UNION COUNTY, NJ — As many as six different schools produced county championships this spring in Union County, with many repeat champs and one new one.
Schools that won county championships included Governor Livingston, Jonathan Dayton, Summit, Westfield, Scotch Plains–Fanwood and Union Catholic high schools.
Here’s a closer look:
Baseball: Governor Livingston defeated Linden High School, 9-0, at home; Jonathan Dayton, 16-5, at home; Scotch Plains–Fanwood, 10-0, at Arthur L. Johnson High School; and then held on to oust top-seeded Westfield, 10-8, at Kean University to capture its first UCT title since 2021. Governor Livingston went on, behind the shutout pitching of junior right-hander Matty Diskin, to defeat Pascack Valley High School, 3-0, in the Group 2 final at Veterans Park in Hamilton. It was Governor Livingston’s first Group 2 state championship since 2015. Governor Livingston captured Central Jersey, Group 2 for the first time since 2017 and tied the school record for wins in a season with 28, going 28-5. The 2015 Group 2 state championship team went 28-6, which was the first year Governor Livingston won 28 games.
Softball: Jonathan Dayton won the UCT for the first time ever when junior shortstop Angela Gatto slugged a solo home run with two outs and two strikes on her in the bottom of the seventh to edge Scotch Plains–Fanwood, 6-5, at Kean University. The Bulldogs, who went on to post an impressive 22-7 final record, also defeated Rahway High School, 12-0, at home; David Brearley High School, 10-7, at home; and three-time defending champion Cranford High School, 4-1, at Kean University in UCT play.
Boys lacrosse: Summit captured its sixth straight UCT crown and 16th overall when it edged arch rival Westfield 6-5 in the final played at Johnson High School’s Nolan Field in Clark. James Grainger scored a game-high two goals, while teammate Daniel Flaim had one goal and a game-high three assists. Summit also went on to win the Group 2 state championship by beating Manasquan 7-6 at Ridge and then end its season with a 7-5 home win over Westfield.
Girls lacrosse: Summit bested arch rival Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child, 11-3, in the final played at Arthur L. Johnson. Oak Knoll won the previous three titles. This time, Lauren Riley scored twice for the Hilltoppers and teammate Anya Wardle produced one goal and three assists. Summit, in the same manner as the boys, also went on to win the Group 2 state championship, defeating Haddonfield Memorial High School, 13-8, in the Group 2 final played at Ridge.
Boys tennis: Westfield won the UCT with 92 points, while Summit was second with 74, Scotch Plains-Fanwood third with 44, New Providence fourth with 43 and Cranford fifth with 35. Westfield had players in all five finals positions, winning at third singles, first doubles and second doubles. Scotch Plains-Fanwood won at first singles and Summit’s Ben Levkov defeated Westfield’s Deven Patel 6-2, 6-1 to win the second doubles title.
Boys volleyball: Scotch Plains–Fanwood defeated arch rival Westfield, 2-0, at Kean University to claim its sixth straight UCT crown. The Raiders defeated the Blue Devils, 25-14 and 25-19. Quinn Donahue had eight kills and 23 assists and teammate Ryan Pierson five blocks. Scotch Plains–Fanwood went 30-2, falling in the Group 3 final, after going 31-1 last year and winning Group 3.
Golf: Westfield repeated as team champions at Echo Lake in Westfield with a score of 308. Oratory Preparatory School, which had the individual champion in junior Henry Bolster, was second at 316. Bolster finished ahead of Westfield senior captain James Dunn by shooting an even-par 71. Dunn shot a 74.
Boys track: Union Catholic won its fourth straight Union County meet title at Plainfield High School, finishing ahead of second-place Westfield by a score of 135-114. The Vikings captured the 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter events. Winning the 100 was senior Dylan Williams in 10.86 seconds, the 200 was junior Avery Atexide in 21.89 and the 400 was junior William Consoli in 53.01.
Girls track: Union Catholic was dominant again at Plainfield as, arguably, the top program in the country easily out-distanced second-place Oak Knoll, 171-53, to capture its ninth consecutive Union County meet championship. For the Royals of Summit, it was their highest finish. Union Catholic junior Taylor Cox produced a personal record time of 13.50 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles to repeat as champion with what is the fourth-best time in state history.
2024 Union County Tournament Champions
Baseball: Governor Livingston, fourth time
Softball: Jonathan Dayton, first time
Boys Lacrosse: Summit, sixth year in a row and 16th time
Girls Lacrosse: Summit, first time since 2019 and 11th time
Boys Tennis: Westfield, third year in a row
Boys Volleyball: Scotch Plains–Fanwood, sixth year in a row
Golf: Westfield, repeat champs
Boys Track: Union Catholic, fourth year in a row
Girls Track: Union Catholic, ninth year in a row