Gill St. Bernard's Fall Athletics Season Preview

With the preseason in their rear view mirror, the GSB Knights are ready to take the field, court, and course for their 2023 fall seasons.

 

Cross Country

2022 Review:

1st Place Runner at Skyland Conference Championship (Ema Hercules), Meet of Champions Qualifier (Ema Hercules)

2023 Roster:

12th Grade: Liam Seeley (Captain), Jonah Wang, Lex Webber (Captain)
11th Grade: Kendall Bell, Angie Bonaventura (Captain), Jayden Christensen, Maddie Craig, Ema Hercules (Captain), Kate Horton, James O’Brien (Captain), Nathaniel Pollard, Arjun Rao, Ellie Roslund (Captain), Dylan Weaver
10th Grade: Evan Alfaro, Braelyn Brandl, Chase Cignarella, Alberto Coronado Diaz, Davis Herr, Ben Keller, Quinn Miller, Rohan Norden, Neil Procaccino, Mitch Simon, Tucker Spence
9th Grade: Tyler Bilanin, Hunter Danowski, Braden Hammond, Suzanne Horton, Balazs Kontes

Coach’s Corner:

Boys' Cross Country

"The strength of our team starts with the our seniors: Liam, Lex, and Jonah, who each will have a leadership role. If their work ethic is modeled by the 18 underclassmen, the XC team will have an outstanding season and bright future. 11th grader James O’Brien put in a lot of summer running miles and we hope with his extra work will translate into a great year as he and Liam compete to be our #1 runner. Brayden Hammond, Ben Keller, Rohan Norden, Quinn Miller, and Tyler Bilanin will all vie to contribute at the varsity level. The team’s goal is to get a little bit faster and stronger each week and peak for our Group Championship in November."
- Mike Parker, GSB Cross Country Coach

Girls' Cross Country

"I believe our girls will be very competitive in the Conference and Prep Meets in October and the Group Championships in November. You need five runners to score in an XC meet, so all 9 team members are valuable to this team. We will get a little bit stronger and faster every meet. We expect Ema to build on her standout season. She collected four medals last season and should continue to gather hardware for her trophy case while competing against the best competition in the state. Varsity award winner 11th grader Angie Bonaventura looks fast in practice and has the heart of a champion. 11th grader Eliana Roslund, who won the Ironman Award last year, will be a workhorse for the girls' team. Tranfer Bridget Wood has tremendous drive and determination, and her total work focus is much to be respected . Another newcomer, Maggie Craig, has the speed to be very successful and Kate Horton will help the team with her improved endurance from last year. Returning letter winner10 grader Braelyn Brandl will be competing for a top 5 varsity running spot while the team welcomes new comer Suzanne Horton and Kendra Bell."
- Head Coach Mike Parker

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Boys' Soccer

2022 Review:

16-6-1 Record (9-1 Skyland Division), NJSIAA Non-Public B Champions

2023 Roster:

12th Grade: Daniel Castro (Captain), Michael Dumiec (Captain), Jon Ferreira (Captain), Bennett Lavoie, Alexander Skiadas, Chayse Stolarski (Captain), George Taylor
11th Grade: Alex Chyzowych, Dylan Palmieri, Daniel Scali, Nathaniel Shen, Michael Taliano, Daniel Vasquez, Max Voigt
10th Grade: Branden Ferreira, Michael Marino
9th Grade: Carter Cistaro, Renato Panetta, Marcus Reynoso, JeanCarlo Sanchez, Denny Trainor

Coach’s Corner:

"This season we will be challenged much more than we have been in the past. After moving up to the top division in one of the most competitive conferences in the state, our strength of schedule has us playing nearly half of our games against opponents that finished last year in the top 10 schools in the state. With a strong showing in preseason and returning many key players from last year's state title winning team, we look to prove that we rightfully belong in the discussion for New Jersey's top program. Our team goals are to win our 6th straight state championship, to win the prep tournament, and to win our first county title since 2019."

"We will rely on all of the members of the team to carry us to achieve our goals this year, whether that be a Senior captain or a Freshman that is a newcomer to our program. Senior goalkeeper and 4 year starter Michael Dumiec will be relied on to lock down the defense, along with fellow Senior captain Jon Ferreira. Our other team captains Danny Spataro and Chayse Stolarski will look to find their names on the scoresheet quite frequently in the attack, along with our other talented attacking options (Junior Dan Scali, Junior Alex Chyzowych, Senior Dan Castro, Junior Danny Vasquez, Junior Max Voigt, and Sophomore Brendan Ferreira). On the defensive side, our very versatile Senior George Taylor looks to secure the defensive side of the ball, along with Junior Dylan Palmieri, Junior Michael Taliano, Junior Nathaniel Shen, Sophomore Michael Marino, and Senior Bennett Lavoie. Our talented group of Freshman (Jeancarlo Sanchez, Marcus Reynoso, Renato Panetta, and Carter Cistaro) will continue to make an impact on the field as well."
- Associate Head Coach Tim DiBisceglie

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Girls' Soccer

2022 Review:

8-9 Record (6-4 Skyland Division)

2023 Roster:

12th Grade: Olivia Bailey, Karlita Cadena (Captain), Dana Lotito (Captain)
11th Grade: Josephine Adebambo, Sofia Criscola, Meredith Klosek, Addison Rodriguez
10th Grade: CeCe Criscola, Ava Hearn, Chloe Lemanowicz, Jessica Sconda
9th Grade: Callan Andreski, Brenna Buraszeski, Brianna DiOrio, Laurel Donovan, Daphne Kibler, Emery Scavino

Coach’s Corner:

"We're very excited about this team. After a quarterfinal appearance in last year's Prep B tournament and a semifinal bid in the State tournament, there's a lot of great momentum to build off of as we head into the season."

"Although we graduated 7 seniors, we have a strong core of players led by senior forward Dana Lotito (20 goals 5 assists), senior defender Karlita Cadena, and senior defender Olivia Bailey. Dana is one goal away from breaking into the top ten all time scorers in program history. Junior Mere Klosek is coming off a great sophomore season with 5 goals and 16 assists. Fellow juniors Sofia Criscola, Addison Rodriguez, and Josephine Adebambo are poised to make a substantial influence on the team's success. We are also returning a strong sophomore class that includes Ava Hearn, Jessica Sconda, Cece Criscola, and transfer goalie Chloe Lemanowicz, each of whom we are counting on for valuable minutes in big situations along the season. Our roster is rounded out by a truly exciting freshman class led by Brenna Buraszeski, Callan Andreksi, Emery Scavino, Daphne Kibler, Brianna DiOrio, and Laurel Donovan who aim to make an immediate impact on the program. The team showed a lot of promise after two tightly played scrimmages versus Villa Walsh and Newark Academy. If all goes to plan, we'll be quite the contender when the postseason comes."
- Head Coach Donna Bednarsky, Assistant Coach Jonna DeFalco, Assistant Coach Cassie Cascini

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Girls' Tennis

2022 Review:

6-8 Record (5-5 Skyland Division)

2023 Roster:

12th Grade: Barbara Caspersen, Kate Hill (Captain), Tessa Mueller, Julianna Perri, Charlotte Gajeski
11th Grade: Bianca Cooper, Jillian Garrubbo, Alexa Gnapp
10th Grade: Chloe Garrubbo
9th Grade: Elsa Coates, Reyna Facenda, Sambi Saravanamoorthy

Coach’s Corner:

"In July we started our first year of summer work-outs and the girls have worked very hard this preseason in preparation for the upcoming matches. We have 26 players this year and it's incredibly exciting for me and assistant coach Don Callahan to field a full varsity and JV roster to grow the program. This year's motto is 'consistency wins, hit one more shot than your opponent!'"

"Julianna, Tessa, Barbara, Charlotte, and Kate enter the year as our senior leaders, with Kate serving as our team captain. Kate returns after a very good junior season in which she was named 2nd Team All-Conference! She looks to take the next step this season and I feel she will shine in 2023. Other key members of this year's varsity team include juniors Bianca Cooper and Jillian Garrubbo as our lead doubles, as well as freshmen newcomers Sambi Saravanamoorthy and Reyna Facenda who aim to make an immediate mark on the program. Junior Alexa Gnapp, sophomore Chloe Garrubbo, and freshman Elsa Coates will also contribute at both the varsity and JV levels as key swing players for the team's overall success."
- Head Coach Chris Walsh

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Volleyball

2022 Review:

5-15 Record (4-10 Skyland Division)

2023 Roster:

12th Grade: Lilly Fava, Elsa Huelsbergen, Sam Leo, Zoe Lichtenberg, Alyssa Loss, Mena Orozco Suarez, Aysha Penafiel
11th Grade: Akshara Datla, Natasha Elleston, Katie Lutz, Ava Roslund, Anya Verma
10th Grade: Samanta Kalinak, Ariana Tellalian

Coach’s Corner:

"This year's roster will be guided by our senior leadership team of Zoe Lichtenberg, Alyssa Loss, Lily Fava, Sam Leo, and Elsa Huelsbergen. We have a talented group of players this year and it's excited to see their confidence increase as they prioritize on-court communication."

"With 13 Varsity Players and 17 JV players, we're very pleased with the growth of our program. We have a strong group of returning players and launching our Middle School volleyball team has built a strong pipeline to create an impact on our team. It's refreshing to see that with such a large squad the team is constantly cheering each other on. They have quickly bonded and are supportive of each other. Our senior leadership team is focused on bringing both the JV and varsity together as one large family."
- Assistant Head Coach Emily Caspersen

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