In four years, the Unified Basketball Team at Bridgewater-Raritan High School has outgrown itself.
To the point where one team cannot satisfy the needs of the Bridgewater-Raritan High School students who are knocking down the doors to the school’s two gyms to participate.
A program that was born four years ago with 16 players has now expanded to a total of 38.
This popularity has resulted in not one, but two, Unified Basketball Teams at Bridgewater-Raritan High School this winter.
“We had a record number of athletes and partners interested in joining Unified Basketball this season. When we started this program four years ago, we had 16 athletes and partners on the team," Cynthia Wong, who has been the coach all four seasons, proclaimed.
She then reported.
“This year, we had a total of 50 students interested in signing up and then 38 accepted.”
That roster total is four more than last year as well.
The solution was forming a JV team to complement the varsity squad.
“ Thanks to the support of the administration, we are able to have two Unified Basketball Teams this season to ensure everyone gets quality time to play and to experience the magic of Unified Sports,” Coach Wong said. “ We're very excited for both teams, and I anticipate another memorable season!"
The team consists of students who attend Special Education classes and students who are involved in the Physical Education Department's Peer Partners Program.
Why is the program such a hot ticket to join?
Two Bridgewater-Raritan High School senior football players, who just completed a historical season when the team won the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 state championship, the school’s first state sectional playoff title, explained why they enlisted.
“It is so much fun, and I always wanted to play, so this year I joined,” said Stephen Pikulin, a two-way lineman who also plays first base in baseball. “It is great to see everyone on an equal field.”
“It is a special interaction,” claimed Joey Confalone, a linebacker in the fall and an outfielder during the baseball season, who is a Unified Team member for the second straight winter.
Summer Winchock, a junior who contributed to the high school girls’ soccer team’s successful fall, when it advanced to the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 state sectional final, said that “she wanted to play since she is a Peer Partner.”
“The team is very popular in the high school,” added Summer, whose mother, Kristin, is an assistant coach on the Unified Team.
This winter, the Unified Team will aim to clear one hurdle that has thwarted Bridgewater-Raritan over the past two years.
Bridgewater-Raritan’s Unified Basketball Team was eliminated from the NJSIAA Group A tournament’s semifinals for the past two seasons by rival Hunterdon Central Regional High School.
Bridgewater-Raritan launched its bid to finally advance to the state championship game when it opened the season with a 28-27 victory over another rival, Old Bridge High School, on Tuesday, December 16, in the high school’s old gym
Coach Wong has a full crew of lieutenants to assist due to the large number of players.
Andrew Ciliberto serves as the JV coach, while the assistants are Rhonda Fishburn, Allison Lynch, Tito Santos, and Kristin Winchock.
Here are the members of the 2025-2026 Unified Team, including both varsity and JV players.
Veronica Barker
Brady Baxter
Pranav Bhagarith
Jasmine Chen
Anthony Ciminelli
Joseph Confalone
Kyle Cosenza
Ciara Decarlo
Robert Decarlo
Sophia DiCostanzo
Agil Dinesh
Alyssa Eschmann
Evan Farley
Gio Fuentes
Sofia Green
Shane Higgins
Yadyra Jimenez
Kellan Komline
Declan Kurdyla
Anirv Manthena
Nicolas Moore
Daniel Oldham
Paige Pacifico
Alexis Perle
Stephen Pikulin
Ayaan Qureshi
EJ Ramirez
Sarah Rashid
Vivian Seymour
Sai Shadangi
Rishi Thoppay
Anurag Trivedi
Jathin Vemulapalli
Sara Winchock
Summer Winchock
Camilla Yakhtelska
Arjun Yalamanchili
Shaunak Yalgi