Hockey:
Following a phenomenal 13-5-2 season, including a Haas division championship, the hockey team is looking to have another great season. Despite the great regular season, the team lost in the 2nd round of the NJSIAA tournament, and fell just short of the Haas Cup. Thankfully for Head Coach Manore and Assistant Coach Spautz, returning star Jimmy Hathaway is ready to repeat his 30 goal season from last year. Also returning for the team, Goalie Baylyn Shankman, as well as brothers Dylan and Ryan Leonard, who will hope to fill the role left behind by graduated Forward Tanner Clemson. The Bernards hockey team collected their first win against Mount Olive, in a 10-1 thrashing, which had seven separate players score goals.
Basketball:
Boys:
After a disappointing 11-16 finish last season, new Head Coach Alec Johnson will look to achieve the program’s first winning record since the 2020-21 season. Despite finishing 4th in the Skyland Mountain division, the Mountaineers basketball team made it to the second round of both the Somerset and NJSIAA tournament, until ultimately falling short. Coach Johnson’s main focus of this season is to “build a Bernard’s Basketball culture” and to “instill values of competitiveness, teamwork, resilience, unwavering effort, and the pursuit of victory among our players, both current and future.” Coach Johnson will have the help of returning players including Connor Laverty and Gabriel Morales, who were the two top scorers on last year’s team. Whether the boys basketball team improves or not, it is the start of a new era for the program, headlined by brand new Head Coach Johnson.
Girls:
On the other side of the court, the girls basketball team looks to improve upon the incredibly successful 15-8 season from last year. Coming off of a Skyland Mountain Conference championship, Head Coach Brett Bisconti looks to “build on off of last year’s success” and to “set a foundation for our expectations as a program.” However, they will have to do it without two of their top three scorers from last season, Maggie Dolan and Syndey Incarnato. Despite the loss, Head Coach Brett Bisconti is confident in his team, saying “We will see a lot of defense turned into offense this season with scoring coming from a variety of different players on any given night.” Guards Gina Mahlik and Aletha Reyonolds will look to fill the shoes of Dolan and Incarnato, along with the help of a very deep roster. As for season goals, Coach Bisconti is shooting high as well, aiming for a state sectional title.
Wrestling:
Meanwhile, Coach Brothers and the wrestling team have big aspirations just one year removed from a 15-4 season. After winning the division in 2023, the wrestling team has moved up to the top tier Skyland Conference Division where they will look to continue their dominance to a sectional championship appearance. Thankfully for Coach Brothers and the rest of the wrestling program, only four seniors graduated from last year’s squad, setting up the 2023-24 team for success. Coach Brothers has some very lofty goals, including “qualifying for and winning a match in sectionals, achieving top 6 in the County” as well as “getting five wrestlers to qualify for regionals.” In order to achieve those, the team will need another great season out of senior wrestler David Brothers, who is coming off of a great season with 12 pins and just 6 losses.
Swimming:
After both teams had phenomenal success last year, both the boys and girls swimming teams are ready to jump in with a splash. Last year’s boys team went 7-4-1 with an impressive 7-0 record in the Valley Division, earning them a spot in the toughest Delaware Division of the Skyland Conference. Similar to the boy’s team the girl’s team also will be moving from the Valley division to the Delaware division after an incredible 5-0 division standing in the 2022-2023 season. This year, both teams will be facing harder competition due to their new stake in the Delaware division. When asked about the competition this year, head coach Doug Voight said that he’s planning on making a “Good run in the playoffs,” and being “strategically prepared for states”. While the team is entering a brave new world, they have an extremely talented roster and a phenomenal coach who will be sure to make the school proud this season.
Winter Track:
Back on dry land, the winter track squad is ready to go and already competing in tournaments. They competed in their first meet on December 11th, having a very successful opener. Sophomores Brody Watt, Julian Bonk, junior John Richardson, and senior Ben Connell all placed within the top 15 of the 1600 meter race while in the girl’s race, Lucinda Putnam also placed within the top 15. The team also took 7th in the relays and Trevor Sardis took home the bronze in the high jump. On the pole vaulting side of things, junior Zachary Barral and junior Max Friedman both placed in the top 10 while on the girls side, junior Ayla Johnson took seventh. When asked about the goals of the team, freshman Abby Wolkow said that the Cross Country team had a very successful season, so the Winter Track team hopes to meet that level of success. Some important meets to look out for are sectionals which if the team does well enough, then will move on to groups and then the Meet of Champions, which is state-wide. This year, the team hopes to destroy the competition in every way shape or form whether it be through pole vaulting or the 100 meter dash. Either way, this season will be one to watch.
Fencing:
The fencing team is also back in action and plans to go even further than they did last year. Last year, both boys and girls had winning records, bringing them far into the playoffs, with the boys boasting a 13-5 record and the girls 11-8. This year, the team took a hit of leadership as their two team captains, Raquel Dickinson and Aditya Raj, both graduated. The team, though, has been quickly filling the gaps of missing players, with Spencer and Henry Depew, boys captains, and Fiona Vitali, girls captain, taking the reins. This year, the team hopes to go far in the playoffs this year as they are in a pursuit of a state title. To achieve this goal, the team hopes to fight hard through the county tournament and district tournament. When asked about this, Head Coach Jon Cherng said that the “Most important part[of the season] is to qualify out of sectionals. The team also has a large influx of new members with almost 13 fencers joining the team this season. This year, the fencing team plans to stay vigilant and win big, so grab your popcorn and sit back.
