Editor’s Note: The Catholic Star Herald takes a look back at the best team achievements in high school sports during the 2024 calendar year.
Baseball
South Jersey fielded two state championship teams on the baseball diamond in 2024 as Gloucester Catholic High School and Saint Augustine Preparatory School both brought titles to the area. Gloucester Catholic won its state record 21st state championship as Tate DeRias threw a 13-strikeout no-hitter in a 10-0 victory over Saint Thomas Aquinas in the non-Public B title game to tie a bow on an incredible 27-2 season.
Saint Augustine Prep used a grand slam by Alex Bersani to fuel a 12-5 Non-Public A state championship win over Delbarton in a game that experienced a 22-hour rain delay. It was the first state title since 2018, and third overall for the Hermits, who finished the year 20-9.
Bishop Eustace Preparatory School went 21-7, won the Olympic Conference National Division, and made a sectional final appearance.
Basketball (Boys)
Paul VI High School made history by winning its first sectional championship since 1988 with a 53-35 win over Union Catholic in the South Jersey Non-Public A championship. The Eagles finished the season with a 22-10 record. Camden Catholic High School (17-11) and Gloucester Catholic (15-13) both posted winning records, and Bishop Eustace (13-17) made an impressive surge into the South Jersey Non-Public B championship, where the Crusaders were eventually ousted by top-seeded Saint Rose High School, Belmar.
Basketball (Girls)
An incredible year of girls basketball was led by Paul VI’s 23-5 season, which included an Olympic National championship, a South Jersey Invitational Tournament championship and an appearance in the South Jersey Non-Public A final, where the Eagles lost to Red Bank Catholic.
The accolades don’t stop there as Our Lady of Mercy Academy posted its best season in school history with a 23-6 campaign. In doing so, senior Madelynn Bernhardt captured the career individual scoring record with 1,254 points, breaking a 35-year-old mark held by 1989 graduate Jeanine Heil. Bernhardt and Savannah Prescott hit the 1,000 point plateau to become just the third and fourth players in school history to reach it.
In comparison, Wildwood Catholic Academy’s 23-4 season somehow felt overshadowed as the Crusaders posted their fifth-straight 20-win campaign (excluding the 2020-21 pandemic- shortened season) and reached the South Jersey Non-Public B semifinals. Gloucester Catholic (23-7), Holy Spirit High School (18-11) and Bishop Eustace (16-13) all enjoyed winning seasons.
Bowling
Bowling returned to Camden Catholic, and the boys team hardly skipped a beat, rolling to an 8-5-1 record and winning the Olympic National Division. The Irish also picked up a win in the quarterfinal round of the South Jersey Group 1 playoffs. Individually, Gloucester Catholic’s Liam Giles qualified for the state tournament and placed 16th in the state.
Field Hockey
Regarded as one of the top teams in the state at multiple points of the season, Camden Catholic produced another memorable field hockey season by reaching the Non-Public state championship for the fourth straight season. Though they didn’t secure their third straight title, the 2024 Irish squad still added an Olympic National championship and a South Jersey championship to the trophy case during a 18-3-1 season.
Holy Spirit (12-5) made history by qualifying for the Cape-Atlantic Tournament for the first time, and the Spartans also won the Cape-Atlantic United Division with a 10-0 mark.
Football
Football season was particularly exciting, led by a Holy Spirit squad that went 10-2 and won the West Jersey Football League Constitution Division. The Spartans strung together nine straight wins before falling in the Non-Public B state semifinal to eventual state champ DePaul. Paul VI (8-3, 5-0 WJFL Continental) and Camden Catholic (9-2, 6-0 WJFL Patriot) also raised championship banners, while Saint Augustine (7-4) and Bishop Eustace (6-3) both enjoyed winning seasons.
Golf
Dominic Polistina’s one-over-par 73 score took top prize as the Saint Augustine Prep junior won the Cape-Atlantic League Championship by two strokes. The Hermits enjoyed a 10-3 season, which was highlighted by Patrick O’Hara’s fifth-place score of 76 at the South Jersey Non-Public A championships.
Wildwood Catholic pieced together an impressive run to finish 7-2 on the season, while Holy Spirit finished above .500 at 5-4. Bishop Eustace’s Pearson Wolfe carded an 80 to place 6th in the South Jersey Non-Public B championship.
In girls golf, Paul VI assembled another strong season with a 6-2 record. The Eagles defeated six other schools to win the Camden County Commissioner’s Cup, led by Sophia Greenwood’s third-place score of 90. Bishop Eustace’s Elora Walker won the individual scoring at the Commissioner’s Cup with an 86.
Ice Hockey
The Saint Augustine Prep ice hockey team proved it had another trick up its sleeve as the Hermits won their second straight state championship in underdog fashion. No. 3 seed Saint Augustine recorded three hat tricks in the highest-scoring high school state championship game in New Jersey history, as Cameron DeLeo, Ty Simonet and Robert Romarino each scored three times in a 10-6 championship win over Don Bosco Prep. It marked back-to-back state championships, and the third in school history, for the Hermits, who finished the season with a 15-6-3 record.
Lacrosse (Boys)
Holy Spirit’s boys lacrosse (12-7) made deep runs in both the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament, where it was a runner up, and the Non-Public B state playoffs, where it was a semifinalist. Saint Augustine Prep (9-8) and Bishop Eustace (8-7) both had winning seasons.
Lacrosse (Girls)
Holy Spirit reached the Non-Public B state championship game for the third straight season as the Spartans ended up 16-4. Hanna Watson graduated as one of South Jersey’s highest scorers with more than 500 career points on the scoresheet, with an even split of 278 goals and 278 assists.
Paul VI (14-5) and Bishop Eustace (13-5) both made it to the semifinal round of their respective South Jersey Non-Public sectional brackets.
Soccer (Boys)
Saint Augustine Prep had one of the most dominant regular seasons in school history, as the Hermits’ only losses came in the South Jersey Coaches’ Cup final and the semifinal round of the South Jersey Non-Public A playoffs. The Hermits went 20-2 overall and won the Cape-Atlantic American Division with an undefeated league record.
Wildwood Catholic had its best season in eight years, as the Crusaders won the Cape-Atlantic League United Division and accumulated a 15-5-1 record.
Holy Spirit, meanwhile, got back on track with its first win since 2019, finishing the year with a 5-12-2 record.
Soccer (Girls)
History was made as Paul VI won its first soccer state title in school history. Emma McCarthy scored in overtime to give the Eagles a 1-0 win over Immaculate Heart Academy in the Non-Public A state championship. Paul VI finished with a 20-2-1 record, which included a deep run to the South Jersey Coaches Association Tournament final. The Eagles shared the Olympic Conference National Division title with Bishop Eustace as the teams settled on a 1-1 draw during the regular season. Eustace went 11-6-2 on the season and was a semifinalist in the South Jersey Non-Public B playoffs. OLMA (14-6-2), Wildwood Catholic (12-6) and Gloucester Catholic (10-6-2) all put double digits in the win column.
Softball
Holy Spirit (12-12) reached the South Jersey Non-Public B championship game, where it fell to Saint Joseph Hammonton. Paul VI hit the 20-win mark for the second consecutive season as the Eagles went 20-9, which included a first-round playoff win and a share of the Olympic Conference National Division. Our Lady of Mercy’s Emma Douglas finished her outstanding career with more than 100 hits and more than 800 pitching strikeouts, which stands as a school record.
Swimming
The Saint Augustine Prep swim team successfully defended its Non-Public A state title with a 95-75 victory over Bergen Catholic to cap off an 11-0 season. The medals continued to pour in for the Hermits during the individual Meet of Champions as Michael McCarthy (second place, 500 freestyle), Dante Buonadonna (fifth, 200 individual medley) and Jackson Cummins (seventh, 500 and eighth, 200 IM) reached the podium. Paul Vl’s Alex Goodman placed seventh in the 100 butterfly.
On the girls side, Bishop Eustace Preparatory School sophomore Alyce Lehman took second in the state in the 100 butterfly and finished fourth in the 200 IM. Her teammate Renee Bak took third in the 50 freestyle and fourth in the 100 free.
Our Lady of Mercy Academy’s Scarlett McGlinchey took fifth place in
both the 100 breaststroke and the 200 IM, and Isabela Valle finished fifth in the 500 free. It capped off a terrific year for the Villagers, who went 7-1-1 and won the Cape Atlantic American Division for the first time in the program’s history.
Tennis
Saint Augustine Prep went 13-5 on the season and won the Cape-Atlantic National Division before making it to the South Jersey Non-Public semifinals.
For the girls, Paul VI went 17-5 and ran undefeated in the Olympic Conference National Division before bowing out in the quarterfinal round of the South Jersey Non-Public tournament.
Track & Field/Cross Country
Shaelan McNally finished her incredible career as a track and field state champion — the first female from Paul VI to do so since 2019. McNally won the Non-Public A 3,200 and took second place in the same event at the Meet of Champions.
Bishop Eustace’s Shawn Brady was a Non-Public B state champion in the discus and placed third in the Meet of Champions.
Volleyball
The Paul VI girls volleyball team didn’t meet its ultimate goal of returning to state champion status, but the Eagles were one of the unquestioned powers of South Jersey yet again. The 2024 squad went 22-3 against tough competition, looking almost unstoppable during a season-opening 14-game winning streak, which helped secure the Olympic Conference Patriot Division. Camden Catholic (9-13) and Bishop Eustace (16-10) shared the Olympic National championship after splitting the regular season matches. In just its third year of competition, Bishop Eustace advanced to the South Jersey Non-Public final, where it lost to powerhouse Rutgers Prep, 2-1.
Wrestling
Camden Catholic racked up 15 wins and fell just short of repeating as state champions as the Irish were defeated 33-24 in the Non-Public B state final by Saint John Vianney. Individually, sophomore Kage Jones was a state finalist at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall, finishing runner-up to Southern’s Matt Henrich at 157 pounds. Jones was joined by teammate Sammy Spaulding as a state medalist, taking fourth place at 126 pounds. Saint Augustine Preparatory School’s Anthony DePaul took fifth place at 138 pounds as the Hermits’ lone medalist.
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