RHS Athletic Hall of Fame
Members of the Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame are those that have made a lasting impact on the school’s sports program as either student players, coaches, or supporters. Often the student players have continued to influence their chosen sports after high school by ongoing participation in athletics.
Chelsea Steinberg, 2020 Inductee
Despite her 5’2″ 113 pound frame, athleticism never was a problem for star gymnast Chelsea Steinberg. She continued to wow crowds throughout her four year high school career at RHS as well as providing Incredible moments as a member of the University of New Hampshire’s gymnastic team for another four years. In a 2011 article by Jim Furlong it was stated that, “Chelsea was the best gymnast in the history of Ridgewood High School.” It can also be noted that at the time she was also considered the best gymnast to ever come out of the state of New Jersey.
Steinberg recalled that when she was little, her mother would watch her roll around on the floor prompting her mom to get her involved at the U.S. Gymnastics training Center in Mahwah where she continued to train for the next thirteen years. Chelsea recalled “the day I started they kept moving me up. I never got to do another sport.” After a couple of years she realized that she was dedicated to the sport and as a student at Willard Elementary School and George Washington Middle School she decided to concentrate on gymnastics throughout her years at RHS which left no time for other sports. Her dedication to her sport paid off with large accomplishments culminating with an athletic scholarship to UNH for four years beginning in the fall of 2007.
Chelsea’s accomplishments in the sport stand alone as some of the greatest individual accomplishments ever seen in the history of athletics at RHS as well as in Bergen County and the state. Besides a plethora of accomplishments at the league level Chelsea won Bergen County Championships in all four years she competed. In 2003 vault, uneven bars, floor exercise and all around. In 2004, uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise and all around. In 2005, vault, uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise and all around. In 2006, vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and all around. She was the New Jersey State Sectional Champion in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 on uneven bars and balance beam. She also won the vault and all around in 2003 and 2006 with championships being won in 2003 and 2005 in floor exercise.
In 2004 Chelsea won the outright New Jersey State Championship in vault, balance beam, floor exercise and all around as well as winning the State all around championship in 2005 and 2006. She also captured the State Championship in the vault again in 2006. In the State Sectional competition that year Chelsea scored the only perfect 10 ever recorded in that competition in any event (she did it in the vault). Chelsea was named the Bergen Record’s Athlete of the Decade and Darin Cooper of the Record selected her the toughest competitor he had seen in all high school athletics for that same ten year period.
Chelsea went on to have a stellar intercollegiate career at the University of New Hampshire. Her coach is quoted as saying that on any given day Chelsea was as good as anyone in the country on the balance beam. She was the EAGL balance beam champion in 2010, earned EAGL First Team Conference honors all four years. She was recognized as an NACGC/W All American and EAGL All Academic Team member all four years. She was an NCAA Scholastic All American 2007-2011, team Co-captain 2010-2011 and team MVP 2010-2011. Chelsea is an outpatient Occupational Therapy specialist on a new team at New York Presbyterian Hospital today and tonight is one of the newest members of the RHS Athletic Hall of Fame.
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Lynne Collazo, Chuck Johnson, Patricia Putnoky Piotrowski, Tyler Roten, Kelci Smesko, Brett Sowers,
2022
Patti Auger, Eric Benedict, Eunae Jo, Peter McGinley, Karla Mixon, Clair Nowakowski, 1983 Softball Team, Joe Pedone, Julia Rappa
2020
Carlos Peay, Louis Edward “Eddie” Peay, Kelly Conheeney, Samantha Cermack, Chris Rae, Chelsea Steinberg, Mark Strittmatter, Andrew Clarke, Jim Dee, Phil Ross Sr.
2018
2016
Maureen Greico, Larry Coyle, Jacob Brown, Richard Bennett, Toshiko D’Elia
2014
John Marshall, Jim Bruni, Mark Romeo, Jean Hughes, Chris Van Note, Nancy Hogan, RHS Football Team 1913, Don Taylor, Rachel Grygiel, John Cerf, Paul Tornatore, Michele Marangi, RHS Boys Lacrosse 1990-92
2012
Craig Halyard, Tom Flatt, Tricia Pappalardo, Mike Henderson, Kandie Latham, Leigh Jester, Tom Dusel, Roger Sweeney, Linda Zabielski, Patty Capasso, Dennis Sullivan, Nick & Dottie Capasso, Track and Field (Bain-Daley-Oliver Era)
2010
Primo “Duke” DeRochi, Debbie Paul, George Monro, Bill Dunne, Amy Lyons, James Sullivan, Michael Culver, Keith O’Connor, Josh Kauke, Patti Mileski, Mary Ellen Mileski
2008
Kitty Batterson, Henry Blauvelt, Frank L. Bradley, Jr., Lucia Cancelmo, Chris DuFlocq, Renee DuFlon, RHS Girls’ Basketball 1922-1923, Harry Grundy, Jim Jones, Joe LeMay, Jen McDermott, Shannon McGarrigle, Tony Napier, Margaret Niemann, Vince Robertiello (Jamie Roberts), Damian Ross, Mike Springer
2006
Mario Ferraro, Paul Ferraro, Don Haldane, Wendy Hartwig, Tom Hopper, Bob Keino, Frank Mozeleski, Tim Mullen, Jenna Rogers, Donna O’Connell, Carin Cone, Charles Yennie
2004
Paul Arrigoni, Pete Campbell, Doug Cook, Becky Deetz, Otis Grendler, Jodi Hartwig, Gene Links, Debbie O’Connell, Aimee McGuire, Walt Perdue, Tom Simos, Kazbek Tambi, Jack Van Yperen, Bob Whitaker, Margaret Scutro