UNION COUNTY, NJ — The 2024 fall sports season here in Union County is fast approaching.
The first official day of practice for the sports football and girls tennis is just three weeks away, Monday, Aug. 12.
The first official day of practice for the other fall sports – boys soccer, girls soccer, field hockey, girls volleyball, gymnastics, boys cross country and girls cross country – is just four weeks away, Monday, Aug. 19.
Football scrimmages begin Monday, Aug. 19, and the regular season commences Thursday, Aug. 29.
Competition starts, according to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association website, on Monday, Aug. 19, for girls tennis. The regular season begins Tuesday, Sept. 3.
The regular season also begins for the other fall sports after Labor Day. The only fall sport that has regular season games scheduled before Labor Day is football.
The girls tennis Union County Tournament at the Donald Van Blake Tennis Facility in Plainfield is scheduled for the days of Wednesday, Sept. 25; Thursday, Sept. 26; and Friday, Sept. 27.
The Kent Place School Dragons captured another UCT championship in 2023, edging in-town rival Summit High School by just eight points, 88-80, for the team title.
While Summit placed second in the girls tennis UCT, the Hilltoppers did win the girls soccer UCT for the first time.
Summit defeated another in-town rival, Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child, 1-0, in single overtime in the championship game played at Arthur L. Johnson High School’s Nolan Field in Clark.
Catalina Zumbado scored the game’s only goal, with an assist going to Nell Ducey. Summit goalkeeper Catherine King made five saves for the title contest shutout. Head coach Matt Carder’s Hilltoppers finished a fine season at 13-5-2.
Summit had a six-game winning streak come to a halt when it was ousted by North Hunterdon Regional High School in penalty kicks in the North 2, Group 3 semifinals.
Defending champion Scotch Plains–Fanwood High School will host the gymnastics Union County Tournament once again in its own gym on Thursday, Oct. 17. The Raiders, guided by head coach Marissa DiBella, have won the event the last five years and will seek a six-peat right before Halloween.
Sophomore sensation Mia Altobelli of Cranford High School won the All-Around championship with a stellar score of 37.225. Altobelli was first in the floor exercise at 9.625, first in beam at 9.3 and first in bars at 9.1.
Lailah Willis of Union High School was first in the vault competition at 9.4.
Scotch Plains–Fanwood went 9-2 last year.
The sectionals are scheduled right after the UCT on Saturday, Nov. 2, at a site yet to be determined.
Elizabeth High School– Frank J. Cicarell Academy edged Union, 1-0, in single overtime in last year’s boys soccer UCT final at Arthur L. Johnson. The Minutemen won the crown outright for the first time since 2008. Elizabeth shared the title with Summit in 2019 and Westfield High School in 2017.
Scoring for Elizabeth was Steven Zuniga, with an assist from Cesar Larios.
Elizabeth goalkeeper Andrew Gonzalez made four saves for the championship game shutout, while Union goalie Kayden Grave also excelled and came up with nine.
Union was attempting to win the UCT outright for the first time since 1999. The Farmers shared the crown with Westfield in 2018.
Scotch Plains–Fanwood has won the most boys soccer UCT championships with 19 and Westfield is second with 15.
Elizabeth finished 16-4 a year ago and Union, 11-3-2. Both lost to eventual champion Westfield in the North 2, Group 4 playoffs.
Westfield won the girls volleyball UCT crown at Kean University’s Harwood Arena in Union by defeating Union Catholic in two games, 25-17 and 25-21.
Both teams closed with 21 victories, with Westfield finishing 21-5 and Union Catholic High School, 21-7.
In the field hockey UCT championship game played at Oak Knoll’s field in Chatham, it was host Oak Knoll shutting out Summit, 4-0, behind goals scored in each of the four quarters by Lilly Venezia, Hope Russo, Laila Pasic and Phoebe Laferriere.
Oak Knoll goaltender Kristen Shindle made two saves for the championship game triumph, while her counterpart in net, Summit goalie Molly Fagan, did well to make 11 saves.
Union Catholic won both UCT cross country races and had the winners as well in Jimmy Wischusen for the boys and Peyton Hollis for the girls.
Opening practice: Football, girls tennis – Monday, Aug. 12.
Competition-scrimmages begin: Football, girls tennis – Monday, Aug. 19.
Opening practice: Soccer, field hockey, girls volleyball, gymnastics, cross country – Monday, Aug. 19.
Competition–scrimmages begin: Soccer, field hockey, girls volleyball, gymnastics, cross country – Monday, Aug. 26.
Regular season competition for all sports except football begins after Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2.
The 2024 high school football season in New Jersey commences on Thursday, Aug. 29, which is the first day of Week Zero.