Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of March 2-7
MONDAY MARCH 2 BOYS BASKETBALL South Jersey Group I Tournament Woodstown at Salem, 5 p.m. Glassboro at KIPP, 6 p.m. New Egypt at Penns Grove, 5:30 p.m. Audubon at Palmyra, 6 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL South Jersey Group I Tournament Woodbury at Haddon Twp., 5:30 p.m. Palmyra at Glassboro, 4 p.m. Woodstown at Audubon, 4 p.m. Gateway at Wildwood, 5 p.m.
TUESDAY, MARCH 3 COLLEGE BASEBALL Salem CC at Delaware Tech, 3 p.m. COLLEGE SOFTBALL Lackawanna at Salem CC, 1 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4 BOYS BASKETBALL South Jersey Group I Semifinals Woodstown-Salem vs. Glassboro-KIPP New Egypt at Penns Grove vs. Audubon-Palmyra GIRLS BASKETBALL South Jersey Group I Semifinals Woodbury-Haddon Twp. vs. Palmyra-Glassboro Woodstown-Audubon vs. Gateway-Wildwood COLLEGE BASKETBALL NJCAA Division III Selection Show, 6 p.m.
THURSDAY, MARCH 5 COLLEGE SOFTBALL Salem CC at RCSJ-Gloucester (2), 3 p.m.
FRIDAY, MARCH 6 WRESTLING Region Tournament COLLEGE BASEBALL Salem CC at Brookdale, 3:30 p.m. COLLEGE SOFTBALL Sussex at Salem CC (2), 1 p.m.
SATURDAY, MARCH 7 BOYS BASKETBALL South Jersey Group I Championship GIRLS BASKETBALL South Jersey Group I Championship WRESTLING Region Tournament COLLEGE BASEBALL Brookdale at Salem CC (2), noon COLLEGE SOFTBALL Monroe-Bronx at Salem CC (2), noon
SUNDAY, MARCH 8 INDOOR TRACK Meet of Championship, Ocean Breeze, Staten Island WRESTLING Girls Region Tournament
Here are the qualifiers for the regional wrestling tournament from districts involving Salem County Teams; top 3 finishers in each weight class advance
106 1st Place Match Adam Froehlich (Delsea) dec. Geno DiJoseph (Cumberland), 10-4 3rd Place Match Brett Land (Pennsville) pinned Alex Alicea (Buena), 1:39
113 1st Place Match Jayson Garcia (Egg Harbor) maj. dec. DeAnthony Harden (Cumberland), 8-0 3rd Place Match John Sutton (Buena) pinned Jadon Middlemiss (Woodstown), 5:48
120 1st Place Match Carson Bradway (Woodstown) maj. dec. Maruf Reza (Egg Harbor), 8-0 3rd Place Match Caleb Jenkins (Schalick) pinned Reid Lightfoot (Delsea), 2:32
126 1st Place Match Dante DePaul (Delsea) pinned Kolton Sheppard (Cumberland), 3:10 3rd Place Match Ruben Cruz (Millville) pinned Hector Villarrubia-Torres (Cedar Creek), 7:29
132 1st Place Match Greyson Pettit (Delsea) pinned Chase Baker (Pennsville), 1:02 3rd Place Match Brian Tennant (Egg Harbor) over Chase Bordley (Vineland), forfeit
138 1st Place Match Amari Vann (Delsea) pinned Nathaniel Mason (Pennsville), 1:10 3rd Place Match Colin Bittle (Schalick) pinned Jayden Cinkowski (Vineland), 3:30
144 1st Place Match Anthony Depaul (Delsea) pinned Gabriel Supernavage (Pennsville), 0:33 3rd Place Match Graham Schlemo (Egg Harbor) pinned Michael Baisch (Schalick), 4:30
150 1st Place Match Ayden Jenkins (Schalick) maj. dec. Patrick Tull (Millville), 12-4 3rd Place Match Lionel Lertora (Egg Harbor) dec. Lucas Coesfeld (Delsea), 13-9
157 1st Place Match Jamison Devlin (Delsea) maj. dec. Chase Williams (Cumberland), 12-3 3rd Place Match Travis Hagan (Pennsville) pinned Jake Hardiman (Cedar Creek), 3:35
165 1st Place Match Cameron Pote (Delsea) pinned Robert McDade (Pennsville), 0:24 3rd Place Match Jared Hoffman (Millville) pinned Marcos Concepcion (Egg Harbor), 6:43
175 1st Place Match Greyson Hyland (Woodstown) dec. Christian Solano (Egg Harbor), 6-1 3rd Place Match Eric Sulik (Schalick) dec. David Seeger (Cumberland), 8-4
190 1st Place Match Greg Sawyer (Delsea) pinned Evan Elliott (Schalick), 1:07 3rd Place Match Ralph Hitchner (Cumberland) dec. Asher Fitzpatrick (Woodstown), 7-1
215 1st Place Match Salvatore Marchese (Delsea) pinned James Cook (Schalick), 0:19 3rd Place Match Anthony Trainor (Buena) dec. Tyshawn English (Millville), 3-0
285 1st Place Match Mateo Vinciguerra (Woodstown) pinned Jacob Hand (Pennsville), 0:53 3rd Place Match Slayton D`Amico (Cedar Creek) pinned Andrew Pinnock (Millville), 1:46
DISTRICT 32 (Qualifiers from Penns Grove, Salem) Team scores: 1. Lower Cape May 231, 2. Red Bank Catholic 225.8, 3. Clearview 159, 4. Deptford 122, 5. Paulsboro 81.5, 6. Clayton/Glassboro 60, 7. Pitman 31, 8. Salem 18, 9. Penns Grove 10
285 1st Place Match John Hearon (Lower Cape May) dec. Abdullah Jenkins (Salem), 1-0 3rd Place Match Daniel Maguire (Deptford) dec. Philip Bertole (Red Bank Catholic), 3-2
All three Salem County teams in South Jersey Group I boys playoffs won opening round games, two to collide in quarterfinals, Penns Grove gets second home game; upsets abound
SJ GROUP I BOYS TOURNAMENT Friday’s games Salem 67, Riverside 42 Woodstown 67, Paulsboro 49 Glassboro 64, Burlington City 61 (OT) KIPP 46, Wildwood 41 New Egypt 42, Haddon Twp. 36 Penns Grove 43, Pitman 33 Audubon 45, Woodbury 41 Palmyra 66, Gateway 53 Monday’s games No. 8 Woodstown at No. 1 Salem No. 12 Glassboro at No. 4 KIPP No. 14 New Egypt at No. 6 Penns Grove No. 10 Audubon at No. 2 Palmyra
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN — Alejandro Vazquez was watching the Salem Community College playoff game with his Woodstown teammates Thursday night when the conversation turned to the Wolverines’ road in their own playoffs.
The Woodstown senior said he planned to give more than 100 percent in the Wolverines’ playoff opener against Paulsboro and even more in an anticipated second-round matchup with rival Salem.
Vazquez delivered on his first promise Friday, hitting four 3-pointers and scoring a career-high 22 points in leading the Wolverines to a 67-49 win. The stage is at least set for him to fulfill the second promise as his team now draws top-seeded Salem Monday night.
“He just hit shots; he played big tonight,” Woodstown coach Ramon Roots said. “Andro was the first person in the gym. I told them come in at 3:30 and he was there at 3:15 getting his shots up. He was the first one in the gym, took the basketballs out. He was locked in right from the beginning.”
The Red Raiders clamped down on Woodstown gunner Blake Bialecki, but the Wolverines found offense elsewhere. In addition to Vazquez’ big game, freshman Frankie Hoerst had a career-high 16 points and Elijah Caesar had 11.
“In their zone they keyed on Blake,” Roots said. “They were in the 1-3-1, 1-2-2, they were physical with Blake. Blake made the right read and Andro just came and hit shots. Frankie played well, rebounded the ball, kicking it out. It was just a group effort.
“And we played at good pace. We took our time. We didn’t get sped up. We just played a good brand of basketball.”
Vazquez was really big in the third quarter when the Wolverines pulled away. He had 11 points in the quarter and Woodstown outscored its visitors 17-6 to carry a 46-29 lead into the fourth quarter. Paulsboro made a push and got within 10 in the fourth quarter but then Woodstown “made the right plays at the right time and made it difficult for them” to get any closer.
The next round promises to be even more intriguing. Roots was Salem coach Anthony Farmer’s assistant before taking the Woodstown job and every game between the teams since except the first one, which was Roots’ first game as head coach, has been a battle. Earlier this year the Wolverines had the ball down by three with five seconds left, but lost the possession to a curious carry call.
“I think we’re at a good space right now,” Roots said. “I think that Clearview game kind of helped us get back on track. You know, we went on that three-game skid, so that game got us back on track. We feel Paulsboro and Salem play similar styles, and I think Paulsboro did a good job preparing us for Salem, but Salem in the No. 1 team, they’re the favorite as they should (be), but I like our chances. If we play the right way and just control the ball, not get sped up and just play our pace I think we have a good chance.”
PENNS GROVE 43, PITMAN 33: The Red Devils followed a road map that will a team a lot of games. They put together a balanced offense and played tight defense.
The Red Devils, enjoying their winningest season since 2019-20 following this plan, didn’t have a player score more than nine points, but they spread the wealth among eight scorers. Haneef Frisby and Roman Gipson headed the effort with nine points apiece.
“We followed the gameplay to a T,” coach Damian Ware said. “We knew they had good shooters and we could not let them get open looks. Guys did their job and only allowed three 3-pointers to a team that can hit 10 to 15 if you’re not locked in.”
With New Egypt’s upset of third-seeded Haddon Twp., the Red Devils (17-11) get another home game and will host 14th-seeded Warriors (12-14) Monday night.
PITMAN (11-16): Lucas Razze 1-0-3, Parker DeChristopher 3-3-9, Joey Zubert 5-1-12, Jay Craig 1-0-2, Jake Bowen-Ashwin 3-0-7. Totals 13-4-33. PENNS GROVE (17-11): Roman Gipson 4-1-9, Geonni Conrad 3-0-7, Will Roy 2-3-7, Haneef Frisby 3-3-9, Mishawn Brantley 1-0-2, Jameel Horace 2-1-5, Carson Pearsall 1-0-2, Luis Colon 1-0-2. Totals 17-8-43.
SALEM 67, RIVERSIDE 42: The top-seeded Rams settled into the tournament with an expected win over a 16-seed, but considering some of the other results in the bracket they likely feel fortunate to have avoided the upset.
Three Rams scored in double figures and three others had 10 rebounds to lead the attack. Neziah Spence led the offense with 16 points, while Fatah Paige had 13 and 1,000-point scorer Tymear Lecator had 11. Deshaan Williams, Cole Sayers and Marshall Stephens grabbed 10 rebounds apiece.
The win earned Salem coach Anthony Farmer his second 20-win season with the Rams (21-8) and his first since the debut campaign.
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Fev. 23-28; all events subject to the weather; first-round South Jersey Group I basketball tournament games now on Friday
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL Region XIX/North Atlantic District A Tournament Ocean at Salem CC
THURSDAY, FEB. 26 BOWLING NJSIAA Top 100, Lucky Strikes, North Brunswick
FRIDAY, FEB. 27 BOYS BASKETBALL South Jersey Group I Tournament Riverside at Salem, 5 p.m. Paulsboro at Woodstown, 5 p.m. Glassboro at Burlington City, 6:30 p.m. Wildwood at KIPP, 6 p.m. New Egypt at Haddon Twp., 7:30 p.m. Pitman at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Audubon at Woodbury, 5:30 p.m. Gateway at Palmyra, 6 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL South Jersey Group I Tournament Paulsboro at Haddon Twp. Burlington City at Woodbury New Egypt at Palmyra Cape May Tech at Glassboro Salem at Audubon, 5 p.m. Woodstown at Pennsville, 5 p.m. Schalick at Gateway, 5 p.m. Clayton at Wildwood BOWLING Group I Championship At Lucky Strikes, North Brunswick Salem vs. Kinnelon, 9 a.m. Middlesex vs. Rutherford, 9 a.m. Title match to follow COLLEGE BASEBALL Ocean at Salem CC, 3 p.m.
SATURDAY, FEB. 28 INDOOR TRACK NJSIAA Group I Championship, Toms River WRESTLING NJSIAA District Tournament COLLEGE BASKETBALL Region XIX/North Atlantic District A&B finals, Northampton CC COLLEGE BASEBALL Salem CC at Ocean (2), noon
Here are the Salem County boys and girls basketball stats leaders for the 2025-26 season; minimum 50 percent of team games, stats contingent on accuracy of reports to state service
Schalick girls have goal to win their TCC Tournament bracket, take first step with win over Pitman, get Salem next in semifinal showdown, includes South Jersey Group I girls tournament pairings
GIRLS BASKETBALL TCC Tournament Championship Bracket Delsea at Gloucester Catholic Clearview 54, Timber Creek 28 Glassboro 44, Kingsway 30 Wildwood 44, Washington Twp. 38 Consolation game Woodstown 45, Triton 36 Postseason Bracket Schalick 43, Pitman 32 Salem 34, Williamstown 27 Clayton 52, GCIT 50 Deptford 61, Penns Grove 25
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE — If there’s a bracket to be played there’s a bracket to be won, doesn’t matter if it’s Championship, Postseason or the 3-on-3 tournament down at the local rec.
Knowing there’s a title to claim at the end of the week, Schalick played what coach John Whelan called one of its better overall games of the year, jumped on Pitman early and rolled to a 43-32 win in the quarterfinals of the Tri-County Conference Tournament Postseason Bracket. The bracket’s No. 1 seed now hosts Salam in Thursday’s semifinals.
“We definitely have our goal set on winning,” Whelam said. “We played probably, I would say, the best team ball that we’ve played all year. We moved the basketball really well, we made the extra passes, (got) better quality shots.
“It’s starting to click a little more. You’ve seen it the last handful of games where we’ve been moving the ball better. Our offense has looked so much better, and then we continue to stay tough on the defensive end.”
The Cougars held their visitors to single digits points in every quarter, while opening quarter leads of 17-6, 27-15 and 37-24. leads of 17-6 and 27-15 in the first half.
Nevaeh Robinson “had a rhythm going” early for the Cougars and scored all 17 of her points in the first half. When the Panthers recognized the havoc she was causing and switched to a box-and-one on her, Willow Davis kept the offense clicking. Davis scored eight points in the third quarter and 11 of her 14 in the second half.
“We were moving the ball well enough to where we didn’t feel like we needed to really change our offense regardless of the box-and-one,” Whelan said. “Willow stepped up in the second half and hit a lot of shots.”
Robinson also had 11 rebounds, Cali Fisler and Ava Scurry each had 10, and Liv Vanacker had nine. Vanacker also had five assists and Scurry blocked four shots.
SALEM 34, WILLIAMSTOWN 27: The Rams stretched an eight-point halftime lead to double digits, withstood a second-half rally by the Braves that got it to a one-point game and then pulled away to set up a semifinal showdown with Schalick.
“That’s a big win,” Salem coach Kemp Carr said. “It’s a Group 4 school, it’s a big team and it’s a postseason bracket, so we see it as a big deal for us. We’re excited for tonight.”
The Rams (9-9) played bang-up defense in the first half, holding the Braves (5-17) to only one field goal and five points in the first half. They stretched their halftime lead to 10 in the third quarter, but the Braves went on a run that cut it to one, 28-27, with about three minutes left before the Rams changed defenses and retook control.
“We showed some resiliency, something that we’ve really been working on, to not let that bother us, to keep playing through the clock,” Carr said. “We used a timeout to settle the girls down and we came out and got a basket that next possession.”
Dyaira Anderson led the Rams with a game-high 17 points and 18 rebounds. Carlysia Pierce had eight points, six rebounds and nine steals.
Salem and Schalick played once during the regular season with the Cougars taking a 37-33 win on the road.
3-point goals: Williamstown 1 (Waters). Total fouls: Salem 14, Williamstown 17.
DEPTFORD 61, PENNS GROVE 25: The Spartans brought the Red Devils back to earth behind double-doubles from Chaylin Marine and Kendall Evans. Marine had 21 points and 12 rebounds (plus five steals), while Evans had 16 points and 14 rebounds. The Red Devils reached the quarterfinals of the Postseason Bracket with a victory over Overbrook in the opening round.
CONSOLATION GAME WOODSTOWN 45, TRITON 36: Kyia Leyman and Kendall Young both enjoyed double-doubles as the Wolverines bounced back from their Championship Bracket opening-round loss to Kingsway. Leyman scored a career-high 18 points to lead all scorers and grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked three shots. Young had 10 points and 12 rebounds with three assists and five steals.
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT Feb. 25 Games Paulsboro at Haddon Twp. Burlington City at Woodbury New Egypt at Palmyra Cape May Tech at Glassboro Salem at Audubon Woodstown at Pennsville Schalick at Gateway Clayton at Wildwood Feb. 27 Games (Game at higher seed) Paulsboro-Haddon Twp. vs. Burlington City-Woodbury New Egypt-Palmyra vs. Cape May Tech-Glassboro Salem-Audubon vs. Woodstown-Pennsville Schalick-Gateway vs. Clayton-Wildwood
Salem loses a 16-point early third-quarter lead, falls to Group 4 Williamstown in TCC Championship Bracket quarterfinals; no county teams left in main draw of either boys bracket; includes the South Jersey Group I boys tournament pairings BOYS BASKETBALL TCC Tournament Championship Bracket Kingsway 66, Timber Creek 57 Overbrook 66, Deptford 55 Cumberland 52, Delsea 47 Williamstown 50, Salem 40 Consolation game Penns Grove 67, Woodstown 55 Postseason Bracket GCIT 85, Clayton 76 Pitman 56, Wildwood 52 Washington Twp. 63, Highland 44
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SALEM – Anthony Farmer has seen this movie before. He didn’t want to see it – or have to see it – again on this particular night.
There have been times when Farmer’s Salem basketball team have been sharp start to finish. There also have been times they’ve built a seemingly safe lead against a strong opponent early in the game only to have it ripped out from under it at the final horn.
It happened again Tuesday when the Rams lost a 16-point third-quarter lead and wound up losing to Group 4 Williamstown 50-40 in the quarterfinals of the Tri-County Conference Championship Bracket.
The Rams (19-5), the No. 2 seed, led 30-14 a minute into the third quarter and 32-21 with 3:50 left in the quarter when it all went south. They didn’t make another field goal the rest of the game, going 0-for-9 from the floor and committing 10 turnovers.
“They played 16 minutes of basketball, you know you’ve got to play a full 32,” Farmer said. “We played a half of basketball and now that’s the result.
“We played a really good 16 the first half and scored 11 points I think in the second half with 10 turnovers, so you almost had as many turnovers as you had points in the second half. Obviously, that’s an issue.
“We just have to have a feel for the game. Slow down, move the basketball, get reversals, make plays and play a good brand of basketball, which we just didn’t do. It was just a horrible second half.”
While all the misses hurt, especially with the Braves connecting on the other end, the most gut-wrenching may have been Marshall Stephens’ in-and-out after a nice spin move in the lane that Jameer Gordon turned into a 3-pointer at the other end to give the Braves (16-9) the lead for good.
While the Rams were having their troubles, the Braves were picking up the tempo and coming back. From the time they were down 16 in the third quarter to the end of the game the Braves were 8-of-19 from the field and 16-of-19 from the free throw line. They had only seven field goals in the first 17 minutes.
Gordon, a transfer from St. Joe (Hammonton), hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter and the Braves finally got Clinton Suggs into the flow. The Rams held Suggs scoreless in the first half, but the Paul VI transfer scored 14 points in the second 10 in the third quarter. The Braves are 14-2 since Gordon and Suggs became eligible.
Suggs scored five straight points as the Braves trimmed the 16-point deficit to nine with 4:04 left in the third quarter. It was 10 with 3:15 left and the Rams scored only six more free throws the rest of the way. The Braves, meanwhile, scored nine free throws in the last 2:10 of the game alone to slam the door.
“These kids, since I’ve taken over, two years, have just shown fight and grit and fight and grit, so for us there was no panic on our end — at all,” Williamstown coach Adam Dandrea said as his players celebrated loudly in the locker room behind him. “I knew the kids would respond. That was all them right there. That was all them.”
The Braves now travel to Cumberland for Thursday’s semifinals. The Rams can play Delsea in a consolation game if they’re so inclined.
3-point goals: Williamstown 4 (Gordon, Suggs, Forman 2); Salem 5 (McGriff, Spence, Lecator). Rebounds: Salem 30 (Williams 6, Marshall 5). Fouled out: Stephens. Total fouls: Williamstown 14, Salem 23.
PENNS GROVE 67, WOODSTOWN 55: The Red Devils ran out to an 11-point lead in the first quarter and held onto it to win the rubber game between rivals created by a TCC Championship Bracket consolation game.
Roman Gipson and Geonni Conrad led Penns Grove with 18 points apiece. Four other players scored at least six.
“Just a total team effort like always,” Red Devils coach Damian Ware said of the start. “Guys made shots and the defense was stellar.”
The Wolverines put four scorers in double figures, with Elijah Caesar, Blake Bialecki and Alejandro Vazquez scored 12 points apiece. Andrew White added 10. Bialecki hit three 3-pointers, giving him 202 for his career.
They took advantage of Penns Grove’s second-quarter foul trouble to climb back into it, but the Red Devils stemmed the tide.
WOODSTOWN (15-11): Elijah Caesar 5-2-12, Blake Bialecki 4-1-12, Alejandro Vazquez 5-0-12, Josh King 2-3-7, Andrew White 4-2-10, Frank Hoerst 0-2-2. Totals 20-10-55. PENNS GROVE (16-10): Roman Gipson 6-5-18, Geonni Conrad 8-0-18, Haneef Frisby 3-1-7, Will Roy 2-0-6, Mishawn Brantley 0-0-0, Luis Colon 2-3-7, Carson Pearsall 3-0-7, Jameel Horace 2-0-4, Ahkeen Edwards 0-0-0. Totals 26-9-67.
Woodstown
11
17
14
13-
55
Penns Grove
22
10
17
18-
67
3-point goals: Woodstown 5 (Bialecki 3, Vazquez 2); Penns Grove 6 (Gipson, Gonrad 2, Roy 2, Pearsall).
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT Feb. 25 Games Riverside at Salem Paulsboro at Woodstown Glassboro at Burlington City Wildwood at KIPP New Egypt at Haddon Twp. Pitman at Penns Grove Audubon at Woodbury Gateway at Palmyra Feb. 27 Games (Games at higher seed) Riverside-Salem vs. Paulsboro-Woodstown Glassboro-Burlington City vs. Wildwood-KIPP New Egypt-Haddon Twp. vs. Pitman-Penns Grove Audubon-Woodbury vs. Gateway-Palmyra
Woodstown boys win 4×400 relay in record time, but it left them one point short of winning the South Jersey Group I indoor sectionals; the difference was Glassboro’s third-place finish by 0.10 seconds
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
TOMS RIVER – Blink your eyes. That’s how close it was to determining the South Jersey Group I boys indoor track sectionals champion Sunday.
As these meets always seem to do lately, it came down to the final race between Woodstown and Glassboro in the 4×400 relay.
Woodstown had to win it and have Glassboro finish fourth or worse – or some other combination of a six-point swing – to win it all at the Bubble.
The Wolverines did what they needed to do, winning the race in a PR meet record (3:30.30), but Glassboro raced to third (3:37.78), a scant 0.10 seconds ahead of fourth-place Gateway, to grab just enough points to win the team title by one point.
Glassboro scored 54.60 points overall to Woodstown’s 53.60.
The Wolverines relay team of Karson Chew, Anthony Costello, Kyle Reitz and Josh Crawford obliterated the old 4×400 record of 3:32.09, set by Woodbury last year. Salem finished second in the race.
“We knew going into the 4×4 that we needed two things to happen,” Chew said. “We needed to win and Glassboro couldn’t get third or better. Unfortunately, only one of those things was in the cards for us.
“Everyone ran a great race and we all did the best we could with what we could control. Now it just comes down to regaining our confidence and going into states with a good mentality.”
Through five events both teams were lagging behind leader Haddon Twp., but after the completion of the high jump and 800, the Wolverines had pulled in front, bringing Glassboro with them. The margin was seven points..
Glassboro made a big move in the 3200, the next-to-last event in the meet. Top-seeded Bulldog Joseph Saicic won the race and Jaeden Wesley, the 18th-seeded runner, finished fourth. Jacob Marino gave Woodstown its only points in the race, finishing sixth.
Salem County produced three individual champions. Crawford won the 400 (51.13) and 800 (1:59.87, going 1-2 with Chew), and Woodstown’s Kami Casiano won the girls high jump (5-0). In addition, there were four other runner-ups — Penns Grove’s Kylee Goodson (400), Woodstown’s Aiden Taulane (shot put), Woodstown’s Lia Covely (girls 55 hurdles) and Pennsville Kallie Morrison (girls high jump).
In all, Salem County qualified 28 individuals and three relays to the state group championships back here on Feb. 22.
This is the second major win for Casiano this year. She won the Tri-County Showcase with a jump of 5-2. She started the new year with a third-place finish in Penn’s Ott Center on Jan. 3 (4-10) and finished fourth in a batch meet here on Jan. 10 (5-0).
“I’m so happy about winning sectionals today,” Casiano said. “A big goal I had for myself this season was consistency. I’m getting past my nerves and giving it my all.”
Here are the event winners and Salem County qualifiers to the state group championships. The top six in each event score points and qualify for state.
This story will be updated.
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I SECTIONALS BOYS TEAM SCORES: Glassboro 54.60, WOODSTOWN 53.60, Haddon Twp. 36, Camden 32.60; SALEM 29.60, Gateway 22, PENNS GROVE 20, Audubon 17, Woodbury 14, Burlington City 12, Palmyra 8.60, SCHALICK 6, West Deptford 2, Buena 2. 400: 1. Josh Crawford, Woodstown 51.13; 2. Kylee Goodson, Penns Grove 52.07; 4. Timothy Gregory, Salem 52.41. 1600: 1. Joseph Saicic, Glassboro 4:33.47; 4. Jacob Marino, Woodstown 4:36.50; 6. David Farrell, Woodstown 4:42.96 55 Hurdles: 1. Jaleel Dickerson-Dempsey, Camden 7.83; 4. Timothy Gregory, Salem 8.42; 5. Gradin Buzby, Salem 8.64 55 Dash: 1. Donte Davis, Burlington City 6.55; 3. Jelani Beverly, Salem 6.70; 6. Kyle Reitz, Woodstown 6.81 800: 1. Josh Crawford, Woodstown 1:59.87; 2. Karson Chew, Woodstown 2:00.56 3200: 1. Joseph Saicic, Glassboro 9:52.30; 6. Jacob Marino, Woodstown 10:14.36 4×400: 1. Woodstown (Kyle Reitz, Karson Chew, Anthony Costello, Josh Crawford) 3:30.30 (meet record, old record 3:32.09, Woodbury 2025); 2. Salem (Quimere Bergen, Gradin Buzby, RaShar Stevenson, Jerry Seals) 3:37.61 High Jump: 1. Moses Robles, Glassboro 6-2; 3. Tommy White, Penns Grove 5-6; T5. Jerry Seals, Salem 5-2; T5. Anthony Costello, Woodstown 5-2 Pole Vault: 1. Bobby McIlvaine, Haddon Twp. 12-0; 3. Salvatore Longo, Schalick 11-0; 4. Gradin Buzby, Salem 11-0 Shot Put: 1. Kyle Stephens, Haddon Twp. 47-9; 2. Aiden Taulane, Woodstown 46-2.5; 3. JaKai Ingram, Penns Grove 45-7; 6. Jailon Fletcher-Wilson, Salem 43-2
GIRLS TEAM SCORES: Audubon 90, Glassboro 47, Haddon Twp. 46, West Deptford 32, WOODSTOWN 31, Buena 20, Woodbury 12, PENNSVILLE 8, Lower Cape May 8, SALEM 5, PENNS GROVE 4, Palmyra 2, Burlington City 2, Gateway 2 400: 1. Kayla Romanoski, West Deptford 1:00.72 1600: 1. Riley Fayer, Audubon 5:08.61; 4. Abby Marino, Woodstown 5:29.58 55 Hurdles: 1. Casey Birdwell, Haddon Twp. 8.83; 2. Lia Covely, Woodstown 9.40 55 Dash: 1. Kathryn McGuire, Audubon 7.60 800: 1. Kayla Romanoski, West Deptford 2:19.05 3200: 1. Riley Fayer, Audubon 11:20.98; 3. Abby Marino, Woodstown 11:58.23 4×400: 1. Audubon 4:18.72; 4. Salem (Dynastie Tucker, Brooklynn Jackson, Amaia Massengill, Alysha Williams) 4:24.47; 6. Woodstown (Maria Holmes, Angelina Lindenmuth, Abby Marino, Lia Covely) 4:38.23 High Jump: 1. Kami Casiano, Woodstown 5-0; 2. Kallie Morrison, Pennsville 4-10 Pole Vault: 1. Morganna Makuszewski, Audubon 9-0 Shot Put: 1. Sunny Moore, Glassboro 37-6.75; 4. Zoey Caesar, Penns Grove 30-11.25; 5. Sara Lodge, Woodstown 30-5.75; 6. Ava Rodgers, Salem 29-10.5
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Feb. 15-22
SUNDAY, FEB. 15 INDOOR TRACK South Jersey Group I Sectionals at Bennett Complex, 9 a.m.
MONDAY, FEB. 16 WRESTLING Cedar Creek at Salem, 10 a.m. NJSIAA Team Tournament At Paulsboro Buena vs. Paulsboro, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville vs. Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Winners to follow At Audubon Haddon Twp. vs. Woodstown, 5 p.m. Maple Shade vs. Audubon, 5 p.m. Winners to follow COLLEGE BASEBALL Salem CC at Bryant & Stratton (Va.)
TUESDAY, FEB. 17 BOYS BASKETBALL TCC Tournament Championship Bracket Timber Creek at Kingsway Deptford at Overbrook Cumberland at Delsea Williamstown at Salem, 5 p.m. Consolation game Woodstown at Penns Grove, 5:30 p.m. Postseason Bracket Clayton at GCIT Glassboro at Triton Wildwood at Pitman Highland at Washington Twp. GIRLS BASKETBALL TCC Tournament Championship Bracket Delsea at Gloucester Catholic Clearview at Timber Creek Kingsway at Glassboro Washington Twp. at Wildwood Consolation game Woodstown at Triton, 5:30 p.m. Postseason Bracket Pitman at Schalick Salem at Williamstown Clayton at GCIT Penns Grove at Deptford
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 18 WRESTLING Pennsville at Pennsauken, 6 p.m. Team Sectional Finals BOYS BOWLING South Jersey Group I Tournament Salem vs. Doane Academy, Wood Lanes, 3 p.m. Asbury Park at Camden Catholic
THURSDAY, FEB. 19 BOYS BASKETBALL TCC Tournament Championship Bracket Timber Creek-Kingsway vs. Deptford-Overbrook Cumberland-Delsea vs. Williamstown-Salem Postseason Bracket Clayton-GCIT vs. Glassboro-Triton Wildwood-Pitman vs. Highland/Washington Twp. GIRLS BASKETBALL TCC Tournament Championship Bracket Delsea-Gloucester Catholic vs. Clearview-Timber Creek Kingsway-Glassboro vs. Washington Twp.-Wildwood Postseason Bracket Pitman-Schalick vs. Salem-Williamstown Clayton-GCIT vs. Penns Grove-Deptford Consolation game Cumberland at Pennsville, 4 p.m. WRESTLING Salem at New Egypt, 5 p.m.
FRIDAY, FEB. 20 BOYS BASKETBALL Camden County Tech at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL Medford Tech at Salem Tech, 4 p.m. WRESTLING St. Joseph (Hamm.) at Salem, 5 p.m. Penns Grove at Cherry Hill West, 6 p.m. State Team Semifinals
SATURDAY, FEB. 21 BOYS BASKETBALL TCC Championship, Washington Twp., 11 a.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL TCC Championship, Washington Twp., 1 p.m. BOYS BOWLING South Jersey Group I Championship WRESTLING Pennsville, Ewing at Pt. Pleasant Beach, 10 a.m.
SUNDAY, FEB. 22 TRACK NJSIAA Group Championships, Bennett Center, 9 a.m.
Friday the 13th was a bad day for the Salem County boys basketball teams, all 4 teams on the day’s Tri-County Tournament slate lost; Salem only one left and makes tourney debut Tuesday TCC BOYS TOURNAMENT Championship Bracket Timber Creek 75, Clearview 63 Deptford 71, Gloucester Catholic 44 Cumberland 54, Woodstown 32 Williamstown 57, Penns Grove 36 Postseason Bracket Clayton 94, Schalick 79 Wildwood 68, Salem Tech 31 (Thurs.) Highland 74, Pennsville 18 TUESDAY’S GAMES Championship Bracket Timber Creek at Kingsway Deptford at Overbrook Cumberland at Delsea Williamstown at Salem Postseason Bracket Clayton at GCIT Glassboro at Triton Wildwood at Pitman Highland at Washington Twp.
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
BRIDGETON — Ramon Roots has seen teams play aggressive defense against his Woodstown basketball team in the past, but Friday may have been one of the most energetic he could remember. It only looked better because of the trouble his team didn’t handle it.
The Colts were all over the Wolverines all game and were particularly effective in the fourth quarter while pulling away to a 54-32 win in the opening round of the Tri-County Tournament Championship Bracket.
“They played tough, they play hard on defense,” Roots agreed. “We’ve seen a 1-2-2 before, it was nothing new, we just didn’t execute what we were supposed to do. They play hard, they play relentless, they really wanted to win. Their energy level was up there with some of the best teams. We just kept making mistakes.”
In the second half alone the Colts (17-8) forced Woodstown into 15 turnovers and 5-for-22 shooting.
“They’re an aggressive team for sure,” point guard Alejandro Vazquez said. They were aggressive, hands all over, always playing the passing lanes. They were a very good defensive team. We’ve played against aggressive teams, all these teams that pressure, we just couldn’t handle the pressure today.”
The Wolverines (15-9) weren’t bad defensively either, early. They’d get stop after stop, but then they’d turn it over before they could capitalize. “You can’t win like that,” Roots said.
They finally cracked in the fourth. Blake Bialecki hit his 199th career 3-pointer with 6:47 to go in the game to bring the Wolverines within five, 34-29, but they didn’t score again until John Hood-McGinley’s 3-pointer with 1:40 left. By then, the Colts had opened a 21-point lead.
The Wolverines were 0-for-7 from the floor, with six turnovers and two missed free throws between the treys. All 15 of their points in the second half came on 3-pointers.
“One of the things we’ve focused on was finishing,” Colts coach Lamont Robinson said. “A year ago we played really well for 28, 29, 30 minutes, but our finishes weren’t great. Beginning of the year we got a couple early-season losses because of how we couldn’t finish. Even a week ago. So that’s something we focused on, being our best when it matters most, and tonight we were able to do that.
“We’ve progressed and improved our identity on the defensive end and tonight was a reflection of that growth. Our guys are bought in to the things it takes to win. If you want to win a championship you better be able to stop somebody and that’s what we’re trying to do – build a program that is willing to do the things that it takes to win and defense is a big part of that.”
Cumberland didn’t allow the Wolverines a scorer in double figures. Blake Bialecki was Woodstown’s leading scorer with nine points, all on 3-pointers. He should get his 200th career 3-pointer Saturday morning against Haddonfield in their last game before the power points cutoff.
The Colts, meanwhile, had three scorers in double figures — DJ Mosely (14), Pat Crawford (12) and Kaleb Green (11).Crawford had 10 in the fourth quarter.
They also held Vazquez, Woodstown’s other 3-point threat, to four points – all in the first quarter. Robinson said being aware of their location on the court was a big part of the Colts’ approach.
“Absolutely,” he said. “There are guys you don’t want beating you because that’s how teams beat you and those were those guys for them, so we came in wanting to neutralize those guys. I’m not sure what they ended up with, but for the most part I feel like we did really well.”
WOODSTOWN (15-9): Blake Bialecki 3 0-0 9, Elijah Ceasar 2 0-0 5, Jalen Markward 0 0-0 0, Andrew White 1 0-0 2, Alejandro Vazquez 1 1-3 4, Josh King 0 0-0 0, Lucas Fulmer 0 0-2 0, Frank Hoerst 2 2-2 6, Connor Miller 1 0-0 3, John Hood-McGinley 1 0-0 3, Trey Markward 0 0-0 0, Brian Booker 0 0-0 0, Bryce Ayars 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 3-7 32. CUMBERLAND (17-8): DJ Mosely 6 0-0 14, Jay Davis 0 0-0 0, Kaleb Green 4 3-4 11, Major Martin Dunns 4 0-0 9, Pat Crawford 5 2-2 12, Mike Hollis 2 1-3 5, Khalif Dawkins 0 0-0 0, Duhmazje Cartwright 1 0-0 3. Totals 22 6-9 54.
WILLIAMSTOWN 57, PENNS GROVE 36: The Braves got off to a fast start, opened a seven-point halftime lead, then put together a big second half to earn a spot in the Championship Bracket semifinals. They will visit second-seeded Salem Tuesday. Teams that lose in the first round are allowed to play a second game if they choose. The Red Devils have already connected with Woodstown for a game Tuesday. PENNS GROVE (15-10): Roman Gipson 14, Geonni Conrad 8, Haneef Frisby 5, William Roy 2, Carson Pearsall 3, Jeremy Costacamps 2, Luis Colon 2. WILLIAMSTOWN (15-9): Jameer Gordon 13, Clinton Suggs 16, Tyson Forman 6, Kaysen Matthews 8, Dametri Walker 7, Elijah Batts 6, Ian Basillo 3.
Penns Grove
11
11
8
6-
36
Williamstown
23
6
14
14-
57
POSTSEASON BRACKET CLAYTON 94, SCHALICK 79: You know when you get in a game with the Clippers you’d better be ready for a track meet. Schalick placed five scorers in double figures, but was slow out of the gate compared to their hosts and was in catch-up mode the whole second half.
Jase Volovar led the Cougars with a season-high 18 points, two off his career high. Kade Macom had 16, matching his career-high for the second straight game. Julian Dickerson had 17 points while Orion Baldwin and Cooper Willoughby had 10 apiece. Virtually all of their points came from the field. They didn’t go to the line much and had only one free throw.
Clayton’s James Fritz led all scorers with 21 points. The Clippers had three other scorers in double figures and got scoring from seven others. Only two others scored for Schalick outside of its double-figure scorers.
Riverview Sports News 