& Karley Kurz, Contributing Writer ’27
Each Braves’ team this Spring season has shown excellent effort in their individual sport’s spirits.
All records are current as of April 29th, 2024
Varsity Baseball
Coach Hill’s Indian Hills Braves, led by 11 seniors, have had an impressive season so far with the potential to win a league championship. With star pitcher Senior Sean Pimley injured, only pitching 2 innings on the year, pitching performances from seniors Owen Fadini, Brody Diers, Mitchell Folina, and Nick Vitelli have guided them to victory multiple times. Owen Fadini has an earned run average (ERA) under 1, which means he gives up less than 1 run per 7 innings. Brody Diers is having a monster season all around so far. At the plate, Brody is getting a hit over 50% of the time and has driven in 17 runs on the year while pitching over 30 dominant innings. Some of the Braves’ greatest victories this season have come when they swept Mahwah–one game with the score of 7-6, and the other with the score of 17-5. Brody Diers and Cole Babaian were big parts of those games, as Cole hit a solo home run over the fence, and Brody racked up 3 runs batted in. The Braves have high hopes for the future of the season as it inches closer to the finish line, such as a chance at a league title, and maybe even more.
Current Record: 11-3
Varsity Softball
The Braves Softball team, led by 5 seniors, has performed well both in the field and at the plate winning their first round of counties against Dumont. Pitcher Mikayla Amoruso has been pitching well, currently having a 3.72 ERA, and has accumulated 5 home runs. Sophomore Liz Silletti has contributed 13 RBIs and 2 home runs for the varsity team while playing fierce defense at third base. The Braves have recently had a big comeback win against Ramapo winning the game 7-6 in the last inning by scoring 2 runs to take the lead. New strategies have been developed on the field by “[…] getting more aggressive and learning how each of us plays, so we can work together and pick each other up, and it has been making a real impact on how we’re playing” senior catcher Sophia Underfer comments. Underfer has been playing softball since first grade and has recently committed to Saint Michael’s College for softball. She adds, “Next year I’m looking forward to playing with girls who are just as passionate about the game as I am. Knowing I’m going to a team that has done just as much work as I have is both motivating and pushes me to want to work harder for myself and the team.” Seniors Sophia Underfer, Meredith Godfrey, Christina Pisacane, Celina Brown, and Mikayla Amoruso have been playing diligently through every game, have worked together and communicated on the field, and have brought up the team’s spirits during each inning. The team is set to take on Ramapo High School once again on May 1st and has high hopes to fight through the county tournament, facing Wallington on Saturday, May 4th.
Current Record: 11-6-1
Girls Golf
The Girls Golf team has grown throughout the season and improved to become the best golfers they can be. Already with the regular season gone behind them, the Braves continue to prepare for states, which happened during the week of May 6th. For practice, the girls go to the range in Lincoln Park, where they help each other improve and meet a few pro golfers along the way. Sam Marker, a junior on the team comments, “Personally, the girls on the team have helped me a lot to improve my play…As far as the future, we’ll continue to improve over the summer, and next year we’ll have a real shot at something special with a mostly senior team.” The girls look forward to continuing to grow and prepare for states, and the future seasons to come.
Current Record: 3-3
Boys Golf
The boys Indian Hill’s golf team has so far had an up-and-down season while facing some of the toughest schools in North Jersey, such as Ramapo, Bergen Catholic, and Wayne Hills. Practices are often held at the Twin Willows, a driving range in Lincoln Park, where the team focuses on practicing with individual clubs. Sophomore Ethen Kwak comments, “I want to end the season on a good note by winning one more match. Even if we lose, I would want everybody to end on a good note with a good score.” With one match remaining on the schedule for the season, the team hopes to finish on a high note.
Current Record: 3-5
Girls Lacrosse
The Girls’ Lacrosse team has battled through some tough matchups and has tested new strategies to become more adaptive throughout their games instead of running plays. Coach Miller wants the girls to go along with the game and create plays that fit in the moment. Carlin Fatuova, a senior on the team, reflects on her last year of high school lacrosse, “I personally have only been playing high school lacrosse for about a year. I played rec for a few summers when I was younger, but I really came into high school knowing nothing. I have really enjoyed playing on the team! The coaches have been so great, and the team bonds that we have created have been amazing! The team has lots of encouragement, lots of motivation, and we all have a lot of fun!” The girls look forward to finishing the season strong and continue to grow as a team, and as people.
Current Record: 0-10
Boys Lacrosse
The Braves Boys Lacrosse team started slow but has won their last few games. Against Park Ridge, Justin Vitale scored 3 goals and Zach Fassett added on with 2 of his own to lead the Braves to a 9-5 victory. Their next game was against Rutherford, where they sent them home with the score of 14-5. The team’s goalie, Luke Festa, comments on their recent success, “After a slow start against Demarest, we are beginning to hit our stride! We have won the last two in a row and have several players break out onto the scene. We would like to win out the rest of the season in our league to get a league championship or at least obtain a winning record.” The Braves look to finish strong and are hopeful for the future entering the last half of the season.
Current Record: 3-2
Boys Tennis
Although the record may not show it, the Braves’ tennis team has worked through some tough matches against schools like Don Bosco and Pascack Hills. This is the first boy’s tennis season with Indian Hill’s newly furnished tennis courts that players say gives a more professional feel. Vidath Diyabalanage, a senior on the tennis team, comments, “We had a rougher start to the season due to many postponed games from difficult weather in recent weeks, but I feel like we’ll be getting more into things as the weeks progress.” The weather during the start of the season has not cooperated as much as the team would like, preventing them from playing as many games as were scheduled, but the Braves look to bounce back and continue to hope for the future with a large portion of the season left to play.
Current Record: 1-8
Spring Track
The Spring Track season has already gone off to a good start with rising underclassmen such as Zafina Ajka, Matt Delano, Ethan Gray, Frankie Coppa, Bryce Roberts, and Lukas Kertesz. The upperclassmen have shown immense leadership helping the underclassmen grow while dominating on the track as well. Senior Dylan Lounsbury, a cross-country runner on the team, comments about his hopes for the end of the season, “I hope to break 2:19 in the 800, as well as 5:17 in the mile before the end of the season.” Other upperclassmen such as juniors Brendan Ross, Max Daniels, Truman Lorenz, Camryn Finn, and Summer Myhren along with Seniors Zander Graham, Nico Tucci, Sam Bajakian, Avarie Bergen, and Alyssa Maybeck have made the team as strong as they currently are, and will be passing the baton. The team has medaled at many county relay races and has won multiple dual meets like Westwood and Ramsey.
Boys Volleyball
Although the Braves’ Boys Volleyball season has not started off on the right foot, they look to continue to work on their individual and team skills. Doing the little things right is a big part of volleyball, and that is exactly what the team is working on each and every day. Senior Jun Tao Wu leads the team with 8 blocks and 26 kills while senior Justin Becker follows closely behind with 26 kills and leads the team with 42 digs, which is when you defend an attack from an opponent. Junior Tal Yoffe, who is the assist leader by a wide margin with 77 so far, comments, “The season has been okay. I mean, we’ve had some slip ups, but we just gotta bump, set, and spike. Hit the ball over, good serves. The rest of the season should go well. Keep on serving the ball, keep on playing, always keep the happy faces. It can get bad out there, always keep on working.”
Current Record: 0-8
Mountain Biking
With mountain biking being an individual sport and a Ramapo and Indian Hills club, it has brought joy and new friendships for these racers. Evan Wands, a competitor on the team, reflects on his individual season so far: “The seasons have been going alright, I had a rough first race with a couple crashes and technical problems. I placed 24th [In the first race] and 20th in the second race. I would like to put in more work and hope to finish top 10 in one of the last 3 races.” The club looks to continue to work hard and continue to have as much fun as they can with the season coming to a close shortly.
Flag Football
This slightly newer high school sport has bloomed with many girls bringing their love of football to the game. The sport continues to grow, as new players are going out for the team each year since officially being made a high school sport. Ella Callaway, a senior on the cross country team, comments, “I have been playing flag football for two years, since junior year. I do enjoy it, especially the morning practices because it makes my day start early so I can do more things. I also enjoy being able to meet new people that join the team.” New strategies keep on coming as the girls continue to grow as a team, and look forward to finishing the season on a high note.
Current Record: 0-3
