Schools Scene

RFH’s Chris Lanzalotto: Monmouth County Athletic Director of the Year

He’s the top high school athletic director in the county.

Rumson Fair Haven Regional High School’s (RFH) Chris Lanzalotto has been named Shore Conference Monmouth County Athletic Director of the Year 2023.

Lanzalotto, who stepped into the athletic director role at RFH 10 years ago, won the honor due to his exemplary overseeing and expansion of the Bulldog athletic program, which has yielded excellent results.

About Chris Lanzalotto …

Lanzalotto began his career as an educator in 1989 at St. Peter’s Prep, where he taught Physical Education and Health and coached football and boys volleyball.

He joined the RFH faculty in 2000 and spent six years teaching and coaching football, girls volleyball, and boys lacrosse.

From there, he moved into a supervisory position, overseeing student activities and special academic programs. One year later, Lanzalotto assumed the role of assistant principal until being named the school’s athletic director in 2013.

Lanzalotto says that being an athletic director was always his “dream job,” and credits Walt Reiser, the long-time athletic director and athletic trainer who preceded him at RFH, with serving as a role model and mentor.

Over the past decade, besides inheriting and managing an established athletic and extracurricular program, Lanzalotto has overseen the expansion of clubs and activities to roughly 60 of varied interests.

During his time, RFH has added girls gymnastics, flag football, squash, crew, and surf. At RFH, he has also overseen fully-funded boys lacrosse and ice hockey teams and has managed upgrades to facilities, including a renovated fitness center, track, stadium field, and the addition of turf fields for field hockey, baseball and softball.

Lanzalotto also supported the addition of a thriving strength and conditioning program under Coach Rob Orrok.  

Lanzalotto credits much of his success to the staff that he works with on a daily basis: Sue Wankel, this year’s Directors of Athletics Association of New Jersey’s Administrative Assistant of the Year; Kim Pierson, assistant athletic director; Alex Stein, athletic trainer; and all of the extracurricular advisors and athletic coaches at RFH.  

“When asked what he is most proud of regarding his work as athletic director, Lanzalotto said, ‘The kids … how hard they work in the classroom and on the field. We have 30+ kids every year that go on to continue their athletic careers in college and that’s more admirable than any amount of championships that we win.'”

Outside of his work at RFH, Lanzalotto volunteers his time serving on the executive committee of the Shore Conference, as the Shore Conference chairperson of both boys and girls lacrosse, and serving on the NJSIAA Girls Lacrosse seeding committee.