THE TOP 10 SPORTS STORIES OF 2024

Whether it was on the field of play or off, there was no shortage of memorable sports stories within The Observer area in 2024. The last 12 months saw both the joy of victory and the devastation of defeat. With that, here are the Top 10 Sports Stories for The Observer circulation area in 2024.

1. Galka retires as Kearny boys soccer coach

When Bill Galka was hired to become the head boys soccer coach at Kearny, he knew full well the pressure that came with leading one of the state’s premier programs. Despite that as well as the challenge of replacing a legendary head coach in John Millar, Galka left his own mark on a program that remains a gold standard in New Jersey.

This spring, Galka announced his retirement after 18 years as the Kardinals’ head coach Galka left with a staggering 308-59-21 record while bringing twp state titles, five sectional championships and seven Hudson County crowns back to Soccertown, U.S.A.

Like it did 18 years prior, Kearny didn’t have to go far to find a replacement, hiring Galka’s assistant and one-time All-State player Scott Millar as head coach.

2. Toranzo finishes comeback story with third place finish

A torn ACL denied Brandon Toranzo the opportunity to compete for a medal at the NJSIAA State Wrestling Championships as a junior. Twelve months later, Toranzo not only got to end his high school wrestling career on his teams, but he did it with a historic performance.

Toranzo went 46-1 his senior season, finishing third in the state in the heavyweight class. It was the highest finish for a Nutley wrestler in 43 years.

Toranzo’s incredible comeback season saw him named Outstanding Wrestler of the Essex County Tournament for the second year in a row. After an incredible 86-2 record in two seasons at Nutley, Toranzo signed to continue his career at Rutgers.

3. Harrison soccer returns to the state finals

Sectional titles and trips to the state finals are the expectation at Harrison for its boys soccer program.But even with that standard in place,this year’s state tournament run came as a bit of a surprise.

Despite an at times, up and down regular season, the Blue Tide caught fire in the postseason, defeating Hackettstown, 1-0, to win its second North 2, Group 2 title in three years. Four days later, All-State midfielder Yusufu Jaite sent Harrison to the state final when he scored the clinching penalty kick in a win over Glen Rock.

The Blue Tide’s dream of a 26th state title was dashed in the Group 2 final against Sterling. Harrison took a 2-1 lead on Christian Barrios’ goal in the 57th minute, but Sterling tied the game just three minutes later. Then, in double overtime, Jason Camardoscored the winning goal, giving Sterling its first state title in 46 years.

4. Tozduman, Cruz-Fletcher medal at MOC

Julia Tozduman had accomplished virtually every goal she could have envisioned for herself at Lyndhurst except for one – a medal at the outdoor track Meet of Champions.

Tozduman checked off that final goal when she recorded an 18-00.50 to take sixth place in the Long Jump at the MOC. The jump was the final highlight of a high school career that culminated in Tozduman being named The Jim Hague Observer Female Athlete of the Year..

Tozduman wasn’t the only Observer area athlete to leave Pennsauken with a medal as Bloomfield junior took home eighth in the 100 Meter Hurdles with an eye-opening time of 14.78 seconds.

5. Mullins makes it back from Leukemia

William Mullins seemingly had it all going for him as an all-state volleyball player, who was also in line to potentially be the valedictorian of his graduating class at Kearny High School.

All of that was nearly taken away from him when he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in October of 2022. After months of chemotherapy, Mullins’ leukemia was in remission, allowing him to return to classes in the fall and thanks, to a special waiver from the NJSIAA, return to play basketball and volleyball at Kearny.

Getting back in shape to play was a challenge due to weight gain caused by some of the steroid treatments used in his recovery, but Mullins was back in time to play in the Kardinals’ basketball opener that winter. In the spring, Mullins was back in his familiar spot at outside hitter and finished among the leaders in the HCIAL for kills and service points.

6. Lyndhurst volleyball sectional title

Head coach Steve Vahalla sensed that this year’s girls volleyball team at Lyndhurst could be special back in the summer when it dominated Harrison’s summer league.

Those visions of greatness back in July became reality in November when the Golden Bears won its first sectional title in 34 years when it defeated Mendham, 23-25, 25-11, 25-17 for the North 2, Group 2 championship. The victory was the exclamation point on a season that saw Lyndhurst, set a school record for wins with 24, make the Bergen County Tournament quarterfinals and defeat state power Secaucus to clinch a share of the division title.

7. Harrison boys volleyball repeats

Harrison graduated nearly the entire starting lineup from the 2023 team that won a Hudson County title. The faces might have been new, but the end result wasn’t as the Blue Tide repeated as county champs when it defeated Hudson Catholic, 25-15, 32-30 in the final.

Anthony Narvaez, the lone starter left from 2023, had eight kills, 15 digs and two blocks to lead the way. Narvaez’s kill tied the second set at 30-all before back-to-back kills from Yamil Espinoza clinched the match and the title for Harrison.

Harrison ended the season with a record of 26-5, falling to West Caldwell Tech in the North Jersey, Group 1 final.

8. Pizzuti sets Lyndhurst scoring record

For 37 years, former Atlanta Braves draft pick Scott Ryder held Lyndhurst’s career scoring record for boys basketball with 1,212 points. It was in 2024 when Ryder’s mark was surpassed, coincidentally by another baseball star – Anthony Pizzuti..

Pizzuti officially put his name in the record books as the career scoring leader when he scored 35 points in a February victory over Cresskill.

Pizzuti, the Jim Hague Observer Male Athlete of the Year decided to play baseball at Brookdale, but received plenty of interest from local college basketball coaches after averaging 23.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game to help lead Lyndhurst to a NJIC National Division title. He finished his career with 1,341 points.

9. Kearny native Cardenas, an All-American again

Kearny native Jacob Cardenas could have folded after a second round loss in the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Instead, Cardenas’ NCAA championship experience ended with him once again on the medal stand when he finished in fourth at 197 pounds.

Five of Cardenas’ six wins came in the wrestleback brackets, an impressive run which included a nice bit of revenge when he defeated Rocky Elam of Missouri less than 48 hours after losing to him in the second round.

Cardenas, who is using his final season of college eligibility at the University of Michigan, went on to take the silver medal at 92 kilograms at the 2024 U23 World Championship in October, his third consecutive medal in world appearances.

10. Coaching milestones (Zullo 500, Landy 300)

Luann Zullo and Nick Landy have brought their high school alma mater to the top in their respective sports on numerous occasions during their storied coaching careers. This May both reached significant milestones.

On May 2, Landy won his 300th game with Harrison boys volleyball when the Blue Tide defeated North Arlington. Landy, in his 15th season as head coach, remembers taking a program that won three games in his first year and slowly building into a local and then state power. Landy, The Star-Ledger’s 2016 Statewide Boys Volleyball Coach of the Year, has led Harrison to four Hudson County championships.

Six days later, Zullo became just the fifth Essex County softball coach to reach 500 wins when Nutley defeated Payne Tech. During Zullo’s 28-year coaching career, the last 25 of which have been at Nutley, her teams have won two Essex County titles and five sectional championships. Zullo was selected The Star-Ledger’s 2010 State Softball Coach of the Year  after leading Nutley to the second of four state sectional titles the Maroon Raiders have won during her tenure.

Also considered

This year contained so many dramatic stories of triumph or defeat that this list could have easily been expanded to a top 15 or even top 20. With so many worthy candidates, here are the other sports stories that we considered for a spot in the top 10, listed in chronological order.

• Kearny girls track wins the HCIAL Indoor Relay title
• North Arlington boys bowling wins first sectional title since 2019
• Kearny’s Ryan Vali wins Hudson County bowling title, places ninth in NJSIAA Individauls Tournament.
• Belleville wrestler Rocco Negron overcomes a shoulder injury to be OW at District
• Kearny-North Arlington-Secaucus hockey wins the McMullen Cup
• The first ever Essex County Girls Wrestling Invitational is held with four locals winning County titles.
• Nutley’s Carina Rivera and Isabella Bobadilla medal at the NJSIAA Girls Wrestling State Tournament.
• Harrison Flag Football wins the NJIC Championship.
• New York Red Bulls defender John Tolkin is named to the United States Olympic Team roster.
• Due to a lack of numbers, Harrison doesn’t field a football team in 2024.
• Kearny girls soccer falls in the Hudson County Tournament final, ending a 15-year reign as county champs.
• On the same day, Kearny’s boys soccer and girls tennis teams also were defeated in the Hudson County finals.
• Lyndhurst and North Arlington boys soccer share the Bergen Invitational Tournament title after playing to a 1-1 tie.
• Lyndhurst native and Penn State goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress leads the Nittany Lions to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.
• New York Red Bulls reach the MLS Cup final for the first time since 2008.