Meet the finalists for the final 6 High School Game Changers Sports Awards categories

Photo Credits: NJ.com

The NJ.com high school sports staff has selected finalists for the final six categories of the High School Game Changers Sports Awards. These categories, for overall Athlete of the Year, Team of the Year and Breakthrough Athlete of the Year – for both male and female athletes – are the only categories where finalists and winners will be selected by the NJ.com high school sports staff.

For the other 14 categories, nominations came in from the public, finalists were selected by the NJ.com staff and readers voted to select the winners in each of those categories.

Winners will be announced at the live event on Monday, June 17. Doors open at 5:45 p.m. and the show starts promptly at 6:15 p.m. at the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway. The event is free to attend and open to finalists, as well as their coaches, teachers, parents, friends and family members.

For our staff, selecting sport-specific postseason honorees is difficult in any season, but this process – selecting finalists across all sports for an extremely small number of awards – was incredibly challenging. We know some tremendous athletes with remarkable character and determination couldn’t make this list.

Here are the finalists.

OVERALL FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Layla Giordano, Old Tappan – Volleyball, Basketball, Track & Field: Giordano has had success in all three of her sports, but make no mistake about it: she’s a track & field star. The Princeton commit is the state’s No. 2 all-time discus thrower (172-2) and is the expected favorite to win that title for the second year in a row at the Meet of Champions. She also has the second-best shot put mark in N.J. this spring (50-0). In volleyball this fall, she posted a career-high 132 kills and in the winter, she averaged 15.6 points per game on the basketball court and finished her career with over 1000 points.

Source Link: https://www.nj.com/highschoolsports/2024/06/meet-finalists-for-the-final-6-high-school-game-changers-sports-awards-categories.html

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Giordano snaps 20-year N.J. girls discus droughtWe’re only two days from the start of the 129th running of the Penn Relays. It’s time to chat about the best high school performances in Garden State history because plenty has happened on the track at Franklin Field and in the circles at the Irving “Moon” Mondschein Throwing Complex in Philadelphia. NJ.com has kept data on some of the state’s best Penn performances and there’s a lot to look back at — including several moments from decades ago.Below, find 50 of the greatest N.J. high school track and field performances at the historic meet.Editor’s note: Historical data, research and topics were prepared by former NJ.com track and field writer Jim Lambert.Year: 2024Old Tappan standout Layla Giordano was the Garden State’s first girls discus winner since 2004 via a 167-10. Giordano’s throw is the second-best U.S. mark in the history of the event. Delsea’s Jocelyn White had N.J.’s previous discus win at Penn with a 157-3. Layla is set to return to the Irving “Moon” Mondschein Throwing Complex this weekend, this time as a collegiate athlete representing Princeton University at the prestigious Penn Relays.

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Layla Giordano of Old Tappan is N.J.’s girls Field Athlete of the Year for 2024

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Layla Giordano:N.J.’s girls Field Athlete of the Year for 2024 Layla Giordano was a sophomore when she made the best decision of her athletic career. The Old Tappan senior played volleyball, basketball and threw shot put as a freshman, but it wasn’t until 2022 when she would pick up a disc for the first time. 2022 Old Tappan Track Team By the end of that spring, she was closing in on a throw of 140 feet. By the end of the next spring, she was over 170 feet. And by the end of this spring, she had well established herself as one of the best throwers in state history.“The numbers speak for themselves,” Old Tappan throwing coach Pete Dunn said. “She has won a ton – I’ve lost track of a lot of the records she broke. I’d probably have to sit down for a couple of hours to remember them all.”Giordano threw a discus PR 172-2 at the North 1, Group 3 meet, which tied Delsea’s Jocelyn White for the second-furthest throw in state history. That’s not the only piece of history she shares with White. The Princeton commit won gold at the Penn Relays with a 167-10 – the first title N.J. has seen at the meet since White was the first one to win in 2004.The rest of Giordano’s spring in the discus included a title defense at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions (171-7) and wins at the Bergen County Relays (157-0), Big North Championships (154-10), county championships (164-4), county M of Cs (167-4), and groups (149-0). She was also second at New Balance Nationals (158-6), where she won last spring with a 170-4. The Penn Relays title was a big deal for Giordano as she found herself slightly overwhelmed at the Irving “Moon” Mondschein Throwing Complex as a junior and threw a 145-4 to place sixth. She wanted redemption this past April and got it.“It’s something I set my mind on,” Giordano said. “It was crazy when I was there the first time. I had never been to a meet of that size. It was something I wanted to win and I focused on it all offseason and throughout the start of this season. I made it happen and it’s something I’m really proud of.” Penn Relay Photo Shoot 2023 – 6th Place medalGiordano made huge strides in the shot put as well. She launched a PR 50-0 at the county M of Cs, which is a new county record to pair with her discus PR. She threw better than 45 feet at all but one meet and gold medaled in every appearance besides her second-place effort at the M of Cs (46-4 ¾) and sixth-place showing at nationals (46-8). “It was unexpected,” Giordano said of her 50-foot throw. “It’s warming up for what I’m planning to do the next four years [at Princeton]. I only did it once, but I know it’s possible now and I’m going to do it a lot. I became an overall thrower this year, and that’s something you couldn’t say last year.“That was probably the most impressive thing about her year,” Dunn added of her shot put PR. “Her first throw at that meet was a 47 and she didn’t look that good doing it. She asked me what the county record was right after the throw [48-10 ½] and I told her, ‘Forget 48, you’re going to throw 49 minimum.’ She put it all together on her last throw and did all of the things she needed to do. It was awesome to watch.”The big goal Giordano had coming into the season was to break the state record, which is a 182-0 set by Donovan Catholic’s Alyssa Wilson in 2017. Giordano came within 10 feet of the record and it’s one she wanted to stamp her name on, but it’s not something she’s going to let bother her and she’s not leaving the high school circle with any “could’ves” or “should’ves”. Giordano has made a monumental mark on N.J. track and field, and she’s positioned to further it in college. “I had a lot of expectations coming into the season, but as time went on, I tried to saver the time I had left,” Giordano said. “Even though in the eyes of some people I fell a little short, I’m satisfied with what I did. I made a lot of improvements and I’m happy with my records and accomplishments. There’s a new generation of throwers and I think something special is coming.“She’s a super-talented athlete,” Dunn added. “She brought tremendous consistency – it was consistent excellence. It was an awesome ride. She still has her best throws ahead of her. The coaches at Princeton have a good one.”