Top-ranked team in JUCO Division III ends Salem CC baseball’s 15-game winning streak; Salem High softball wins big, Rams’ baseball falls
By Riverview Sports News
SEWELL – The Salem CC baseball team’s 15-game winning streak came to an end Friday as No. 1 RCSJ-Gloucester scored seven runs over the first three innings and handed the Mighty Oaks an 8-2 defeat.
The Oaks (26-21) scored a run in the top of the first that the Roadrunners answered in the bottom of the inning. The hosts then scored four in the second.
The Oaks still have won 18 of their last 20 and are still guaranteed a winning season. The series concludes with a doubleheader Saturday at the Carneys Point Rec Complex that will mark the end of the regular season.
HIGH SCHOOLS BASEBALL OVERBROOK 14, SALEM 4: Mike Rosano had two hits and three RBIs from the leadoff spot and Overbrook took control with six runs in the first inning. Chase Pompper, Caleb Clair and Ethan Longo had Salem’s hits. Terrell Robinson had an RBI.
SOFTBALL SALEM 23, LEAP 5: Kyla Henderson went 5-for-5 with three doubles and four RBIs and the Rams got hits from every player in the boxscore. Eleven of the Rams’ 27 hits were doubles.
The top five batters in the Rams’ lineup were a combined 19-for-22 with 16 RBIs. Julliana Love had four hits and four RBIs, Raegan Wilson was 4-for-4 with two RBIs, Morgan Johnson and Ava Ortiz both had three hits and three RBIs.
Cimiyyia Corbin had two hits and three RBIs and Destiny Carr had two hits and two RBIs.
The Rams already had a 4-0 lead, then broke it open with 11 in the second.
Salem CC stuns Mercer in Region XIX softball tournament, then falls to Delaware Tech in winners bracket, but still alive for title
REGION XIX TOURNAMENT At Mercer County CC Friday’s games Salem CC 6, Mercer CC 0 Delaware Tech 6, Lackawanna 5 Delaware Tech 9, Salem CC 3 Mercer CC 8, Lackawanna 0 Saturday’s games Salem CC vs. Mercer CC, 10 a.m. Salem-Mercer winner vs. Delaware Tech, noon If necessary, 2 p.m.
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WEST WINDSOR — For the past couple weeks the Salem CC softball team has been living by the motto ‘Schlay the day.’ The Mighty Oaks certainly ‘schlayed’ the first part of their day Friday and slayed a giant in the process.
In clearly their biggest win since the rebirth of the program and probably the biggest in its history, the fourth-seeded Oaks stunned top-seeded Mercer 6-0 in the opening round of the Region XIX Tournament.
They dropped their winners bracket game to Delaware Tech 9-3, but still have a chance to earn a spot in the district round against Region X. The Oaks (31-13) will have a rematch with Mercer (38-6) Saturday at 10 a.m. for a berth in the championship game where the winner and runnerup both advance to the next stage of the playoffs, but they’ll have to win three games to take the title.
“We’re in a good spot,” Salem coach Angel Rodriguez said. “We won a playoff game. That’s our story.
“We’re a new team in a position that hasn’t been here in our history and in program history and these three teams have a history of being here and knowing what it takes, having a good idea. We have nothing to lose. We’re going to keep battling and we’re going to keep working. We’re excited. We’re to come out here and whoever we have to face we’re looking to get the job.”
The Oaks stunned the field in the tournament opener. This was the same Mercer team that swept them with two run-rule shutouts and allowed just one hit 10 days ago, but the Oaks didn’t look intimidated in the least. They turned the tables by being aggressive at the plate and Caitlin LaGreca (and later Morgan Mecham) confounding the Vikings with her changeup from in the circle.
‘We were very confident from the start,’ said catcher Callie Rozak, whose three-run homer in the sixth inning was the gamebreaker in the win. ‘We put in a lot of hard work these last three days — live pitching, at bats, approaches, really getting the basics down so going in we have seen this, done this, let’s just put it in action.
‘It’s a big upset. We came in here and you’re counting us out already – a lot teams were – and we shut them out.”
Emilie Hamm’s sacrifice fly in the fourth inning gave the Oaks the lead. It remained a tight game until the sixth when the Oaks scored five runs. Rozak delivered the big blow in and Kiki Beukman hit a solo shot two batters later.
‘Coach Angel (Rodriguez) pulled me aside right before that and said we just need a hard hit, something to go through,’ Rozak said. ‘So I hit that one and I was like that felt good. Once we got that hit it really shut down their energy.’
LeGreca can’t remember pitching a better game. The Vikings are a team that likes to hit hard pitching and LaGreca kept them off-balance all day with her change, thanks in large part to lowering the pitch’s trajectory after studying film of the last time she faced them.
‘We really needed that win,’ LeGreca said. ‘We were voted the underdog and hungry dogs run faster.’
Where have we heard that before, Jason Kelce?
From her vantage point behind the plate, Rozak said LaGreca was ‘amazing’ and painted the outside corner ‘perfectly.’
‘It was definitely an exciting pitch, that’s for sure,’ Rozak said.
It was only the second time this season the Vikings had been shutout and the first time since they returned from their early-season trip to Myrtle Beach. The only hit they got was Abby Bell’s two-out single through the box in the second inning. They had six base runners and only two into scoring position. Third baseman Courtney Hoggard made two nice stabs at the bag to keep the gem alive.
“For us this meant a lot,” Rodriguez said. “This is something we’ve had our eyes on since we started the program: What are we doing to get to the playoffs and how can we win a playoff game.
“Last year we came up short, had the play-in, didn’t work out in our favor. Today just proves to us as coaches and players that we can get it done, that we are a good team, we deserve to be here and they earned that. Hashtag why not us.”
The Oaks were still riding the high of their opening-game win when they jumped out 2-0 in the first inning of their second game. But Del Tech took control with a six-run second inning that featured a three-run double, an RBI double and a two-run homer from consecutive batters.
“We did a better job than the first time around; we hit the ball hard, we just couldn’t find any open areas,” Rodriguez said.
The Oaks had five hits against Del Tech. Rozak hit her second homer of the day in the fourth inning and made the score 7-3.
Cover photo: The Salem CC softball players storm the field after upsetting top-seeded Mercer CC in the opening round of the Region XIX Tournament.
Salem CC baseball keeps foot on the gas, blanks Lehigh Carbon to win 15th in a row, guarantee winning season
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – With their first playoff berth in 13 years safely tucked in their back pocket, the Salem CC baseball team played a game without pressure for the first time in about two months and looked like it.
The Mighty Oaks played loose and active Thursday. They pounded out 15 hits, three pitchers combined for a two-hit shutout and the defense played a clean game in the field as they crushed Lehigh Carbon CC 12-0.
The win was their 15th in a row and 18th in their last 19 games. It also guaranteed the Oaks (26-20) a winning season.
“It was fun, but we still owed these guys a little something (from) the first two games of the series,” catcher Angel Velez said. “We had them on the calendar for a while.
“It felt good, it felt really good. The last couple weeks we had a goal, we’ve been trying to hit it, and now that we’ve hit it, it’s like the weight’s off your shoulders.”
The Oaks clinched their first playoff berth since 2011 when they swept a doubleheader from Anne Arundel on the road Tuesday. It’s been a long road back – at one point this team was 8-19 – but even with a main goal secured they didn’t take their foot off the gas.
Eight of the nine spots in the lineup got at least one hit.
“I tried to enforce to them that regardless of where we are nothing needs to change yet,” Mighty Oaks coach John Holt said. “At the end of the day the goal is a lot more than just getting into the playoffs. These guys have really bought into the premise of what we’re trying to do here. Just because we made the playoffs, I don’t want that to be the end game for us. I want them to continue to feel that grind and continue to push through.
“That’s kind of hard sometimes when you go through the grind that they had to just to get into the playoffs. Some of them can see that as the finish line and that’s not where we’re at.”
Velez and Demetrius DeRamus led the offense. Velez went 4-for-4 with an RBI. DeRamus went 3-for-3 with a sacrifice fly and two RBIs. Nick Ciesielka and Cole Dawson both had a pair of hits.
Even guys who hadn’t been around for a while contributed. Chris Kelly played in his first game since March 10 (broken hand) and delivered a pinch single in the sixth inning.
Velez is 24-for-46 (.522) with nine multi-hit games during the winning streak. DeRamus is 30-for-69 (.435) with 29 RBIs during the turnaround.
“I got with Coach Z (Justin Zbikowski) and we both agreed to just start slapping the ball, not trying to do too much,” Velez said. “A feel like in the beginning I was trying to do too much in my swing. Down in Myrtle, it was rough down there, so I feel like I figured out when we came back just learn how to hit my pitch, hunt the fastball, keep catching barrels and I’ve been doing that.”
Hard-throwing starter Aiden Ewe allowed one hit and struck out seven over the first innings. Mike Ochmanski and Matt Decker each pitched a scoreless inning to preserve the shutout. The Cougars only had three runners reach scoring position.
The Oaks jumped out front with two runs in the first inning. DeRamus sliced an RBI triple into right field and scored on J.D. Wilson’s double. They added two more in the fourth on Eli Real’s two-run single.
They broke it open with seven runs in the fifth. Eleven batters came to the plate. Two runs scored when the Cougars misplayed Velez’ single in the outfield and he later scored on a wild pitch. Dawson had a two-run single, Ciesielka singled home a run and DeRamus produced his sacrifice fly.
Lee Rodriguez plated the Oaks’ final run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
“I’ve been playing a lot looser lately and I see it in everyone else,” DeRamus said. “We’re just hungrier because we really wanted to make it to the playoffs. There were a lot of technical things a lot of us cleaned up on and it’s been really showing. I know earlier in the season I was just so frustrated, but lately it’s just letting the ball come in deeper and trusting my hands.”
The Mighty Oaks return to action Friday to start a three-game series with RCSJ-Gloucester, a potential playoff opponent, that wraps the regular season. The series and Oaks’ regular season wraps with a home doubleheader Saturday.
“We’ll try to make a statement,” Velez said. “Try to take at least a game, let them know (they’re going to be a factor) and try to knock them down a seed. They want us bad, we want it more. They don’t want to lose to us.”
Six Salem County athletes score top eight finishes at the NIKE SJTCA Elite Meet
By Riverview Sports News
FRANKLINVILLE – Four from Salem led a group of six Salem County athletes who scored top eight finishes at the Nike SJTCA Elite Meet at Delsea High School Thursday.
Three Salem girls posted PRs in their events. Anna Buzby finished sixth in the 400 hurdles (1:05.42). Dominique Lewis was fifth in the shot (37.4) and Rhionna Timmons was eighth in the long jump (17-0.75).
Timmons also PR’d in the 100 (12.62, ninth) and 200 (26.65). Lewis finished in the top 20 in the discus and javelin; Buzby was top 20 in the 400 and 800, and Karima Davenport-White was 12th in the long. Davenport-White committed to Coppin State easlier in the week.
Buzby (800) and Timmons (200 and long jump) sit atop the South Jersey Group I rankings in their events. Davenport-White is third in the long jump and second in the 100.
“They stepped up and competed against some of the best runners, not only in New Jersey, but in the country,” Salem head coach David Hunt said.
On the boys side, Salem’s DaviYonn Jackson finished fifth in the triple jump (44-7.50). Woodstown’s Cole Lucas was sixth in the 800 (1:58.89), improving six spots on the final lap. And Pennsville’s Connor Ayars was seventh in the javelin (152-7).
“It was a great day overall,” Salem assistant coach Spencer Jarrett said. “The heat really helped open up a lot of things for PRs. Most of the kids were going against some of the best in South Jersey from all groups and we got a lot of top 10 finishes and a lot of movement in the rankings in South Jersey Group I.”
After record-setting regular season, fourth-seeded Salem CC softball ‘locked in and ready’ for stacked Region XIX Tournament field
REGION XIX TOURNAMENT Friday’s Games Salem CC (30-12) vs. Mercer CC (37-5), 10 a.m. Delaware Tech (24-8) vs. Lackawanna CC (35-14), noon Salem-Mercer winner vs. Del Tech-Lackawanna winner, 2 p.m. Salem-Mercer loser vs. Del Tech-Lackawanna loser, 4 p.m.
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – The record-setting Salem CC softball team will be out to make more history this weekend as the Mighty Oaks challenge a stacked field in the Region XIX Tournament at Mercer County CC in West Windsor.
RODRIGUEZ
The Mighty Oaks posted a 30-12 record in their second season back on the field, a mark that included an 18-2 record at home and a school-record 19-game winning streak. They are the No. 4 tournament seed.
They open the double-elimination tournament Friday, 10 a.m., against top-seeded host Mercer (37-5). Three-time reigning region champion Delaware Tech (24-8) and Lackawanna CC (35-14) complete the four-team field.
A win in their opener will send the Oaks to play at 2 p.m. against the winner of the noon game. A loss will send them to stave off elimination against the noon loser at 4.
“We try to make that a goal since we started,” coach Angel Rodriguez said. “The first year was obviously tremendous just even getting into the play-in and this year just the fact we’re able to do it again. It’s just something we’re going to try and strive for every year. It’s just great to see this group do it again.”
Post-season play means everybody starts 0-0. It’s a good approach for the Oaks, since they were swept by all three potential playoff opponents in a five-day stretch during the regular season. Mercer, which received votes for this week’s NJCAA Division II softball poll, held the Oaks to one hit in a pair of shutouts April 23.
“We had that conversation after our last regular-season game,” Rodriguez said. “We did a reflection on all the good things that we did. We had a great regular season. We had a lot of players reach some good milestones and others pick up their roles, but we said we’re gearing up to a new mindset now.
“We saw the teams we’re going to face. We kind of know what’s going to be thrown at us. We know adjustments we have to make, so we’re working on that. We have nothing to lose. It’s going to be fun and they’re excited, but I think it’ll be a little more different that we get the preparation and hope we can turn it around again.
“Against all three of those teams there was something in each game that wasn’t us. One thing we’ve mentioned a lot with our squad is they haven’t gotten our best yet. There were a couple times we weren’t ourselves and they haven’t seen that, I think that motivated them even more.”
The Mighty Oaks roll into the tournament with a dynamic lineup, led by shortstop Ella Hayes. The freshman Player of the Year candidate from Kansas City, Mo., finished the regular season as the fourth-leading hitter in NJCAA Division II. She is batting .589 with 73 hits, 12 home runs and 75 RBIs. Amazingly, she has struck out only once in 171 plate appearances.
Their other top hitters include Karyn Trice (.491/.604 OBP); Courtney Hoggard (.439, 48 RBIs); Vaye Savage (.376, 7 HRs, 41 RBIs) and Haylee Pickrell (.343, 6 HRs, 27 RBIs).
Overall, they’re ranked seventh in Division II in batting (.403) and third in on-base percentage (.495). Opening-round opponent Mercer is fifth (.420) and second (.502), respectively. In fact, three of the teams in the field are ranked in the top 15 in batting.
“We pretty much have a solid (idea) of what we’re going to do and just let everyone know to be alert,” Rodriguez said. “We’re relying on all 17 to really have some type of role. We geared towards that near the end of the season to get them prepared for this moment knowing that we’re going to need all hands on deck and they’re locked in and ready to go.”
A hot pitcher in the playoffs can make all the difference. The Oaks have several pitchers in their arsenal, led by Morgan Mecham (13-4, 1.94 ERA, 124 strikeouts in 97.1 innings) and Caitlin LaGreca (13-7). Mecham threw nearly 250 combined pitches in consecutive starts against Del Tech and Lackawanna, but did not face Mercer.
Mercer, meanwhile, is ranked third in team ERA (1.60) and second in WHIP (1.04) while placing three of its pitchers in the top 16 in ERA.
“We have a good gameplan that we’re still working through,” Rodriguez said. “The good thing is we have two pitchers who throw two different styles, so I think that’s going to play a big role into what we’re going to do on Friday.
“One of the things we’ve noticed with some of these teams is hitting slower spin pitching throws them off. I don’t think we’re going to ride one or the other, but we’re definitely going to utilize them both in a way that’s going to be a little bit different than what we did this year.”
Pennsville’s Burchfield makes first varsity appearance on mound, assistant McAllister gets first varsity coaching win; includes rest of Wednesday’s Salem County roundup
WEDNESDAY COUNTY BASEBALL Pennsville 17, Salem 2 Schalick 24, Bridgeton 4
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SALEM – Chase Burchfield won’t soon forget the first game he’s ever pitched in high school. And neither will Aaron McAllister.
Burchfield had been begging to pitch in a game for the last couple weeks and the Pennsville coaches finally granted his wish Wednesday, giving him the fifth inning to finish off a 17-2 win over Salem for McAllister’s first varsity coaching win.
McAllister has been running the team while Eagles coach Matt Karr has been recovering from a surgical procedure last week. It was hoped Karr would return to the team in some capacity by the weekend, but McAllister is moving the pieces in the meantime.
In his first two games over the weekend, the Eagles lost to Cedar Creek in Mainland’s Coaches vs. Cancer Classic and Rancocas Valley in the Diamond Classic.
“It’s good to get back in the win column,” McAllister said. “We preach to these guys from Day One that we’ve got pretty lofty goals for this program and it’s about the program and not who gets it. We talk about be ready for your opportunity and next man up. Whoever gets the hit, whoever gets the RBI, it’s where we’re trying to be in June what we’re really about.”
That next man up on this day was Burchfield. With the Eagles running short of pitchers for various reasons, the coaches thought it was a good time to grant Burchfield’s wish to pitch.
The junior right-hander entered in the fifth inning with a 15-run lead and faced four batters. He threw 11 pitches, seven for strikes. He struck out the first batter he faced as a pitcher since eighth grade, had the next one reach on an infield error and balked that runner to third for not pausing between two fly outs to end the game.
“I was begging them to let me pitch since the Buena game (April 20),” Burchfield said. “They let me warmup in the Williamstown game (the day before) and I’ve been waiting. I finally got them to let me pitch today and I was just trying to throw some gas.
“I did not think I was going to step foot on the mound ever again, but I was able to get back out there. It felt pretty good. It was the first time since eighth grade, but hopefully I can get out there more.”
Although he left the field with a career ERA of 0.00 Burchfield thought he could have done better. He promised the next time he gets out there he’ll throw even more strikes.
Is there going to be a next time?
“His opportunity might come again,” McAllister hinted. “We’ve got a lot of games and our schedule is so compact and condenses that there may be another opportunity where he gets to come in a situation to close out a game. I wouldn’t say it’s a one-and-done. I’d say it’s a potential he could get back out there … without having to beg.”
Burchfield came in to finish up for Logan Streitz, who was making his second start of the season and first since Opening Day. Streitz allowed one hit through four innings – a triple by Caleb Clark in the third inning – walked three and struck out eight. He struck out the side in his final inning.
“I figured out I was going to start on the bus,” Streitz said. “They didn’t tell me from yesterday and on the way here they mentioned I was pitching. Sometimes I like knowing before I’m going to pitch, like the day before, so I can prepare. Today I just had to switch my mentality that I was going to pitch.”
Throwing just 73 pitches with velocity McAllister said was as good as he has seen from him and feeling “pretty good,” the sophomore could have gone out to finish his first complete game. But the score being what it was, the situation was good to grant Burchfield’s wish.
“That’s something we’ve been wanting to do for a while,” McAllister said. “Burchfield has always let us know that he’s ready, always ready. He told me pregame today he’s ready, what’s the situation gpnna have to be for me to get into the game. I said you just do your job and you stay ready and when it’s time for your number to be called you’ll know.
“Luckily these guys came out and swung the bats and did what they were supposed to do to get us in a position to get him on the mound today.”
Salem countered with Colin Finney, who was starting for the second day in a row. He threw 28 pitches in two innings against Camden Eastside on Tuesday, but threw 24 in the first inning against a vastly different team.
Rams coach Eric Fizur gave him the choice of staying in and not be able to pitch again until the middle of next week or coming out and have an earlier return. The right-hander opted for the early exit so he could pitch again Monday.
The Rams ran out three pitchers behind him, but the results were the same. The Eagles scored in every inning. Every spot in their order reached base at least twice and seven spots had at least one hit. Mason O’Brien, Peyton O’Brien and Streitz had two hits apiece. Burchfield and Cohen Petrutz each had three.
“They were what we thought they were as Dennis Green said before,” Fizur said. “You could see why even missing three or four of their top guys that’s the No. 1 Group I South right now; you could easily see that.
“(Colin) threw well. He didn’t change anything (from Tuesday). We just saw a team that knows how to play the game versus a team that is young and developing.”
Pennsville right-hander Logan Streitz looks in for a pitch in his first start since Opening Day. On the cover, Chase Burchfield delivers a pitch in his first mound appearance since eighth grade.
SCHALICK 24, BRIDGETON 4: Playing under the lights at Elmer LL, the Cougars erupted for 23 hits and scored their most runs in a game since putting up 24 in a game last May for their fourth win in a row.
Luke Pokrovsky led the hit parade going 4-for-4 with five RBIs. Jamari Whitley went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and Wyatt Cushane went 3-for-3 with three RBIs. J.T. Fleming, Jake Siedlecki and Elijah Cummings also had three hits.
The Cougars actually trailed 4-1 after the first inning, but they took control with 12 in the second. Seventeen batters came to the plate in the inning with the first 11 all reaching safely. Siedlecki’s bases-loaded walk tied the game and Lucas D’Agostino’s hit by pitch put the Cougars in front for good.
SOFTBALL CUMBERLAND 12, SCHALICK 1: The bottom four hitters in the Colts’ lineup combined for six hits, five runs and seven RBIs. Shayla Richmond was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Storylynn Dagostino was 2-for-3 with three RBIs. The Colts broke it open with an 11-run third inning.
Taylor Sparks drove in Schalick’s run with a two-out bases-loaded walk in the fifth inning as the Cougars tried to extend the game. Addy Shimp had two of Schalick’s three hits.
BOYS TENNIS SCHALICK 4, GCIT 1 George Gould (S) def. Luke Clodfelter, 6-2, 6-0. Jesus Espinoza (S) def. Jeffrey Smith, 6-2, 6-3 Conor O’Toole (S) def. Lorenzo Miglino, 6-1, 6-2 Rocky Monticolo-David Santana (S) def. Rory Guice-Liam Masusock, 6-0, 6-2 George Gould-James Helder (G) def. Kaden Barnes-Cayden Brzozowski, 6-0, 2-6, 10-6 Records: Schalick 8-4, GCIT 4-8.
SALEM – Salem High School track coach David Hunt likens senior runner Anna Buzby to the Energizer Bunny. She keeps going and going and going. And she certainly has a lot going on.
BUZBY
When she’s not in school or chasing school records on the track, Buzby is a competitive mountain bike rider and just as she is in track, she’s one of the top high school girls in the state at that, too.
In one recent weekend, she ran four events at the Woodbury Relays, helped the Rams set a meet record in one of them and the next day put together a top five finish in a 15-mile mountain bike race. Because of the academic path she’s pursued the 4.0 student will enter the college of her choice already a sophomore.
Whatever activity she undertakes she goes about it with maximum effort, a quality she gained growing up and working on the family farm.
“She’s pretty elite,” Hunt said. “She definitely has natural gifts, but her work ethic is one of the best I’ve ever had, so when you combine both it’s the result you get. Regardless of her ability her effort and willingness to do everything she’s asked to do is like the top two percent.”
Buzby sat down with the Riverview Sports News earlier this week and talked about all things track, mountain biking and life down on the farm.
Coaches, if there is an athlete in your program with an interesting background or back story the community would be interested in “Getting to Know,” forward the details to Riverview Sports News at al.muskewitz@gmail.com.
RIVERVIEW SPORTS NEWS: It’s Buzby with a Z, correct? How many people put the S in there and do you have to correct them a bunch?
ANNA BUZBY: It’s a Z. Whenever they mess it up, it’s not really anything important that needs to be corrected. I don’t know if any interviews or newspapers ever messed it up. They usually get it right for that.
RSN: What is it that attracted you to track and field? I don’t know if you do other sports, but to me you’re the track athlete.
AB: I do play field hockey (left mid) and I do race mountain bikes. I joined a track club in elementary school for a little bit because I had just quit gymnastics and my parents wanted me to do something to not sit around and do nothing, so me and my little brother joined the Rising Stars Track Club (in Penns Grove). That was fun.
I sort of had forgotten I did that once I got to high school. My older brother, Trevor, did track all through high school and he had a really great time. He was a senior my freshman year and I was really nervous to join the track team, but I did it and it was fun to be on a team with my brother. I just kind of picked it up where I left off and just liked it.
RSN: What’s the earliest memory you have of getting a ribbon or medal and how did that influence you wanting to continue?
AB: I remember my first meet. It was a Polar Bear Meet at Clayton. I ran the 800, it was my first race and I didn’t know how far 800 was. No one told me what the distance was, how many laps; what did 800 mean? I just go and line up and I was very nervous and I just booked it. I had no idea how to do this.
I stopped and turned around and all the girls were still running and I was like, Oh crap,’ so I kept running. I didn’t know how far it was. I ran the whole thing and I won. I definitely did not pace it right.
RSN: And now it’s one of your best events. How neat was that to know nothing and now it’s your best?
AB: It seems kind of silly that I didn’t know what the distance meant now. It was definitely kind of nerve-wracking to win.
I don’t know if I use it as a lesson, but it’s always a funny story to tell people and I make sure all the new runners know what the distance is – one lap is 400, two laps is 800 and four miles is 1600.
RSN: You have placed and won a lot of events in your career. Do you keep all your trophies, ribbons and medals and are there any in particular that holds a special place for you?
AB: I do have a shelf. On the top are the awards I get from the school and it has a bar and I loop all my medals on it. I haven’t counted them recently. It’s kind of crowded. I might need another bar. I have another shelf for my bike medals, too.
RSN: This year’s team is having a bang-up season. I know you’ve been together for a while. Is this the year you all have been waiting to happen and what’s it feel like to see it all come to fruition?
AB: I would say this is the year we’ve been waiting for. My sophomore year we were so close to winning the division and last year we were very close to winning it. The dual meets mean a lot to us. For the girls, we haven’t won the division, so we’ve been trying and trying. That felt good.
We always knew we could do it. Me, personally, and some of my teammates have been really trying their best. Not everyone on the track team is there to, I don’t know, actually compete and be the best they can be (in an event), but there to keep in shape. But I know there’s a good handful of us who have been wanting this win since freshman year.
RSN: Tell me about your relay teams and what makes them click? The sprint medley team set a record at the Woodbury Relays, the 4×200 team won there, your 4×400 team finished fourth in the high school small schools division at the Penn Relays.
AB: Our sprint medley got watches this year at Woodbury and the 4×200 won. I think our sprint medley team works really well together. It’s not all our track team has only good sprinters or only good distance runners; we have a well-rounded team, someone in each event who’s good and when we all come together we can do some great things.
RSN: What is the Penn Relays experience like?
AB: It’s just so fun. Everyone’s so positive. It’s just a good time. It’s kind of surreal because you’ve never been on a track that big until you’re there and in the stadium there are so many eyes watching you. It’s just really fun. It’s just different from any other meet.
I don’t really get overwhelmed at Penn Relays because I know it’s supposed to be fun and it is fun. I really enjoy it.
Salem’s Anna Buzby is an accomplished athlete on the track, but when she’s not chasing down school records or down on the farm, she’s competing for the Salem County Reactors mountain biking team. (Photos courtesy of Anna Buzby)
RSN: Coach Hunt says you’re like the Energizer bunny, always on the go. After the Woodbury Relays you rode in a 16-mile mountain bike race? What’s that part of your athletic life like? I remember Schalick soccer goal scorer Emily Miller rides dirt bikes, too.
AB: She used to be on our mountain bike team (Salem County Reactors of the New Jersey Interscholastic Cycling League) and we were really close friends. (Miller races motocross now).
Woodbury was all day, it was exhausting, then the next morning we got up early and went to Chester. I’ve just been doing that since sixth grade. I race varsity, which is five laps of the course, so it ends up being 15 miles every week. It’s kind of a long day, but I’ve just been doing it. This is my last year to be able to do it, so I just want to get through all five races.
(Buzby has competed in two bike races this season, with a fourth-place at Camp Edge and a third-place at Chester. Last year she finished third at Camp Edge, second at Chester, fifth at Lewis Morris and fourth at Rowan.)
RSN: What do you like that that sport?
AB: I just have always been on a bike for my whole life. My dad loves biking, so we’ve always had bikes, always gone on bikes rides; we’re pretty active people, we bike around the farm. We did do BMX racing for a little bit before sixth grade, then my older brother’s friends got into mountain biking and he got into it, so I just hopped onto it and I liked it. Biking is really fun. I like using my technical skills in the woods.
There is an option of doing it college but I don’t think I’m going to do that. There are some races adults can sign up for, but not outside the league, I could probably do if I wanted to.
RSN: You live on a working farm in Mannington. They tell me that’s where you developed your work ethic. What it’s like down on the farm, what do you raise there, what’s a typical day like?
AB: It’s A.T. Buzby Farm, after my grandfather Andrew Thomas Buzby. I always forget how many acres the farm is – it’s a good amount (190 acres) – and it’s a produce farm. We do corn, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, watermelon, cantaloupe, like everything. I work there in the summer with my family. I go to farmer’s markets. I drive the truck to the auction.
Work starts at 6 (a.m.). The first thing we do every morning is pick corn because you want to do it when it’s not too hot out. A bushel of corn is 50 pounds – an ear a pound – you’ve got to pick it, you’ve got to carry it and then place it onto the wagon. It’s pretty labor intensive so you get sweaty so you don’t really want to be out there in the sun, so we do that first thing. Sometimes it takes two hours, sometimes it takes more, depends on how much people are ordering that day.
Then we have workers picking all the other produce. I’ll be in the packing house packing it. We also do a CSA, community supportive agriculture, which people can sign up and customize a box and they come pick it up on a certain day of the week, so we have to pack those. Sometimes I’ll be out in the field fixing irrigation or weeding, all sorts of things. I do a lot of stuff.
RSN: What has that experience done for shaping you as a person and an athlete?
AB: It’s just showing me (the importance of) hard work. Watching my dad work from sunrise to sunset, it’s just given me an example of what hard work looks like and what no days off look like. I carry the work ethic that I’ve picked up from the farm into my sports. I always try my best no matter what.
RSN: How is the farming business doing these days? There are so many stories in the national news about family farms, what the story from someone with boots on the ground?
AB: I’d say it’s good. We have a reputation and people know that we will deliver. Some people say we have the best sweet corn in New Jersey, which I believe. I think we have a good reputation. Everyone loves our tomatoes, too.
RSN: What’s the hardest part of being a farmer?
AB: I feel like since I’ve been doing this my whole life sometimes I feel like I get left out of what my other friends are doing because summer is their time off and summer is my time on. I do get to go camping in the summer for a week with my grandmom and I’ll steal a day to go down to the beach every once in a while, but I feel like there’s no day off. That can be hard sometimes especially when you’re a kid and you just want to play. Our busy season is from now until early October.
RSN: Is farming something you think you’ll stick with after you finish school or will you get out the first chance you get?
AB: Sometimes you need a break from the farm, but you always come back.
RSN: What do you want to be when you grow up?
AB: I don’t know. I want to go to college for nutrition and public health. I don’t really have a certain job in mind, but I’m just interested in nutrition. I’m around food and I like it.
RSN: How have you found the recruiting process? Which schools have shown the most interest in your and which ones are you most interested in?
AB: Liberty, Rowan and West Chester are on my short list. For Liberty, I would be a walk-on if I went there. I’m really indecisive. This is really a hard decision. It was coming down to financials, but now they all cost about the same, which is not helping my decision. One’s a little closer, Liberty’s kind of far. They’re all really good options. I feel like I can’t make a wrong decision, which just makes it even harder to make the decision. I have a hard time making plans.
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