By Jay Cook
RUMSON – Instead of the usual purple and white combination that Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School athletes display, a sea of multi-colored hats and t-shirts flooded the school this past Tuesday.
On Nov. 8, a collection of 16 RFH student-athletes filled the downstairs library for the largest signing day in the school’s history, a remarkable feat for a school with an undersized student population.
Chris Lanzalotto, RFH’s athletic director, said that this achievement will undoubtedly change the school’s athletic culture going forward.
“It sets a new benchmark for kids to look forward to, that’s why we try to invite a lot of the kids here and make a big deal about it because it’s something to strive for,” he said. “Our underclassmen see it and they want to be part of it.”
Represented at the signing were six sports: baseball; girls basketball; crew; field hockey; and both boys and girls lacrosse, which consisted of nine out of the 16 signings.
The girls lacrosse team – which is led by seniors Catie Clark (Lafayette College), Elizabeth Scarrone (Vanderbilt University), Kyra Weiner (Colgate University) and Brittany Bruno (Villanova University) – was able to capture an NJSIAA Group II State Championship last season.
Bruno believes that after reeling off 25-straight wins to capture the state title, the 2017 squad can be just as successful as last year’s team.
“I think it’s only getting better,” said Bruno. “Our team is going to be extremely strong this year, we have so many underclassmen that are coming up, and we’re all such good friends so it makes it so much better.”
While there still is some time before the lacrosse teams grab their sticks and get to work in the spring, Bruno said that the experience of signing the dotted line alongside a number of her teammates was quite the experience itself.
“It’s so exciting,” she said, smiling on as the girls took a picture. “You know, we’re all such good friends and we’ve all been waiting for today.”
Moving from the grass to the courts, the Bulldogs had two girls from last season’s 22-7 team sign onto play college basketball this week. Hannah Scanlan will be heading up to play hoops in Rhode Island next year for Bryant University, and Katie Foos will be playing college ball at New York University.
Foos, who led the girls team with 63 3-pointers made throughout the course of the 2015-2016 season, was excited about the day’s events.
“It’s an amazing feeling to just all be committed to doing something like this right now,” she said after a group picture with the other 15 of her classmates.
For a team that is always competitive in the Shore Conference’s “A” Central division, her senior season will have a different feel to it.
Long-time RFH girls basketball head coach George Sourlis stepped down from the position after last season concluded, which left a void in the program where he had been a staple for decades.
Foos believes that her team will not miss a step going into her senior season under new head coach Dave Callahan, who was an assistant on the RFH boys basketball team for the past half-dozen seasons.
“I think it’ll be just as strong as it was in previous years,” she said. “There’s going to be a little bit of an adjustment, but I think that we’ve already kind of made that transition into our new coach.”
While hopes are high for each squad, the 16 Bulldogs that signed their commitments on Tuesday afternoon were thrilled to share the moment with each other.
Though they are still athletes, academics come first, and that will be key to their successes going forward.
“I just think that the success of the programs have really come through, and academically, the kids are doing it in the classrooms and they work out on the field,” Lanzalotto.
List of Rumson-Fair Haven athletes who signed letters of intent on November 8th
Baseball:
- Matt Fahey – Manhattan College
Basketball:
- Katie Foos – New York University
- Hannah Scanlan – Bryant University
Crew:
- Emily Kean – Miami University
- Kara McDermott – Rutgers University
- Mariah Parsons – Notre Dame University
Field Hockey:
- Alexandra DeVito – William Smith College
Boys Lacrosse:
- Charlie Curran – Fairfield University
- Bryan Hess – Lafayette College
- Emmitt Jennings – Providence College
- Dan Maloney – Siena College
- Colin Pavluk – Gettysburg College
Girls Lacrosse:
- Brittany Bruno – Villanova University
- Catie Clark – Lafayette College
- Elizabeth Scarrone – Vanderbilt University
- Kyra Weiner – Colgate University
