001Hallelujah. I love you. Heat. Heat. Hallelujah. Heat. Heat. Hallelujah. Forever. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Ladies and gentlemen, Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. All right, everybody can get to their seats. We're going to get started. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. All right, guys. All right, we're going to get started with with tonight's affair. Welcome and thank you for everybody for coming to our senior athletic dinner. We're excited to honor our class of 2026. There's some really great athletes and some uh more importantly even some some better people. I want to thank the athletes, the coaches, our athletic trainers, support staff, our live stream crew, our maintenance department, and everybody our security as well. Everybody who makes
002this department run. So, just uh the way we're going to work it tonight is Dr. Roman Toy, Mr. Honda are going to speak, our board president, Miss Bassford, then we're going to go into some appreciation awards, followed by our team presentations, some dinner, then we'll finish up the team presentations, followed by the female and male athlete of the year. So, it's an honor and a pleasure to introduce our superintendent, Dr. Robosi. Thank you, Mr. Lane. This microphone sounds a little uh everybody hear me? Okay. Hi everyone. Is everybody uh late because of the valet line? The valet parking line? Is are we missing a bunch of people? No, we're good. >> Oh, good. Uh good evening, distinguished guests, parents. Any parents here? >> No parents, coaches and students. All right, parents are on the live
003stream. students. Uh we are here tonight to celebrate your success on and off the field. Everybody here tonight is here for you. I'm preaching to the choir here, but participation in high school athletics has the ability to change people's lives. Absolutely. Has the ability to change the trajectory of a student's life. I know it did in my in my life. I know many of the adults in here would not be where they are if not for high school athletics. So tonight we have an opportunity to celebrate you and for you to look back on your high school career where you learn the value of teamwork, resilience, and the importance of never giving up. Those are things that while you may have learned them playing high school sports, those are things that will stay with you
004for the rest of your life and will no doubt help you throughout the rest of your life. So, uh, tonight we celebrate you and we thank our coaches for the countless hours and time and knowledge that they've given, uh, to our student athletes. You've been instrumental in their in their growth and I know that they will never forget you. So, students, please uh, enjoy tonight and let the lessons that you've learned in athletics always push you to strive for excellence in everything you do. Congratulations. Thank you, Dr. and thank you for your continued support of the athletic department. Um, whenever we ask for something, which we're certainly not shy about doing, uh, the answer is always yes, especially when he asks if it's good for kids. So, we appreciate your support um, you know, today.
005So, we really appreciate that. Next up, another super supporter of the athletic department, Mr. Hello and welcome everybody. I just want to take a moment to I just want to take a moment to congratulate all of our athletes. Uh it's been a tremendous few years and an honor being your principal over the past four years and seeing some of your games over that time has been the privilege of my career. Uh, I've seen some incredible matches over the years and it's always so exciting to be there. I want to take a moment to thank all of our coaches and our athletic trainers. The hours that you guys put in outside of work. The money that you receive for coaching is no thank you for that because you guys put in incredible amount of hours and
006you guys work incredibly hard with our kids. So, thank you for your dedication and thank you for your support. And I want to take a moment to thank our board of education for all of their constant support for athletics. Anything that we need, you guys always go above and beyond. So, we appreciate that. And of course, that's uh the same from central administration. So, thank you to Dr. Robert Chosy. And of course, thank you to my team for always being there. Uh not only am I at those games, but you guys are always at those games supporting everybody. So, again, congratulations to our athletes. Tonight is your night and uh have a fantastic night everybody. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Thank you for your continued uh leadership and guidance for the Clifton High School uh
007community. Next up is our board president, Judith Bassford. >> Master is the only board member who's still here for my first day 13 years ago. >> Hi, good evening. Um it's a on behalf of the Cleveland Board of Education, is an honor and pleasure for me to be here. I want to introduce some of the board members that are here. Commissioner Alan Paris, Commissioner Elias Ragdale, Commissioner Mark. So to our senior athletes, congratulations. Tonight is your night. Tonight we celebrate not only your accomplishments, but also the journey that brought you here. Because every athlete in the room has a story. Some of you battled injuries. Some of you experienced losses. Some of you faced disappointment or self-doubt. Yet, every time life challenged you, you came back. You showed up when things were difficult, even when
008nobody was watching. That's what makes you an athlete, and that's what makes you special. It's not about the medal, the trophy, or the record. It's the willingness to get up one more time, then you get knocked down. Most people will never see the sacrifices any of you made. They will never see the early morning practices, the sore muscles, the long bus rides home after a difficult loss or the frustration that comes from fail falling short of a goal. They only see the game. But your coaches, your teammates, and everyone in this room knows the truth. The athletes here tonight are built one practice, one challenge, one setback at a time. The greatest thing athletics teaches is that success is never guaranteed. You can do anything right and still lose. You can work harder than everyone
009else and still come up short. You can give your heart to something and not get the outcome you hope for. That's a difficult lesson, but it is also one of the most important lessons you will ever learn because life works that way sometimes. As you leave Clifton High School, there will be setbacks, disappointments, and moments when you question yourself. When those moments come, remember who you are. You are athletes. You are Clipton athletes. You really, you already know how to overcome adversity. You already know how to keep going when things get difficult. You know how to get back up after being knocked down. That is your strength. And to me, that is your superpower. And that is something nobody else can ever ever take away from you as athletes. Before I close, I want to
010thank all your coaches. They saw something in you. They challenged you. They encouraged you. They believed in you. But most importantly, they helped shape you, shape the people you have become. I also want to thank our administration and the staff of CHS for supporting opportunities that help our students grow and succeed. To the senior athletes, tonight is about more than celebrating your accomplishments. It's about it's about celebrating who you have become. Years from now, the scores will fade, the statistics will fade, and you will get a whole lot of dust on those trophies. But the lessons will remain. The discipline, resilience, confidence, friendship, and determination you built along the way will stay with you forever. Tonight, Clifton High School honors you as athletes. But make but what makes the board of education proud is knowing
011that you are leaving here as strong, determined and capable young adults. Never forget where you came from. Never forget the teammates who stood beside you, the coaches who believed in you, your families that supported you, and the community that cheered you on. You will always be part of the Clifton Mustang family. And that's something to really be proud of because being a Mustang is not about just a uniform that you wore or the sport you played. It's about character. It's about perseverance. It's about finding strength and keep moving forward when life will challenge you. And once that becomes part of who you are, it never leaves you. You're one Clinton family, which is all the adults in the room, are proud of you. And remember, wherever life takes you, you will always carry a little
012maroon and gray in your heart. You came here as students and you leave here as Mustangs. And no matter where your journey takes you, remember that you bleed Mustang colors. Thank you. Congratulations. And always, it's a great day to be a Mustang. Thank you, Madam President. So, whenever you turn on the news or, you know, go online to NJ.com or north jersey.com, you hear about or read about uh different districts that were cutting middle school athletics, cutting high school athletics, cutting programs. But that doesn't happen here in Clifton. thanks to our central office leadership, thanks to their foresight, thanks to our board of health truly understanding um the meaning of athletics, not only athletics but our clubs. So they really stand tall for us in our in our time of need. So it really sets
013us apart. One of the things that sets us apart from other districts. So we appreciate that. Let's give a round of applause. All right, we're going to get to the appreciation awards. Uh, the most important part of this athletic department is sitting right here. Miss Marion, Miss Marone literally knows everything for this department. And I'm embarrassing her. She's going to kill me tomorrow, but she she goes way above and beyond. Whether it's transportation, certifications, schedules, uh, picking up on my many mistakes, uh, she does it all. So, Our next honore uh couldn't be here tonight. She had something else going on, but certainly worth mentioning. Uh she started out in this department as an athletic trainer, worked her way up to the vice principal at Clifton High School, now the director of safety and security.
014Um, we have a lot of high-profile events as you know and she manages to have security there, keep us safe, goes over our action plans, really goes above and beyond. So, let's hear from Miss Zanella. Last but not least, the next appreciation award goes to a student, well, former student who used to volunteer during our announcing on our live streams. I was here for our live stream crew. The best in New Jersey, possibly the best in the country. They show up, they show up at everything, all or all weather, any day, anytime. So, we really appreciate that. Um, one of the very important pieces of that puzzle is Vinnie. Come on up, Vinnie. I gave you a microphone, but we got to be out of here by 10. All right, we're going to start with
015our team presentations. We're going to go along with what we've got in the program. I'm going to ask coach Sinku to come up to talk about the football team. All right, good evening everyone. I can't do that microphone. I don't want to hear your feedback any longer. All right, so first and foremost, it's so nice to see you guys out here tonight. Tonight, the fact that this night is solely about you is one of those traditions that I'm so glad that we never broke, right? And I'm not always let's do it because that's the way we used to do things. Um there's a lot of coaches in this room who were once in your seats sitting uh sitting sitting here listening to you guys the coaches speak and everybody else. So I'm going to keep
016it really short. Um the gentlemen that are here tonight, my football guys that uh came tonight are um Thomas Bowman uh Mic. I'm sorry Mrick, I'm not going to do it. I'm just not going to say it. Joseph Demand, Gideon Hussy, Jonath Jonathan Oligerio, Michael Torres, Bruce Valdder, Joel Vera, Chris and Christopher Voy. Um, obviously some of them are here, some of them are not here. Not a great season for us. Not very successful, but that is okay. It's not my dare. This is your dare. Um, our MVP, as I said to Mr. Malay, he was still not here yet. I'm sure he'll be here any minute. Um, I met this young man, me from the seventh grade. It was the spring of 21 and we did spring football in uh the city of Clifton
017cuz we didn't have it in the fall and we thought that'd be really relevant. He was a seventh grader at the time. Really good kid, really good family and I was just hoping that we didn't lose him and we didn't. And fortunately for us, he was a three-year starter, a two-time all all county all league player. And next year, he's taking his talents to Southern Connecticut State University. And that's Dana Romero. >> Thanks, coach. Next up is girls tennis. >> Going to ask Coach to talk about the tennis team. away. Again, congratulations all senior athletes. Good luck in your all your future endeavors. The girls tennis team this year ended up with a very good season. Although our record didn't show it, we're seven and 11, but we improved greatly from the very beginning of
018the season to the end. But very proud of the girls, the way they played and the way they got better and didn't get discouraged. Uh we had a lot of seniors on the squad this year and I'd like to recognize them. We had Jihibra Aza, Aresa, Malak Aada, Mora Coleman, Savannah Cologne, Sharon Cruz, Stephanie Fleete, and Adrien Hernandez. Uh, I would like to recognize our most valuable senior and Stephanie Clee. batting a thousand here. Next up is Coach Alvarado, girls volleyball. >> Good evening everyone. Uh I would like to start by thanking the CHS administration um Mr. Maini Dr. Robi U Mr. Doctor and board for their support program also coach for the health dedication. Also a special thank you goes out to the senior board managers that we had this year and at times
019Um, now I would like to acknowledge our seniors. We had a total of nine seniors this year. Um, all six starters were seniors, so we're pretty young for next year, but we'll continue working. Uh, starting with Jenna Aluro. Um, she will be attending Cornell University. Uh, Michaela Francisco attending Ruckers University. Jamie attending Virginia Tech. Uh attending university attending university attending home attending Ruckers University and Valeria. And now uh our senior post Francisco Congrats. Thank you, coach. Next up is cheer coachi. Good evening everyone. Before I begin, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to our athletic director Mr. Mley, Lorie Marion, board of education members, our superintendent, Dr. Robert Toy, our assistant superintendent for their continued support of our athletes and program throughout the year. Your dedication to our students does not go unnoticed.
020This year, your support was especially meaningful as you helped make it possible for our program to attend nationals for the first time in over a decade. Looking back on this season, there is so much to be proud of. We had an incredible fall season, creating memories, building school spirit, and continuing traditions that make Clifton Cheer so special. We were also proud to host our third annual mini Mustang Clinic, giving younger athletes an opportunity to experience the excitement of cheerleading while connecting with our team. As football season came to a close, our attention turned toward competition season. Our athletes embraced every challenge, dedicating countless hours to practice, conditioning, and refining every detail of our routine. Their determination, resilience, and commitment to one another ultimately led to one of the most successful seasons in program history. This
021year's team finished with an outstanding overall record of 10 and two. They became NJ CDCA state champions for the fourth consecutive year, a goal they had worked tirelessly toward all season. Along the way, they earned the sportsmanship award, won best choreography, and were named grand champions. To top it all off, the team traveled to nationals for the first time in over a decade and returned home as national champions. These accomplishments would not have been possible without an incredible coaching staff. I want to thank Laura Tanel, Jonathan Paradiso, Camila Vasquez, and Brandon Rivera for their dedication, commitment, and countless hours spent supporting our athletes. I am so grateful to work alongside each of you. Tonight, I have the privilege of recognizing our nine seniors, Allison, Bana Z, Melanie, Jasine, Sebastian, Amelia, Brianna T, London, and Laya.
022Thank you all for your leadership, your dedication, and the impact you have made on this program. Each of you has helped shape the culture of Clifton Cheer and contributed to the success we celebrate tonight. More importantly, you have served as role models for younger athletes who will continue to the traditions you helped build. Your accomplishments and memories will forever be a part of this program's history. And finally, a special congratulations to our fall MVP, Llaya Deinio. What? >> And our winter MVP, Briana Sue, who is not here just yet, but let's give her a round of applause. Your leadership, dedication, and commitment to the team helped set the standard throughout the year. You truly embodied what it means to be Clifton strong. Thank you to the parents, the fans, and this amazing district for always
023cheering us on. This team is something special, and I'm so lucky to be a part of it. >> Thank you. Next up is Coach Liberty, voice. Hello everyone. Before I begin, I would like to thank um all the student athletes in this room. Your commitment. You're part of an elite group. small percentage of students in schools across the country are also athletes. So, congratulations and all the best in your future. I'd also like to thank my outstanding coaching staff for the dedication, commitment, and countless hours of service to our student athletes. Rob Algieri, Frank Peduo, Keshaverie, Madam Mada, Michael Aljier, and Peter Lynch. The last four are all Clifton High School alumni. To our seniors, again, thank you for your leadership, your commitment, and your pride, which represented Clifton High School. At this time, I'd
024like to recognize our seniors, and we have a pretty big class. Um, I'd also like to recognize the fact that they have and have been doing this for years and years and years. They put the student, athlete, student comes first. And I'm very proud to say that our our 17 seniors are all going to postsecary education. All 17. I'll announce the first few. Samuel Braa, Samuel Espinosa, Daniel Ramirez, Marco Rivas, and Jared Sanchez will all be going to tech and trade schools. Jean Caraval will be going to the US Marine Corps. Brian Aturama will be going to Ruters. Lucas Chen will be going to Villanova University. Garland Collins, William Patterson. Miguel Adatic, Rutgers, Simon Deiosa, Bergen Community. Wilson Estrella, Rutgers University. Justin Marshall, Bergen Community. Tariq Pescoin, Ramapo College. Oliver Quintana, Monontlair State University, Myron
025White, William Patterson University, and Dominic Yang Ruckers University. Despite the uphill challenges this program faced even before the opening kickoff of the season, the persistence, resilience, and determination of our student athletes prevailed. We finished the season with a record of 11 wins, six losses, and one tie. The team finished ranked number 14 in the top uh 25 in North Jersey, advancing to the second round of the states, the semi-finals of the counties and a half a game out of first place in the league. This year's MVP, which will continue his education and his athletic career at Ruckers University, Mikola Datik. Next up is Coach Griskin, girls soccer. All right, this senior class had a rough uh season with the injury bug, but that did not stop them from having an impact on the season. They
026showed up to every practice, they showed up to every game, and they made an impact on all the younger players. uh they're they were truly dedicated to the program which they have been a part of for four years. I want to thank them all for being uh great role models for all the younger players. Uh the senior players are Kiara, Giana, Zana, Sam, Ingred, and Jenna. My MVP is someone who day in and day out took the hits, took the bumps, took the bruises, and took a toll on her body. I know it wasn't easy, but she shined in every opportunity and every challenge that came across her. Replacing her in gold will be very hard, but replacing her heart, her hard work, dedication, and character will be impossible. She earned second team all county,
027first team all league, and finished her career well over 300. Savage Ga Cologne. All right, before we move on, guys, let's keep the conversations to uh dinner. All right, let's be respectful of all the programs and all the coaches who are coming up. There'll be plenty of time to talk for dinner, dessert, and afterward. Rounding out the fall is uh girls and boys cross country. Going to ask Coach Swisser to come up. All right. Good evening everyone. Um I'm standing in for the legendary coach Pontis this evening. Um he's sadly not with us for the first time since this dinner has been a thing. Uh he's still competing at a state meet. Well, not him himself, but he's part of a state meet happening down in Penul right now. He regrets that he can't be
028here. sends all of you his congratulations. Um, him still being at a state meet this far into June is a testament to the success of the programs that he's put together for many years, over 40 as a matter of fact. And just if I could first offer a congratulations to all of our graduating senior athletes, I'm sure every single one of you remember the first time you stepped out on the field, stepped out ready to race, stepped out ready to compete for the first time. You've all accomplished amazing things both independently and collectively that will carry you forward in ways you don't even know yet for the rest of your lives. Uh as far as cross country goes, it's one of those sports where the first time you introduce the idea to a person, they
029say, "I will never want to do something like that." So our senior team is a collection of people who began first, some as freshmen, uh some didn't discover it until later on. But what I can say for sure, I'll start with the girls, is the girls team managed to surprise people time and time again this year. Uh we're routinely accused of being in a rebuilding year, yet we always find ways to have people uh push the record books and find ways to uh move up in the rankings. So um I'd like to offer a special congratulations to the girls who are graduating this year. Hillary Batista, Rosanna Bogette, Nicole Florian, Ruth Lara Zerara, Ribbon Da, and of course, Alexis Smith. Um, all of you have impacted this program in tremendous ways, and it's not going
030to be the same without you. But please take the lessons that you got from running, from persevering, from lifting each other up with you as you go. Uh our MVP for the girls team is someone who is involved not just with cross country but more ways than you could imagine both academically extracurricularly. Um and she's been an absolute tamp uh phenom for our team. Somebody who lifts each other up and uh finds a way to motivate and also inspire through her constant efforts and good work. So congratulations to our girls team MVP, Lexi Smith. And as far as boys cross country, although the record book might not show all of the proof of the efforts that went in to each and every race, each and every practice from July through November, um there's no doubt
031that this is a group that lifts each other up that found ways to motivate each other uh through the year. Christian Cabania, David Feliciano, Tan Mystery, Liam Oliviveres, Anthony Pardo, and Adrien Wilson King. Um our MVP is someone who is kind of a quiet hero on the team. You don't know just how much he has to say until you see him talking to people on the side, finding ways to motivate, lift up, and inspire. And he's got a lot of great things in his future, I'm sure. Anthony Pardo, congratulations to you on your MVP. So fast we can't see him. All right. Thank you. All right. At this time, we're going to break for dinner. My right side of the room can stay on the right. There are two lines. My left side can stay
032on the left line. And with enjoy. Heat. Heat. Heat. Girls and boys. All right, everyone. I'm going to get started. >> I first want to thank my assistant coach, Coach Cond, for doing a lot of things that either I don't know how to do or need help with. Secondly, I want to thank our senior athletes tonight uh for a great season, for a great year, and everything that you've accomplished throughout your journey. and the best of luck moving forward to our senior athletes. Starting with the girls, Urexi Castillo, Judith Montes, Deoka, Sele Orta, Juvie Sharma, and with our boys, Joshua Henry, Armani Renoso, uh Joseph Rojas, and Adrien Wilson King. and to our senior MVPs. Um, both of our MVPs, they led us with passion, with effort, um, commitment. They were there every day. They
033did what they need to do in the water, out of the water. Um, I couldn't ask for more from our senior athletes. On the girls side, you're Castillo. And for the boys, Adrian Wilson. Congratulations. Thanks, coach. Next up is boys wrestling coach Kleta. Thank you. Congratulations, guys. It's a great honor to be a Mustang. All right. Uh, wrestling season didn't go to the plan. We lost four starters before even first match and we never had a full lineup ever on the mat at the same time. They probably spent more time at a trainers office than on a mat which is unfortunate. There must be something in the water, right guys? Uh, but this group of misfits are my misfits. All right. They put all their hearts into whatever they doing and they always work hard.
034The seniors, Anderson, Kevin, Sebastian, Jelle, Joe, Lucas, Michael, Adil, Alexis, Jordan, and Lewis. And my managers, Joshua again. Uh, our MVP this year is three times conference wrestler, >> county honore, and uh, district champion Joseph Dum. All right, next up, the undisputed champion of the Galleta household, girls wrestling coach, Coach Galetta. >> Good evening everyone. Uh, well, I'm happy to report that there's nothing in the water in Clifton because I'm happy to report that girls wrestling team did excellent job this year. We celebrate an incredible season and honor our three senior wrestlers, Olivia Hanik, Rara, and Valeria. These young women were here at the very beginning when our program was just starting to take shape. They took a chance on something new and helped build the foundation of what uh girls wrestling in Clifton has
035become. Over the past few years, they have faced challenges, injuries, tough losses, and moments of disappointment. However, along the way, they also experienced unforgettable victories, personal growth, and remarkable accomplishments. This season, our team won 14 dual meet matches, captured our first ever tournament championships, qualified six wrestlers for regions, and sent three girls all the way to Atlantic City. We also we also crowned our first ever district champion, RUTH LARA. OLIVIA ROSE AND VAL, congratulations on your accomplishment, on your graduation and we wish you all the best. Our MVP is Ruth L. Next up is Coach Lito in girls basketball. Good like start off by thanking Dr. for putting everything together athletics here at Lon High School and most importantly all our senior athletes that are here tonight. We're here to talk about girls basketball and
036seven seniors that we have. I know both of them are here. They all stand up for a second. Congratulate them, please. That's true. All please say congratulations to Julio Stephanie and thank you this year we had a very big year and it's really about the seniors and our teachers here who made it. Um they put the time in they put the effort in during the summer during the fall. Um but it's not just them. It's the coaching staff that's here that also went into coach had a good season made playoffs the first time in about 10 years or so and we finished off I believe 1430. Okay. Their leadership hopefully sets the ground floor for us. But tonight we're here to honor girls basketball. She's going to be attending St. Law University athletic trainer and
037her name I mean I haven't said her name correctly in 4 years and I'm not going to start now because one time I did say she yelled at me so PLEASE All right, next up is Coach Cat, boys basketball. Thank you. I again want to support I just want to thank everybody here for their support student athletes who come to a lot of the basketball games right to administration who always make it a point to come out you know we really appreciate that support. Uh obviously this year was a very tough year, not the year that we wanted, but kind of a year we knew we kind of expected might not be the best because we were so young. And we really look to our seniors this year for leadership and you know what was
038very, you know, we face a lot of adversity. And these two young men really delivered me. They never backed out. They never lost King Lee. All right? They never quit. They constantly rose to the challenge of leading a very young team and when things got tough right they were always there to be a steady presence. Um that is Xavier Runz and Savio our team who always took it took a chance to lead especially the freshman that were on our varsity team. Right. He kindly showed professionalism and somebody going to do great things in the future. They stand up. Next up is indoor track coach West. Thank you. All right. First off, I want to thank um all the coaches for both indoor, outdoor, and cross country. It uh takes an army to do uh to
039help with this program. And I also want to thank uh administration Lori who's always uh answering all of my texts um even out on the weekends. I do appreciate it. Uh the girls team for indoor play second in the leagues, third in counties. Uh they did amazing job. The seniors lead by example and they will be sorely missed. Our girls consist of uh Hillary Batista, Rosanna Bogev, Nicole Florian, Michaela Francisco, Kimberly Moreno, uh Alexis Smith, Valaria Valenc. There's a couple others that uh kind of got mixed in with some of the other sports, but I can't tell you how much uh you guys are going to be missed. and our MVP record setting record-breaking first team all county Michaela Francisco >> and on to the boys. Our boys team for indoor consisted of Settle down
040children settle down. Uh consisted of Thomas Bowman, Lewis Barriststein, Chris Cavania, Edward Cordoa Marrick, I'm not going to try to pronounce your last name. Uh, Baron Escalot, Carlos Gonzalez, Johan Lavour, Hussein Menas, Liam Oliveres, Anthony Pardo, Eduardo Rinez, Sergio Salazar, Kaden Sasso, Michael Torres, Isaiah Vez, Joel Vera, and Adrien Wilson King who did outdoor as well. The boys the boys record for counties placed fourth in counties, second place in leagues. And our MVP also first team all county all around Joel Vera. Let me get my stuff before I forget. >> Yeah, this one seems completely This one. >> Thanks, coach. Next up, Coach Tenniso hockey. All right. I just want to first start out by uh thanking our board of education for support and also our administration. Like to thank Mr. Mlehey and Lorie for
041all they do throughout the season. Could not do it without them. Uh this senior group of ice hockey players Uh these guys they they came in when this team first got merged with two other schools. So this is the only kind of way they've known ice hockey is with Cedar Grove and Pac Valley who is also a part of our team. Uh this group uh great group of seniors. They ended up winning back-to-back league championships as juniors and seniors. Uh lot of success in our program since they entered the program. uh wish them all nothing but the best in their future as well as all of our senior athletes that are here today. Our senior ice hockey players, we have Roberto Amiano, Kaden Behian, Nick Chang, Ryan Gallagher, Trevor Rasher, and Ben Smith. Our MVP,
042our first team all league, first team all county, Trevor Rasher. ALL RIGHT, round the other bowling team. This year, the Clipton Bowling team, led by senior captain Sarah Weeble, finished with a record of 4 and 10, landing fourth in the Big North Conference Liberty Division. The team secured 12th place in North Section 1, Group Four, and 10th place in State County's PCCA tournament. They also climbed the ladder, finishing in eighth place in the third annual Super Bowl tournament at Bowler City. Sarah, a four-time all league and all county recipient, finished with the state county's highest female average of 176, landing her a top 50 spot in the state. She has finished in the girls top 100 averages all four years of high school. She also rolled a high game of 257 and a high series
043of 639 in league play this year. Sarah finished 23rd out of 58 in the individual co-ed classic at Bowler City and tied for 44th overall in the NJ girls individual state bowling championships. She was also the recipient of Neil Grant's scholarship for high school bowling. Outside of high school bowling, Sarah has 10 top five junior bowlers tour finishes. She has participated in the fashion club and plans on attending Kent State in Ohio, majoring in fashion design this fall. Congratulations to this year's CHS bowling senior athlete of the year, Sarah. ALL RIGHT, THAT ROUND THE WINDOW. First up is girls lacrosse, coach frisky. ALL RIGHT, GIRLS LACROSSE. I want to thank this group of seniors, many who have dedicated four years to the program. From the very first day they came out on the field not
044knowing this the sport to see them grow over 40 years shows your hard work and dedication has paid off. I wish you all the best you do in all your future endeavors. My MVP goes to someone who put everything on the line and carried this team all season. You exceeded every expectation. You are our backbone on defense. Thank you for showing us how far heart and hard work can go. My MVP earned first team all county, first team only and finished the season with well over 150 saves in goal. Marley Gay. Next up, coach is boys lacrosse. ALL RIGHT. AGAIN, I WANT TO UH THANK YOU TO my coaching staff, Nick Pica, Matt me, who couldn't be here today. Um again, congratulations seniors. Uh best of luck in everything that you do going forward from
045here. Um we have a lot of seniors this year for boys lacrosse. Um, this season marks one of our best seasons we've had in the last six 6 to 8 years. Um, miss that going uh 10 and nine regular season 10 and 10 including playoffs. And that doesn't happen without without our 10 seniors. Roberto Miniano, Kaden Bean, Isaiah Coranza, Masimo Paluchi, Merrick Dopolski, Ryan Gallagher, Andrew Naui, Benjamin Smith, Daniel Toplack, and Lewis Duniga. You guys drove our program. You led with leadership. Um, that was seniors do. So, we can't thank you enough. On to our MVP. Um, he battled a lot of injuries, played every single game. I think he took off two games towards the end of the stretch of the season, but we truly would not be where we were this year without
046the leadership, the hard play, the hard fight from this uh uh special student. Our MVP for the boys lacrosse is Benjamin Smith. Next up, coach. Thank you. Flag football. I'd first like to take a moment to recognize and thank our senior managers, Ella Carlo, Olivia Wlinsky, and Leia Ramos. Your hard work behind the scenes often goes unnoticed, but our program would not function without you guys. Thank you for your time, dedication, and for always putting our needs first. Before recognizing our seniors, I'd like to take a moment to reflect on this year's team. We finished the season with a 9 and5 record, but that record only tells part of the story. We competed with some of the best teams in the state and even tied with what many consider to be the top team in
047New Jersey. Our craziest statistic from the season is that we finished 16 total points away from being undefeated. 16 points over the course of 14 games. And a big part of that is because of our senior class. What's more exciting is what lies ahead. This senior class helped establish a standard of excellence that our younger players can now build upon. >> Whenever you guys are done and for the first time in program history, three of our players will be continuing their flag football careers at the collegiate level next year, proving that the opportunities in this sport continue to grow. and Clifton flag football is helping pave the way for future generations. Now, I would like to recognize our incredible senior class, Zena Aberami, Ayana Pyano, Christina Bergio, Gia Delgado, Giana Cologne, Mala Kawada, and Stephanie
048Flettee. To our seniors, thank you for everything you have given to Clifton Flag. Whether you were here from the beginning or joined us along the way, each of you have played a pivotal role in building this program. You embraced the early morning practices, the long bus rides, and the memorable victories. More importantly, you represented Clifton with pride, character, and determination. Now, it's my honor to recognize our senior MVP. In the 2026 season, she scored 14 touchdowns, rushed for 856 yards, added 575 receiving yards, and recorded 70 tackles defensively. She finishes her remarkable career with over 2,000 total offensive yards, making her one of the most versatile players in our program history. She helped shape the success of our program. It's my privilege to recognize our senior MVP, Christina Vermilia. 30. >> Next up, baseball. Coach
049Rivera. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Okay. First, I want to congratulate all the seniors. Uh, thank you for what you did for your sport, but more importantly, thank you what you did for Clifton. Uh, you represented our school, so we're all proud of you. I want to say a special thank you to my senior baseball players, our seniors, uh, Josh Duranti, Steven Pñena, Jacobari, Justin Cabrera, Tony Morales, our two captains, Aaron Tapia Dela Cruz, and Trevor Rasher. Um, our season, we doubled our wins from last year. Uh, we were seven and three in our conference, came in second. Um, but I owe it to all these seniors. Four of our seniors are actually committed to, uh, play college baseball. I want to say their names again. That's Aaron, Tony, Justin, and Trevan are going to
050play at the next level. for our senior MVP. Uh this player is a four-year varsity starter, a two-year captain, was selected all big North first team, all Pay County first team, uh led our team in most of our offensive and def uh pitching categories, had over 200 strikeouts in his career. He's going to continue playing at the next level at Division 2 Pace University. And our senior MVP is Trevor Rasher. Next up, Coach Rodriguez, boys volleyball. Good evening everyone. Thank you. Um, our seniors, we have Flavio Cisto going to Kane University. We have Garland Collins going to uh P Community of Oh, I apologize to William Patterson. Uh Adam Famid going to Ruckus, New Brunswick. Uh Matthew Linirez is actually playing at um Virginia Wesleyan uh University. Uh by the way, Flavio is also playing
051uh division 3. He's playing at Kane University. Um we have Hussein Mintas going to uh Montlair State. Parth, excuse me, Parth uh Mistri going to Drexler University. Jason Molina going to um the county community college and we have Aaron Nunes going to NGIT and Marco Rias going to Lincoln Tech. And our MVP is uh somebody who actually came in every day and put in the work, never complained, was actually a really good teammate. the definition of a a very coachable athlete uh and a very good teammate even though it was his first his first year playing volleyball. And our MVP is Marco Rivas. Next up, coach Barakovich softball. I hope you better talk. >> Yeah, much better. >> So, I want to start off by congratulating all of the senior athletes on your seasons and
052I wish you the best of luck on all of your future endeavors. Our softball team this year finished with a winning record of 14 and 10. Our seniors are Isabella Ro, Stephente, Jordan, Sydney Ree, and Josie Zagorski. Our softball MVC is a four-year varsity player, two-year captain going on to continue her softball career TCJ. And we are also very proud to share that she is our validictorian. All right, Coach West outdoor track. >> Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure he did. >> All right. So, for outdoor track, uh I'm just covering for coach Pontis. As uh Coach Swisser mentioned, he was at a meet today. Um as you know, for those who don't know, track does not stop ever. So, the season is extremely long. Um, the boys track team consists of Thomas Bowman, Lewis Bernstein, uh,
053Max C Byron Escalot, Aiden Hussy, Man, Kyler Jones, Johan Leore, Vladimir Koslak, Carlos Paulino, Kyle Ramirez, Kaden Sasso, Michael Torres, Isaiah, Joe Vera, and Dominic Yang. Uh the boys record was uh 4- one. They placed second in the leagues. Um and our MVP, who's not here today because he was competing at uh the meet of champions, which is the last meet of the season. He has three state championships in two years for two sports for indoor and outdoor. I personally have coached him. He's an amazing jumper. It drives me crazy. But our MVP, unfortunately, like I said, is competing is Vladimir Kazlak. >> Coach Rivera, girls track. >> We threw Coach River into the fire as a first year teacher, as a head coach. She did a backup job. All right. Hi everyone. This is
054my first year coaching. Um, and from the very first practice, I knew my seniors were going to be a huge help to make this season as amazing as it was. Anything that I needed from these girls, they were there in an instant and ready to help in any way. Whether it was input on meetat rosters or just needing their honesty on what was working, what was not working, they always delivered. No hesitation, no complaints. My senior athletes were a key asset in making this season as successful as it was. We have two first team all county award winners, a school record breaker, a season full of personal records, a winning season record of three and two, and we had so much fun while doing it. So to my seniors, Rosanna Michaela, Ruth, Kim, Miracle, Lexi,
055Genesis, Val, and Nicole. I would like to say thank you for everything. I'm so beyond lucky that I'm able to start my coaching career with such a hardworking, strong, and confident group. The rising seniors have some big shoes to fill. Before I finish, I would like to highlight one athlete in particular who went above and beyond this year. Our MVP is one of the hardest working athletes in Clifton. She truly understands what it takes to be great. She broke two school records more than once this season and was awarded first team all county and long jump. This is an athlete who not only our own Clifton athletes look up to, but track athletes across New Jersey do too. Her strong, enthusiastic energy was always contagious to the rest of the team. I never had to
056doubt her commitment and love for the sport. She truly is an inspiration for all growing athletes. I would like to say thank you and congratulations to Michaela Francisco for earning our MVP award. All right, rounding out the spring. Coach your dad all boys tennis. Save the best for last round here. Uh, thank you everyone for coming. I want to start by congratulating all the seniors on their accomplishments. Uh it's been an honor and a privilege to coach a lot of you in a variety of different sports. Wish you guys good luck. Nothing but the best in this next chapter of your lives. Uh boys tennis 8 and seven this year. One of our best years in a while. Um had a very strong freshman class come in. But really what held us together was the
057core of five seniors. Uh most of whom were four-year tennis players. showed up four years ago never picking up a tennis racket um but now leaving as veteran tennis players. I'd like to acknowledge them. Um Joseph Rojas, Ashish Jarala, Dawud Sajad, Justin Texukano, and our team MVP, very smart player who I've enjoyed coaching a lot, Ian Raganund, who is not here, but clap it up for Ian. Thanks, coach. >> Before we get to the athlete of the year, just once again, I want to reiterate what the coaches have said. Uh, this student class is special. Really great group of of people. I can't believe that we're in June already. You guys are getting ready for your your graduation and everything that goes with this month. Um, what's even scarier is how fast these four years
058have gone. So, it's been a pleasure to really watch you grow. Um, one of the best parts of my day is getting to watch you compete. That's the fun part of this job is getting out to go out, watch some games, and uh, see you see you all do your very best. So, we appreciate that. Uh, and we hope you come back and join us. More than more than half of our coaching staff is Clifton alumni. And the one thing I noticed when I came to Clifton 13 years ago is how many how many uh, teachers, how many administrators were once graduates of Clifton High School. So, it said really says a lot. So, we hope you come back to us with with your pride. Whether you want to teach or coach or even just
059come back and support our programs, we hope uh we hope you do that. Let's give yourselves a round of applause. So, when it comes to the athlete of the year, every year it's a really difficult uh process to go through. Uh we get a lot of applicant not a lot of applicants a lot of nominations from our coaching staff. We have a committee that meets and really discusses the pros and the cons. And this is one of the hardest years that we have because as you've heard from all the coaches, there's a lot of really amazing athletes in this room and more importantly a lot of amazing people in this room. So ladies first, our female athlete of the year uh was a three sport MVP tonight. uh broken school records and then on breaking
060her own records. Uh really positive attitude. Like seeing her in the hallways, she's always got a smile on her face and something positive to say. So let's hear for Michaela Francisco. for our male athlete of the year. Again, another another tough decision by the committee because there's so many accomplished athletes in this program. Uh this guy came in and was a four-year starter on multiple sports. He's a two sport MVP. Uh a lot of accolades, 200 strikeouts, and I thought they were at bat, but Rivera uh told me he was able to finish. Another great guy, great attitude, great character, somebody who I've enjoyed to get to know and watch develop over the years. Trevor Rasher. >> All right, thanks for being the audience. Enjoy the rest of the night. Make sure all that desserts
061gone. Um, enjoy it.