This week’s schedule

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

Salem County leaders

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

Boys

SCORING (based on avg.)	PTS	AVG	FG	FT	GP
Mason O’Brien, PV	236	16.86	84	46	14
Tymear Lecator, Sal	364	16.55	118	76	22
Blake Bialecki, Wo	364	13.48	118	55	27
Dashaan Williams, Sal	272	11.83	92	60	23
Julian Dickerson. Sch	257	11.68	95	41	22
Roman Gipson, PG	301	11.15	122	29	27
Eli Caesar, Wo	252	9.69	90	32	26
Dylan Sheehan, Sch	189	9.45	78	33	20
Geonni Conrad, PG	253	9.37	99	31	27
Danny Knight, PV	159	9.35	34	6	17
Neziah Spence, Sal	199	9.05	58	54	22
Andrew White, Wo	214	8.56	82	31	25
Alejandro Vazquez, Wo	227	8.41	71	25	27
Chase Pompper, ST	162	7.71	65	26	21
Will Roy, PG	208	7.70	90	9	27
Kade Macom, Sch	169	7.68	67	15	22
Aiden Bobo, ST	151	7.55	61	19	20
Carson Pearsall, PG	131	7.28	50	20	18
Sherrod Jones, Sch	122	7.18	52	13	17
Raphael Busch, ST	129	7.17	54	19	18
Orion Baldwin, Sch	145	6.90	53	22	21
Lucas Fulmer, Wo	98	6.53	34	11	25
Xavier McGriff, Sal	139	6.32	46	20	22
Haneef Frisby, PG	129	6.14	55	18	21
Fatah Paige, Sal	96	6.00	42	2	16
Josh King, Wo	150	5.56	63	21	27
Marshall Stephens, Sal	120	5.45	58		22
Luke Kroll, ST	60	5.45	22	5	11
BJ Robbins, Sal	100	5.26	39		19
Darrelle Johnson, Sal	81	5.06	26	6	16
Jameel Horace, PG	75	5.00	45	4	15

3-POINTERS	TOTAL
Blake Bialecki, Wo	70
Tymear Lecator, Sal	42
Alejandro Vazquez, Wo	41
Julian Dickerson, Sch	32
Neziah Spence, Sal	30
Roman Gipson, PG	28
Eli Caesar, Wo	28
Geonni Conrad, PG	24
Mason O’Brien, PV	22
Kade Macom, Sch	20
Orion Baldwin, Sch	17
Will Roy, PG	17
Lucas Fulmer, Wo	17
Xavier McGriff, Sal	15
Carson Pearsall, PG	13

REBOUNDING (based on avg.)	TOT	AVG	GP
Dylan Sheehan, Sch	197	9.85	20
Dashaan Williams, Sal	186	8.09	23
Raphael Busch, ST	140	7.78	18
Marshall Stephens, Sal	167	7.59	22
Haneef Frisby, PG	155	7.38	21
Andrew White, Wo	160	6.40	25
Fatah Paige, Sal	92	5.75	16
Josh King, Wo	142	5.26	27
Mishawn Brantley, PG	138	5.11	27
Frank Hoerst, Wo	101	5.05	20
Tymear Lecator, Sal	98	4.45	22
Darrelle Johnson, Sal	70	4.38	16
Blake Bialecki, Wo	115	4.26	27
Julian Dickerson, Sch	86	3.91	22
Aiden Bobo, ST	71	3.55	20
Sherrod Jones, Sch	59	3.47	17
Eli Caesar, Wo	90	3.46	26
Jalen Markward, Wo	68	3.40	20
Jameel Horace, PG	50	3.33	15
Cooper Willoughby, Sch	69	3.29	21
Xavier McGriff, Sal	72	3.27	22
Kade Macom, Sch	70	3.18	22
Alejandro Vazquez, PG	84	3.11	27
Roman Gipson, PG	80	2.96	27
Mason O’Brien, PV	41	2.93	14

FREE THROWS (min. 1 FTA per GP)	FTM	FTA	PCT.
Blake Bialecki, Wo	55	64	.859
Neziah Spence, Sal	54	66	.818
Tymear Lecator, Sal	76	99	.768
Eli Caesar, Wo	32	43	.744
Julian Dickerson, Sch	41	56	.732
Josh King, Wo	21	29	.724
Alejandro Vazquez, Wo	25	35	.714
Dylan Sheehan, Sch	34	48	.708
Mason O’Brien, PV	46	66	.697
Kade Macom, Sch	15	23	.652
Xavier McGriff, Sal	20	31	.645
Andrew White, Wo	31	50	.620
Deshaan Williams, Sal	60	105	.571
Chase Pompper, ST	26	58	.483
Raphael Busch, ST	19	40	.475
Orion Baldwin, Sch	22	48	.458
Sherrod Jones, Sch	13	30	.433
Aiden Bobo, ST	19	46	.413
Luke Kroll, ST	5	16	.312

ASSISTS	TOT	STEALS	TOT
Tymear Lecator, Sal	113	Geonni Conrad, PG	62
Roman Gipson, PG	97	Julian Dickerson, Sch	52
Alejandro Vazquez, Wo	86	Roman Gipson, PG	48
Blake Bialecki, Wo	79	Will Roy, PG	47
Orion Baldwin, Sch	64	Josh King, Wo	45
BJ Robbins, Sal	56
Julian Dickerson, Sch	53	Alejandro Vazquez, Wo	41
Will Roy, PG	49	Blake Bialecki, Wo	41
Eli Caesar, Wo	43	Orion Baldwin, Sch	40
Geonni Conrad, PG	37	Dylan Sheehan, Sch	39
Dylan Sheehan, Sch	34	Eli Caesar, Wo	37
Carson Pearsall, PG	31	Chase Pompper, ST	36
Lucas Fulmer, Wo	28	Haneef Frisby, PG	35
Josh King, Wo	27	Jalen Markward, Wo	34
Jalen Markward, Wo	27	Luis Colon, PG	33
Darrelle Johnson, Sal	26	Sherrod Jones, Sch	31
Chase Pompper, ST	25	Neziah Spence, Sal	28
Andrew White, Wo	23	Carson Pearsall, PG	26
Sherrod Jones, Sch	22	Xavier McGriff, Sal	26
Mason O’Brien, PV	20	Andrew White, Wo	25
Ayden Myers, ST	20	Lucas Fulmer, Wo	21
Neziah Spence, ST	20
Luis Colon, ST	20

BLOCKED SHOTS	TOT
Marshall Stephens, Sal	42
Mishawn Brantley, PG	29
Aiden Bobo, ST	22
Raphael Busch, ST	20
Andrew White, Wo	19
Haneef Frisby, PG	18
Dylan Sheehan, Sch	12
Sherrod Jones, Sch	12
Frank Hoerst, Wo	12
Kade Macom, Sch	10

Girls

SCORING (based on avg.)	PTS.	AVG.	FG	FT	GP
Taylor Bass, PV	344	14.96	138	38	23
Marley Wood, PV	279	13.29	97	61	21
Dyaira Anderson, Sal	222	13.06			17
Nevaeh Robinson, Sch	300	12.50	118	28	24
Keziah Patterson, PG	272	12.36			22
JaNiyah Cummings, PG	234	10.64			22
Lauren Hengel, Wo	261	10.04	101	20	26
Addie Johnston, PV	218	9.48	82	11	23
Carlysia Pierce, Sal	162	9.00			18
Kendall Young, Wo	229	8.81	91	27	26
Kyia Leyman, Wo	178	7.74	76	17	23
Madison Dixon, Sal	121	7.56			16
Shelby Drummond, ST	105	7.50			14
Shelby Liber, ST	99	7.07			14
Willow Davis, Sch	154	7.00	51	26	22
Mikayla Washington, PG	145	6.59			22
Ava Scurry, Sch	129	6.14	56	17	21
Emma Perry, Wo	143	5.72	59	11	25
Amora Delaine, ST	79	5.64			14
Rylee Doerr, ST	50	5.56			9
Liv VanAcker, Sch	110	5.00	38	31	22
Timmiyah Simmons, Sal	50	4.55			11
Jaryn Weathers, Sal	63	4.50			14
Cali Fisler, Sch	87	3.95	30	26	22
Jaida Burns, PV	78	3.90	36	8	20
Jaiden Wilson, PV	82	3.73	29	8	22
Izzy Saulin, PV	81	3.68	37	10	22
Talia Guardascione, Wo	79	3.04	25	24	26

3-POINTERS	TOTAL
Addie Johnston, PV	41
Lauren Hengel, Wo	34
Taylor Bass, PV	30
Nevaeh Robinson, Sch	29
Willow Davis, Sch	25
Marley Wood, PV	24
Shelby Liber, ST	21
Kendall Young, Wo	17
Jaiden Wilson, PV	16
Madison Dixon, Sal	16
Keziah Patterson, PG	15
Shelby Drummond, ST	13

REBOUNDING (based on avg.)	TOT	AVG	GP
Dyaira Anderson, Sal	245	14.41	17
Rylee Doerr, ST	114	12.67	9
Mikayla Washington, PG	212	9.64	22
Ava Scurry, Sch	199	9.48	21
Lauren Hengel, Wo	231	8.88	26
Amora Delaine, ST	123	8.79	14
JaNiyah Cummings, PG	190	8.64	22
Nevaeh Robinson, Sch	202	8.42	24
Marley Wood, PV	166	7.90	21
Kyia Leyman, Wo	172	7.48	23
Carlysia Pierce, Sal	134	7.44	18
Kendall Young, Wo	136	5.23	26
Liv VanAcker, Sch	110	5.00	22
Triscia Wilson, Sal	54	4.91	11
Madison Dixon, Sal	77	4.81	16
Cali Fisler, Sch	105	4.77	22
Taylor Bass, PV	108	4.70	23
Jaryn Weathers, Sal	63	4.50	14
Jaida Burns, PV	88	4.40	20
Emma Perry, Wo	106	4.24	25
Izzy Saulin, PV	86	3.91	22
Evening Amedee, ST	22	3.67	9
Shelby Drummond, ST	51	3.64	14
Jaiden Wilson, PV	71	3.23	22
Timmiyah Simmons, Sal	35	3.18	11
Tiara Bazemore, ST	44	3.14	14
Keziah Patterson, PG	69	3.14	22
Rachel Reed, ST	31	3.10	10
Talia Guardascione, Wo	80	3.08	26

FREE THROWS (min. 1 FTA per GP)	FTM	FTA	PCT.
Marley Wood, PV	61	99	.616
Talia Guardascione, Wo	24	43	.558
Taylor Bass, PV	38	71	.535
Kendall Young, Wo	27	51	.529
Willow Davis, Sch	26	57	.456
Shelby Liber, ST	8	18	.444
Emma Perry, Wo	11	25	.444
Ava Scurry, Sch	17	39	.436
Liv VanAcker, Sch	31	73	.425
Amora Delaine, ST	17	40	.425
Cali Fisler, Sch	26	62	.419
Nevaeh Robinson, Sch	28	69	.406
Rylee Doerr, ST	8	20	.400
Lauren Hengel, Wo	20	51	.392
Kyia Leyman, Wo	17	47	.362

ASSISTS	TOT	STEALS	TOT
Marley Wood, PV	148	Carlysia Pierce, Sal	84
Liv VanAcker, Sch	88	Taylor Bass, PV	80
Lauren Hengel, Wo	64	Keziah Patterson, PG	78
Kendall Young, Wo	61	Kendall Young, Wo	74
Taylor Bass, PV	50	Liv VanAcker, Sch	73
Emma Perry, Wo	48	Willow Davis, Sch	67
Nevaeh Robinson, Sch	48	Cali Fisler, Sch	67
Carlysia Pierce, Sal	48	Lauren Hengel, Wo	61
Addie Johnston, PV	39	JaNiyah Cummings, PG	53
Cali Fisler, Sch	38	Ava Scurry, Sch	50
Madison Dixon, Sal	37	Emma Perry, Wo	49
Talia Guardascione, Wo	32	Marley Wood, PV	44
Willow Davis, Sch	30	Addie Johnston, PV	43
Keziah Patterson, PG	29	Nevaeh Robinson, Sch	38
JaNiyah Cummings, PG	29	Madison Dixon, Sal	36
Shelby Liber, ST	27	Mikayla Washington, PG	35
Jaiden Wilson, PV	26	Talia Guardascione, Wo	34
Shelby Drummond, ST	24	Jaiden Wilson, PV	33
Jaida Burns, PV	20	Shelby Drummond, ST	30
Dyaira Anderson, Sal	20	Izzy Saulin, PV	28
Kaliyah Taylor, Sal	20	Amora Delaine, ST	28

BLOCKED SHOTS	TOTAL
Ava Scurry, Sch	85
JaNiyah Cummings, PG	50
Rylee Doerr, ST	31
Mikayla Washington, PG	28
Kyia Leyman, Wo	27
Amora Delaine, ST	20
Carlysia Pierce, Sal	18
Dyaira Anderson, Sal	18
Lauren Hengel, Wo	17
Marley Wood, PV	16
Cali Fisler, Sch	12
Keziah Patterson, PG	11
Nevaeh Robinson, Sch	11

Sectional champs

Salem bowlers come from behind to beat top-seeded Camden Catholic for first South Jersey Group I title in school history

GROUP I BOYS BOWLING
Saturday’s sectional finals
SOUTH
Salem 2, Camden Catholic 1
CENTRAL
Middlesex 2, Warren Tech 0
NORTH I
Kinnelon 2, Newton 1
NORTH II
Rutherford 2, North Arlington 0
GROUP I SEMIFINALS
Tuesday, at Lucky Strikes, North Brunswick
Salem (12-3) vs. Kinnelon (17.4), 9 a.m.
Middlesex (19-0) vs. Rutherford (18-5), 9 a.m.
Finals to follow

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

STRATFORD – All year long the Salem bowling team felt underestimated and overlooked. Even in the midst of an historic season, they were dismissed by the competition. The only people who truly believed were the guys in the blue shirts standing on the lanes, so there really was no panic when they lost the first game Saturday.

The Rams proved all the doubters wrong on their generational run Saturday, rallying from that close Game One loss to beat top-seeded Camden Catholic 2 games to 1 and win their first South Jersey Group I bowling title in school history.

The second-seeded Rams (12-3) lost the first game by three pins, 874-871, then stormed the lanes, winning 890-841 to tie the match and 988-866 in the clincher.

“We came back, we rallied together,” captain Troy Carey said. “We just used (the first game) as drive. Yes, it was a frustrating loss because we know it wasn’t our best, but we used it as drive, motivation, to make the next two personal.

“I said to all my seniors how do you want to be remembered at the end of the day. Do you want to be remembered as a team that made history or a team that had a ton of potential, just couldn’t get the job done?”

Armed with that bit of motivation, they went on to post the only upset among the four sectional finals staged at 30 Strikes as all the other No. 1 seeds won their matches.

“Last I think we had like a 5-8 season but people saw what we were capable of and they were coming to us saying you might have a pretty good season,” Rams coach Kenny Buck said. “They lived up to it.

“Having the talent isn’t enough. You have to put that work in, you have to have that dream, to have to do all the unmeasurables to actually be a champion and that’s what they did. I feel like it’s even more than just putting Salem on the map. They showed everyone we’re a force to reckon with.”

The Rams now go to Lucky Strikes in North Brunswick Tuesday – weather permitting – for the Group I Final Four. Middlesex (19-0), Kinnelon (17-4) and Rutherford (18-5) are the other finalists. The Final Four will be seeded based on the teams’ original PowerPoint number at the cutoff date, so the Rams would draw top-seeded Kinnelon in the semifinals.

**AJ Carlson (C) has delivered in a big way for the Salem bowling team during the playoffs, consistently bowling over his average.**

In a game where there is no defense, success rides on how well a bowler is rolling it that particular day and AJ Carlson came up big for the Rams for the second playoff match in a row. The junior rolled games of 226, 184, 219, posting his career high game and high series. His average entering the match was 151.19.

Six of his seven playoff games have all been above his average – by a total of 239 pins.

Buck called the impact Carlson had on the victory “unmeasurable.”

“This is the best I’ve bowled,” Carlson said. “I did consistently well and I did everything I could to play for the team.

“I just tried to be a team player, play consistent, just stay out of my head. I knew I had the potential to do it because I’ve done it before, but this was my first game with a 200 average during an actual match where it actually counts. I just shot my shot.”

Captain Carey bounced back from an opening 189 that was 20 pins below his average to roll games of 225 and 231 in the two wins. Semaj Carey gave the Rams a third 200 game in the clincher, rolling a 227, 50 pins over his average.

“Just playing for my brothers; I’ve gotta be there for them just like they’re there for me,” Troy said of his comeback. “First game I didn’t bowl to my average, so I felt like I owed them Game 2 and 3. Just played for them.”

The Irish (10-4-2) came out quickly in the match and got strikes from seven of their first nine bowlers. Carlson gave the Rams a shot in the game with a closing run of seven straight strikes, including three in the tenth.

The Rams carried an 11-pin lead into the last frame of that first game, but they suffered two open frames in the tenth to open the door for the Irish to steal. Still, the loss didn’t deter them for the rest of the match. In fact, it may have inspired them.

“We realized once we lost it was by such a small among we could easily bring this thing back in the second and third,” Carlson said. “As long as we played to our averages and as consistently as we could, that would be a clear win.”

“That’s the one thing I really wanted my kids to learn, how to overcome obstacles when you’re confronted with them and were confronted with obstacles on the way to this path, maybe four years’ worth,” Buck said. “The theme for the last couple weeks has been you have to go in there and fight. Especially in the playoffs they really showed that they’re fighters. Have been all season.”

SALEM	G1	G2	G3	SERIES
Rudy Perez	168	181	175	524
AJ Carlson	226	184	219	629
JD Puni	139	143	136	418
Semaj Carey	158	157	227	542
Troy Carey	189	225	231	645
TOTAL	871	890*	988*	2749

CAMDEN CATHOLIC	G1	G2	G3	SERIES
Chase Wolk	199	146	161	506
Brett Kehoe	171	177	158	506
Mike Salamon	169	162	203	534
Sean Burns	171	161	175	507
Rob Nawn	164	195	169	528
TOTAL	874*	841	866	2581

**Salem coach Kenny Buck engages with Troy Carey after the Rams’ senior buried his fifth straight strike to open Game Two.**

1,000-Point Club

Here is a list of Salem County’s all-time leading scorers in basketball; documented additions/updates should be sent to al.muskewitz@gmail.com

Boys

PLAYER	SCHOOL	TOTAL	YEAR
Paul Gause	Schalick	3144	2005
Keith Jackson	Salem	1940	1986
Derrick Parsley	Salem	1813	2008
Richard Brokenbaugh	Penns Grove	1730	1989
Marcus Robinson	Salem	1726	1990
Joe Hickman	Woodstown	1726	1972
Zach Manorowitz	Pennsville	1679	2020
Mike Holloway	Schalick	1634	2015
Rashan Holloway	Schalick	1622	2014
Kavon Lewis	Penns Grove	1600	2020
Dominique Roy	Penns Grove	1574	2008
Mike Wright	Penns Grove	1551	1988
Greg Frith	Schalick	1532	1990
Fred Drains	Woodstown	1444	1989
Jawan Roane	Penns Grove	1424	2018
Jerry Dickerson	Salem	1416	1963
Sean Collins	Schalick	1393	1996
Geshawn Davis	Penns Grove	1393	2013
Melvin Allen	Schalick	1355	2014
Ron Michael	Salem	1350	2002
Bradley Rowand	Woodstown	1346	2000
Tyler Lunsford	Schalick	1345	2016
James Rowe	Salem	1300	1997
Dan Feruck	Pennsville	1284	1980
Lowell Fortune	Salem	1255	1989
Brian Sye	Salem	1227	1978
Ralph Kowalkowski	St. James	1220	1955
Josh Hedgeman	Schalick	1219	1989
Luke Wood	Pennsville	1198	2025
William Barnes	Salem	1192	2005
Jamar D. Johnson	Penns Grove	1189	2020
Anthony Farmer	Salem	1175	2024
Jim Shivers	Woodstown	1170	1973
George Seager	Pennsville	1158	1989
Michael Moore	Penns Grove	1147	1991
Gage Ausland	Salem	1144	2020
Butch Karr	Pennsville	1143	2009
Scott Powers	Woodstown	1134	1993
Joe Cassidy	St. James	1117	1983
Clifton Shaw	Penns Grove	1111	1996
Billy McMackin	Woodstown	1105	2003
Joe Mecholsky	Pennsville	1103	1992
Mike Driscoll	Woodstown	1100	1968
Brandon Bermudez	Salem Tech	1097	2023
Tim Buzby	Pennsville	1093	1987
x-Blake Bialecki	Woodstown	1090	2026
Jim Brown	Salem	1085	1985
Ramon Roots	Salem	1080	2016
Mike Harrell	Schalick	1075	1986
Brian Booker	Woodstown	1068	2002
Keith Robinson	Penns Grove	1065	2019
Troy Johnson	Schalick	1062	2017
Lew Ridgeway	Salem	1058	1975
Eric Spencer	St. James	1054	1990
Tom Summiel	Salem	1050	1971
Clint Hitchner	Woodstown	1050	1996
Jamy Thomas	Pennsville	1048	1994
DeAndre Solomon	Schalick	1044	2014
Charles McNeil	Penns Grove	1040	1956
Jim Smith	Woodstown	1038	1955
Charles Haines	Penns Grove	1030	1953
Bruce Spencer	St. James	1023	1983
xy-Tymear Lecator	Salem	1017	2026
Colin Rieger	Pennsville	1014	2015
Terrence Sorrell	Salem	1014	1988
Darryl Gause	Schalick	1007	2001
Dan Yucis	Pennsville	1003	1999
Matt Kates	Schalick	1002	2008
Woodrow Furbush	Salem	1002	2011

x-active, y-junior

Girls

PLAYER	SCHOOL	TOTAL	YEAR
Katie Kline	Pennsville	2110	2004
Amanda Young	St. James	1762	1995
Sharias Hill	Penns Grove	1661	2009
Brittany Smith	Salem	1623	2007
Talia Battavio	Woodstown	1620	2025
Megan Donelson	Woodstown	1588	2025
Tia Furbush	Schalick	1574	2021
Tori Smick	Woodstown	1566	2013
Shayla Llanos	Salem	1436	2008
Crystal Bailey	Schalick	1406	1984
Stephanie Owen	Woodstown	1381	1993
x-Marley Wood	Pennsville	1342	2026
Dawn Curry	Pennsville	1288	2008
Tamara Watkins	Penns Grove	1276	2005
Charlie Baldwin	Woodstown	1275	2020
Shaqui Coppage	Salem	1265	2010
Vynette Miller	Salem	1255	1985
Kelli Griffith	Pennsville	1248	1989
Paige Caldwell	Woodstown	1237	2017
x-Taylor Bass	Pennsville	1226	2026
Ryane Wood	Pennsville	1224	2022
Carly Lane	Penns Grove	1217	2001
Shaniece Banks	Penns Grove	1205	2008
Elizabeth Hudock	Salem	1203	2019
Marie Patrick	Salem	1186	1995
Hannah Cooksey	Pennsville	1168	2019
Lindsey Minch	Pennsville	1163	2010
Riley Fulmer	Woodstown	1163	2022
RaNiyah Wilson	Penns Grove	1156	2025
Nora Ausland	Pennsville	1144	2025
Tiasia Tatem	Salem	1139	2015
Che’Na Thompson	Salem	1130	2009
Ashley Hansen	Schalick	1124	2008
Bethany Humenik	Woodstown	1120	2009
Kelly Thompson	Woodstown	1115	1990
Latika Ross	Salem	1102	2001
Lindsay Rivell	Salem	1081	2001
Caitlin McCaffery	Pennsville	1080	2003
Natrice Reed	Penns Grove	1065	2018
Meely Horace	Penns Grove	1063	2024
Kayla Mayers	Woodstown	1041	2015
Shannon Pollock	St. James	1037	1993
Christy Britton	St. James	1037	1989
Ashley Engel	Woodstown	1012	2007
Susanne Daly	St. James	1002	1991
Sandy Alston	Penns Grove		1983

x-active

There are a lot of points in this picture of 1,000-point scorers (L-R) Woodstown’s Talia Battavio and Pennsville’s Marley Wood, Ryane Wood, Luke Wood, Nora Ausland and Jamy Thomas. There were more than 7,100 points represented here at the time this photo was taken.

Playing for a title

Schalick girls earn a spot in the TCC Postseason Bracket title game, host Deptford Saturday morning; includes TCC Tournament scores and Salem County consolation games

TCC GIRLS TOURNAMENT
Postseason Bracket
Schalick 47, Salem 33
Deptford 54, Clayton 39
Championship Bracket
Gloucester Catholic 60, Clearview 29
Wukdwiid 69, Glassboro 64 (3 OT)
Consolation games
Washington Twp. 44, Woodstown 20
Pennsville 57, Cumberland 35
TCC BOYS TOURNAMENT
Championship Bracket
Kingsway 52, Overbrook 41
Cumberland 57, Williamstown 54
Postseason Bracket
Triton 53, GCIT 51
Washington Twp. 55, Pitman 40
Consolation games
Woodstown 77, Clearview 50

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE — John Whelan held his breath a little bit when the Tri-County Conference officials were seeding their annual tournament and he let out a small sigh of relief when they finished their business.

Whelan’s Schalick girls basketball team was having one of their best seasons in a while, but its power points on Super Bowl Sunday left it on the bubble of making the TCC Championship Bracket reserved for the the league’s 12 heaviest hitters or the Postseason Bracket with what was left.

A power point here or there or a team jump-seeding its neighbor in the standings and a lot of things could change. When it all shook out, the Cougars fell on the Postseason Bracket side of the line — the No. 1 seed, if fact — and now, instead of facing an upper seed in the first round of the upper bracket with the expected consequences, they have a chance to win a championship.

The Cougars earned a spot in the Postseason Bracket championship game Thursday night when they dumped Salem 47-33. They now host Deptford (12-14) for the title Saturday at 10 a.m.

“It’s exciting,” Whelan said. “The girls deserve it. They’ve earned it. They put the work in all season, in the offseason in here, every practice, in the weight room, so it’s kind of come full circle for us. It’s exciting times to have this opportunity.”

In the past, the TCC split its tournament into three divisions – the top 8 (A), the eight in the middle of pack (B) and the also-rans (C),. This year they decided to expand the upper bracket to reward the league’s four division winners that sometimes didn’t make the A Bracket with first-round byes

They seeded it straight on the power points among the conference’s 23 teams – with the exception of the division winners who earned the top four seeds – and went to a 12-team upper and 11-team lower bracket.

The Cougars came in at No. 13, despite having as many or more wins than seven teams in the Championship Bracket at the time of the seeding, meaning they were the first team out and the whole Postseason Bracket went through them. They were the winningest team in the bracket by five wins.

“You always want to strive to play for that higher competition, but we fell where we fell,” Whelan said. “The 1 seed, that would be extra home games for us. We approach it the same way we would any other bracket or championship or any other game. This is just as important to us as it would be if we were in the other bracket.

“It definitely gave us an opportunity to be where we are, for sure. Some of the upper-tier teams is something we’re striving to work towards and we’re making good strides. This is definitely a bracket with good competition, as seen in the past two games, and we’ll see again Saturday. This is the start of our post-season.”

Nevaeh Robinson led Schalick with 14 points and nine rebounds. Cali Fisler had a career-high 13 points, including 7-of-8 from the free throw line. She was 5-for-6 in the fourth quarter, undermining the Rams’ strategy for getting back in the game.

The Cougars were 18-of-27 from the line for the game, while the Rams were 13-of-29.

“We talked about the importance of free throws, especially in a playoff game,” Whelan said. “We knew it was going to be physical and we prepared for that mentally and physically. We spent a lot of time with free throws (in practice) and to their credit they knocked them down.”

“I just was really confident this game,” Fisler said. “I knew what I could do at line. I knew my percentages overall have not been very good this season, but I knew what I could do, so I stayed calm despite the noise they were trying to make and I just did what I do.”

Point guard Liv VanAcker got the Cougars through some of the more chaotic moments of the fast-paced game and dished seven assists to move within four of Abby Chomo’s single-season school record (89). Ava Scurry blocked four more shots, leaving her four shy of her single-season record (85).

“It was chaotic, yes, but our team is very good with chaos,” VanAcker said. “At first we start off a little shaky, but we get our groove after a while.”

DyAira Anderson led Salem with 14 points and 20 rebounds. Carlysia Pierce had 11 points and 12 rebounds. The Rams forced Schalick into numerous turnovers early and led 5-4 after a turnover-filled first quarter, but they were negatively impacted throughout by missing too many shots in close and struggling at the free throw line.

“You’ve gotta have the ball go through the circle.,” Salem coach Kemp Carr said. “You can’t get four and five shots at the basket, two feet, and you don’t make it. It’s not so much what they did more than what we didn’t do. We just didn’t execute what we needed to execute. You’ve gotta make shots.”

SCHALICK 47, SALEM 33
SALEM (9-10): Madison Dixon 3 0-2 6, DyAira Anderson 3 8-13 14, Carlysia Pierce 3 5-14 11, Jaryn Weathers 0 0-0 0, Tricia Wilson 1 0-0 2, Kaliyah Taylor 0 0-0 0, Samiyah Moore 0 0-0 0, Zanyah Frieson 0 0-0 0, Timmiyah Simmons 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 13-29 33
SCHALICK (17-6): Cali Fisler 3 7-8 13, Ava Scurry 4 0-0 8, Willow Davis 1 2-2 5, Nevaeh Robinson 5 2-5 14, Liv VanAcker 0 5-8 5, Vicky Basich 0 0-0 0, Emmalyn Weir 0 2-2 2, Jaelynn Jarmon 0 0-0 0, Emma O’Neil 0 0-2 0. Totals 13 18-27 47.

Salem	5	7	10	11-	33
Schalick	4	16	12	15-	47

3-point goals: Schalick 3 (Davis, Robinson 2). Rebounds: Salem 55 (Pierce 12, Anderson 20); Schalick 26 (Scurry 5, Robinson 9, VanAcker 6). Technical fouls: Fisler. Fouled out: Pierce, Scurry. Total fouls: Salem 22, Schalick 20.

PENNSVILLE 57, CUMBERLAND 36: Marley Wood scored 10 of her game-high 24 points in the second quarter as the Eagles pulled away from this TCC Championship Bracket consolation game. Jaiden Wilson added a career-high 12 points Next up for the Eagles is a Wednesday date with Woodstown in the South Jersey Group I tournament.

CUMBERLAND (10-14): Ellie Bodine 4 3-4 11, Lizzy Pfliegar 5 0-0 13, Addie Weist 1 0-0 3, Ny Gay 0 0-0 0, Kamila Ramos 0 0-0 0, JaLynn Brown 0 0-0 0, Julianna Rivera 0 0-0 0, Aleevia Fennal 2 0-0 4, Hydra Loatman 0 0-0 0, Peyton Johnson 0 0-0 0, Amely Pina 1 0-0 2, Mikaylah Picconi 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 3-4 35.
PENNSVILLE (16-7): Taylor Bass 2 1-4 6, Marley Wood 9 4-5 24, Addie Johnston 4 0-0 9, Izzy Saulin 3 0-0 6, Jaiden Wilson 5 0-0 12, Kylie Harris 0 0-0 0, Kylie Weist 0 0-0 0, Reagan Sipps 0 0-0 0, Angelina Wagner 0 0-0 0, Addison Hitt 0 0-0 0, Makayla Griffith 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 5-9 57.

Cumberland	6	9	10	10-	35
Pennsville	14	15	12	16-	57

3-point goals: Cumberland 4 (Pfliegar 3, Weist); Pennsville 6 (Bass, Wood 2, Johnston, Wilson 2). Fouled out: Gay. Total fouls: Cumberland 9, Pennsville 7.

WASHINGTON TWP. 44, WOODSTOWN 20
WOODSTOWN (11-15): Kendall Young 2, Emma Perry 10, Lauren Hengel 4, Kyia Leyman 2, Talia Guardascione 2.
WASHINGTON TWP. (16-9): Frankie Begley 1 2-2 4, Shyla McLean 3 0-0 9, Julianna Cassidy 1 0-0 2, Elena Dabrowski 2 0-0 6, Aubrey Mack 6 1-2 13, Jade Mazzuca 1 0-0 2, Tessa Reilley 2 0-0 4, Lena Giannini 2 0-0 4. Totals 18 3-4 44.

Woodstown	2	4	10	4-	20
Washington Twp.	7	17	8	12-	44

3-point goals: Washington Twp. 5 (McLean 3, Dabrowski 2).

**Schalick’s Ava Scurry (C) denies Salem’s Kaliyah Taylor entry into the lane during their TCC Postseason Bracket semifinal game Thursday night.**

Boys game

WOODSTOWN 77, CLEARVIEW 50: Blake Bialecki led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points that featured five 3-pointers, as the Wolverines snapped a three-game losing streak that tied the longest in coach Ramon Roots’ two-year tenure. Bialecki had 11 points in the first quarter fueled by three 3s. Andrew White had 15 points, 13 in the third quarter, and Alejandro Vazquez had 10.

CLEAVIEW (10-17): Jonah Turner 3 1-2 7, Georgia Kritikson 3 1-1 8, Mike Pellecchia 3 1-2 8, Darren Riddick 4 0-0 9, Alex Whitwork 2 0-0 6, TJ McGovern 1 0-0 3, Logan Poletti 1 0-0 3, David Carter 2 0-0 6, Ethan Munch 0 0-0 0, Patrick Furfari 0 0-0 0, Jake Bernstein 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 3-5 50.
WOODSTOWN (16-11): Elijah Caesar 4 0-2 8, Jalen Markward 0 0-0 0, Andrew White 7 1-2 15, Trey Markward 1 0-0 2, Lucas Fulmer 1 0-0 2, Blake Bialecki 6 1-2 18, Bryce Ayars 0 0-0 0, Frank Hoerst 4 0-2 8, Connor Miller 2 2-2 6, Alejandro Vazquez 3 3-3 10, Brian Booker 1 0-0 2, John Hood-McGinley 0 0-0 0, Josh King 3 0-0 6. Totals 32 7-13 77.

Clearview	13	14	11	12-	50
Woodstown	22	13	21	21-	77

3-point goals: Clearview 9 (Kritikson, Pellecchia, Riddick, Whitworth 2, McGovern, Poletti, Carter 2); Woodstown (Bialecki 5, Vazquez). Total fouls: Clearview 8, Woodstown 11.

Salem County Spring 2026

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for Spring 2026; events at 4 p.m. unless noted; will be updated when schedules or updates are made available; need Woodstown, Salem Tech, Salem, Penns Grove, schedules and updates can be sent to al.muskewitz@gmail.com; x-scrimmage

GOT
ALL SCHALICK, ALL PENNSVILLE
WOODSTOWN BB/SB
PENNS GROVE BB
SALEM CC BB/SB

MARCH 3
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Delaware Tech, 3 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Lackawanna at Salem CC, 1 p.m.

MARCH 5
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at RCSJ-Gloucester, 3 p.m.

MARCH 6
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Brookdale, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Sussex at Salem CC, 1 p.m.

MARCH 7
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Brookdale at Salem CC (2), noon
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Monroe-Bronx at Salem CC, noon

MARCH 9
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC vs. Penn State-Hazleton at Myrtle Beach, 9 a.m.
Salem CC vs. Illinois Valley at Myrtle Beach, 1 p.m.

MARCH 10
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC vs. Lakeland CC at Myrtle Beach, 6 p.m.
Salem CC vs. CC of Rhode Island at Myrtle Beach, 9 p.m.

MARCH 12
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC vs. Minnesota North-Itasca at Myrtle Beach (2), 9 a.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Frederick, 3 p.m.

MARCH 13
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC vs. Elgin at Myrtle Beach (2), 4 p.m.

MARCH 14
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC vs. Quinsigamond CC at Myrtle Beach, noon
Salem CC vs. Garrett at Myrtle Beach, 3 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Chesapeake, noon

MARCH 15
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC vs. Surry at Myrtle Beach (2), noon
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Anne Arundel, noon

MARCH 16
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Northampton at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.

MARCH 17
TENNIS
x-Cumberland at Schalick
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Northampton (2), noon

MARCH 18
BASEBALL
x-Millville at Pennsville
SOFTBALL
x-Middle Twp. at Schalick
TENNIS
x-Millville at Pennsville

MARCH 19
BASEBALL
x-Schalick at Paulsboro
SOFTBALL
x-Gateway at Woodstown
TENNIS
x-West Deptford at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.

MARCH 20
BASEBALL
Pennsville at West Deptford
SOFTBALL
x-Salem Tech at Schalick
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Atlantic Cape at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Bucks at Salem CC, 3 p.m.

MARCH 21
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Atlantic Cape (2), noon

MARCH 22
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Delaware Tech, noon

MARCH 23
BASEBALL
x-Woodstown at Deptford

MARCH 24
TENNIS
Pennsville at Cedar Creek
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Delaware County, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Raritan Valley, 3:30 p.m.

MARCH 25
BASEBALL
x-Camden Tech at Schalick
x-Woodstown at GCIT
SOFTBALL
x-Schalick at Camden Tech
GOLF
Schalick vs. Woodstown, Town & Country, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Lower Cape May at Schalick
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Delaware County at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.

MARCH 26
BASEBALL
x-Highland at Woodstown
GOLF
Schalick girls vs. Lower Cape May at RiverWinds, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at CCBC-Catonsville, 3 p.m.

MARCH 27
TRACK
Woodstown at Pennsville
COLLEGE BASEBALL
RCSJ-Cumberland at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.

MARCH 28
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at RCSJ-Cumberland (2), noon
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Morris at Salem CC, noon

MARCH 30
BASEBALL
Schalick at Glassboro
Woodstown at Penns Grove
SOFTBALL
Glassboro at Schalick
Gloucester at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Woodstown
GOLF
Schalick girls vs. Williamstown, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Pennsville at Wildwood
Schalick at Clayton

MARCH 31
SOFTBALL
Sterling at Woodstown
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Montgomery County, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Lackawanna, 3 p.m.

APRIL 1
BASEBALL
Penns Grove at Gateway
Pitman at Pennsville
Schalick at Woodstown
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Pitman
Schalick at Woodstown
GOLF
Schalick girls vs. Clearview, Westwood GC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Clayton at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick at Glassboro
BOYS TRACK
Schalick at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
GIRLS TRACK
Pennsville at Schalick, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Montgomery County, 3:17 p.m.

APRIL 2
BASEBALL
Schalick at Ocean City
Woodstown at Haddon Heights
SOFTBALL
Clearview at Schalick
BOYS GOLF
Schalick vs. Overbrook, Kresson GC
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Monroe-Bronx, 2 p.m.

APRIL 3
SOFTBALL
Deptford at Woodstown
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Howard CC at Salem CC, 3 p.m.

APRIL 4
SOFTBALL
Pennsville in Thunderbolt Tournament, Millville
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Mercer, noon

APRIL 6
BASEBALL
Glassboro at Woodstown
Schalick at Clayton
SOFTBALL
Clayton at Schalick
Woodstown at Glassboro
GIRLS GOLF
Schalick vs. Cumberland, Centerton CC, 3:30
TENNIS
Pennsville at West Deptford, 3:45 p.m.

APRIL 7
BASEBALL
Rancocas Valley at Schalick, 10 a.m.
Overbrook at Pennsville
Woodstown at Glassboro
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Overbrook
Woodstown at Glassboro
BOYS GOLF
Cumberland at Schalick, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Pennsville at Glassboro, 3:45 p.m.
Mainland at Schalick
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Delaware Tech at Salem CC, 3 p.m.

APRIL 8
BASEBALL
Penns Grove at Salem
SOFTBALL
Woodstown at Gloucester Catholic
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Cecil, 2 p.m.

APRIL 9
BASEBALL
Overbrook at Schalick
Penns Grove at Glassboro
Pennsville at Clayton
SOFTBALL
Clayton at Pennsville
Schalick at Overbrook
BOYS GOLF
Schalick vs. Pennsville, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Pennsville at Delsea, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick at Overbrook
BOYS TRACK
Overbrook at Schalick, 3:45 p.m.
Pennsville at Penns Grove

APRIL 10
BASEBALL
Haddon Heights at Pennsville
Woodstown at Collingswood
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Haddon Heights
Schalick at Gloucester Catholic
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Middlesex at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 11
BASEBALL
Schalick at Gloucester, TBD
Woodstown at Haddon Twp., 11 a.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Middlesex (2), noon
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Delaware Tech at Salem CC, noon

APRIL 13
BASEBALL
Schalick at Penns Grove
Wildwood at Pennsville
Woodstown at Overbrook
SOFTBALL
Overbrook at Woodstown
Penns Grove at Schalick
Pennsville at Wildwood
BOYS GOLF
Schalick vs. Woodstown, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
GIRLS GOLF
Schalick vs. OLMA, White Oaks CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Pennsville at Millville, 3:45 p.m.
Wildwood at Schalick
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Harford, 1 p.m.

APRIL 14
GIRLS GOLF
Schalick vs. Washington Twp., 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 15
BASEBALL
Pennsville at Penns Grove
Pitman at Schalick
Salem at Woodstown
SOFTBALL
Penns Grove at Pennsville
Salem at Woodstown
Schalick at Pitman
GIRLS GOLF
Schalick vs. Delsea, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Pennsville at Schalick
BOYS TRACK
Schalick at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Glassboro at Pennsville
GIRLS TRACK
Pennsville at Glassboro

APRIL 16
BASEBALL
Bridgeton at Penns Grove
Pennsville at Millville
SOFTBALL
Sterling at Schalick
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Mercer at Salem CC, 3 p.m.

APRIL 17
BASEBALL
Cumberland at Woodstown
SOFTBALL
Woodstown at Cumberland
TENNIS
Pitman at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick at Penns Grove
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Camden, 3 p.m.

APRIL 18
BASEBALL
Schalick at Haddon Twp., TBD
Sterling at Woodstown, 11 a.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Camden at Salem CC (2), noon
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Sussex, noon

APRIL 21
BASEBALL
Penns Grove at Overbrook
Pennsville at Salem
SOFTBALL
Salem at Pennsville
BOYS GOLF
Schalick vs. Overbrook, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Pennsville at Penns Grove, 3:45 p.m.
Pitman at Schalick
TRACK
Penns Grove at Schalick, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Bergen at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Morris, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 22
BASEBALL
Overbrook at Penns Grove
Salem at Pennsville
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Salem
BOYS GOLF
GIRLS GOLF
Schalick vs. Williamstown, Scotland Run, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Bergen, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 23
BOYS GOLF
Schalick vs. Cumberland, Running Deer GC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Schalick at Haddon Heights
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Brookdale, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 24
BASEBALL
Penns Grove at Winslow
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at RCSJ-Gloucester, 3:30 p.m.

APRIL 25
BASEBALL
Schalick at Vineland, 10 a.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
RCSJ-Gloucester at Salem CC (2), noon
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Raritan Valley at Salem CC, noon

APRIL 27
BASEBALL
Pennsville at Pitman
Schalick vs. Woodstown, Elmer LL, 6:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Pitman at Pennsville
Schalick vs. Woodstown, Elmer LL, 6:30 p.m.
BOYS GOLF
Schalick vs. Pennsville, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
GIRLS GOLF
Schalick vs. Clearview, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Wildwood at Pennsville
BOYS TRACK
Schalick at Glassboro, 3:45 p.m.
Overbrook at Pennsville
GIRLS TRACK
Overbrook at Pennsville

APRIL 28
BASEBALL
Penns Grove at Bridgeton
TENNIS
Clayton at Schalick

APRIL 29
BASEBALL
Pennsville at Woodstown
Pitman at Penns Grove
SOFTBALL
Woodstown at Pennsville
Schalick at Wildwood, 4:15 p.m.
BOYS GOLF
Schalick vs. Pitman, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
GIRLS GOLF
Schalick vs. Cumberland, Running Deer GC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Pennsville at Clayton, 3:45 p.m.
Glassboro at Schalick

APRIL 30
BASEBALL
Schalick at Clearview
SOFTBALL
Woodstown at Washington Twp.
BOYS TRACK
Salem County Championships, Pennsville, 3:30 p.m.
GIRLS TRACK
Salem County Championships, Pennsville, 3:30 p.m.

MAY 1
BASEBALL
Gloucester at Woodstown
SOFTBALL
Camden Tech at Schalick
TENNIS
Glassboro at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Union at Salem CC

MAY 2
BASEBALL
Schalick at Timber Creek
Woodstown at Audubon, 11 a.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Union (2), noon

MAY 4
BASEBALL
Delran at Woodstown, 4:15 p.m.
Bridgeton at Schalick, 6 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Schalick at Triton
West Deptford at Pennsville
GIRLS GOLF
Schalick vs. Kingsway, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.

MAY 5
BASEBALL
Clayton at Pennsville
Glassboro at Penns Grove
Schalick at Overbrook
SOFTBALL
Overbrook at Schalick
Pennsville at Clayton
Woodstown at Maple Shade
BOYS GOLF
Schalick vs. Gloucester Catholic, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Bridgeton at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick at Wildwood, 4:15 p.m.
TRACK
TCC Showcase, Delsea, TBD

MAY 6
SOFTBALL
Millville at Woodstown
GIRLS GOLF
Schalick vs. Washington Twp., The Birches, 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Burlington Twp. at Pennsville
BOYS TRACK
TCC Showcase, Delsea, 3:30 p.m.
GIRLS TRACK
TCC Showcase, Delsea, 3:30 p.m.

MAY 7
BASEBALL
Overbrook at Woodstown
Pennsville at Wildwood
Penns Grove at Schalick
SOFTBALL
Schalick at Penns Grove
Woodstown at Overbrook
Wildwood at Pennsville
BOYS GOLF
Carl Arena Tournament, Ramblewood GC, TBD
TENNIS
Pennsville at GCIT, 3:45 p.m.
Washington Twp. at Schalick

MAY 8
BASEBALL
Schalick at Collingswood
SOFTBALL
Schalick at Absegami

MAY 9
BASEBALL
Lee Ware Tournament, Woodstown, 10 a.m., 1 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Woodstown at Williamstown, 10 a.m.

MAY 10
BASEBALL
Schalick at Salem
SOFTBALL
Salem at Schalick, 6 p.m.
TENNIS
Schalick at Pennsville

MAY 11
BASEBALL
Glassboro at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Wildwood
Woodstown at Clayton
SOFTBALL
Clayton at Woodstown
Pennsville at Glassboro
TENNIS
Schalick at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.

MAY 12
GIRLS GOLF
Schalick vs. OLMA, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m.

MAY 13
BASEBALL
Glassboro at Schalick
Penns Grove at Woodstown
SOFTBALL
Pennsville at Deptford
Schalick at Glassboro
Woodstown at Penns Grove
TENNIS
Pennsville at Pitman, 3:45 p.m.
Penns Grove at Schalick

MAY 14
BASEBALL
GCIT at Pennsville
SOFTBALL
Delran at Schalick, 4:15 p.m.
GIRLS GOLF
Schalick vs. Delsea, White Oaks CC, 3:30 p.m.

MAY 15
BASEBALL
Mainland at Schalick
Oakcrest at Woodstown
SOFTBALL
Clearview at Pennsville
TENNIS
Penns Grove at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick at Pitman
TRACK
NJSIAA Sectionals, Pennsauken, 3 p.m.

MAY 16
BASEBALL
Woodstown at Buena, 10 a.m.
Pennsville at Cedar Creek, 11 a.m.

MAY 18
BASEBALL
Haddon Heights at Schalick
BOYS GOLF
Salem/Cumberland Championship, Centerton CC, 8 a.m.
GIRLS GOLF
Salem/Cumberland Championship, Centerton CC, 8 a.m.
TENNIS
Schalick at Haddon Twp.

MAY 19
BASEBALL
Clayton at Penns Grove
Pennsville at Schalick
Pitman at Woodstown
SOFTBALL
Schalick at Pennsville
Woodstown at Pitman

MAY 20
BASEBALL
SOFTBALL
Atlantic Tech at Woodstown, 4:15 p.m.
Schalick at Cedar Creek

MAY 21
BASEBALL
Mainland at Pennsville

MAY 26
BOYS GOLF
TCC Showcase, Pitman GC, 8 a.m.
GIRLS GOLF
TCC Showcase, Pitman GC, 8 a.m.

MAY 29
TRACK
NJSIAA Championships, Franklin HS, 3 p.m.

JUNE 3
TRACK
Meet of Champions, Pennsauken, 3 p.m.

Rolling into the finals

Salem sweeps Doane Academy to reach South Jersey Group I bowling finals for first time in history, bowls Camden Catholic for the title Saturday

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN — Troy Carey stood on the landing behind his bench surrounded by his happy teammates and laid the news on coach Kenny Buck.

“You are aware now you have to find a place for a banner in the gym,” the Salem senior captain said.

“I guess I’m aware now,” Buck replied.

The Salem bowling team carved another notch in the belt of its “generational run” as well as its own spot on the gym wall Wednesday when it beat Doane Academy at Wood Lanes two games to none to reach the South Jersey Group I championship match for the first time in school history.

The Rams (11-3) rallied from a slow start to clear the hurdle that stopped them last year. They won Game One 857-850 and then closed the match in dominating fashion, crushing it in Game Two 979-872.

They’ll now bowl top-seeded Camden Catholic (10-3-2) Saturday morning at 30 Strikes in Stratford for the South Jersey title and spot in the Group I Final Four.

“We have one end goal,” Carey said. “We’re there now, we’ve just got to complete the mission. This (semifinal) was something in the way of that goal. We knew we had to execute and we did. We started off flat, but we brought it together in the end and we played like us at the end of the day. That’s all that mattered.”

They won the first game after trailing by nearly 100 pins after four frames. Carey closed out his second game with eight straight strikes for a 279, matching his career high game. Rudy Perez opened Game Two with four straight strikes from the leadoff spot and struck out in the tenth for a 222. The Rams threw 29 strikes in the clincher.

“I got to be honest. I was extremely worried, but they just put their heads down and bowled” Buck said. “I knew we had it in us. It just takes one of them to get hot.”

Despite a high confidence level going into the match, the Rams trailed by 98 pins after four frames and 80 after five. They had 11 open frames in the first five, while Doane logged 20 marks. Hunter Johnson, the Spartans’ No. 3, opened the match with five straight strikes.

But somewhere in the middle of the game the Rams found their groove. AJ Carlson and Semaj Carey keyed the comeback. Carlson picked up 75 pins over the final four frames and beat his opposite number by 41 over that stretch to finish with the team’s high game (199, nearly 50 pins over his average).

Semaj picked up 98 pins over the final four frames and outpinned his man by 12 over the same stretch. J.D. Puni beat Johnson by 28 pins over the stretch.

“At the end of the day it’s not over until the last person bowls that last frame,” captain Carey said. “We like our odds regardless. We just fight.”

“We all realized we got here last year (and) we can’t go down like we did last year,” Perez said. “We wanted to make it farther like we should. We prevailed, we overcame the little obstacle we had and started bowling amazing at the end of that first. Bro, I couldn’t be prouder.”

The comeback energized them. They bagged three strikes in each of the first four frames and at least two in every frame thereafter until they blew it out in the tenth. Semaj had an open frame in the first, then ran off four in a row. The Spartans, meanwhile, didn’t have a frame with multiple strikes until the third.

“It’s really the energy, all the guys came together,” Semaj said. “We all boosted our energy by like a thousand. The energy sets the tone for everybody. It starts with the first person ends up at the anchor. If everybody’s on track we’re just going to rolling like a smooth boat.”

And now that boat is speeding to the sectional finals and maybe a better banner for the gym.

Salem captain Troy Carey (L) reacts after burying a third strike in the tenth frame of Game Two to seal the Rams’ 2-0 victory in the South Jersey Group I bowling semifinals. Top photo: J.D. Puni (R) celebrates the victory with teammate Rudy Perez.

SALEM (11-3)	G1	G2	TOT
Rudy Perez	166	222	388
AJ Carlson	199	144	343
JD Puni	145	156	301
Semaj Carey	159	178	337
Troy Carey	188	279	467
TOTAL	857	979	1836

DOANE (8-11)	G1	G2	TOT
Colin Paglione	158	210	368
Caden Smith	114	166	280
Hunter Johnson	197	147	343
Jacob Powell	197	194	391
Chris Powell	184	155	339
TOTAL	850	872	1722

GROUP I BOYS BOWLING
Wednesday’s sectional semifinals
SOUTH
No. 1 Camden Catholic 2, Asbury Park 0
No. 2, Salem 2, No. 6 Doane Academy 0
Finals: Salem (11-3) vs. Camden Catholic (10-3-2)
CENTRAL
No. 1 Middlesex 2, No. 5 Roselle Catholic 0
No. 2 Warren Tech 2, No. 3 Roselle Park 0
Finals: Warren Tech (9-4) at Middlesex (18-0)
NORTH I
No. 1 Kinnelon 2, No. 4 Butler 0
No. 3 Newton 2, No. 2 Pascack Hills 0
Finals: Newton (15-3) at Kinnelon (16-4)
NORTH II
No. 4 Belvidere (14-5) at No. 1 North Arlington (22-3), Thursday
No. 2 Rutherford 2, No. 6 Wallington 0
Finals: Rutherford (17-5) vs. Belvidere-North Arlington winner

Eye on the prize

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.

SCHALICK 43, PITMAN 32
PITMAN (4-15): Colette Rollins 1 0-0 3, Jocelyn O’Brien 1 0-0 2, Marlee Adams 2 3-5 7, Kendall Bennett 3 0-0 6, Emery Sharpnack 2 3-3 7, Audrey Duffield 2 0-2 5, Bella Pramov 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 6-10 32.
SCHALICK (16-6): Cali Fisler 3 1-2 7, Ava Scurry 1 2-2 4, Willow Davis 5 1-2 14, Nevaeh Robinson 7 0-0 17, Olivia Vanacker 0 1-2 1, Vicky Basich 0 0-0 0, Emmalyn Weir 0 0-0 0, Jaelynn Jarmon 0 0-2 0, Emma O’Neill 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 5-10 43.

Pitman	6	9	9	8-	32
Schalick	17	10	10	6-	43

3-point goals: Pitman 2 (Rollins, Duffield); Schalick 6 (Davis 3, Robinson 3). Rebounds: Schalick 41 (Fisler 10, Scurry 10, Robinson 11, Vanacker 9). Total fouls: Pitman 12, Schalick 15

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.

SALEM (9-9): Madison Dixon 0 1-2 1, Dyaira Anderson 7 3-3 17, Carlysia Pierce 3 2-4 8, Jaryn Weathers 1 1-2 3, Kaliyah Taylor 2 1-3 5. Totals 13 8-14 34.
WILLIAMSTOWN (5-17): Milana Riccardi 0 0-0 0, Rylee Fair 1 0-0 2, Savanna Rolls 2 1-2 5, Peyton Wright 1 2-6 4, Nyah Chatelier 0 1-2 1, Harper Carney 1 0-0 2, Liz Yodess 1 0-0 2, Ava Byorick 1 0-2 2, Jidli Francis 1 2-2 4, Maren Riccardi 0 0-0 0
Celiyah Waters 1 1-2 4, Colette Hicks 0 1-2 1. Totals 9 8-18 27.

Salem	3	10	13	8-	34
Williamstown	3	2	13	9-	27

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.

WOODSTOWN (11-14): Lauren Hengel 2 1-2 5, Emma Perry 1 0-0 3, Kyia Leyman 9 0-0 18, Kendall Young 3 3-4 10, Kailyn Kennedy 1 0-0 2, Talia Guardascione 2 1-2 5, Kamiya Brunson 2 0-0 4, Jaelyn McDonald 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 5-8 47.
TRITON (36): Melannie Noel 7 2-4 16, Gianna Endt 1 1-1 4, Kaidan Henry 1 0-2 3, Gianna Loftis 2 5-8 9, Akeera Reid-Streater 1 0-0 2, Chloe O’Connor 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 8-15 36.

Woodstown	16	6	10	13-	45
Triton	9	11	13	3-	36

3-point goals: Woodstown 2 (Perry, Young); Triton 2 (Endt, Henry). Rebounds: Woodstown 41 (Young 12, Hengel 11, Leyman 10).

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

One that got away

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.

WILLIAMSTOWN 50, SALEM 40
WILLIAMSTOWN (16-9): Jameer Gordon 3 6-8 13, Clinton Suggs 4 5-6 14, Tyson Forman 4 3-3 13, Kaysen Matthews 1 4-4 6, Dametri Walker 1 2-2 4, Brayden Covington 0 0-0 0, Elijah Batts 0 0-0 0, Amir Washington 0 0-0 0, Ian Basillo 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 20-23 50.
SALEM (19-5): Donnie Weathers 0 0-0 0, Xavier McGriff 1 0-0 3, Neziah Spence 2 2-2 7, Tymear Lecator 4 7-10 16, Fatah Paige 1 0-0 2, Deshaan Williams 3 2-2 8, BJ Robbins 0 0-0 0, Cole Sayers 0 0-0 0, Harlem Parson 0 0-0 0, Marshall Stephens 0 0-0 0, Derrelle Johnson 2 0-0 4. Totals 13 11-14 40

Williamstown	6	8	20	16-	50
Salem	13	13	10	4-	40

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

Oh so close

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