Cranford High School - Student Life - Athletics

Athletics

Cranford High School now competes in the Union County Interscholastic Athletic Conference, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. From the conference's inception until the 2005-06 school year, Cranford was a member of the Watchung Conference. Due to the change in size of the student body and location, Cranford'sdecision to leave the Watchung Conference for the Mountain Valley Conference was approved in 2006 and Cranford began competition in most sports in the 2006-07 school year, remaining there until the 2010 realignment.

The track team is one of the won county and conference championships in its two seasons of running. The cross-country team has won Union County and Watchung Conference championships for the past eight years. The cross country and track teams have been known as some of the best teams in the school over the years, with many individual and team championships over the years. Recently, the girls track team has won state sectionals and has had two group champions in 2009.

Cranford High School's baseball won the state championship in 1971, 1997 and 2010 the Union County Championship in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007 and 2010. The baseball team won the 2003 North II, Group III sectional championship, edging Millburn High School in the tournament final. The 2007 team won the North II, Group III state sectional championship, edging West Morris Central High School, by a score of 5-4. The 2010 baseball team was the first team to win all five championships possible: Conference, County, Section, North NJ, and State, including a 15-3 win over Ocean City High School for the program's third win in a Group III final, as part of a season in which the team finished with a record of 26-5.

Softball also won the best in the state. Field hockey, ice hockey, golf and tennis are also some of the best teams in the school. The ice hockey team won a series of conference and division championships in the 1990s.

Cranford High School football the past three years has become extremely successful throughout the state playoffs. Coach Erik Rosenmeier has been the football coach since 2004. Cranford recently erected lights at the local football field. Cranford's football team was undefeated in 1957, won the North Jersey, Section II, Group III state championship, and was ranked eighth in the state behind seven Group IV schools. The Blue-and-Gold eleven shared the sectional title with the former Clifford Scott HS of East Orange in 1952. Cranford won the North II Group III state sectional championship on December 3, 2011 led by junior quarterback Reggie Green, defeating Parsippany Hills High School by a score of 27-0, finishing the season with a 10-1 record, its only loss coming to Summit High School.

The girls volleyball team in 2006 shared the Mountain Valley Conference title with Union Catholic High School and made it to the semi-finals of the Union County Tournament. The 2007 team had a record of 25-3, the girls won the conference title, and defeated Westfield High School for the first time ever in the Union County Tournament finals. They made their best state tournament appearance, losing to Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest in three games. In the 2008 season, the team was equally successful and after losing the county to Union Catholic at Union Catholic in a three games and also losing the Mountain Valley Conference to Union Catholic, the team came back to be seeded 1st in the Group II state Championships and went on to capture the Group II state title over Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest in the tournament final and advancing to the Tournament of Champions with a record of 24-4, becoming the first public school from Union County to capture a volleyball state title.

Cranford maintains a spirited rivalry with Westfield High School in sports where the two compete. Some notable games looking back a to 2010 which kept the rivalry sparked were soccer and baseball county championships. After beating Westfield earlier in the year during the regular season, Cranford defeated Westfield by a score of 1-0 in the county championship. During the spring, the baseball team was able to knock off Westfield by a score of 6-5 in the county championship. Cranford trailed by as much as five runs during the game and were able to rally back to defeat their tough rivals.