TRT-Testosterone Replacement Therapy in Ridgefield Park, NJ.

Adam Conversano went 2-for-4 with two runs scored as Ridgefield Park outlasted Westwood 5-3 in Washington Township.

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Victor Rodriguez collected two hits and Hector Zarzuela had an RBI for Ridgefield Park (11-4-1), which remains in first place in the American division of the Big North Conference and has won five of its last six games. Ramsey was blanked for the first time this season in a 5-0 loss to Ramsey on Monday, which ended its three-game winning streak.

On Tuesday, in an 11-1 win over Hudson Catholic, Ridgefield Park scored 11 runs on 13 hits in a five-inning game. Zarzuela had two hits and three RBI in the win. Shea Losino also has been raking and, prior to Wednesday, has hit in 11 of his last 12 games going 18-for-40 (.450). Losino has six multi-hit games, including three in a row. He had 12 RBI during the binge.

Westwood (11-4) has lost three of its last four games after winning eight-straight games. On Tuesday, Westwood was hammered by Rutherford, 7-1, was limited to six hits and didn’t score until the seventh inning. Connor Roche had at least one RBI in 10 of his last 11 games, prior to Wednesday. Westwood is in first place in the Big North Patriot division.

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Mon, April 10, 2023, 4:15pm

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Christopher Perillo went 2-for-3 with two RBI to lead top-seeded Hanover Park to a 10-1 win over Ridgefield Park in the semifinals of the North 2, Group 2 tournament in East Hanover.

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Toby Smith hit a home run with two RBI for Hanover Park (21-5), which advanced to the sectional finals for the third-straight season. It will look to win its second title in three years (2021) when it takes on second-seeded Rutherford in the final on Friday.

Alex Cheringal went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Jack Massarano singled and scored three runs in the win. Toby Smith, Joe LoPinto, and Alex Cheringal combined to give up just one run on four hits.

Ridgefield Park dropped to 16-9-1 with the loss.

Rutherford 6, Caldwell 4

Luke Cerulli went 2-for-3 with two RBI to lead second-seeded Rutherford to a 6-4 win over third-seeded Caldwell in the semifinals of the North 2, Group 2 tournament in Rutherford.

Rutherford (19-9) picked up its sixth-straight victory and advanced to the sectional final for the second time in three seasons. It will face top-seeded Hanover Park- the team which ended its season the last two seasons in the final and semifinal, respectively- on Friday.

Van Weber went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI for Rutherford. Henry Hui went 3-for-4, while Sam Kelly pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief to secure the victory.

Ty Fredo had four RBI for Caldwell (15-3-1), which included a two-run home run in the fifth inning to close the gap to 5-4.

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After years of hard work, senior Gauri Bhandari earned the coveted salutatorian title at Ridgefield Park Junior-Senior High School this year.

The teenager arrived at the Bergen County high school’s senior awards ceremony this spring expecting the title would come with a financial reward. For the last several years, Ridgefield Park school administrators had awarded a $10,000 academic scholarship funded by a private donor to both the valedictorian and salutatorian of the graduating class.

But this year, the senior awards ceremony ended with no announcement about the $10,000 scholarships.

Confused, Bhandari reached out to her guidance counselor the next day. She said she was told neither the valedictorian nor the salutatorian would be getting the money — because the donor had made a different choice this year.

“And that I shouldn’t have assumed I was getting this money,” she recalled being told.

School officials later told Bhandari’s family launched an investigation into how the scholarships were awarded.

Two students received the $10,000 scholarships — called the Mary Kassakian Scholarship — though they were not the valedictorian and salutatorian of the graduating class, district officials said. One of those students who received the money is a relative of the school board president.

Before the school board requested an investigation, then-Superintendent Angela Bender was already looking into the matter, Ricardo Martinez, the school board president, told the Bhandari family in a June 4 email.

“Dr. Bender has since reported that she has thoroughly investigated our academic awards processes, did not find evidence of favoritism or foul play, and provided your family with an explanation,” he said in the letter.

“We can all agree that the description of how this happened was as challenging to understand as it was ultimately unsatisfactory,” he said.

Martinez told NJ Advance Media he was unaware a member of his extended family won the scholarship until someone mentioned the award went to a school board member’s relative. He also said he didn’t know the specifics of how the winners were chosen, but he believes the donor changed the eligibility for the scholarship this year.

Martinez said he was told the donor did not approve of the colleges this year’s valedictorian and salutatorian planned to attend. The valedictorian is going to a school in Canada, while Bhandari is attending Rutgers University in the fall.

“For whatever reason, the donor did not feel those schools are top-tier schools,” Martinez said.

School officials declined to identify the scholarship donor.

Bender, Ridgefield Park’s former superintendent, did not respond to written questions from NJ Advance Media about her investigation into the awarding of the scholarship. She stepped down as head of the 2,000-student district July 1.

It’s unclear what the criteria for the scholarship was and if it was conveyed to students. Bhandari said she was told the donor changed the criteria in February, shortly before many students received their college admission decisions and chose a school.

At the June 14 school board meeting, Bender read a statement about the awards given to high school seniors and thanked all of the donors for various scholarships.

“With that said, I am cognizant of the concerns raised by members of our community and take those concerns seriously,” she said. The district takes a “very limited role” in the process of selecting winners of scholarships, she said.

District officials answer donors’ questions and provides students’ information, including their GPAs and post-graduate plans, but are not involved in setting the criteria for who wins the scholarships, Bender said.

“Of course, I understand the frustration this year’s scholarship selection process has caused,” Bender said at the school board meeting. “While the district is limited in what it can do this year, I have asked that our guidance office review our current scholarship process and make recommendations for improvement moving forward.”

In his letter to the Bhandari family, Martinez, the school board president, apologized for this year’s outcome.

“It does not escape me that in the ‘academic’ awards, our two top ‘scholars’ did not receive the top ‘academic scholarships,’” Martinez wrote. “We have failed as a district if our two top-performing students and their parents left the ceremony feeling confused and scorned, regardless of who, if anyone’s fault it was.”

Although it will not benefit Bhandari or this year’s valedictorian, Martinez said the awards procedures will be reviewed and modified. All applicants will also be clear on their eligibility for the awards moving forward, he said.

Bhandari said she was frustrated by the lack of transparency about the scholarships.

“It’s just the way they went about it,” Bhandari said. “Even though the money would’ve helped me a lot, it’s not really about the money.”

“I’m more, like, offended and hurt that no one could even tell me in advance that I wasn’t getting this money, when they knew I was going to use it for school,” she added.

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Gabby Rivera had to make a point.

The Ridgefield Park sophomore was at a practice Tuesday morning when her teammates started to work on bunting.

Coach Greg Hansen chuckled when Rivera grabbed a bat and decided to get in the box. It doesn't matter that the ace and hard-hitting first baseman will rarely, if ever, need to sacrifice in a game. She has not laid one down since her first at-bat in club ball about six years ago.

Rivera still wanted to brush up on a skill that she believes should be in everyone's toolbox.

"Everything we do, Gabby says she can do better," Hansen said. "Believe it or not, she can bunt. She bunted every ball down the line. She can do everything."

"It's a very important part of the game," Rivera said. "Anything I can do to get a run across to help our team win."

While Rivera has a competitive fire for the finer parts of the game, she is usually impacting the Scarlets (6-0) in more obvious ways.

The rubber-armed righty has dominated in the circle this season with a 1.11 ERA over five starts. She's struck out 58 batters in 38 innings to lead the Scarlets to their best start in over a decade.

Her production at the plate has been on the same high level. Rivera is hitting 12-for-23 (.522) and leads the team with 11 RBIs.

A program that won three games in 2021 is starting to look like one of the very best in North Jersey.

"She came back with an attitude this year," Hansen said. "She wanted to put us over the top. She's taken us there. She's been phenomenal with her pitching. She's got much more control this year and her hitting is much more disciplined."

Rivera has been swinging a bat since she was 5. She was introduced to the game by her father and four older brothers in their backyard in Little Ferry.

The question heading into high school was whether she would leave for Immaculate Conception or play for a Scarlets team in the midst of five straight losing seasons. Hansen went to a couple of her eighth grade games to make his case and had some players talk to her. Shortstop Eliza Mullen was especially convincing, selling her on the idea of being a program-changing player.

Rivera opted to stay with her childhood friends and improve the culture during a 13-10 season last spring. Excitement continues to build around the Scarlets, who adopted 'Why not us?' as this year's team mantra.

"I think it's changed drastically," Rivera said. "We're all having fun. Everybody is really working together because we want to win the league. I think we're all very focused and the hard work is definitely paying off right now."

Hansen describes his two-way star and former health student as a fun and goofy person to be around. While Rivera agrees with that assessment, she was all business last Thursday against Pascack Hills. That day, she out-matched NJ Pride club teammate Alana Kimball in a 10-inning pitcher's duel.

No bunting required.

"We were both super excited to play each other," Rivera said. " She pitched so well. She struck out [19] batters. It was such a tough pitching duel. We came out with the win so I was super happy about that."

Gabriella Rivera

Sport: Softball

School: Ridgefield Park

Class: Sophomore. Age: 16

Accomplishment: Rivera threw three complete games last week, allowing nine hits and three earned runs for the unbeaten Scarlets. She finished 7-for-16 at the plate with a home run and six RBIs.

Also nominated: Ciara Murray of Northern Highlands, Savannah Czornomor of Passaic Tech, Emily Ricci of Lakeland, Angelyna Rodriguez of Westwood, Giana Yaniero of Rutherford, Hailey Zirpoli of Waldwick, Daniela Brescia of New Milford, and Audrey Amoruso of Indian Hills for softball; Reaghan Lomascola of Lakeland for lacrosse; and Layla Giordano of Old Tappan and Alexandra Samperi of Hasbrouck Heights for track and field.