Woodstown boys hand Mason 399th T&F coaching win, milestone could come vs. former team; Schalick wins girls meet in final 200 meters of 4×400; includes scores from Wednesday’s Salem County sports calendar
BASEBALL
Pennsville 15, Penns Grove 1
Schalick 16, Pitman 4:
Woodstown 10, Salem 0
Salem Tech 10, Cape May Tech 2
SOFTBALL
Pennsville 21, Penns Grove 0
Woodstown 14, Salem 0
Schalick 11, Pitman 10
BOYS GOLF
West Deptford 162, Schalick 178
Gloucester Catholic 157, Salem Tech 220
GIRLS GOLF
Schalick 206, Delsea 246
TENNIS
Woodstown 5, Timber Creek 0
Pennsville 5, Schalick 0
BOYS TRACK
Woodstown 88, Schalick 46
Pennsville at Glassboro
Penns Grove at Overbrook
Salem 77, Pitman 6
GIRLS TRACK
Schalick 74, Woodstown 66
Salem 66, Pitman 40
GIRLS LACROSSE
Mainland 15, Woodstown 3
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – For the last couple years, at least during the cycle of its current seniors, the success of Woodstown’s boys track program was carried on the legs of its long and middle distance runners. “The Four Horsemen” as they’ve been called garnered the points the Wolverines scored every meet through the various events in which they competed and anything else was considered a bonus.
They’ve won some, contended in most, with that approach. But since longtime county track coach Tom Mason came out of retirement to take over the team this spring, the Wolverines have added more elements to their arsenal, elements that make them much more dangerous in the major meets that follow the rest of the spring.
One of the first things Mason expressed upon arrival was a desire to develop jumpers and throwers and sprinters and technical hurdlers to go with the headline runners. Those pieces were on full display Wednesday as the Wolverines ran past rival Schalick 88-46 in a meet that was Mason’s 399th career dual meet victory.
Thrower Aidan Taulane won the shot put and discus, breaking his own school record in the latter. Eli Ceasar and Andrew White posted personal bests in going 1-2, respectively, in the high jump. They also went 1-2 in the triple jump, with White winning the event.
“I’m going to say this and try to say this humbly,” Mason said. “For the county meets it puts us in a better position against the powerhouse Schalick and the Penns Grove team. It puts us in a better position. I’m going to start with that before we comment about farther down the road. If the jumpers alone, if they keep competing the way they are, they could score at least 20-25 points at sections.”
“It shows that we’re a developed team and shows the quality of a coach that we have in that he really forced the program in all areas,” said senior Josh Crawford, one of the aforementioned Four Horsemen. “Within a month or maybe even less he made us into not just the Four Horseman but an entire team. I think it shows our entire team has heart now and we definitely are going to put up much better scores, much better show-outs for the colleges that are looking at my teammates and things of that nature. We’re such a well-rounded team now.”
Taulane broke the school record in the discus he set two weeks ago, sending the disc 166-feet, 1-inch in his second throw. Then he stepped over to the shot put pit a few feet to his right and won that event at 44-8. He hasn’t lost his event in a dual meet since his sophomore but, it was finishing one place out of qualifying for the state meet as a sophomore that has really motivated him these past two seasons.
“It shows that Woodstown’s not just the 4-by-8 team like everybody used to say and what they’re going to see at the sectionals and states is there’s more to Woodstown,” Taulane said. “I think it gives us a good chance to win it all. Nothing is guaranteed, but I think we have a pretty good chance.”
While the boys meet was so much a runaway they didn’t even run the 4×400 relay on that side, the girls meet came down to the wire, literally the final 200 meters of the day.
Schalick pulled out a 74-66 victory, but had to win the final event of the day – the 4×400 relay – to avoid a rare loss in the series. The Cougars had a three-point lead going into the day’s final event but had to win the two-team race to secure enough points for the victory. They actually trailed with about 200 meters to go, but anchor Caylen Taylor made up the deficit and pulled away bringing it home.
“It was obviously stressful.,” Schalick coach Missy Pine said. “We were down, we had some girls get injured while we were here, we had some girls not be able to compete, so for the girls who were able to step up and push and do their best I cannot tell you how proud I am of all of them. And I couldn’t be prouder of that 4×4 team that just went out there and fought with everything they had for that win.”
It was the first time the Cougars had run the race all spring, but they handled it like veterans. They hit the wire in 4:25.7. Woodstown finished in 4:32.5.
Lia Covely, normally Woodstown’s anchor, staked the Wolverines to four-second lead after the opening leg, but Jaelynn Jarmon closed it to basically a dead-heat at the mid-point of the race. Kylie Parvin had the Cougars in the lead again after the third leg, but Kyrsten Dussault caught Schalick anchor Caylen Taylor on the back straightaway and actually pulled ahead briefly before Taylor, supporting Pine’s strategy of putting a good distance runner at the end of relay for endurance sake, kicked it into another gear in the home stretch.
“This is my senior season and I really did not want to get the first loss against Woodstown,” Taylor said. “I really just wanted to go out and give it my all. I knew how much it meant to my coaches and my team and I just wanted to give it my all. I knew it was going to come down to this, so I was mentally preparing myself so I wanted to give it my all and whatever the outcome was I’d be happy with it as long as I did my best. I felt like Jell-O at the end.”
Woodstown coach Kim Kraky called the loss “disheartening.” The Woodstown girls hadn’t beaten the Cougars often, and only once in the County Meet, but they were thisclose this time.
The Wolverines had several multiple winners. Abby Marino won the 800, 1600 and 3200. Covely won both hurdles. Sara Lodge won the shot and discus. And Kami Casiano won the high jump and triple jump, setting the school record in the former with the bar set taller than she is.
Karlie Bakley won the two sprints for Schalick and ran its leadoff leg in the 4×400.
In one of the more anticipated races of the day, Schalick’s David Stewart beat Woodstown’s Josh Crawford by four-tenths of a second to win the boys 400. Stewart also won the 100, a race he runs just “to get my legs moving,” and the long jump.
“It was something I was looking forward to,” Stewart said of the 400. “Last year we faced off at our track and I beat him, so I knew the next time we faced off, which was today, he was going to come back stronger, faster, but I’ve been training, too. I knew it was going to be a tough match. I kind of paced off (Woodstown’s Karson Chew) to the 200 and once I hit the 200 I kicked and I had a really strong kick and I think my kick was stronger than theirs and I finished the race strong.”
“I feel like going into my races when I know the competition I’m up against I get into my head a little bit,” Crawford said. “That part I need to focus more on my strategy. Changing strategy, changing mindset and I’ll have plenty more races to go up against my good opponents.”
Crawford came back and won his specialty, the 800, standing his ground against Steve Chomo, who pushed him to a PR when they raced on the Cougars’ track last year. Jacob Marino, another of the Four Horsemen, won the 1600 and 3200.
The boys win left Mason one shy of 400 for his Hall of Fame coaching career. The milestone win could come as early as April 27, ironically, against the school with which he had built so much of his coaching success, Penns Grove
This story will be updated.

BOYS MEET
WOODSTOWN 88, SCHALICK 46
400 Hurdles: Jacob Carter, Schalick, 1:02.2
100: David Stewart, Schalick, 11.0
1600: Jacob Marino, Woodstown, 4:49
400: David Stewart, Schalick, 48.5
110 Hurdles: Sherrod Jones, Schalick, 15.6
800: Josh Crawford, Woodstown, 2:00
200: Anthony Costello, Woodstown, 22.6
3200: Jacob Marino, Woodstown, 10:48
High Jump: Eli Caesar, Woodstown, 6-2
Long Jump: David Stewart. Schalick, 21-7.25
Triple Jump: Andrew White, Woodstown, 43-3.5
Discus: Aidan Taulane, Woodstown, 166-1
Javelin: Garry Simonini, Schalick, 158-3
Shot Put: Aidan Taulane, Woodstown, 44-8
Pole Vault: Caleb Jenkins, Schalick, 12-0
GIRLS MEET
SCHALICK 74, WOODSTOWN 66
400 Hurdles: Lia Covely, Woodstown, 1:09.6
100: Karlie Bakley, Schalick, 13.4
1600: Abby Marino, Woodstown, 5:33.4
400: Brooke Valentine, Schalick, 1:04
110 Hurdles: Lia Covely, Woodstown, 17.0
800: Abby Marino, Woodstown
200: Karlie Bakley, Schalick
3200: Abby Marino, Woodstown
4×400 Relay: Schalick (Karlie Bakley, Jaelynn Jarmon, Kylie Parvin, Caylen Taylor), 4:25.7
High Jump: Kami Casiano, Woodstown, 5-6
Long Jump: Phoebe Alward, Schalick, 14-9
Triple Jump: Kami Casiano, Woodstown, 33-8
Discus: Sarah Lodge, Woodstown, 101-5
Javelin: Navaeh Robinson, Schalick, 105-8
Shot Put: Sarah Lodge, Woodstown, 28-10.5
Pole Vault: Jillian Wriggins, Schalick



