The girls cross country team turned in an unparalleled performance this
season, as the girls raced to their second consecutive Central Jersey
Group III sectional title. The girls dominated the dual meet season,
finishing undefeated, and won the Class A North Division title. In
addition, the girls placed third at the SCT race, and knocked out 2 top
10 teams in that same race. The girls also claimed The XC Fall Classic
Championship at Thompson Park. For the graduating senior class, it was
a phenomenal way to round out their high school careers, and for many
of them, it was the support of their teammates that has made this year
special.
“Running is completely mental and without the support and
motivation from your teammates it can be imposable” said senior
Kirsten McLaughlin. “Luckily I have never had that problem on the
South team. It’s because of such determination and teamwork that we
have come so far and achieved so much this season.” With top runners
Christiana Rutkowski, Brianna Haspel, and Cassidy Weimer all set to
return next year, the girls can be more then optimistic about the
future of the program.
The boy’s soccer team completed one of its best seasons in school
history this year with a final record of 13-7-1. Despite losing in
both the semifinals of the CJGIII tournament and semifinals of the
Shore Conference Tournament, this year’s team has plenty to be proud
of. The Eagles posted 35 goals on the season, the majority of which
were scored by the senior captain Kevin Monaghan. The Eagles also had
more shutouts this year than in any season in the past decade. Dubbed
the “Shootout Specialists of the Shore” the Eagles went 3-0 in penalty
shootouts this year, the best record of any team in the conference.
Despite a strong graduating class, the program looks for continued
success in the coming years with players like junior Sean O’Neil, and
junior Tyler Foire taking over the team.
The girl’s soccer team also put in a stellar performance this year as
they captured back to back A North division titles. With a final
record of 10-4-3, the girls built on last year’s strong performance,
and continued to dominate, scoring 26 goals on the season.
“We had a great season this year and accomplished one of our main goals, (A
North Title) and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of girls to
have spent the season with.” said Bridget Skinner, the girl’s captain
and Ohio State recruit. Although the Eagles will miss Skinner as well
as senior Lauren Van Exter, the girls all division keeper who made 108
saves this year, the girls have a bright future as player like Rachel
Becker, Deanna Rotella, and Stephanie Karcz will return to the program
next year.
Despite a rough start to the season, the girl’s field hockey team
rallied in the second half of their campaign to finish 5-10-2. Behind
Maria Herring, the team’s top scorer, the Eagles managed to qualify
for the state tournament and were able to win some important games
including a sweep of division rival Manalapan, and a win on Senior
Night against Howell.
“This season started as a rebuilding season for
us” said senior defender Sharon Sangermano. “We lost 12 seniors last
year so we made a lot of position changes, and by the end of the
season we pulled it together as a team and started playing Middletown
South hockey.”
With a final record of 11-8, the girl’s tennis team completed another
successful season on the courts. The Lady Eagle’s solid second place
finish in the division this year came with hard fought victories
against Manalapan, and rival Freehold Township. The Freehold Twp.
game marked a crucial turning point in the season and served as
redemption after years of the Eagles falling to the rival Patriots.
The girls also fought deep into the post season this year, advancing
as far as the quarterfinals of the CJ Group III Tournament. 3rd
singles player and senior Rachel Kahn said of the season “Everyone on
the team grew extremely close this year, making it a success
regardless of the final record.” With young talent across all
positions, Coach Obermeyer and his team have much to look forward to
next year.
With a strong core of returning talent, the Eagles boys cross country team looked primed for success this year, and even after losing star senior Andrew VanWagner to injury early in the season, the Eagles put together an impressive resume of victories. Behind top runners James Rimmelle, a senior from MAST, and underclassmen TJ Herrimngton, the Eagles placed 7th at the sectional meet, and 6th at the Monmouth County Meet. One of the Eagle victories also came in an all junior meet, where South knocked off CBA, the #1 team in the nation, to claim the Battle of Ocean County Meet Championship. VanWagner said of his teammates
“Our boys stayed positive throughout the season, they learned to have short memories, and came they came together and knew what it took to succeed ” With the program growing with each successive year, and almost a dozen freshman set to join the team next fall, the Eagles will look to build on their current success.