SJ_sportsweekly_062619

INSIdE THIS ISSuE LACROSSE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR .... 2,3 SPRING TRACK PLAYERS OF THE YEAR ....4,5 www.southjerseysportsweekly.com

South Jersey Sports Weekly is honoring the best athletes from each of the 10 spring sports as well as the best boys and girls teams of the season. The selections were made from a collection of high school athletes from the 20 towns and approximately two dozen schools within SJSW’s coverage area. Each of the Player of the Year and Team of the Year stories will appear in either the June 19 or June 26 issue of South Jersey Sports Weekly.

All of the stories can also be read at www. southjerseysports weekly.com

JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2019

Shaw swings his way to top honor PAGE 6 FREE

History-making performance

RYAN LAWRENCE/South Jersey Sports Weekly Deptford Township High School’s Steven Rios, Amadu Jalloh, Khi’on Smith and Tyrece Brown show off their medals from their Group 3 state championship-winning 4x400 relay while teammates (left to right) Richeid Fawkes, Julian Rodriguez, Phil Sedalis, Donnie Scott, Marcel Washington, Jake Lynch and Donovan Clement signify the program’s first-ever outdoor team state championship.

Deptford’s boys track team maximized its potential and overcame injuries to deliver the first outdoor state championship in school history

By RYAN LAWRENCE Sports Editor

On one afternoon two autumns ago, after football practice, Deptford junior Jake Lynch was messing around in the high

school gym with a basketball. Lynch handled kicking duties for the football team, but has the tall, lean build of a high school wide receiver.

Naturally the rangy teenager could dunk.

Kevin Sherry, who works officially as the

Spartans boys track coach and unofficially as a full-time recruiter for that program, couldn’t help but notice Lynch’s athletic potential. So he grabbed a ball, too.

“Hey, Jake,” Sherry said, standing behind the three-point line on the corner of the court. “If I make this shot, you have to come out (to track) and jump for me.”

Lynch laughed and agreed to the challenge. Sherry let loose on the shot.

Swish. please see DEPTFORD, page 7

2

SOUTH JERSEY SPORTS WEEKLY — JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2019

GIRLS LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Game Saver

RYAN LAWRENCE/South Jersey Sports Weekly

In Logan Lillie’s first season as the Quakers goalie last spring, Moorestown ended a rare three-year drought without a state title and also won the Tournament of Champions. Thanks to its clutch goalie, Moorestown again won the Group 3 crown earlier this month.

Moorestown senior Logan Lillie, who began her high school career in South Carolina, had a habit of making clutch saves in the final minutes of games in leading the Quakers to a state title this spring

By RYAN LAWRENCE Sports Editor

After winning its first five games — most with relative ease — Moorestown’s vaunted girls lacrosse program received its first in-state scare of 2019 on

RYAN LAWRENCE/South Jersey Sports Weekly

Moorestown senior goalie Logan Lillie looks for an open teammate. Lillie made last-minute saves routinely down the stretch in leading the Quakers to their 17th state title since 2000 this spring.

the third Saturday of the season at Haddonfield.

The host Bulldawgs overcame a twogoal halftime deficit and were in position to win the game. With three seconds remaining in regulation, they had a freeposition shot.

“Oh my God, we’re going to lose,” Moorestown senior Kayla Frank recalled. “I got on the hash mark and I was like, ‘I will literally throw my entire body in front of her so she can’t score.’ I tried to do that, turned and saw she had shot and the ball was on Logan’s stick. Thank God! That was great by Logan.”

Logan is fellow Moorestown senior Logan Lillie, the only person who was literally standing between Haddonfield and victory. Seven weeks later, she was in a similar spot in the Group 3 state championship game against Mendham, making back-to-back saves in the final minutes (one on the initial shot, the next on the rebound) to help secure the 24th state title in Moorestown history (and 17th in the last 20 seasons). In the very next game, Lillie turned aside a potential game-tying shot with 30 seconds remaining to help the Quakers hold on for a win over Group 4 state champ Ridgewood, which had beaten Moorestown earlier in the season, in the Tournament of Champions semifinals.

Lillie was widely considered to be the best goalie in the state. She is also South Jersey Sports Weekly’s choice as the Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year.

“It’s an honor,” said Lillie, who first began playing goalie at age 5 and will continue that journey at Northwestern University next season. “Looking around just on our team I can name everyone on the field who is an amazing player. And there are girls at Haddonfield and Shawnee that I respect, too. So it’s just an awesome honor and I’m happy to be getting it.”

While many of Moorestown’s back-toback state championship seniors could pave a straight line from first learning the game in town as a kid, hearing about the nationally-recognized high school program, and then having the opportunity to play for the Quakers, Lillie had a circuitous path to wearing gold and black.

Although she played club as a pre-teen with her current teammates, Lillie grew up in Medford. Before seventh grade, her family moved to Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, a suburb of Charleston.

“I just didn’t like it there, it was a totally different atmosphere,” Lillie said.

After spending four school years in the South, Lillie convinced her parents to let her move back to Jersey. Since the begin-

ning of her junior season, Lillie has lived with Frank’s family.

It was a win-win for Moorestown and their soon-to-be All-State goalie.

In Lillie’s first season as the Quakers’ goalie, Moorestown ended a rare threeyear drought without a state title last spring and also won the Tournament of Champions. Thanks to its clutch goalie, Moorestown won the Group 3 crown again earlier this month.

“I think Logan has a cool confidence that really allows her to stay composed and make the big saves that other goalies might not be able to make,” first-year Moorestown coach Colleen Hancox said.

“With goalies, I think sometimes you know whether you should be playing goalie or not. Logan certainly had that calling. You have to be pretty fearless, you have to have eye-hand coordination and good game sense. And I think she’s also confident to come out of the crease.

There aren’t many high school goalies like Logan who will fight for a ground ball outside of the crease and maintain possession of the ball when she’s out, too.”

In addition to Moorestown’s postseason run and the early-season win over Haddonfield, Hancox pointed to an outof-state game against Georgetown Visitation (Washington, D.C.) where Lillie excelled.

“She was really the rock at the back and came up with some huge saves to give us the opportunity to bring the ball down to the attacking end,” Hancox said.

“Into the playoffs, once it got into the closer games, Logan really made the saves that we needed to maintain our lead.”

The season wasn’t without challenges for Lillie and the Quakers.

In that Haddonfield game, Frank broke her right index finger and would end up missing a month. Lillie, too, would be sidelined for nearly a month when she battled a midseason concussion.

But both returned in time for the postseason and added another piece of hardware to the program’s overcrowded trophy case.

“These girls had been around it their whole lives, from the time they’re 2 years old they’re looking forward to it and idolizing (Moorestown lacrosse),” Lillie said.

“Coming from a place where I was going to go to Shawnee, I definitely looked at them as a rival. Then I was out of state.

Coming in and being able to see it from the inside, and experiencing it with these girls, it definitely feels like a family. I know every team says that, but there’s definitely a different vibe here. It’s tradition, and a tradition of winning.” ■

JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2019 – SOUTH JERSEY SPORTS WEEKLY

3

BOYS LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Martin comes through for Moorestown In the first half of the season, Martin was a leader from the sideline after suffering a broken thumb. In the second half, Martin battled through pain to lead the Quakers’ defense en route to a state championship

By MIKE MONOSTRA Sports Editor

Gene Martin’s 2019 season nearly ended before it ever really got started.

With the season only about a week old, the Moorestown senior goalie was in net during practice when a shot from teammate Ben Cantwell slammed into his left thumb. Martin felt the pain right away and went home to ice his thumb, hoping it wasn’t broken.

Later in the week, a couple of xrays confirmed the worst. “(Urgent care) said it was broken in one spot,” Martin said.

“Then, we went to a doctor and he said it was broken in three spots.

He said there’s no chance I was playing the rest of the season.”

About two months later, Martin was in the crease on one of the biggest stages, making a number of big saves to help the Quakers to a 9-6 win in the NJSIAA Group 3 state final against Chatham. After a second opinion from a doctor allowed Martin to play the second half of the season with a hard cast

on his thumb, he performed at a high level, stopping 33 of the 44 shots he faced in the Quakers’ four playoff wins, including a 10-save performance in the state championship game.

Martin’s selection as South Jersey Sports Weekly’s Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year goes well beyond his performance on the field, however. As well as Martin played during the biggest games of the year for Moorestown, his performance as a leader on the sidelines in April was just as crucial to the team’s success.

“I really think it was beneficial now that I went through it,” Martin said of being sidelined for the season’s first half. “From being on the field the last two years, you learn how to position the players on the field and lead the players on the team. But on the sideline, there’s a whole different side of making sure the sideline is into the game and you, yourself, are into the game. Everything else comes and clicks together.”

Martin has been the Quakers’ leader on the defensive side since taking over as the starter full-time in 2018. After realizing he’d be out for nearly a month while his injury healed this year, Martin spoke with his coaches and realized he could still play the role of team leader from the sideline.

“Anytime we came into a huddle, giving a talk or saying things I see on the sideline can be even more beneficial,” Martin said.

“You can learn a lot about the game from just watching. Instead of just controlling the defense, I’m watching how the defense works from the outside.”

Martin also became a mentor to backup goalie Jack Avis. Martin knew what it was like to be a backup goalie thrust into the spotlight.

During his sophomore year, he got his first action as a varsity player due to an injury to the starter at the time, Liam Peck.

“It was the same exact situation,” Martin said. “I knew how Liam treated me and how that

MIKE MONOSTRA/South Jersey Sports Weekly After initially believing he’d miss almost all of 2019 due to a broken thumb, Moorestown senior goalie Gene Martin returned after just a few weeks and led the defense for the Group 3 state champion Quakers. helped my success and how it helped me be more confident and more comfortable in the cage.

That’s something I wanted to do for Jack.”

After Avis filled in for about a month, Martin returned to the lineup for Moorestown’s May 2 game with Ridge. He played with a hard cast on his thumb, meaning he couldn’t hold his stick the way he normally did. Despite this, Martin said he was able to make adjustments with his grip.

Martin peaked just as the regular season ended for the Quakers. In his final six games, Martin made 10 or more saves three times. Two of those games came in the postseason, with the first coming in the South Jersey Group 3 semifinals against Clearview where Martin stopped 12 shots while allowing just three goals. The second big performance came in the NJSIAA Group 3 state championship. Martin stopped 10 of 16 shots and helped the Quakers maintain a multi-goal

lead late to win the game, 9-6, and take home the title.

“Our goal was always that Group 3 state championship game and winning that my senior year,” Martin said of the state championship game. “Knowing I was leaving here with that accomplishment was big for me.”

Martin was thrilled to hear the news about being South Jersey Sports Weekly’s boys Lacrosse Player of the Year, but he doesn’t see it as an individual accolade. A team player until the end, Martin is sharing the honor with his defense, saying their ability at reducing the number of offensive chances from the opposition and limiting shots up close were a significant part of his success at Moorestown.

“This award to me is an award for the defense,” Martin said. “It’s not just me, it’s the whole defense that helps me out.” ■

4

SOUTH JERSEY SPORTS WEEKLY — JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2019

BOYS SPRING TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Years of hard work pay off for Cherokee’s Pizarro After never contending for a state title prior to this year, Pizarro became the best shot putter in New Jersey when he took first place at the Meet of Champions with a 60-foot, 11-inch toss capping off an incredible month of rapid improvement for the senior. Pizarro’s Sports Editor wild journey to the top of the state rankPrior to this year, Cherokee senior ings makes him South Jersey Sports Lucciano Pizarro wasn’t on the radar as Weekly’s Boys Spring Track Athlete of one of the best in the shot put in New Jer- the Year.

Pizarro became the king of the shot put sey. just a few months Prior to his seafter finishing nior year, Pizarro 12th at the Indoor had only qualified Meet of Champifor the Group 4 ons with a throw state finals once in of 49-feet. Kramer his career. Cherobelieves the one difkee throws coach ference in Pizarro Ed Kramer noted this spring was Pizarro spent his confidence after freshman and sophhe started hitting omore years with bigger throws in throws in the 30- to competition. The 40-foot range as he first big throw for learned the finer Pizarro was a 56aspects of shot put. foot, 3.5-inch toss Then, in early to win first place at May, it all began the Olympic Conto come together ference Championfor Pizarro. Durships. ing warm-ups for “The past couthe SJTCA Open ple months, he’s at Delsea on May been hitting these 2, Pizarro began throws in practice hitting throws in the high-50-foot MIKE MONOSTRA/South Jersey Sports Weekly and warm-ups and range, something Years of hard work paid off for Cherokee’s Luc- stuff,” Kramer said. he hadn’t done in ciano Pizarro this spring. Pizarro became the “I just think he was competition before. shot put king in New Jersey, taking first place a little unsure of at the South Jersey Group 4 sectional meet, “Finally seeing the NJSIAA Group 4 championships and the himself for a while.

He wanted to get that mentally gave NJSIAA Meet of Champions. there, but wasn’t me the idea that I sure how to get to could maybe get to that next level. I think a couple things 60-feet this year,” he said.

A month later, Pizarro finally broke just clicked. We fixed a couple things the 60-foot barrier and became the best technically and his confidence shot up.” shot putter in the state. Pizarro took first Wins in the South Jersey Group 4 secplace in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions, tional meet and the NJSIAA Group 4

By MIKE MONOSTRA

MIKE MONOSTRA/South Jersey Sports Weekly

Lucciano Pizarro throws at the Olympic Conference Championships on May 15. Pizarro took first place at the meet with a throw of 56-feet, 3.5-inches. Pizarro’s first-place finish was the first of four consecutive wins that culminated in a Meet of Champions title.

Championships caused Pizarro’s role to change from underdog to favorite. Pizarro launched a 59-foot, 9-inch throw at the Group 4 finals to put him at the top of the state leaderboards entering the Meet of Champions. Instead of seeing his new position of being the favorite as pressure, Pizarro saw it as an opportunity.

“I just wanted to demonstrate why I was No. 1 in the state,” he said. “Going into states, I had the No. 1 mark so I really wanted to show the guys I was no fluke. I put in the work to be No. 1 in the state.”

It was in his last throw at the Meet of Champions where Pizarro launched his title-winning, 60-feet, 11-inch bomb.

Pizarro was in third place at the time he made his last throw.

“I didn’t really know where it landed,” he said. “The lines they had painted I wasn’t used to, so I couldn’t see the 60

line. But I saw it land and felt that it was a bomb. It was exactly what I needed.”

“It was satisfaction knowing I put in all of the work the last four years for something,” Pizarro added. “It’s more than just a PR, more than just a state championship. I got a Meet of Champions championship.”

Just a few months ago, Pizarro was battling just to crack the top-10 in the state’s shot put rankings. Now, he’s got an eye on keeping his track and field career going in college. Prior to this season, Pizarro didn’t think he had good enough throws to make an impression at the collegiate level and decided he was going to attend Penn State strictly for academics. After his big spring season, however, Pizarro plans to continue training this summer with the hope of walking onto Penn State’s team next year. ■

Your Towns.

Your Teams.

In your hands, every week.

Whether you're in Haddonfield or Mullica Hill, Deptford or Medford, or any of the other towns with Sun Newspapers in South Jersey, a scope that includes more than two dozen high schools, South Jersey Sports Weekly has you covered.

Feature stories, full-page photo spreads and program power rankings; Players of the Week, Athletes of the Year, insight from coaches, and games to watch. Baseball, softball, and football; basketball, golf, and lacrosse; swimming, field hockey, wrestling, tennis and every other varsity sport. It's everything you'd want in a local newspaper sports section. Free with The Sun each week and online every day at South JerseySportsWeekly.com and @SJSportsWeekly (Twitter).

JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2019 – SOUTH JERSEY SPORTS WEEKLY

5

GIRLS SPRING TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Tobias ends decorated career at Winslow with a bang Tobias placed in the top-three in four separate events at the NJSIAA Group 3 Championships and medaled twice at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions to cap off a storied career with the Eagles

By MIKE MONOSTRA Sports Editor

As she walked onto the track for one of the final times prior to graduation, Winslow Township senior Tionna Tobias pulled eight medals she had won over the course of the last few years out of her bag. She looked at each one closely before sliding them on her arms as she prepared to have her photo taken as the 2019 South Jersey Sports Weekly’s Girls Spring Track Athlete of the Year.

Many track and field athletes would have been gleeful to have that many medals in their possession. For Tobias, the medals she wore in the photo were just the ones she’s received in recent years at New Balance Nationals and AAU championship meets.

“I’ve been doing this since I was 5,” Tobias said with a laugh when asked how many total medals she won in her career. “I’m not really sure.”

Tobias leaves Winslow Township as one of the most decorated athletes in recent memory. She finished her career with a bang in June, medaling in four events in the NJSIAA Group 3 Championships to boost Winslow to a state title and then winning two more medals with a third-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles and an eighth-place finish in the long jump at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions. Head coach Shawnnika Brown feels Tobias’ versatility, athleticism and work ethic separated her from many of her peers.

“She’s a tremendous athlete, but she’s trained for these moments her entire life,” Brown said. “So when you do age group, you’re used to doing three and four events. We practice and train for that.”

“I put a lot of faith in the coaches,” Tobias said about her accomplishments. “I didn’t expect to be at this high of a level. I was pretty surprised at myself. I just trusted my coaches.”

Tobias’ resume is staggering.

She qualified for the NJSIAA Meet of Champions in every season she was eligible with the exception of the 2016 indoor season. From being a part of a state champion 4x100-meter relay team as a freshman to winning the long jump at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions as a junior, Tobias achieved more than she could have ever imagined in her high school career.

However, this year’s NJSIAA Group 3 Championships may have been Tobias’ best performance of all. Competing in four events, Tobias placed in the top three of all of them to help Winslow win a seventh straight Group 3 state championship. She took second place in the 100-meter dash and 100-meter hurdles and third place in the high jump and long jump.

MIKE MONOSTRA/South Jersey Sports Weekly

Tionna Tobias graduated from Winslow Township High School with dozens of medals ranging from local meets to the New Balance Nationals. Tobias’ fourmedal performance in the NJSIAA Group 3 Championship helped her earn South Jersey Sports Weekly Girls Spring Track Athlete of the Year honors.

“I’ve always been a multi-athlete, even during AAU I always did the pentathlon when I was little and the (heptathlon),” Tobias said. “I kind of got used to all of those events at once.”

A regimented nutrition plan and staying hydrated are keys for Tobias when she is competing in so many events in one weekend.

“Not many try four events,” Brown said. “She could have done six. If she could have done all six with the (4x100 and 4x400 relays) she would have done it. That’s the one special thing about her.”

Tobias’ season was a success even though she struggled at times in one of her best events, the long jump. Tobias couldn’t match her top 2018 leap of 19-feet, 11.5-inches and was unable to defend her 2018 Meet of Champions title. At the 2019 Meet of Champions, Tobias finished in eighth place. However, her final high school season ended on a high note a week later as she finished fourth at the New Balance Nationals on June 16 with a season-

best jump of 19-feet, 1.5-inches.

“I’ve been having a really rocky season with long jump pit,” Tobias said. “Everything wasn’t clicking. I was doing everything right at practice, my pop-ups were good, my run-ups were good.

I was having trouble putting it all together. But thankfully I put it all together at nationals.”

Tobias will have plenty of time to crack the 20-foot barrier in long jump. She is expecting to compete in that event as well as the hurdles when she hits the track with the University of Iowa next year. Brown believes Tobias is just beginning to scratch the surface of her potential and thinks focusing on those two events in college could make Tobias a star on a much bigger stage than just South Jersey.

“When she gets to Iowa, she’ll be more event-specific,” Brown said. “There’s no ceiling for how far she can (go). I wouldn’t be surprised to see her in the Olympics.” ■

6

SOUTH JERSEY SPORTS WEEKLY — JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2019

BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

That sweet, championship swing Cherry Hill West’s Scott Shaw was a force throughout his senior season, but saved his greatest game for the day the Lions brought home a South Jersey Group 3 title

By RYAN LAWRENCE Sports Editor

The second after he achieved the most difficult task in sports, using a round bat to make contact with a round ball while not knowing the speed or trajectory of the pitch coming toward him, with the game on the line, no less, Scott Shaw knew what he’d done.

He knew the ball was headed over the fence. He knew he had turned a negative, Cherry Hill West just two outs away from its season ending, into a positive, the Lions moving three outs away from the program’s first sectional championship in 26 years.

What he didn’t know was how he’d handle rounding the bases as West fans went bonkers at the crowded baseball field at Triton Regional High School.

“I was trying to decide if I wanted to act like, you know, I’d been here before, or get really excited,” said Shaw, a softspoken, 6-4 senior who will play at Rider University next year. “And then once I got to third and I gave Mac a high-five, I started yelling and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m not going to stay calm.’ I’ve got to enjoy it.”

Shaw greeted West coach Dan McMaster at third and was mobbed by his teammates at home plate.

He delivered the game-winning blast and season-defining moment. Four innings earlier, he crashed into the portable fence in center to rob Triton of a tworun home run.

Cherry Hill West had a collection of talented seniors perform en route to the program’s first South Jersey title since 1993, but Shaw was the man of the moment in

RYAN LAWRENCE/South Jersey Sports Weekly

Cherry Hill West senior Scott Shaw hit .470 with 14 extra-base hits (including five home runs) and an eye-popping .620 on-base percentage in 30 games this season for the South Jersey Group 3 champion Lions.

the win that clinched the trophy and he was South Jersey’s most consistent elite player this spring.

The sweet-swinging lefty hit .470 with 14 extra-base hits (including five home runs) in 30 games. Shaw scored 31 runs, knocked in 32, drew 31 walks, stole 11 bases, and had an eye-popping .620 onbase percentage.

Shaw had the production and the performance deserving of the following distinction: he is South Jersey Sports Weekly’s Baseball Player of the Year.

“It’s a great honor,” Shaw said. “I never really expected it. It’s funny, (my hitting instructor) Mike Scanzano told me right before the season, you’re going to be the Player of the Year this year. He said, there’s no more pressure, you know where you’re going, just go out there and do it. And I ended up doing it.”

Shaw had his bat working all season, from the first week (3-for-4, with a triple, a home run and four RBI vs. Washington Township), through the Lions’ Easter break road trip to Virginia Beach (five

hits, including two doubles and another home run in two games), and the grueling Olympic Conference schedule in May (two hits, two walks and two runs against eventual Group 4 state runner-up Eastern).

It’s almost as if he was locked in at the plate, in the proverbial zone, for the entire two-month season.

“One game,” Shaw said with a laugh.

“The second game here against (Bishop) Eustace, which got called for darkness. I please see SHAW, page 7

JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2019 – SOUTH JERSEY SPORTS WEEKLY

SHAW

continued from page 6 was the last guy who hit and I struck out on three fastballs.

I just couldn’t see it. ... Other than that, confident all year.”

A so-called singles hitter early in his high school career, Shaw came into his own in his final prep season. By taking advantage of his physical strength and growing confidence, he became a dangerous hitter.

“It’s a testament to his talent, his work ethic and the support of his family,” McMaster said.

“When one of your best players and team leaders is also one of your hardest workers, it has a positive impact on the entire program. As he’s matured and gotten physically stronger, he’s also refined his approach at the plate. He understands the strike zone as well as any player that I have coached and he doesn’t miss his pitch.”

On the final day of May, with his team two outs away from elimination, Shaw surely

didn’t miss the pitch. Although, to be fair, it wasn’t what he’d usually call his pitch.

Shaw’s game-winning home run in the seventh inning of the South Jersey Group 3 championship game came on an 0-1 curveball.

“I don’t swing at curveballs unless you have two strikes and I try to get a good fastball early in the count and hit that, let a curveball go,” he said. “At least in high school, where it’s hard for guys to locate curveballs consistently inside the zone. But you know, the circumstances, it was 0-1 already, it was hanging. I just let it fly.”

And the rest is history, perhaps one of the biggest moments not only in Cherry Hill West baseball history, but school history, too.

“It’s a moment he and his teammates had been working toward their entire careers, playing Little League and middle school and now high school together,” McMaster said, “with the goal of winning a championship.” ■

birth. And the relay understudies forced into action when injuries ravaged one of the state’s top foursomes and didn’t just hold their own, but ran to a state title win, too.

Perhaps unlike any sport, track and field takes a true team effort for a program to reach its highest goals. You can’t just rely on a relay team or a couple of strong hurdlers or sprinters; you need distance runners and adequate performers in the field events, too.

The boys track team at Deptford Township High School was a true team in that sense, with the depth and dedication that paid off with the first outdoor state championship in program history. For their efforts, the Spartans are also South Jersey Sports Weekly’s Boys Spring Team of the Year.

“It’s amazing, it’s amazing to go off like that, to go to graduation knowing your team (reached its goal) and made history and we’ll remember it for the rest of our lives,” said the Syracuse University-bound

DEPTFORD

continued from page 1 “A deal is a deal,” Sherry said with a smile recently.

“And now he’s a state champ.”

This is just one of the incredible stories within the Deptford boys track program. In the first semester of his junior year of high school, Lynch hadn’t competed in track and field before and, less than a year and a half later, won the Group 3 state championship in the pole vault as a member of the Spartans Group 3 state championship track team. Lynch will continue his track and field career at Kutztown University.

“God is great, he works in mysterious ways,” Sherry said.

“For some reason I was meant to walk through the gym that day and he was supposed to be in there.”

And then there are the distance runners without expectations that shined when the spotlight was brightest. And the twin brothers who have basically pushed each other since

Naseem Smith, a back-to-back state champion in the 110-meter hurdles.

“South Jersey has a lot of talent, if you’re talking all sports,” said Smith’s twin brother, Khi’on, a Shippensburg University football recruit who ran with Tyrece Brown, Amadu Jalloh, and Steven Rios on the Spartans 4x400 relay state championship team. “So knowing we’re the best team in South Jersey, it feels great.”

“It’s very humbling,” Sherry said.

It’s also an honor that was years in the making and a testament to the yearlong work of the student athletes and coaches who set out a goal and realized it this spring. When the Spartans returned from a 90-minute drive from Central Regional High School in Berkeley Township, the site of the state championships, their bus received the Gatorade-like celebration treatment: upon arrival, it was soaked in the high school parking lot by the townplease see DEPTFORD, page 8

$99

Get a NEW Bryant® Air Conditioning System Installation For as low as

Offer expires 7/1/19

per month†

1 Year Parts & Labor Guarantee

Excludes special pricing. While supplies last. With approved credit. Offers cannot be applied to previous services; valid for named recipient only; void if copied/prohibited by law; not redeemable for cash; and cannot becombined with another offer. Cash value 1/20 cent. Discount off current prices.

Call for details. HomeServe USA Repair Management Corp. (“HomeServe”) is an independent company separate from South Jersey Energy Service Plus (SJESP) and South Jersey Gas. HomeServe, N.J. HIC Lics. # 13VH08755300, and SJESP are not regulated by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. SJESP licenses certain names/trademarks to HomeServe and is not providing any services to you. HVACR work conducted by HomeServe USA Energy Services LLC, HIC Lics. # 13VH05495400 & HVACRLics. # 19HC00211500 held by Frank Siderio, Jr. Plumbing work conducted by SJESP Plumbing Services LLC (a HomeServe company), NJ Master Plumber #12927 held by Louis Silkowski. † Financing: Loans provided by EnerBank USA, Member FDIC, (1245 Brickyard Rd., Suite 600, Salt Lake City, UT 84106) on approved credit, for a limited time. Estimated payment of $99.00 based on total loan amount of $5,000. Repayment term is 60 months. 6.99% fixed APR. Minimum loan amounts apply. The first monthly payment will be due 30 days after the loan closes.

7

SAVE MONEY AND ENERGY with a new cooling system

Call 1-855-438-9750 today! or visit sjesp.com | Emergency Hotline Available 24/7

Expert Technicians • Dependable Service • Flexible Scheduling • Valuable Savings

8

SOUTH JERSEY SPORTS WEEKLY — JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2019

DEPTFORD

continued from page7 ship’s fire department trucks.

“That was awesome,” Lynch said.

“It’s something I can tell my kids,” added Jalloh.

One of the remarkable feats of Deptford’s track team in the spring of 2019 was to collect its first state championship despite being down two of its top athletes. Seniors Tyriq Bundy and Javon Sanders, who ran two legs of the Spartans 4x100 Meet of Champions first-place relay team last spring, were unable to compete this spring due to injuries.

Without Bundy and Sanders, this year’s 4x100 team still placed second at states – .11 seconds out of first place. Deptford’s 4x400 relay did take first place and its 4x800 relay placed sixth.

“They filled big shoes very fast, for them to do that, they were very clutch,” Naseem Smith said. “We needed all the points we could get to win sectionals and states. Everybody needs to play a part, and we had people step up which is great.”

Among the other top finishers at states: Khi’on Smith placed sixth in the 100-meter dash and eighth in the 400-meter dash, Donovan Clement was ninth in the 200-meter dash, Jalloh and Phil Sedalis were 12th and 13th in the 800-meter run, Tyrece Brown was 10th in the 400-meter hurdles, and Marcel Washington placed third in the long jump.

Washington, like Lynch, didn’t join the team until his junior year of high school, and now will continue the sport at Kutztown, too, thanks to the recruiting efforts of Sherry. But that’s what it took for Deptford to make school history: a coaching staff with the creativity and determination to give his team its best shot and the athletes willing to work.

“We lost two guys who were major contributors to the team, not just relays, but individual events,” Sherry said. “But other guys stepped up and they didn’t miss a beat.

With Bundy and Javon going down, Richeid Fawkes stepped up and did very well for us, Donnie Scott stepped up, our distance team.

We got points out of our 4x800 team, and I can’t tell you the last time that happened.

“And then our 800 guys in Amadu and Phil. We had a first-year runner in Stephen Rios that ran on our 4x400, and that normally would have been Javon and Bundy as well. A first-year kid coming out and running a 50.3 on your first 4x400 to help you win a state championship? We just have special kids. We have special kids at Deptford.” ■

RYAN LAWRENCE/South Jersey Sports Weekly

Deptford’s seniors hold up the prize, the first spring track state championship trophy in program history, a day before graduation earlier this month.

Knock your message

out of the park sunsales@newspapermediagroup.com | 856.282.1347

Story idea? Email us: news@southjerseysportsweekly.com

@SJSportsWeekly

South Jersey Sports Weekly

Follow us online: SouthJerseySportsWeekly.com