It’s been a while since Gill St. Bernard’s has been to the Somerset County Tournament championship game, and a lot of that has been due to the immense success Rutgers Prep and Franklin have had in recent years.
But there was a time when the Knights dominated themselves. They won three straight championships from 2012-2014, beating Rutgers Prep once and Franklin twice.
This year, they’re one step away, and probably a year earlier than Mark Gnapp had expected.
After all, when you lose players to graduation like Kayleigh Walsh – who’s now playing in the Big Ten for Northwestern – and Ella Fajardo – an international-caliber player who’s at FDU and a celebrity in her native Phillipines – who would think they’d be right back here?
And yet, here they are, a win away from the final.
To get there, they’ll have to dispatch 6th-seed Hillsborough, which is also having a solid year, in the SCT semifinals Thursday night at Gill St. Bernard’s in Gladstone, where Central Jersey Sports Radio will have all the action live beginning with the pregame show at 4:45 pm. Mike Pavlichko will call all the action; click here to listen.
Click here to listen to Mike Pavlichko talk to Gill head coach Mark Gnapp about the Knights’ season so far, and a third meeting this season with Hillsborough: