Milestones, memories mark 2022 in Morris County sports

Covering Morris County sports was certainly a challenge again in 2022. But high school and other athletes somehow managed to always be at their best, even during some of their worst moments.

These stories explore the breadth of what the Daily Record did this year. There's far more than wins and losses, and plenty of meaningful lessons.

Thanks for continuing to share the journey with us, whether at in-person events, online or in print. Hope to see you again in 2023!

Feels like the first time?

The Morristown-Beard girls ice hockey team had already won a state championship at the Prudential Center. But the NJSIAA stepped in and took control of the 2021-22 tournament.

The result was the same: a 7-0 Crimson victory, and back to back state girls hockey titles.

This winter, girls hockey has its own NJSIAA-approved league with 13 teams in two divisions. They're named for former Chatham athletic directors Bill Librera and Harvey Cohen. Librera, the Watchung Hills principal, ushered the Chatham-Madison co-op into existence in 2016, and was a driving force behind the inaugural girls state tournament. Cohen, who had more than 500 victories with Chatham Township and the combined Chatham High Schools, is a member of the New Jersey High School Hockey Hall of Fame.

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It's all part of efforts to promote the sport "for other girls who want to play hockey. It grows the game," said Morristown-Beard forward Leah Stecker, a Randolph resident who is now at Penn State.

"It kind of stresses me out a little, trying to be the positive one. It's kind of hard, but I try to look past everything and see the freshmen and sophomore girls be happy. I know I'm going to remember this my entire life. I didn't start this, but I was here at the beginning. It's surreal."

Many milestones for Mountain Lakes

Mountain Lakes earned a spot in the inaugural NJSIAA Group football final, the first played on the championship weekend. But the Herd came up short in its quest to be the first to lift a state trophy, falling 31-7 to Woodbury at Rutgers University.

Mountain Lakes had won its first sectional title in eight years, the seventh in school history.

Many of the same players had been on the field as the Lakers' lacrosse team closed out the last NJSIAA Tournament of Champions with another trophy.

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Mountain Lakes scored more goals than any team in TOC history while defeating Rumson-Fair Haven, 21-5 in the most lopsided TOC win. This is the Lakers' fourth TOC title, adding to 2007, 2008, and 2019. Betsy Flynn, wife of head coach Tim Flynn, took the team's royal blue felt banner home from Ridge High School, to sew an orange "'22" at the end.

Flynn had earned his 700th coaching victory, 12-4 at home against Pope John, on April 21. He is the Lakers' only coach dating back to the program's varsity debut in 1980.

"You think about this moment since you're 2, 3 years old. It's even better than I pictured it," said senior Cade Schuckman, who scored twice in the final.

"We've been saying it all year: 'No one wants it as bad as we do.' Everyone in this town knows what we sacrifice. We get the feeling in the locker room, on the field. Everyone has bought in, 100 percent."

Morris Catholic twins make history

Sisters Mia and Mya Pauldo, affectionately known as the Morris Catholic girls basketball team’s "Twin Back Court" or “TBC,” inked a name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal with Puma in September. The deal with the popular sneaker and athletic apparel company will last for the remainder of their high school careers, according to their father, D.J. Pauldo.

D.J. Pauldo said the three-year NIL deal is believed to be the longest signed by a female high school athlete.

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As freshmen, the Paterson natives took New Jersey by storm, helping Morris Catholic to a 25-2 record and its first Morris County Tournament title in five years. The duo scored a combined 991 points. Mia averaged 22 points, eight rebounds, 5.6 assists and four rebounds per game. Mya added 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

The twins already have a dozen major college scholarship offers.

"It’s amazing," Mia Pauldo said. "We weren’t really shocked about it because we knew this was coming, but we didn’t think it was coming this soon. We’re just continuing to get better and push each other every day."

Blue turf at Butler

Butler Superintendent Dan Johnson and other school officials broke ground for artificial turf at Memorial Field on April 7. The $2 million project, which includes FieldTurf, a resurfaced gray track, ADA-compliant visitors' bleachers and a new sound system, was a community goal when the Butler School District put its strategic plan together five years ago.

The blue turf field with gold end zones debuted on Sept. 12 with a field hockey game against Northern Highlands.

Butler is the last Morris County high school to add an artificial turf multipurpose field. Kinnelon debuted its donated "Field of Dreams" on Sept. 3, 2021, after many years of failed fundraising efforts.

"We're a small school, but we really want to set that tone," athletic director Derek Hall said at the groundbreaking. "We want to make sure people know about Butler athletics. Our football team has a tradition of being successful, and our other teams are starting to catch up. We want people to know our blue turf, and that they're in for a tough game. That's the culture we're trying to build here. Just because we're limited in students doesn't mean we're limited in ability to compete."

International appeal

Kenny Agostino capitalized on his opportunity to represent the United States at the Olympics.

A 29-year-old left wing from the Flanders section of Mount Olive, Agostino scored a goal against Canada − a 4-2 victory in the second preliminary-round game. He appeared in all four of the Americans' games, prelim wins against China, Canada and Germany, and a 3-2 loss to Slovakia in a quarterfinal.

Agostino was in his first season with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the Russian Kontinental Hockey League. With 20 goals and 20 assists in 46 games for the Torpedo at the time of his selection, Agostino ranks 14th in the KHL in points — the No. 2 American in the league.

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Agostino was part of three NJSIAA titles at Delbarton, and graduated in 2010 as the school's all-time leading scorer, with 50 goals and 33 assists as a senior.

Originally drafted by Pittsburgh in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Agostino was part of a blockbuster trade to Calgary leading up to the 2013 Frozen Four with Yale. He helped Yale win the NCAA title as a junior — the school's first in any team sport — then turned pro after his senior season, signing a two-year contract with the Flames.

Agostino made his NHL debut on March 21, 2014, and has totaled eight goals and 22 assists in 86 starts with Calgary, St. Louis, Boston, Montreal, and the Devils.

"I absolutely love the Olympics, too," Agostino said in January. "As a kid growing up, my three biggest dreams in hockey were to win the Frozen Four, which I was fortunate enough to accomplish (at Yale); to win a Stanley Cup — unfortunately, that didn't happen — and to go to the Olympics, which is definitely a dream come true."

∎ Roxbury assistant boys lacrosse coach Kristen Masullo was the Team Italy goalie at the World Lacrosse Women's World Championship. Though Masullo's grandparents are from Naples, she was one of three players on the World Cup roster without an Italian passport. The other 15 roster spots are held by Italians or dual nationals.

Growing the game

Randolph defeated Jefferson, 25-21, 25-13, to win the inaugural Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference boys volleyball title on May 21. But the victory meant far more than just a trophy.

It was a leap forward for a sport that has been struggling to gain a foothold in New Jersey − and Morris County

Vernon was the first local boys volleyball team, going varsity in the spring of 1999. The NJAC has grown to seven teams, all of which participated.

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Then-Dover athletic director Sean Bullock had originally pitched the tournament to his colleagues after the 2019 season. It was unanimously approved, but they had to wait out the COVID pandemic to launch it.

The NJAC Tournament led into the NJSIAA Tournament.

"It gives an opportunity for the teams involved to play high-stakes, high-level competition, something to keep them excited, and to look forward to," Bullock said. "You have a (NJAC) divisional champ, but now you have a one-week tournament at the end of the season that gives you an opportunity to compete for a championship. ... There'll be excitement when we discuss it at our NJAC (AD) meetings, that will prompt schools that are on the fence. That's our hope, to grow the sport."

Jane Havsy is a storyteller for the Daily Record and DailyRecord.com, part of the USA TODAY Network. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis, subscribe today.

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This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Morris County NJ high school sports recap for 2022