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ABOUT THE COVER
John Bruno is one of the more entertaining high school basketball coaches to watch. He’s often dressed in suit pants and sneakers, wears a Hawaiian shirt every year for the Ocean City PBA Tipoff weekend, and has seemingly endless banter with officials throughout the course of a game. He’ll wave off what he thinks are bad calls with an incredulous look on his face and give the ref an earful on the next trip down the floor. But that’s just part of being a basketball coach, and Bruno loves it. He says the referees understand, and that he’s quite friendly with them after the game. He’s a passionate guy, and you have to be to last for nearly 50 seasons coaching high school basketball and softball. Bruno recently won his 400th basketball game and is close to 500 wins combined in both sports, but he also has more than 600 losses combined. His career, however, is defined by much more than just wins and losses, as you’ll find out beginning on page 10 of this edition of Glory Days Magazine. — Dave O’Sullivan, Staff Writer
GLORY DAYS MAGAZINE General contact: 609-788-4294/advertising@acglorydays.com Dave O’Sullivan, Publisher: sully@acglorydays.com On Twitter: @GDsullysays Giuseppe Ungaro, Managing Editor: gungaro@acglorydays.com On Twitter: @GDgisepu Amy D’Adamo, Graphic Design: advertising@acglorydays.com Bill Lynskey, Director of Advertising: bill@acglorydays.com Victor McGuinn, Advertising Sales: victor@acglorydays.com STORY IDEAS/ADVERTISING: Have a story you’d like to see told in Glory Days Magazine? Want to get your business noticed with a marketing campaign in our print or digital platforms? Call us anytime at 609-788-4294. Volume: 6 Issue: 14 Overall Issue Number: 121. Cover Photography: Dave O’Sullivan. 2018 Glory Days Magazine. All rights reserved.
Jan. 25, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 5
MAKING HEADLINES Sully takes a closer look at the athletes, coaches and teams who are generating news and highlights in the Cape-Atlantic League and throughout South Jersey.
u Heating up: Atlantic City and Middle Township are two of the
hottest teams in the Cape-Atlantic League, as each has won seven straight games to vault to the top of their respective conferences. Ciani Redd-Howard and Atlantic City have gone from 2-3 to 9-3 and are 7-0 in the American Conference, a game-and-a-half up on ACIT. Middle Township, after a slow start, has improved to 11-4 and scored a big win over Wildwood Catholic this week to take over first place in the United Conference at 7-0, two games in front of the Crusaders. On the boys side, Wildwood Catholic has been simply dominant in winning nine straight games and is quickly closing in on a No. 1 seed in the upcoming CAL Tournament. The Crusaders will have some competition, however, as Ocean City has won seven straight to take over first in the CAL National, along with Mainland, and St. Augustine Prep is first in the American after six straight wins.
glory days digital Want the best high school sports coverage every day of the week? Visit glorydaysonline.com for game coverage, features and more! You can also like us at facebook.com/acglorydays, and follow Sully on Twitter @GDsullysays. Get the best. Every day.
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OLD CAPE RECYCLING SCHOLAR ATHLETE
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Senior Nina Nguyen has been a four-year varsity swimmer at Egg Harbor Township, is a team captain this year, and plans to continue her education at Johns Hopkins University next fall.
Keeping her priorities in order Sticking to a schedule has helped EHT’s Nguyen become a success in and out of the pool By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer f one day down the line Nina Nguyen is doing open-heart surgery on you, there won’t be any reason to fear. She won’t be nervous about the procedure because she’ll have the confidence of many years of schooling behind her — schooling that included four years at Egg Harbor Township High School, where she learned to put aside the nerves in big competitions and go out there and perform for her team. In a few months, the current senior will be graduating from EHT with high honors and plans to enroll in the pre-med program at prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. She’ll also graduate a champion, as during her freshman year she helped lead the Eagles to a surprising 95-75 victory over powerful Cherry
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Hill East in the South Jersey Public A championship meet. She’s helped lead her team back to the sectional final the past two years, where Cherry Hill East has gotten some revenge by winning two straight titles, but EHT could be in position to win it once again this year. “I started swimming when I was 4. My parents got my whole family into it and I just stayed with it because I liked it so much. I used to do karate and tennis, but I didn’t like it as much as swimming. I knew the EHT team had a lot of talent, so (as a freshman) I didn’t really know how much impact I would make on the team. I just wanted to be a part of the team because I heard how great the team aspect of it was from my cousin, who was already on the team. She would always talk about how much she loved it,” Nguyen said. “I knew a lot of the girls already, so I felt like I fit in and I wasn’t intimidated by anything. “It was really exciting (to win a sectional title) and the whole team was really happy about it. We went against Cherry Hill East and they are such a great team. It was awesome to just have
See Nguyen, page 9
Jan. 25, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 9 Nguyen, from page 6 everyone work so hard and see it finally pay off. I was a bit jittery at first, but we had some seniors who were leading us and were telling us it was going to be fine because it’s something we had worked hard for. After the meet ended we all just started screaming and jumping around because we were so happy.” These days, Nguyen is one of those seniors trying to lead the way for a younger group, as she is one of the team captains along with Grace Curry and Nikki Belber. “The coaching staff looks into it and it’s a year-byyear thing; sometimes we’ll only have one or two seniors and they’re both deserving. This year, Nina is a person who has always been there. She’s not the most outspoken person, but she leads by example and is a person you want on your team. She’s very low maintenance and high reward,” coach Mark Jamieson said of naming Nina one of the captains. “She’s been a person we can plug in anywhere. During our run to a state championship in 2016 she was very valuable, she swam the 500 freestyle and the 100 breaststroke and scored third place in the 100 breaststroke during that meet. She’s always been able to move around. Sometimes in big meets we’ll have her in the butterfly or the 200 IM, so she’s always been versatile depth for us, which is huge. She’s not always the center page of the newspaper, but she’s always putting up event points during every meet.”
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Nguyen has helped lead EHT to the South Jersey Public A final three straight years, including a sectional title in 2016. It hasn’t been easy for Nguyen to balance a tough sport like swimming with some equally difficult academics, and the key, she said, is keeping a very tight schedule. She plans everything as much as possible so that she’s not cramming before big tests or projects. “I just try to prioritize everything. I know I have practice in the afternoon, so right when I get home from school, instead of playing on my phone or anything else, I start doing my homework. Then I go to swim practice, and right after practice I eat and do more homework before going to sleep,” said Nguy-
en, who typically swims the breaststroke and 200 IM events. “I tell younger kids to make a schedule so they know what days they have practice, what days they have tests, and I tell them to study a couple days before a test so they aren’t cramming everything in the night before. Jamieson said he’s confident Nguyen will be fully prepared when she enrolls at Johns Hopkins this coming fall. “She’s going pre-med at Johns Hopkins and from Day One there’s been no hiding the fact that it’s been academics first before athletics. She’s always been committed in the classroom, she’s on the board for the National Honor Society and has always been a great kid as far as being a role model in terms of achieving a good GPA and having good SAT scores, and really getting the work done in the classroom,” he said. “Putting that kind of work load on her will get her prepared for the rigors of that kind of exceptional university. She’ll be used to a demanding schedule and sometimes some sleep deprivation, facing adversity — you might not be feeling good but you still have to show up. I think a sport like swimming and high level education kids succeeding has a good correlation. Take Christian Bell, our alumnus at Yale, as an example, and I’d expect Nina to do just as well. She’ll get to Johns Hopkins and be able to do just fine.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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VIC’S SUBS COVER STORY
Moments, miles and memories John Bruno has logged nearly 50 seasons coaching basketball and softball at Ocean City and coached in more than 1,100 games. There have been plenty of wins and losses, but it’s relationships with players and fans he values most. By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer asketball and softball, like most other sports, are numbers games. How many points are you scoring per game? How many rebounds? What’s your batting average? How many strikeouts does a pitcher have, and in how many innings? What’s your RBI total? Numbers help us measure things, like how good a player is, how valuable he or she is in certain situations, what role a particular player might be best suited for. John Bruno’s coaching career at Ocean City is filled with numbers. He’s coached in more than 1,100 games. This is his 30th season on the bench leading the Red Raiders’ boys basketball program, and he’s also coached a total of 19 softball seasons, having two stints as skipper, the first from 19942000 and the second from 2007 to the present. By June, he’ll have 50 head coaching seasons under his belt in the red and white. A recent win over Lower Cape May was coach Bruno’s 400th career victory in basketball, and with five more wins — which the Red Raiders (currently 11-2) should be able to accomplish — he will have 500 combined wins between basketball and softball. But he also has 617 losses. “What I keep telling everybody is what that means is you’ve been blessed to have some good players over the years, but it took a lot of years to do it,” Bruno said during a recent radio interview on 97.3 ESPN FM, referring to his 400th win. “It’s been the first number that really made me realize how long it’s been. There were
B
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Ocean City boys basketball coach John Bruno has been coaching the Red Raiders for 30 years, and recently won his 400th career game when the Red Raiders beat Lower Cape May in overtime. some years in there where we won 10 or 11 games, but there were also some years where we won 17 or 18, so a mix of all that and you start realizing that the number is getting pretty high. “I always kid people that I’m also the losingest coach in Ocean City history, so, I’ve been around a long time.” To say the numbers don’t matter
wouldn’t be entirely truthful, as Bruno as is competitive as any coach in state history and wants to win every time he steps onto a basketball court or softball diamond. Wins and losses matter, but what Bruno has come to realize through the years is that everything that goes into all those wins and losses matters much more. The relationships
he’s built with players and assistant coaches through the years, the grinding through drills in practice, the late night bus rides back from Bridgeton or Lower Cape May. Bruno is gracious with the media after wins and losses, has earned the respect of referees (even
See Bruno, page 11
Jan. 25, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 11 Bruno, from page 10 though he gives them quite a hard time during games) and has become a fan favorite at Ocean City. During a timeout at a recent home game, the entire student section behind the Red Raiders’ bench broke into a chorus of “Happy Birthday” to honor one of their favorite coaches. “I moved here as a freshman, so it was a new school for me and he took me in, put me under his wing, and I can’t thank him enough for making me feel welcome,” said current senior basketball player Luke Varallo. “He’s always happy and never gets down. If we lose, the next day at practice he always says to never get too high after a win, and after a loss never get too low. Overall, he’s a really great guy. My coaches are definitely preparing me for the future, and I’ll never forget them.” “I think the younger you are the more concerned you are with wins and losses, but if you stay with it, you start to realize the impact it has on the kids, and every year it’s a different group of kids. Of course, we all want to win, but it’s always interesting when you see coaches, and some of my best friends like Joe Kessler and Paul Rodio — that whole crew that has 600, 700, 800 wins — people always say you can keep coaching forever when you’re having those kinds of seasons, and that’s to their credit,” Bruno said. “But I always point to a guy like Scott Holden (at Lower Cape May), there were a lot of years that Scott would win two, three or four games, but he hung in there. The losses were adding
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
With five more victories, Bruno will reach a combined 500 wins in basketball and softball. He has 402 in boys basketball and 93 during his 19-year softball coaching career. up, but to his credit, he realized he’s there for the kids and the last couple of years he’s starting to reap the benefits of success. It’s always good to have those wins, but I always admire those coaches who maybe aren’t as fortunate enough to win a lot of games but who hang in there and realize they are there for the kids.” Last spring, Kevin Minnick of NJ Advance Media wrote an article about Bridgeton baseball coach Mike Valella, who has more than 300 career loss-
es and only 62 wins. Bruno was able to shed a little light on why someone would continue coaching despite suffering through so many losses. Bruno’s career softball coaching record is similar, 93-270. “I can really relate to the article that was written about him last year. Not many people know it, but this will be my 20th year coaching softball and I don’t have 100 wins. As much as my basketball wins have been enjoyable, I’ve enjoyed those years coaching
softball with those kids. They are all out there working hard, but sometimes the other teams are just better,” Bruno said. “You can work hard and teach all the fundamentals, but sometimes you just can’t hit that pitcher. And in softball, that’s such a dominant position that the team could be equal, but the pitcher is making the difference, and you can coach all you want but you just can’t hit that pitcher. So, I do
See Bruno, page 13
Jan. 25, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 13 Bruno, from page 11 give a lot of credit to those coaches who, regardless of whether you win or lose, you’re out there trying to make the kids better. I’m sure the coaches for Bridgeton baseball are working just as hard as those who win state titles.” Bruno isn’t a native of Ocean City, but might as well be now that he’s spent more than 30 years in the area. What’s kept him here so long, he said — aside from living at the beach, of course — is the quality of the Ocean City High School staff and students. “When I came down here I had no idea how things were going to work out, but I’ve enjoyed all my time here in Ocean City. I know everybody throws the word ‘family’ around a lot, but we really have had a good coaching family there. I owe everything to Jack Boyd, the guy I have the most respect for, ever. When you think of Jack Boyd you get a smile on your face. I’d be 25-0 every year according to Jack Boyd,” Bruno said. “And you think of all the other coaches, Dixie Howell, Trish LeFever, nowadays with Trish Henry and Matt Purdue — the quality of coaches throughout all our sports, it’s just great to be a part of that group, and to get the support of the faculty, the administration and the students. And Paul Baruffi has done a great job with our girls program, there’s nobody as passionate as he is. What makes it worthwhile is we’re best friends, too. His success
has been overwhelming.” Joey Sacco, a senior guard who has a bunch of older siblings and has grown up around the Ocean City basketball programs, said there isn’t anyone he’d rather have guiding him through his high school career. “Even when I wasn’t in high school, coach Bruno was always there for me and now he’s not just a coach, but a guy I can go and talk to whenever I need anything. I’m really proud he got to 400 wins because he deserves it,” Sacco said. “A lot of times during practice he’s telling us that it’s not all about winning and losing, you always have to be good kids outside the sport as well. I wouldn’t want another coach and I’m glad I came to Ocean City and had him as my coach.” Still, as sports fans, no matter how great a guy somebody is, we always want to know what the numbers say. Well, coach Bruno has some pretty good numbers. In his 30 seasons coaching basketball, he’s had double-digit wins in all but six of them, he had his first 20-win season a year ago, he led the Red Raiders to the 1998-99 South Jersey Group 3 championship, and has 23 state playoff victories to his credit. After his softball teams didn’t make the playoffs in his first 11 years, upon his return Ocean City made states for seven straight years, from 20112017. And now he has his 400th win to point to as a symbol of what he’s been able to accomplish at Ocean City.
“Andrew Bristol has been my assistant coach (in basketball) for 16 years and we were able to reflect on it a little bit, but to be honest, when the game is over, you’re doing the same things you did after the fifth or sixth game (of your career). We were already worried about Egg Harbor Township,” Bruno said. “It’s humbling, I’ll be honest with you. I’m friends with Jay Wright and when (Villanova) won the national championship I texted him, and after I won my 400th, the amount of texts I got — I was thinking, ‘my, goodness, there are so many people out there who care,’ and you don’t really ever think about it. What a very humbling experience it has been. It shook me up a little bit to realize that there were that many people who would take the time to congratulate me. “The kids in the stands are just as important as the kids on the floor,” he continued. “We’re a school, and those kids support the players, and I certainly enjoy walking the hallways every day and seeing those kids as students. They don’t necessarily have to be athletes, I just like the kids at Ocean City and it’s been a pleasure to work with them and coach some of them.” Varallo perhaps put it best when he said, “I wasn’t even born when he started coaching. Four hundred is a lot of wins.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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GIRLS BASKETBALL
Raiders relying on defense to make a run Ocean City has won five straight to keep the heat on rival Mainland in the CAL National By Giuseppe Ungaro Staff Writer aul Baruffi’s girls basketball teams are always going to give effort, especially on the defensive end of the hardwood. This year is no different. The success of Ocean City (10-3) begins with defense, led by senior Tori Rolls, who is often asked to guard some of the best scorers in the CapeAtlantic League. “Tori Rolls is one of these girls you don’t ever hear about because basically she is a defensive stopper,” Baruffi said. “You are never really going to see her name much in the box score. If you go down the line of the girls we played against, who are scoring a lot of points against most teams, their averages drop significantly when Tori is covering them. She is one of those players.” Rolls is not the only one playing defense for the Red Raiders. Ocean City
Season update OCEAN CITY Overall record: 10-3 CAL National: 5-1 Last 5 games: 5-0 Next 5 games: Jan. 27 vs. Mainland; Jan. 29 at Wildwood; Jan. 31 at Holy Spirit; Feb. 2 at Camden Catholic; Feb. 6 at Absegami
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Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Tori Rolls, left, and Savanna Holt have led a strong defensive effort that has produced five straight wins to get Ocean City to 10-3 overall. has allowed just one team — Lenape, which is among South Jersey’s best — crack 50 points. That’s one of the reasons why the Red Raiders have won eight of the last nine games, including five consecutive.
After a somewhat slow start to the season, Ocean City is arguably playing its best basketball. Since the Lenape loss, the Red Raiders have allowed just 27 points per game while doubling opponents up with a 54-point average.
“I feel like we play more as a cohesive unit, whereas in the beginning of the year, we weren’t really all there. We had our moments, but we struggled at times,” Baruffi said. “I feel like we are getting a rotation of seven or eight out there. We can rotate a couple girls in and not lose too much. They are gaining more of a feel on the court.” Senior point guard Danielle Donoghue does a little bit of everything for
See Raiders, page 15
Jan. 25, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 15 Raiders, from page 14 Ocean City, including being second in scoring and among the leaders in rebounding. Center Emma Finnegan, a junior, is leading the squad in points and rebounding, and just registered back-to-back 13-point games. Also starters are senior Molly Hoffmann, who personifies the Red Raiders’ hard-working philosophy, and senior Savanna Holt, who continues to improve her game to be an important part of the offense. Ocean City also has a strong bench led by Abbey Fenton and Delaney Lappin. The team is looking to continue its upward trend, as the second half of the season gets in full swing. Ocean City has a tough schedule ahead. Not only will the Red Raiders try to avenge an early season loss to rival Mainland on Sunday, they also have tough games against Wildwood, Camden Catholic, Manchester Township and Gloucester Catholic left on the schedule. Heading into this weekend, the Red Raiders (5-1) were just a game behind Mainland (6-0) in the CAL National standings. But they’ll also have to contend with Oakcrest (4-2) and Absegami (3-3), who will be looking to get into the CAL Tournament. Only the top two teams in each of the CAL’s three conferences get automatic bids, the rest are left to fight for the two remaining at-large bids. Baruffi has traditionally scheduled a tough out-of-conference schedule. Not only does it keep his squad focused and challenged, it is also an opportunity to learn and improve. “At this point of the year, we talk a lot about positioning in the playoffs, both in the Cape-Atlantic League and the South Jersey Group 3,” Baruffi said. “I try to keep them focused on how important each game is for the power points and seeding for the CAL. We definitely have some good games coming up.”
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Molly Hoffman and the Red Raiders have some big games coming up, including a rivalry matchup against Mainland followed by a tough game against Wildwood.
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Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan
Wildwood Catholic’s Taj Thweatt throws down a windmill dunk during a recent win over Pleasantville. Thweatt, a junior, has been one of the most dominant players in the state this year and college offers continue to roll in for the 6-foot-7 forward.
Crusaders’ Thweatt playing above the rest
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didn’t really get too much of an opportunity to see Wildwood Catholic forwad Taj Thweatt play last year, when he was a sophomore, except during the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament championship game against Atlantic City. He was a pretty impressive player even then, but now, another year older, bigger and stronger, he looks like a man among boys out there. He’s about 6-foot-7, he’s fast, rangy and can do a lot of things on the court. He can post up a smaller defender, block shots, grab rebounds, and even step out and hit some threes when he wants to. Pleasantville has three big guys, Jacob Valeus, Sam Growalt and Elijah Jones, it can run out there to defend
Dave O’Sullivan
ROUNDBALL REPORT Thweatt, and the Greyhounds are one of the better teams in the CAL. But even they really had no answers for Thweatt, who scored a game-high 28 points in a recent 75-66 win. He threw down two alley-oop dunks, had a windmill dunk on a breakaway in the second half, and also hit two key 3-pointers that helped squash a potential Greyhounds comeback. There just isn’t much any high school team can do to try to defend that kind of talent.
There will be plenty of teams jockeying for position the next three weeks, not only just to get into position to make the CAL Tournament, but also for seeding. It may not matter what seed anybody is if the Crusaders (14-1) continue to play the way they are right now. After a recent game, a player told me that his team doesn’t fear anybody, well, except, you know, Wildwood Catholic.
u Tough rookie: A player I’ve been impressed with is ACIT freshman Grace Speer. She has some good basketball acumen and coach Jason Vander Ryk has slowly been bringing her along and asking her to do a little bit more each game. In a loss to Atlantic City earlier this week, the RedHawks’ first of the season, Speer was battling illness and even her mom didn’t expect her to play that night. But she gave ACIT some good minutes and even though she didn’t score, she provided some important rebounding and defense in the low post that allowed the RedHawks to have a chance to win the game in the final minute. Showing that kind of toughness, playing even though you’re sick and a little dehydrated, will go a long way toward endearing her to her teammates. She’ll develop into a low-post scoring threat as she progresses in her career, so keep an eye on her. u Topsy-turvy CAL National: So,
See Report, page 17
Jan. 25, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 17 Report, from page 16 which is the best boys team in the CAL National Conference? You can pretty much put the names of four schools in a hat, pick one out and make a case as to why that one is the best team in the conference. The top two teams, Ocean City and Mainland, have combined to win 12 in a row, and Lower Cape May started out 11-2 before losing consecutive games to Ocean City and Mainland. And Holy Spirit has navigated a difficult schedule, scored a home win over Ocean City and heading into this weekend the Spartans were just a game out of first place despite being 8-6 overall. u No need to panic: A few weeks
ago it seemed as though St. Augustine Prep was beginning to sputter a little bit, but a coach like Paul Rodio knows how to get his team refocused. After a blowout loss against Wildwood Catholic in early January, the Hermits have ripped off six straight wins, including convincing wins over Millville and Holy Spirit. Prep may be the one team that has the talent and size to match up with Wildwood Catholic in the CAL Tournament, and if they do, you can bet coach Rodio is going to show the tape of that 67-44 loss until his players are breathing fire. Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Freshman Grace Speer, left, has been a key contributor for ACIT, which started out the season 11-0, and has shown some toughness battling through illness this week to continue to give coach Jason Vander Ryk some quality minutes.
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GIRLS BASKETBALL
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Shakiyah Hasan, left, and Madison Brestle helped lead Atlantic City to six straight victories recently that helped the Vikings vault over ACIT and Egg Harbor Township in the Cape-Atlantic League American Conference standings.
Atlantic City surges to top in CAL American Vikings overcoming injuries, starting to hit their stride By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer any of the teams in the CapeAtlantic League, and in particular the ones that play in the American Conference, have spent much of the season looking over their shoulder at Atlantic City and wondering when the Vikings’ run was going to come. Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. It seems as though that run is happening now, as a team that early on languished in fourth place in the con-
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ference race suddenly is the top dog and will have everyone else chasing it in the next few weeks before the field for the CAL Tournament is set. The Vikings hung on to beat ACIT — on the road, no less — 34-33 on Jan. 22 to give themselves a game-and-a-half edge on the RedHawks in the conference race. Atlantic City is in first place despite ACIT winning its first 11 games of the season. “I’m earning my gray hairs this year. I’ve watched a couple of (ACIT) games and they are playing very confident basketball. They’re taking advantage of their size, they’re patient, and it’s good to see their program grow the way it’s grown the past couple of
See Surge, page 19
Jan. 25, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 19 Surge, from page 18 years,” Atlantic City coach Jason Lantz said after the game. “In the beginning of the year we had a different unit than we have now. We have two girls out with injuries, so it’s taken some time to adjust to the lineup that we have. But what I love about this group is they play for each other, the execution is starting to come along in the half-court sets as people get comfortable in their spots, and we’re starting to roll a little bit.” Tahirah Howard, a senior who spent the first two years of her career as a dominant forward at ACIT, could have been a huge piece for the Vikings but unfortunately she’s missed most of the last two years with some devastating knee injuries. And guard Syria Bass transferred over to Holy Spirit prior to this year. But Lantz has been able to plug in some newcomers, and the
“I like playing under the basket and getting beaten up a little bit. Being down low allowed some of our girls, like me and Shakiyah (Hasan), to get rebounds and steal a game.”
Ciani Redd-Howard Atlantic City senior, after the Vikings beat ACIT 34-33 on Jan. 22
Vikings always bring a defensive intensity — led by scrappy junior point guard Madison Brestle — that is tough for any team to match. Ciani ReddHoward, a senior forward, has begun to pick her game up and Savannah Robertson has been able to provide an offensive spark this season. Freshman guard Sanai Garrison-Macon has burst onto the scene as a playmaker, and Qeiajae Canty, another guard, can be deadly when she’s hot from beyond the arc. Players such as Alex Fader and Shakiyah Hasan have been giving the Vikings some quality minutes and a rebounding presence during their re-
cent six-game winning streak that put A.C.’s record at 8-3 after a rough 2-3 start. “I like playing under the basket and getting beaten up a little bit. Being down low allowed some of our girls, like me and Shakiyah (Hasan), to get rebounds and steal a game,” ReddHoward said after the win over ACIT. “Our team has gotten a lot better since the first few games. It’s nice to be able to work together. We got some tough teams out of the way early and got exposed to them,” Brestle added after the ACIT win. “This was a different challenge for us because they are
much taller, so we had to work on that a lot in practice yesterday. We knew what we were getting ourselves into, so it was nice to get out here and get a win.” Getting off to a rough start means that the Vikings can’t take any games down the stretch for granted. The Vikings face some huge challenges even before the calendar turns to February. On Jan. 26 they take on Gloucester Catholic, one of the top teams in South Jersey and a squad that features Duke University commit Azana Baines, and two days later they take on ACIT again. They’ll also face EHT on the road on Jan. 30. “It’s a process. We’re taking every game like it’s a championship game no matter who the opponent is, and just trying to get better every day,” Lantz said. Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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BOYS BASKETBALL
Can anyone stop Wildwood Catholic? Crusaders have been toying with the rest of the Cape-Atlantic League By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer he Wildwood Catholic boys basketball team is playing with confidence and swagger, and that’s a scary thought because they already had plenty of talent coming into this season. After beating rival Middle Township on Wednesday night, the Crusaders were 14-1, their only loss coming against Camden — one of the other few top teams in South Jersey — and had won nine straight games, including five against Cape-Atlantic League teams. Through the first 14 games, Wildwood Catholic had two winning streaks of at least five games, had gone 9-0 against teams in its league, had beaten a very good out-of-state team in Archbishop Carroll (Pa.) and had gone 7-1 against the best teams on its schedule. The Crusaders had also won in any kind of fashion a particular opponent wanted to play. Want an up-tempo style? No big deal, the Crusaders will run you out of the building like they did when they
Season update WILDWOOD CATHOLIC
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Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Jacob Hopping and the Crusaders won 13 of their first 14 games this season and have been untouchable in the Cape-Atlantic League. dropped 88 points on Holy Spirit, 90 on Pleasantville and 90 again in a win over Buena. Prefer the plodding, defensive-minded game? Not a problem. Wildwood Catholic beat Moorestown 34-32 and scored less than 60 points in seven of its 13 wins. Think you can take down the Crusaders if you get them in foul trouble and
get the game into overtime? Wrong. St. Joseph took them into an extra frame and Catholic outscored the Wildcats 15-10 to win 78-73. Through the first 13 games, Wildwood Catholic’s average margin of victory was nearly 20 points (70.1 ppg to 53.7). Junior forward Taj Thweatt and Jahlil White have been outstanding all year, but the Crusaders
Overall record: 14-1 CAL National: 7-0 Last 5 games: 5-0 Next 5 games: Jan. 26 vs. Cherokee (at RV); Jan. 27 vs. Plainfield; Jan. 31 vs. Cape May Tech; Feb. 2 vs. Imhotep Charter; Feb. 3 vs. Roselle Catholic have plenty of complimentary parts, like sharp-shooting guard Jacob Hopping and point guard Jake McGonigle, and even have a new car to pull out of the garage as Middle Township transfer Dasean Lopez recently became eligible. He scored just four points in his first game back, against St. Joseph, as he got his sea legs under him, but in his next outing he was all over the floor,
See Catholic, page 21
Jan. 25, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 21 Catholic, from page 20 scoring 14 points and playing great defense in a 75-66 win over Pleasantville, another CAL United contender. “We always know we’re going to get five, six, seven runs by them every time we play them, especially here, and they did the same thing here tonight. We were fortunate to stay in control, and when they made their runs we were able to respond. We hit a couple shots that were huge, Taj hit two huge threes — not the shots I necessarily want him to take, but they both went in so they were good shots. I felt like at the two-and-a-half minute mark we thought the game was over; we were up by 15 or 17 points, but it was far from over. They made another run, but we were able to withstand it,” head coach Dave DeWeese said after that win. “I thought Dasean Lopez played outstanding for us tonight. This is only his second game playing, and he did everything right. He rebounded, handled the ball, shot the ball well, dove on the floor for loose balls — he did everything tonight, and I thought it was a coming out game for him.” Thweatt showed off his vast array of skills against Pleasantville, blocking shots, grabbing rebounds and scoring a game-high 28 points. He also threw down a nasty windmill dunk on a breakaway in the second half. “I just had to pull that out and get the energy going again in the game,” Thweatt said of his dunk, one of several he had. “We knew we had to come and play hard. We knew we couldn’t look at the first time we beat them, we knew we had to come out and play strong, like we do every other game. The energy was here, and we just had to come out and play hard. When we play away, we know we have to play harder than when we’re at home.” “He’s an incredible athlete who keeps getting better. We just have to fix his foul shooting. He’s actually a really good foul shooter, but the last two games he’s been struggling a little bit,” said DeWeese. But DeWeese said he doesn’t want his team to get too overconfident. The ultimate goal for the Crusaders is to defend their CAL Tournament championship and ultimately win a state title.
Glory Days Magazine photo/ Dave O’Sullivan
Junior forward Jahlil White has been outstanding for the Crusaders, one of the top teams in the state. And there are plenty of good opponents coming up — Cherokee this weekend at the Rancocas Valley tournament, Plainfield on Jan. 27, Patterson Kennedy, Roselle Catholic, St. Joseph again and Bishop Eustace. “Our focus right now is to get through our 16th game, which is the cutoff for the state tournament. We think we have a good shot at being the No. 1 seed in South Jersey Non-Public B, which is what our goal is,” DeWeese said. “Once we get there, we can kind of look at our schedule going forward as games that are getting us ready for stuff down the road. I think the biggest challenge is realize that we can still get better, and we have to come every day to practice and work even harder. I don’t think we’ve played our perfect game yet — or anything close to it — so we have to continue to get better in the hopes that we’ll be able to compete when we get to the end of the season. After the St. Joe game we said foul shooting, rebounding, loose balls and offensive execution, those four things were our focus, and they continue to be the four areas where we want to improve.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
Page 22 w Glory Days Magazine w Jan. 25, 2019
BOYS BASKETBALL CAL TOURNAMENT UPDATE
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Luke Varallo and the Ocean City Red Raiders look like a strong contender in the CAL after some big recent league wins over Lower Cape May and Egg Harbor Township.
Who’s likely in? Defending champion Wildwood Catholic is a sure bet, and probably will get the No. 1 seed. The Crusaders have simply been dominant the entire season. St. Augustine Prep and Millville, currently the top two teams in the American Conference, likely will get in. Even if Egg Harbor Township overtakes Millville and gets into the second spot in the conference prior to the cutoff, the Thunderbolts are one of the better teams in the league and should have a good enough resume for an at-large bid. St. Joseph came into this week sitting in the No. 2 spot in the CAL United, and it’s hard to imagine the Wildcats not making the tournament, but they do have some work to do in order to secure an automatic berth with Pleasantville breathing down their necks.
Who’s on the bubble?
At this point, four teams in the CAL National would have to be considered on the bubble until one or two of them get some separation. Ocean City, Lower Cape May, Mainland and Holy Spirit will all have strong cases, but at the most only three of them will get in, and quite possibly only two, depending on if EHT can bolster its resume in the American. Pleasantville is also on the bubble, but if it doesn’t get an automatic berth it should still be considered one of the better at-large candidates with three 1,000-point scorers in the lineup.
This week’s big question: Can EHT do enough to get into the No. 2 spot in the CAL American? If so, that will throw a monkey wrench into things and Millville, or two of the CAL National teams, could find themselves on the outside looking in.
Jan. 25, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 23
GIRLS BASKETBALL CAL TOURNAMENT UPDATE
Who’s likely in? Defending champion Mainland is almost a sure lock for the No. 1 seed, as through their first 14 games the Mustangs were 12-2 overall and undefeated in the CAL National. Wildwood Catholic also likely will get a high seed, and teams like Middle Township, Atlantic City, Ocean City and ACIT are in contention to grab one of the top four seeds and get a home game in the opening round of the eight-team tournament. You can probably count on all five of these teams being in, and being the top five seeds, although the order make shake up a bit between now and when the tourney kicks off.
Who’s on the bubble? Like the line at the dining hall at college around 5 p.m., the bubble is beginning to get a bit more crowded. Egg Harbor Township and Vineland are trying to keep the pressure on Atlantic City and ACIT in the CAL American, while surprise teams like Oakcrest and Absegami are still in the mix in the National. Heading into games on Jan. 23, both were just a game behind second-place Ocean City. Middle Township and Wildwood Catholic look to be the top teams in the United, but don’t count OLMA out just yet. Through their first 11 games the Villagers were 7-4, including 4-2 in conference play. All told, at this point it looks like there are 11 teams fighting for eight spots.
This week’s big question:
Can Oakcrest and Absegami continue to hang around? If so, they could put some serious heat on teams like Ocean City, EHT and OLMA.
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
ACIT suffered a tough loss to Atlantic City on Jan. 22, but Nyasia Grant the RedHawks are still in good position to make the CAL Tournament.
Page 24 w Glory Days Magazine w Jan. 25, 2019
BOYS SWIMMING
Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Mainland Regional junior Destin Lasco, one of the top swimmers in the nation, recently announced his verbal commitment to the University of California. He’ll be able to sign his official National Letter of Intent in November.
Lasco going from CAL to Univ. of California By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer estin Lasco, a junior at Mainland Regional, has spent his entire high school swimming career in the CAL, as in the Cape-Atlantic League. He must like the sound of that, because he’s decided to spend his college years at Cal — as in the University of California at Berkeley. Lasco, one of the nation’s top high school swimmers who holds several national records, recently announced that he had chosen Cal over other prestigious universities such as Stanford, Virginia, North Carolina State, Indiana, Texas and Louisville. “It was definitely a great experience, just going through the process and learning how to talk to coaches, being mature and learning how to talk about yourself in a humble way, and meeting great athletes and great coaches — it was definitely an experience I’ll never forget. When I went to Cal, I got to talk with the current world record holder,
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Ryan Murphy, who won three Olympic golds at Rio, and just being able to talk to him and pick his brain was amazing. The facilities and academics there are world class. I’m so excited,” Lasco said. “What really made me make the decision now was I finished my five official visits, made my pros and cons charts and narrowed it down. When I made my charts and my decision, it just came down to where I was happy and where I could succeed, and Cal was the place. The reason why I chose Cal is the academics are world class there, and Dave Durden and Chase (Kreitler), those are the current coaches at CalBerkeley, and Durden just got named to be the men’s swim coach for the 2020 Olympic team. It was a no-brainer to train under him because he’s proven to be able to take people to the Olympics while also getting them a phenomenal degree, he cares about the athlete as a whole package, not only the four years
See Lasco, page 25
Jan. 25, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 25 Lasco, from page 24 they spend at Berkeley but what they do outside of school. So, that’s the reason why I chose Berkeley.” Heading into this season, California was the No. 1 men’s swimming team in the nation, and most of the other schools that were recruiting Lasco were in the top 10. Lasco has his eye on making the 2020 Olympic team, and in December coach Durden was named to the top spot for Team USA men’s swimming. He’ll coach the squad at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, in the summer of 2020. Team USA won 16 gold medals, and 33 total, at the Rio Games in 2016. Durden was an assistant coach on that team. “The sky is the limit and we’re already training for the 2020 Olympics. I already made my trials cut for Omaha, so right now we’re just laying the foundation down and trying our best,” Lasco said. “Even if I don’t make it, I’ll have another four years to try and I’ll have something to look forward to in going to college and getting to try again. So, it’s not over even if I don’t make 2020.” Lasco, who has a very busy schedule with not only his academics at Mainland but also club swimming to go along with being a member of the Mustangs’ varsity squad, said choosing a school the size of California
(which in 2017 had more than 41,000 students) doesn’t intimidate him. “I’m really excited because I’m always a kid who is eager to try new things and learn about myself. When I went to Berkeley, there are 13 people there on Team USA, and one of my favorite sayings is, ‘if you want to have aspirations and goals, you have to be surrounded by people who have those same aspirations and dreams.’ That’s what I felt at Berkeley, I felt like everybody was working as one unit. That’s another reason why I chose Berkeley,” he said. For now, Lasco’s focus is on helping Mainland win a fourth straight state championship. The Mustangs went 45-0 in his first three years and won three state titles, and despite a couple of losses this year to St. Augustine Prep and Egg Harbor Township, the Mustangs should be in contention for the Public B championship again. “It’s a lot off my plate,” Lasco asid of making the decision early. “I’m ready to just keep my academics up, enjoy the rest of my high school season and get ready for USA swimming.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
“The sky is the limit and we’re already training for the 2020 Olympics. I already made my trials cut for Omaha, so right now we’re just laying the foundation down and trying our best. Even if I don’t make it, I’ll have another four years to try and I’ll have something to look forward to in going to college and getting to try again. So, it’s not over even if I don’t make 2020.” Destin Lasco Mainland junior
Page 26 w Glory Days Magazine w Jan. 25, 2019
ttttttttttttttttttttttt GAME REWIND
Girls basketball Atlantic City 34, ACIT 33 The RedHawks jumped out to an early 13-5 lead and seemed to be in control, as freshman Cea’anai Jackson was crashing the boards and getting putbacks. But the Vikings hung around and made a run in the second quarter to tie the game at 18 heading into halftime. Then, the Vikings’ defense got to work, and with Jackson in foul trouble in the third quarter, Atlantic City built up a 29-22 lead. ACIT made a comeback in the fourth quarter, however, outscoring the Vikings 11-5, but Kayla Sykes’ running 3-point attempt at the buzzer was just off the mark. WHAT WE LEARNED The Vikings can be patient and play in a half-court offense when need be. Usually, Atlantic City likes a more up-tempo style, but in this game coach Jason Lantz decided to slow things down and be a little more deliberate on offense, which took away possessions from ACIT. The plan worked, as the RedHawks were never really able to get in a groove offensively. KEEP AN EYE ON Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan Atlantic City forward Shakiyah Hasan. With some front-line injuries, the Sanai Garrison-Macon and the Atlantic City Vikings outlasted preVikings have needed somebody to step up in the post, and Hasan is viously unbeaten ACIT on Jan. 22, extending their win streak to six starting to give them some valuable minutes and rebounding. games with a 34-33 victory.
Jan. 25, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 27
GETTING BACK IN THE GAME
And now, the fun part begins: physical therapy
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ne of the biggest steps to solving a problem is admitting you have a problem. I knew I had a problem with Achilles tendinitis years ago, but was too lazy to do anything about it. But, as the years begin to pile up, you start to realize that if you have health issues that are holding you back from being the athlete you want to be, the only way to solve them is to enlist the help of professionals and be committed to getting things right again. After stumbling through the past couple of summer/fall baseball seasons — sure, I could still hit, but legging out a double meant having to crank one all the way to the fence, and often times I would have to get a “courtesy” pinch runner, which is quite embarrassing — I decided that enough was enough and that I needed to get this tendinitis situation handled in 2019. I understand that I’m now 46 years old and I may never be the kind of base-stealing threat I was in my teens and 20s, but I still want to be able to compete in summer and fall baseball leagues without having trouble getting out of bed the next day. I’m way too young yet to feel like that! So, in mid-January I went to Atlantic Medical Imaging to get an MRI done on both my Achilles tendons. I never had an MRI before, and it was an interesting experience, as you must lay as still as possible for about 20 minutes (for each leg) so that the technician can get clear images. My next step was a visit with Dr. Brian Sokalsky of Jersey Shore Sports Medicine in Somers Point (see his ad on page 24 of this edition of Glory Days Magazine). Dr. Sokalsky took a look at the MRI and said there was damage to my Achilles tendons, but not as much as originally feared, and that a PRP (platelet rich plasma) injection would likely work wonders for me. Dr. Sokalsky has been working with PRP injections for nearly a decade now, and says he has has great success with healing chronic tendinitis in areas such as the Achilles or elbow. And, since Dr. Sokalsky is, well, a doctor, and therefore much smarter than myself, I decided it was wise to take his advice. The injections weren’t all that bad, a bit of pinching but not much more than you might feel when donating blood. He numbed the areas up well and in less than a half an hour I was done and on my way. There was some soreness for a few days after that, but this week I was ready to start on physical therpay with Dr. Ryan Buccafurni (pictured, top right) at Integrity Physical Therapy & Wellness in Northfield. We’re starting out this week and next with some blood flow restriction therapy, which will help increase blood flow to the Achilles and, basically, get the area prepped for more intensive PT exercises. Blood flow restriction therapy is kind of like applying a tourniquet to the leg, but, as Buccafurni explained, it still lets about 20 percent blood flow below the thigh-high strap. It gets pretty intense the more you do. After about 30-50 seated leg raises, it felt like I had done 25 squats! There will be plenty more to come, and you can follow my rehab process by liking us at facebook.com/acglorydays, or follow me on Twitter @GDsullysays.
Dave O’Sullivan
Page 28 w Glory Days Magazine w Jan. 25, 2019
ttttttttttttttttttttttt GAME REWIND
Boys basketball Wildwood Cath. 75, Pleasantville 66 Wildwood Catholic was hot from the start, racing out to a 13-4 lead on the strength of three 3-pointers, and was able to withstand several runs from the high-flying Greyhounds throughout the game to score a nine-point victory. Pleasantville got to within 18-14, closing out the first quarter on a runout dunk by Jacob Valeus and a pair of free throws from Jalen Freeman, but that’s as close as they got the rest of the way. Pleasantville closed the gap to six points, 31-25, early in the third quarter, but then the Crusaders went on a 13-6 run to take a 44-31 lead. WHAT WE LEARNED Taj Thweatt likes to dunk. The Wildwood Catholic star junior forward had a pair of alley-oop slams and a crowd-pleasing windmill dunk in the second half as part of his 28-point performance. The Crusaders continue to prove they can pass tough road tests in the Cape-Atlantic League. KEEP AN EYE ON Wildwood Catholic guard Dasean Lopez. This was just his second game Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan with the Crusaders after becoming eligible. He transferred from Middle Noel Gonzalez and Pleasantville made several runs throughout the Township after a solid freshman year and had to sit out the required 30 game, but were never able to take the lead in a recent loss against days, and he likely will be a big contributor for the squad as they get ready for some big showcase games coming up. Wildwood Catholic, the top team in the Cape-Atlantic League.
Jan. 25, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 29
snapshots
Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan
Mainland point guard Joe Massari takes the ball up the floor in transition as EHT’s Rahim Muhammad defends during a recent Mustangs win.
Mainland’s Grace Gallagher competes in the 200-meter freestyle event during the Mustangs’ recent meet against Egg Harbor Township. Cedar Creek senior forward Trina Deveney drives in for a layup during a game against Wildwood earlier this season.
snapshots Egg Harbor Township senior Grace Curry swims the 100-meter backstroke during the Eagles’ 89.5-81.5 victory over rival Mainland Regional on Jan. 15 in Linwood Glory Days Magazine photos/ Dave O’Sullivan
photos for sale! Like our pictures? Reprints, keepsakes and more can now be purchased at our photo sharing website: glorydaysonline.smugmug.com Pleasantville sophomore forward Elijah Jones throws down a slam dunk during the Greyhounds’ recent loss to Wildwood Catholic.
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