The end of the fall sports season brings many different emotions for seniors. Football, boys and girls soccer, tennis, and track each wrapped up, and all five had seniors on their respective teams. 

The football team wrapped their season up on October 27 with a loss to Pascack Valley. Despite the season not going the way the team wanted, Chris Short had a special year with 23 touchdowns. 

“I was able to accomplish both of my personal goals of amassing 1,000 yards and scoring 20 touchdowns. Even though we only had one win as a team, we played tough every game and got extremely close as a team,” Short said. 

Short was a part of the varsity football team for three years. 

“My favorite memory was senior night. I got to walk out with my family, and even though we lost, I tied the NVD record for touchdowns in a game with five,” Short added.

The boys soccer season ended at the hands of Ramsey in the state sectional semifinals. The boys’ run to make it there was unforgettable, as they won seven games in a row.

Carlos Bayuelo, who tore his meniscus during the season and was out for nine games, believed that the team was in better shape than in previous years. 

“We had more chemistry than ever and had a great season. Although I felt that I could have done more, the team’s accomplishments were more important,” Bayuelo said.

Bayuelo was a four-year varsity player, and was a captain for the team as a senior.

“My fondest memory was the week when we beat Old Tappan 4-0 and Tenafly 3-0”, Bayuelo said. 

The girls soccer season ended with a loss to Ramsey in the quarterfinals of the state tournament. Overall, they finished with a 10-10-1 record.

Senior Alison Chin finished with one goal and one assist this season and was very proud of how the team came together.  

“I think that our biggest accomplishment was developing a unified team. When I first joined the soccer team, I only knew a few girls, but as the years went by, we formed a cohesive and close-knit bond that I will never forget,” Chin said.

The soccer team has a tradition every season where they kidnap underclassmen and have a sleepover.

 “My fondest memory of soccer was “kidnapping” during the preseason, which is where we went to every single underclassmen’s house and woke them up in the middle of the night and then had a sleepover. After that night we all realized that this would be a great season because of all the amazing and fun people on the team,” Chin added.

The girls tennis team finished with an impressive 16-2 record and won a sectional title before losing in the state tournament to Holmdel.

Senior Yahli Noy played first in singles for the team and finished with an undefeated personal record during her senior year.
Noy explained, “I feel like I’ve grown so much the past four years I’ve been on the team. I was the only freshman on the varsity team, and I really did not know anyone. That all changed throughout the years, as I formed lots of great friendships and memories.”

Noy was a four-year varsity player, and was the team captain as a senior.

“My fondest memory of tennis at NVD would be freshman year when we were county champs. We were able to trick our coach into throwing a huge bucket of iced water while we were all taking a picture together with our county championship trophy,” Noy said.

Lastly, the track team wrapped up their strong season at the NJSIAA Group 2 Championships.

Katherine Doran played an integral role in the track team’s success, including running a 22:54 at Garret Mountain during the state sectional meet.

“I’m definitely proud of the team and how far we’ve come. We had worked really hard and it paid off,” Doran said.
Doran’s first year playing varsity was her senior year.

“My fondest memory was definitely winning sectionals. We were not projected to win, but the team came together and everyone stepped up. It meant a lot because we had lost many meets this year, and this one was the most important”, Doran said.

As the seniors end their careers at NVD, they can certainly be proud of their impact on their teams.