North Basketball said goodbye to 5 seniors in 2022, all crucial parts to the Rams success. Led by Coach Amparo, the team finished the season with a .500 record at 10-10. This win against Dobbs Ferry pushed the team’s record to 5-1, in what was a historic start to the 2021-2022 season. Frank Bruno had 14 points and 4 rebounds while Aaron Peter dropped 10 points, with 3 boards. These 5 seniors showed grit, determination, and strength throughout their time playing for North, cementing their legacy. As always, The Rams Horn wishes seniors the best in their futures!

The Clarkstown Dance Team Ram-rumbled to victory last winter, in the first Battle of the Squads Hip-Hop competition. Led by Senior Captain Ilyssa Cohn, the team placed first out of a field of 6 schools (Peekskill, John Jay Cross River, Ramapo, Somers, and Hamilton). Wowing the judges from the start, they were a clear favorite. Congrats!

Senior Justin Smoot does not give up. In his Junior year, he took a loss from Suffern’s Nick Romagnoli in finals at counties of the 285 lb division. But this did not stop Smoot from getting his revenge. Just weeks later, he pinned Romagnoli in the final match of the North-Suffern meet at Suffern, in the second period. After the pin, the Varsity bench was fired up and Justin Smoot was given All-Section honors at the end of the season.

The Clarkstown Swimming and Diving Team solidified their spot as a Rockland County power, taking 1st place at the Rockland County Championships at North Rockland High School. Luke Dwyer placed 1st in the 200-meter individual medley race, Patrick Cortelli placed 1st in the 200-meter and 500-meter freestyle races, and Joe Coleman placed first in the 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke races. As a team, the Rams and Viking joint squad took the victory in the 200 medley, 200 freestyle, and 400 freestyle relays. Absolutely dominated the competition. Now we know who runs Rockland County Swim.

The Clarkstown Hockey Team lost 5 seniors last winter (Matt Doherty, Athena Lambros, Remy Moreno, Terrance Reed, and Chris Roberto), but these guys did not disappoint in their farewell year on the ice. On Senior Night, at the Palisades, with Moreno in goal, the team beat Mamaroneck 3-0. Nick Romeo (Class of 23) had 2 goals, earning the 100th point of his high school career. Fenninger had two assists for the team. Remy Moreno played outstanding in goal, earning the shutout win, with 26 saves. Clarkstown North’s own Matt Doherty scored the 3rd goal en route to a huge win. C-Town Hockey’s season ended in the Sectional Quarterfinals but are destined to have an even better season next year. 

The Girls and Boys Fencing Teams didn’t fail to disappoint despite having no spectators in attendance due to COVID-19 regulations. The Girls and Boys Epee squads placed 1st in the League Championships that took place at Clarkstown South High School. The Fencing Team brings athletes from both Clarkstown Schools: North and South, creating one talented team that battles with other Section 1 schools. Clarkstown is unstoppable! Go Rams!

The Girls Bowling Team placed 2nd at the 2021-2022 Sectional Tournament. Samantha McDermott, Stephanie O’Malley, and Rorie Newburger were the 3 girls from Clarkstown to qualify for the New York State Bowling Championships. Newburger reflected on the season with Rams Horn’s Aidan Dobrosielski afterwards: “We knew that there was only one team standing in our way of becoming the section champs. We powered through the season knowing we had a chance. When we got to Sections, we wound up winning one game against the first place team, but it was that one game that kept us going. Even though we came in second, the girls had so much fun. We had fun as a team on the lanes, but more importantly, we were friends off the lanes. I am really going to miss the feeling of competing at tournaments and matches, but what I am really going to miss about high school bowling is the feeling of a community with such great relationships.” High school sports here at North give out athletes memories that they will never forget.

Alex Bilello demonstrated true hard work and dedication to the Clarkstown North Athletic Programs in his senior year of high school. Not only was he a power on the football field as a running back, earning All-Section Honors, he dominated competition in the long jump, placing first in Section 1 and 6th in New York State last winter. One of his most notable performances on the turf was when he ran for 207 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 33-12 North win against Tappan Zee. He used this athleticism to earn All-State Honors in Track and Field indoors. Bilello told Rams Horn staff, “Ever since I was a freshman I always looked up to the seniors that were going to states and thought ‘I wish I could have a chance to get there’ and after kind of a lackluster junior year I didn’t think I was gonna get the chance to go until I started long jumping senior year. I didn’t really know what I was doing but all of a sudden I found myself ranked top 3 in the state. Going to states itself was definitely surreal, especially with a chance to win the whole thing. Coming in 5th place in public schools was really a dream come true and an amazing way to end my indoor track career.” He is now attending Manhattan College, continuing his Track career at the division 1 level. Go Jaspers!

Despite ending the season with a losing record, the Girls Lacrosse team had some memorable moments last year. On April 6th, on their home turf, the Rams defeated White Plains by a score of 8-7, after Emily Maloney scored the game winning goal with 0.4 seconds remaining. Before the buzzer beater, a penalty was called, stopping the clock with less than 1 second left. Just enough time for the Rams to score and gain the important victory against White Plains. Incredible!

The North Boys Lacrosse Team settled the cross-town rivalry with a very exciting win against a tough South squad. The Rams beat the Vikings 8-6 in a thrilling win with a packed student section at Felix V. Festa Field. The team finished the year with a 11-6 record, with other big wins against Nyack, Nanuet, and Suffern. Go Rams! Beat Vikings! 

While the Rams couldn’t pull off the win in a hard fought game against Clarkstown South, losing by a score of 7-5, one Rams player did achieve history. Scoring 3 of the 5 North goals, Emily Maloney reached the 100-goal milestone, a mark placed in very high regard. The other two goals were scored by Maddie Hind and Kiki Ottenheimer. Maloney talked about her historic achievement with Rams Horn Staff: “Scoring my 100th career goal has been a goal of mine since freshman year, and when COVID happened, I really didn’t think I would achieve it. I couldn’t have reached that goal without my teammates who always got the ball to me during our games. I started that game 2 goals away from 100. I didn’t want to force it and I was more focused on helping my team win the game than reaching that goal. My team wanted it for me almost as much as I wanted it for myself.  When I first scored, I didn’t realize right away until I saw my teammates running over to me to celebrate. It was one of the most exciting moments of my lacrosse career, reaching a goal I worked so hard to accomplish. I put in so much work outside of practice and I was able to reach my goal because of my team and coaches.”

Led by Coach Stefania, the Clarkstown North Baseball Program has always been known for winning. And especially winning in pressure moments, like the Section Final in 2021. This time around, the Rams took home the Lombardo Trophy, beating Fox Lane in the final 7-6. Robert Kramer, Manhattanville commit, pitched 5 great innings, getting the win, while Rams star Devon Cass, Caldwell commit, went 3-4 at the plate with 4 RBI’s and a triple. The Rams finished the season 9-11-1, with 6 players receiving honors. Joe Digiacamo, who now plays baseball for SUNY Brockport, was given All Section Honors, and Devon Cass was listed in the All Section Honorable Mention list. Additionally, Michael Robinson was given All-League honors. Aaron King, Kaden Miller, and Robert Kramer were all Honorable Mentions for All-League. Terrific season boys!

Led by Coach Schwartz, the Boys Tennis Team went 8-4 as a team, but their top 2 singles players only lost 1 match all season. Jacob Ober went 11-1, with his only loss to Rockland County Player of the Year, Tomas Andreotti. Aidan Dobrosielski finished the season undefeated at 12-0. Captain Ober, #1 singles player, received All-League Honors as well as All County First Team Honors and #2 singles player, Dobrosielski, received All-League Honors with All-County Second Team Honors. The pair had their best wins against Clarkstown South. Ober defeated South’s #1 singles, Chris Cho, by a score of 7-6, 6-4, while Dobrosielski defeated South’s #2 singles, Devan Shah, by a score of 6-4, 6-1. They paired up together for the postseason Section 1 Tennis Doubles Tournament at Harrison High School, and made it to the Round of 16. Jacob Ober graduated last year and is now continuing his academic career at SUNY Binghamton.

Clarkstown North and Clarkstown South joined up to create a Unified Basketball Team, allowing players of all capabilities to play on a Varsity team against competition from other high schools. It just goes to show that basketball can be such a unifying and fun game. Having fun is always most important and the Clarkstown Buckets Basketball Team proved that last spring. The team will always remember their last game of the inaugural season when they defeated Ossining to cap off a great experience! Make sure to catch a Clarkstown Buckets Game this spring!

The Clarkstown Girls Golf Team raised the bar for their competition, taking 1st place as a team in the Rockland County Championships at Phillip J. Rotella Memorial Golf Course. The girls were led by Maura Forde who placed 1st in the county, shooting a 40 on the course. Heather Kim shot a 43, placing 3rd amongst County competition, and Riley King shot a 48 placing 5th in the county. Congrats girls!

At the Section 1 Girls Tennis Championships, the Rams #1 and #2 singles players, Bekah Chan and Kiki Ottenheimer, teamed up to compete in the doubles bracket. And that decision proved to be worth it! The doubles tandem defeated doubles pairing from Rye Neck, Mamoroneck, and Byram Hills en route to the Section Quarterfinals, earning themselves All-Section honors. Bekah Chan credits the Rams success, going 6-4 and placing 3rd in the league, to the team “always having a great time together”. Terrific job!

Even though the Rams ended the season with a losing record, the football team led by Coach Trongone and captains Kenny Louden, Lex Malizia, Dom Crisci, and Brian Bordas, continued to bring the community together on Friday nights at the turf. As always, with help from families, coaches, and parents, the Clarkstown North 4th Quarter Club put together a great Senior Rose Ceremony for the Football, Cheer, and Dance seniors, who have shown strong commitment to the CHSN Athletics Program. We applaud these athletes for their hard work. Brian Bordas, Pace commit, and Kenny Louden were selected to the All-County First Team. Cian Barry, Danny Shields, Brandon Lopez, Lex Malizia, and Patrick Bankey were selected to the All-County Second Team. Congratulations!

It was another historic season for the Clarkstown North Girls Soccer Team. Last year, they made it to the final four of the New York State Championships, a feat that seemed hard to beat. Despite not making it that far this year, they ended the season as league champions with an astounding 13-2-1 record. The team will have to say goodbye to 9 seniors (Ivy Levitas, Sydney Ferst, Annie Digiacamo, Maya Damesek, Emma Garbowitz, Hannah McKiverkin, Alexa Buxbaum, Emily Maloney, and Michelle Robinson) who put their heart and soul into this team, allowing them to achieve great things. The team made it to the Section Finals, where they lost to Albertus Magnus. In their semifinal game at Somers, the team defied all expectations and beat the Somers 1-0, by a penalty kick from Juniors Anna Kavountzis. Belmont Abbey Commit Sydney Ferst earned the shutout in goal. Ferst and Alexa Buxbaum, who committed to New York University earlier this school year, will continue their soccer careers at the collegiate level. Amazing! 

Image Courtesy of LOHUD 

The Clarkstown Girls Swimming and Diving Team is a force to be reckoned with. They placed 3rd in the Section 1 Championships. Their success was driven by four girls who all placed in their stroke categories: Kayla Dwyer, Isabella Budnik, Laura Arciniegas, and Ellie Taragano (UMBC Swim Commit). The four girls placed first in the 200-meter medley relay. Budnik placed 2nd in 200-meter freestyle and 3rd in the 100-meter freestyle, breaking the  Clarkstown team record. Arciniegas placed 2nd in the 100-meter backstroke race and Dwyer placed 3rd in the 100-meter freestyle race! Congrats girls on these historic performances!

Last but not least, the Clarkstown North Basketball Team left the 2022 year with some terrific results including an 86-44 victory over Saunders High School, in which guard Jordan Meyers recorded a triple double with 11 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists! That’s an NBA stateline! Incredible. In the victory, Chris Kirkland scored 22 points while Chris Merilus dropped 23 points along with 8 boards. Great job guys and good luck in the New Year!