For the first time since 2019, NorthJersey.com and The Record hosted a personal sports awards ceremony at North Jersey High School while the best athletes from the districts of Bergen and Passaic were honored on Tuesday night.
The full hall was packed with the Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne as 40 awards were handed out, including 33 that went to the players of the year in their sports.
The big winners of the evening were the wrestler St. Joseph Jimmy Mullen and Lakeland runner Angelina Perez, who took home awards as Athlete of the Year.
Mullen won his second state championship this season and will aim for a third next year as a senior. He would become only the third heavyweight in the history of the country to win three state championships.
“After I won my first, I celebrated at school, but then I worked for the second, and now it’s time to work for the third,” Mullen said.
Perez made a legendary career in cross-country, ending it by winning a gold medal at Meet of Champions 2021 last fall. In the spring, she ended her career on the track with a 3,200-meter victory at the National Champions Meeting. Perez will attend the University of Florida for cross country and athletics next year.
“I was honored to just be nominated for this award,” Perez said. “This sport has really changed my life in a lot of ways and I really feel like I’ve become the best version of myself because of it.”
Specialty awards
In addition to the Athlete of the Year Awards, other special awards presented included the McGill Scholarship Awards, won by Eastside footballer Kelvin Medina and softball player Bergen Tech Shauna Moran.
Hasbrouck Heights athlete Marybeth Barrios won this year’s Bravery Award, while Dumont girls basketball coach Dave Cieplicki won the Coach of the Year award. Read also : Inflation in the UK hits the new highest level in 40 years at 9.1% as food and energy prices continue.
The Paterson Charter boys ’basketball team brought out this year’s Team of the Year award after winning its first Passaic district title and first state title last winter.
“Words can’t be explained,” Paterson Charter coach Jerry Wimberly said. “It means a lot to the school itself. It means a lot to both the children and the staff and the parents, the whole unit that did this.”
North Jersey’s Players of the Year
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Paulina Paris, Dan Saddle Rivera Read also : Follow the science of abortion | News, Sports, Jobs.
BOYS BASKETBALL: Will Richardson, Bergen Catholic
GIRLS HOUSEHOLD: Sara Holden, Northern Highlands
BOYS BOWLING: Zachary Jordan, Wayne Hills
CROSS-COUNTRY GIRLS: Angelina Perez, Lakeland
Boys: Jacob Heredia, Clifton
FIELD FOR GIRLS: Niki Woods, Demarest
BOYS FIELD: Max Zuckerman, Pascack Hills
FIELD HOCKEY: Krista Lilienthal, Pompton Lakes
FOOTBALL (ATTACK): Steve Angeli, Bergen Catholic
FOOTBALL (DEFENSE): Q’yaier Price, DePaul
GOLF GIRLS: Emma Shen, Bergen Tech
GOLF BOYS: Dylan Gallagher, Dwight-Englewood
GYMNASTICS: Jacqueline Bernardo, Wayne Hills
ICE HOCKEY: Will Fuller, Northern Highlands
INDOOR TRACK GIRLS: Christina Allen, River Dell
BOYS INNER TRACK: Connor Munson, Westwood
LACROSS GIRLS: Kaitlyn Davies, Wayne Hills
LACROSS BOYS: Coleton Marquis, Don Bosco
FOOTBALL FOR GIRLS: Emily Jozak, Wayne Valley
FOOTBALL BOYS: Kyle Jahnke, Waldwick
SOFTBALA: Jocelyn Moody, Immaculate Heart
GIRLS SWIMMING: Katie Lawrence, Indian Hills
BOYS SWIMMING: Aaron Baltaytis, Tenafly
GIRLS TENNIS: Stephanie Yakoff, Fort Lee
BOYS TENNIS: Ajay Kartik, Northern Highlands
TRACK FOR GIRLS: Angelina Perez, Lakeland
BOYS TRAIL: Fabian France, Bergen Catholic
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Annabelle He, Ridgewood
BOYS VOLLEYBALL: Massa Hamada, Bergenfield
GIRLS WRESTLING: Olivia Klein, Paramus
BOYS WRESTLING: Jimmy Mullen, St. Joseph
