Health & Wellness Directory

VIEW

Continued from Page 9

the season as one of the top ranked wrestlers in the state. Negron earned a hardfought 4-2 decision over Dean.

“I felt like he was riding me a little high, so I could get him,” Negron said. “It was just my time. I got the two points and started to go crazy. It means everything to me. As a sophomore, it means even more, because I could get other chances to go. No matter what now, I’ll be there. It’s a really great feeling.”

Belleville head coach Joe Pizzi was impressed with the way Negron battled through the tough weight class at the region.

“We didn’t know how he would do against the highly rated kid Dean,” Pizzi said. “But Rocco had been wrestling like a man possessed. Even before he got hurt, he was on a roll, having won 12 in a row. We wanted to make sure he had a chance to get to AC. We wanted to see if he could work his way back after the injury. I’m extremely happy for the kid. He’s a phenomenal kid. The kid is beyond excited about this chance.”

Negron is the lone Belleville kid to qualify for the state championships.

Locally, only two wrestlers move on to this weekend’s state championships at Boardwalk Hall.

Lyndhurst’s Damian Weaver headed to Region 3 with an unblemished 26-0 record this season, but Weaver ran into a buzzsaw in the 150-pound finale, losing to Andrew Troczynski via a pin in 42 seconds.

Weaver will head to Atlantic City with a shot at redemption.

“I told him that he had to put that match in the rearview mirror as fast as he could,” said Scot Weaver, the Lyndhurst/North Arlington head coach who also happens to be Damian’s father. “He’s going to have a chance as good as anyone to stand on that podium (with the other medal winners among the top eight finishers). I think he has the right attitude.”

Kearny had a couple of wrestlers come close, but freshman Adam Ramadan finished sixth in the 106-pound weight class after winning 25 matches in his rookie campaign and senior Alex Amorim finished sixth in the 157-pound class.

“There are no easy matches at the regions,” said Kearny head coach Tony Carratura, Jr. “We expected our kids to do well. They made everyone proud.”

Ramadan has a great future, becoming the first Kearny freshman to advance to the region semifinals since state champion David Cordoba in 1999.

“He’s the best kid I’ve ever coached,” Carratura said of Ramadan. “I don’t have to tell him much. He does it all on his own. He acted like he had been there before. His determination and work ethic puts him in an elite class.”

Carratura said that Ramadan is also an honors student.

“I can’t say enough about the kid,” Carratura said. “He was one win away from AC. He’s got a very bright future.”

Carratura is sad that his season came to an end.

“We’re ready to for next year right now,” Carratura said. “It was a great season for us.”

But the season continues for Negron and Weaver, on to AC, looking to make dreams become reality.

Most Insurances Insurances Accepted Accepted

Left photo by Jim Hague, right photo courtesy of Joe Pizzi

Belleville’s Rocco Negron overcame a serious shoulder injury to finish fourth in the Region 3 tournament at the 132-pound weight class. RIGHT: Belleville’s Rocco Negron (far right) stands on the podium after finishing fourth at the Region 3 tourney.

“Make your vision picture perfect... picture perfect... See what you’ve been See what you’ve been missing. Visit our offi ce!” missing. Visit our offi ce!”

Family Eye Care

Eye Exams • Contact Lenses • Pediatric Care

Your Eye Care Professionals Dr. Maria Domingues

Lic # 27OA00630100 Dr. Jayswinder Kaur

Lic# 27OA00689700 Dr. Marina N. Megalla

Lic# 27OA00690300 Dr. Carla Domingues

Lic # 27OA00646200

348 Ridge Road • Lyndhurst

Dr. Prakash J. Doshi

Premier Care

TALKS

Dr. Hector Aguilar

EATING AWAY AT INFLAMMATION

Inflammation can be a normal part of healing or it can be a lifelong symptom of a chronic illness. Either way, it is usually uncomfortable and often painful. Fortunately, a recent study from the Stanford School of Medicine suggests a link between adding fermented foods such as tempeh, cottage cheese, kefir, and kombucha to your diet and lowering chronic inflammation. When your body is hurt or healing, immune cells are activated to treat the area, paradoxically causing inflammation. According to the study, fermented foods decrease this activation by improving the microbial diversity in your gut, thus relieving some of the inflammation. Fermented foods that are especially high in fiber, like kimchi, may be particularly effective.

Fermented foods add probiotics to your diet but prebiotics are also important. They feed the good bacteria in your gut. They are available in fiber rich foods like grains, fruits, and vegetables. If it’s been a while since you’ve had your health evaluated by a doctor, please call PREMIER CARE ASSOCIATES OF WEST HUDSON at 201-998-7474, or walk in 7 days a week. We are located at 512 Kearny Ave., Suite B.

P.S. While many fermented foods and beverages may help with chronic inflammation, alcohol can make the problem much worse.

Email any questions or comments to: premiercare@gmail.com

Premier Care Associates of West Hudson

Kearny’s Covello: Multi-talented… and then some

By Jim Hague

ogsmar@aol.com

KEARNY – To say Maci Covello is a diversly talented high school athlete would be a totally gross understatement.

After all, it’s hard to say what the Kearny High School junior’s best sport is.

Covello is a lockdown force as a defender for the highly successful girls’ soccer team. And she’s a slugging power hitter for the Kardinals on the softball field.

In recent months, Covello is a do-everything for the Kardinals’ girls’ basketball team.

So what’s her best sport?

“I’d guess I’d have to say soccer,” Covello says sheepishly. “I’ve been playing soccer since I was six years old. But I love all of them.”

She sure does.

Lately, basketball has stepped to the forefront, even though she’s probably going to get recruited as a soccer player.

“Whatever season I’m in, that’s what I’m into,” Covello said. “I think if I played basketball all year round, I’d might say basketball.”

Last summer, as the COVID-19 pandemic started to wane away, Covello worked on her basketball skills, doing the thing that makes most girls’ basketball players improve _ playing with and against the boys.

“I would go to Manor Park and play with the boys,” Covello said. “That’s what Coach (Jody) Hill told me to do. She said that it’s how she became a better player. So that’s what I did. I figured I would give it a try and see how it goes. Well, that gave me a lot of confidence.”

Covello and teammate Ava Hyams (an Observer Athlete of the Week earlier this year) would regularly go to Manor Park near their homes and take on the boys.

“We must have gone to the park three or four times a week,” Covello said. “At first, I was a little nervous, but every day I went, I gained more confidence. I felt better each day. At first, I was a little shy taking shots with them, but then I took them to the hoop.”

And somehow, Covello finds the time to play all three sports at a high level. Covello plays travel soccer during the offseason for a top club team and then makes it to the batting cages to work on her swing.

But right now, it’s basketball – and Covello has never been better on the hardwood than she has played recently.

Covello had her best game of her career, a 27-point, 12-rebound, five-assist performance in a stunning win over Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic League frontrunner Snyder. She also had 13 points and 14 rebounds in a win over McNair Academic, had 16 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Hoboken and finished the run with 16 points and five rebounds in a win over Glen Ridge to improve the Kardinals’ record to 17-9.

For her efforts, Covello has been selected as The Observer Athlete of the Week for the past week.

For the season, Covello is averaging 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists per contest. She also had eight steals in a win over Lincoln and has recorded five double-doubles (points and rebounds) this season. Sure looks like a pure basketball player, right?

“I do love playing all three sports,” Covello said. “I’m never satisfied, never content with the athlete I am. I keep reaching for the stars.”

Hill is excited to see what the 5-foot-10 Covello has done this year.

“It’s rewarding to see a kid excel like Maci has done in all three sports,” Hill said. “I think she’s the perfect example of what a kid could do if she worked hard all year. That’s Maci. She really likes the success she’s had and the attention she’s getting and keeps working hard. I think she doesn’t want to disappoint anyone. I think she’s a naturally gifted athlete who is going to be good in anything she does.”

For now, Hill loves the Covello who plays basketball.

“She’s gotten bigger and better,” Hill said. “Her basketball IQ is off the page. And her personality helps. She has that magnetic personality where others just want to follow her. She’s just a natural born leader. When she speaks, the others listen. When she does something, she has that much of a presence with everyone else. Her ceiling is higher than anyone else. When she turns it on, we need her to be a leader in more ways than one.”

And Hill loves the way Covello has improved as a basketball player.

“Her passing skills are better,” Hill said. “Her ballhandling is better. She made a pass the other day that was one of the sweetest passes I’ve ever seen. She has so much maturity now. She has a unique mature personality. I’ve watched her go from a girl to a wonderful young woman. She really does so much for us. When we need her in tough games, she comes through. She has accepted the responsibility of being our leader. She really has a lot on her shoulders.”

Covello said that she still needs to work on her basketball skills.

“I still need to improve,” Covello said. “But I’m pretty impressed with what I’ve become as a basketball player.”

When it comes to playing in college, Covello would love to have the chance to play two sports. Softball would finally have to take a backseat to the other two, but Covello would love to get the chance.

“I’m putting everything on the table,” Covello said. “No options are off the table. If I can play two, I’d take that chance. It’s still an option.”

The Kardinals were slated to face Columbia of South Orange/Maplewood in the opening round of the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group IV tournament Monday afternoon. If the Kardinals won that game, they more than likely would get a rematch with top-seeded Union City, a team that has defeated the Kardinals twice during the regular season.

And then when the basketball season ends, it’s time for softball. Just another day in the hectic athletic life of Maci Covello.

“I have no complaints,” said the effervescent Covello. “I have a lot of fun with my teammates.”

Covello’s college recruiting process is still in the infant stages, but it certainly will heat up during the summer months. She doesn’t know what school she will attend, but she knows one thing. She will major in education with the ultimate goal is becoming an elementary school teacher and coach in the future.

And is there anyone in their right mind who could deny Maci Covello of that goal?

Photo by Jim Hague

Kearny junior forward Maci Covello.