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About The Cover
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very coach that went up against the Ocean City girls soccer team this fall had one main task. Find a way to stop Red Raiders senior forward Summer Reimet from finding the back of the net. Easier said than done. Just one team, Mainland Regional, was able to keep Reimet off the scoresheet as she tallied an almost unbelievable 62 goals to finish her career with 131 goals, easily a school record. Former record holder Faith Slimmer, who finished with 100 and is a freshman at the University of Charleston, didn’t even get to enjoy the record for a full year. What is most impressive about Reimet’s all-state caliber season is the fact that she had to fight through two, three, four, even five defenders every time she touched the ball, yet still averaged nearly three goals per game. Check out our Vic’s Subs Cover Story on Page 12 of this digital issue to read more about an athlete who will one day end up in the Ocean City High Hall of Fame. Dave O’Sullivan, Publisher
GLORY DAYS General Contact Information Phone: 856-336-2600 Email: sullyglorydays@gmail.com Publisher Dave O’Sullivan Email: sullyglorydays@gmail.com @GDsullysays on Twitter Contributors Amy D’Adamo, graphic design Mark Trible, special football writer Larry Henry Jr., correspondent Ben Hale, Social Media Volume 9, Issue 2 (Issue No. 161) 2021 Glory Days Magazine LLC, all rights reserved.
Story Idea? Email sullyglorydays@gmail.com or message Sully on Twitter @GDSullysays
Dec. 15, 2021 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 5
headlines u PRESENTED BY BUNTING FAMILY PHARMACY u Making it official
Mid-December means signing day for high school football players, and some of the biggest stars in South Jersey made their commitments official on Dec. 15. Cedar Creek receiver JoJo Bermudez, who originally gave a verbal to Rutgers, signed with the University of Cincinnati. Millville star running back LeQuint Allen, the New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year, chose Syracuse, and he’ll be joined by St. Augustine Prep defensive end Denis Jaquez, who originally had committed to Northwestern.
Hoops are here!
The high school basketball season is back, and there are some very interesting storylines in the Cape-Atlantic League. The Egg Harbor Township boys are looking to follow up last season’s 1-loss campaign with another big year and will be led by sharpshooter Carlos Lopez (pictured). The Atlantic City girls will have tons of height with the addition of ACIT transfer
CeeCee Jackson, and the post-Paul Baruffi era begins with the Ocean City girls. Baruffi led the Red Raiders to 300-plus wins during his career and now is an assistant at Stockton University. The Wildwood Catholic boys also will take the floor under a new coach as highly successful
skipper David DeWeese stepped down. In addition, the Absegami girls are coming off a 14-1 mark in last year’s covid-shortened season and return several key starters, including star guard Jackie Fortis.
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SENIOR CAPTAIN / JENNA GREEN, EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP SOCCER
When the grass is Green-er Switching sides of the field allowed Jenna Green’s soccer career to flourish By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer ittle did Jenna Green know that moving to a different position on a whim during a summer practice several years ago would alter the course of her high school soccer career. “I used to be a striker but sophomore year they moved me back to an outside defender. I had always played forward or outside wing so it was a different transition. It was odd at first but I got used to it pretty quickly,” said Green, a central defender for the Egg Harbor Township girls soccer team, and a senior captain. “It was during the summer workouts (sophomore year) and we were down a few players, so I offered to play defense just for fun, but once I played there I ended up slide-tackling a girl and my coach was like, ‘yup, you’re becoming a defender.’ I was surprised. I was hesitant at first, but once I started practicing there I started to love the position, and I’m glad I switched. It gave me more vision on the field. I had to become more patient and less straightforward with the ball.” “When we make those decisions it’s because we’re making them based on what’s best for the athlete and the team,” Eagles coach Christian Wiech said of the decision to move Green to the back line. “We had a conversation with her. We wouldn’t do that with every player, because forwards are a special type of player, mentality-wise, but what we saw from Jenna was that defensive, prideful, selfless type of style and that’s why we knew she would be successful in transitioning to the back line. Her athleticism would make her successful at any position, really.” Green’s story is one of perseverance and having the confidence in herself to stick with soccer even when she wasn’t having varsity success early on in her career. She played junior varsity for two years before getting a chance to be a varsity player, and by the time she was a senior she had worked her way up to become a team captain. But even that honor took some doing, as she didn’t earn the captain’s armband until halfway through her senior season.
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Senior Jenna Green was a big part of an EHT defense that helped the Eagles to eight wins and a berth in the state playoffs. “It meant a lot to me because coach didn’t make me a captain right away. I wasn’t named a captain until midseason, and that made me feel really good. It made me feel like the other girls could count on me and that I could be there when they really needed someone. It felt like I had to work harder and do more so the younger players had somebody to look up to who was dependable,” Green said. “Just being there for your team in general and being able to help your teammates if they need advice, looking after them if they are down or upset, and just being there to lift them up when they are having a bad day is what being a leader is all about.” “Jenna was a team captain because of her charac-
ter and work ethic. She’s very coachable and has all those qualities you’re trying to instill in your team. When she came into high school she was a forward but we converted her over because we saw we’d have a need (on defense) and we really liked her skill set as a defender. She said, ‘yeah, sure coach, whatever you need.’ And by her junior year she was starting for us. She played outside back for us last year and we asked her to play center back for us this year,” Wiech said. “Jenna was key because we had three new starters on the back line. It took us a while to find the combination that we really liked, but the one constant was
See Green, page 7
Dec. 15, 2021 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 7 Green, from page 6 Jenna Green. I’m proud of her and happy for her. She was one of the runners up for homecoming queen at our school, so she’s well liked by her peers. Just a great kid.” Wiech said he considered giving Green more minutes as a sophomore, but that year EHT was so good on defense and had several experienced seniors. The Eagles won 11 games in 2019 and made it to the semifinals of the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament. Green has been an instrumental part of a rebuilding process that saw EHT go 6-5 last year and 8-6-2 this fall. “She probably could have played varsity her sophomore year but we had a really strong defensive class above her (as juniors) and even above that with the seniors, but having a year played at JV, I think she was ready and that helped her mature more,” Wiech said. “So by the time her junior year came, she was ready. She came in as a first-year varsity player and started every game. Her transition was fast. She does play club ball, so that extra time playing that position in the spring helped. And soccer is the type of game that if you’re a good player, you can play
anywhere on the field.” Green said she really enjoyed her senior year, and will carry fond memories of her high school career with her wherever her future might lead. “It was a really good year. Our team played well and we really had a good connection. (My high school career) was a great experience. I love the girls and it was great to go through everything with them. To start on the freshman team and work my way up to varsity, to then a varsity starting player and then a captain, was really special. I didn’t think I’d get to be a captain, so that felt really good,” Green said. “My best memory is just bonding with the girls. Sophomore year we had a really close team, and this year we were just as close. Having that bond just made the sport 10 times better, to know that after school I’d be hanging out with people I like and get along with. It felt kind of empty for a little while (after my last game). I grew up playing the sport that I love, and knowing I’m probably not going to be playing in college made me sad, but I’m glad about my high school career.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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SENIOR CAPTAIN / ALICIA PAGE, EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP SOCCER
Meeting expectations Four years ago, EHT soccer coach Christian Wiech put freshman Alicia Page on varsity, thinking one day she’d become a star. He was right. By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer licia Page says she wants to be a math teacher when she’s done with college. When she was a high school freshman, the numbers didn’t seem to add up. She was only 14 years old, how could she be on varsity? Those girls were 18; bigger, stronger, faster. Egg Harbor Township coach Christian Wiech surely was making a mistake. Was she ready for that kind of challenge? Ready or not, Wiech said he was willing to take a chance on bringing the freshman up to varsity because she had a skill set that would have been wasted on the junior varsity level. The move didn’t pay dividends that year — numbers-wise — but over time it did, as Page proved to be a solid striker who finished her career with 15 goals and 17 assists, including nine of each as a senior. “Obviously, to be a four-year varsity player you have to have a high soccer IQ and you have to be able to play up a level in terms of physicality. Alicia, even though she’s not the biggest player, plays big, plays strong and has great balance. She was our leading points scorer this year and is one of the top 15 highest goal scorers in school history for a career, so she does find the back of the net. But she really thrives as a set-up player,” Wiech said. “One of the things we were talking about in the Cape-Atlantic League American Conference All-Star meeting was that a lot of the forwards this year were selfless types of players. They racked up a
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Egg Harbor Township striker Alicia Page had a breakout senior year, scoring nine goals and adding nine assists while leading the Eagles to a berth in the state playoffs. ton of assists — whether you talk to the Millville coach or the Vineland coach — it was an interesting breed of forward this year. We didn’t have that goto-goal, it’s ‘me, me, me.’ And Alicia personified that perfectly. She wanted to dish the ball off, she wanted to draw defenders to her. She understood her
role as a single-high forward at times. She knew how to create space for herself and her teammates, and because of that we had a very successful offensive season. This was our third-highest goal-scoring season in school history with 53 goals.” “Freshman year I was very nervous.
I knew the level was going to be very different from what it was in middle school. I went in very intimidated because there were some girls who were four years older than me. I was only 14 and some of them were 18. I remember
See Page, page 11
Dec. 15, 2021 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 11 Page, from page 8 just always trying my best to compete at that level. Me and my friends would be dying (after sprints) but we’d push ourselves really hard. I was very happy with the outcome of my freshman year because I played on varsity,” said Page, one of EHT’s senior captains this season. “(Coach Wiech) would always talk to me and tell me, ‘hey, don’t worry, you’ll get your chance. I love what you do and eventually you’ll see the field.’ He was always very encouraging and I knew he wanted me to feel comfortable when I was a freshman on varsity.” Page began to show signs of what she could do her sophomore year, when she scored five goals and added three assists while leading the Eagles to 11 wins, including a berth in the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament. Even last year, in a covid-shortened 11game schedule, she finished with five assists. “More than anything else, her game has grown. Sometimes players plateau, but one thing I’ve been most impressed with when it comes to Alicia is her understanding of how to take on defenders and when to take on defenders matured drastically this year, which was impressive to see. That was one of the keys to our success,” Wiech said. “She, by far, was one of our more technical players, and that’s not an easy thing at the high school level, to understand your depth and the speed of play, spacing, and to understand how to play balls into space with the right speed of play to match the speed of play around her. It’s a little bit of an art, and I think Alicia’s four years of varsity experience really helped with that. I find the kids who play more high level soccer have more time to adapt to that. Her game really benefitted from being around (the higher level) as a freshman and sophomore. And in a school as big as ours, it’s not too common that we have underclassmen on the varsity, so that’s a testament to her.” Page said she loved everything about this season. For one, it was a full season, unlike last fall, and all the girls in her grade level were on varsity, unlike when she was a freshman and one of the few underclassmen on the big club. “A lot of my friends were on JV still, even through my junior year, so this year I was much more comfortable because all my friends were around me,” said Page, who has given a verbal commitment to continue her soccer career and education at Ursinus College. “This year was one of my best years. Even though a lot of the players were new to varsity, it was a very satisfying year because of how we came from a rough patch in the beginning of the year. I think our team did well considering everything that has been going on with covid. This year was really like a family because we all love each other, and a lot of the girls I played with were girls I’ve been playing soccer with since I was 5. And the sophomores and juniors we had were amazing.”
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Page had an outstanding career at EHT, leading the Eagles to 35 wins and three state tournament appearances in four years. Not only did her soccer skills develop, but so did Page’s leadership, as she was named one of the team’s captains early on this season. “Not every player cares about being a leader, but Alicia certainly did. She wanted to be a leader of this team and demonstrate not only a winning mentality but the technical skills, the tactical skills. She also wanted to demonstrate the importance of team and the importance in the way you communicate with each other — giving direction as opposed to giving criticism,” Wiech said. “In games when she didn’t get the ball played to her feet correctly, she’s still say, ‘hey, next time.’ I commend her for that level of maturity and that level of leadership, which is sometimes rare. Particularly the last couple of years, with everything going on, for her to have such compassion for her teammates has been impressive to me.” Page said she that in her position of leadership she felt it was important that other players felt comfortable around her, and in their role on the team.
“For me, as a captain, I always wanted to be encouraging. I never wanted to raise my voice at somebody or degrade somebody and tell them to do better in a mean tone. I never yelled at somebody, and that’s who I wanted to be. I wanted to be an encouraging captain and make them feel like they could do it,” she said. “I learned that I love having a good bond with my teammates. If you feel like you are uncomfortable with people on the team, that’s the way you’ll play because you’re nervous about what they think of you. And if you mess up you worry that they will be mad at you when you’re already mad at yourself. So, I feel like through all my years of soccer, a good bond with my teammates always makes me play better. I feel like that creates a good environment and that’s something I’ll always strive for.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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VIC’S SUBS COVER STORY
Summer’s Time
Ocean City’s Reimet had the spotlight all to herself this fall, and she shined brightly By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer aith Slimmer was a player unlike any that Cape-Atlantic League soccer fans had seen in quite some time. She came into high school with the foot skills of a seasoned college veteran and seemed to toy with defenders throughout her high school career. Before she graduated in 2021, Slimmer had amassed 100 career goals and 65 assists, including 65 goals in her final two seasons. She graduated with the Ocean City High School scoring record, and at most schools a number like 100 would stand the test of time for decades. This record, however, didn’t even last six months.
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Summer Reimet is a much different player than Slimmer was — taller and stronger, with the ability to rocket shots from 40-plus yards away into the back of the net. She burst onto the scene as a sophomore, playing Robin to Slimmer’s Batman, scoring 35 goals and adding six assists — including a pair of goals against Ramapo that led the Red Raiders to their first state championship in program history. In last year’s covid-shortened season, Reimet still managed to drive home 23 goals, and as a senior she was the best player in New Jersey, finishing with 62 goals and 22 assists and making first-team all-state. She finished her career with a now new school record 131 goals, and only one team — rival Mainland in
mid-October — held her without a goal this season. It wasn’t just one of the best seasons in South Jersey history, but state history. “We knew the potential was there, she’s always just been kind of sharing the duties along the way, which only benefitted our program. The expectation was there, we were just hoping everybody else would be able to keep up. We knew we couldn’t just rely on Summer, and a lot of girls did put some decent numbers up. We relied a lot on Summer, but her teammates were there when we needed them, too. But yes, she met and exceeded all expectations, for sure,”
See Summer, page 13
Dec. 15, 2021 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 13 Summer, from page 12 said Lisa Cuneo, a longtime assistant coach under Kelly Halliday who has now been the head coach the past two years. “We had a talk even before our first scrimmage about breaking those school records. Every goal she scores just helps our program, and that’s where we were this season. She was at another level. The preparation she puts in — she’s never out of shape and never not game ready. She’s going to roll right into college and that should be an easy transition for her. She can motor, she never stops, even when she is facing double- and triple-team defenses. That’s a testament to her work ethic. She puts the work in, even when we’re not practicing.” “I just tried to improve on everything. I wanted to focus on my individual game because passing and finding open teammates is one of my better skills, so I wanted to focus on being able to take on defenders myself. I wanted to focus on stuff like that because I know I’ll need those skills in college,” said Reimet, who has committed to play at Monmouth University next fall. “I was expecting to have this type of season. I knew who we had coming back, with players like Hope (Slimmer) and Kasey (McDonnell), and we just had to build on what we had done the last three years while teaching the freshmen coming in how we play, and using what they brought to the team also. Everything worked out well. Being able to put all our skills together was awesome. “It was more just if I score goals, if anyone else scores goals, that’s how we’ll win games — and if we can win games, we can win championships. It was more just focusing on the big picture while also trying to take things step by step.” Ocean City won another Cape-Atlantic League championship this season, going 21-1-1, falling only to Mainland during the regular season. Mainland also knocked Reimet and the Raiders out of the state playoffs with a penalty kick shootout win in the South Jersey Group 3 semifinals.
“When she gets the ball, she already knows where she’s going with it. She’s such a smart player, and you find that a lot, but something about her with having that speed, being a skillful player and a smart player, that’s a triple threat. Not many players have all three of those things. It was fun to play against a player that good.” Sydney Kaes, Mainland senior defender
“It was challenging. Not many people know this, but we’ve been playing soccer together since we were 8 years old. So we’ve been going against each other and have even been on the same team. She’s an outstanding player. She has speed, she has skills — she has it all. I knew how to defend her, and so did Ava (Tenaglia), so we just tried to build off each other and always made sure we had an eye on her because she’s so quick,” said Mainland senior Sydney Kaes, one of the Mustangs charged with trying to slow Reimet down this season in their four meetings. “In the game we won, we held her to no goals, and that was an awesome feeling to know we were able to do that. When she gets the ball, she already knows where she’s going with it. She’s such a smart player, and you find that a lot, but something about her with having that speed, being a skillful player and a smart player, that’s a triple threat. Not many players have all three of those things. It was fun to play against a player that good.” What makes Reimet’s feats this season even more impressive is the fact that the top priority of every team Ocean City faced this season was to stop her. She faced multiple defenders nearly every time she received the ball — the entire season — and still scored 62 goals. In only six of Ocean City’s 23 games was she held to one goal or less. “She definitely had a target on her back. The scouting report was pretty obvious against us. But, again, it’s just a true testament to the kind of work ethic she
put in and her ability to produce. You couldn’t stop her with one person, and sometimes not even two,” Cuneo said. “I think it was just that she wasn’t sharing that role. She had a little more freedom, just because of the dynamic of the team. We had Faith last year and they were both goal-hungry, which made our team really successful. This year it was solely on her shoulders because we weren’t sure who her counterparts were going to be coming into the season. She knew she had to put up numbers for us to be successful, and — records or not — she knew she had to be one of our go-to goal scorers. I think that was the biggest change coming into this season, she just knew (scoring) was her job. “We knew she was never going to stop working for us in trying to score, and we knew there was potential for her to score no matter how many people were marking her. Even if she was man-marked or quadruple-teamed, it opened the door for somebody else to try to put one in. Hat’s off to Summer, she was a workhorse no matter who was covering her.” “Toward the end of the season there were multiple players man-marked on me, but as a team we practiced that and focused on how to get the ball to other players on the team and how to create chances for them to score. We had Hope in the middle and she was able to get the ball forward to Naomi (Nnewihe) and (McKenna) Chisholm — so, just creating oppor-
See Summer, page 15
Dec. 15, 2021 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 15 Summer, from page 13 tunities for other people was our main goal (down the stretch),” Reimet said. “The first few times it happened — I think the first team to do it was Mainland — and it took us back a little bit. We were like, ‘OK, this is something we’re going to have to deal with.’ So we thought about it and created ways for us to get past defenses. We continued to win games, so the plan was working, but it got more difficult and challenging. I just had to keep moving and not just focus on having a stationary position. I was a center forward and that’s all I was, so defenders knew where I was going to be, so I focused on moving to the left or right, or dropping into the midfield and moving around so (defenses) wouldn’t always know where I was going to be.” Reimet will graduate with a trunk full of awards and trophies. Aside from all the individual stuff, she helped lead Ocean City to a state championship, multiple league titles and the first Coaches Cup championship in program history, as the Red Raiders beat Bishop Eustace this year in the finals to win that prestigious tournament. “It was a great season. I’d say this was my favorite season out of all my high school seasons. I wanted it to end differently, but we still played great. We won the Coaches Cup for the first time ever and we were the first CAL team to do that, and we also won our conference and the CAL. Although it didn’t end great, we still did a lot that we were happy with,” Reimet said. “The Coaches Cup semifinals and final, that was when personally and as a team we really had to step up and play the best we could because Rancocas Valley and Bishop Eustace were really good teams. It was good competition that we had to be ready for, and we played great — probably the best we had all season.” “This is my ninth year in the program, and besides Faith coming through and making her mark, I don’t see too many people coming through here and having the kind of impact Summer did,” Cuneo said. “We’re at a place with our program — thanks to Summer and Faith, and Hope and those types of players who have raised the bar of our program — there is no going
backward now. It makes everyone else have to work harder to put those kinds of numbers up because we’re at a level where we’re going to seek out tougher competition. It’s not going to be an easy task for any future Red Raider.” Cuneo said she believes Reimet is more than ready to compete for a starting job when she gets to Monmouth next fall. “She’s a worker. She’s a quiet worker, though, nothing really gets her rattled. And she has a funny sense of humor. She’s kind of that quiet warrior who is going to be out there doing her job and leading by example. The girls knew whenever Summer was around we had a chance to win every game, and that’s hard to duplicate. You can’t say that about too many players. She’s a player everybody wants in their program, a kid who you can say just go out there and do your work,” Cuneo said. “I love to see her at Monmouth, that fits her personality. She’s a down-to-Earth kid who is kind of a homebody, and it’s nice that her parents and friends can go up and support her. I hope she makes
an immediate impact there, and I don’t see how she can’t. She’s definitely the total package for college, we just hope she fits into whatever Monmouth’s expectations are and what their lineup looks like. I can’t imagine her not getting playing time. She deserves all the articles anybody wants to write about her. She’s had such an impact on this program, it’s hard to put into words how certain kids can turn programs around.” “That (competition) is what I’m looking forward to the most and what I can do to prepare for that is big. I started that months ago. I came into the high school season thinking about playing how I would need to play (in college), so that was the main focus. I’m excited to play at Monmouth and to play at that next level — and be ready for it,” Reimet said. “Monmouth has a great soccer program, a great location, great academics — everything is great. I met the team and the coaches and I loved them. It just seemed like a good fit.” Now that her high school soccer career is in the rearview mirror, does Rei-
met ever sit back and think about what a crazy number 62 goals in a season is? Absolutely. “Even now people will say how I scored 62 goals this year and that’s mind-blowing to me. The boys record at Ocean City is 63 by a guy named Chad Severs from about 20 years ago, and I remember thinking, ‘63 goals?’ I can’t imagine getting that amount. So the fact that I was able to get that many is pretty cool. I had great teammates. This year I had Hope in the middle giving me the ball and in years past I had Carly Reighard giving me the ball — so many teammates I was able to work with. It’s awesome that I had such a great team to be able to achieve those records,” she said. “Just being able to play at this high school and represent Ocean City has been great, and I’ll have that forever. I think it’s great to always have that, and to be able to play with some of my best high school friends will always be a great memory.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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Braves ready to break through Absegami chock full of talent, depth By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer wo years ago the Absegami girls basketball team staged a pair of stunning fourth-quarter comebacks, against Toms River South and Timber Creek, to get a chance to play for a sectional championship at top-seeded Mainland Regional. That game didn’t go well. At all. The Braves were thoroughly dominated by the Mustangs, to the tune of 41-12. Only two players on the roster — Haleigh Schafer and Gianna Hafner — scored points, as they each finished with six. It was a rough way for second-year coach Bobby Lasko to end what had been a really good season to that point. The Braves were sporting a 17-10 record and at one point had ripped off eight straight wins. Just getting to that South Jersey Group 3 championship game took a lot of doing, as Gami faced some serious deficits in the opening two rounds. The Braves trailed by six against Toms River South, and double digits to Timber Creek, in the final frames of those games, yet found a way to come back and advance. Star guard Jackie Fortis missed most of that season with an injured thumb but was able to come back for the playoffs and was a big inspiration. “I think we just ran out of gas that year. Fortis came back from the injury and in those games — we played Toms River South and were down by six with a minute left, came back and won that; and then we were down by 14 to Timber Creek in the fourth quarter and came back and won that,” Lasko said. “But we had to press both games and that wore us out. We go to Mainland
state of the program
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Jackie Fortis, a senior guard, and Absegami went 10-1 in last year’s covid-shortened season, and the Braves return four of their five starters from that team. and they played a zone, and we just couldn’t hit a shot to save our lives. It was just one of those things. And when you have kids like (Kylee) Watson and (Kaitlyn) Boggs underneath, you better hit your jump shots.” A loss like that might have wrecked some programs, but all Absegami did the following year was go 10-1 in a covid-shortened 2020 season. Looking ahead to this year, Lasko is even more excited about what this program can do. Yes, the Braves lost their top scoring threat in Schafer but Lasko believes he has one of the Cape-Atlantic League’s top freshman with incoming point guard Reese Downey. Also
returning is guard Gianna Baldino, Fortis, and senior forwards like Gelasia Nurse, Chi Chi Wochka and Ayana Crandell. And a lot of the roster features multisport athletes. Crandell and Fortis were stars on the volleyball team that made it to the CAL championship, and Wochka and Baldino were standout soccer players this fall. “I probably have my best freshman group coming in. Just going by the summer league, we went 14-0 and won the Ocean City league. We went to a college camp and went undefeated. I have some freshmen coming in who can flat-out play. The point guard dom-
inated the Ocean City league and she already has college coaches showing interest in her,” Lasko said. “Wochka is turning into a beast. A lot of the big girls who are seniors now, they never really played basketball until they were freshmen, and the light is starting to flicker for them. I have about five girls who are 6-footers, so we’re big.” This year the CAL features three conferences and Absegami is in perhaps the toughest — the CAL American — which features Atlantic City, Mainland Regional, and teams like Millville, Oakcrest and Bridgeton,
See Braves, page 19
Dec. 15, 2021 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 19 Braves, from page 16 which have all been improving. The past couple of years Absegami has had to deal with Mainland and star Kylee Watson, who now is a standout player at the University of Oregon. And even last year, with Watson off to college, Lasko said he really didn’t have the kind of team that could push the pace. The Braves were forced to play a slow-itdown game and rely on good shooting and defense. They went 10-1 last year but in those 11 games, only three times did they surpass 50 points in a game. “We are just so much deeper than we were my first year. My first year, we played five kids and then we had to make guesses after that. But each year we kept getting deeper and more experienced, and now it seems like we have the perfect mix of seniors, freshmen and sophomores,” Lasko said. “I have some defensive hounds. Chi Chi’s sister came off an ACL injury her freshman year and she’s now at full strength as a junior, and she and Baldino are defensive hound dogs. So, now we can play several different ways, we can press, where as before we kind of just had to go slow. We had to protect the ball, play a low-scoring game, hit a few jump shots and we’d have a chance, but now this team can flat-out go. So it will be an exciting group to watch the next few years.” Lasko said he hopes the next few years can be a sort of rebirth that gets Absegami back to the winning ways it enjoyed under Greg Goodwin, who won nearly 300 games during his tenure. Under Goodwin, the Braves won a pair of state titles and five CAL championships. “I don’t think people realize this — Absegami once won back-to-back state titles, so there is a lot of basketball history at this school. You had (Tara) Booker, (Sara) Mustafa — these were major Division I players who played here,” Lasko said. “So to be here as my first head coaching job is great, and we’re doing some good things. We won a state tournament game every year I’ve been coaching. Two years ago we were down by 14 points to Timber Creek in the state playoffs and came back and won. We just haven’t gotten over the hump yet. My first two years here, Kylee Watson (and Mainland) beat us. But, that’s acceptable, I’m OK with that.” The biggest key for the Braves, Lasko said, is keeping everybody out of the trainer’s room. Fortis has been banged up several times throughout her career and keeping her on the floor will be a big factor in Absegami’s success this season. “The biggest challenge for us will be staying healthy. I have some nice, athletic freshmen and sophomores who are going to have to step up,” Lasko said. “I have four seniors who will play this year, so those younger girls will have to step up when these seniors leave. We have to get these girls ready to fill in those roles. The cool thing is, I have a point guard for the next four years who is going to control games, and we have shooters. The issue is going to be will my athletic bigs be able to fill in for the bigs who are leaving after this year. And I think they will be ready.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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Gianna Baldino returns for her third season as a guard for Absegami, a team that went 10-1 during last year’s covid-shortened season.
games to watch 2021-2022 u Dec. 20, home vs. Atlantic City, 5:30 p.m.: This might be just the third game of the season, but it could go a long way in determining the CAL American champion. The Vikings have a strong front court featuring ACIT transfer CeeCee Jackson and Quanirah Cherry-Montague, as well as star guard Sanai Garrison-Macon. u Jan. 4 at Mainland Regional, 5:30 p.m.: The Stangs have been one of the top teams in the CAL for years and feature a formidable lineup with Kaitlyn Boggs, Cadence Fitzgerald and the Mazur twins, who are now sophomores. u Jan. 17 at Middle Township, 1 p.m.: The Panthers might not have a Herlihy anymore, but John Leahy’s group is always tough to beat, and a long road trip for an early afternoon game on MLK Day won’t be easy for the Braves. u Jan. 29 at Ocean City, 10 a.m.: The Red Raiders are no longer led by legendary coach Paul Baruffi, but Ocean City always plays tough defense and usually shoots the ball well at home. u Feb. 17 at Hammonton, 5:30 p.m.: Absegami’s bigs get to go up against one of the league’s premier post players in Hammonton junior Emma Peretti.
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SENIOR CAPTAIN / HENRY CALIX, EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP SOCCER
Passion for the game Soccer a way of life for one of EHT’s best By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer occer is different for boys growing up in Latin American countries. It’s not just a game, but an opportunity to display one’s personality. Showing off isn’t seen as unsportsmanlike conduct, but rather expressing yourself and your joy for the game. Players from countries like Mexico, Brazil, Panama, Honduras, Peru, Argentina, etc., they love to show off their talents and prove why soccer is sometimes called “The Beautiful Game.” Henry Calix grew up in a place called Saba, in Honduras, and moved to the United States at age 12. He didn’t speak English, and transitioning to a new country with a new language, new food and a completely different climate wasn’t easy. But he always had soccer to help him through. Little did he know just how completely different even soccer can be in a different country. The American style of soccer is much more plodding, more physical, more in-your-face. American high school teams value possession, and set pieces as their best chances to score. Latin American players love the freedom of having the ball at their feet with no set plays, just have fun, be creative and find dazzling ways to put a shot on net. It took a while for Calix to understand how Egg Harbor Township High coach Pete Lambert likes to play, but once he did, Calix became an instrumental part of a team that was one of the best in South Jersey this fall. “He’s a good kid. He’s a knowledgeable player who got better every year. As he matured each year his game developed as well. When he was younger he wanted to kind of dance on the ball, but his junior and senior year he really developed into a special allaround player where he was dangerous on the ball
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Midfielder Henry Calix helped lead EHT to 25 wins the past two seasons, including a 13-7 mark this fall that featured the Eagles’ first Cape-Atlantic League Tournament championship. and his vision got much better,” Lambert said. “He was more unselfish and looking to spread the ball around and create what he could. He played strong on the ball for his size, and a lot of that you can’t really coach or teach. He just had a knack for getting his body in the right spot to seal the ball or get in on tackles. That, I was really impressed by — his development on how to receive the ball and not lose it. “It took him a year or two to develop the English language and he really worked hard on that and worked hard in school,” Lambert added. “I was really impressed with his senior year. His junior year he had a couple guys he was competing for time with but he stepped up and was a captain this year. He had six goals and five assists, and he had some really good games. He led us by example on the field.”
“It was a big change, living in a country that only speaks Spanish, it was a completely different world out here (in New Jersey). The weather was cold and I had to adjust to eating certain foods I wasn’t accustomed to. I loved Honduras and I still love visiting there,” said Calix, now an 18-year-old senior. “I was taking ESL classes and there were Hispanic kids who would help me out throughout the day, showing me the school and helping me meet new people. I took (learning English) as a challenge and I like overcoming challenges. I was able to communicate with people within three or four months. I speak the language about 90 percent, I’d say. I still struggle sometimes
See Passion, page 21
Dec. 15, 2021 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 21 Passion, from page 20 with writing in English.” When he first came to EHT High, Calix admitted he was a little unprepared for how seriously Lambert and his coaching staff and players take the game of soccer. To Calix, soccer was just something fun that he and all his friends played growing up. “The first year, I didn’t really take (high school soccer) that seriously, but when I saw some guys getting advanced to JV I started taking it seriously. I didn’t get to play varsity, but I moved up to JV my freshman year then played three years of varsity,” Calix said. “I used to tell my teammates and coaches funny stories that here, if you don’t have the proper shoes or shin guards, you can’t play, but in my country sometimes we play barefoot. It was just the way we played the game. “I can still hear my coaches telling me to keep it simple and don’t over-do it. But in my country, you take the ball and try to do what you can with it,” he explained. “There aren’t any plays you have to follow, you just go out and play the game. That’s my style, being more creative with the ball than just doing the simple stuff, so it was hard to adjust and be more simple with the ball.” “Some parts of his game were frustrating through the years because that Latin American style where everybody wants to be pretty and be flashy — I tell the guys that in our league and in South Jersey Group 4, you’ll have moments when you can be flashy but that’s not what we need. You have to be gritty and do the simple things,” Lambert said. “It took him a while to get that. You could see his wheels spinning when he’d want to do something fun and flashy, but he would think twice and take the easy pass or a quick onetouch. That part of the game he had to develop, and a lot of players coming from different parts of the world, they watch their favorite players and they grow up wanting to do the flashy moves and the highlight-reel moves. Sometimes that works, but more often than not it doesn’t. The way we play, you just have to be smart and move the ball. It took him a little bit to get that out of his system, but by his senior year he was an all-around player and
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Calix scored five goals and added four assists this season, and for his career he finished with six goals and 10 assists. the kind of player we knew he could be. He played defense at a high level and was always looking to get into the attack and spread the ball round. I was really happy with his development.” As a junior, Calix helped lead EHT to a 12-2 mark in the covid-shortened 2020 season, and this fall the Eagles went 13-7 and won the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament for the first time, beating St. Augustine Prep and Hammonton. They also scored a 2-0 win over Eastern in the opening round of the state playoffs. “He can play anywhere on the field, so we needed somebody like him who could read the field and get into the passing lanes and get us out of trouble. He was our utility guy,” Lambert said. “He’s always plotting and thinking, he knows where his teammates are and he can get a ball to any part of the field. We told him, at times you need to be selfish with the ball and at times you need to be unselfish. Once he put that all together he was pretty dynamic.
When you watched EHT soccer this year, you were like, ‘OK, who is No. 8? That kid is flashy and talented and works hard.’ There’s not a moment out there when he wasn’t working hard and thinking about the team.” “Coming into the varsity level, I was still adjusting to the team. I wasn’t getting a lot of minutes, so when I did I tried to go out there and prove I could play at that level. I got more physical with the ball when I had to and tried to play quicker. I got more confident (as a senior) because I knew what I was capable of and what the whole team was capable of. I was working hard and pushing my teammates, and myself, to be better than the day before,” Calix said. Calix said he took the lead of Lambert, one of the top coaches in South Jersey and a recent induction in the South Jersey Coaches Association Hall of Fame. “He’s always willing to put in the work, and me and my teammates were
willing to put in the work for the good of the program, and that’s why we were successful this year. Coach said to make sure I was always on point and to make sure I was checking everybody to do the right things,” Calix said. “My favorite part of EHT soccer was us, as a team, connecting really well, both on and off the pitch. We could truly say we were like a family, even outside the field. We always made sure we were connected and one with each other.” All of Calix’s hard work earned him the captain’s arm band this year — an honor he didn’t take lightly. “It was an honor. I dreamt of that. I remember my first year of varsity seeing the captains named and I remember wishing one day I could be one of those. If you wish it, that doesn’t mean it’s going to come true. You have to work for it, and that’s exactly what I did. (Putting on the captain’s armband) was an incredible feeling. I felt like I was a leader out there and I had to make sure I was on point so my teammates could follow and see example I was willing to put out there on the field,” Calix said. “A good leader is a guy who is always looking out for his teammates, a guy who is always there when he needs to be, being on time to practice, being respectful to the coaches and the teachers in school. You’re a student before you’re an athlete. It just means being responsible for everything.” “I think it was just his passion for the game and wanting to be a teammate first. He wanted to be around this program. He was always popping into my classroom wanting to talk soccer,” Lambert said of what makes Calix special. “He got on a couple of club teams and developed in the offseason, and was always excited to play for his school and with his buddies. We have a handful of kids from Honduras and they are proud of their heritage. They play for their family and they play for their country. When you put it all together, it’s pretty exciting to see how much soccer means to these kids like Henry. “I was really happy with the way he developed through the years. I love his energy.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: Julia & Sydney Kaes, Mainland Regional Soccer
Heart, determination, grit The Kaes twins embodied what MRHS girls soccer program is all about By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer f you’re looking for some kind of explanation for how a Mainland girls soccer team that had just one player score double-digit goals could reach a South Jersey Group 3 championship game, you have to dig a little deeper than the stat sheet. Heart, determination, grit — these things can’t be measured in numbers, and they are traits the Kaes twins had in spades. Sydney — the older twin by about 15 minutes — was a central defender, and a central reason why the Mustangs posted 11 shutouts in 23 games. Julia was an oft-injured midfielder who was able to stay healthy this fall and put together the best season of her career. The Kaes twins are everything a coach could want as the pillars of his program. They are easy to miss during the course of the game because they are quiet and unassuming, but their play reflected the personality of the Mainland soccer program — consistent, skillful, measured, grinding. Mustangs coach Chris Meade was never at a loss for words this season when describing his senior captains, which also included Camryn Dirkes and Alyssa Turner. “They are both solid players, Julia in the midfield and Sydney is just a rock in the backfield with her ability to read plays. And her basic instincts of when to step to a ball has been her strength throughout the last couple of years. Anticipation is one of those things that can’t really be taught,” Meade said. “As much as they are similar, their
I
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Senior midfielder Julia Kaes scored nine goals and added eight assists this year while leading Mainland to 16 wins and a berth in the South Jersey Group 3 championship game. games are different. One is more defensive minded and takes pride in that, and the other one is more offensive minded and loves to go forward, which is why we had her in the midfield. They are both hard working and leaders by example. They really stepped up this year in their roles as captains, along with Camryn and Alyssa.” “We used each other as a support system,” Sydney said. “Freshman year and sophomore year, when she got hurt, I was there for her. And junior
year she got hurt again, so it was nice to have each other to keep ourselves in check and make sure we were always OK mentally. It was awesome that I got to play soccer for four years with my sister.” “My career was a roller coaster. Freshman year, playing with all the older girls, I didn’t get as much playing time as I wanted but we had a great season, and it was so fun and such a great experience playing with the older girls and building chemistry with some
of the girls who are seniors now, like Camryn and Sydney,” Julia added. “It was great to see us grow throughout the years, and my senior year was probably my best season just because of the confidence and the chemistry. You could definitely see the determination we had when we were playing against teams like Ocean City. We wanted to keep this season going, we didn’t want
See Grit, page 23
Dec. 15, 2021 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 23 Grit, from page 22 it to end. (Soccer) was the biggest part of my high school experience just because it’s something I’m really passionate about, and every season I just wanted us to go as far as we could. Just putting all that time in during the preseason and over the summer, it was so worth it. My senior year was definitely one to remember.” Mainland’s season got off to a decent start. By the end of September the Mustangs were 5-2-1, but suffered a tough 1-0 loss against Absegami to close out the first month of action. But in mid-October things turned around dramatically, as Mainland knocked off rival Ocean City, 1-0, on a goal by Dirkes in the waning seconds of double overtime at Carey Stadium. That victory snapped a 40-plus game unbeaten streak by the Red Raiders. “I can’t even describe how I felt after that game. It was a great game. When we played them earlier in the season they had the majority of the play, I’ll give them that, but I think we had to think about what we could do better when we played them again. When we played them (in October) and Cam scored the goal in the final seconds, that was something that was well deserved. That shot was amazing, and people might say it was lucky, but I think it was a well-deserved win,” Julia said. “We lost to Absegami and that was a turning point. The practices leading up to the end of the season, and even in the games, we were more determined. Everyone was giving 100 percent. We knew this was it, and we didn’t know when our last game was going to be, so why not make it count and just play as hard as we could? I think that was the big reason we were so successful.” Mainland met Ocean City two more times, losing 2-0 in the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament championship game but returning the favor when it counted most, in the state playoffs. In the sectional semifinals, the Stangs got a goal from Julia to tie the game, 1-1, and Mainland outlasted the Raiders after two overtime periods and a penalty kick shootout. The same scenario played out in the South Jersey Group 3 title game, as Dirkes scored a second-half goal to send the game against Lacey into
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Senior Sydney Kaes helpe lead a Mainland defense that posted 11 shutouts in 23 games. The Stangs also made it to the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament championship game.
“We lost to Absegami and that was a turning point. The practices leading up to the end of the season, and even in the games, we were more determined. Everyone was giving 100 percent. We knew this was it, and we didn’t know when our last game was going to be, so why not make it count and just play as hard as we could?” Julia Kaes, Mainland senior midfielder overtime. This time, however, Mainland came out on the short end of a PK shootout. “Honestly, if you look at the makeup of how they stepped up in specific games — against Ocean City, in the games we played well — their personalities and their style and their grit was the makeup of our team. Not super flashy, but consistent, hardworking and skillful — I think that was the true fiber of what we had this year,” Meade said. “We weren’t going to super-impress anybody, but from top to bottom we were a strong group and on any given day we could have beaten any team.” “The semifinals against Ocean City was a big game for me because I scored and that gave me a lot of confidence and excitement,” Julia said. “Going
into PKs was very nerve-wracking, but it was worth it in the end. You could see everyone on the field so determined to win. And against Lacey, we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but I wouldn’t take back any second of that game. We all played so hard. It didn’t come out the way we wanted it, but I don’t regret anything about that game.” “It was so fun, and exciting to go to double overtime and then a PK shootout. And coming back in the last few minutes of the second half to take it to overtime was awesome. We all worked so hard and you could see it in that game. We were the underdogs, but we held our own and we made it that far, and that was an unbelievable feeling,” Sydney added. “In the beginning of the season, we had a had a whole new
defense and had to kind of start over. But by the end of the year we got more momentum and got more confident in each other. You could see that in the semifinal game. Facing a player like Ocean City’s Summer Reimet, we definitely had to trust each other and build off each other, and by the end of the year we were doing that so much better.” Both Julia and Sydney said they put a lot of stock into their senior year, and tried to enjoy every moment of it, knowing they likely won’t be playing soccer in college. “The most important part of my career was this season because it’s my last time ever playing soccer, so I really appreciated every second that I played,” Julia said. “I knew this was it, so my confidence and the way I played was so much better than in other years because I knew this was it. I was playing for something more than just a game, I was playing for the biggest part of my high school career.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: Liv Leap, Mainland Regional Volleyball
Making the Leap Mustangs went from good to great under leadership of Liv Leap By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer ne of the best volleyball players in the Cape-Atlantic League once had visions of becoming a college basketball player. And while her high school basketball career didn’t pan out the way she thought it would, she may very well be an NCAA Division I volleyball player next fall. Liv Leap came into Mainland with high hopes for basketball, and volleyball was just something to do in the fall to keep in shape. She played it in seventh grade, then missed her eighthgrade season because of an injury, so by the time she was a freshman the sport was still relatively new to her. Little did she know that all those moves she had spent years trying to perfect in basketball would one day make her one of the top middle blockers in all of South Jersey. “I came into high school wanting to pursue basketball and hoping to play that in college. Volleyball is a fall sport and that happened to come first. I had a tryout and the coach really liked me, so I started out on JV (as a freshman) and got a few minutes on varsity. I improved a lot freshman year, and in my freshman year of basketball, I didn’t love it as much as I did volleyball, so I decided to continue with volleyball and pursue that and put more time into it,” said Leap, who plans to attend Liberty University in Virginia next fall and hopes to make the volleyball team as a walk-on. “Coming into freshman year it was almost like a brand new sport for me. I had played basketball since third grade and that was my sport forever. I just fell completely in love with volleyball. It wasn’t really a big sport around
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here, but coming into high school — because of my height and my ability to play defense in basketball — that really helped me transition into volleyball. I found my spot in volleyball as opposed to basketball.” “When we started with the program, Olivia wanted to be an outside hitter. We moved her into the middle position, and obviously that’s where she has thrived. She has one of the best hang times in the Cape-Atlantic League and she has grown a lot in the last couple of years. She’s a natural out there at that position,” said second-year Mainland coach Torie Rich. “She’s grown a lot the last two years as a person and a player, and she’s an awesome girl to have on the court. She’s somebody you want on your side.” When Leap was a sophomore, the Mustangs went 12-10 and Leap got some good time in, registering 21 kills, five blocks and four digs, mainly as a back-up to middle blockers Nicole Faragher and Francesca Pilli. The fall 2020 season was basically canceled because of covid, but girls volleyball had two seasons in 2021 — one from February through March and the normally scheduled season of September through November. It’s been this year when Leap has really shined. In the spring’s 14-game season, Mainland went 10-4 in Rich’s rookie season as coach, and Leap’s numbers, well, began to leap off the stat sheet. She recorded 84 kills, 15 blocks, 12 assists, 68 service points and 34 aces. Mainland finished as the No. 1 team in the CAL East Conference and scored big wins over traditional powers such as Pleasantville, ACIT and Absegami. That momentum carried over into this fall, when the Mustangs put to-
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Senior middle blocker Olivia Leap was one of the best players in South Jersey this season, finishing with more than 100 kills and 100 digs to go along with 44 blocks and 165 service points. gether their best season ever, going 21-2 and winning the CAL Tournament title for the first time in a thrilling three-set win over Absegami. “At the beginning of the season we took a trip as a team down to Florida. We knew it was going to be good competition, but we didn’t realize how good those teams were going to be. We ended up not even winning a set and we played about eight games. It didn’t bring us down because we knew it was the beginning of the season and it wasn’t going to have an effect on our season back home, but being able to see that level of competition made us better. We knew where we needed to be, and how to get there,” Leap said. “We were the first (Mainland) team to win
a CAL championship — (last spring) winning the East Conference and this year winning the whole league — we definitely had a huge impact on bringing this whole program up and showing the younger girls what it looks like, and feels like, to win and be at the top so they can strive to be there again.” “We had seven seniors this year and especially those three captains — Cadence (Fitzgerald), Bella (Canesi) and Olivia — being able to get that championship under their belt before they graduated was huge, and something they’ll always remember and always be proud of. We’ll always be striving to be as good as that group we had this
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Dec. 15, 2021 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 25 Leap, from page 24 year,” Rich said. Leap’s numbers were off the charts this year, as she finished with 109 kills, 44 blocks, 19 assists, 165 service points, 61 aces, and she led the team in digs with 103 — a rare feat for someone who spends most of their time at the net. “If anything improved from last year to this year, it’s been her defense. She broke a ton of dig records this year, which is unheard of for a middle blocker to have those kind of back-row records. By getting that piece of her game down she became the complete package,” Rich said. “She was huge for us. As a senior captain she took charge out there and kept that positive attitude that we needed. Olivia was so good with working with the younger players. Knowing she’s leaving and somebody is going to have to fill her role, she was a great role model for the younger girls who are coming up. She spent a lot of time working with them in practice, and outside of practice, to get them to the next level. “It was so fun to watch,” Rich added. “We knew when Olivia was up front we didn’t have to worry about the ball getting over because her blocks were awesome. We just had a lot of confidence when she was on the court. She’s one of the kindest kids, and hilarious, too. She’s one of those kids who catches you by surprise because she’s so quiet. It’s been so fun to get to know her the past two years. She’s one of those good kids who everybody would be lucky to have on their team.” Leap credits all those years of playing basketball with turning her into the volleyball player she is today. “Basketball kind of trained my whole body movement, my hand-eye coordination, my balance on the court, my jumping ability. Having trained in basketball all those years — we even play on the basketball court, so it wasn’t a completely new look for me. I just had to learn a few tweaks with my body movements, and I’m still learning. But it did make things a lot easier being able to transition from basketball,” she explained. “My hits got a lot harder this year. I knew I needed to increase my hitting power, so I started working out more. I increased my kills per
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With Leap leading the way, Mainland won 12 straight games down the stretch before falling to Toms River East in the second round of the state playoffs. game, which I was very happy with, and just my relationship with the team helped us perform a lot better this year. We were good last year, but compared to this year, it was a big difference.” Leap was huge during that win over Absegami in the CAL Tournament final, as she finished with five kills, six blocks, 11 digs and 14 service points. It’s only fitting that she was on the service line when the Mustangs won the final set, 25-23, to take the match. “We were rivals with Absegami, and we still are. Last year, our goal was to get a win against them and we did, in the last game we played. This year we knew we could pull it out. They did take us to three sets, but we had confidence in each other. Those last couple of points, being at the service line and knowing this was the game right here, it was very stressful but I knew if my teammates believed in me that I could believe in myself, and we pulled it out,” Leap said. “I’m most proud of
my improvement. Sophomore year I got the award for most improved, junior year I got team MVP and this year I was named the Defensive Player of the Year award. My defense has seen the biggest improvement. Coming from sophomore year when I could barely serve receive to know having the most digs on the digs, that’s a huge improvement and putting all that work in finally paid off.” Rich said what she’s most impressed with is Leap’s leadership abilities as a team captain. “That’s what you want from a senior. You want somebody the freshmen will look up to, and that’s absolutely what you got from Olivia. We’d walk in (to practice) and she’d be working with the freshmen and sophomore players. When we went to the JV tournament at Cedar Creek, she was one of the ones who was there from the beginning, no questions asked. She wanted to go there and support them because
they support her at all of her games. She’s absolutely the definition of a role model and a leader,” Rich said. “I didn’t know what to expect from her at all (two years ago), but she’s such a fun kid, and so mature and genuine. It was nice to have her.” Although the Mustangs lost in the state playoffs, Leap said she is happy with how her career at Mainland went. “Just knowing we had this ability — my freshman and sophomore years we went into games hoping we could win, but junior and senior year we went in knowing we could win if we just believe in each other and ourselves, and in our coaching,” she said. “Coming out with only two losses on the season, we couldn’t have asked for anything better. From where we started, it’s very satisfying to see where it all ended.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays