Cedar Ridge High School (New Jersey) Explained

Cedar Ridge High School is a defunct public high school in Old Bridge Township, in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, that opened in 1968 and closed in June 1994.

The school opened in 1968 as part of an effort to address overcrowding at Madison Township High School.^[1] Old Bridge High School opened in September 1994 and was formed from the merger of Cedar Ridge High School and Madison Central High School, which were the two existing high schools in Old Bridge Township.^[2]

The school had an enrollment of 1,150 in the 1990–1991 school year, slightly less than the student body at Madison Central.^[3]

Athletics

The school's football team had a perfect 9–0 season in 1973—one of three winning seasons in 25 years—and was recognized by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association as the Central Jersey Group IV state sectional champion in the final year in which champions were awarded by the NJSIAA (rather than based on playoffs).^[1] The team was ranked second in the state by The Star-Ledger.^{[4] [5]}

The girls' gymnastics team won the team state championship in 1983 and 1984.^[6]

The boys' cross country team won the Group III state championship in 1990 and 1991.^[7]

Notable alumni

• Junot Díaz (born 1968), Dominican American writer, creative writing professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and fiction editor at Boston Review.^[8]
• Doug Emhoff (born 1964), lawyer and second gentleman of the United States.^[9]
• Owen Henry (born 1959), politician who represents the 12th legislative district in the New Jersey Senate since January 2024^[10]
• Franklin Lawson, retired soccer player who played professionally in the American Soccer League and the United Soccer League.^[11]
• Caren Lissner (born 1973), novelist, essayist and newspaper editor, whose published novels include Carrie Pilby (2003).^[12]
• Tammy Lynn Sytch (born 1972), commonly known by her ring name "Sunny," a former professional wrestling manager, valet, ring announcer, and adult entertainer.^[13]
• Vitamin C (born 1972), singer / songwriter best known for her song Graduation (Friends Forever) and actress who appeared in the 1988 film Hairspray.^[14]

Notes and References

1. Haley, John. "Presenting the 50-year history of Old Bridge football (Madison Township/Madison Central, Cedar Ridge, Old Bridge)", The Star-Ledger, November 28, 2013. Accessed November 7, 2017. "To alleviate the population problem, a second high school in town opened in 1968 - Cedar Ridge."
2. Sargeant, Keith. "7:30 p.m.  - A high school sports powerhouse e-merges slowly", Home News Tribune, backed up by the Internet Archive as of December 23, 1999. Accessed November 7, 2017. "When Madison Central and Cedar Ridge merged in September 1994, most observers agreed that the Knights would rule the local sports scene."
3. Cheslow, Jerry. "If You're Thinking of Living in: Old Bridge", The New York Times, April 21, 1991. Accessed November 7, 2017. "Cedar Ridge High has 1,150 students and Madison Central High School has 1,210, allowing the schools to offer a wide variety of advanced placement courses. According to the Dr. Korshalla, the average class scores on state-mandated proficiency tests in reading and mathematics are constantly in the 90th percentile."
4. Schneider, Jeremy. "The Votes Are In: Who made it to Old Bridge's Mount Rushmore?", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, July 31, 2017. Accessed November 7, 2017. "Art Barnes, Cedar Ridge football coach - The second football coach in Cedar Ridge history, he led the Cougars to their best season ever when it went 9-0 in 1973 and finished No. 2 in the state according to The Star-Ledger."
5. Denman, Elliott. "Sports Angles: NJSIAA Rankings Subject to Debate Again", Asbury Park Press, December 6, 1973. Accessed December 28, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "Cedar Ridge was awarded the Central Jersey Group IV crown with 681 points after a 9-0-0 season that included victories over eight Middlesex County foes and Raritan of the Shore Conference, and Coach Art Barnes, of course, was elated."
6. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/21-gymnastics-history.pdf History of NJSIAA Girls Gymnastics
7. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/21-xc-group-team-champions_0.pdf NJSIAA Boys Cross Country State Group Champions
8. Cutler, Jacquline. "Junot Diaz: 'This is How You Lose Her'", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 23, 2012. Accessed November 7, 2017. "Born in the Dominican Republic, Diaz lived in Old Bridge, and graduated from Cedar Ridge High School and Rutgers University."
9. Chang, Kathy. Attended 1978-1980."Kamala Harris’ husband has roots in Matawan, Old Bridge", Centraljersey.com, November 12, 2020. Accessed November 26, 2020. "In November 2019, Douglas Emhoff tweeted 'I lived in Matawan/Old Bridge from 1969-1981 so New Jersey is still very much in my veins.'... Schools Superintendent David Cittadino tweeted on Nov. 11 a picture of Emhoff’s yearbook photo. The possible first second gentlemen attended Cedar Ridge High School before he moved to California."
10. https://www.njspotlightnews.org/special-report/nj-elections-legislature-district-12-senate-assembly/ NJ Elections Voters Guide: 12th Legislative District
11. http://depts.gpc.edu/~athletic/wsoccer/coaches.html GPC Jaguar Women's Soccer: Coaches
12. Dougher, Jamie. "Local writer will share her experiences, advice", Suburban News, July 3, 2003. Accessed November 7, 2017. "Caren Lissner, a former Old Bridge resident and graduate of Cedar Ridge High School, recently wrote what critics are calling 'the anti-chick-lit novel.'"
13. https://www.newspapers.com/image/145848189/ "Cedar Ridge High School Class of 1990"
14. http://sojo1049.com/jersey-girl-scores-major-gig-for-nickelodeon/ "Jersey Girl Scores Major Gig For Nickelodeon"