Female Athlete of the Week could go down as one of her school's best
TL;DR
Gina Minichiello, a three-sport star from Hasbrouck Heights, has been named Female Athlete of the Week after winning multiple championships. She scored a perfect 40 points at the Bergen County group track meet.
Key points
- Gina Minichiello is a three-sport athlete.
- She won championships in multiple track events.
- She scored a perfect 40 points at the meet.
- She has been named Female Athlete of the Week.
Memo to Rocco Minichiello: Your argument as the best athlete in the family is losing a little oomph.
Hasbrouck Heights three-sport star Gina Minichiello, Roccoâs younger sister, continues to set records and win golds in every sport she plays. Sheâs coming off championships at the Bergen County group track meet in the 400 hurdles, 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, plus the long jump. She scored 40 out of 40 possible points.
Minichiello can now add Female Athlete of the Week, presented by HSS, to her resume. Take that, big brother. Though, to be fair, Rocco was a football standout at Heights.
âI am definitely competitive with him and my sister Mia, but maybe not as much as you would think,â Gina said. âMia never did track, but my brother did more sports especially when we were young. I always say I am the best athlete of the three. My brother will argue it.â
Gina Minichiello, Hasbrouck Heights track and field
To Hasbrouck Heights veteran track coach Rob Brady, who has seen just about every great athlete in town for the last 50 years, Gina ranks as one of the best.
âI feel Gina is one of the best all-around athletes in school history,â Brady said. âAnd she will leave as one of the most accomplished athletes male or female in school history. She already has a state group title in track. She has already been all-county and has already qualified for outdoor nationals.â
And Gina has done all this while playing three varsity sports in high school. Gina, 16, was third-team All-Bergen County in soccer after scoring 22 goals and had 11 assists last fall. She was second-team All-County in girls basketball and was the second leading scorer in North Jersey last season. She has a good shot at becoming the schoolâs first 2,000-point scorer.
Whatâs her secret? Just work, every day.
âBeing consistent,â Gina said. âEvery day at track practice, youâre doing something different, and you want to make sure you are recovering on the easy days and then you know there are the hard days when youâre doing 400-hurdle workouts and thatâs what you have to do to get better. Thereâs no way around it.â
Entering Hasbrouck Heights, Gina wasnât 100 percent going to go out for track, because she had played so much softball growing up. But the lure of some friends and Brady swayed her.
âI think we were very fortunate that a lot of her friends from soccer in her freshman year were track athletes,â Brady said. âShe naturally wanted to be around good kids that she played with, like Lexy Samperi and Morgan Gagliano.â
âI just gave it a shot,â Gina said. âI had never run track before.â
Gina doesnât have a favorite sport of the three. When itâs fall, sheâs committed to soccer, when itâs winter, itâs basketball time, and in the spring, sheâs on the run.
âTrack is so much different from my other sports, itâs the one sport I get the most nervous about,â Gina said. âI think itâs the group of girls, and itâs this bond that you build all struggling together and you want to do well. I love the individual part and I love how the results are based on how hard I work. I donât have to rely on anyone else.â
Gina confesses to one superstition: Scrambled eggs and sourdough bread for breakfast. She gets nervous and bites her nails, a habit sheâs trying to stop.
Gina is also in the schoolâs National Honor Society, is editor of the schoolâs paper âThe Pilotâs Logâ and is a member of the wellness club. Sheâd like to study physical or occupational therapy in college, but where and what sport she hasnât decided.
âIâm going in June to see the Naval Academy,â Gina said. âI have been thinking about Florida, but I do want to stay around sports.â
Seven Garcia, Hackensack track and field
Lyla Stokes, Waldwick basketball
Yannick Fall, Becton track and field
Jessie Wolf, Northern Highlands swimming
Gino Gorga, Ramapo wrestling
Sandra Vitolo, Ramapo track and field
Thomas Barnes, Rutherford bowling
Stephanie Morano, Fair Lawn basketball
Brendan Alef, Demarest
Jocelyn Danbe, River Dell wrestling
Will LoSauro, Ridgewood hockey
Mia Spadavecchia, Westwood wrestling
Preston Ferro, Don Bosco ice hockey
Angelica Do, Leonia basketball
Andrew Del Rey, Waldwick basketball
Emma Fowler, Bogota basketball
Evan Yuen, Fort Lee bowling
Kaitlyn Zens, Bergen Tech bowling
Derek Zammit, DePaul football
Chukwuma Odoh, Paramus Catholic football
Sofia Guzman, Secaucus volleyball
Julian Pierre, West Milford soccer
Deana Finkelstein, Demarest volleyball
Misha Theberge, Saddle River Day cross-country
Eva Myers, Pascack Hills volleyball
Luke Senatore, Fort Lee football
Hope Ernst, Ramsey soccer
Casey Grusser, Ramapo
Katherine Keating, Ridgewood cross-country
Robert Dasler, Lyndhurst soccer
Alyssa Salerno, Ramapo gymnastics
Shane Armstrong, Palisades Park/Leonia football
Maddy Romero, Pascack Valley volleyball
Jayden Gonzalez, Bogota football
Lexi McGinty, Tenafly volleyball
Dante Benvenuti, Passaic Valley football
Jaime Carlin, Holy Angels tennis
Shane Small, Old Tappan football
Juliana Campanelli, Waldwick volleyball
Chris Rios, Wood-Ridge football
Elena Pothos, Old Tappan soccer
Onyx Trinidad of Dumont AOW Athlete of the Week 9/12/25
Allie Polyniak of Pascak Valley AOW Athlete of the Week 9/12/25
Adam Shaw, Pascack Valley football
1 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Seven Garcia, Hackensack track and field
1 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Seven Garcia, Hackensack track and field
2 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Lyla Stokes, Waldwick basketball
3 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Yannick Fall, Becton track and field
4 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Jessie Wolf, Northern Highlands swimming
5 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Gino Gorga, Ramapo wrestling
6 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Sandra Vitolo, Ramapo track and field
7 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Thomas Barnes, Rutherford bowling
8 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Stephanie Morano, Fair Lawn basketball
9 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Brendan Alef, Demarest
10 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Jocelyn Danbe, River Dell wrestling
11 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Will LoSauro, Ridgewood hockey
12 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Mia Spadavecchia, Westwood wrestling
13 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Preston Ferro, Don Bosco ice hockey
14 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Angelica Do, Leonia basketball
15 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Andrew Del Rey, Waldwick basketball
16 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Emma Fowler, Bogota basketball
17 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Evan Yuen, Fort Lee bowling
18 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Kaitlyn Zens, Bergen Tech bowling
19 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Derek Zammit, DePaul football
20 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Chukwuma Odoh, Paramus Catholic football
21 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Sofia Guzman, Secaucus volleyball
22 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Julian Pierre, West Milford soccer
23 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Deana Finkelstein, Demarest volleyball
24 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Misha Theberge, Saddle River Day cross-country
25 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Eva Myers, Pascack Hills volleyball
26 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Luke Senatore, Fort Lee football
27 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Hope Ernst, Ramsey soccer
28 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Casey Grusser, Ramapo
29 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Katherine Keating, Ridgewood cross-country
30 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Robert Dasler, Lyndhurst soccer
31 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Alyssa Salerno, Ramapo gymnastics
32 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Shane Armstrong, Palisades Park/Leonia football
33 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Maddy Romero, Pascack Valley volleyball
34 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Jayden Gonzalez, Bogota football
35 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Lexi McGinty, Tenafly volleyball
36 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Dante Benvenuti, Passaic Valley football
37 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Jaime Carlin, Holy Angels tennis
38 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Shane Small, Old Tappan football
39 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Juliana Campanelli, Waldwick volleyball
40 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Chris Rios, Wood-Ridge football
41 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Elena Pothos, Old Tappan soccer
42 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Onyx Trinidad of Dumont AOW Athlete of the Week 9/12/25
43 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Allie Polyniak of Pascak Valley AOW Athlete of the Week 9/12/25
44 / 44
2025-26 Athletes of the Week
Adam Shaw, Pascack Valley football
Gina Minichiello
Sport: Track and field
School: Hasbrouck Heights
Class: Junior Age: 16
Accomplishment: Minichiello, a three-sport standout, won four events at the Bergen County group meet: the 400 hurdles, the 200- and 100-meter dashes and the long jump.
Also nominated: Samantha Weston of Midland Park for softball; Tori Hackett of Passaic Tech and Keira OâCathain of Pascack Valley for track and field; Julia DiMassi of Indian Hills and Liana Koch of Ramapo for flag football; and Ava Bang of Holy Angels for golf.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Record Female Athlete of the Week: Gina Minichiello, Hasbrouck Heights
Q&A
What records has Gina Minichiello set in her sports?
Gina Minichiello has set records in the 400 hurdles, 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, and the long jump.
How did Gina Minichiello perform at the Bergen County group track meet?
She won championships in the 400 hurdles, 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, and the long jump, scoring a perfect 40 out of 40 points.
Who is Gina Minichiello's brother and what sport did he excel in?
Gina Minichiello's brother is Rocco Minichiello, who was a standout football player at Hasbrouck Heights.
What does being named Female Athlete of the Week signify for Gina Minichiello?
Being named Female Athlete of the Week highlights Gina Minichiello's exceptional performance and achievements in her sports.
