The township board of education recognized dozens of student athletes on seven school teams at its June 9 meeting.
District athletics director Michael Beirao introduced each team with a brief description of its seasonal performance, starting with girls lacrosse at Rosa middle school. It was the first year for the sport.
“From the middle school to the high school, this spring has been nothing short of spectacular …” Beirao said. “We had almost 900 students at the high-school level participate in spring sports. And just to top that, we had over 1,000 kids at the middle school participate in a sport or one of our intramural programs. Just outstanding.
“We continue to grow each season.”
Beirao cited the following high-school achievements: West High’s boys baseball team was ranked 10th in the state, the East High boys baseball team got to the Group 4 South semifinals for the first time in seven years and took second in the Olympic Conference, the East boys golf team was part of the Camden County team of champions, the East boys tennis team got to the Group 4 South semifinals, and West High girls track junior Brooklyn Ezekiel was named one of the top triple jumpers in the state.
Girls lacrosse coach Irene Cline noted that Rosa’s first team in the sport managed a perfect 10-0 season.
“I am incredibely impressed with the group of athletes that we have here,” she said. “My first day coming to practice, they came in and were ready to go. And it was such a joy to see them … I’m so proud of them.
“I’m trying not to cry, but I’m really proud of you girls.”
West girls lacrosse coach Taylor Gretz pointed out that while she could only honor four girls at the board meeting because the others were absent, she was impressed with the entire team’s commitment to the sport.
“Our girls consistently stepped up when it mattered the most,” Gretz explained, “embracing new roles and challenges without hesitation. Their commitment to the program and each other allowed us to improve every single week and compete with confidence.
“We’re so proud of the resilience that they showed and we’re so grateful for the support that helped make the season possible.”
Matt Elmuccio, head coach of West boys cross country, mentioned the achievements of sophomore Supreme Stradford – who won this year’s conference title – from his track performance to academics.
“Since I’ve already spoken to you about his athletic accolades, I’d like to say this about him …” the coach offered. “He (one of Stradford’s teachers) wanted to talk about the growth that he’s had, how important athletics has helped in that role, that it has helped give him motivation to what he does in the classroom. And I think that really highlights the connection between the two.”
East E-Sports coach Andrew Graff observed that after winning five championship belts, his team might be intimidating to others.
“I’m sure after this year as well, Cherry Hill East will be feared, as it has been for the past couple years when other coaches see that they’re going up against (us),” he remarked. ” … And it’s been great to see them get challenged every now and again, but also be really excellent across the board.”
Ryan James, head coach of East’s boys golf team, recounted how his players have grown over the past three years, with a 13-3 record in 2024, 18-1 in 2025 and 15-0 this year.
“In 21 years of coaching East, I think we’ve won the conference now four times,” James enthused. “It’s hard. There’s some really good teams in our conference. And they had to beat some really good teams to do that. So this year, they started off the year winning the Garden State Cup, and the Garden State Cup is the best teams in the state in parochial and in public schools.”
The boys spring track coach at East, Marcus Holman, saw 11 of his athletes get to the state championship – more than any year before – while adding that his team as a whole had an amazing year.
“I gave the team a mission, and that was to chase excellence so they could achieve greatness,” Holman pointed out. “And we had a phenomenal season. They all bought into our workout plan, bought into everything we were trying to do. And week after week, we just kept seeing times drop, them doing phenomenally.”
East boys volleyball coach Vothom Lu was unable to attend the meeting, so senior captain Gabriel Top gave out awards in his stead. Beirao read a statement from Lu that praised the team for its 20-5 season and for winning the Olympic conference in the American division.
“These young athletes sitting before you today are a product of those who did not quit and give up because we were losing,” Lu’s statement said, “but rather worked relentlessly throughout the offseason to make it so that we could stand before you and be proud to say that we were able to win the most games ever in the history of East boys volleyball.”
East boys track coach Marcus Holman (right) praised the work of his team, which saw 11 members get to the state championship.
