Harrison Spring Sports Roundup

It might be a little cold for outdoor sports, but Harrison's varsity spring teams are already preparing for what is expected to be another exciting sports season. With the 2011 winter season essentially wrapped-up, it's time to look ahead to what Harrison's spring teams have to offer this year.

Harrison baseball enjoyed a Cinderella season in 2010. Thanks to timely pitching and hitting Harrison was able to ride some late-season momentum all the way to the .

This year the Huskies are expected to field an equally talented lineup as they try to capture the school's first Section I championship under head coach Marco Diruocco.

Max Bruckner will look to eat up innings as the ace of this year’s staff, while big bats from last season will look to make up for the loss of standout third baseman Mike DeLacy. The team will also have a hard time replacing the injured Shang-Li Polera in both center field and at the top of the lineup, but seniors Peter Viscogliosi and Michael Chiarella hope to pick up the slack for Harrison's offense.

After a dominating regular season coach Dean Marino’s softball team was before reaching the section finals in 2010. During the year the Huskies broke virtually every in the books and Harrison will have a hard time replacing pitcher and catcher .

Though pitching will be a big question mark for the team, it seems that junior Alijah Webb will take on some of the catching duties and senior Jessica Magnotta is expected to step into a leadership role.

With the pitching not as dominant in years past Harrison will need to rely on bats in the middle of the lineup. Another strength for the Huskies is the team’s middle infield of Magnotta and Ally Brabant, who will most likely bat in the top two spots of the order.

The Harrison boys lacrosse team ended the 2010 regular season with a 5-11 record, which was good enough to sneak a young Harrison team into the playoffs. This year the team returns most of it's starters from a year ago and the Huskies are looking to make some noise in this year’s Section I playoffs.

Brandon Bonistall and Alex Acompora will anchor Harrison’s scoring attack again this year, much like they did last season. The team will look to Sammy Gioseffi to improve on his stellar abilities taking faceoffs.

The Harrison defense centers around goalie Tony Conigliaro who is entering his senior season. Duke Alvora missed all of last year due to a knee injury and he may have to start this year on the sidelines thanks to an injured hand, so look for senior James Tirella to be the on-field leader for the Harrison defense.

The Huskies are going through a major overhaul from a year ago. Gone from last year are record-setting scorer  and coach Wendy Swenson, along with a great goalie and several solid defenders. 

This season Jon-Erik Zappala will take over the head coaching duties and he will turn to several younger players to fill voids both on and off the field. The team has been practicing together throughout the winter and Olivia Mogavero looks poised to be a force in goal for the Husky defense in 2011. Sofie San Marco and Emily Koller have experience and the tandem will most likely be the leaders for the Husky offensive attack while Angela Troia, Julia Druckman and Alexandra Misisco will hold down Harrison’s midfield.

Both the boys and girls golf teams are without a coach as of right now. Last season the boys team was full of seniors, while the girls team only had one member on the course.

Already this year Harrison has made an effort to try and increase student interest in the program by offering a golf clinic for the female students in the off-season. Without a coach both programs are in transition, but the school is determined to make this spring a successful season on the fairway.

The boys team is looking to build on a successful winter season to make the spring even more memorable. Zaid Al-Doori went to states for the 300 meter in winter, so he’ll expect to be there again in the spring.

The 4x200 relay team will be looking to make some noise at the state level. Al-Doori, Ben Koingsberg, Robert Merritt and Joe Papa comprise the team that will be one of the best in Section I.

Much like the boys team the girls squad also has a foursome looking to qualify for states in the spring season. Sara Purinton, Ashley Dellipaoli, Alexandra Sanchez, and Alex Arpaia will combine for a 4x800 team that looks poised to make a run a state championship.

Nina Sarmiento is battling back from an injury, but hopefully she’ll come back healthy enough to compete in the 400 meter while Hannah Hochman is looking to do well in the 55 meter dash. Another competitor to keep an eye on is junior Shawn Caparelli, who will be competing in the 100 and 200 meters this spring.

An early season injury left Brady Klein as the lone senior on the boys tennis team in 2010. This season virtually everyone is back and coach Sam Fishman has the luxury of players who have been with the program for a while. Andy Smithline, Michael Chen and Brandon Ellis were the team’s singles players last year and they are looking to improve in 2011.