To put the past year of local high school sports in perspective and to get a preview of the new year, Pioneer Press interviewed Ridgewood athletic director Rob St. John.
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Q: What was the highlight for Ridgewood’s athletic programs in the 2016 calendar year?
A: There are too many to single one out. Our basketball team won a regional championship, and then won our first sectional championship. Our softball and baseball teams also won conference championships, and our boys’ track team won our first conference championship since 1976.
Q: What was one team that stood out in 2016?
A: That’s hard. I’ll answer that by saying that’s like picking my favorite child. They were all fantastic.
Q: Who was one athlete who surpassed expectations on the field or in the classroom, and why?
A: Fotini Anastopoulos earned IHSA all-state academic honors. She was in competitive dance and scholastic bowl, she had incredible grades, and just to be considered for the all-academic team was a huge honor. She made the honorable mention list and that was only the second time in school history that anyone had done that.
Vinny Scaletta was also an IHSA Class 2A state champion in wrestling at 220 pounds. Tony Marti was Ridgewood’s last state champ in the late 90s. (Marti was a Class A state champ at 130 pounds in 1998 when there were only two classes.) Vinny is another outstanding young man from a great family, and he never wrestled before he got to high school. So that’s a testament to him and to our coaching staff.
Q: Who was one coach who went above and beyond in 2016?
A: For me to single out a coach would be too difficult. They all went above and beyond.
Q: Looking back on 2016, is there anything that you wish would have gone differently within the program?
A: It went perfectly. It was such a well-scripted year, even going back to the fall of 2015 when our football team and (boys) soccer teams did really well, and that just bled into 2016. So I don’t know what I would have had gone differently. It really was a picture-perfect athletic year for us.
Q: When you look ahead to 2017, what is your athletic program’s New Year’s resolution?
A: I would just like to continue having kids involved in athletics having a good time. Our numbers are up, our numbers in the fall were the best ever in terms of participation. I love walking through the hallways or looking on the fields and seeing activity everywhere I look.
Q: What are you most looking forward to about Ridgewood athletics in 2017?
A: Just to continue building on the great things that are happening at the high school.
Gary Larsen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press