Celebrating Athletic Achievement 

The EC Athletic Booster Club (ABC) hosted the Athletic Awards Beefsteak on May 27 at The Brownstone to celebrate our high school coaches and student-athletes’ achievements throughout the 25-26 school year. 

ABC Vice President and EC parent, Bryan Pringle, opened the evening with prayer and emphasized the impact that athletics has on the development of the student-athlete, most importantly as they grow in character and faith and learn to glorify God in all that they do. Bill Van Hoff, ABC President, then shared Booster Club updates and accomplishments from the past year, including the completion of the all-new Fitness and Wellness Center. 

The program was then turned over to Athletic Director Seth Stadtlander, who had the privilege of recognizing our coaches and student-athletes. EC Coaches were first on the list to be highlighted: 

• Greg Hagedoorn, Boys Lacrosse, received the Coach of the Year Award in Spring 2025 in the NJILL Dowling Division.
• Erik Olson, Girls Basketball, received the Coach of the Year Award for the 2025-2026 season in the NJIC Meadowlands Division. 

Our student-athletes were up next with awards presented to our 47 first-time varsity letter recipients and recognition of student-athletes for outstanding contributions to their sports with All-League and All-County honors. 

A few milestone achievements were also celebrated:

• 100 Points – Joe Altomare (182), Boys Lacrosse
• 100 Strikeouts – Allie VandeVrede, Softball
• 100 Strikeouts – Matthew Altomare, Baseball

Senior student-athletes were honored with the following notable awards:

• Paterson Old Timers Award: Caroline Pringle
• PCCA Athlete of the Year Award: Caroline Pringle, and Yejoon Shin
• NJSIAA Scholar Athlete Award: Carter Groen
• National Girls in Sport Award: Viktoria Brown
• NJIC Sportsmanship Award: Hannah Leegwater and Andrew Mwirigi

The Golden Eagle Award was given to three seniors for participating in at least 12 athletic seasons during their high school career: Carter Groen, Hannah Leegwater, and Caroline Pringle. 

And finally, the Varsity Letter Award for most varsity letters in their high school career was given to Andy Genuario (9), Carter Groen (9), Hannah Leegwater (12) and Caroline Pringle (12). 

Congratulations to all of our athletes for a strong and competitive year of EC athletics! It was a joy to celebrate all of their accomplishments with family, friends, and alumni. 

A special thank you to all of those who sponsored tickets and tables to help cover the costs of athletes and coaches so that they could attend the event for free. 

Athlete Table Sponsors:

• Green-Way Irrigation
• Heerema Company
• KV Builders, LLC
• Martin Orthodontics
• Regency Wealth Management
• The Van Hoff Family
• The Vanden Dorpel Family
• Wiegers, Inc. 

New change in the works for next year: 

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, January 27, 2027 for The EC Community Beefsteak supporting the Athletic Booster Club. The entire EC community of students, parents, alumni, and friends are invited to this festive beefsteak dinner in support of the ABC. Stay tuned for more information about this event. There will be a separate event for student-athlete awards in May 2027; more information to come from the athletic department!

Thank you to all our parents, coaches, teachers, alumni, and friends who continue to cheer on our student-athletes as they glorify God through their sports. SOAR EC!

To learn more about membership and how you can get involved with the Athletic Booster Club, click here.

Check out the event photos from this year’s Athletic Awards Beefsteak or the photobooth pictures.