All-Americans highlight spring season at John Jay

By JIM MACLEAN 

It was an All-American spring at John Jay with three different Wolves in three different sports earning the prestigious honor.

At the team level, the highlight came from the varsity softball team. John Jay turned in a strong finish with a strong post season as the Wolves advanced to the Section 1 Class A championship game.

Both the boys and girls varsity lacrosse teams advanced to the Section 1 semifinals, and several athletes earned All-Section and All-League honors in multiple sports during the spring season at John Jay.

In track and field, the spring season capped off an amazing year for the John Jay girls distance runners. Senior Sloan Wasserman led the way as she won the New York Federation and Class B State championship in both the 3,000-meter race and the 2,000-meter steeplechase events. She then closed out her amazing high school career by finishing second in the nation in the steeplechase at the New Balance Nationals to earn All-American honors.

At the State championships, Wasserman teamed up with Lila Rotter, Maya Serai and Mia Haimelin to win the New York State Class B championship in the 4x800-meter relay event. That quartet also earned All-Section honors as Section 1 champions.

Other John Jay girls to earn All-League honors in track and field included Brodie Albert, Emma Barniv, Hasti Shahdad, Elyse Hermanto, Penny Wein, Fidella Swana, Bluma Klein, and Kelsey Topey was All-League and All-County.

The John Jay boys track and field team was led by Rohan Patel as he was the Section 1 Class B champion in the 3,200-meter race. Will Rebori also earned All-League honors in track and field for the Wolves.

Softball

After a 2-2 start, the John Jay softball team turned it on for a strong finish under first-year head coach Theresa Swertfager-Assumma. The Wolves finished the regular season at 15-5 overall to earn the No. 5 seed in the Class A tournament, where they defeated top-seed Somers in the semifinals before falling to No. 2 seed Pearl River in the Section 1 Championship game.

Lead off hitter and centerfielder Elise Templeton earned All-Section and All-League honors for the Wolves. Riley Foote, Maria DeGaetano, Carys Cooper and Bella Barry all earned Honorable Mention All-Section and All-League honors.

Boys lacrosse

In boys lacrosse, John Jay finished the regular season with a 9-7 record after tough losses against many of the top teams in Section 1. The Wolves then advanced to the Class B semifinals before falling to top seed and eventual state champion Rye.

Goalie Blake O’Callaghan led the way for the John Jay boys lacrosse team as he finished off his five-year varsity career with his name in the school record book as the all-time leader in saves after recording 800 career saves.

O’Callaghan earned All-American honors for his efforts in his senior year leading the Wolves to the semifinals. O’Callaghan was a four-year starter between the pipes for the Wolves.

Fellow senior Dino Rajamani also earned All-Section and All-League honors at midfield for the Wolves. Other All-League selections were James Tesi, Nick Harris, Peter Hill, Porter Bysshe, Cody Jones, Dash Stewart, Jack Hartney, and Patrick Ryan, while Jack Casey was Honorable Mention All-League.

Girls lacrosse

The John Jay girls lacrosse team came on strong with a late surge winning five-straight late in the regular season to finish at 10-6 overall entering the playoffs, where the Wolves advanced to the semifinals before falling to top-seed Rye.

Junior midfielder Finja Degl earned All-American honors as she led John Jay to the Class C semifinals. Degl has already committed to play in college at the University of Southern California in 2028 after her senior year at John Jay next spring.

In addition to Degl, first team All-Section honors were earned by Kait Condon and Coco Inglis for the Wolves. Second-team All-Section honors went to Maye Viders and Amelia Inglis, who was also named to the Golden Dozen for Section 1.

The five All-Section players also earned All-League honors along with Caitlin Brennan, Erin Brennan and Dillon Hall.

Baseball

Despite a young roster and some key injuries, the John Jay baseball team turned in a winning season as the Wolves finished 12-8 during the regular season to earn the No. 8 seed in the Section 1 Class A tournament, where they fell to Pearl River.

Leading the way was senior Jackson Moreo as the pitcher/center fielder became the ace on the mound for the Wolves. Moreo earned All-Section and All-League honors.

Amogha Bhat earned honorable mention All-Section and All-League. Luke Fisch was named All-League, while Ben Kalish and Eli Tubbs both earned All-League honorable mention.

In other spring sports, the John Jay golf team had a big year as the Wolves battled for the league title and had three golfers qualify to compete in the Section 1 championship tournament.

James Strauss finished strong as the junior just missed qualifying for the state tournament and earned All-Section and All-League honors. Senior Wally Ryder and sophomore Asher Barnett also earned All-League honors for the Wolves.

On the tennis courts, senior Matthew Marchini capped off his five-year varsity career as the number one singles player for the Wolves by earning All-League honors. Karl Shue also earned All-League honors for the Wolves as he competed in second singles.

In flag football, John Jay started strong before an injury to starting quarterback Gianna Pelosi slowed the Wolves down. Senior Mitzi Chan earned All-League honors for the Wolves.