On Friday, May 22 and Saturday, May 23, Bernards High School hosted the North 2 Groups 1&2 state sectionals on Olcott Field. While the state sectional meet has been around for decades, Bernards’ hosting of the event was a first in school history, attracting students from over forty teams to the high school campus.
As divulged by Bernards High School’s Athletic Director Mr. Hoppe, the preparation for such a large meet was nothing short of extensive. “I could go on for hours describing all of the preparation and organizational tasks we had to accomplish for the meet”, AD Hoppe said. “However, all the hard work for the meet was well worth it, because by the end our booster club raised several thousand dollars from the proceeds.” With this money, the parent-run booster club will now be able to afford many new amenities for the school athletic programs, such as the new Softball Score Board.
As the hosting of the State sectionals meet brought about much positive reactions from the Bernards Booster Club, it equally garnered as positive responses from the meet administrators, officials, and visiting teams. As girls track head coach Mr. Szostak recalled, “Most who I talked to at the meet highly appreciated the facilities of Bernards High School and the organization offered by our administrators.” When asked if he believed, because these positive responses, that Bernards could possibly host again, Mr. Hoppe responded by saying that “it would be an honor to be considered as host” once again.
In addition to the positive responses from those who attended the meet, Bernards was additionally proclaimed for their success in terms of the meet outcome. For the first time since 2005, the Bernards’ Boys Track team claimed the title of first place in the section, when only originally predicted to achieve third place. This win was a first for boy’s head coach, Mr. Carmon. Additionally the Bernards’ Girls Track team received the title of second place, when only expected to receive sixth place. “Both teams truly did an awesome job”, Mr. Szostak concluded.
