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ABOUT THE COVER
If you ask Atlantic County Institute of Technology girls basketball coach Jason Vander Ryk his opinion on senior point guard Kayla Sykes, you might want to have a cup of coffee at the ready, maybe a protein bar. You might be there a while. The ACIT program is still a relatively young program, and began gaining some notoriety a few years ago when it had star player Yasmeen Nelson, the first player in school history to record 1,000 career points. Sykes’ name is now the second one on the banner, and she’s carrying on that tradition of leadership and selflessness; like Nelson, always quick to credit her teammates for her own success. Sykes is the only senior on the roster this year and has been a valuable leader for the RedHawks, both on and off the field. Last year, she and her mom, Lonniyell, spearheaded an effort to start the Kiss Cancer Goodbye Tournament in honor of Lonniyell’s aunt, and in the past two years the tournament has raised nearly $4,000 for the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. ACIT is also in the midst of one of its best seasons ever, competing for first place in the Cape-Atlantic League American Conference, a berth in the CAL Tournament, and a state playoff appearance. Flip to page 10 to read more about Sykes, and what she has meant to the ACIT girls basketball program throughout her career. — 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: 16 Overall Issue Number: 123. 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 They can’t be stopped!: We featured the Mainland Regional boys
basketball team in our Vic’s Subs Cover Story for our Feb. 1 digital edition, and the Mustangs just keep winning. Mainland has won 11 straight games, going from a pedestrian 6-4 to now 17-4, and the Stangs are 9-1 in the Cape-Atlantic League National Conference and looking to wrap up a conference title next week. They scored lopsided wins over Absegami and Highland, then squeaked out a 34-31 win over Holy Spirit on Wednesday night, with junior Jake Cook and senior Angelo Barron pairing up for 27 points and 20 rebounds. u Big win: Oakcrest girls basketball coach Scott Miele thought his team might be imploding after a recent three-game losing streak, but then the Falcons scored a key win over Cedar Creek to stop the bleeding and keep their CAL Tournament hopes alive. They’ll also host a state playoff game later this month. The Falcons haven’t won a home playoff game since 2004. u 1,000-point parade: The year started with Mainland junior Kylee Watson getting her 1,000th career point in the season opener. Since then, Pleasantville seniors Sahmir Jones and Jalen Freeman, along with ACIT senior Kayla Sykes, have accomplished the feat. Cedar Creek’s Trina Deveney reached the milestone on Wednesday, and there are two more players on the verge. EHT senior Jordan Sweeney went into Friday needing just nine points, and Oakcrest senior Ionyonia Alves needs 21 points to hit it.
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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GIRLS BASKETBALL
Heart-to-heart talk saved Pirates’ season Cedar Creek coach Jess Sartorio knew something had to be done after 2-10 start By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer few weeks ago, the Cedar Creek girls basketball team was on the precipice of a downward spiral that finishes with an awkward — and brief — postseason banquet. There isn’t much to talk about after a season that culminates with just a couple of wins and a lot of disappointment and finger pointing. Head coach Jess Sartorio had tried everything she could think of, yet the Pirates had still stumbled out to a 2-10 record through its first 12 games. The low point came after a 61-25 blowout loss to Ocean City on the road on Jan. 23. It was after that game when Sartorio decided a good, oldfashioned heart-to-heart talk was in order with her players. Nothing was off the table, pour your heart out, any little thing that was bothering you about how the season had gone up to that point, complaints about playing time, dissatisfaction with the plays that were being run — nothing was off
Season update CEDAR CREEK Overall record: 7-13 CAL National: 2-7 Last 5 games: 3-2 Upcoming games: Feb. 9 at Red Bank; Feb. 11 at Mainland; Feb. 13 vs. Ocean City.
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Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Trina Deveney is the lone senior on Cedar Creek’s roster, and her increased productivity on both ends of the floor has helped the Pirates turn their season around. limits, and Sartorio encouraged her players to get it all out there and vent a little bit.
Finally, something she tried took hold, and it seems to have completely turned Cedar Creek’s season around.
Two days after that loss to Ocean City, the Pirates took the long bus ride down to Lower Cape May and beat a pretty good Caper Tigers team, 50-41. That started a run of five wins in seven games that bumped their record up to 7-12 and had them playing much better basketball. “I was struggling a little bit. I was trying everything — music at practice, fun practices, serious practices, music on the bus, I was trying games on the bus, everything I could think of to figure it out. I told them, ‘you guys have to sometimes figure things out on your own, there’s only so much I can do. I’m not out there on the floor, but
See Pirates, page 8
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Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Sophomore Jezlyn Cross is a promising young guard for the Cedar Creek girls basketball team, and a player coach Jess Sartorio will build around in the coming years.
I want you guys to do so well that I’ll do whatever you need me to do.’ Once they had that game where everything clicked, they realized how good they can be and how successful they can be,” Sartorio, a former star at Absegami High, said after a recent win over Bridgeton. “We had kind of a rough start to the season and the girls really battled through that adversity. We sat down about two weeks ago and had a big team talk, a life talk, kind of how can we get through this and how can we be better the second half of the season? They really responded well to it. They gave their ideas on what they wanted to do, and the biggest thing was energy and having fun, and I think we’re doing that now every game. When we played Lower Cape May, I think that was the turning point. We played really well against them, and in every game after that we’ve been playing with a lot of chemistry and energy, and they’re having fun. That’s what we were missing before that.”
Cedar Creek has a fairly young roster and that, coupled with the fact that the Pirates play in a very tough conference that features teams such as Mainland, Ocean City, Oakcrest, Absegami and Holy Spirit, made things difficult at the start of the season. Trina Deveney, a star senior forward, was putting too much pressure on herself to do too many things, Sartorio said. Tay-Tay Parker, a junior, and Jezlyn Cross, a sophomore, were running the show at the guard positions, and Sartorio said it has taken a little bit of time for them to gel together and run the offense more efficiently. “I think they are both now on the same page. With two young guards, it’s not always easy getting the ball into the post,” Sartorio said. “Trina would be open so much and we just couldn’t get it into the paint. They needed six or seven games under their belt, and now they’re finally feeling that confidence. The whole team is just much more confident and playing
See Pirates, page 9
Feb. 8, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 9 Pirates, from page 8 better.” “We have a younger team, so being a senior who has played with older girls most of my career, it has been a struggle, but we’re finally working together,” said Deveney, perhaps the best post player the school has had in its brief history. “At first, we weren’t gelling, but now we are. It’s important for us to finish out strong.” Sartorio said the Pirates have had to kind of rewrite their season goals after such a rough start, and just focus on playing tougher and smarter the second time through the conference schedule. “We were at that part of the season where it could have gone bad for the rest of the season or we could have made a turn. It was a big spot because in the CAL, you play everybody twice, and I just said let’s be better the second time we play every team. And whatever teams we don’t play twice, let’s just play our best game. We played well against Millville and in some other games,” she said. “Everybody has been stepping up. Obviously, Trina is our star scorer, but she knows that everybody pitches in. Our guards are handling the ball better, our other post players are battling for boards every game. They are coming together and playing a full game, and it’s fun to watch.” That midseason “airing of the grievances” has seemed to work wonders for the Pirates, who won’t make the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament but can still get a lot of valuable experience against good teams that will pay off down the road for players like Parker, Cross, Gab Luko, Juliet Du-
verglass, and Abby Gunnels. “I think it was a good conversation. I think with high school girls, sometimes you just have to have that good life talk every once in a while. We all sat down, it was a very mature conversation, we all made new goals for the season. We established new team goals and new routines, and they really bought into that, which I’m so proud of them for. They could have just been like, ‘no, whatever, I’m done. It is what it is.’ But they responded well, and it was good timing. Halfway through the season, you want that. You want to be playing better at the end of the season and I think they are doing that,” Sartorio said. “I said when I was becoming a head coach, I wanted the team to know that I don’t know everything — I like to think I know a lot about basketball, I’ve played a lot, I’ve coached at high levels — but if they don’t think they have a say in anything, they’re not going to buy in. They are on the floor so they’re seeing things a little differently than you are, so I try to tell them to talk to me and tell me what they think will work. They are really stepping up and doing that well. “I think that talk helped everybody because they knew where everybody was coming from. Trina knew she wanted to help her teammates, and the guards knew they wanted to get the ball in to her. It was one of those really good conversations.” “We’ve been really focused. We’re playing together a lot better now and we’re focusing more on what our coaches want us to do,” Deveney said. Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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VIC’S SUBS COVER STORY “She’s a warrior. She gets beat up every game but just doesn’t miss a practice. Even when I tell her to take it easy, she doesn’t know how to do that and you can’t teach that. This is a player I’ll remember forever, her work ethic and what she’s done for the program. The girls want to be like her, and what better player to strive to be than Kayla Sykes?” Jason Vander Ryk, ACIT girls basketball coach
the chosen one Kayla Sykes didn’t choose basketball, it chose her. And she’s glad it did. By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer ason Vander Ryk, head coach of the girls basketball team at ACIT, took one look at a seventhgrader named Kayla Sykes six years ago and knew that she would be a special player. It took a few years before Sykes finally began to see in herself what her current high school coach saw all those years ago. “She came to one of my camps as a seventh-grader, and I took one look at her and said ‘that’s a 1,000-point scorer right there. I have to coach this kid.’ I was lucky enough that she decided to attend ACIT, and as a freshman she came in and has just grown so much and exceeded my expectations. I knew she was going to score, but she’s worked on her defense and has become a great rebounder, a great passer,” Vander Ryk said. “She’s a warrior. She gets beat up every game but just doesn’t miss a practice. Even when I tell her to take it easy, she doesn’t know how to do that and you can’t teach that. This is a player I’ll remember forever, her work ethic and what she’s done for the program. The girls want to be like her, and what better player to strive to be than Kayla Sykes?” Yasmeen Nelson was the face of the ACIT girls basketball program before graduating in 2016. She became the school’s first 1,000-point scorer despite missing most of her senior year with a knee injury, and helped put the RedHawks on the map as far as the Cape-Atlantic League was concerned. The RedHawks are now a legitimate CAL contender thanks to Sykes — a player who begged her coach to put her on junior varsity when she came in as a freshman. She didn’t think she was ready to handle varsity basketball, but Vander Ryk wasn’t having any of that talk. He threw her right to the wolves, and the Egg Harbor Township resident hasn’t missed a game or practice since entering the Mays Landing school. “I can’t really put it into words what she’s meant to this program. She came in as a freshman and started since Day One, she’s never missed a game, never
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Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
In January, ACIT senior guard Kayla Sykes became just the second player in school history to score 1,000 career points, following in the footsteps of 2016 graduate Yasmeen Nelson. missed a practice. She’s the most humble person I know, just a great human being, a great basketball player. She works harder than anybody and is kind of like a coach on the floor. She knows exactly what needs to be done, she knows when to tell the girls to get out on the floor and when to do this or that,” Vander Ryk said. “I’m just so happy for her, she scored her 1,000th point and it couldn’t have happened to a better person. She just works so hard. She leaves our practice and she goes to work out or she goes to another court to work on her foul shots. She’s
just nonstop basketball, seven-days-a-week.” “Coming up to the first game, I asked coach Vander Ryk if I could play in the JV game because I didn’t know what to expect, but he was like, ‘no, you’re going straight to varsity ... and you’re starting.’ I said, ‘what if I don’t know what to do?’ And he said, ‘you’ll know what to do,’” Sykes said. “I actually had a very good game in my first game as a freshman. I didn’t know what to expect, but I’m glad coach ‘V’
See Sykes, page 11
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See Page 14 for this month’s Top Mom Series, featuring Lonniyell Sykes Sykes, from page 10 saw the potential in me and put me in.” Sykes’ value to the ACIT program is hard to quantify because she’s done so much for the team off the court, in addition to being the RedHawks’ best player on the court. She’s the only senior this year and has provided incredible leadership. She conducts herself the way any mother would hope her daughter would during her teenage years, she’s been a mentor to younger players, she’s active in the community, attends church weekly, and last year, as a junior, she and her mom helped start the “Kiss Cancer Goodbye Tournament” — a Saturday showcase event in January that raises money for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in honor of her mother’s aunt, Carol SmallSmith, who passed away six years ago after battling the disease. “I just want to keep the legacy go-
ing, and my family wants to keep the legacy going, to have my aunt’s passion continue to keep living. That’s the biggest thing, to keep living for her,” Sykes said. “I’m not going to lie, sometimes I ask myself why did I play basketball? But I continue to look back on my aunt and I think it’s been a blessing to have this sport in my life, honestly. I’ve been through some challenges, and I’ve helped other people with some challenges through basketball. It was a blessing in disguise, actually.” “I’m in awe. I’m in total awe of Kayla. I know she’s a special kid, and I’ve always known that, but to see her reach her 1,000th point — and not only that, but just the positive person she is,” said her mom, Lonniyell Sykes. “I’m really in support of what she does and I know she’s going to go far. She started as a freshman and has just kept going fur-
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Sykes and the RedHawks were 14-4 through their first 18 games, and within a game of Atlantic City for first place in the Cape-AtlanSee Sykes, page 13 tic League American Conference.
Feb. 8, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 13 Sykes, from page 11 ther up the ladder, and I’m looking forward to her college career, too.” Lonniyell said she’s constantly impressed with Kayla’s dedication to the sport and her team. Recently, Kayla and many of the other players on the team were sick prior to a big game against Atlantic City. Her mom told her to sit the game out, get some rest and get healthy again. That wasn’t going to happen. Sykes played, and helped lead the RedHawks to a 54-50 win over the first-place team in the CAL American Conference. “It’s definitely not from me. It comes from my aunt, Carol, and my mother is a fighter as well,” Lonniyell said when asked about Kayla’s killer instinct. “We have the fighting blood in us. She was very driven as a kid, very competitive, and she never let anything get her down. She’s like that now. When other kids are going through what they’re going through she stays out of it, whenever I’m going through something she puts me in check and tells me to get over it. I just know that she’s chosen. She’s chosen for great things in her destiny.” As of Feb. 7, ACIT was 15-4 overall and in second place in the CAL American, just a game behind Atlantic City. High seeds in the upcoming CAL Tournament and state playoffs are within reach, and Sykes has become just the second player in school history with
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Sykes and her mom, Lonniyell, helped start the Kiss Cancer Goodbye Tournament in 2018, and in two years the event has raised nearly $4,000 for cancer research. her name on the 1,000-point banner in the gym. It’s been quite a career, one that likely will continue at the college level, and Sykes said recently that she hasn’t even had a chance to sit down and think about all that she’s accomplished at ACIT. “It means so much to be because I’ve been through so much and come this far. I see it as a great success, honestly. I just try to lead (the younger players) in the right direction and hopefully they’ll be able to follow in my footsteps,” she said. “It hasn’t sunk in
to me yet. I’m just taking it game-bygame and day-by-day. This season has been great.” “She’s become a vocal leader and the girls really respect her. Her work ethic is second to none and you have to respect that. The freshmen are already counting their points because they saw her get to 1,000 and they want to be like her, and that’s great,” Vander Ryk said. “It’s an absolute blessing. Players like Kayla don’t come around a lot. I’m trying to just soak up every day with Kayla because it’s my last year with her.
Four years flies by, and she’s teaching all the girls how to do the right thing. It’s so great for the younger girls to see the way she does things. They see what a great night it was when she scored her 1,000th point, and I told the freshmen, ‘this doesn’t happen overnight.’ In drills and in practice I always tell the girls to watch Kayla, watch what she does. She’s been an absolute blessing.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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Glory Days Magazine’s Top Mom Series LONNIYELL SYKES/ACIT
‘My passion is humanity’ Lonniyell Sykes strives to bring love, peace and positivity to everyone she meets By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer t’s not easy to keep a frown on your face or a bad attitude when you’re in the company of Lonniyell Sykes, mom of ACIT star point guard Kayla Sykes. She’s just one of those people who, every time you see her, it boosts your spirits because you know she’s going to give you a warm hello, ask you how things are going with you, and even if there is something bothering you she’s quick with an encouraging word. It’s no wonder, then, that most of the players on the RedHawks’ roster refer affectionately to her as “Mom.” She’s the epitome of a “team mom” and it’s in her nature to nurture. Not only is Lonniyell raising Kayla, who will be off to college this fall, but she also has a daughter in grade school, Trinitee McKellar, and has taken in 15-year-old Sunnie Wyatt to raise as her own after Sunnie’s mom passed away six years ago. It’s a busy household with three young ladies, but it’s also one filled with love and encouragement, as Lonniyell has a big personality. She’s a Presbyterian evangelist and also a radio personality on 88.7 FM, a local Gospel station. Last winter, Lonniyell and Kayla were two of the driving forces behind creating the Kiss Cancer Goodbye Tournament, a girls basketball showcase event that helps raise money for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. The event, which honors Lonniyell’s aunt Carol, was held again this year, and in two years has raised nearly $4,000 for the cause. It was a big undertaking getting everything organized, but RedHawks coach Jason Vander Ryk said the Sykes women jumped right in and handled most of the organizational tasks. “It’s a great event. We raised $1,200 last year. I wouldn’t be doing justice if I didn’t give Kayla’s mom, Lonniyell, a shout-out,” Vander Ryk said during a recent interview on 97.3 ESPN FM. “She’s been the mastermind and the brains. She’s done everything for the tournament this year and she gets all the credit. I set the teams up and then she takes care
I
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Lonniyell Sykes, an Atlantic City native and Pleasantville High School graduate, has been the biggest supporter of her daughter, Kayla, who is a senior at ACIT and scored her 1,000th career point earlier this season. of everything, going to the businesses to try to get sponsors. She’s an angel and it’s hard to tell her no, and she’s just done an amazing job. She gets all the credit in the world.” “I love my mom so much. And the other players love her so much, too,” said Kayla, a senior who recently scored her 1,000th career point and is one of the best players in the Cape-Atlantic League. “They call her ‘mom’ or ‘sis.’ I’m glad that she helped create this tournament last year. I never thought that it would come to fruition. I always tell my mom how much I love her. She means the world to me, and I talk to her every day.” Lonniyell was born in Atlantic City and then moved to Pleasantville, where she attended Pleasantville High and had what she describes as a short-lived athletic career.
“My aunt Carol, the one we recognize, came from Mississippi and I was running track. I came in first place and I ran so hard my aunt said, ‘oh, I can’t wait to come to your next meet!’ And I said, ‘that was the last one. The first one and the last one.’ I never ran again,” Lonniyell said with a laugh. “We’ve always seen it in Kayla, though, she’s had a basketball in her hands since she was 3 years old. The passion, she just had it.” Lonniyell knows how important it is for moms to be role models for their daughters, and she wants to be a motivation for the next generation of strong black women, she said. That’s why when she does something, she gives 100 percent effort, and that example
See Passion, page 16
Page 16 w Glory Days Magazine w Feb. 8, 2019 Passion, from page 14 has certainly had an effect on Kayla. In four years as a varsity starter, Kayla has never missed a game or practice, coach Vander Ryk said. “I believe that whenever you put your heart into something, you should put your all into it. I’m not just a mother for Kayla, I’m a mother for all the children here and I will fight for these children. I believe in these children, I believe in this program and I believe in the coaching. There are some children who don’t get what Kayla gets, and if I can step in and be positive in any type of way, I will do my best to do that,” Lonniyell said. “I believe that failure is not an option, and if you have the drive inside of you, you can take it and you can make it. If you look at our black history, a lot of women have come through great trenches and battles, yet they still were able to stand. I’m just allowing those who are in front of me and behind me to say that no matter the cause, you can stand. I’ve always trained Kayla, as an individual, to never quit, never give up, stay positive, put your goal in front of you and always reach it. If you always fall forward, you can reach your goal. If you fall backward, that means you’ll have a harder time to get to where you want to be.” “She means a lot to me and a lot of other people. She gives motivation non-stop, just tells us to keep going in life, and on the court,” Kayla said. “When I go to college, we’ll be on the phone a lot and do a lot of face-timing. I just hope I can stay close so she can come to a lot of my games.” Lonniyell said she’s always been passionate about the work she does, and just wants to continue to be a positive influence in people’s lives. “I work with families in the commu-
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Lonniyell Sykes is pictured after the recent Kiss Cancer Goodbye Tournament at ACIT with her daughter, Kayla, her mom, Dorothy Mister, and Kayla’s cousin, Christian Smith.
“I love my mom so much. And the other players love her so much, too. They call her ‘mom’ or ‘sis.’ I’m glad that she helped create this tournament last year. I never thought that it would come to fruition. I always tell my mom how much I love her. She means the world to me, and I talk to her every day.”
Kayla Sykes, ACIT senior guard
nity. I’m a substitute teacher and I’m a minister at Victory First Presbyterian Deliverance Church in Atlantic City. So, my passion is humanity and to make sure I have an impact. It’s not always about the church, but just reaching people,” she said. It doesn’t take much to get through to Kayla, who Lonniyell said is an easy teenage girl to raise. In fact, she
sometimes has to prod her daughter to get out of the house and go socialize. That’s how much of a homebody Kayla is. “I just want her to stay focused. No boys, stay on your grades, stay focused and determined, and she’ll reach her goals,” Lonniyell said. “As a mom, I’m passionate. I want to see the best for my kids or whoever I touch in life. I
know the world is sometimes in chaos, but you don’t have to be in the midst of the chaos. You can be the solution.” “I really don’t go out that much. I’m not an outgoing person and I like to stay home a lot,” Kayla added. “She has to push me to get me out of the house. We mostly go to church and stay home, but we have fun.” As for her 9-year-old, well, that’s a different story. “I don’t have any hard times with Kayla,” Lonniyell said. “Now, my 9-year-old is a little bit more challenging, so just pray for me.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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GIRLS BASKETBALL CAL TOURNAMENT UPDATE
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Savanna Holt and Ocean City only have four losses this season, and two have come against Mainland, the No. 20 team in the state. Have the Red Raiders done enough to garner at top-four seed in the upcoming Cape-Atlantic League Tournament?
Who’s likely in? The top six teams look to be set at this point, and Mainland, which this week cracked the nj.com Top 20 at No. 20, likely will be the No. 1 seed. The Mustangs have won 10 straight games, are 18-2 overall and are the defending champion. Middle Township is the hottest team in the league with 11 straight wins and could end up as the No. 2 seed, and Wildwood Catholic, the No. 2 team in the CAL United at 18-3, looks to be in line for a top-four seed and a home game. Atlantic City and ACIT both will be in, but the American Conference championship is still up in the air as the RedHawks trail the Vikings by one game. Ocean City, the No. 2 team in the CAL National, will get in as well.
Who’s on the bubble?
The bubble has shrunk down to three teams playing musical chairs for the final two spots. Oakcrest picked up a big win over Cedar Creek this week after a three-game slide, and the Falcons are 13-5 overall and in third in the CAL National. They’ll likely get in, which means Vineland and OLMA, who are both 11-7, would be fighting it out for the final spot in the eight-team tournament.
This week’s big question: Where will Ocean City land, and will the Red Raiders be on the opposite side of the bracket from Mainland? Ocean City was in the final last year, and took Mainland to overtime before falling, then beat the Mustangs in the South Jersey Group 3 championship game. They’ve also been playing pretty well lately, having won four straight to improve to 14-4. Ocean City may get a top-four seed and a home game, depending on how much the committee believes in Atlantic City or ACIT.
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BOYS BASKETBALL CAL TOURNAMENT UPDATE
Who’s likely in? At this point, most teams only have two or three conference games left, most of the mystery is gone and attention turns now to the seeding. St. Augustine Prep and Millville will be in, and both will probably get home games in the opening round as two of the top four seeds. Mainland, which is leading the CAL National, will undoubtedly get in and may get a home game as well. Wildwood Catholic, which is 20-1 overall and 9-0 in the CAL United, will likely be the No. 1 seed. Pleasantville and St. Joseph, also in the CAL United, probably will get in, as should Ocean City and Lower Cape May from the CAL National.
Who’s on the bubble? The only teams really still left on the bubble are Vineland and Holy Spirit, but both those teams will have a tough time getting in. Spirit was in contention for the CAL National title for a while, but has fallen back to fourth place, 6-4 in conference play, and Vineland has the same record in the American. The only real mystery is whether the selection committee likes Vineland (currently 11-6) over Lower Cape May or Ocean City (both 15-5).
This week’s big question: Where will the committee seed Mainland? The Mustangs have been one of the hottest teams in the CAL with an 11-game winning streak, and are 17-4 overall.
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Sahmir Jones and the Pleasantville Greyhounds have won five straight games and may be in contention to grab one of the top four seeds in the upcoming CapeAtlantic League Tournament. Selections will be made on Wednesday.
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Oakcrest girls learning how to win I n the baseball movie “The Natural” there is a scene in which the main character, New York Knights right fielder Roy Hobbs, becomes frustrated when the team employs a hypnotist to try to get the Knights out of a long losing streak. Teams and coaches at any level of sports will employ almost any tactic they think might help spark some winning ways among players. But winning is a skill that is learned, just like a jumpshot or good defense. It’s not something that comes easily, and it can be gone quickly, which is why coaches try to do whatever they can to keep winning once a team has learned how to do it. Oakcrest girls basketball coach Scott Miele has been drilling his players since the start of last year on the fundamentals, but also believing the Falcons can become a good team. It looks as though all that hard work is beginning to pay off a little bit, as Oakcrest has turned things around after a couple of forgettable seasons in recent years. It helps that the team is loaded with six seniors this year, and those girls
Dave O’Sullivan
have been through the losing, the selfdoubt and the bumps and bruises, not only to their bodies, but also their confidence. But this group hasn’t given up, and now they are seeing the fruits of their labor. As of Feb. 7, the Falcons were 13-7 overall, were in contention for a spot in the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament, and had earned a home state playoff game later this month. Oakcrest hasn’t won a home playoff game since 2004, Miele posted on Twitter after the South Jersey Group 2 pairings were announced. Prior to this season, this group of seniors was 28-46 in their careers and a non-factor in the postseason, but with players like Kiki Hinton, Ionyonia Alves, Nicollette Curcio, Nay Nay Clark, Allison Murie, Jasmine LeClair, Chi Chi Ibeaumuka and Nephtalie Dorce, the Falcons are now playing competitive basketball every night and can no longer be penciled in as an automatic win by some of the top teams in the league. “The way that I try to explain it to the girls is you have to show your ability to be under control the whole game. I thought in the fourth quarter we kind of lost our composure a little bit as we were trying to get another bucket when we didn’t need another bucket. We had three or four possessions in a row where we made one pass and a girl
See Report, page 20
ROUNDBALL REPORT
Page 20 w Glory Days Magazine w Feb. 8, 2019 Report, from page 19 took it to the rim, but Nephtalie Dorce saved our bacon. I don’t know what our school record for threes (in a game) is, but she hit six today and that was the difference. She hit one that kind of calmed us down at the end. She played well,” Miele said after the Falcons beat Cedar Creek 47-40 this week. “As a program and as a coach, I’ve been with a lot of teams that win, and lose, but these girls have it. They’ve lost a lot of games (during their career), they know how to lose and teaching them how to win is harder than I’ve ever expected. Last year we were having fun, but this year the pressure has mounted. We’re just trying to get on to the next game, which will be a challenge with Ocean City, but we have three CAL games left and we’ve put ourselves in a good spot.” u Lightning in a bottle: It seems getting beat up pretty good by St. Augustine Prep a few weeks ago has actually helped the Millville boys, as the Thunderbolts have ripped off six straight wins to put themselves in line for a
home game in the opening round of the CAL Tournament. Wildwood Catholic and Prep likely will get the top two seeds, but there’s no reason the Thunderbolts can’t be the three seed, or, at worst, No. 4. They are in second place in the CAL American, have beaten CAL National leader Mainland Regional, and currently are two games better than Pleasantville, the No. 2 team in the CAL United. They also have one of the most dynamic scorers in South Jersey in Rynell Lawrence, who recently became the school’s all-time leading scorer, and that’s saying something at a school that has been around as long as Millville has. The Bolts will be a tough out for anybody in the CAL Tournament, and if they can stay hot through the end of the month, should be a serious contender in the South Jersey Group 4 tournament. u Hot at the right time: Raise your hand if you thought the Mainland boys had the type of team that could rip off 11 straight wins in the second half of the season. At one point, this team was 6-4 and an afterthought in the CAL, but now the Mustangs are 17-4 and could be one of the CAL Tournament’s top seeds.
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Jake Cook and the Mainland boys basketball team have lost just once since the calendar turned to 2019.
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BASEBALL 365
Dixon focused on what’s next Former EHT star turns to independent ball after being released by the Seattle Mariners organization last October By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer here’s a saying in baseball that the game lets you know when you’re done. And Troy Dixon, a 2013 graduate of Egg Harbor Township High School, is much too young to give up on his dream of playing professional baseball, despite a setback last fall when he was released from the Seattle Mariners’ organization. Dixon, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound catcher, was an outstanding player in the Cape-Atlantic League during his high school days at EHT and earned a roster spot on the Carpenter Cup team his senior year. From there, he had a successful four-year career at St. John’s University under veteran coach Ed Blankmeyer before being selected in the 20th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft by the Mariners. He spent two years with the Everett AquaSox (Class A short season) and in 60 games batted .190 with three home runs, 15 RBIs, six doubles and an OPS of .511. “I signed with St. John’s my senior year, and it took me a couple of years there to really develop. Playing for coach Blankmeyer really helped me out. My senior year, I had a really good year and thought I might be able to get drafted, and I was, went to Seattle and played two years there (in their minorleague system),” Dixon said recently during a workout at Turf It Up in Galloway. “I honestly didn’t know where I would be drafted. The draft is up in the air sometimes and I really didn’t know, I was just blessed and happy to get the opportunity. Seattle called from the draft room and said they were going to take me. I was sitting there with my mother and father, was hoping for a call, and got one. I just remember being there with them, and that was spe-
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Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Troy Dixon had an outstanding baseball career at Egg Harbor Township High School and St. John’s University before playing two seasons in the Seattle Mariners organization. He has signed with an independent league team in North Jersey in the hopes of getting back into a Major League Baseball organization after the Mariners released him in October. cial. I got about 100 calls and text messages and just soaked it all in with my parents, brothers and sister.” Two days later, Dixon was a professional baseball player and reported to Arizona before being assigned to the AquaSox of the Northwest League. He said he wasn’t in any way overwhelmed at being a pro ballplayer, but quickly realized that everybody in the minor leagues is a very good baseball player. “It felt good. I think going to college
helped me a lot. If I had signed out of high school I don’t think I would have been ready for that. But going to college and playing all the time, and playing the level of ball I did, I felt fine (going to the minors). I didn’t really think anything of it, I just played,” he said. “I got there, and guys were good. Guys throw hard and guys hit the ball far, it’s a different game than in college, for sure. It’s tougher. The pitching is a lot better, but coming from playing in the big conferences — it’s not a whole lot
different, but the guys do throw harder. The speed of play is a little quicker, so it takes a little time to get used to. Dixon said playing minor-league baseball was much different than college. It becomes a job, something you do every day, all hours of the day, and everybody out there is working just as hard as you to advance up the levels and try to make their dream of playing
See Dixon, page 23
Feb. 8, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 23 Dixon, from page 22 in the majors come true. “You really have to become a man in the minor leagues. At St. John’s, I went in as a boy and left as a man, and that prepared me for professional baseball. Coach Blankmeyer does a great job in preparing his players. You really have to get things done (in the minors). You’re on your own and you have to man up,” Dixon said. “I look back (at my time at EHT) and I was so young, there’s so much I didn’t know back then. I played for coach (Bryan) Carmichael and had a great four years. I had a lot of fun at EHT. I always focused on my hitting in high school and college, but when I got to professional baseball it’s defense first, and I think I’ve really become a solid defensive catcher.” Dixon was released by the AquaSox on Oct. 12, 2018, but said he doesn’t harbor any ill will against the Mariners. He knows professional baseball is a business and decisions are made, now he’s focused on what comes next, which will be the Sussex County Minors in Augusta, N.J., an independent team. He’ll work his tail off just like he’s
done since his days with the Sand Sharks travel program and hope to get picked up by another Major League club. If that never happens, he has a pretty good backup plan. “(Baseball) is what you get paid for, it’s your job and you have to realize that. You don’t go to class, you don’t have study hall, you just show up to the baseball field. And you have to perform. If you don’t, it’s a business and you’ll be out. It is what it is, it happens. Offensively, I didn’t have the two great years that I wanted to, but I know God has a plan for me. I accept it and move forward. It’s not ‘no’ it’s ‘next,’” Dixon said. “I signed with the Miners in the Can-Am League, some independent ball, and I’ll play there and hope for the best. I’ll be 24 this year and I have my degree (in homeland security) from St. John’s, so I’m really excited about that. Coach Blankmeyer instills that in us, to get out education, because not everyone is a big-leaguer and you have to fall back on your education. I’ll play this year and see how it goes.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays. com, on Twitter @GDsullysays
Glory Days Magazine file photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Dixon earned a berth on the prestigious Carpenter Cup team following his senior season at EHT.
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BASEBALL 365
Stashak climbing Minnesota Twins’ ladder Former Oakcrest and Cumberland County standout hoping to land in AA this year By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer hen Cody Stashak was a senior at Oakcrest High School in 2012, he was hoping he would get a chance to play Division I baseball. All the rangy outfielder got was one Division III offer, so he decided he would try his hand at the junior college level and was part of the first recruiting class of former Holy Spirit head coach Keith Gorman at Cumberland County College. Seven years later, Stashak is just one more level away from becoming a Major League Baseball player — as a pitcher. Stashak didn’t pitch a lot in high school, but began pitching more at Cumberland County, while also playing outfield and first base when he wasn’t on the mound. He did enough to impress St. John’s coach Ed Blankmeyer and signed on with the Red Storm, where he pitched his junior season before being drafted in the 13th round of the MLB Amateur Draft by the Minnesota Twins in 2015.
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Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Cody Stashak, a 2012 graduate of Oakcrest High School, is entering his fifth season of minor-league baseball with the Minnesota Twins organization. For the past four years, he’s been working his way through the Twins’ system, from rookie ball in Elizabethton, Tenn., to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Fort Myers, Fla., and now, in 2019 at age 24, he’s hoping to start the season with the AA Chattanooga Lookouts. Stashak said he had heard that he might get picked somewhere in the top 10 rounds of the 2015 draft, but he actually didn’t pay much attention to the
draft that year. “In high school I was more of an offensive player as an outfielder, I didn’t pitch much. I wanted to go Division I out of high school but I didn’t get any offers, and coach Gorman contacted me so I decided to go the juco route. It turned out the way I hoped for as I ended up signing with St. John’s, where I got drafted after my junior year as a pitcher,” he said. “You never know
when you’re going to get picked. I had a guy telling me I might go somewhere between the sixth and 10th round, but I wasn’t really paying attention. I was literally outside cooking on the grill and had no clue (I got picked). A week later, I reported to their spring training facility in Fort Myers, Fla., stayed there for a week then got shipped off to rookie ball in Tennessee.” He had a solid season in rookie ball in Elizabethton, posting a 5-2 record with a 3.83 ERA in 10 starts, and in 2016 he split time between low singleA and high single-A, going 10-5 with a 2.80 ERA in 120 innings. “My first half season I was in rookie ball, in 2016 I was in low single-A and then I got moved up in the beginning of August and finished out the season in high single-A. Pitched mostly all of 2017 in Fort Myers, then they moved me to AA the last few weeks of the season for playoffs. We ended up winning the championship, which was pretty cool,” Stashak said. “Everything is a lot different (in AA), the strike zone, hitters are more patient. They’re waiting for their pitch and if you make a mistake, you’re going to pay for it. But that’s just baseball.” He’s now been in the minor leagues for four years and has played at four
See Stashak, page 25
Feb. 8, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 25 Stashak, from page 24 different levels, and said that the actual life of a minor-league baseball player is anything but glamorous. Players spend upwards of 12 hours a day at the ballpark, they live in tight quarters and there is a lot of bus travel. “It was me and five other guys, two guys in a room and one sleeping on an air mattress. People don’t understand, they think it’s a good life but it’s really not,” he said. “I’d get to the field around 12:30 p.m. and I’d be there until the end of the game at around 10 or 11 at night, go home, eat, sleep, get up and do it again. It’s much longer than 60 hours a week, and if you look at it, it’s like $3 an hour.” But through hard work Stashak has been able to advance up the Twins’ ladder, and he’s faced some MLB hitters who are down in the minors on rehab assignments, and even went up against former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, who is in the New York Mets’ minorleague system now. Stashak said he’s really improved a lot as a pitcher, especially considering he wasn’t a full-time pitcher at Oakcrest. “Not being a pitcher my whole life and only being a pitcher full time when I got to St. John’s, I’ve really grown as a pitcher and learned a lot. When I get to the field it’s strictly baseball, there’s video work, pretty much everything. We go over all the hitters before the game starts, what their weakness is, what their power is,” he said. “I’ve faced about 12 (Major League) guys, faced Tim Tebow and he ended up on the better end of that matchup. Major League hitters step into the box and they are looking for one pitch. They take strikes just off the plate because they are looking for their one pitch and they’re going to swing at it. Sometimes, the strike zone gets a lot smaller when they are stepping into the box. When I face them, I want to get them out, so I go right after them, if they hit me, they hit me.” Something Stashak said he enjoys about minor-league baseball is the opportunity to see so many new places, and meet a lot of people, including adoring young fans who hope to be where he is one day. It’s a position he never thought he’d be in.
“My first half season I was in rookie ball, in 2016 I was in low single-A and then I got moved up in the beginning of August and finished out the season in high single-A. Pitched mostly all of 2017 in Fort Myers, then they moved me to AA the last few weeks of the season for playoffs. We ended up winning the championship, which was pretty cool. Everything is a lot different (in AA), the strike zone, hitters are more patient. They’re waiting for their pitch and if you make a mistake, you’re going to pay for it. But that’s just baseball.” Cody Stashak 2012 Oakcrest graduate “You get to go all over the place. The coolest thing is you get to meet so many people and make a lot of friendships. I’m still in contact with people I played with in rookie ball all the way up to now. It’s cool to interact with the kids. They are looking at you as somebody they hope to grow up and be like one day, and that’s a good feeling,” Stashak said. “I thought I had no chance. My sophomore year at Cumberland, my pitching really took off for me there.” Playing Major League Baseball is a lofty goal, even for minor-leaguers, and Stashak said that’s not even on his radar right now. He’s in Florida preparing for spring training, and just wants to keep working hard and let the chips fall where they may. “Right now it’s pretty much get to spring training, work hard and see what happens,” he said. “I couldn’t give an answer about what it would be like (to play in the majors), I’m sure it’s an unreal feeling.” One advantage Stashak has is his ability to focus on the moment, and that’s all he’s worried about right now. “When I get on the mound, I literally zone out,” he said. “My wife or my dad will be like, ‘did you hear that person screaming at you?’ I don’t hear anything. I just have tunnel vision.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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ttttttt GAME REWIND
Boys basketball (Battle By The Bay) Pleasantville 77, Atlantic City 75 The Battle By the Bay typically features some of the best teams in the state, as well as some solid out-of-state competition, and this year was no different. There was a different feeling around the finale this year, however, as Pleasantville has had perhaps its best team in the past decade. Expectations were that the Greyhounds would roll right over a young but improving Atlantic City team that is in the midst of a rebuilding process after graduating most of its starting lineup from last year’s team that made it to the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament and South Jersey Group 4 championship games. And you know that anytime Pleasantville and Atlantic City get together it’s going to be an intense game. The host Vikings held the lead throughout much of the first half, but the Greyhounds battled back in the second half, eventually taking the lead with one of their signature runs, and seemed to have the game in the bag. But Atlantic City refused to quit and eventually shaved the deficit down within five points in the final minute. But Pleasantville was able to hang on despite some sloppy turnGlory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan overs in the fourth quarter. Pleasantville senior forward Jacob Valeus had perhaps the best WHAT WE LEARNED game of his career at the Battle By The Bay, scoring 33 points and We already knew this, but the annual A.C vs. Pleasantville game before adding a whopping 23 rebounds. the Super Bowl is always entertaining. It’s even more fun when the teams cheerleaders compete with their routines during halftime. They’ve gotten away from the competition recently, but brought it back this year and it got the entire gym hyped up. These young ladies spend a lot of time and energy putting together these routines, and they didn’t disappoint. KEEP AN EYE ON Noel Gonzalez, he’s a transfer from St. Joseph to Pleasantville, recently became eligible after sitting out the required 30 days, and gives the Greyhounds another ball handler and scoring option.
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Jack Rovillard and a young Atlantic City team fought hard in the second half, but eventually fell three points short of a victory over Pleasantville, which beat the Vikings for the first time since 2008.
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ttttttttttttttttttttttt GAME REWIND
Girls basketball Oakcrest 47, Cedar Creek 40 The Falcons came in desperately needing a win after losing three straight, but had to contend with Pirates senior forward Trina Deveney, who was going for her 1,000th career point. She got that out of the way early, just three minutes into the game, but from that point on it was all Oakcrest as the Falcons built up a 20-point lead. Cedar Creek made a run in the fourth quarter, eventually cutting the deficit down to six points, but couldn’t overcome six 3-pointers from Falcons junior Nephtalie Dorce. WHAT WE LEARNED Oakcrest is active on defense. The Falcons have a high motor and aren’t afraid to pressure for a good portion of the game. That could serve them Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan well in the state playoffs. Junior guard Nephtalie Dorce nailed six 3-pointers to help lead KEEP AN EYE ON Oakcrest to a key win over rival Cedar Creek this week. Dorce. If she gets hot from long range, she can be a difference maker.
snapshots ATLANTIC CITY CHEERLEADERS AT BATTLE BY THE BAY