Clifton High School Athletic Hall of Fame

Clifton High School Athletic Hall of Fame Official page of the Clifton High School Athletic Hall of Fame

🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Dana Jeannetti (CHS Class of 1994): An all-state player in soccer and softball, Dana Jeannetti...
07/25/2023

🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Dana Jeannetti (CHS Class of 1994): An all-state player in soccer and softball, Dana Jeannetti was one of the most accomplished Mustangs of the 1990s. As a forward on the pitch, Jeannetti finished her career with 91 goals (31 as a senior) and 44 assists. A tremendous second baseman and devastating leadoff hitter for Clifton’s 1993 Group IV title squad, she had a .496 career batting average and scored 115 runs; as a senior, she batted .658 with an .810 on-base percentage and 41 runs scored.




🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: John Monaco (CHS Class of 1982): John Monaco’s Clifton career was brief, but impactful. Monaco...
07/25/2023

🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: John Monaco (CHS Class of 1982): John Monaco’s Clifton career was brief, but impactful. Monaco defeated Overbrook’s Mike Cornwell, 13-2, in the 1982 171-pound final to win his second state title (his first came a year earlier, when he wrestled for Nutley). Monaco, who finished his career with an 84-15 record, was dominant in that year’s NJSIAA Individual State Tournament, winning every match by seven or more points and outscoring four opponents, 48-10. He went 32-0 with 20 pins in his lone season in a Mustang singlet.




🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Rick LaDuke (Coach): Rick LaDuke took the reins of the Clifton softball team in 1982 and led i...
07/25/2023

🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Rick LaDuke (Coach): Rick LaDuke took the reins of the Clifton softball team in 1982 and led it to heights no one could have imagined. Guided by LaDuke, the Mustangs won 10 Passaic County titles and eight sectional crowns, made five Group IV finals appearances and won Group IV championships in 1993, 1997 and 1998. The 1997 and 1998 squads each did their part in pushing LaDuke to 467 career victories, going 31-0 in both years.




🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Anthony Giordano (CHS Class of 2007): A clutch and cerebral signal-caller with legendary leade...
06/30/2023

🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Anthony Giordano (CHS Class of 2007): A clutch and cerebral signal-caller with legendary leadership skills, Anthony Giordano steered the Clifton football team to its first sectional title in 33 years (and first of the playoff era) in 2006. Giordano scored the game-winning three-yard touchdown with his legs to defeat Ridgewood in a late-October showdown that set the stage for a fairytale six-game charge to the championship. In the North I, Group IV playoffs, he again rushed for the deciding score against North Bergen before spurring a semifinal win over Randolph with his arm (211 yards; 52% completion percentage). The Mustangs beat Paterson Eastside, 26-0, in the ensuing title game.




🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Jack Whiting (Contributor, CHS Class of 1966): Jack Whiting set a standard for managing a qual...
06/25/2023

🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Jack Whiting (Contributor, CHS Class of 1966): Jack Whiting set a standard for managing a quality feeder program, having established and worked with the Clifton Junior Mustangs wrestling program for 43 years. With the Junior Mustangs, he had a hand in developing a host of future successful CHS wrestlers. The son of Bob Whiting, a highly-respected sports writer for The Record and the now-defunct Paterson Morning Call, Whiting was Clifton’s first two-time district champion.




🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Bill Lahanas (CHS Class of 1988): Vasilios “Bill” Lahanas amassed a 62-10 career record for th...
06/10/2023

🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Bill Lahanas (CHS Class of 1988): Vasilios “Bill” Lahanas amassed a 62-10 career record for the Clifton wrestling team and is its most recent individual state champion. Lahanas captured gold during his senior campaign, pinning Gateway’s Marc White in the 145-pound final and capping a 32-0 year. He led the Mustangs to a 12-3 record in his final season.




🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Dr. Carlton Palmer (Head Coach, Football, 1921): A World War I veteran, Dr. Carlton Palmer was...
06/04/2023

🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Dr. Carlton Palmer (Head Coach, Football, 1921): A World War I veteran, Dr. Carlton Palmer was the first head coach of the Clifton Football Team. His lone season at the helm saw Clifton (not yet called the “Mustangs”) go 8-1, winning their first two games against Butler and Emerson of West Hoboken by a combined score 78-0. He also steered Clifton to a 21-14 midseason win over Hackensack—a huge win for the first-year program.




🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Mike Czura (CHS Class of 1972): Called “one of the finest field generals” he’d ever coached by...
06/04/2023

🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Mike Czura (CHS Class of 1972): Called “one of the finest field generals” he’d ever coached by legendary Clifton boys soccer coach Severin Palodowycz, Mike Czura earned significant postseason recognition despite playing for teams that struggled. The halfback earned a place on the All-Passaic County and All-Passaic Valley Conference teams (also earning Honorable Mention on the All-Group IV squad) with four goals and nine assists in Clifton’s 4-10-1 1970 season. In 1971, the Mustangs went 6-8-2, but he still picked top First Team All-Passaic County honors.




🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Ed Bednarcik, Jr. (CHS Class of 1975): Ed Bednarcik, Jr. shot a beastly 62% from the field as ...
05/23/2023

🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Ed Bednarcik, Jr. (CHS Class of 1975): Ed Bednarcik, Jr. shot a beastly 62% from the field as a senior and earned back-to-back All-Passaic County first team honors in his final two seasons. He averaged 22.1 points and six assists per game during the 1974-75 campaign (in which he led Clifton to a 20-3 record), helping him climb to a 1,120-point career.




🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Pete Lehr (CHS Class of 1958): Pete Lehr is one of Clifton’s all-time great leaders as a defen...
05/16/2023

🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Pete Lehr (CHS Class of 1958): Pete Lehr is one of Clifton’s all-time great leaders as a defensive end and guard for the Mustang football teams of the mid-1950s. On offense, he helped pave the way for running backs such as George Telesh and Larry Kolk and protected Clifton signal-callers like Bob Gursky and Roger Fardin. A devastating presence on both sides of the ball, his teams went 15-2 in 1956 and 1957. As a senior, his team earned one of the program’s most significant wins ever—its first over Montclair, 26-0—and won the North I, Group IV title.




🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Laura Tynio (CHS Class of 1998): Laura Tynio is one of North Jersey’s all-time greatest pitche...
05/07/2023

🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Laura Tynio (CHS Class of 1998): Laura Tynio is one of North Jersey’s all-time greatest pitchers, logging 67 pitching victories and winning Group IV state titles with the Mustangs in 1997 and 1998—when Clifton produced back-to-back 31-0 undefeated seasons. She went 67-1 in the circle during her high school tenure, including 54 straight wins to finish her career. She went 29-0 in 1998 with a 0.26 ERA, 285 strikeouts (with just 29 walks) and 21 shutouts (including in the Group IV title game against Cherokee).




🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Sam Poulis (CHS Class of 1991): Clifton boys basketball’s all-time leading scorer, forward/cen...
04/30/2023

🚨FEATURED HALL-OF-FAMER🚨: Sam Poulis (CHS Class of 1991): Clifton boys basketball’s all-time leading scorer, forward/center Sam Poulis dropped 1,258 points as a Mustang. Poulis averaged 24 points per game on 55% shooting as a senior, also contributing 12.5 rebounds per contest. He led an 11th-seeded Clifton team to a massive upset of Ferris in the 1991 North I, Group IV playoffs and pushed the 1991 Mustangs to their first .500-or-better season in a decade.




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