CCBC Catonsville banked in four 3-pointers in the second half to pull away from Salem CC 81-64
By Riverview Sports News
CATONSVILLE, MD. – The Salem CC women’s basketball team ran into a team that banked in four of its six 3-pointers in the second half and couldn’t build on the momentum developed from its first win of the season and fell at CCBC Catonsville Monday 81-64.
The Cardinals hit all six of their 3-pointers in the final three quarters after going 0-for-7 beyond the arc in the first quarter, but the four in the second half defied convention.
“Ridiculous,” is the way Salem coach Brian Marsh described it.
Khloe Wallace hit two of the 3s in the fourth quarter and finished with nine points. Keashiana Murphy led all scorers with 25 points. Tarshay Bell had 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Tanijya Shaw led Salem with 20 points. Dani Gustin had 19 points and 12 rebounds.
CCBC CATONSVILLE 81, SALEM CC 64 SALEM CC (1-8) – RayNescia King 2-7 0-0 5, Tanijya Shaw 7-24 6-8 20, Kasey Oliver 3-8 0-0 6, Dani Gustin 8-12 3-4 19, Jayda Hunter 2-8 0-0 4, Justine Cardona 2-7 0-0 5, Ameriyona Hunter 0-0 0-0 0, Paula Wilson 2-5 0-0 5. Totals 26-71 9-12 64
Dragotta commemorates 10th anniversary of near-fatal heart attack with ceremonial dash to finish the soccer game he couldn’t before
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SEABROOK – It’s 7 a.m.and the November morning sun is barely rising over the acres of fields that spread out as far as the eye can see. The only people up are the kids getting ready for school and the folks taking them there. It’s so cold you can see your breath.
Out on the Cohansey Soccer Club pitch, readied in advance for one man’s approach, a solitary figure breaks the silence, kicking a soccer ball in an otherwise empty complex.
One man. One ball. One goal. No defense. Just the man against the world.
He dribbles from one end of the shortened field to the other, stopping just once, right around the 18 box.
He shoots. He scores. GOOOOOOAL.
There was one around to cheer, but the roars inside the man’s head were as loud as any World Cup final.
He takes a picture of the ball in the back of the goal, quietly takes it from the net. Then heads off to Anderson’s Country Store, his inner circle’s favorite meet-up spot, for a big cup of coffee courtesy of his friends and carries on with the rest of his day.
It’s a ritual Pepi Dragotta has repeated every Nov. 18 for the last 10 years. He hasn’t missed yet – either the date or the goal. He’s scored every time.
“I’m just happy to be there, I’m happy to be on that field to finish the game every year,” he said. “Grabbing that ball out of that net is like taking a knee at the end of the (football) game and winning it. I made it, we won, I can go home and relax.”
It may not mean something to anyone else, and may seem an odd activity to anyone unfamiliar with the story, but it means the world to him. And Tuesday it meant even more … for it was 10 years ago to the day fast-acting friends made another kind of save.
They saved his life.
It was during a kids against the parents soccer game that Dragotta collapsed on the field with a heart attack. But through the quick action of Doug and Deanna Volovar and others he’s here today to take on the challenges and successes of this game called life.
And he marks the occasion every year, returning like a marathoner who finally gets to finish the race to finish the game and score the goal that never got to happen.
“That’s where I started the game and that’s where I’ve gotta finish the game,” he said.
Pepi Dragotta (L) and Schalick athletics director Doug Volovar.
The incident
Pepi Dragotta was headed home from work as a project manager for a large South Jersey electrical contractor on Nov. 18, 2015 – a typical Wednesday evening – when he got a call from his good friend Chubby Weber. They were going to have a game against the kids for the final practice of that year’s Cohansey soccer season and they wanted him to play.
He had been an active in athletics all his life, from high school football player at Cumberland Regional to longtime youth league coach to Sunday trainer to some of the top athletes in Salem and Cumberland counties. But nothing would have prepared him for what was about it happen.
The game had been going for only about four minutes — at least that’s what they told him later — when Dragotta, two months after his 39th birthday, collapsed on the field with a heart attack and went into cardiac arrest.
But thanks to the quick action of longtime friend Volovar, his wife Deanna, and two others at the complex, he is here today.
Initially they thought he was having a seizure, but when they got to his side they discovered he had no pulse. The Volovars along with soccer dad Brian Stanker, a state trooper, and Jeanette Bokma, a coach on an adjacent field with medical training, performed CPR and other life-saving procedures to help their friend while emergency services were on the way.
“It was a shock, something that was unexpected and very scary,” said Volovar, now the athletics director at A.P. Schalick High School. “It was very hard to watch that happen. It was very difficult because I didn’t think it was something major at the time but then to watch it happen and unfold and being right there … it was very difficult.
“When you’re trained to do that kind of stuff you always think that it would be no big deal, I’d jump right in. I wouldn’t say it was traumatic, but it was close to something very traumatic.”
The EMTs, who included the nephew of Dragotta’s late business partner, shocked his heart twice. A medivac helicopter landed in the middle of the field to transport him to the hospital. They placed him in an ice bath for 24 hours. He underwent six bypasses.
Because of the quick actions of his friends, his chances of survival went from 6 percent to 28. Not great odds, but he had a fighting chance.
“The hospital was amazed,” Dragotta said. “They said I was one of the first patients that has ever survived out of hospital with a cardiac arrest. But it was because of Doug and Deanna and the other two people, because they kept oxygen going to my brain.”
“Everybody was kind of involved, it wasn’t primarily just the four of us, there were other parents that were there, too, helping out,” Volovar said. “We just started the life-saving procedures we were familiar with. I think we all had a huge role in it. If everybody who was there didn’t do something and contribute in some way he might not still here.”
They told him he was dead for seven minutes. He wasn’t ready for the final whistle. There was still so much to do.
Had he not survived he wouldn’t have been there to teach his soccer-playing son Hunter a new sport and watch him become a record-setting kicker for the Schalick football team. Or watch his daughter Natalee graduate at the top of her high school class. Or be there to help his wife Jen raise their special needs daughter Hailey. Not to mention all the graduations and birthdays and good times that would be missed.
“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about it,” Dragotta said. “I travel a lot driving to football and work and different things and you think about it. Like, what happened. That’s what my boss asked me, when you died did you see anything. I said I think I just went to the Gates and said screw this I’m going back.”
Which brings it to this frigid Tuesday morning.
The Dragotta Dash usually takes place with little fanfare. Last year his cousin and a friend showed up to watch, but they stayed in the car and Dragotta carried on as usual. Friends told him over the weekend they’d be there Tuesday because it was a special anniversary, but whether it was the hour, the sub-freezing temperatures or other circumstances he was the only one there this time. And that was OK.
“I scored the goal, then (Volovar) texted me and said ‘Happy Re-birthday, love ya,’ and I sent him a picture of the ball in the back of the net.”
What would he do if the community ever came out en masse to show their support?
“I would damn well make sure that I made that goal,” he said.
He’s never missed.
Paying it forward
When Dragotta first got out of the hospital, his friends wanted to hold a benefit through the Pittsgrove football and Cohansey soccer programs to help ease some of the financial burden of getting back on his feet. He declined the gesture, saying he wasn’t going to take any money.
His friends persisted and he gave his blessing, but told them he was going to make it big and donate all the money they raised to the local sports leagues. But he didn’t know the proper way.
It started with a series of scholarships for students in the two counties with the Volovars, Stanker and Bokma selecting the recipients.
But the night before the benefit Dragotta decided his way to give back was to buy as many portable defibrillators as he could and give them to as many youth recreation facilities as possible. They raised $12,000 that first year and he purchased 12 AEDs and distributed them throughout South Jersey.
The initiative was so well received the friends started Heroes Foundation NJ and to date has donated 150 devices to recreation facilities throughout the state. Dragotta, an electrician by trade, hooked up the unit on the scoreboard at the Schalick football stadium given in honor of former Cougars coach Mike Hars, who died of a heart attack in 2017.
Ironically, a few years back Dragotta and Stanker helped a soccer official in Marlton survive an in-game heart attack with their knowledge and access to an AED.
Since that fateful day in 2015, Dragotta has been all about his family and friends. He’s glad they’re a part of his life and he let them know during a gathering at his home to mark the occasion Sunday night.
“Honestly, I’m happy to be alive, man, I really am,” he said. “When I’m on these websites and I read things about sudden cardiac survivors and these things, I’m very fortunate. A lot of these people are really in bad shape.
“It’s not about me. It’s about my kids and my family and my friends and everybody else. I love my friends, my family, being able to be out there every Friday and Saturday with my son and spending time with my daughters. And my friends. There’s nothing better than it. Nothing better.”
After winning its first two games on the road, the Salem CC men’s basketball team has risen to No. 2 in the JUCO Division III poll
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – Mike Green knew his Salem CC basketball team was going to be playing with a target on its back this season. Well, that target just got a lot bigger.
GREEN
After winning their first two games on this road last week, the Mighty Oaks have moved to No. 2 in the NJCAA Division III poll that was released Monday. It’s their highest ranking ever. They were No. 5 in the preseason poll.
The Mighty Oaks collected 98 poll points from the voters, seven ahead of No. 3 Riverland. Defending national champion Mohawk Valley (1-0) remains No. 1, picking up all nine first-place votes.
“It’s cool,” Green said. “That looks good for today and it looks good if anybody’s been following from what I’ve been saying at the beginning, when I really first got here, like you want to make it a powerhouse.
“Still got to give credit to that last year’s team. This team has that target on their back. It’s great publicity for Salem, great publicity for everybody involved, but it comes with a certain dedication and a certain swagger you gotta have about it.”
The Mighty Oaks’ first game as the No. 2 team in the country is their home opener Thursday, when they’ll raise the banner for their district championship and fifth-place finish at the national tournament.
“This is a proud moment for our college and community,” athletics director Bob Hughes said. “Being recognized nationally while honoring last year’s championships is a testament to the foundation we’re building here at Salem.”
The Mighty Oaks will see but not play No. 11 Sandhills CC at this weekend’s Penn Highlands Turkey Classic and have three other currently ranked teams on the schedule (Union, Northampton, Montgomery County).
“We’re hunted now,” Green said. “We’ll see how we deal with it.”
JUCO Division III Rankings
TEAM (REGION)
REC
PTS
PV
Mohawk Valley (3) (9 1st-place votes)
1-0
105
1
Salem CC (19)
2-0
98
5
Riverland (13)
2-0
91
7
Northern Essex (21)
4-1
84
8
Minnesota State C&T (13)
1-0
77
4
Dallas Richland (5)
1-3
70
3
Union (NJ) (19)
1-0
63
9
Duchess (15)
3-0
56
10
Herkimer (3)
0-1
49
2
Northampton (19)
3-0
42
12
Sandhills (10)
1-2
34
6
Dallas Mountain View (5)
3-1
23
13
Dallas North Lake (5)
3-0
13
NR
Joliet (4)
2-1
10
NR
Montgomery County (Pa.) (19)
0-0
5
15
Receiving votes: Bunker Hill, North Country, Owens, Hostos, Dallas Eastfield, Ridgewater.
Little, Lee, Rines spark second-half surge that sends No. 5 Salem CC to opening-night win over Atlantic Cape
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
MAYS LANDING – As the reigning fifth-place and preseason fifth-ranked team in the country, Salem CC basketball coach Mike Green knows his team has a target somewhat unfairly on its back this season and will get the best effort from every opponent every game.
The Mighty Oaks, with virtually an entire new team from the one that finished fifth at the nationals a year ago (which makes the target reference unfair), got the best Atlantic Cape had to offer in their season opener Thursday night and they didn’t handle it very well early. One of the players called it the worst half of basketball they’ve played.
But they found the difference between being the high schoolers many of them were at this time last year and the college game during the break, came out a different team in the second half and sank the Buccaneers 80-73.
“We have a lot of freshmen,” said one of them, forward Idris Rines. “We have one returning guy from last year (Stefan Phillips), so that was like our first big test. I think we adjusted well in the second half. We were mentally still in high school (in the first half), but in the second half we were ready for the comeback. We prepared, we stayed together, fought adversity and trusted each other.”
The Mighty Oaks trailed by as many as 12 in the first half and by nine at halftime in large part because they were terribly out rebounded. The Buccaneers had more offensive rebounds (14) than Salem had boards (12) and scored 11 second-chance points off them.
Nasseem Wright and Zyaire Gibson kept them in the half. Wright had 11 points and five rebounds, while Gibson hit three 3-pointers. Wright finished with 15 points, eight boards and eight blocks.
Luckily, the Mighty Oaks were hitting their free throws. They were 14-of-16 from the line in the first half, 28-of-32 in the game. They were 69.9 percent foul shooters as a team last year.
“We struggled with it through the whole jamborees and exhibitions,” Green said. “It’s good to see the work we put in in practice is worth something.”
Their second-half surge was led by Rines, leading scorer Saaid Lee and Jarrell Little. Lee and Little combined for 29 points in the half. Rines scored nine points in the half, including two huge 3-pointers during the comeback.
They also closed the rebounding gap. They were still outrebounded in the half 20-17, but they gave up only five second-chance points.
“We just had to adjust to the game and be more physical with them,” Lee said. “They started off punching us in our face so we had to punch them right back and be physical.”
Little scored all 14 of his points in the final 20 minutes after being held scoreless in the first half. Green getting on him during the break provided the proper incentive.
“Mentally I was out of it,” he said. “This is my first game out of high school so I was struggling at the beginning but I just let the game come to me. I wasn’t ready for the physicality. In high school I used to get fouled a lot, but our here it’s more like a grown men’s game. Every game you’ve gotta play hard.”
At 6-6 one might think Rines would be more comfortable inside than out, but the 3-ball is a big part of his game and Green actually encourages to shoot. He was 2-of-6 behind the arc and also had five rebounds and three blocks.
“My high school coach, Coach (Derek) Brooks, my tenth-grade year (at Upper Dublin), he stepped in – it was his first year – and he really worked with me and my 3-pointers,” Rines said. “I was always a talented 3-point shooter growing up, but once I got into high school I really developed it. I hit over 50 3s my senior year.
“I always have confidence in my 3s, but I think teams probably don’t think so and people think I’m probably an inside post. That’s like a big advantage. People just go in the corner and are like oh he can’t shoot and we just light ‘em up from 3.”
After trailing virtually the whole game, the Mighty Oaks finally got it tied at 53 on a pair of Wright free throws with 11:17 to play. Little gave them their first lead since 2-0 on a layup with 9:48 left.
The teams either traded the lead or had it tied nine times over the next six minutes until Lee gave the Mighty Oaks the lead for good with 3:30 to play. on a layup with 3:01 left. The Buccaneers never got closer than four the rest of the way.
“I recruit toughness, high character kids,” Green said. “They got down and I challenged them at halftime and they responded.
“They’re really high school kids so they’re used to getting on somebody lesser and just taking the ball from them. You’re not going to do that at this level. I think they got the message at halftime and they adapted.”
Salem CC 80, Atlantic Cape 73
SALEM CC (1-0) – Saaid Lee 6 7-8 19, Jarrell Little 5 4-4 14, Nasseem Wright 4 7-8 15, Stefan Phillips 0 2-2 2, Zyaire Gibson 3 0-0 9, Quadeair Smith 0 1-2 1, Lenar Anderson 2 0-0 5, Idris Rines 3 5-6 13, Jaiayre Wright 0 2-2 2. Totals 23-56 28-32 80. ATLANTIC CAPE (0-1) – John Andalora 1 0-0 2, Quinn Baumann 1 0-0 2, Jaleel Clark 0 0-0 0, Amin Hines 2 4-7 8, Rashad Jalloh 2 0-0 4, Sahmir Jones 1 0-0 2, Olyn Knox 5 6-6 16, Jayden Lopez 0 0-0 0, Justin Moore 1 0-0 2, Carlos Rodriguez 8 4-6 24, Logan Sparks 4 3-7 11, Corey Thomas 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 17-26 73
Salem CC
36
44-
80
Atlantic Cape
45
28-
73
3-point goals: Salem CC 6-20 (Little 0-2, Gibson 3-7, Anderson 1-1, Rines 2-6, Phillips 0-3, Smith 0-1); Atlantic Cape 4 (Rodriguez 4). Fouled out: Jones. Total fouls: Salem CC 19, Atlantic Cape 25.
Mighty Oaks women have a lot to work on after one-point scrimmage loss at home to Penn State-Brandywine; visitors won it on FT with five seconds left
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT — Scrimmages are supposed to teach a team things they just can’t get in a regular practice. And in the case of the Salem CC women, it’s a practice with a limited number of players.
One of the things the Mighty Oaks learned in their first scrimmage of the season Thursday is they have to be prepared to take a team’s best punch at the start of the second half.
The Mighty Oaks took an eight-point lead into halftime, but they were outscored 13-1 in the first three minutes of the third quarter to lose that lead. They did get back on their feet and actually regained the lead, but eventually fell to Penn State-Brandywine 45-44 on a free throw with five seconds to play.
They only had seven regulars available and on some days have to send their assistant coaches into action just to have enough to practice.
“We’re a young team, we’ve been coming off a lot of injuries, we’re just finally getting healthy,” coach Brian Marsh said. “They haven’t seen (a) a 5-on-5 and (b) a team that plays this hard, this scrappy. It’s really hard to run an offense against a team like this.
“Even though that defense is trying to speed you up and speed you up, that’s when you have to calm down and run some things. That’s exactly why we’re doing these scrimmages. We’re just trying to get this thing straightened out.”
Salem took a 20-12 lead into halftime, but the Lions came out of the break with energy, turned the Mighty Oaks over at an alarming rate and had as many points in those opening three minutes of the third quarter as they’d scored the entire first half.
At one point in the second half, Salem had as many turnovers in the game as Brandywine had points (35) and finished with 43 for the game. Their final turnover led to the game-winning free throw.
“They gave us a lot of problems, but our guards have to do a better job and our coaches have to do a better job,” Marsh said. “Unfortunately, with so many injuries, we weren’t able to put that kind of pressure on our point guards. They don’t see it until today, so it’s kind of hard to know what you’re going to go up against if you haven’t gone up against it yet.”
The run actually became 18-2 and the Mighty Oaks fell behind 30-22. They didn’t hit a field goal in the first seven minutes of the half.
But they were never too far back to make a comeback. They moved their defense up closer to half-court, got the game tied on Raynescia King’s steal and layup with 4:07 to play and actually regained the lead on Tanijya Shaw[s layup off Justine Cardona’s steal with 2:24 left.
Brandywine retied it at 44 with less than a minute to play. The Mighty Oaks called time with 18.2 seconds left to set up their end game. They put the ball in play from in front of their bench, but lost it on the baseline. The Lions got it to midcourt where King collided with Tejanae Ballin with five seconds left.
Ballin, a freshman, hit her first free throw to break the tie, but missed the second. Salem’s Paula Wilson corralled the rebound and got it out to Jayda Hunter, who got it to Shaw, but Shaw got turned around on the left side of the 3-point line and couldn’t get off a shot before the horn sounded.
Shaw led the Mighty Oaks with 24 points and was their only scorer in double figures. Kasey Oliver was their top rebounder with 15, but Dani Gustin, Wilson and Shaw each had five.
“Give our girls credit, we played really hard,” Marsh said. “I said I thought our effort was great, our execution needs a lot of work. We have five scrimmages to get this thing straight for (the season opener) Nov. 4.
“I think the girls did an excellent job of not giving up. They didn’t hang their head and they just kept fighting and fighting. That’s what this program is going to be built upon, the toughness and the never-say-die attitude.”
The Salem CC men’s team, preseason ranked No. 5 in JUCO Division III, went to Alvernia for a scrimmage and “got handled.” Jarrell Little led the Mighty Oaks with 16 points. Lamar Anderson had 12.
PSU-Brandywine
7
5
23
10-
45
Salem CC
8
12
9
15-
44
Salem scoring: Jayda Hunter 0 0-2 0, Tanijya Shaw 9 5-10 24, Dani Gustin 2 0-0 4, Kasey Oliver 0 5-8 5, Raynescia King 2 1-2 5, Paula Wilson 1 0-0 2, Imara James 0 1-2 1, Justine Cardona 0 3-4 3.
Salem rebounding: Jayda Hunter 3, Tinijya Shaw 5, Dani Gustin 5, Kasey Oliver 13, Raynescia King 4, Paula Wilson 5, Imara James 1, Justine Cardona 1.
Free throws: Salem CC 15-28, PSU-Brandywine 8-24.
Turnovers: Salem CC 43, PSU-Brandywine 32.
Top photo: Salem CC women’s basketball coach Brian Marsh makes a point to guards Raynescia King (00) and Justine Cardona during the first quarter of their scrimmage with Penn State-Brandywine.
Pennsville’s Cooksey back on soccer field after year-long medical ordeal that led to a ‘season of loss’
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – From now on, every time Karsen Cooksey looks at the calendar the first day of August will forever be known as her “Day of Victory.”
It may be just another day on other calendars, but it should be a national holiday in the Cooksey household for that was the day the Pennsville soccer player left her temporary North Carolina home for good, released from a 12-month medical ordeal that threatened to prematurely end her high school sports career and change her life forever.
Cooksey suffered a debilitating knee injury during a pre-training camp exercise at the start of her sophomore year – right before Casey Slusher’s first preseason practice as the Eagles’ new head coach – but the complications that followed her surgery moved her life into a desperate search for answers and ultimately what she refers to as a “season of loss.”
The surgery went wrong and left the family searching for a miracle. That arrived in the form of four months of Olympic-level therapy at a clinic in Cary, N.C., 6 1/2 hours and 400 miles away from home and friends.
Sure, she lost her sophomore soccer season, but she also missed out getting ready for her oldest sister’s wedding with the girls because of an appointment with the surgeon, the prom and hanging out with her friends, and all the other things that come with being an active teen.
Pretty scary stuff for a 15-year-old who aspired to follow her cousin as a 100-goal scorer for the Eagles, but through a world-renowned doctor and support from her family, teammates and community she avoided a third surgery, got well and is happily back on the field playing the sport she loves.
“It’s a miracle,” says Karsen’s mom Michelle, who doesn’t use the term lightly as Children’s Ministries Coordinator for Lifehouse Church in Townsend, Del.
A miracle is defined as an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs and it certainly applies as the Cookseys were definitely at a financial and emotional wits end as they fretted over their youngest daughter’s circumstances.
‘Knew’ something was wrong
It all started in a summer team camp before the start of official varsity practice when Karsen, the Eagles’ top goal-scorer as a freshman, hyperextended her knee during a simple passing drill. It was the same knee she initially hurt in a basketball game at Clayton that February.
She spent five weeks doing rehab before her doctor decided on surgery. The first surgery was performed in Delaware Oct. 23, an arthroscopic procedure designed to repair the injury, and it didn’t take long for the family to realize something was wrong.
“People usually get up and start walking after meniscus (surgery), but the pain was like crazy,” Karsen said. “I couldn’t put my toes on the ground. A week went by and it was awful.
“I couldn’t do the normal things like straighten it, move it, put pressure on it. It was just all messed up.”
Four days after the operation she was back in the hospital. X-rays and ultrasounds were inconclusive, but an MRI revealed something disturbing. The pictures the family saw showed a nerve attached to the repaired meniscus.
A second surgery was performed in Delaware Dec. 3 to “decompress the nerve.” All seemed well two days after the operation, but a few days later Karsen’s leg began shaking and then shaking violently and she was back in the hospital for another week. She was in a wheelchair from December to February, but at least she was home for Christmas and didn’t miss the Eagles winning the Super Bowl – on her birthday.
To complicate matters, all the medicine she was taking in an effort to quiet the nerve was starting to attack her system. There was talk of removing organs. She was back in the hospital in March.
“So many things were going wrong, I guess we just didn’t even really know,” Karsen said.
The family started looking for other options, among them a trip to Baltimore for a second opinion at Johns Hopkins.
“I had a lot of people throwing a lot of things our way and they were some big, big, big scary things and I never had a peace about any of them,” Michelle said. “I was just like, ‘Lord, please close doors that we should not walk through and open ones that are for us.’”
Finally, eldest sister Taylor, a medical professional, found Dr. David Pascal in part through a series of social media videos and testimonials from the world-class athletes he has treated in the past.
He could fix this, not through surgery or drugs but his technique of “quantum neurology.” But it would require the family pulling up stakes and moving to North Carolina.
According to his bio on the Institute website, Pascal, a chiropractor, specializes in severe neurologic injury, focusing on identifying the root causes of health issues and developing personalized treatment plans that promise long-term healing. He has treated track Olympians, world-class gymnasts, pro golfers and pro volleyball players.
On March 11, Michelle’s birthday, they were driving back from the hospital when the call came from the Pascal Health Institute that they’d see her. “The best birthday present ever,” Michelle said.
They left for North Carolina April 21.
Pennsville junior Karsen Cooksey positions her defense in advance of a corner kick in a recent match against Schalick.
Outpouring of support
The treatment wasn’t cheap and not covered by insurance, but the family had a lot of help to make ends meet. Dad Kirk quickly sold the family boat, a retirement gift to himself after a long career in local law enforcement, to get the financial ball rolling. It sold two hours after the listing drew multiple buyers. “Right then and there we knew something was headed in the right direction,” Kirk said.
Friends quietly set up a GoFundMe page that raised more than $41,000 in two days. Trinity United Methodist Church in Pennsville offered to take care of the apartment the family would have to live in while Karsen was undergoing treatment.
“It was one miracle after another that my little mind still can’t even fathom,” Michelle said.
The treatments were twice-a-day, two hours a day. It was an exhausting schedule, but there were some diversions.
Their apartment was next to the WakeMed Soccer Park, home of the North Carolina Courage of the National Women’s Soccer League. Karsen visited often and received encouragement from several players from the Courage and Orlando Pride during her treatment and recovery, and remains friends with several of them. She went to watch the Pride play in Washington, D.C., Saturday.
One of the milestone days was July 8, the day they took her crutches away. But she still had three more weeks of therapy.
She was released from the Institute Aug. 1, the Day of Victory, and came back home with the doctor’s caution of maybe returning to the field next year. But all her fears were finally behind her and she was looking forward to future.
“I think I was probably more worried about walking again than whether I’d play soccer,” Karsen said. “I think if I never found Dr. Pascal I’d probably still be in a wheelchair.”
She returned to normal activities almost as soon as she got home, and that included lightly practicing with her Pennsville teammates.
Karsen Cooksey shows off game-used soccer gear signed by players of the NWSL North Carolina Courage who befriended the Pennsville junior while she was undergoing medical treatment nearby last spring.
Back in the game
The year before Cooksey got hurt, she was the Eagles’ leading scorer with 14 goals. The team scored only 30 goals in the year she missed – 13 of them in two games – and no one scored more than nine. This year, they are 8-6 and go into this week looking to solidify the program’s first winning season in 2022 and a prime position in the South Jersey Group I tournament
She was back in the game for the first time in 23 months on Sept. 29 as the last-minute starting goalie in a predictively low-impact game against Buena and even made two saves in an easy shutout. She was back at it the next day against Salem Tech and, after texting her reluctant mom during the game for permission to play in the field, scored the team’s fifth goal in a 9-0 rout.
It was her first goal since she scored a hat trick Oct. 23, 2023 – against Salem Tech – but it meant so much more than any goal she’s ever scored in her life.
“I was excited,” Karsen said.
“That one goal this year means more to us than the 100 because it’s victory,” Michelle said. “The 100 aren’t important because the one means she’s walking. The 100 doesn’t mean anything if there’s not true victory behind it, and that one is victory.
“It means there’s no wheelchair. It means we’ve persevered, we’ve had joy. That one is the win.”
Mom admitted the ordeal had them all reorienting their perspective on sports, but Karsen is thinking about her future. She probably won’t play basketball again, but is thinking about playing softball. She was a catcher, but that constant crouching puts a strain, so that’s probably out; plus, the Eagles have a pretty good one already. They did graduate two outfielders, so there’s an opening.
That’s really all she needs.
Karsen Cooksey shows off her signed N.C. Courage jersey.
The Tri-Cape All-Stars survive triple-digit temperatures, two one-run games to win their second Carpenter Cup softball title in three years
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PHILADELPHIA – While they were warming up, even before the first pitch of the first game, the Tri-Cape Softball All-Stars made a pact.
It was going to be all or nothing. They went for the all.
The Tri-Capers won three games do-or-die games in Monday’s bracket round to sweep their way to a second Carpenter Cup softball title in three years. They beat Delaware South in the title game 3-2 after taking down Jersey Shore 9-0 and Delaware County 2-1 on a walk-off passed ball.
“Before we even played any games (Monday), when we were warming up, we said ‘All or nothing,’” Pennsville infielder Graillyn Weber said. “If we lose the first game we’d be done or win the first game and win the whole thing. That’s pretty much what it was.”
What it definitely was was hot. The games at FDR Park were played in temperatures that hovered around 100 degrees, but the Tri-Capers didn’t wilt – even under the intensity of a couple one-run games.
They beat Delaware County in the semifinals when courtesy runner Trinity Brown of Oakcrest raced home on a passed ball with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. They took the lead against Delaware South on Tori Jester’s two-out single in the sixth.
Ocean City’s Jess Mooney set South down in order in the seventh with Woodstown’s Ellie Wygand squeezing the final out on a fly ball to left field touching off a big celebration. Weber turned a leaping double play in the top of the sixth to keep the game tied.
“When we first got the trophy we all jumped and held it up,” Weber said. “It was pretty cool. It was like one of those moments you see on TV when a team wins something and holds up the big trophy. That was a cool moment.”
Weber and Wygand both had a hit in the rout of Jersey Shore and Weber had a hit against Delaware South.
Tri-Cape never trailed in the championship game, but they never had it in hand until the sixth. Brooke Douglas’ RBI double gave them a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but Adeline Lutz tied with an RBI single in the third. They regained the lead on Ava Snyder’s RBI single in the bottom of the third, but Delaware South tied it again in the fifth.
“I knew we were going to win it, honestly; I just knew it,” Weber said. “Because we had such a solid team. We had all the best players I felt like.”
“Loved getting to play on the field with so many elite and talented players,” Wygand wrote on her X feed. “What an honor! What a blast!”
Tri-Cape won the Cup in 2023 and 2014. Pennsville coach Beth Jackson has been on the staff for all three titles. Schalick coach Rick Higinbotham has been on the staff for the last two.
This year’s team went 6-0 in the tournament, winning three one-run games, and outscored their opponents 42-13.
“It’s always fun,” Jackson said. “It’s a new group of kids. Every year they’re a great group of kids and they always work together. We only have two practices and they come together and play for two days and they win. It’s always amazing.”
The team will be recognized along with the Carpenter Cup baseball champions in Citizens Bank Park prior to the Phillies’ Aug. 4 game against Baltimore.
CARPENTER CUP PLAYOFFS Monday’s Games SOL/BAL 7, Lehigh Valley 1 Delaware South 4, Berks L/L 3 Tri-Cape 9, Jersey Shore 0 Delaware County 4, Delaware North 1 Delaware South 4, SOL/BAL 1 Tri-Cape 2, Delaware County 1 Tri-Cape 3, Delaware South 2
PITTSGROVE – Leah Clark went 3-for-4, Lila Bowling had two hits and two RBIs and Johanna Way allowed just one earned run over seven innings as Woodstown rallied from an early deficit to open its season with a 7-3 win over Schalick 7-3 and give Rob Hildebrand his first win back as the Wolverines coach.
Schalick led 2-0 in the first inning and 3-2 after three, but Shyann Higinbotham, Ellie Wygand and Talia Guardascione plated runs on consecutive at-bats in the fourth to give Woodstown the lead. The Wolverines added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh on RBIs from Bowling and Hannah Hitchner.
Way allowed eight hits and struck out seven in her complete game in the circle for Woodstown. She also contributed a pair of hits at the plate.
Cloe Elliott and Ava Lauglin had two hits each for Schalick. Maddie Brown’s two-run single staked the Cougars to a 2-0 lead in the first.
PITMAN 13, PENNSVILLE 11: The Eagles appeared headed to a one-sided win after scoring eight runs in the first inning, but Pitman steadily climbed back into it and eventually overtook them in the sixth inning.
The first four hitters in the Pennsville lineup – Lily Edwards, Graillyn Weber, Kylie Harris and Savannah Palverento – were a combined 11-for-21 with six RBIs, but the rest of the Eagles’ lineup had only three hits. Weber was 4-for-6 and Edwards was 3-for-5.
Jess Bretz, who pitched for the Pennsville LL Senior Softball World Series team two years ago, entered the circle with two outs in the first inning, limited the damage the rest of the game and was rewarded with the win. She struck out 12.
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 19, SALEM 0: Gloucester Catholic put the game on a run-rule path in the second inning and held Salem to two hits overall. Julliana Love and Phoenix Holland had Salem’s hits.
TENNIS Drew Stengel won a dramatic third-set tiebreaker at first singles and Woodstown swept the doubles points to beat Middle Twp. 3-2 and give coach Jesse Stemberger his 299th combined tennis coaching victory.
He can hit the 300 mark Thursday at Triton and would become the third Wolverines coach to reach that milestone this academic year (soccer’s Darren Huck, wrestling’s Adam Hyland). Stemberger has 250 wins with the girls team, 49 with the boys.
WOODSTOWN 3, MIDDLE TWP. 2 Drew Stengel (WO) def. Darp Patel, 6-2, 1-6, 10-6 Miles Stafford (M) def. John Farrell, 6-3, 6-4 Michael Ratchford (M) def. Joseph Kurpis, 6-0, 6-1 Luke Shaw-Mason Shimp (WO) def. Kenny Martin-Evan Chew, 6-2, 6-4 Ben Stengel-Nicholas DiTeodoro (WO) def. Mario Tenaglia-Dante Duca, 6-2, 6-2 Records: Woodstown 2-0, Middle Twp. 2-3.
PENNSVILLE 4, OVERBROOK 1 Gabe Schneider (P) def. Connor Kustera, 6-0, 6-0 Maddox Efelis (P) def. Thomas Mason, 6-1, 6-0 Brody Wiggins (P) def. Colin Campbell, 6-0, 6-0 Alan Marcos-Gabe Martinez (O) def. Lucas Cooksey-Sawyer Humphrey, 6-3, 4-6, 10-6 Carter Willis-Ian Peacock (P) def. Mohammed Shihab-Gerardo Trinidad-Palillero, 6-0, 6-0 Records: Pennsville 2-0, Overbrook 0-3.
Assistant Kevin Leamy is on the agenda for board approval as Schalick’s next head football coach
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – Schalick is a day away from naming its next head football coach.
Kevin Leamy, an assistant with big-picture focus already teaching in the district, is on the agenda to come before the board Thursday night and pending its approval will be the Cougars’ next football coach.
If approved, he will succeed Mike Wilson, who is leaving at the end of the school year to become the head coach at Clearview. Wilson guided the Cougars for five years, taking them from a program that didn’t win a game his first season to playing for a Group I sectional championship each of the last two years.
When approved, he will be the fourth new head football coach hired in Salem County within the past year. Pennsville’s Mike Healy is now the longest active head football coach at a county school.
Leamy, a special education teacher in the district, was an integral part of the Cougars’ staff. He coached various positions in his three years as an assistant, most recently as offensive line coach.
“He was a big help with some of the big picture stuff and you need that to run the program properly,” Wilson said. “It was very helpful to have him on the staff. As a head football coach you’re worrying about all that CEO stuff, so it’s nice to have a guy to help you out with the football stuff.
“He made some good adjustments, some really good calls. He was definitely an asset.”
Leamy played his high school football at Gateway and collegiately at Wesleyan University. He previously had coaching assignments at Gateway and Clearview. His background also includes spending a year and a half interning with the New York Jets game operations.
He declined comment Wednesday night.
On the cover: Schalick assistant Kevin Leamy (R), the Cougars’ recommendation for their next head football coach, stands with linebacker Riley Papiano after a game last season.
Girls roundup: Schalick freshman sets school record for boys or girls with 54 points against LEAP; Woodstown, Pennsville also post runaway wins
THURSDAY’S GAMES Schalick 80, LEAP 12 Woodstown 53, Salem Tech 18 Pennsville 55, Pitman 22
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CENTERTON – At the beginning of the school year Schalick girls basketball coach John Whalen heard stories from the P.E. teachers about this freshman who looked in gym class like she could be some kind of player.
When he got Nevaeh Robinson in a scrimmage for the first time he saw what they were talking about. And Thursday night, he saw the player he’d been waiting for.
Robinson had one of the best scoring nights in Salem County history. She went for 54 points, breaking the all-time school record for points in a game – boys or girls – during the Cougars’ 80-12 rout of LEAP Academy.
“I think it’s good for me as a freshman, a blessing,” she said. “I didn’t even realize I had a lot of points until halftime. They were telling me we’re going to get you rolling to try to get the record.”
The Schalick school record for girls was 49 points by Tia Furbush in a 60-49 win over Overbrook in February 2021. The all-time school record was 52 points by Paul Gause, the county’s all-time leading scorer with more than 3,000 career points.
“It’s definitely a great feat and the best part about it is the team kind of pushed for it at halftime,” Whalen said. “That made it a little extra special for me as a coach and her as a player.
“We haven’t really seen scoring like that since probably when we won the conference and we’re just hoping that can kind of allow her to take that next step in scoring and leading this team to where we need to go.”
Robinson’s previous career high was 18, which she hit twice (against Overbrook and Camden Tech). She had scored 153 points in her first 20 games.
She had 22 points in the first half against the winless Lions – half the Cougars’ team total – behind six 3-pointers. Her 32 with a running clock were all but four of her team’s points in the second half and came largely on fast-break layups in a conscience effort to get her the record.
“The first half, we just played basketball, honestly, and she hit shots early and it kind of put the idea in our mind,” Whaley said. “Then we got to halftime and as a whole we decided to kind of go for this record.
“Being that (the two records) were so close, if we’re going to go for it, we’re going to go for it. I think the goal was to get the girls record, but the overall record was right there in the back of the mind as well.”
WOODSTOWN 53, SALEM TECH 18: Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson inched closer to becoming the Woodstown girls program’s all-time leading scorers and 10 different Wolverines hit the scoring column.
Battavio and Donelson each scored 11 points; you can find their career totals in the Salem County 1,000-point scorers list elsewhere on the website. Lauren Hengel had eight points, Kyia Leyman six and six other players had at least one basket. Demajae White led the Chargers with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
PENNSVILLE 55, PITMAN 22: Taylor Bass has been scoring of late as if she wants to join Pennsville’s list of 1,000-point scorers before this season is over, too.
The junior has watched teammates Nora Ausland and Marley Wood reach the milestone earlier this season and she moved 23 points closer to it tonight. She has now has 820 career points.
It was her third 20-point effort in her last six games. She is averaging 21.3 over that span.
Riverview Sports News 