Sayreville War Memorial High School

Sayreville War Memorial High School (SWMHS) is a four-year public high school located in the Parlin section of Sayreville, in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Sayreville Public Schools district. The school is home to the Sayreville Bombers, who are best known for their varsity football and track program. Sayreville's colors are blue and grey. The name "War Memorial" recognizes the World War II veterans who reside in the borough.[5] The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1946.[4]

Sayreville War Memorial High School
Address
820 Washington Road (CR 535)

Sayreville
,
Middlesex County
,
New Jersey
08859

United States
Coordinates40.46277°N 74.323919°W / 40.46277; -74.323919
Information
TypePublic high school
Established1939 (orig. location)
1962 (curr. location)[1]
School districtSayreville Public Schools
SuperintendentRichard Labbe
NCES School ID341464003580[2]
PrincipalDale Rubino
Faculty137.6 FTEs[2]
Grades9 to 12
Enrollment1,697 (as of 2021–22)[2]
Student to teacher ratio12.3:1[2]
Color(s)  Blue
  gray[3]
Athletics conferenceGreater Middlesex Conference (general)
Big Central Football Conference (football)
Team nameBombers[3]
AccreditationMiddle States Association of Colleges and Schools[4]
YearbookQuo Vadis
Websitewww.sayrevillehigh.net

As of the 2020–21 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,755 students and 135.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.9:1. There were 504 students (28.7% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 128 (7.3% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[2]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 163rd-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology.[6] The school had been ranked 241st in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 232nd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[7] The magazine ranked the school 213th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[8] The school was ranked 217th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[9]

Schooldigger.com ranked the school 222nd out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (an increase of 1 position from the 2009 rank) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy and mathematics components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[10]

Athletics

The Sayreville War Memorial High School Bombers[3] compete in the Greater Middlesex Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools located in the greater Middlesex County area and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[11] Sports consist of tennis, bowling, softball, field hockey, soccer, basketball, swimming, football, cross country, track and field, baseball and wrestling. With 1,342 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 students in that grade range.[12] The football team was reclassified into Central Jersey, Group V for the 2013 and 2014 seasons, and then into North Jersey II, Group IV starting with the 2015 season.[13]

The football team competes in Division 5D of the Big Central Football Conference, which includes 60 public and private high schools in Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset, Union and Warren counties, which are broken down into 10 divisions by size and location.[14] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group IV North for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 895 to 1,296 students.[15]

The school participates as the host school / lead agency for joint cooperative field hockey and football teams with South Amboy Middle High School. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[16]

Championships

The boys' basketball team won the Group I state championship in 1951 (defeating Verona High School in the tournament final) and 1952 (vs. Dunellen High School).[17] The 1951 team won the Group I title with a 46-36 win against Verona in the championship game played in the Elizaebth Armory.[18]

The boys' track team won the Group IV state indoor relay championship in 1968.[19]

The field hockey team won the Central Jersey Group IV state sectional championship in 1975.[20]

The football team won the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III state sectional championship in 1997, the Central Jersey Group IV title in 2010, 2011 and 2012, the North Jersey II Group IV title in 2016 and the Central Jersey Group V title in 2018.[21][22]

The 2012 team finished the season 12-0 after winning the Central Jersey Group IV title with a 35-28 win against Middletown High School South in the championship game, the program's third straight sectional title;[23] the 2004 team earned consideration from the Courier News as one of "the best in GMC history".[24] The team won the 2016 North Jersey II Group IV title, defeating Middletown High School North by a score of 41-13 in the finals.[25] The team won the Central Jersey Group V title in 2018 with a 6-0 win against North Brunswick Township High School in the championship game[26] and then went on to finish the season with a 12-1 record by defeating Williamstown High School by a score of 14-7 in the Central / South Group V bowl game.[27] Prior to the creation of the playoff system, the team had unbeaten seasons in 1941 (6-0-1), 1946 (9-0) and 1949 (8-0).[28]

The boys' bowling team won the Group III state championship in 2008-2010 and 2013, 2015 and 2016; the program's six group titles are ranked second in the state. The team won the Tournament of Champions in 2008, 2009 and 2013 and 2016, making the program the only one to win the ToC more than twice.[29]

The wrestling team won the North II Group III state sectional championship in 2008[30]

The boys track team won the Group IV spring / outdoor track state championship in 2014.[31]

Hazing

On October 6, 2014, in the wake of a criminal investigation into allegations of repeated serious hazing among members of the football team. Sayreville's school superintendent Richard Labbe, himself a former assistant football coach at SWMHS, announced the cancellation of the remainder of the high school's 2014 football season for its varsity, junior varsity and freshman teams.[32] The school suspended seven students after county prosecutors charged them with crimes including sexual assault of their younger teammates, in a case that received widespread media coverage[33][34][35][36] and "focused national attention on hazing".[37] The athletic director resigned; the head coach was transferred to an elementary school;[38][39] and the seven students remained suspended for the duration of the 2014–2015 school year. By August 2015, six of them were sentenced to probation and community service for lesser crimes ranging from hazing to simple assault.[40][41] The seventh criminal case was settled in February 2016.[42] According to junior varsity players, "the same thing had been done to them by upperclassmen when they were freshmen. It's been going on for a long time."[5]

Administration

The current principal is Dale Rubino. His core administration team includes three vice principals: Michael Salum, Megan Romero, and Katelyn Zurawski.[43]

Notable alumni

References
  1. Sayreville Historical Society, ed. Sayreville, p. 65. Arcadia Publishing, 2001. ISBN 0738504904. Accessed September 27, 2016.
  2. School data for Sayreville War Memorial High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 15, 2022.
  3. Sayreville War Memorial High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  4. Sayreville War Memorial High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed February 9, 2022.
  5. Zernike, Kate; and Schweber, Nate. "Sayreville High School Arrests Divide a Town That Lived for Football", The New York Times, October 12, 2014. Accessed September 27, 2016. "Maureen Jenkins, who organized the vigil on Sunday evening, noted that the original 'bombers' were the town's World War II veterans, not to mention the other teams at the high school."
  6. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  7. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 7, 2012.
  8. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 14, 2011.
  9. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  10. New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009–2010, Schooldigger.com. Accessed January 1, 2012.
  11. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  12. NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  13. Ryan, Chris. "Football: Sayreville reclassified to North 2, Group 4", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, August 24, 2015. Accessed September 27, 2016. "After years falling under a Central Jersey classification, Sayreville — along with its four state championships — has been shifted to North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 for the 2015 season. Sayreville was a force in Central Jersey, Group 4 in recent years, winning three straight titles from 2010-2012. Sayreville made the jump to Central Jersey, Group 5 in 2013, where it suffered a semifinal loss to Manalapan."
  14. Kinney, Mike. "Big Central revises 2020 football schedule for its shortened inaugural season", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, August 12, 2020. Accessed April 18, 2021. "The newly formed Big Central Football Conference has released a revised 2020 schedule for its inaugural season.... the BCFC is comprised of schools from Middlesex, Union, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren counties."
  15. NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2022–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  16. NJSIAA Fall Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
  17. NJSIAA Boys Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
  18. "Verona Wins North Jersey Section 1 Title; Beaten by Big Sayreville Squad for State Diadem; Verona's Jinx in Finals Continues as Central Jersey boys Down Them, 46-36", Verona-Cedar Grove Times, March 22, 1951. Accessed February 8, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "After battling Its way to the final of the thirty-third annual Group I NJSIAA championships, a plucky Verona Hiih basketball brigade, Essex County's last survivor in the tourney, bowed to the powerful Sayreville High School Bombers, Central Jersey champions, by a 46-36 score at the Elizabeth Armory on Saturday afternoon."
  19. History of the NJSIAA Indoor Relay Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
  20. History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  21. Sayreville Football Team Preview, MaxPreps.com. Accessed June 2, 2016.
  22. NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  23. "Football: Sayreville holds off Middletown South, 35-28, for Central Jersey, Group 4 title", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, December 8, 2012, updated August 25, 2019. Accessed November 21, 2020. "The pick-six extended Sayreville's lead to 21 points, and it went on to win its third consecutive Central Jersey, Group 4 title in a 35-28 victory against Middletown South on Saturday at Rutgers University."
  24. Tufaro, Greg. "Which football team is the best in GMC history?", Courier News, August 15, 2018. Accessed November 20, 2020. "Sayreville 2012 (Central Group IV) The Bombers limited nine opponents to a touchdown or less on the way to winning a third consecutive sectional title."
  25. Perez, Braulio. "Sayreville's secret weapon comes up big time in championship battle", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, December 3, 2016. Accessed December 9, 2016. "Mike Germann (44) of Sayreville celebrates after recovering a fumble during the second half of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 championship football game between Sayreville and Middletown North at Rutgers University's High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, NJ on 12/3/16. Sayreville won 41-14."
  26. Tufaro, Greg. "NJ football: Defense lifts Sayreville to win over North Brunswick for sectional title", Courier News, November 17, 2018. Accessed October 28, 2020. "Whitford, who scored the game’s lone touchdown, converting a fourth-and-goal with a two-yard scoring scamper early in the second quarter, was eventually able to take a knee to set off a raucous celebration at War Memorial Stadium as the Bombers posted a 6-0 victory over the upstart Raiders in Saturday’s Central Group V final."
  27. Kinney, Mike. "Football: Full coverage of Sayreville's win vs. Williamstown in South Group 5 bowl game", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 23, 2018, updated August 22, 2019. Accessed October 28, 2020. "Connor Holmes recovered a fumbled punt attempt in the end zone with 41 seconds to play to give 11th-ranked Sayreville a stunning 14-7 victory over seventh-ranked Williamstown in the NJSIAA/Rothman Orthopaedics South Group 5 bowl game Friday night at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. Williamstown (12-1) scored on just its second play from scrimmage on a 43-yard run by Wade Inge, but could do little else after that."
  28. Haley, John. "Unbeaten Sayreville chasing history; Sayreville playoff history", The Star-Ledger, November 15, 2012. Accessed November 3, 2015. "Apparently those old-timers I spoke with weren't old enough because Sayreville, which began playing in 1940, finished 9-0 in 1946 and 8-0 in 1949. The 1941 team finished 6-0-1."
  29. History of NJSIAA Boys Bowling Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed August 1, 2022.
  30. NJSIAA Wrestling Team Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2021.
  31. NJSIAA Boys Spring Track Summary of Group Titles, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  32. Stanmyre, Matthew. "Sayreville High School, rocked by hazing allegations, cancels football season", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 6, 2014. Accessed September 28, 2016. "As a hazing investigation by local and county authorities moves forward, the Sayreville War Memorial High School football season has been canceled, superintendent Richard Labbe said Monday night. The decision came after an emotional meeting that lasted more than two hours at the school with Labbe and parents of football players. The decision to cancel the season affects all levels of play -- freshman, junior varsity and varsity, Labbe said."
  33. Kaplan, Emily; and Hanlon, Greg. "Football-centric town of Sayreville divided by lewd hazing allegations", Sports Illustrated, October 7, 2014. Accessed September 28, 2016. "According to SI sources, including one close to the investigation, the allegations are lewd: Investigators are looking into whether upperclassmen on the Sayreville football team digitally penetrated underclassmen on the team."
  34. Staff. "Seven Sayreville (N.J.) football players charged in hazing scandal", USA Today High School Sports, October 10, 2014. Accessed December 9, 2016. "Seven members of the Sayreville (N.J.) football team are facing charges for their roles in a hazing scandal that caused school officials to cancel the remainder of the season earlier this week."
  35. Ansari, Anzadeh. "Seven teens charged in Sayreville High School assaults", CNN, October 11, 2014. Accessed December 9, 2016.
  36. Stanmyre, Matthew; Coleman, Vernal (December 28, 2014). "Voices from the locker room: Inside the Sayreville football scandal". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  37. Epstein, Sue (January 4, 2016). "Meet the man who will prosecute 5 of N.J.'s most high profile cases in 2016". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  38. Coleman, Vernal (January 6, 2015). "Sayreville football to return in 2015, says district superintendent". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  39. Coleman, Vernal (February 24, 2015). "Former Sayreville head football George Najjar retains teaching position following hazing scandal". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  40. Newman, Andy; Grant, Jason (August 10, 2015). "2 Sayreville Football Players Cleared of Serious Charges in Hazing Case". The New York Times. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  41. Amaral, Brian (August 31, 2015). "6 Sayreville football players in hazing case avoid detention, Megan's Law". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  42. Kent, Spencer. "Former Sayreville football player charged in hazing incident sues prosecutor, district", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 26, 2016. Accessed September 27, 2016.
  43. https://swmhs.sayrevillek12.net/about/directory, Sayreville War Memorial High School. Accessed October 7, 2022.
  44. Sockol, Matthew. "Sayreville Hall of Fame ceremony is April 27", CentralJersey.com, March 19, 2019. Accessed April 8, 2021. "Alban is from the Class of 1996 and has had a career in the arts for over 25 years. As a teenager, he portrayed the character Carlo on Sesame Street and has appeared on several other television series, including as a member of the cast of Prison Break"
  45. Members of the SWMHS Hall of Fame, Sayreville War Memorial High School. Accessed April 8, 2021.
  46. Becker, Arielle Levin. "Graduated in Borough: Sayreville honors 5 in H.S. hall of fame", Home News Tribune, May 21, 2005. Accessed October 13, 2014. "After graduating from high school in 1970, inductee Barry T. Albin went on to earn a law degree, serving as an assistant prosecutor, president of the New Jersey Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and, since 2002, an associate justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.... Rhonda Rompola a 1978 graduate won two national basketball championships while attending Old Dominion University."
  47. Peters, Jeremy W. "Politicians of All Stripes Join the Line for Bon Jovi", The New York Times, December 16, 2007. Accessed September 20, 2011. "'Who would have thought?' said John S. Wisniewski, a Democratic assemblyman who graduated from Sayreville War Memorial High School with Mr. Bon Jovi. 'I'm probably one of the few people in my graduating class who was involved in politics then and involved in politics now. And most of my friends looked at me like I had two heads.'"
  48. Acker, Michael. "Bon Jovi pays surprise visit to his old school", Suburban-EBS, March 23, 2006. Accessed September 27, 2016. "The man who may well be the borough's most famous son made a return to his alma mater last Thursday. Jon Bon Jovi arrived at Sayreville War Memorial High School the morning of March 16 to talk to more than 60 students for a half-hour in the school auditorium, an appearance filmed by ABC for the 20/20 television show."
  49. Jamaal Bowman, New Haven Chargers football. Accessed August 27, 2020. "Hometown: Sayreville, N.J. Prev School: Sayreville"
  50. Acker, Michael. "Inductees include boro officials, judge, diver; Second annual round of SWMHS inductions scheduled for May", Suburban, April 13, 2006. Accessed October 9, 2018. "The honorees in this second round of inductions - the Hall of Fame was created last year - are Sayreville Economic Redevelopment Agency (SERA) Executive Director and former state Sen. Randy Corman, Borough Councilman Stanley Drwal, national diving champion Reyne Borup Quackenbush, U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Victor J. Wolski, and SERA Vice Chairman and volunteer firefighter Raniero Travisano.... Corman, who graduated from Sayreville with the class of 1978, is another public official being inducted into the Hall of Fame."
  51. Staff. "Sayreville Native Stars In Hallmark Channel Film", News Record, November 7, 2008. Accessed September 20, 2011. "Evigan, who was recently inducted into the Sayreville War Memorial High School Alumni Hall of Fame for his contributions to the arts, began his career as something of a teen idol, and starred in the original Broadway casts of Jesus Christ Superstar and Grease."
  52. Acker, Michael. "Four alumni inducted into h.s. Hall of Fame Honorees' careers range from actor to funeral director", Suburban, May 24, 2007, backed up by the Internet Archive as of July 26, 2011. Accessed October 9, 2018. "Evigan graduated in 1971 and went on to act in a wide array of television shows and films. He portrayed B.J. McKay in the BJ and the Bear TV series and Joey Harris in My Two Dads."
  53. Kene Eze - 2010 Men's Soccer, William Paterson University. Accessed August 15, 2016. "Hometown: Sayreville, N.J.; High School: Sayreville War Memorial... His school's all-time leading scorer, he also was an all-county and all-division pick in 2008 and 2009... Also a second-team all-state honoree as a junior, he scored 106 career goals"
  54. Jehyve Floyd, ESPN. Accessed May 13, 2020. "Hometown: Parlin, N.J.; School: Sayreville War Memorial High"
  55. Beckerman, Jim. "It Was Slow Going at the Quick Stop: 'Clerks' Stars Kept Waiting", The Record, November 4, 1994. "A 20-year Sayreville resident, she plays Veronica, girlfriend of the hapless clerk Dante (O'Halloran).... A graduate of Sayreville High School and a friend of O'Halloran's for several years, Ghigliotti has acted opposite him in theater productions of Wait Until Dark and the off-off Broadway production Sabona."
  56. Evans, Bill. "Ex-Sayreville star Myles Hartsfield rebuilding in life, football after hazing scandal", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 24, 2015, updated August 24, 2019. Accessed December 15, 2020. "A year ago, Myles Hartsfield was a star on the Sayreville War Memorial High School football team, verbally committed to Penn State."
  57. Granieri, Laurie. "Sayreville native Dule Hill gears up for show's new season", Home News Tribune, August 7, 2009. Accessed October 13, 2014. "The biggest challenge for me is not making Gus too nerdy or too cool. Because Gus is a nerd, says Hill, 34, who grew up in Sayreville and is a 1993 graduate of Sayreville War Memorial High School."
  58. Burkard, Tom (April 20, 2002). "Yearbook—Sayreville 1962" (PDF). The South Amboy – Sayreville Times. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  59. "Sayreville War Memorial High School inducts Hall of Fame honorees for 2018", Suburban News, May 15, 2018. Accessed September 17, 2020. "Stacey Thalmann, accepting for the late Edward Thalmann, Class of 1962"
  60. Bourbeau, Garry. "Wasko is becoming man for all seasons", The Record, September 4, 1987. Accessed April 8, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Mike Wasko always wanted to be in the Olympic Games. During a gold-studded track career at both Sayreville High School and Fairleigh Dickinson University, he was driven by that desire. He still wants to be an Olympian, but something has changed. Instead of the Summer Games, the former high hurdles star is aiming at the Winter Olympics."
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