As the leaves start to bloom once again and temperatures begin to rise, the feeling of spring can not be ignored. And with spring comes another season of sports, and another season where expectations are high for Bernards teams.
Boys Track:
The Bernards boys track program is one of the most storied teams at BHS, and they are hoping for similar results in 2026. In 2025, Bernards placed second in group 2 as a team, an astounding achievement for the school’s population. The distance team powered Bernards and continues to dominate.
Brody Watt ‘26 is one of the most decorated Bernards runners of all time and will try to etch his name further into the record books this season. In the first three spring track seasons of his high school career, Watt has earned the Bernards record in the 800 meter race (2 laps around the track) with a time of 1:52.72, 1500 meter (3 and ¾ laps around the track) at 3:56.01, 1600 meter dash (4 laps) with a time of 4:12.5, and 1 mile at 4:12.78.
This year’s team has a strong group of seniors who have been running together for a long time. Running is unique because, across all three seasons of the school year, the same group of people is generally on the team together because of the similarities among cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track.
Julian Bonk ‘26 competes in all three running sports and told us, “We certainly have high expectations coming off a great season last year. We’re hoping to win sectionals and qualify for nationals in several events.”
On the sprinting side, Hudson George ‘27 had the fastest 100m time (11.7) and 200m time (23.94). He is expecting to have a big year. George is hoping for a strong season, sharing, “We’re expecting to go to sectionals and win like we did last year, along with placing well in groups and maybe pulling off a win.”
Spring track has always been a strong point under coach Szostak, and this is expected to be a massive season for the team.
Girls track:
Girls track is back for another season of success. Even though they lost many seniors to graduation, they will have more underclassmen involved. The seniors leaving were key contributors, especially in the distance events.
Riley Omlor ‘26 shares “ Our goals are to be competitive as we are not very likely win at the bigger meets, but to place well.” Omlor is ready to compete with the team even if they aren’t expected to have much success.
Boys lacrosse:
Boys lacrosse had a trying 2025 after the bulk of the starting lineup graduated and the head coach retired after the previous season. To make matters worse, the strength of schedule was off the charts because the Mountaineers were Group 1 champions in 2024.
Despite these recent hardships, the Mountaineers are hoping to bounce back with new head coach Derek Zacatenaco and a strong group of seniors.
Entering the penultimate season of his high school career, Logan “Gamma” Stevens has already found the back of the net 112 times and is committed to playing lacrosse at Cornell University. He was sidelined for the first 10 games of 2025 with an ankle injury, but in the back half of the year, opponents felt Stevens presence. Across 10 contests, Gamma averaged 2.5 goals per game. That mark only trailed his 2.9 goals per game from the Mountaineers championship season. Stevens expects Bernards will “be a dark horse contender in the county” and is “excited to go on a run in states.”
Ben Eich ‘26 will stand between the posts after winning the goalie job at the start of last season, and over the 20-game season, he made 184 saves, a bright spot for the Mountainers.
Midfield is also a position of strength as the tandem of Jack Rutz ‘26 and Nolan Walsh ‘27 is primed for major seasons. Rutz is expected to take the majority of the faceoffs as a FOGO (face-off-get-off) while Walsh plays as a FOSO (face-off-stay-on) in special situations.
2025 was a rebuild year for the Bernards lacrosse program, but expectations are high in 2026.
Girls Lacrosse:
Girls lacrosse had a successful season last year, going 13-8 and a perfect 5-0 in the Skyland-Raritan division. Though the team is losing only 7 seniors, those seniors were essential to last year’s offensive attack. The team is also returning a significant number of underclassmen who played big roles in last year’s success.
Captains Jane Stauffer ‘26 is the goalie and returns with 162 from last year’s breakout season alone.
Midfielder and Captain Caroline Burke ‘26 shares that the team’s goal this year is “to improve as the season goes on and hopefully win the division.”
Coach Ryan is returning for her 4th season and explained that “Having a team-first attitude across all three levels” and “high-effort, high-energy, and efficient practices to benefit us in each game.”
Coach Ryan talks about the schedule and said that “ Our schedule this season is a bit intimidating, but it’s also exciting. Each opponent is strong in their own way, and how we prepare for each will be different.”
Even with losing 7 seniors last year and the schedule taking a major leap, Coach Ryan shares, “With the players we have, and with our coaching staff, I think we will be successful.”
Baseball:
Bernards baseball will have a fresh look in 2026 as Phil Mahlik ‘18 is set to take over for longtime head coach Jeff Falzarano. Mahlik is an alum of the school and has coached the Bernardsville Middle School for the past three seasons.
Outside of coaching, the Mountaineers are hoping to lean on their pitching to win games this year. The rotation is anchored by Seton Hall commit Casey Hoeckle ‘26, who has already eclipsed 100 career strikeouts, but also includes James Ferrante ‘27 and Landen Farmer ‘27.
In 2025, Ferrante was a dual threat, leading the team in ERA at 0.70 while achieving a team high 22 hits en route to a Skyland Valley Division first team appearance. In a conversation with James, he said, “I expect the team to have a very good record while making it far in the county and state tournaments. I think the team chemistry this year will be better than in years past, and we are all hoping for a fun year.”
It was an up-and-down regular season last year, but when the games mattered most, Bernards rose to the occasion. Entering the state tournament as the 10 seed, the Mountaineers won a pair of road games, placing them in the North 2, Group 2, semifinal game. That is where the Mountaineers storybook season ended last year, and this year they are hoping to improve on the foundation built in previous seasons.
Softball:
The softball team had a record of 6-15 in the Raritan Skyland Conference last year. This year’s team loses only 4 seniors and returns a lot of talent.
Gabby Mongno had 87 strikeouts and will continue to pitch for the team this year. Brooke Helpinstill ‘26 is committed to Ramapo for softball, is a captain, and the returning hit leader. Helpinstill also smashed 2 home runs to lead the team.
Helpinstill says the goals this year are “ Winning our division would be great, but also going .500 with wins would be a good outcome. Staying consistent throughout the season and into states is important.” and for the seniors, “ Helping to support the younger players and pass along a stronger team for next year is also important to the BHS softball program.”
As Helpinstill enters her 4th season on varsity, her personal goals are: “to be a leader for the team, especially when we are not playing well, and bringing the energy up when needed.” From a playing standpoint, “ [she] also wants to be a key contributor both on offense and defense, and focus on consistently generating hits.”
Even though four seniors graduated, Helpinstill has high expectations for new players: “We are losing 4 starters this year, so we have a smaller roster, but it should not be an issue because there are quite a few freshmen who are ready to come in and have a big impact on the team. We need to work hard and stick together even when times are tough.”
Boys tennis:
Boys tennis did not see much success last season, but hope is on the horizon, as the bulk of the team returns. Bernards competed in the Raritan division of the Skyland conference last year, but they will drop down to face teams they evenly matched with in 2026. The team also finished the season on a high note, winning 2 of its final 3 matches against difficult opponents, instilling confidence for the upcoming year.
Rajan Gandhi ‘26 is the sole returner who competed in singles last season and had a trying start, but, much like the rest of his teammates, turned it around just before the year’s close.
Charlie Quinn ‘27 is a returning player hoping to increase his role on the team by moving from doubles to singles. Quinn said, “I expect us to have a bounce-back year. We only had two graduating seniors, meaning we retain much of last year’s strength, and we are in a new division with much more reasonable competition. We are with schools that are much more evenly sized this year, and the goal is a divisional title.”
High school tennis teams include first, second, and third singles as well as first and second doubles. Gandhi will be the leader of this years team, but Sixten Alstrom ‘26, Will Johansson ‘26, and Charlie Quinn ‘27 will compete for the final two singles spots.
Golf:
The Bernards golf team reached historic milestones last season; however, this year’s team will look much different. The team will be led by the sophomore duo of DJ Allen and Brady Cassidy, who played pivotal roles in 2025.
Coach Spautz is the long-time leader of the team. Despite the large roster turnover, his expectations remain high: “We’re coming off one of our best years in a long time, and it’s gonna be really hard to replace Noah Ochab, but we would love to win the division and qualify for the TOC’s [Tournament of Champions] again.”
Last year’s team set the school record multiple times, and their best round of the season was when they finished at six strokes under par.
Jack Morris ‘27 will be pushed into a larger role this season and said, “We lost some talent from last year, but some of the other guys are ready to step up.”
Despite many changes, the Bernards golf team is set up for success in 2026.
