As the winter sports season is coming to a close, every New Providence team is preparing for playoffs if they haven’t already begun. In the regular seasons, there have been some great statistical performances from athletes across the board. However, there are a few athletes who have done exceptionally well, well enough to be on the leaderboard for county and state statistics, and even nominations from NJ.com and Jersey Sports Zone. Here are those athletes and a little recognition from the most important website of them all, The Providential. 

Girls Basketball: The Girls Basketball team has been having a historic season, in which the squad has racked up a lot of accolades. Head Coach Cap Pazdera won the mid season Coach of the Year award from NJ.com. Freshman Meghan Lamanna has put up 13.1 points per game, which is 6th in Union County. She has also been one of the Honorable Mentions for freshman of the year by NJ.com. Junior Lindsay Kinum averages 3.1 assists per game, 4th in Union County. She also was named one of the Top Juniors in the state by NJ.com. When asked about that recognition Lindsay said “It was a great feeling to receive recognition from NJ.com and to see that the work I put into my game during the off-season paid off.” 

The team as a whole has also been topping the polls consistently. In the latest county and group polls by NJ.com, the girls have been ranked third in both. As the season winds down the Pioneers expect to contend for both a Union County and Group One title. 

Boys Basketball: The Boys Basketball team struggled early, but have been able to get things going towards the end of the season. It’s been a team effort to right the ship, but two names in particular stand out. Senior Sean Dillion was recently nominated for the Week Six North Jersey Game Ball by Jersey Sports Zone. In addition, Junior Carsten Schumm was nominated as one of the top juniors in the state by NJ.com. As the team finishes the regular season and enters tournament play, these two will play a big role in the team’s postseason success. 

Boys Ice Hockey: The co-op between GL has continued to be a success for both schools. This year the hockey team has been able to continue their success from last season despite losing a heavy senior class to graduation. The key reason has been the emergence of star sophomore Shane Cook. He is holding a .93 save percentage currently. That’s good enough for 14th in the whole state, and he is 10th in the state in total saves. When asked about how it feels to be that high on those lists Shane answered “It feels great to see that all the hard work I put in day in and day out is paying off. But now our focus is winning in playoffs. I will continue to do whatever it takes to help this team win games.” 

The ice hockey team is entering Conference and State playoffs, and Shane is the key factor in determining how far this squad really goes. 

Boys Swimming: The boys swimming team continued to be successful. They picked up a solid record of 6-5 and made a sectional quarterfinal.  Sophomore Floyd Conlin had a very successful year, including 18 victories in a variety of different events. Senior Moataz Zayed was also very successful. He’s racked up 20 wins, and like Floyd, the best ability is availability. Both of those boys were rewarded with invites to the Tournament of Champions. The boys swimming team had a great year and these two should expect some All-Conference type of recognition

Girls Swimming: The girls swimming team made a nice run to the sectional semifinal behind some great swimmers. Senior Autumn Keats-O’Connor racked up a mind boggling 23 wins. She, like most great swimmers, competed in a variety of events. Senior Mackenzie Landsittel also racked up an impressive 12 wins. As both of these senior seasons winds down, the Pioneers will have to deal with the task of replacing both of these great swimmers next year. 

Wrestling: The wrestling team has undergone a major rebuild. After winning a total of two games last season, this year’s current record of 10-14 is very impressive. A key reason the squad has performed better was the addition of Sophomore Luke Driscoll. He’s wrestled to a record of 3-0 at 132 pounds and 5-0 at 145 pounds. Junior Gavin Trippichio is 8-1 at 152 pounds. Senior Christopher Robertson has wrestled at different weights but put up a 13-6 record total. Junior Jack Wichtendahl has also had a pretty successful season with a record of 6-2 at 126 pounds. The squad is preparing for their final matches and for Districts and for these guys there’s a chance for a nice postseason run. 

Winter Track: The winter track season has once again been very successful for the Pioneers. Christian Cadmus has had a monster senior year. He finished third in the 1600 meter race at the New Jersey Varsity Classic. He’s also been a key part of some very successful relays. He, Kyle Tierney, David Aprill, and Jared Beaudoin finished 4th in the 4X800 relay at the Union County Championships. He also was a part of a relay that finished third in the sprint medley relay 1600M Group One championships. That group of him, Dominick Cardone, Thomas Sponauer, and Kayhan Durmus was very successful finishing third in the group. In the distance medley relay Cadmus, Tierney, Aprill, and Cardone finished 4th in Union County. 

The girls were very successful too. They even took home first place in the 4X800 race for Group One. The four girls that won that title were Claire Kelly, Juliana LaPara, Sophia Pasquariello, and Sabrina Boyle. The girls were also able to take home a Group One title in the distance medley relay. That group was Kelly, LaPara, Madison Rapuano, and Lauren House. All and all, across both boys and girls, it’s been a very successful season for the winter track team.