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ABOUT THE COVER
Swimming has always been popular at the Jersey Shore, naturally, with so many beach towns and so many schools along the coast. But recently, the CapeAtlantic League has become a conference that is making a name for itself in the pool. There are still dominant teams in the Cherry Hill area, with perennial powers like Cherry Hill East, Moorestown and Haddonfield, but the CAL is beginning to threaten that dominance more and more. This year, more than half of the teams involved in the South Jersey public school championship finals came from the CAL, three on the girls side and four boys teams. And the competition even within the CAL has gotten more intense. The EHT girls have beaten mighty Ocean City the past two years, and the Mainland boys had their 51-meet win streak snapped by St. Augustine Prep this season. In this edition, we take a dive into what is behind the CAL’s swimming surge. — Dave O’Sullivan, Staff Writer
GLORY DAYS MAGAZINE General contact: 609-788-4294/advertising@acglorydays.com Dave O’Sullivan, Publisher: sully@acglorydays.com On Twitter: @GDsullysays Giuseppe Ungaro, Managing Editor: gungaro@acglorydays.com On Twitter: @GDgisepu Amy D’Adamo, Graphic Design: advertising@acglorydays.com Bill Lynskey, Director of Advertising: bill@acglorydays.com STORY IDEAS/ADVERTISING: Have a story you’d like to see told in Glory Days Magazine? Want to get your business noticed with a marketing campaign in our quarterly print or digital platforms? Call us anytime at 609-788-4294. Volume: 6 Issue: 17 Overall Issue Number: 124. Cover Photography: Dave O’Sullivan. 2019 Glory Days Magazine. All rights reserved.
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MAKING HEADLINES Sully takes a closer look at the athletes, coaches and teams who are generating news and highlights in the Cape-Atlantic League and throughout South Jersey.
u Swimming spectacular: The South Jersey public school champi-
onships were chock full of Cape-Atlantic League teams, as Alex Antonov and the Ocean City girls were one of seven teams to make it into the finals. Only the Mainland boys were able to prevail and host the trophy, the Mustangs’ fifth straight, but overall the league showed it has some outstanding swimming talent. Read more about CAL swimming in this edition’s cover story on page 10. u The 2,000-point club: It’s a great accomplishment for any high school basketball player to reach 1,000 career points, and this week St. Joseph senior Marcellus Ross moved into rarified air when he netted career point No. 2,000. u Tourney time: Post-season basketball begins with the CAL Tournament, which features some of the top teams in South Jersey.
glory days digital Want the best high school sports coverage every day of the week? Visit glorydaysonline.com for game coverage, features and more! You can also like us at facebook.com/acglorydays, and follow Sully on Twitter @GDsullysays. Get the best. Every day.
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BOYS BASKETBALL CAL TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
Tough first-round matchups for P’ville, Mainland Wild finish in CAL National race drops Mainland down to the seventh seed From staff reports Oh, how quickly things can change in Cape-Atlantic League basketball! On Feb. 8, Mainland was flying high, as it had just won its 11th straight game and seemed to be on its way to winning the CAL National Conference title and perhaps even getting a home game in the CAL Tournament as one of the top four seeds. But, just one week later, and after two straight losses and a late-season charge from rival Ocean City, the Mustangs lost out on the conference title and dropped to the No. 7 seed in the CAL Tournament, which means they’ll have to travel to Richland to take on St. Augustine Prep in the opening round. Cedar Creek was an unlikely opponent to end Mainland’s long winning streak, but the Pirates have been playing well of late and scored a 62-61 win over the Mustangs on Tuesday night. That set up an interesting scenario on Wednesday night, not only for the CAL Tournament, but also the conference title. Ocean City was blown out, 71-52, by Mainland on Jan. 25, but the Red Raiders haven’t lost since. During their recent seven-game win streak, the Red Raiders scored key CAL National wins over Oakcrest, Absegami, Holy Spirit, Cedar Creek and Lower Cape May, and Lower beat Mainland on Wednesday night,
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Angelo Barron and Mainland face a tough challenge in the opening round of the CAL Tournament, as the Mustangs go on the road to take on St. Augustine Prep. 60-55. That win allowed Ocean City (10-2 CAL National) to win the conference title over Mainland (93), and also put the Caper Tigers into the CAL Tournament for the first time ever. Heading into Wednesday night, Lower needed to beat Mainland in order to gain entry into the tournament as the third-place team in the CAL National.
The final spot was down to either Lower Cape May or Holy Spirit, and if Lower had lost to Mainland, Spirit would have gotten the invite. The late shuffling in the seeding presents some
See Matchups, page 7
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SEEDINGS/MATCHUPS 1. Wildwood Catholic (22-1) 2. St. Augustine Prep (18-3) 3. Millville (19-4) 4. Pleasantville (16-6) 5. St. Joseph (16-4) 6. Ocean City (17-3) 7. Mainland (18-5) 8. Lower Cape May (16-7)
Opening round/Feb. 15 Holy Spirit at Wildwood Catholic Mainland at St. Augustine Prep Ocean City at Millville St. Joseph at Pleasantville *Boys and girls championship games will be held on Feb. 23 at Richard Stockton University
Matchups, from page 6
have to visit Wildwood Catholic, a team that is 22-1 overall, has won 17 straight games, is ranked in the top 20 in the state and has perhaps South Jersey’s best player in junior forward Taj Thweatt. The Crusaders also have guys such as Jahlil White, Jacob Hopping and Dasean Lopez who the Tigers will have to deal with. Another very intriguing first-round matchup is Ocean City on the road at Millville. This game features two of the hottest teams in the league, and Ocean City’s Luke Varallo has been on fire from long range after a mid-season slump. If the Red Raiders can find a way to nail some threes, they could find themselves in the second round
very tough first-round matchups for a couple of teams, most notably Mainland and Pleasantville, which got the No. 4 seed but must now face No. 5 St. Joseph for the second time this week. Pleasantville lost on the road at St. Joe, 77-66, on Tuesday night as Wildcats senior Marcellus Ross scored his 2,000th career point. Coach Butch Warner and the boys must now find a way to slow down Ross and the Wildcats, who are 16-4 overall and 10-3 on the road. Lower may not have done itself any favors by rallying to gain the final atlarge berth, as the Caper Tigers now
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Noel Gonzalez and the Pleasantville Greyhounds will have to take on rival St. Joseph for the second time this week when the teams tangle in the opening round of the CAL Tournament.
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GIRLS BASKETBALL CAL TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
Panthers hottest team entering tourney Middle Twp. was a .500 team until it went on a 14-game winning streak From staff reports The magic of Christmas wore off quickly for the Middle Township girls basketball team, as the Panthers dropped three straight games after the holiday to fall to 4-4. They were scuffling after a tough 51-50 loss to Atlantic City at the Seagull Classic, a game in which Middle surrendered a doubledigit fourth-quarter lead, and then a loss to Mainland when the Panthers were held to just 28 points. But then things changed, dramatically. A 47-35 victory over OLMA on Jan. 9 started a string of 14 straight victories that put Middle in the top position in the Cape-Atlantic League United Conference and earned it a home game in the opening round of the CAL Tournament as the No. 4 seed. The schedule lightening up has had something to do with the streak, but the Panthers have also passed some tough tests, beating teams like Wildwood, Delsea and conference rival
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Senior Paige Fox and the Middle Township Panthers come into the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament as the hottest team in the league, having won 14 straight games. They’ll take on ACIT in the opening See Panthers, page 9 round.
Feb. 15, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 9 Panthers, from page 8 Wildwood Catholic during the run that pushed their record to 18-4. Middle has been led by juniors Kira Sides, Aubrey Hunter and Madison Barber, as well as sophomore Kate Herlihy, and they’ll host an ACIT team that has been struggling of late. The RedHawks started the season by winning their first 11 games, but have gone just 3-5 since. A bout of illness affected nearly the entire team for about a week or more, and if they hope to go on the road and upset the Panthers, they’ll need to be healthy and be a lot more productive on the offensive end. They certainly have that capability, as senior guard Kayla Sykes this week became the leading scorer in school history, surpassing Yasmeen Nelson, a 2016 graduate. A team that is playing very well lately is Wildwood Catholic, the No. 6 seed, and third-seeded Atlantic City is going to have its hands full with the Crusaders. Wildwood Catholic has won seven straight games and is one of just two teams in the CAL with at least 20 wins. The other team with 20 wins is de-
SEEDINGS/MATCHUPS 1. Mainland (20-2) 2. Ocean City (16-5) 3. Atlantic City (12-6) 4. Middle Township (18-4) 5. ACIT (14-5) 6. Wildwood Catholic (20-3) 7. Oakcrest (13-6) 8. Vineland (11-7)
Opening round/Feb. 15 Vineland at Mainland Oakcrest at Ocean City Wildwood Catholic at Atlantic City ACIT at Middle Township *Boys and girls championship games will be held on Feb. 23 at Richard Stockton University
fending champion Mainland Regional, which is 20-2 and 11-0 in the CAL National. Over the past two seasons, the Mustangs are 48-3 and are the clear favorites to repeat as champion, as nobody has found a way to match up with forward Kylee Watson, one of the top juniors in the nation. Vineland draws that unenviable assignment in the opening round, as the Fighting Clan beat out Absegami and OLMA for the No. 8 seed. Oakcrest, the No. 7 seed, is the other at-large berth and the Fal-
cons must go on the road to take on an Ocean City team that always plays well in February. If there is a team that can compete with Mainland, it’s Ocean City. The Red Raiders have a couple of senior guards with Danielle Donoghue, Tori Rolls and Savanna Holt, as well as some height down low with players like Emma Finnegan, Molly Hoffman and Lauren Mirsky, who has come on strong the past couple of weeks after getting some increased playing time.
The Red Raiders have just five losses this season, and two of them have come against Mainland by a total of just 10 points. Mainland scored a 4541 victory the first time the teams met, and 35-29 in the rematch. The way to score points against Mainland is to try to get Watson in foul trouble, but that hasn’t been easy as Watson has become even better than she already was at avoiding tickytack and offensive fouls. And, in the past two weeks or so, freshman Kaitlyn Boggs, younger sister of former standout Gabby Boggs, has been gaining confidence as a low-post player and rebounder. And if teams decide to pack in the defense they have to worry about multiple sharp shooters on the outside, namely Claudia Mairone, who has had games this year when she’s nailed seven 3-pointers or more. There could be some really interesting matchups in the semifinals depending on who advances. Either Wildwood Catholic or Atlantic City would be a very tough matchup for anybody, and Middle Township is playing as well as anyone in the league right now.
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VIC’S SUBS COVER STORY
Swimming supremacy The CAL is quickly becoming one of the power conferences in South Jersey By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer ri-County Conference, Olympic, Burlington County Scholastic League — whoever you might be, watch out because the Cape-Atlantic League is coming for you in boys and girls swimming. The CAL might not be the top dog yet, but each year it seems to inch closer to the big boys of South Jersey swimming. All you have to do is take a look at this year’s South Jersey public school championships to know that the CAL is on the rise and producing more than a handful of teams that, while they may not yet be able to win sectional titles, certainly are making their presence known by reaching the finals. Of the 12 teams that competed for boys and girls public school championships this week at Gloucester County Institute of Technology, seven of them hailed from the Cape-Atlantic League. Only the Mainland boys were able to hoist the trophy when it was all said and done, but Ocean City, Cedar Creek and Egg Harbor Township made it to the finals on the boys side, as did Egg Harbor Township, Ocean City and Middle Township for the girls. The Cherry Hill and Washington Township areas have long had dominant swimming programs and have huge feeder programs with hundreds of members, and competitive summer leagues. But the Shore area is increasingly getting more year-round swimmers, and the popularity of
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Junior Destin Lasco helped lead Mainland Regional to its fifth straight South Jersey Public B championship on Feb. 14 at GCIT. Of the 12 teams involved in the girls and boys South Jersey public school championship meets, seven came from the Cape-Atlantic League. competitive lifeguard racing during the summer is also helping to attract more talented swimmers to the high school teams in Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties. “I think the league has gotten really fast. We’ve all just figured something out and we’re all putting in the work. We all know what we’re working for,” said Erik Truong, a senior who swims for Mainland, which has won five straight South Jersey championships and the last three state Public
B titles. “This year, we didn’t know what was going to happen, especially after losing a lot of tough swimmers (to graduation). It’s gotten difficult for us, everyone knows there is a king on the hill they want to take down, but so far we’ve held on.” Shane McGrath, head coach for the Ocean City boys program, said seeing seven CAL teams make the South Jersey public school finals shows how good the league has gotten the last four or five years.
“It just shows you that this league is unbelievable across the board, Public C through Public A, the non-publics. I tell my kids all the time, the CAL American — our three losses during the season were to top 10 teams in the state, so it’s not like we’re swimming teams that are just equal to us. They know what we’re going up against, but that’s great for the CAL,” he said. “The Ocean City girls, for the last six
See Swimming, page 11
Feb. 15, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 11 Swimming, from page 10 years, have always been dominant and strong. On the boys side, we’ve always been a good team and we work hard, and we get as fast as we can get, but we maybe didn’t have a lot of superstars. But some guys, like Nate Hays, I consider him a superstar, and our depth is what makes us good. We beat Shawnee in the playoffs based on 2-3-4s, we weren’t winning every race. Other guys, like Ben Wiley, has turned into what I consider a superstar. He qualified for states today in the 100 free, and I’m just really happy with how far we’ve come. “Mainland has just been running away with the championship the last couple years, and obviously they have talent and are well coached and their outside lanes are always tremendous, along with their talent in the middle, but it’s evened up a little bit,” McGrath added. “It goes in waves, you graduate a bunch of kids and you have to rebuild, but hopefully you can stay in there and be competitive.” “Swimming is becoming a more
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Zach Lenzi and the Cedar Creek boys won the CAL National this season and made it to the South Jersey Public C final for the first time in program history. popular sport and swimmers keep getting faster, and if you don’t keep up, you fall behind. You either have to work harder than the person next to you or you’ll fall behind. You just have to keep developing. I think it’s becoming more popular because ev-
erybody is seeing how well the teams in the area are doing,” said Grace Curry, a senior at EHT. “A bunch of people graduated from a lot of these good teams, but there’s a lot of younger swimmers coming in from all these club teams around South Jersey. They
are getting faster and every team is getting good swimmers. It’s pretty exciting and I think it says something about how much hard work and dedication it takes to get here, and how much you have to put in to get what you want to achieve.” Several swimmers interviewed during the public school championships said it’s getting increasing more difficult to just win a CAL title, much less a South Jersey crown. The Ocean City girls dominated the CAL American Conference for several years, but the past two years EHT has risen up and taken that title away. “Each year it gets harder, definitely. Our biggest rival is Ocean City, and every year it gets harder and harder to stay on that level. Every year we’re working hard to keep getting better and better. I’m looking forward to coming back and seeing our team next year,” said Nicole Belber, another EHT senior. “Having the league get so much better makes you train harder, and that’s setting me up for college
See Swimming, page 13
Feb. 15, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 13 Swimming, from page 11 swimming. It gives you a great opportunity to get ready for the future.” “I think this year was the hardest because Mainland got so much better. They’ve always been good, but this year it was such a tough meet against them, and Ocean City. There are so many great teams in the CAL. It’s great to be racing them throughout the season,” added her teammate, Nina Nguyen, also a senior. “It’s a great environment and we’re all here to have fun and do the best we can just to show how well we can do.” The CAL championships, which are held every year in early February at Atlantic City High School, have become a showcase for some of the best swimmers in South Jersey. Destin Lasco, a junior at Mainland and a University of California commit, has set several meet records there during his career, and also holds nearly a dozen national meters records. And this year, Mainland sophomore Katie McClintock set a national record at CALs. “It’s unfortunate that most people don’t know how competitive South Jersey is. We have some of the best swimmers in the country who swim and train in South Jersey. To be able to say we were second overall in South Jersey is such a big accomplishment,” Ocean City senior Andrea Teofanova said after the Red Raiders lost to powerful Moorestown in the South Jersey Public B girls final. “We’ve been fortunate that we’ve diversified in terms of school size. We used to cancel each other out. Mainland and Ocean City, at one point, were Group 4, so Mainland, Ocean City, EHT, Vineland — we all kind of took turns being dominant, but we’d end up canceling each other out. By changing some structure, like adding Cedar Creek and moving some teams around, it’s diversified us. Having this many teams in the South Jersey finals shows that the club programs are providing a lot of depth, and the kids have bought into the idea that swimming in South Jersey is a competitive and serious sport, which is huge. Some places, it’s more of a recreational varsity
sport and kids will hop on just to get a letter and be a part of a team, but recently you’ve seen people realize that we can be really good at this sport. We’re around the ocean in our area and a lot of these kids are lifeguards and get that competitive edge there, too,” said Mark Jamieson, who coaches both the boys and girls programs at EHT. “If you pay attention to the club ranks you can see when you’re going to get an uptick in good swimmers. We don’t have a huge summer league program like they do in Cherry Hill, so the fact that our year-round numbers have been good for kids swimming from ages 8 to 12 — the fact that those numbers have been steady has helped grow these teams. It’s not surprising to see the numbers where they are, but to see a group of kids who have all progressed so well shows we’ve been very fortunate to have so much talent come into our feeder programs. It hasn’t always been the case where every group that comes in as freshmen is a little bit better than the last, but the last couple years we’ve been seeing that. And getting a competitive edge at the younger ages has helped them perform at the high school level. We’re always happy to see when our conference has strength, and we’re rooting for the other teams so that there’s good balance when we get to these (South Jersey championship) meets.” Teofanova said she doesn’t see any type of downturn coming anytime soon. Swimmers throughout the CAL have seen the kind of success the Ocean City girls and Mainland boys have had in recent years, as well as teams like EHT and St. Augustine Prep, and they want to one day be holding up those NJSIAA plaques. “I think in the coming years, with the upcoming swimmers, it’s just going to get even more competitive,” she said. “I guess we’re just feeding off each other’s competitive nature. Everybody wants to be on top, so we’re training harder to see who can do that.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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WRESTLING
Braves building foundation for consistency Gami hasn’t shied away from tough schedule as it continues to improve its wrestling program By ALEX RUPSEE Student Correspondent s a cloud of uncertainty loomed over the upcoming wrestling season a few months ago, the Absegami wrestling team, led with perseverance by coach Shawn Scannell, trained for what it hoped was the beginning of a rise back to prominence. Throughout the past few months, the team has been pushing through some difficult matches. Indeed, they have been able to pick up a few powerful wins here and there, such as a recent 66-12 victory over Mainland Regional. And although their 10-14 record during the 2018-2019 season can look discouraging, the team is building momentum toward a better future in the Cape-Atlantic League, along with the individual-based district and regional tournaments. Throughout the season, the Absegami wrestling team has been inconsistent at times, but always competitive.
Season update ABSEGAMI Overall record: 10-14 Last 5 matches: 2-3 Upcoming matches: The individual season, featuring districts and regions, begins Feb. 15. Absegami is in District 32, hosted by Kingsway.
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Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Absegami 132-pounder Corbin Saul and the Braves posted 10 wins during the dual meet season, and now turn their attention to the District 32 tournament at Kingsway Regional High School. Earlier in the season, for instance, they dominated matches against Vineland
(winning 55-18 on Jan. 3) and Cedar Creek (69-12 on Jan. 5). Most of their
matches after that were close, with some determined by a few points, as seen during late January with matches against Holy Spirit (a 36-33 win) and Pennsville (a 36-35 loss). The Braves have also lost some tough matches to powerhouse programs such as Long Branch, Cherokee, Delsea, and Clearview. “We’re doing as good as we possibly can. We had some bad injuries and some kids not staying with the team, but for what we have, and the schedule we have, we’re doing okay. We’re get-
See Braves, page 15
Feb. 15, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 15 Braves, from page 14 ting through, and getting better with what we have,” Scannell said. In spite of their circumstances, Scannell sees the team is working diligently during practice. “(The team comes) ready to go and they practice hard every day. They don’t complain, everyone’s moving in the right direction.” Throughout the season, “moving in the right direction” did seem tough initially, but wrestling is a tough sport. As Scannell says, “we have five seniors that are hurt, and some younger kids on the team, and so it’s hard to move forward with that.” However, the team does have strong wrestlers who come through in the clutch. Quinn McLaughlin, John Devlin and Corbin Saul, to name a few, have recently saved Absegami in matches such as during a 44-36 win over Ocean City in late January. There, they managed pins that helped secure the win. Other wrestlers, such as Ethan Zeck and Warren Hood, had major decisions. And as the season shifts toward the individual
Absegami coach Shawn Scannell said his team has done a good job fighting through injuries and a tough regular-season schedule this year. Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
postseason, expect them — with the dedication and mentality that Scannell sees regularly within them — to lead the Braves’ charge. The team as a whole has been steadily improving, constructively helping younger team members adapt to the level of commitment required to be successful at the varsity level and against a tough schedule. Scannell said the key to succeeding in the future
lies in focusing on small situations. “Nobody’s perfect, wrestling is a tough sport,” he stated. By focusing now on winning the small battles, the team can hopefully open their doors to more sustained success. “Everyone’s getting better,” freshman Raymond Weed declared with confidence.
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FOOTBALL
Disney magic lands A-Rod at Cornell Oakcrest two-sport star Alec Rodriguez gets football offer he was hoping for from Big Red By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer isney bills itself as the place where magic can happen, and throughout most of his life Oakcrest senior football and baseball star Alec Rodriguez figured that was just a catchy advertising campaign. He’s starting to believe there might be something to it now, however. Rodriguez — a hard-hitting linebacker in football and an outstanding third baseman in baseball — was on vacation a few weeks ago at Magic Kingdom when he got the call he had been waiting months for. On the other end of the line was Cornell University football coach David Archer with an offer for Rodriguez to come and be a part of the Big Red family. One moment Rodriguez was just a high school kid about to enjoy some fireworks, and the next he was an Ivy League football
Oakcrest football players Alec Rodriguez signed this week to continue his career at Cornell University. Joining him at the ceremony were, from left, step-dad Rene Savoie, mom Renee, and dad Carlos Rodriguez.
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Glory Days Magazine photo/ Dave O’Sullivan
recruit. “I was looking at some Division III schools, Franklin & Marshall and Widener were my top choices for Division III, and I was actually going to end up going to Widener but I was waiting for Cornell to call me. I was in Disney, at Magic Kingdom, when coach Archer called me. My whole world just changed,” Rodriguez said at his recent signing day ceremony, held in the main
lobby at Oakcrest. “It didn’t feel real when I woke up the next day. I was waiting and it was coming down to the wire, and I was getting edgy. Then he called me and said they wanted to offer me. I was at Magic Kingdom, and it really was like magic, I was watching the fireworks about five minutes later. My night was made by that phone call. “It didn’t feel real for any of us. We’re all so excited for this next part
of my life.” Rodriguez had a lot of phone calls to make that night, as he comes from a family that includes older brother C.J., older sister Sabrina, younger sister Emily, mom Renee, dad Carlos, step-mom Jessica and step-dad Rene Savoie. “It’s been an ongoing process, and one thing we know about Alec is that
See Cornell, page 19
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Feb. 15, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 19 Cornell, from page 16 he’s well disciplined, he’s focused — and he’s been more focused on his academics than his athletics. We can’t be more proud. He’s been that way, since he was little, he would never stop until he achieved his goals. I think whatever he faces at Cornell, he’s going to be ready. He knows academics are first and he’s going to take every step necessary in his academics and on the football field,” said dad Carlos Rodriguez. “His mom took some trips with him, I took some trips, we weren’t really sure which school he was going to end up picking. Cornell was his No. 1 all along, and we just kept on waiting. When the call came through from the head coach, he said, ‘dad, I did it, I’m going to Cornell.’ We can’t be more proud. Alec has been a great role model for the other kids. He’s an incredible kid. Everybody, his step-mom,
step-dad, his sisters, they are all just as proud.” Rodriguez has been a huge part of the Oakcrest baseball and football programs. He’ll finish his career as fouryear starters in both sports and has been one of the captains of the football team the past two years. “It’s great, he’s been killing it on the field and in the classroom and he has unbelievable character. For Cornell to come our way is a wonderful opportunity for him and his family, as well as for our program. It’s outstanding, tremendous — it’s beyond words. It’s exciting, that’s for sure,” said football coach Eric Anderson. Anderson said there’s no way to replace a player like Rodriguez, who aside from his talent brought a wealth of leadership qualities to the program. “It’s going to be impossible to replace him, but hopefully the young guys have learned from his character and work
ethic and what he brings every day to the practice field, in both football and baseball. You just hope that spreads to the younger guys so they can continue that tradition,” he said. “He’s been a two-year captain and he’s respected by all his coaches, opponents, teammates — he’s been a four-year starter and every day the other kids see him working his butt off. You just hope that rubs off. It’s one of those things, you can’t replace that, you just hope some of it trickles down.” Rodriguez said he initially wanted to play baseball in college, but started leaning more toward football after his junior year, and was going to sign with Widener if Cornell didn’t come through with an offer. He’s glad coach Archer called, though. “The recruiting process was a roller coaster, you have coaches calling you and you’re traveling all over. I traveled up to Harvard, Cornell, Bryant Univer-
sity, other schools in the northeast and even down to Florida. I wasn’t really looking at just Ivy League, I was looking at private schools around here like Seton Hall and Villanova. Last spring, after my junior year, I started getting interest from coaches and started meeting with them. I ended up going to camp at Cornell in July and ended up doing really well, they came down and talked to everybody at Oakcrest, then invited me up for an official visit,” he said. “I wanted to play baseball in college, but I started doing well in football and started liking it more throughout high school. I started coming into more contact with college football coaches, and I decided to go the football route. Now I can go out and have fun with baseball. I’m excited.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: ZHYANA YOUNG, HOLY SPIRIT GIRLS BASKETBALL
No shortcuts
Young has always put her all into being the best player she can be for the Spartans By GIUSEPPE UNGARO Staff Writer here really is no shortcut from Woodbine to Absecon. It takes some time just to get to the Garden State Parkway. Even with no traffic it will take at least 30 minutes to get to Holy Spirit High School. The relatively long trip is nothing for Spartans senior Zhyana Young. She doesn’t do shortcuts anyway, especially when it comes to basketball. Despite being one of the most talented players on the Holy Spirit girls basketball team, the 5-feet, 11-inches tall Young continued to work on her game throughout her career. It didn’t matter if the Spartans were contenders or, like this season, in the midst of a rebuilding year — Young never stopped working. One day, close to practice time, Young found herself without a ride from her home to the school. It’s not
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Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Holy Spirit senior forward Zhyana Young has been the leading scorer and rebounder for the Spartans See Young, page 21 this season, and throughout her career has been one of the best players in the Cape-Atlantic League.
Feb. 15, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 21 Young, from page 20 like another player or coach can just swing by and offer a ride since she lives so far away. Young didn’t sulk or take the day off to play on her phone. Instead, Young was able to get access to the local gym, called up her coach, Jackie Siscone, and asked her what to work on. “It has always been there,” Young said of her work ethic. “I always want to make myself better, and my team better.” It is that type of effort that has made her the kind of player her teammates can emulate. “She definitely stepped into the role of leader, especially this offseason. I saw a lot of maturity and growth from her between her junior year and her senior year,” Siscone said. “I’ve seen her try and mentor some of the younger kids. I’ve seen her try and hold her teammates accountable, but she does it
“She is definitely our most consistent player. She has been the kid who tries to carry the weight on her shoulders as a leader. She is obviously trying to put points up on the board for us and she is our leading rebounder, too. She goes out every night and she is double-teamed and sometimes triple-teamed, but she still finds a way to get it done.”
Jackie Siscone, Holy Spirit coach
in a very mature way. “And she leads by example, too. She is not the most vocal kid, but she is the one leading by her effort no matter what the scoreboard says. Anything I ask the kids to do, she does. I can’t ask for more than that.” Holy Spirit is having a down year as far as its record is concerned, and certainly not the type of season Siscone and Young wanted or expected. Despite sitting at just four wins, Young’s play and determination hasn’t faltered.
Young is the leading scorer and rebounder for the Spartans, despite being the only perceived offensive threat on the team and facing plenty of double teams from opposing defenses. The Spartans’ captain has scored in double digits 11 times this season. She had a streak of five consecutive games of 11 points or more, including a season-high 18 on Jan. 19 against Collingswood. “She is definitely our most consistent player. She has been the kid who tries to carry the weight on her shoulders
as a leader,” Siscone said. “She is obviously trying to put points up on the board for us and she is our leading rebounder, too. She goes out every night and she is double-teamed and sometimes triple-teamed, but she still finds a way to get it done.” “It’s hard to stay positive at all times. But having heart keeps me in the game, keeps me focused on what really matters,” Young said. Her focus and work ethic will only benefit Young off the hardwood. She hasn’t decided yet where she would like to attend college, but once enrolled she plans on majoring in either business or criminal justice. While her next stop may still be in doubt, there is no question she has left an impact on the Holy Spirit girls basketball program. “I think I definitely made the best of it,” Young said. “It has been a lot of fun.”
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Holy Spirit head coach Jackie Siscone said Young’s dedication and work ethic have been things she can point to when showing younger players what it takes to be successful at the varsity level.
Feb. 15, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 23
BOYS SWIMMING
Stangs keep adding to trophy case Mainland wins its fifth straight South Jersey title By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer he Cherry Hill East boys swimming team has won 11 straight South Jersey Public A sectional championships. The Cougars are the standard bearers right now in South Jersey swimming, but Mainland Regional could be considered one of those other center lane swimmers right up there with East these days. On Feb. 14, the Mustangs won their fifth consecutive South Jersey Public B championship and have a very good chance to win their fourth straight Public B state championship this month. Prior to this season, Mainland had gone 15-0 for three straight seasons and won the state title each season. The Mustangs stretched their winning streak to 51 straight with six wins to start the 2018-2019 season before that run was ended with a loss to St. Augustine Prep in January. Mainland also has one of the best high school swimmers in the country in junior Destin Lasco. With Lasco in the lineup, the Mustangs are 40-2 the past two years, and he recently gave a verbal commitment to the University of California-Berkeley, which is coached by David Durden, who in late 2018 was named as the head coach of the USA Olympic squad. This year, Mainland was the top seed again heading into the sectional championships, and although the Mustangs got a test from rival Ocean City in the finals, they managed to score a 98-72 victory to extend their title streak to five straight years. “It’s really special because we knew, especially in this meet, that everyone had to work together, and we all did what we had to do. It really build up
T
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Senior Brandon Truong holds up the South Jersey Public B championship trophy as he’s joined by teammates in celebration after the Mustangs took down rival Ocean City on Feb. 14. the team bond we have,” said senior Erik Truong. “It was a lot closer than in past meets, but it was a good race. This means we’ve really done something right, especially with the coaching staff, we’ve built up our team, our bonds and our chemistry. Everyone works together and pushes each other, and we’re all working toward a common goal.” Everyone on all the other South Jersey teams knows all about Lasco and his accomplishments during his career, which include nearly a dozen national meters records, and fans perk up when they know the races he swims in are coming up. “We all know that Destin is a really fast swimmer, and he helps push us,” Truong said. “Everyone works
together and we know we have someone to look up to. We all critique each other in spots we’re weak in to get better.” The Mustangs aren’t just the Destin Lasco show, however. Truong is one of the top breaststrokers in all of South Jersey, and they have other outstanding swimmers, such as Cole and Liam Garbutt, Andrew Middlesworth and Colin Cooke, who have helped keep up the winning tradition that Mainland began to build about six years ago. Nate Hays, a standout senior for Ocean City, had nothing but praise for the Red Raiders’ rival after Ocean City’s loss in the sectional final. “They are phenomenal, I give nothing but credit to coach (Brian) Booth and all their swimmers,” he said. “Des-
tin, what a swimmer, I’ve been swimming against him for years, and Erik Truong, the Garbutt brothers — that whole group of guys, they are phenomenal swimmers and a great team. They are definitely a dynasty.” “Mainland has just been running away with the championship the last couple years, and obviously they have talent and are well coached and their outside lanes are always tremendous, along with their talent in the middle,” added Ocean City coach Shane McGrath. “I told Brian and the Mainland kids to now go on and win the whole thing because it makes our league look that much better.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
Page 24 w Glory Days Magazine w Feb. 15, 2019
BOYS SWIMMING
Ocean City stepping up its game ‘Underdog’ Red Raiders have become a team to watch in SJ Public B By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer or the past five years, Mainland Regional has won the South Jersey Public B sectional championship, and teams like Egg Harbor Township and St. Augustine Prep have come up as contenders in their respective postseason brackets. The Ocean City girls program has long been one of the best in South Jersey, but now the Red Raiders boys team is starting to become a program that other top teams have to start looking over their shoulder at. The Red Raiders advanced all the way to the South Jersey Public B championship meet against Mainland this year — the first time they’ve made it this far since 1962, according to head coach Shane McGrath — and Ocean City won four of the 11 events in the championship meet before falling, 9872, to the four-time defending champion Mustangs. The Raiders went 9-4 this year, with their only losses coming against Egg Harbor Township, Mainland (twice) and St. Augustine Prep, and they scored more than 100 points in every one of their wins except an 87-83 playoff victory over Shawnee. In the championship meet against Mainland, Ocean City trailed just 34-
F
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Freestyler Tanner Driscoll and Ocean City gave four-time defending champion Mainland Regional a run for its money before falling, 98-72, at the South Jersey Public B championship meet. 28 at the break, and after the 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle, the Raiders had closed the gap all the way down to 49-45, putting some fear into a team that is used to cruising to South Jersey titles. Eventually, Mainland’s center lane talent with guys such as Universi-
ty of California commit Destin Lasco, Erik Truong, Cole Garbutt and Andrew Middlesworth, and its depth, was too much for the Red Raiders to overcome and they lost, 98-72. But the Red Raiders put the rest of the section on notice that they aren’t afraid to go up against
anybody, and want to keep building so that someday soon they can be one of the upper echelon squads. “I still haven’t confirmed that,” McGrath said of the last time Ocean City
See Game, page 25
Feb. 15, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 25 Game, from page 24 had made a South Jersey Public B championship meet. “I’ve been pushing those numbers around and I’m waiting for some alumni to come in and call me out on it, but I’m pretty sure that’s the last time we went to a South Jersey Public B final, for the bigger schools. The 1962 team won it, and it’s nice to know that Ocean City boys swimming is back on the radar. My kids work hard, they buy in, and it makes coaching that much easier when you have that kind of atmosphere. “It’s hard to express the feelings I have right now and how happy I was with this team today. During the regular season, they beat us 107-63, and we knew what we were going up against,” McGrath continued. “I compared it to David vs. Goliath — some of my kids didn’t even know what that meant — but we didn’t come in knowing we were going to be defeated. We came in thinking we were going to give them the best run for their money, and, honestly, we came in here thinking we had a chance to win this meet. We have a bunch of seniors, and our goal at the beginning of the year was just to get to this meet, and I’m so happy with the way we swam and the way we battled.” In the loss to Mainland, Ocean City got individual wins from Ben Wiley, who won the 50 and 100 freestyles, Dolan Grisbaum in the 200 free, and its 400 free relay team of Wiley, Grisbaum, Peter Horowitz
“... we were the underdogs. And I love that story, I love to be fighting for something with my guys, fighting to prove that we’re better than people think we are. I think we did that throughout this season. Getting here means the world to us. It’s been 57 years. The last time we got this far was when we were a co-ed team back in 1962, so it’s been a while. So, it means the absolute world to every guy here.”
Nate Hays Ocean City senior (following the sectional championship meet against Mainland on Feb. 14)
and Nate Hays scored a first-place finish. “It’s a great feeling to be able to come out here with a great group of guys, a great core group of guys. The seniors have been phenomenal — it’s a huge class of seniors, a bunch of guys who you know are going to fight hard together and work hard together. We swam against them for four straight years, they are our rivals, and we knew how good they were coming in, but we also knew how good we were coming in. We wanted to give them everything we had, and
then some. We wanted to make sure that the last time they went against our seniors in the postseason was a meet to remember,” Hays, a senior, said after the meet at GCIT. “We were thinking about just going for our best the whole time. It wasn’t just about how the meet was going to finish, we knew it was going to be a tough meet to win, but a hard-fought meet. We knew there were going to be points during the meet when it would be close. We gave them everything we had and then some, and those were the results.” Hays said he and his teammates have embraced the underdog role all season long, and were thrilled to prove doubters wrong and make a run to a sectional final. “I like to believe that almost every meet we were in — against Mainland, EHT, St. Augustine Prep, whatever meet we were in — we were the underdogs. And I love that story, I love to be fighting for something with my guys, fighting to prove that we’re better than people think we are. I think we did that throughout this season,” he said. “Getting here means the world to us. It’s been 57 years. The last time we got this far was when we were a co-ed team back in 1962, so it’s been a while. So, it means the absolute world to every guy here, whether they are seniors, juniors, sophomores or freshmen, it means everything to get to this point.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
Page 26 w Glory Days Magazine w Feb. 15, 2019
RUGBY
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Bobby Ransom and the Jersey Shore Sharks Rugby Club begin training this month in preparation for the upcoming spring season.
Perfecting practice key to sustained success in rugby
I
t’s that time of the year! Rugby time. The 2019 spring season will be starting shortly. Currently, Jersey Shore Sharks Rugby Club players from the high school team and the men’s club are in offseason fitness training to prep their bodDr. j ies for the first zimmerman practice session of the year on Feb. 22. I truly look forward to practice beginning, as do all of our players. Practice is essential to rugby success. All sports require practice. The
only way to get better at a skill and improve one’s game is to practice. It doesn’t matter whether it is golf, bowling, rugby or checkers, practice improves the ability to play and compete at a higher level. There are two old adages that apply to practice. One is that practice makes perfect. Practice is the repetition of an action with the goal of improvement. Practice also improves ease, speed and confidence. Scientifically, from an anatomical perspective, practice increases the neural pathways that communicate from the brain to the muscle tissue. The larger the neural pathways, the easier the communication process from the brain to the muscles in the
See Rugby, page 27
Feb. 15, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 27 Rugby, from page 26 body becomes. As a chiropractor, we work with neural pathways on a daily basis. So, it is very exciting to see that practice repetition not only improves skill, but the resulting increase in neural connections can improve speed and accuracy of the skill. It takes much more than repetition to improve at practice. According to recent TED talks, the quality of practice depends on consistency, the intensity of the player’s ability to focus and targeting areas that lie just below the players current abilities. To get the most out of a practice session, players must focus and pay attention to the skill drill. Social conversations while practicing are a no-no. Drills should start out slowly and then gradually progress in speed. Top
professional athletes typically spend 50 hours per week working on skills and areas related to their sport (fitness, strength, agility, flexibility). In addition, studying film of skills and actual game footage is an invaluable part of practice. The brain is a very powerful tool. Watching a game and imagining yourself in that position, performing skills as you see top athletes perform them, can actually help you at practice and on game day. See and do. If you see it enough, you will do it enough. At our Sharks practice sessions, we break our skill drills into partpart-whole. We look at a skill and break it down to its most basic part. We practice that part until it is mastered and then we advance to the next component of the skill. The whole is where we incorporate the skill into a game session.
Coaches can then evaluate the skill in action and then fine-tune where needed. I said at the top of the article that there were two adages that apply to practice. The first was that practice makes perfect. The second one is that practice makes practice perfect. That is why in rugby, at our practice sessions, we constantly use live skill games and contests as part of practice. Skill drills are important, but we have to add the element of chaos into practice. It is very important to play games with outcomes that are not predecided. Practice cannot account for variables that occur in a live match, so it is important that we create opportunities that do not occur in a structured skill drill. Thus the live contests. Rugby practice is regimented and structured, but at the same time it is creative, fun and competitive. The
Jersey Shore Sharks Rugby Club has starting preseason rugby training. It’s not too late to join the squad. Our high school club and men’s team always accept new recruits. Co-ed Youth Tag Rugby will start on March 22. If you are interested in playing, give me a call, I would love to convince you to play. Dr. J. Zimmerman is the president of the Jersey Shore Rugby Club Board of Directors. He is the men’s club head coach and director of youth rugby. Dr. J. is also the team chiropractor. For more information on Jersey Shore Sharks Rugby, including our high school rugby team, or if you are interested in playing, visit www.JerseyShoreRugby.com or on Facebook at Jersey Shore Rugby Club, or call 609-652-6363 or e-mail jerseyshoresharks@gmail.com.
snapshots SOUTH JERSEY PUBLIC SCHOOL SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
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