pressure, a qualitythat the school communitywitnessed at the 2011 SpiritWeek boy’s field hockey game,when a hockey stick knockedout Tom Strada’s front teeth.Strada held up histeeth to the crowd, as surprisedto see them in hishand as everyone else wasand then collapsed on theground. O’Brien ran over tohelp. A group of teachers,which included HeadmasterPeter Caldwell, stood backat the sidelines and watched.All eyes were on O’Brien, whoturned to Mr. Caldwell andasked for the sweater he waswearing. He used the sweaterto suppress the bleedingin Strada’s mouth while theywaited for the ambulance.“You need the abilityto be calm in any situation,”O’Brien said, “because theworse thing that can happenis you start freaking out. Itdoesn’t make the situationany better, it doesn’t makethe patient feel better, andyou end up helping no one.”Hugh Daly, anotherE.M.T., works in Summitbecause it “seemed likea meaningful program anda fun way to do volunteerwork.” Like Tom, Hugh, ajunior, spends his free timehelping injured people.Sophomore JimmyCarroll gives his time to theChatham Township FireDepartment as a volunteerfire fighter. This fire departmentanswers about 300calls per year. Jimmy experienceda similar situation toO’Brien’s on his first emergencycall. All Carroll couldremember were a few visuals:the driver’s face, clothesand appearance were just ablur. Blame it on adrenaline.Carroll doesn’t evenremember pulling the driverPhoto: Jessica GreeneKipp Sujet created original art work while he was sick for months.Another artist traced the patterns onto the mule that stands outside thePat Kennedy gets a fire call and he’s always ready.out of the car. What he doesremember is this: a shard ofbone painted red protrudingout of the driver’s forearmand dilated pupils thattried to recognize his face.“He was very dazed,he didn’t realize he was inany danger. I don’t thinkthe guy knew where he actuallywas,” Carroll said.Go to a seven yearold and ask him what hewants to be when he growsup. If the answer’s not anastronaut, then it’s a firefighter.Add a few years toall those kids, life starts totighten its clamps, everyonewants to work in thecity and get a corner office.Pat Kennedy wantsto be a firefighter. You wouldget the same answer now asyou would have heard tenyears ago. Fire fighters run inPat’s family; his grandfather,father and uncle are firefighters,so when the opportunityarose, he gravitated to it.Photo: Jessica GreeneKennedy is centered in Bedminsterand Far Hills. Hisfirst fire was a barn fire.“There’s three ways for afirefighter to die on the job,”Jimmy told me “Inhalationof smoke, be crushed by afalling beam when you’re inthe house, or you burn. Thebody just gets too hot andyou just combust into flamesin your gear. It’s awful, youbecome a human firework.”He had to stay 50 feetaway from the fire. The heatwas immense. Kennedy sawthe orange glow reflect off hissweat. The fire consumed thebarn, leaving a crumblingskeleton of charred timber.“I couldn’t say thatthe experience was a traumaticone,” he said. “Whenyou’re on the job, you don’treally have time to processwhat’s going on around you.You just do the best job thatyou can and hope it works.”he spent his time drawingimages he referred to as “pipedreams.” I can only imaginethe loneliness Kipp feltspending his days in a roomwhile his classmates werefree to travel about and enjoytheir high school years. It ismy understanding the imagesKipp drew representedplaces Kipp would rather be.Art teacher LaurieHartman knew Kip as a studentand spoke highly of him.“He was a wellrounded kid with a greatpersonality,” she said.She recalled how his spiritsnever seemed to failhim and he always remainedan upbeat kid.“When he wassick, instead of him lookingto other people for hopeand high spirits, peoplewould look to him to becomeinspired,” she said.After Kipp’s passing, a talentedartist named BarrySharplin took some ofKipp’s “pipe dreams” andtranscribed them onto afiberglass mule. The mulewas part of a project inthe Delaware Valley Regionknown as Miles ofMules, a public arts projectstretching over 165 miles.Kipp’s mule was sponsoredby The Kipp SujetScholarship Fund, locatedin Frenchtown, NJ. Themule is a beautiful brightblue with a “neolithiccave painting which featuredmazes encompassingthe image of a man with apipe blowing bubbles,” Ms.Hartman said. Perhaps itdepicted Kipp’s sentimentabout traveling throughthe maze of medical treatmentwith no clear way outto the real world. AlthoughI never met Kipp, I feel asthough I know who he is.

Features6 March 2012The Spectrum of Winter WorkshopsIt was late in thegame and excitement inthe pool was halted by thescreeching blow of a whistleand the sound of two teachersyelling in joy. MeredithLocasto, health teacher, andTim Fell, math teacher, explainedthe rules as studentsgasped for air. Senior TomDepoalo scored the first goalof the first ever water polomatch to occur in the MBSpool. The opposing teamquickly swam to their side,Water Polowaiting for the ball to dropback onto the pool’s surface.Depoalo made thevictory shot for his team.Afterwards, teachers andplayers were exhausted, unawareof the amount of energyit takes to stay afloatthroughout the match. Uponcompletion of the workshop,it was clear that water polowould be an all-time favoritein the expandinglist of Winter Workshops.--Clayton RitzdorfGuacamoleWednesday afternoon,head librarian,Rebecca DiBrienza andSpanish teacher ChristineGarson turned a middleschool classroom intoa working kitchen. Bowlsof tomatoes, peppers,avocados, and other ingredientswere placed ondifferent desks throughoutthe room and the twoteachers provided recipesfor guacamole and salsa.They demonstrated thetechniques and then allowedthe class to have achance to use their handsto make the two dips. Thestudents learned howto measure and mix everythingtogether. Afterfinishing the salsa andguacamole, tasting thefinished work was thefinal (and favorite) step.--Jessica SmallPhoto: Jess GreeneDana Riback (left) and Kristen Depoalo try to make the ball disappear.Science teacherKathleen Wade’s desk wasstacked with perfectlyaligned black folders accompaniedby freshly sharpenednumber twopencils. Insideonefolder read apacket titledin big bold letters: “How ToImprove Your Handwriting”.For once, students could focuson the style of their writingrather than content itself.“Remember, sit upstraight, shoulders back, anduncross your legs,” Ms. Wadesaid. For the next 55 min-Handwritingutes, the pencil did all thework. The soft sound of pencilsstroking the paper filledthe room as students perfectedtheir style. The boardinstantlybecame clutteredwithneatly drawn“O”s and “T”sas Ms. Wade demonstratedthe proper way of writing. Afterdrawing nearly every letterin the alphabet, the groupmoved on to completingwords, focusing on the formand way the letter connected.--Meghan MerrimanPhoto: Jess GreeneMatt Rosenberg (left) and Ben O’Connell attempt to make a pencil disappear,but they don’t know the trick.Fifty students fromgrades 6-12 crowded intoWillkie Hall, eager to learnmagic tricks from KevinMcDonald, the health andgym teacher.In the firsttrick, Mr.McDonaldused a golfball and pretended to swallowit, showing his empty hands,then suddenly coughed thegolf ball back up, amazingmany. Max Tabak, a senior,,tried the trick first and almostgot it right but then, unfortunately,dropped the ball.“Macgician”In another trick, Mr. Mc-Donald pretended to stick asimple unsharpened pencilinto his ear, then pulled itout of his mouth. While everyonewaspracticingthis trick,Mac secretlydisappearedfrom Willkie, leavingeveryone confused whenthey realized he was gone.Later, when he suddenlyreturned, he said, “Thatwas my real final trick!”--Emily KelloggPhoto: Jess GreeneEmily Segal and Aliza Borker work on perfecting their magic skills.In this workshopwe learned how to planthe dream wedding. Sra.Vaughan Leigh, a Spanishteacher, taught us everythingthere is to know aboutweddings and what crisesyou could run into from theengagement rings to flowerarrangements. We learnedabout cuts and clarities ofrings, themes for weddings,Weddingswedding dresses, weddingparty gifts, showers, the invitations,music, food, cake,wedding favors, seating assignments,flowers, hair,and makeup. Many ofus now know what a bigordeal a wedding can beand how to manage everythingin an organizedand appropriate manner.--Taylor VessaKevin McDonald demonstrates disappearing tricks.Photo: Jess Greene

March 2012Track and Field:Can they smash records again?By Meghan MerrimanSports7It won’t be easy toppingTrack and Field’s stellarseason last spring. Theteam broke an unprecedentedseven school records inboth running and throwingevents. To top it off,they sent ten team membersto the coveted Meet ofChampions last June atOld Bridge High School.Coming into the 2012season, the most difficultobstacle is filling the voidleft by key runners whograduated: Lauren Capo,Jeff Maser, and Zaki Williams.Williams’s absencewill create a hugedent on the boys’ side.“You can’t replacesomeone who won four goldmedals at the State Sectionals,”says Coach Scott Mc-Cormick. “Someone like thatdoesn’t come along very often.”Luckily, Coach Mc-Cormick is expectingstrong performances fromreturning athletes. MicaelaReilly, sophomore,came off a strong crosscountry finish and brokerecords in the 800, 1600,and 3200 meters last year.Captain Tati Johnsonis another one to keep an eyeon. After placing sixth in theMeet of Champions shot put,she works out in the weightroom every day to preparefor her final season at MBS.Johnson will be joinedby freshman Halia Rosemanon the throwing field.Rosemonde may only bea freshman, but she is nonewcomer to the sport. Inmiddle school, she competedin American Athletic Union(AAU) track and participatedin the Colgate Women’sGames at the New York Armoryon October 3.“I’ve seen her workingout through the fall,” saysJohnson. “It makes me realizethat I really needto step it up this year.”Members of the Track and Field team does a warm-up exercise around the track to get in shape for upcoming meets.Photo: Kirsten StainerTrevor Baptiste shoots a ball in spring practice.Golf:Varsity team swings forconference titleBy Zach GrayAfter “a bit of an offyear last year” with a 10/7record, as Coach DavidMolowa put it, varsity golf islooking to use their more experiencedplayers to get backinto the swing. The loss ofskilled golfer Greg Kirk tograduation will not make lifeeasy.Still, there is anucleus of four solid returningplayers who are juniorPat Kennedy, junior PeteAlevras, senior Jonas Hercksen,and sophomore SpencerShepperly. Six players areneeded to compete in eachmatch.Photo: Kirsten Stainer“We are going toneed more depth if we aregoing to make a run forthe conference title,” saidCoach David Molowa. Withabout 20 students trying outfor varsity, many of whomCoach Molowa has not seenplay yet, there are manyunknowns this season.For the first time,the team is taking a SpringBreak trip to Myrtle Beach.“Last year we got off toa slow start. Hopefully,this trip will help us avoidthat this year,” said CoachMolowa.Boys’ Lacrosse:Sharpening field strategyBy Griffin GiordanoLast year, Boys’ Lacrosseposted a less thanstellar record (3-12), butnew freshman players andreturning top scorers maychange their fate this spring.“We are young, butwe have some really goodsenior leadership this year,”says Coach Bill Rentiers.Undaunted, captainsDoran McManusand Mike Magner, both seniors,lead a predominantlyyoung roster of highly durableathletes this season.Still, the team haslost graduating seniors ForrestNugent, goalie, TimDonovan, forward, and JakeFishter, forward. To ensure astrong start, team membersplayed during the winter atthe Indoor Sports Pavilion LacrosseLeague in Randolph.Naturally, goal scoringis a key focus. “DoranMcManus has the ability tobe one of our top scorers,”says Coach Rentiers. “Heis very quick to move tothe ball, and has one of thestrongest shots.”McManus says thestrong roster of freshman willalso help score goals. CoachRentiers recalls watchingfreshmen dominate opposingteams when they playedin middle school last year.“I think a few ofthe incoming freshmenwill be able to play varsityright away simply becausetheir talent level is sohigh,” Coach Rentiers says.With freshmanJohnny McDonald, midfield,and Thomas Rago, forward,the Lacrosse team isGirls’ Lacrosse:Ready for redemptionBy Jessica SmallThe Girls’ Varsity Lacrosseteam is determined toimprove on last year’s 7-12record, which included a close11-13 loss to Montclair Kimberlyin the Prep B finals.“We want redemption,”said returning co-captain,Lizzy Pellicane, one ofthe team’s top scorers, regardingthe Prep B Tournament.The team lost somekey players, includinggoalie Sarah Bayersdorferready to face entirely newtrials and prevail. Whilethey have new blood, returningplayers learned towork together last year.“They are not learninga new system, just gettingbetter at the system we usedlast year,” Coach Rentierssays. Players are, however,,following a new field strategy..Last year, the teamplayed a 1-3-2 (1 defense-3midfield-2 forward) fieldconfiguration, whereas thisyear Coach Rentiers plansto move towards the 1-4-1(1 defense-4 midfield-2 forward)strategy. This planprovides for more successfulball movement from the defensiveend, Coach said, becausethe team’s players arecentralized in the midfield.and the team’s MVP HillarySmith who both graduatedlast spring. “We losttwo big players, Hillaryand Sarah, said Pellicane.“Winning Preps is not goingto be easy without them.”Returning playersare eager to see talent in thenew players. “Every year,fresh skill is always crucialto the team,” said CaraGeswelli a junior. Freshmanplayers include ChelseaKramer, Elizabeth Mignon,and Maddie Morris.Luckily, theteam also has strengthin the returning players.“Our returning varsityseniors are really importantto the team,” said LydiaNovalis, a junior. Returningseniors include Mia Geswelliand co-captains LizzyO’Neil and Nina Zwarycz.

Sports8 March 2012Boys Tennis:Ready to face tougher competitionBy Megan ReilingAfter finishing lastseason with an impressiverecord (13-4) and sharing theconference title with MountainLakes High School,the boys’ tennis team facestougher competition thisspring.“We are now playingin a better conferencewith schools like Delbarton,Randolph, and Wardlaw-Hartridge,” said Coach EddieFranz, who is in his secondyear coaching the boys’ varsityteam.Still, Max Schmidt, ajunior, “remains the numberone singles player as one ofthe top players in the state,”said Coach Franz. He willlikely be captain along withJohn Pisano, a senior.Currently, the seconddoubles spot is open butwill be filled with last year’sbest JV players or incomingfreshmen like Tyler Smith.Since last year, the secondand third singles spots havebeen held by sophomores PeterDaly and E.J. Gordon, respectively.Pisano and juniorHugh Daly, Peter’s olderbrother, remain the first doublesteam.The season’s scheduleincludes other toughcompetitors such as RandolphHigh School, Gill StBernard’s School, MountainLakes High School, and ChathamHigh School.In addition, the teamwill play in the Brian BennettInvitation on April 13-14, a competition among thetop ten teams in the state.Baseball:New bats, new strategy,new chanceBy Max TabakThe boys’ varsitybaseball teamsaw success lastspring, (16-9),but they justmissed outon winningchampionships.Thisyear,therely more on “moving runnersover with thingslike bunting orsmall ball,” saidCoach JohnSheppard. Butplayers likesenior ZachGray andKramer“are more ofline-drive hitters,”Sheppardsaid,so thenew(Jackson Kramer (above) and Nick Ferry (right) warm up their arms for the season.Softball:Grand slam season in sightBy Kaitlyn TatulliGirls’ Varsity Softballended last season with a bigwin over Montclair KimberlyAcademy with a score 3-0. andthey are determined to improvelast year’s record of 4-7.“We had been ina rough stretch of losses,so it meant a lot to the seniorsto end with a winlast season,” says captainTaylor Silvestri, a senior.Losing Emily Vnencak, thedesignated pitcher since herfreshman year, to graduationmeans that the team is“scrambling to find a pitcher,”says captain Jaynie Siegel,a senior. “But I haveno doubt that we’ll be ablePhotos: Travias Nardinto find a girl to play in anew position,” she said.This season, the team iscounting on experiencedplayers and new freshman.“The team has thepotential to be great thisyear,” said Silvestri. “Wehave many returning playersand a lot of talent comingin from the freshman class.”For the 2012 season,the team has a new assistantcoach, Cori Eggert, and returningcoach Jen Geary andleadership from captains,Silvestri, Jaynie Siegel, JillianRaia, and Rubana Islam.Players to watch, says Silvestri,are captains JillianRaia, catcher, TaylorSilvestri who plays shortstop, captain Rubana Islam,outfielder, Jess Wrightand Katie Sidloski, bothsophomores, who sharethe position of first base.New freshman playersinclude Carina Steficek,Mahdiyyah Karriem, DominiqueSmith, Sarina Morales,Hannah Guenther,Gabby Hyman, Jess Compton,and Lindsay Reeth.A freshman tokeep an eye on, saysWright, is freshman Reeth.“ I think Lindsay Reeth will bea breakout star,” Wright says.teami sdeterminedto takethat finalstep, despitelosing startingpitcher JackFleming andsecond basemanTom Mooretograduation.“I am reallyexcited to play withthis group of kids,”said senior JacksonKramer. “Thiscould be a specialseason if we play upto our potential.”One unexpectedchange isthis year’s New Jerseystate requirementthat all baseballplayers use batswith less aluminum,which may negativelyaffect the power many playershave at the plate. As a result,the team is going to have toCrimswim (aka theSwim Team) hosted the annualSwim-A-Thon February17, donating $5,155 inproceeds to Make-a-WishFoundation. In honor of latecoach Todd Miller, Crimswimdid what they do bestto raise the money: swim.Each swimmer had sponsorsdonate either a flat donation,or a certain amount per lap.“I didn’t know if webats willnot hurt their hittingas much.Still, offenseis not an area ofconcern, as Mooreis the only playerlost from thestarting lineupand this grouphas the opportunityto be explosiveat the plate.The lineup,highlighted by divisionone-boundGray and Kramer,should be excitingto watch, despitesome concern thatthe new bats mayhave a negative effect.As spring rolls aroundand the team embarkson its season, expectationswill certainly behigh, but for good reason.With the loss of Fleming,one area where theclub may be lacking ispitching, so Sheppard islooking for contributionsfrom junior Nick Ferry,sophomore Travis Nardin,and senior Zach Chodor.“Our pitching staffis young but we have a fewguys with a lot of varsityexperience,” Gray said.CrimSwim swimsfor Make-a-WishBy Mitch Greenwould beat last year’s total,”said Head Coach Cori Eggert,“and we did it by a crazyamount. I’m immenselyproud of this team.”With the team swimminga total of 2,346 laps,or 36 miles, the event wasvery profitable. Last yearthe team raised $3,875.15and swam 2,220 laps, or 33miles.