shore sports networks basketball milestones

January 26, 2016 Volume-VIII Issue-2

VOLUME -V I I I / I S SUE - 2 / 1 / 26 / 1 62

S t e v e M E Y E RShore Sports NetworkDirector High School Divisionsteve.meyer@townsqua remedi a.com7 3 2 - 2 3 3 - 4 4 6 0

K e v i n W I L L I A M SShore Sports Network Directorkev in .w i l l i ams@townsqua remed ia.com

Sen ior Content Prov idersBobBadders // [email protected] // [email protected]

Shore Sports Network Journalis published by: T o w ns q ua re Me d i a8 Robbins Street Toms River, NJ 08753

Copyright 2016 Townsquare MediaAll rights reserved Reproduction in whole or in partwithout the permission of Shore Sports Network is prohibited

The first thing fans, players, coaches & parentswant to know after the big game is always,

Shore Sports Network has established itself as a leader in scholastic sports coverage in Monmouth and Oceancounties, providing more video highlight clips, in-depth reporting, feature

stories and regular updates than ANY OTHER OUTLET in the area.

”Is this going to be on ?”

Shore Sports Network Website Featuresn Get Video Highlights of all the important games that Shore Conference fans will be talking about.

n Catch up on the action you might have missedn Watch video clips of everything from the action early in the event to the big finish as well as video interviews with various athletes.

n www.shoresportsnetwork.com is the most visited sports site in the Shore Conference during the scholastic year

n Follow us on Twitter (over 16,000 followers) & Facebook, we keep fans posted onthe latest scores and news

n Established leading portal for local high school coverage.

SHORESPORTSNETWORK.COM 3

As the exclusive media partner of theShore Conference of High Schools, ShoreSports Network will help present the 2016Shore Conference Basketball TournamentFebruary 16-27, 2016. The boys and girlstournaments will be seeded on February 14and are open to teams with a .500 or betterrecord. The schedule for this year’stournament is listed below:

Tuesday, Feb. 16 Play-in round at higher seeds

Thursday, Feb. 18 Round of 16 at higher seeds

Saturday, Feb 20 Girls Quarterfinals at Brookdale C.C.

Sunday, Feb 21 Boys Quarterfinals at Brookdale C.C.

Monday, Feb 22 Girls Semifinals at Pine Belt Arena, TR

Tuesday, Feb 23 Boys Semifinals at Pine Belt Arena, TR

Saturday, Feb 27 Girls & Boys Finals at Monmouth University

Shoresportsnetwork.com will be your one-stop shop for complete coverageof this year’s tournament beginning with Matt Manley’s SCT preview in mid-February. The website will include updated brackets, schedules, scores andhighlights, game stories, videos and a history of what many consider the

highlight of thebasketball season.

The Shore SportsNetwork Journal willprint a specialchampionship gameissue which will serveas the official game-dayprogram for the Boys &Girls Championshipgames on February 27 atMonmouth University.The FREE issue willinclude rosters for thefour finalists, gamepreviews and more andwill be available as fansenter MonmouthUniversity.

In addition the Boys and Girlssemifinals will be broadcast live on the Shore Sports Network’s 1160 &1310AM as well as streamed live on shoresportsnetwork.com. Thosebroadcasts will be handled by Matt Harmon, Kevin Williams and Ed Sarluca.

Shore Sports Network to help presentShore Conference Basketball TournamentB y Kevin Wil l iams - Shore Sports Network Director

During the boys basketball season, Shore Sports Network willbe selecting an Army Strong Team of the Week, sponsored bythe U.S. Army. The feature team will be selected based onperformance from the prior week of action.


The first honor ofthe season goes toRanney, which is offto a school record 7-0 start behind astarting lineup thatincludes fourfreshmen. Alongwith Manasquan, thePanthers are one ofjust two remainingunbeaten teams inthe conference. The

players and first-year head coach Tahj Holden accepted the award at a pep rally on Thursday.

Last week, Ranney won the Albert E. Martin Buc Holiday Classic championship at Red BankRegional High School, Holden’s alma mater. The Panthers defeated Middletown North, Sayrevilleand host Red Bank – all by a double-figure margin.

During the tournament, freshman Bryan Antoine averaged 29.3 points per game to earn tournamentMost Valuable Player honors and classmate Scottie Lewis was named to the all-tournament team afteraveraging 19 points over the three games.

Ranney also began this week with wins on back-to-back nights over Point Pleasant Beach andAsbury Park on Tuesday and Wednesday. Those two teams have combined to win at least a share ofthe last eight Class B Central championships and combined for six straight NJSIAA Central JerseyGroup I championships from 2009 to 2014.

The seven straight wins to open the year has already eclipsed Ranney’s total from all of last season,when the Panthers went 5-16 overall and 2-12 in Shore Conference Class B Central division play.

Ranney is currently ranked No. 6 in the Shore Sports Network Top 10. The Panthers will host DoaneAcademy, Cross Christian Academy and Foundation Academy Friday and Saturday in the four-teamPanther Classic tournament before hosting Mater Dei Prep – the No. 2 team in the SSN Top 10 – in akey Class B Central battle on Tuesday night.

Prior to its 67-42 win over Raritan on Jan. 14, the Rumson-Fair Haven boys basketball teamaccepted the second Shore Sports Network Army Team of the Week Award of 2016, sponsoredby the U.S Army.

From Jan. 2 to Jan. 9, the Bulldogs went 4-0, with wins over Freehold Township, ShoreRegional and Holmdel to open the week and a resounding, 17-point win over Gill St. Bernard’sSaturday at the Hoop Group Boardwalk Showcase at Long Branch High School.

Gill St. Bernard’s entered Saturday ranked No. 7 in the state according to NJ.com before theBulldogs beat the Knights, 66-49. After scoring 34 points last season to set the showcase record,Brendan Barry again won Most Valuable Player honors by scoring 29 points to go with sevenrebounds, five assists and five steals.

Rumson began the season 0-2 and fell to 1-3 in its last game before the New Year, but haswon six straight since and now sits at 7-3 after Thursday’s win.

A 20-win 2014-15 season that included a trip to the Shore Conference Tournament semifinalsand the No. 1 seed in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group IV playoffs came to a screeching halt forToms River North in the South Jersey Group IV quarterfinals against a formidable, eighth-seededRancocas Valley.

The Mariners have returned this year with a deeper, more athletic, up-tempo team that is offto an 11-1 start to the 2015-16 campaign. If there was any doubt that Toms River North hasgrown from its postseason exits from a year ago, the Mariners put it to rest by beating RancocasValley, 82-67, this past Saturday at a Martin Luther King Jr. showcase in Pemberton. Afterbeating the Red Devils to cap an unbeaten week, the Mariners are the third Shore Sports NetworkArmy Strong Team of the Week in 2016.

In that Saturday win, five Toms River North players scored in double-figures, led by 20-pointgames from both senior Hunter Petrick and junior Mike Nyisztor. Senior Pat Marinaccio alsoscored 18 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in the win, while junior Jaden Rhoden added 14 pointsand junior Darrion Carrington netted 10 in the potent Mariners offensive attack.

The 15-point win over the Red Devils capped another unbeaten week for Toms River North,which included wins over Brick Memorial and a Brick team that is off to its best start to a seasonin quite some time. To date, Toms River North’s only loss is to still-unbeaten Manasquan in theWOBM Christmas Classic final – a game the Mariners led by nine points in the third quarter.

the US Army continues the Honor ofpresenting the Basketball Teams of the Week

Week OneRanney School

Week TwoRumson-Fair Haven

Week ThreeToms River North

Christian BrothersAcademy has never wonthe Shore ConferenceTournament. There’s asgood a chance as everthat changes in 2016.In what figures to be one of the most competitivetournaments in the tournament’s 40-year history,the SCT seeding committee selected the Colts asthe top seed for the SCT by a 5-1 vote during theseeding meeting on Sunday at Red Bank RegionalHigh School.

The seeding committee is comprised of one headcoach from each of the Shore Conference’s sixdivisions and is as follows: Matt Sirchio(Middletown North, Class A North), Rob Nucci(Raritan, Class A Central), Tom Pfister (Lacey,Class A South), Dan George (Long Branch, ClassB North), Chris DeTalvo (Keansburg, Class BCentral), Pat Brady (Point Boro, Class B South).Red Bank athletic director Del Dal Pra is thetournament director.

CBA, which is ranked No. 2 in the Shore Sports Network Top 10 and No. 13 in theNJ.com New Jersey Top 20, has not entered the SCT in six of the last seven seasons.The Colts have favored the Jack Welch Duals as better preparation for the postseason,and for many years the Jack Welch Duals and the SCT final four fall on the same day.This year the Jack Welch Duals were this past weekend, although CBA did not attendthe event (which was shortened to one day) because of the snowstorm that beganFriday night. CBA head coach Russ Witt told Shore Sports Network early in theseason the Colts would enter the Shore Conference Tournament.

Southern Regional, the No. 1 team in the SSN Top 10 and No. 12 in New Jersey,opted out of the tournament for the fifth straight season. Point Beach opted out for thesecond straight season.

Because the storm forced the majority of schools to close Monday, the tournament

committee decided to change the tournament from a Tuesday-Thursday-Saturdayformat to a Thursday-Saturday format. The first three rounds will be wrestledThursday evening at the sites of the top four seeds. The preliminary matches pittingteams seeded 13 through 20 will be at 4 p.m. with the pre-quarterfinals at 5:30 p.m.The quarterfinals are scheduled for 7 p.m.

The final four will take place on Saturday at Red Bank Regional High School withthe semifinals at 3 p.m. and the championship match at 5:30 p.m.

New for this season and a hot-button issue is the NJSIAA’s decision to enforce aNational Federation of High Schools rule that states a wrestler must weigh in at thesame weight for a multi-day dual-meet tournament. For example, a wrestler thatweighs in at 132 pounds on the first day of the tournament (Thursday) would only beeligible for 132 and 138 for the entirety of the tournament.

In seeding the field, the committee used winning percentage, head-to-head results,


CBA Earns No. 1 Seed for the ShoreConference Wrestling TournamentB y Bob Badders – Senior Staff Writer


quality wins, strength of schedule and power points. The criteria used is not basedon a formula like the individual postseason tournaments, however, and is listed inno particular order.

The seeding of teams one through five were done without issue, but the seedingbecame more difficult starting at the No. 6 seed. Ultimately Middletown North wasvoted the six seed over Raritan and Brick Memorial by a 3-2-1 vote. Raritan wasvoted the No. 7 seed over Brick Memorial, 4-2.

Four results made seeding teams nine through 12 difficult. Point Boro, JacksonLiberty, Ocean and Colts Neck were all considered for those seeds. Brady, the BSouth representative, voted for Jackson Liberty ahead of his own team because theLions defeated the Panthers 30-29 on Jan. 13. Point Boro holds a 31-30 victory overOcean on criteria. Ocean defeated Colts Neck 45-18. Colts Neck beat JacksonLiberty 36-26. Members of the committee felt that Point Boro’s win over Oceanwas enough to jump the Panthers over Jackson Liberty, despite the Lions’ head-to-head win, so Point Boro was voted the No. 9 seed by a 3-2-1 margin.

Liberty was slotted 10th and Ocean 11th because of its head-to-head victory overColts Neck, which came in at No. 12.

Teams 13 through 20 were slotted with an attempt to avoid any rematches in thepreliminary round. There will, however, be three rematches in the pre-quarterfinalround with Long Branch-Colts Neck, Middletown North-Ocean and Raritan-JacksonLiberty. Long Branch defeated Colts Neck 33-27 on Jan. 5. Middletown Northtopped Ocean 34-26 on Jan. 9. Raritan beat Jackson Liberty 39-25 on Jan. 9.

& Photo by:

Bob Badderswww.shoresportsnetwork.com

In a battle of powerhouseprograms, it was the depthand balance of Southern thatgot the best of BrickMemorial.The Rams, ranked No. 1 in the Shore Sports Network Top 10, won eight

bouts and survived a late scare to fend off the seventh-ranked Mustangs37-27 in a Shore Conference Class A South match on Friday evening.

Leading by four heading into the final bout at 106 pounds wheresophomore Owen Kretschmer was heavily favored, the Rams escapedwith a hard-fought win when Kretschmer broke out of a cradle from LiamRivera and eventually recorded a pin of his own. The victory pushedSouthern’s division record to 5-0, and with wins over Jackson Memorialand Brick Memorial already in the bank, the Rams are on track to claimtheir eighth division title and second in the last three seasons.

“It’s very important to us,” said senior Joe Toci about winning adivision title. “It’s a very well-respected division, obviously, so any timewe can be in the hunt it’s a great opportunity. It’s been a goal of ours.”

Kretschmer, Toci (182) and Gianni Bennett (132) each won by fall,junior Nick Suriano (195) recorded a technical fall and sophomore MattBarnett (126) and senior Pat Mooney (152) won by major decision to fuelSouthern’s fifth straight victory.

“We’re winning on balance, there’s no doubt about it,” said Southernhead coach John Stout. “That’s how we’re going to pay our bills.”

“We have a big senior group and a close group, and we understandthere’s not that one guy,” Toci said. “We all have to contribute on a dailybasis if we want to win these matches.”

This year’s version of Brick Memorial isn’t the juggernaut it was lastseason when it won A South, the Shore Conference Tournament, theNJSIAA Group V title, finished No. 1 in the Shore and No. 2 in NewJersey and had four individual state finalists. The Mustangs (6-5, 4-2) arestill plenty dangerous, however.

Sophomore Matt Wardlaw (113) and junior Gianni Ghione (120) wonby fall to open the match and give Brick Memorial a 12-0 lead. Juniorheavyweight Nick Rivera also won by fall, and senior Anthony Mitchelldefeated Peyton Blauvelt 4-1 in a matchup between top-five 170-pounders(as ranked by theshoreconference.com).

“Those kids are tough, and it’s all about matchups,” Stout said.“Numbers don’t always tell the truth. I knew the match would gosomething like this but I didn’t think they could score enough points on usto beat us. They can hang. They’re good enough to beat anybody.”

“They’re a great program and have been a great program since before Iwas born,” Toci said. “It’s great to come in here and win as a team.”

Wardlaw opened the match by locking in a cradle and pinning DylanCardell in 3:34 to give Brick Memorial a 6-0 lead. Wardlaw, who got downto 113 pounds for the first time this season in Wednesday’s match againstJackson Memorial, improved to 12-6 on the season. Wardlaw has alreadyeclipsed his win total from last season when he finished 10-15. He caughtfire last season to win an improbable District 24 title at 106 pounds and isnow among the most improved wrestlers in the Shore this season.

“Matt Wardlaw’s improvement is a direct correlation to coach (Tim)Brennan,” said Brick Memorial head coach Mike Denver. “They see eye-

to-eye on things and coachBrennan has basically taken himunder his wing and brought himup through the ranks. He hasdefinitely come on strong and isone of the top guys in the programnow.”

Ghione, the state runner-up at113 pounds last season, followedwith a 49-second pin overfreshman Nick Pepe to make it12-0. Sophomore Matt Barnettgot Southern (6-1, 5-0) on theboard with a 12-4 major decisionin which he recorded threetakedowns and a reversal in thethird period. At 132, Bennetttwisted Justin Intile up with aspladle to record a fall in 1:10 andpull Southern to within 12-10.

Mustangs senior Luke Vescoviused an escape and a takedown inthe second period to beat MikeRacanelli 3-2 and push BrickMemorial’s lead to 15-10, but theRams would go on to win the nexttwo bouts to take the lead forgood. Senior Teddy Caporino held

off a late charge by Chris Richardson to win 8-6 at 145 pounds, and seniorPat Mooney used six takedowns and a pair of turns against Casey Winesto record an 18-6 major decision and put Southern up 17-15.

Seon Bowker’s 11-5 decision over Ean Mueller made it 20-15 beforeMitchell clipped Blauvelt at 170. Known for his judo, Mitchell launchedBlauvelt with a throw for a four-point move in the first period. That wasall he needed to take the bout and improve to 15-3 on the season.

Toci picked up his teammate by pinning Dakota Wade in 1:59 at 182pounds to put Southern up 26-18, and Suriano’s dominating 15-0 technicalfall in 4:27 over Ron Hopping put the Rams up 31-18 with three boutsleft.

Senior Chris Hayes brought Brick Memorial closer with a 9-4 decisionover Joe Miele at 220 pounds and Nick Rivera, the state runner-up atheavyweight last season, pinned Dan Lynch in 1:39 to cut Southern’s leadto 31-27 heading into the final bout.

Brick Memorial’s starting 106-pounder, sophomore Joe Rotundo,remains out with an injury suffered Jan. 9 against St. Peter’s Prep. Thatleft sophomore Liam Rivera with the task of trying to shock Kretschmerand give Brick Memorial the win. He almost did it, too, when he lockedin a cradle early in the second period and was a second away fromblowing the roof off the building. Kretschmer was able to roll out of thehold and into a pinning hold of his own. He eventually finished off theRams’ victory with a win by fall in 4:42.

“Our 106-pounder almost getting stuck made it a little more interestingthan it needed to be,” Stout said. “But in the end a (win) is a win.”

Top-Ranked Southern Survives Late Scarefrom No. 7 Brick Memorial to Take Controlof Class A SouthBy Bob Badders – Senior Staff Writer

by:

Bob Badderswww.shoresportsnetwork.com


Southern senior Gianni Bennett locked in a spladle to pin Justin Intile at 132 pounds.

Southern sophomore Owen Kretschmer won by fall in the final bout to clinch a 37-27 victory over Brick Memorial.

FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATIONContact : Steven Meyer 732-233-4460 steve .meyer@townsquaremedia .com

The list of players who jointhe 1,000−point club is alwaysa sidebar to a high school

basketball season.

All was quiet onthe milestone front for

the first full month ofthe 2015-16 campaign,

perhaps in part becauseRumson-Fair Haven senior

Brendan Barry and ChristianBrothers Academy senior PatAndree both took care of thatcheckpoint as juniors last year.The last week saw and weeks to come will see

a long list of Shore Conference boys basketballplayers hit the 1,000-point mark, but Andreeand Barry still stole the show despite alreadyhitting the big number last year. The two All-Shore performers from a year ago eachbecame the all-time leading scorer in hisschool’s history just three days apart.

Andree moved into the top spot among allplayers in the storied history of the CBAprogram in a win over Howell on Jan. 19.He scored 26 points and broke the recordwith a three-pointer from the right wing,which was the third straight three-pointattempt Andree knocked down and itgave CBA the lead for good.

With that three-pointer, Andreepassed 1975 graduate Bob Roma forfirst place on the all-time Colts scoringlist and he now occupies the top spotwith 1,675 points. Not only has Andree– a starter from his first game in theprogram as a freshman – set the scoringrecord at the most accomplishedprogram in the Shore Conference since1980, but he also has a chance to becomeits first 2,000-point scorer as well. ShouldCBA play the maximum number ofgames in both the Shore Conferenceand NJSIAA South Jersey Non-Public A tournaments – as theColts did last season – Andree

would need only to average 20.3 points pergame in 16 games to reach 2,000. That is sixpoints lower than his current seasonaverage.

Like Andree, Barry set his school’sscoring record on a three-pointer from theright wing, with Barry’s shot beating thehalftime buzzer Friday against ShoreConference Class A Central division rivalManasquan. The Bulldogs went on to makeBarry’s night even more special by handingthe Warriors their first loss of the season andextending their winning streak to nine.

Barry finished up Friday with 1,426 careerpoints after a 23-point outing, passing themark of 1,417 set by Palvin Williams in 1973.Williams travelled from his home in theDominican Republic to watch Barry breakhis record and congratulated him during theceremony at half court, which took placeduring halftime.

Andree and Barry were already linkedprior to this week for their showdown in lastyear’s Shore Conference Tournamentchampionship game, a show that Barry stolein the second half to lead Rumson to one ofthe most resounding wins in the history of thetournament. As the story goes, according toRumson coach Chris Champeau, Barry nearlydecided to attend CBA prior to his freshmanyear and should he have made that decision,it’s possible that two records would still beintact, at least for the moment.

2,000 x 2?While Andree has the best shot to reach the2,000-point mark of any Shore Conferenceplayer in a long time, he is not the only playerin the area with a realistic chance to hit the

10

B y M a t t M a n l e y – M a n a g i n g E d i t o r


1 1

milestone.Southern senior Peyton

Wejnert is still 436 points shy of 2,000, butat the breakneck pace at which he is

scoring, racking up the points won’tbe impossible.

Assuming Southernqualifies for both theShore Conference

and NJSIAAS o u t h

JerseyGroup IVtournaments,the Rams areguaranteed 13 gamesthe rest of the season(assuming the weather doesnot eliminate any). IfSouthern does not win aplayoff game, Wejnertwould have to average atick more than 33points per game inthose games, which isonly three points above hisseason average to date. Ifthe Rams can win just onegame in each tournament,the necessary averagedrops to 29.1 points pergame.

Should Southern havea breakthroughpostseason in any way,shape or form, it couldvery well mean 2,000points for Wejnert,who spent his first twohigh school seasons atPoint PleasantBorough.

The Newest Club MembersTwo seniors joined Andree, Barry and Wejnert in the 1,000-pint

club in the last two weeks: Jordan Torney of Manchester and Red Bank’sSadiq Palmer.

Torney slammed home his 1,000th point with a breakaway dunk in a rout ofJackson Liberty on Jan. 15, the first of a banner calendar week for the seniorswingman and his team. Torney went on to win the team MVP at the Martin LutherKing Showcase in Pemberton on Jan. 16 with a 29-point outing against Clayton,then helped lead Manchester to a win over Lakewood the following Tuesday. Thatwin snapped the Piners’ 45-game winning streak against Class B South competitionand was the first time Manchester had defeated Lakewood in six years.

Palmer’s 1,000th point was not quite as emphatic, but there was plenty of dramaleading up to the achievement. The potential milestone basket was waved offbecause of an offensive foul, which was the fifth foul on Palmer during Red Bank’s

S e e MileStones pag e 1 2

Manchester’s Jordan Torney

Red Banks’s Sadiq Palmer

SHORESPORTSNETWORK.COM


win at Colts Neck on Jan. 14. Palmer ended that game stuck on 999 points and afterwaiting after waiting until Jan. 19 to play again, he went scoreless during the firsthalf against Red Bank Catholic.

Palmer finally hit the 1,000-point plateau with a free throw in the third quarter tobecome Red Bank’s first 1,000-point scorer since Stephen Frost in 2010. He finishedwith 12 points in the loss and capped a big week by committing to play football at theUniversity of Massachusetts.

Torney and Palmer are likely just the beginning of a wave of 1,000-point scorers asa host of Shore Conference players are currently within striking distance. DonovanCatholic senior Riley Collins is just 14 points shy of the milestone heading into the

week, with 986 points between his time at both CentralRegional and with the Griffins.

Another Manchester senior is also closing in on1,000 and should join Torney within the next severalHawks games. Shavar Reynolds is 32 points awayfrom pushing his way into the Hawks’ 1,000-pointclub along with his classmate.

Division rival Lakewood also has a pair ofseniors within striking distance of 1,000.Four-year letter-winner Amir Tyler is 140points shy and three-year varsity playerSean Barksdale is 217 from hitting thelandmark number for the Piners. With

good health, Tyler is avirtual lock to get there,while a strongpostseason showing byLakewood would giveBarksdale a very goodchance to join histeammate.

Not only is Manasquansenior Ryan Jensen closing

fast on 1,000 points, but he is also withinreach of 1,000 career rebounds as well.The Warriors senior is 58 points shy of1,000 and 101 rebounds away from1,000 boards. Classmate JackSheehan also has an outside shot ofreaching 1,000 points if Manasquanplays deep into the postseason.

St. John Vianney is another ACentral team with a senior duoclosing in on 1,000 points. BothGrant Goode and Zach Howarthare well within 200 points of themilestone and the two three-year

starters figure to approach thatplateau by the end of the regularseason.

Raritan senior Joe Strand, nowin his third year as a starter, is alsomaking a run at 1,000. Both DaveLunn and Luke Stambaugh ofPinelands are also closing in on1,000 points as well as they wrapup four-year varsity careers.

MilestonesCon t i n u e d f r om p a g e 11

Donovan Catholic’s Riley Collins


Girls Going For 1,000Two Shore Conference girls players have also joined the 1,000-point club thisseason. Matawan senior Tracy Brereton was the first boys or girls ShoreConference player to reach the milestone when she scored her 1,000th careerpoint against Spotswood at the Bayshore Holiday Tournament in December.

Long Branch senior Che’Kasha Andrews reached 1,000 career points on Jan. 5against Red Bank Catholic, knocking down three free throws in the final minute.

Among the list of players approaching 1,000, senior Kelly Campbell is the mostprominent name. The St. John Vianney guard and DePaul University commit is37 points from reaching the milestone and would likely have it already if she didnot miss the beginning of the season due to injury. The Lancers begin their weekwith a rivalry game against Rumson-Fair Haven and finish up a big four-daystretch with Holmdel on Thursday and Lenape on Friday.

Toms River East senior Kaitlin Lister is 164 points away from entering the1,000-point club and with an average of 17 points per game this season, she is onpace to hit the landmark basket during the early part of the postseason.Keansburg senior Stephanie Walters is also within striking distance of themilestone.

One Shore Conference junior is fast approaching the 1,000-point milestone andthat is Neptune guard Desiree Allen, who has improved markedly each year ofher career. In each season, she has increased her scoring average by 10 pointsand is averaging 25.1 points per game this season. Allen sits at 806 career pointsand could very well break 1,000 before the start of the Shore ConferenceTournament.

P h o t o s b y :

Mark Brown:b 5 1 p h o t o g r a p h y . c o m

Bi l l Normi le :b i l l n o r m i l e . z e n f o l i o . c o m

Ray R ich Photography:r a y r i c h p h o t o g r a p h y . s m u g m u g . c o m

Rob Samuels :r o b e r t s a m u e l s . z e n f o l i o . c o m

FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATIONContact : Steven Meyer 732-233-4460 s teve.meyer@townsquaremedia .com

Historically there hasnot been much drama inthe early rounds of theShore Conference WrestlingTournament, with anyexcitement usuallyreserved for the semifinalsand championship match.With several championship contenders among the top 12

seeds, the 2016 wrestling SCT looks to buck that trend whenthe tournament gets underway on Thursday.

Christian Brothers Academy was voted as the No. 1 seed bythe SCT seeding committee with Howell No. 2, Wall No. 3and Jackson Memorial No. 4. Those teams will host thepreliminary, pre-quarterfinal and quarterfinal matches onThursday. The SCT Final Four is on Saturday at Red BankRegional High School with the semifinals at 3 p.m. and thechampionship match at 5:30 p.m.

Below we will break down each site for Thursday’s matchesand offer a look ahead to the potential matchups for Saturday

AT CBAPRELIMINARY ROUND, 4 P.M.16-Lacey (6-5) vs.17-St. John Vianney (9-4)

PRE-QUARTERFINALS, 5:30 p.m.Lacey/SJV winner vs.1-CBA (9-3)9-Point Boro (11-3) vs.8-Brick Memorial (6-5)

QUARTERFINALS, 7 P.M.

The preliminary match between Lacey and St. John Vianneyoffers a potential marquee bout at 106 pounds between Laceyfreshman Hunter Gutierrez and St. John Vianney junior LukeEckloff. Gutierrez enters at 16-1 with his only loss coming toWashington Township’s Alex Baisch, 5-3. Eckloff is 15-1 andwas third in the District 21 Tournament last season. Lacey andSJV have two common opponents in Brick and Manalapan. St.John Vianney lost to both, while Lacey lost to Brick and

defeated Manalapan.

The winner gets top-seeded CBA, which has been on firewith its full lineup. The Colts are 9-3 with close losses tostate-ranked Hanover Park and Delsea. They also own winsover Howell and Raritan. They will certainly be heavilyfavored in the pre-quarterfinals. Potential individual matchupsinclude sophomore Rich Koehler (12-2) vs. Lacey sophomoreLuke Moynihan (15-2) at 113 should the Lions win the prelimmatch. Koehler was sixth in New Jersey at 106 pounds lastseason. If SJV wins, we should see Eckloff vs. CBA juniorNick Schutzenhofer (17-1) at 106 pounds and potentially SJVsenior Calvin Beaty (17-2) vs. either CBA senior Jack LaCorte(17-1) at 195 pounds or senior William Oxley (17-1) at 220.Oxley could also move up to heavyweight against SJV juniorMicah Clark (17-2). Oxley and Clarke were both statequalifiers last season.

Point Boro and Brick Memorial will meet in an interestingpre-quarterfinal match between District 23 rivals. Top boutscould include Brick Memorial sophomore Matt Wardlaw (11-6, District 23 champ) vs. Point Boro senior Blake Dale (13-4)at 113 pounds, Brick Memorial senior Anthony Mitchell (15-3) vs. Point Boro senior Gene Franceschini (13-4) at 170 andBrick Memorial senior Chris Hayes (13-2) vs. Point Borosenior Dom Infante (16-1) at 220. Brick Memorial may alsoelect to bump junior Gianni Ghione (17-1, 2nd in NJ at 113last season) to 126 to face Point Boro freshman SpencerRobinson (14-4).

The coin flip will be huge here to dictate matchups, and itwill be interesting to see how the teams weigh in because ofthe new rule that stipulates wrestlers must remain at theweight class they weigh in at on Thursday for the entiretournament.

On paper it appears Brick Memorial would be CBA’sbiggest obstacle to reaching the semifinals. The Mustanggetting past Point Boro is no gimme, however. Even if BrickMemorial does advance to face CBA it would have to makeseveral moves and get an upset or two to reach the semifinals.A potential mammoth matchup could take place betweenGhione and CBA senior Sebastian Rivera at either 120 or 126pounds. Ghione defeated Rivera to win the Region VI 106-pound title in 2014 and Rivera returned the favor last seasonto win the 113-pound region crown. Both were state medalistslast season and are state championship contenders this season.Rivera is also ranked top-five in the nation at 113.

Predictions - Prelim: St. John Vianney over Lacey; PQ:CBA over St. John Vianney; Brick Memorial over Point Boro;QF: CBA over Brick Memorial.

AT HOWELLPRELIMINARY ROUND, 4 P.M.18-Toms River North (5-10) vs.15-Manalapan (9-5)

PRE-QUARTERFINALS, 5:30 P.M.TR North/Manalapan winner vs.2-Howell (14-3)10-Jackson Liberty (12-3) vs.7-Raritan (10-3)


Toms River North and Manalapan have common opponentsin Brick, Colts Neck and Toms River East. The Mariners lostto Colts Neck 52-19 and Brick 32-21, and defeated TomsRiver East 35-24, while the Braves beat both Toms River East(48-20) and Brick (32-28) and lost to Colts Neck (52-22). Toppotential bouts include Manalapan sophomore A.J. Sortino(11-8) vs. Toms River North freshman Nick Reilly (16-4) at113 pounds and Manalapan sophomore Peter Benedetti (11-5)vs. Toms River North junior Franco Galasso (16-4) at 220.

The winner faces No. 2 Howell, which is now at fullstrength after senior state medalist Kris Lindemann returnedto the lineup last week. The Rebels already own a 44-21victory over Manalapan. Should Toms River North win we

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Grappling for Gold2016 SCT Wrestling PreviewBy Bob Badders – Staff Writer


S e eSCT Wrestling

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CBA senior Jack LaCorte

Brick Memorial junior Gianni Ghione

Point Boro senior Blake Dale

Howell senior Anthony Gagliano


could see Reilly face either Howell freshman Darby Diedrich(18-4) or sophomore Kyle Slendorn (18-3). Lindemann couldmeet Toms River North junior Pat O’Donnell (16-4) at 145pounds and junior Eric Keosseian (19-2) could see Galassoat 220.

Raritan and Jackson Liberty will square off in a rematch ofa Jan. 9 match won by the Rockets, 39-25. The Lions will lookto close the gap by limiting bonus points. Raritan recordedfour pins, a technical fall and a major decision in the firstmeeting. Also in the first meeting, Raritan sophomore A.J.Erven (14-5) won by 2-0 decision over Jackson Liberty seniorNick Pellegrino (18-2) at 120 pounds. Reversing that result iscrucial if the Lions are going to pull off the upset.

A Howell-Raritan quarterfinal match seems likely, and thatwould present some interesting matchups in the lower half ofthe lineup, which is the strength of both teams. We could seeeither Howell sophomore Jesse Liptzin (11-5) or Diedrichagainst Raritan freshman Charles Barrale (14-5) at 106pounds, Diedrich or Slendorn versus Raritan sophomoreChristian Sookdeo (13-7) at 113, Erven vs. Slendorn orHowell senior Nick Ciaccia (16-3) at 120 and potentiallyCiaccia vs. Raritan sophomore Russell Benson (18-1) at 126.Raritan would probably like to move freshman AnthonyAquilano (14-3) away from Howell senior Anthony Gagliano(19-1) at 138 pounds, although with Lindemann back at 145there isn’t much room for bumping away from the Rebels’hammers.

Predictions - Prelim: Manalapan over Toms River North;PQ: Howell over Manalapan; Raritan over Jackson Liberty;QF: Howell over Raritan.

AT WALLPRELIMINARY ROUND, 4 P.M.19-Middletown South (8-4) vs.14-TR South (8-4)

PRE-QUARTERFINALS, 5:30 P.M.Midd. South/TRS winner vs.3-Wall (13-0)11-Ocean (5-8) vs.

6-Middletown North (9-3)


Toms River South has some holes in the upper half of itslineup but where the Indians are good they are very good, andthat will give Middletown South problems in the preliminaryround. The Eagles do not have a wrestler with a winningrecord from 106 through 138 pounds, so Toms River Southshould do a lot of damage there with junior Zach Martin (8-2)

at 120, sophomore Nick Gallicchio (11-5) at 126, senior statemedalist and two-time region champ Owen McClave (17-1) at132 and sophomore state qualifier Cole Corrigan (15-1) at138. The Eagles will look to close the gap with theirstrongmiddle and upperweights led by senior Louis Avena(14-5) at 160, senior Brendan Rumsby (14-3) at 170, seniorRob Hulse (16-4) at 195 and sophomore Adam Markmann (12-6) at heavyweight.

No. 3 Wall awaits the winner and matches up nicely withboth teams. Wall is pretty strong from top to bottom, althoughit has holes at 106, 113 and in the middle depending on howit shuffles its wrestlers. The new rule affecting weigh-ins willreally test the Knights because of their lack of depth. Shouldthey face Toms River South they have enough firepower downlow with sophomore Jack Kelly (17-3) at 120, senior JoeDemuner (17-3) at 126, junior Nick Wagner (16-4) at 132 andfreshman Rob Kanniard (18-2) at 138 to limit the damage bySouth’s studs. Kanniard has wrestled at 145 and 152 thisseason, as well, so it will be interesting to see where heweighs in on Thursday. Wall should clean up after that withjunior Chad McClelland (13-0) at 160, senior state medalistand two-time region champ Brett Donner (20-0) at 170, seniorJosh Glantzman (17-3) at 182, junior state medalist Matt

McKenzie (19-1) at 195, junior Shane Davis (11-4) at 220 andjunior Daryl Valme (12-7) at heavyweight.

Against Middletown South, Wall would have majoradvantages down low and be able to negate the Eagles’strengths in the upper half with its own standout group.

The other pre-quarterfinal match pits Ocean andMiddletown North in a rematch of a Jan. 9 match won by theLions, 34-26. In the first meeting, Middletown Northsophomore Stanley Wodjylak recorded a huge pin over Oceansenior Chris Donnelly at 138 pounds. Despite its 5-8 recordOcean has wrestled very well lately with close losses to LongBranch (34-30) and Wall (29-28 on criteria), and will bedangerous.

Wall should reach the quarterfinals, and if it does it willeither have a rematch against Ocean or an intriguing matchup

with Middletown North. The Wall-Ocean match on Jan. 13 hadseveral twists and turns, and the way the teams matchup withone another would likely produce a similar match. If it’sMiddletown North squaring off against Wall there are severalpotential marquee individual bouts. Wodjylak could faceKanniard at 138, or Wall could bump Kanniard to either 145or 152 against North sophomore Nicko Cofone (13-5). Up topis where the individual bouts get really good. Wall hasMcClelland, Donner, Glantzman and McKenzie from 160through 195 and Middletown North has junior ThomasAnderson (15-4 at 170/182), senior Anthony Vetrano (16-2 at182/195) and senior region champ Chad Freshnock (10-0 at220/heavyweight).

Predictions - Prelim: Toms River South over MiddletownSouth; PQ: Wall over Toms River South; Middletown Northover Ocean; Wall over Middletown North.

AT JACKSON MEMORIALPRELIMINARY ROUND, 4 P.M.20-Shore (11-4) vs.13-Brick (6-4)

PRE-QUARTERFINALS, 5:30 P.M.Shore/Brick winner vs.4-Jackson Memorial (11-2)12-Colts Neck (11-3) vs.5-Long Branch (11-1)


Shore has enjoyed a fantastic season with an 11-4 recordand is on track to claim the Class B Central title, while Brickhas battled well all season in the rugged Class A Southdivision despite graduating several standout upperweightsfrom last season. The teams do not have any commonopponents, but Brick is a Group IV school that wrestles inClass A South and Shore is a Group I team in B Central, soit’s easy to see why Brick is seeded seven spots higher. When

SCT WrestlingCon t i n u e d f r om p a g e 1 4

Wall senior Brett Donner

Middletown North senior Chad Freshnock

Ocean sophomore Jake Benner

Long Branch senior Lamont Reid

Jackson Memorial senior Adante Davis


P h o t o s b y :Ray R ich Photography:

r a y r i c h p h o t o g r a p h y . s m u g m u g . c o m

Rob Samuels :r o b e r t s a m u e l s . z e n f o l i o . c o m

Shore has wrestled top competition it is 0-3 with lopsided losses to Point Boro (53-13), ColtsNeck (66-16) and Wall (66-12).

Top potential individual matchups include Shore sophomore Brad Smuro (15-3) vs. Bricksophomore Joe Ferigne (12-5) at 106 and Shore senior Alex Johnson (16-2) vs. Brick juniorAnthony Costanza (14-3) at 145 or 152.

The winner faces No. 4 Jackson Memorial, which heads in strong after a 34-29 victory overBrick Memorial on Jan. 20. The Jaguars already have a 38-26 victory over Brick on Dec. 30 andare a better team now with senior Tanner Kelly in the lineup. Should Brick win in the prelims,Kelly could face undefeated Brick junior Dean Helstowski (16-0) at 170 pounds. Junior TimHamann (15-1 at 145) could face Costanza at 152. Hamann could face Johnson if Shore wins.Another potential bout would pit Jackson senior Chris Mondello (13-4) vs. Brick senior JackJachim (10-6) at 220 pounds.

In the other pre-quarterfinal, Long Branch and Colts Neck will meet in a rematch of a Jan. 5match won by the Green Wave, 33-27. The teams split bouts 7-7 in that match, but Long Branchhad four pins and Colts Neck managed just six total bonus points. Long Branch also haseverybody at their proper weight with senior Joey Jasio (16-1) down at 220 and seniorheavyweight John Tomlinson (5-1) back in the lineup.

The anticipated Jackson Memorial-Long Branch quarterfinal could be the best match onThursday. The teams have met in two of the past three seasons in the quarterfinals with Jacksonwinning 35-15 last season and 32-28 in 2013. Two top individual matchups would be Hamannvs. either senior Danny Mullan (14-2) at 145 or senior Mike Shohet (14-4) at 152, plus Kellyvs. Long Branch senior Lamont Reid (16-1) at 170. Kelly defeated Reid 1-0 in last season’sSCT quarterfinal match.

Predictions - Prelim: Brick over Shore; PQ: Jackson Memorial over Brick; Long Branch overColts Neck; Long Branch over Jackson Memorial.

Afollow up to the segment Idid earlier this month on TrevorKwatkoski, a 5-year oldBerkeley Township boy whowas diagnosed with bonecancer in April.

Central Regional hosted Toms River South in a boys/girlsbasketball doubleheader which also served as a fundraiserfor Team Trevor through donations and the sale of wristbands(one of which I am now wearing). Trevor’s mom Jill said thefamily, which also includes three older boys, wasoverwhelmed by the support they have received from thecommunity including police and local firemen.

At halftime of the boys game Toms River native andChicago White Sox slugger Todd Frazier along with Centralcoaches Mike Clemente and John Truhan presented thefamily a check for nearly $4,400 to help with the staggeringexpenses surrounding Trevor’s treatment. The Golden Eaglesgirls and boys coaches conducted a clinic for elementaryschool students last weekend and donated all the money tothe Team Trevor cause.

A Night to Support Team TrevorB y Kevin Wil l iams – Shore Sports Network Director


Presentation of a check to Team Trevor


It was truly wonderful to see so many pull together to help a young boy and hisfamily when they need that support the most. There was a great crowd on hand andthey were treated to an exciting boys game in the nightcap as Central rallied for athree point victory after the visiting Indians won the girls game.

I stood most of the night with among others Frazier, who was traded from the Redsto the White Sox last month. It was truly amazing to watch him interact with fans,especially children who come in droves at times for autographs and pictures. Toddhandles them as welcome interruptions that come with being an All-Star baseballplayer. I asked him if he ever gets tired of it and he said not when it comes to kidsalthough older adults can sometimes test your patience.

Like always Frazier carries himself in a fashion that makes it easy to cheer for himand despite being just a month shy of his 30th birthday still has a little bit of that “awshucks” attitude that has made him so popular. He’ll be heading to Chicago at the endof the month for the first time since the trade for SoxFest 2016 where Windy Cityfans will get to meet the Home Run Derby champ. Frazier and his wife Jackie will

also be looking for a new in-season home for their family, including 22-month oldson Blake and 1-month old daughter Kylie. Blake by the way has his own fan clubfrom videos Todd has posted of him crushing a wiffle ball and his father has alsogiven him a nickname: “Big Dog Blake.”

Toms River South players wearing special Team Trevor tee shirts

Photos by: Kevin Williamsw w w . s h o r e s h p o r t s n e t w o r k . c o m

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