Eastern Christian Student Articles

Young Fans Energize Basketball Court

By Emily D’Amelio

On Friday, February 11, 2011, 68 EC elementary students attended the Eastern Christian boys varsity basketball game vs. Dwight Englewood, and participated in a night of activities organized by the High Schools new service group MIST.

The goal of this evening was to work on connecting the three schools into one larger community. When Mr. Gerry Cantalupo, E.C's Admissions Director, offered MIST the chance to organize a night for the elementary students to be involved in a high school basketball game, MIST jumped on the opportunity. This night was jam packed with activities.

Amanda Boonstra explained the nights planned activities.

"When the kids arrived at 6:15, they checked in and got Little-Eagles T-shirts,” she said. “After that they went and made posters, and got their faces painted! They watched the first half of the game and cheered the E.C Boys Varsity Basketball team on. The entertainment of the evening was during half time when they went out on the court and played a hula hoop relay race and did a crab walk race!”

Athletic director Mr. Steven King said, "It was a fantastic night organized by MIST. It was great to see a good crowd in the stands, and seeing the elementary school kids having fun during half time. Hopefully MIST will do more events like this one in the future.”

The group MIST was created by two Seniors Amanda Boonstra and Sharon Visbeen, who were frustrated by the lack of community service projects the school had to offer. MIST stands for missioning, inspiring, serving and teaching.

“We wanted a group that would give all students an opportunity to serve in the community, and to put their faith in action,” Boonstra said.

Amanda added, "This event was a great opportunity to serve and we had 11 volunteers come out and help us run the night. The Eastern Christian Elementary School students had a fun night at the boys varsity basketball game!”

Eagles Determined to Earn Victory

By Morgan De Marco

The Eagles of Eastern Christian took on the Defenders of Hawthorne Christian Academy in a game that ended in tears for some and rejoicing for others. The history between Eastern Christian and Hawthorne Christian has been one of friendly rivalry.

There was a lot of excitement to see two Christian schools play hard but have sportsmanship on and off the court. The final score of this heart pounding game was 30-29, in favor of Eastern Christian.

Down by a point, with only 35 seconds left, EC junior Dylan Renicker hit a jump shot from the foul line giving them a lead of 30-29. The crowd went crazy, and with the time ticking down, the Eagles fended off the HCA advance and won the tense and heart-pounding game.

To start the 4th quarter HCA was leading 24-16. Through the quarter EC managed to close the gap and were tied with the HCA Defenders with only four minutes to go. HCA retook the lead with only two minutes to go. There was not one person sitting in their seats, but instead the crowds were going wild! Some ecstatic EC students wore yellow and blue painted faces and chests, while others were standing with their hearts racing and holding their breaths for what happened next. After the game, the fans from EC rushed the court with electrifying energy.

The gym of Hawthorne Christian was packed full of people of all ages chanting for the players to get pumped up. The game was started with both teams playing aggressively fighting for the ball and driving to the hoops. At the end of the first quarter EC was ahead 8-2. Even though HCA was down by six the game is nowhere close to over and that is how they played in the second quarter. HCA brought all they had and by the end of the first half they were leading with the score of 16-10.

If you were a fan of EC or HCA, you would know that this game was the place to be on Thursday, February 17. Students from both schools talked in the hallways getting each other pumped for what they knew what going to be the game of a lifetime.

Jessica Awad, a junior at Hawthorne Christian said before the game "I have confidence in my boys and they are definitely going to bring there 'A' game.”

Bringing their 'A' game is exactly what both teams brought.

Before the game Head Coach Stanford of HCA was confident.

"Our team is very young, and we're getting better as the season goes on and with that I see a very bright future,” he said. “The game tonight will be a close one and very competitive. It will be fun for fans.”

EC junior Matthew Botbyl said, "Oh my Gosh that was AMAZING!” and Alex Little, a senior from HCA, said, "We tried our hardest but lost to a worthy opponent.” Games between HCA and EC have always been the highlight of any seasonal sport and sophomore Ben Kudisch from HCA noted that he is waiting for a second round versus EC.


End of a Great Season

By Joshua Davidson

The Eastern Christian girls varsity basketball team has been having their best season in years, reflected by their 20 wins and only 2 losses.

The team, led by top scorer Brianne Traub (right), has made it to the finals of the county tournament two years in a row. Unfortunately, the girls lost in the finals, played on February 26 against DePaul Catholic.

"We're having a really good season,” Traub said. “We only have two losses and I'm really proud of how hard the team works.”

The team's only other loss this year was against Pascack Hills, a very good club team. Other than that, the E.C. girls have a perfect record. Their teamwork is shown on the court. The team even played a big part in a milestone of one of the players.

Traub, also the captain of the team, reached 2,000 high school career points with the help of her teammates on February 18.

They won their game against Mary Help of Christians Academy with Traub leading in points. Traub was only the only player in Eastern Christian history to reach this milestone, and only the 4th in Passaic County.

The girls won the first game of the state tournament 58-31 against St. Mary Elizabeth on March 2. Last year, the girls' team lost in the last round of the county tournament against Paterson Catholic.

The following weekend, they beat them in the state tournament, ending Paterson Catholic's basketball career for good. The school closed before the upcoming school year. The upcoming state tournament is a single elimination tournament, meaning that if the girls lose a single game, they will be out of the tournament for good.

"We're looking forward to the county games and we hope we do well,” Traub said. “We also believe that we can go far in states.”

The season recently ended with the girls losing in the final game of the state tournament on March 7, leaving them to take home the silver. The younger players look forward to next year. Go Eagles!

D-1 De Jong

By Morgan De Marco

The actions we took as children and the actions we take now will make a path for our future. This is true for Eastern Christian High School senior Scott De Jong (right), who will be playing baseball for the University of Connecticut in the spring of 2012. The University of Connecticut is a NCAA Division 1 school that is known for academics and sports.

De Jong’s first memories of playing baseball were playing t-ball at the young age of 4, and from there his love for the game has sky rocketed. Through the years his skills have matured and he is now playing bases first and third. Baseball is who De Jong is and it has made him the person he is today.

"It is what I do everyday, 7 days a week. Having the opportunities to make friends from across the country has been awesome,” he said.

Baseball has given Scott the opportunities to grow closer with his family and to form close friendships with people across the country.

"One of my greatest accomplishments in baseball is proving people wrong when they told me 'Oh you can't,' because now I am doing all the things they told me I couldn't,” De Jong said.

In his freshman year in high school, De Jong was just starting his quest to where he is today. He saw older kids move on, playing professionally and in college. They have been an inspiration to him to develop his skills in hopes to one day play professionally himself. Until that day comes he will be playing for the University of Connecticut.

He is preparing every day, seven days a week by developing his skills even more in batting, throwing, and fielding.

"UConn was my number one choice of where I want to play,” he said.

UConn is part of the Big East and in the past five years is on the rise. Now it is ranked ninth school in the nation.

De Jong is also very excited for the upcoming baseball season for Eastern Christian High School.

"Last year we lost some good players but I am excited to see who will step up and develop take there places,” he said.

Last year the boys had a record of 7-16 and this year they're going to work hard together to complete there goals.

"You just have to make goals and keep on working on them and to complete what you want done is a great feeling,” said De Jong.

One of the most important aspects that helped put De Jong where he today is listening.

"Taking little bits and pieces of everything, and even when someone is telling you stuff you don't want to hear, there is always something in there that will make you better. Taking all of that and putting it together has helped me be who I am today.”

Elizabeth’s On A Roll

By Diana Kleinmanns

Can you imagine being one of the MVP's of your team, and being the only girl? Such is the experience of Eastern Christian junior, Elizabeth Mulcock (right).

If there is one thing Mulcock is passionate about, it's the bowling team.

She is especially excited about the season this year.

"We are doing much better than last year,” she said.

Last year, the bowling team was second to last in their league. However, this year they are seventh out of ten, with two more teams being added to the league. This shows a pretty impressive accomplishment for the team.

"Everyone has really improved on an individual level, and the effort is really good,” she said.

Mulcock, as the anchor of her team, has a very important role to play. Nothing can distract her from her job, not even the fact that she is the only girl. She says that it is a strange feeling not to have any other girls on the team, especially when they are up against all-boys teams. However, like in any other sport, the team shares jokes and conversation on the "sidelines” of the game. The friendship and fun that come with bowling is an extremely important part of Mulcock's life.

She offers a lot of encouragement for students interested in the bowling team.

"Unless we get new people, we'll have to drop the JV team, which would be sad,” she said.

JV was a good start for getting involved in school sports for Mulcock.

"I was not as competitive as varsity, but it gave me an introduction to the sport that I now love so much,” Mulcock said.

Whether winning or losing, when Elizabeth Mulcock plugs in her iPod for the bus ride home from a match, she can do so with a sense of satisfaction about what she's accomplished and the fun she's had.

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