His 51 foot shot put record stood until 1980 and his 157'11" discus record stood for 39 years until broken in 2010 with a 163'1" toss by Jack Simmons. She won the 1975 Bergen long jump and high jump titles and the 1976 long, triple, and high jump titles in the group meet. He now lives in Pine Brook. Ridgewood also finished in the top five of the State Meet of Champions five times. Becky narrowly missed making the U.S. Olympic Team in 1976 and was selected on The Record's All Century Track and Field Team. In that journey she touched everyone she met. With 1021 wins later at Ridgewood High School, that simple response has certainly proven to be prophetic. She was the second all time leading scorer in RHS women's soccer with 80 goals and has the RHS assist record with 56. dash in the Mid-Atlantic Championships. The 1946 team had few returning lettermen, but the Maroons won their final six games to finish the season with a 7-2 record. Tricia's 1994 squad tied Ramapo 0-0 in the county final giving Ridgewood its second consecutive Bergen County title which was shared with Ramapo's Green Raiders as co champions and allowed Ridgewood to claim its only triple crown (league, county and state titles) in program history. Jack Coffey, Fordham's varsity baseball coach at the time, called him one of the greatest high school hitters he had ever seen and put him down as a sure fire major league prospect. He then covered baseball, basketball and track at RHS, as well as coach Otis Grendler's marvelous 100-match regular season tennis unbeaten streak, the Ridgewood YMCA swim team and the highlight, following Carin Cone Vanderbush's championship swimming career during his five-year stay as The Ridgewood News sports editor and, subsequently, as a reporter and Sports Editor of the Paterson Evening News and beyond. She still holds the indoor long and triple jump record at Georgetown. She was also selected to play in the NJGSCA Senior Showcase game and to the player pool for the United States Women's National Team. At Providence, Peter competed in 75 total games at center while tallying 17 goals and 26 assists in his four years of collegiate competition. Pete was an All-American basketball player who broke Chet Forte's Ivy League scoring record. DeRochi died on Oct. 9, 2003 at his home in Venice, Fla., one week short of his 98th birthday. She was a fixture at The 5th Avenue Mile, was featured in Sports Illustrated, had a book and movie "Running On", and is the first thing you see when entering the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame.As Mary Wittenburg, President of NYRRC, said "Toshi is our Queen of the Roads..she represents the best of running." Competing for a high school known for athletic excellence and in an era of multi-sport athletes, John Marshall's accomplishments on the gridiron, hardwood and field events for Ridgewood High School makes him a worthy inductee into the Ridgewood H.S. Sullivan also became the head coach of the Boys Lacrosse Team for the 2002 season and led them to the State Championship game where they fell to Delbarton. As Leigh approached her senior season her game grew proportionally with her experience. Her first goal came on a direct kick from 25 yards out, and the clinching goal came on a penalty kick with 33 seconds remaining. Ridgewood High School has a long and storied past in athletics, fielding teams as far back as the early 1900s. Linda Zabielski was the player that set the bar and led the team that began what was a magical run for the Lady Maroons. "The players psyched themselves," he would say. Named to All Bergen County All Century Team as Defensive Midfielder. It should still be fun at the high school level. Kandie's junior year her coaches recognized that she had some talent in the middle distances and convinced her to run the 880 yard run in a 2 mile relay event at The Red Bank Catholic Relays. Class of 1946 Special Contributors Coach Yearing commented "that depending on the competition for the day he would decide to use Tricia as a striker, central or outside midfielder or defensively as a central back or an outside marking back. As a student at Ridgewood High School and a 1966 graduate, Jeff went on to excel in soccer with league, county and state recognition as a varsity goalkeeper. Taking advantage of his time in San Francisco to also pursue his ambitions to go to dental school ,Tom was able to complete pre requisite courses for dental school at night and in September of 1970 started dental school at The University of the Pacific in San Francisco. RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame 2022 Inductees. When Romeo competed, there were no wrestle back rounds in the county, district, region or state tournaments. Batterson, the former girls volleyball coach at RHS, is a 2008 Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame inductee. He never left. In the June 14, 1979 edition of The Ridgewood News, Lyons was tabbed the Maroons Star Athlete of the Week after her team won the state title, and, in his story, Ron Phillips wrote for a lead paragraph: "A quarter century ago, Ray Bolger was the star of Broadway in the musical, "Where's Charlie?" Bennett was a. Richard's coaching skills, combined with his persistence and solid work ethic, are legendary. Another in the long line of "student athletes" at Ridgewood High School Linda was also an Honor Student at Ridgewood High and that came more into focus once she got to UNH where she realized she wanted to focus on academics. Blauvelt also earned multiple varsity letters in basketball, track and baseball. Each time the job changed , like a great athlete or coach Maureen was able to adapt her game to the circumstance. "Two hundred and six points! Lettering in three Varsity seasons he starred as the only player to start in all 44 games of the legendary 44 consecutive game win streak the Maroons put together between 1990 and 1992. Van Note's career statistics at RHS were 18 Goals scored and 24 Assists, with 17 assists doled out in his senior year. Tom and his wife Jan have four grown children. Zabriskie-Schedler Park Property Development. Eunae recalls it was such an exciting time for us, especially as Julia (Rappa), our other teammates and I started to look forward to team practices, matches and tournaments. She goes on to say she will always remember the special bond we had as teammates. Bond they did and brought RHS girls golf right to the top of the list of girls golf programs in the state. Later the boys would sneak into a gymnastics school to practice on Sundays and also received coaching from RHS graduates Don Bauer and John Thorton at the Ridgewood YMCA.The Pierce family and Randy Pendergast (now owner of Paragon Gymnastics School)are also given credit by John for contributing to his gymnastic development. A four year varsity player in the soccer program at Ridgewood, Leigh had an outstanding career and could have gone to many schools at any divisional level and had an outstanding soccer career. to a man. The following season, the team won their first game in 2 years and proceeded to make the states. Not only did they qualify, but they won the tournament with freshman Eunae Jo shooting an 89 and freshman Julia Rappa shooting a 90 for a 15 stroke victory over JP Stevens. The soft-spoken (most of the time) Coyle ran track at Mount St. Michael's High School in the Bronx and at Iona before coming to Ridgewood to teach English. Jean was successful at an early age, having won the Ridgewood 5th grade Election Day run. While he won both the long jump and triple jumps at the Dartmouth event, setting meet records in both, he is more proud of finishing third in the hurdles, competing against some of the nation's top hurdlers. The summer after his senior year of high school, Sullivan was training to make the Olympic trials cut at the Senior Nationals, but badly injured every muscle in his upper back. Having played golf since she was about ten years of age, Julia was very excited about the opportunity to join the Ridgewood High School golf team as a freshman. She earned four letters in basketball at Western Kentucky University and ranks third all-time at the school in games played (130). "I view running as a tool to help me get through life, so I do everything I can to nurture it, take care of it, appreciate it. He was named the All-Southern Conference second team as a sophomore, gained the conference tournament MVP award as a junior, and was first team all-conference as a senior, averaging in double-double (15.6 points, 10.2 rebounds). Upon graduation from RHS, Benedict moved on to Brown University to play Division I lacrosse. Since then she has taught and coached at Riverdale Country School in the Bronx. 1993 named to "Soccer News" All-American Team. Competing on the USATF circuit, he was fourth at the USA Junior National Championships in the outdoor triple jump and was named an alternate on the US Junior Track and Field team. Culver capped off the year by captaining the United States U-19 Team to the gold medal in the 2003 World Championships. In 1942, Grundy was drafted into the U.S. Army and served four years. Ridgewood H.S. Ridgewood recorded an outstanding 28-3-1 league record during that time. His career has also included stints with the Minnesota Strikers of the MISL and the Jersey Eagles of the ASL. Explode in anger or re-direct the humiliation into a teachable moment. 1995 Soccer He retired from playing professional baseball in 1948. But the reality was that when the 1983 season came to a close Ridgewood did in fact go undefeated making them the only public high school to do so that year with a record of 29 victories, no loses and no ties, with the Championship of the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic Leagues Bergen Division, the Bergen County Championship with a hard fought 1-0 victory in eleven innings versus a very strong Ramsey team ( 25-3 Ranked # 6 in the state) and the New Jersey Group 4 State Championship. Sports Editor He was inducted into the TCNJ Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986 for his accomplishments in football, track and golf. The Ridgewood Biddy Basketball program is alive, robust and popular today as an outcome of Nick and Dottie's vision and efforts and with their continued oversight and management of all of the program needs. Class of 1968 He went on to play four varsity seasons of football at Springfield College where he was team captain and an All-East selection. He remains in the game of golf as not only the Head Professional at Apple Ridge Country Club but as one of the most respected and sought out teachers of the game of golf in the North Jersey area. She excelled for five seasons for the Brakettes as a middle infielder while also playing intercollegiate field hockey and basketball at Springfield College. Golfers had to shoot forty five or better over nine holes during the state qualifier to qualify to play in the state tournament. A two-time All-NNJIL, All-County and All-State selection in softball, she pitched coach Debbie Paul's Maroons to a undefeated (29-0 state championship in 1983 and a school and state record of 43 straight victories. In 1992, her sophomore season, Tricia was selected 2nd team all NNJIL which was significant since selection was made from a 12 team field at that time in the leagues alignment. Upon graduation from RHS in 1974, Nancy pursued her undergraduate education at Montclair State through 1976 and then transferred to Rutgers University in the fall of 76.She graduated with a BS in Public Health Administration in 1978 and would go on to earn a Ed.M from Boston University in 1981. It was an incredible experience to study in NYC during the week and play on beautiful golf courses all along the East coast during the weekends., Julia placed in many tournaments during her collegiate career at LIU, but her high school coach Dave Vanderbush summed it up by saying, Julia was an excellent, steady golfer who always played team golf.. Starring on the gridiron for Chuck Johnson, the hardwood for Jim Stroker and the lacrosse field for Steve Jacobsen, Sullivan competed and succeeded against athletes of all sizes. The pair of Jo and Rappa would qualify for the tournament again for the next three years 2006, 2007 and 2008 winning the State Championship in 2006 by one stroke in a one hole playoff with Red Bank Catholic and then again in 2008 with a two stroke victory over Haddonfield. After college, he was the JV boys soccer coach at Ridgewood for two seasons, compiling a 23-9-5 record, and also coached JV boys lacrosse at RHS for two years. He was a member of the NASL's New York Cosmos in 1984-85, serving as the team captain during the international schedule. The team received the #1 ranking by the Star Ledger as the Best Team in New Jersey after a 7-0 RHS victory over Cherry Hill West behind the pitching of junior Donna OConnells 2 hitter. Upon graduation from Ridgewood High School Henderson went on to the Ivy League at Brown University and from there to New York Medical College for a degree in medicine and then on to a long career as a Radiologist before retiring recently. The qualities that made her a great teammate at Ridgewood High School now inform her life as a career professional, wife, and mother. But, sure to the diversified approach he took in his athletic life, he also is diversified in his later years by bringing hope through prison ministries throughout the state. Events like Lax Day, and continued success in league, county, and state competitions can be traced directly back to Eric and his teammates success in the late 80s and he now takes his place amongst the Best of the Best at RHS. John is a resident of Ewing ,N.J. today and works professionally as an Actuary in the insurance industry. This is very light compared with other elevens. He earned 2nd Team All-NNJIL honors in 1988, 1st Team All-NNJIL honors in 1989, 1990, and 1991 and 1st Team All-Bergen County accolades in 1989, 1990, and 1991 as well. I think, you know, though, that it mostly comes from their internal drive, but I think they push themselves, and I think their parents also want them to do well, and help them become better people. In addition to the three varsity letters earned on the gridiron, he was awarded two in wrestling. In the 4-2 win over Woodbridge in the state-championship game, Lyons tripled in the fourth inning and scored Ridgewood's first run, then hit a liner to left in the fifth that enabled Jean Simmons to score the go-ahead tally. While playing for the Maroon and White, Tricia was a part of 2 Bergen County tournament titles. Recognized as an All-State athlete in two sports, O'Connell Skettini figured in several of RHS's all-time girls sports achievements. It is no coincidence that those three seasons correspond with Eric Benedicts time competing for the Maroons.Eric was a 4-year letter winner for Ridgewood in lacrosse and part of the Streak of 44 teams which established the Tradition of Excellence for Ridgewood Lacrosse and were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014. His accomplishments competing against the top high school athletes in the country in the triple jump that year include a third place in the Penn Relays Invitational; second place, Arcadia (CA) Invitational track meet; fifth place, Golden West Invitational, and fifth place, Keebler Invitational. At Ridgewood she ran three sports: Cross Country, Winter Track and Spring Track, earning 12 varsity letters. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR 1989-2014 A great relay runner, he was part of the outstanding Princeton 4 x 800 squad that won IC4A national championship in 2002. Everyone thats in your life, your family, your teachers, and your coaches all push you to be the best you can be.. She didn't coach. His sister Mary was a cheerleader for the Maroons. She didn't play sports. Also in 1961 Tom was again awarded 1st team All NNJIL ,1st team All Suburban and 1st team All Bergen County laurels as a senior. Class of 1994 On the lacrosse field, Culver was a three-year varsity letterman and a multiple All-League, All-Suburban and All-State honoree, capped off by his senior season, when he was named first team All-League, first team All-Suburban, first team All-State, Gibbs Division Player of the Year, All-Suburban Player of the Year, Bergen County Player of the Year, New Jersey Player of the Year and All-America. In 1997, he was voted into the New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Having spent her entire career in the Ridgewood school district, Paul retired from the teaching and coaching profession after the conclusion of the 2006-07 school year. She is one of only three females in the state to win the individual state cross country title and a team gold medal, accomplished during her undefeated senior season in 1993. Today, she continues to promote running with all her spirit and energy. The Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall Of Fame, Musical Presentations for 2022 Inductees Banquet. 1 in the state and awarded the Star Ledger trophy as such. The following year, he was nominated for the Disney Teachers Award as one of the top 3 Physical Education teachers in the United States. Entering the 1922-23 season, there was some speculation whether the program would be continued. She said" I dreamed of being a bird so I could fly away." Each year the job grew. With her sister, Mary Ellen, as a training partner, she achieved first team All-County three times and first team All-State twice and was a first-team All-American selection her senior year. They were league and state sectional champions, losing a trip to the county finals on a last second goal vs. Northern Highlands with 32 seconds remaining. In his next three years, Culver accumulated numerous All-ACC and All-America awards, and, in 2006 as the captain of the Cavaliers, he led Virginia to an undefeated season and his second NCAA lacrosse national championship. He scored three touchdowns in the Lodi win. His senior year at Princeton, Sullivan was elected captain of the swim team. Hockey players from over 20 US states and many Canadian provinces were selected to participate. Her passion and accomplishment as an athlete and coach certainly speak to her nominator's original statement in 1993.She does epitomize the best that Ridgewood has to offer. One of Lyons' classmates and teammates was Ridgewood's current head softball coach, Patti Auger, the Maroons' centerfielder, who batted .342 her senior year and .410 her junior season. There was anticipation for this team to succeed. Leigh jester knows what work ethic is all about and she took advantage of every opportunity to take the talent she had and magnify it 100 times through hard work, determination and maximum use of talent. He studied the correct way to throw a ball. Richard Bennett has been fortunate to have coached many great athletes and people, and they have been equally fortunate to have had him coach them. He was selected as a starter for the North Squad in the annual North South All-Star Game played in Giants Stadium. During 1981-82, she played professional volleyball in Nykoping,Sweden. He passed away on October 23, 1995 at home in HoHoKus. She came back her senior year to captain the Maroons as they went undefeated in NNJIL play, and won the Group IV Section I Championship again, before losing in the New Jersey Group IV Finals. She set a great example for the younger girls on the team with her work ethic and tenacity. Another highlight of Dunne's final football season was receiving the Hi-Y Grid Award, given by the Ridgewood YMCA for clean sportsmanship, scholarship and all-around student. "I spent freshman year [at Princeton University] kicking practice rather than swimming and saw about 100 different doctors. Paul was named Bergen County Softball Coach of the Year that season and would be named Coach of the Year three more times during her 32-year softball career (1974-78, 1980-2006). "So many memories," Roger Sweeney said mentally recapping his 17- year career (1959 to 1975) as a winning football coach, the hand-picked successor to the late legendary Frank Mozeleski. She finished the season with 38 goals and 13 assists while starting all but one match for the 17-4 Blue Devils We traveled together, had fun together and were friends. She goes on to explain, We all had determination and focus on playing our best and winning. For the season, Lyons batted .480, smacking eight home runs, five triples and six doubles, and drove in 47 runs, tops in Bergen County. As quoted in the Ridgewood Herald "A better record than this has never been attained by a high school team of Ridgewood" For setting the standard of play as Ridgewood's finest athletic team of the time and for reflecting the willingness of spirit and character to achieve, which we now refer to as Ridgewood's "Tradition of Excellence", we proudly induct the 1913 Ridgewood High School Football Team into the Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame. There are thousands of athletes who have worn the Maroon and White and excelled during their high school and some later in their collegiate careers. She received her master's degree from Columbia University Teachers College in educational administration in 2003. These two events, still going strong today, are important stops on the area's Indoor and Outdoor Track schedule. He touched and changed hundreds of student's lives with his wisdom and insight in what may be considered a short, but exceptionally bright career at RHS. of the baseball team at RHS spring of his senior year (1966) and was recognized with All League and All Suburban team selections. Her Bergen County record in the 1600 meters still stands. It was sweet revenge as Haddonfield had defeated Ridgewood by 3 strokes for the championship in 2007. Grundy averaged giving up only four hits a game (seven innings) and walked just four of 107 batters faced in the first half of the 1942 season. Their accomplishment was a stepping-stone for the time that led to more interscholastic sports teams for girls in the 1920s. He never had a losing season. And he coached golf for eight years, the last one a state champion in a 15-2 season. It was the last time Ridgewood would taste defeat for more than two years. Jones has covered sports on a full-time basis for The Ridgewood News since 1960, serving as sports editor from 1970 to Dec. 31, 2000, when he ended his full-time work at the newspaper. The team's prized "Shield" recognizing the team's championship can still be seen outside Ridgewood High School's main gymnasium today. Between the football and lacrosse seasons Sullivan excelled on the basketball court winning two Varsity letters while using his speed, quickness and guile as a prototypical "pass first" point guard who was a fearless defender on the other end of the floor. Ridgewood had no swimming team so she trained on her own before school at Graydon Pool (the Village erected turning boards to help her) and at the National Swimming Association facility in Manhattan after school. Interestingly, with all his success Mr. Bruni was quite humble, at times even to a fault. He finished 5th in the New Jersey State Championships in the 100 yd. But then bad times set in, and I had to give back 20 percent, so that after three years in the system, I was making less than when I started. That total, at the time, set a school record. In West Point's system of rotating captains Tom led the team in a victory over Rutgers and was awarded the game ball. In those two years, the team won its first two NNJIL league titles, had a record of 29-10-2 and made appearances in both the Bergen County and state tournaments for the first time in consecutive seasons. Class of 1942 Kitty Batterson was the founder of the Ridgewood High School girls volleyball program and served as head coach from 1974 to 1986. Today he is attending college on a baseball scholarship. A testament to his effectiveness in coaching the individual was reflected in his players constant communication with him seeking his council. He was responsible for all artillery support (105mm,155mm Howitzers) for the combat infantry companies within the battalion. In addition, he was named the All-Suburban Boys Soccer Sophomore of the Year by The Ridgewood News. Dr. Ferraro, a legendary Maroon football player and a long-time coach in the Ridgewood Junior Football Association program, died in 2002 and is also one of this year's Hall of Fame inductees. Home games were scheduled on Saturdays and unlike today a second midweek game, usually scheduled away in Ridgewood's instance, would be played. Over all Rachel is ranked #5 on the all time scoring list for Ridgewood with 71 goals scored to go along with 44 assists. At the conclusion of his senior year where he captained the Maroons, Taylor was named First Team all NNJIL, First Team all Bergen County and Honorable Mention All-State. Then to a larger example of frustration for the athletes of the era, Kandie's college career was cut short by lack of support and lack of interest. Tricia Pappalardo is regarded by her Ridgewood High School Coach Jeff Yearing as one of the best all around soccer players ever to come through the Maroons program.