Sport Shorts The Battle of Monmouth Rockets U12 soccer team will hold tryouts this month for the fall 2003/spring 2004 season. Players born between Aug. 1, 1991 and July 31, 1992, are eligible. The team is a professionally trained Monmouth-Ocean Soccer Association National I team based out of Matawan/Old Bridge. For additional information, call Jim Meindel at (732) 607-9237 or Steve Casari at (732) 566-4182. The Bayshore Bandits, a boys’ basketball team made up of youngsters from western Monmouth County, have qualified to compete at the AAU National Tournament after winning the boys’ under-13 Division II state championship. The Bandits defeated the Central Jersey Hornets, 78-69, to win the AAU state title. The Bandits went undefeated through their bracket to advance to the tournament semifinals where they beat the Central Jersey Cougars, 47-36, setting up their game with the Hornets for the state title. In the championship game, the Bandits fell behind the high-scoring Hornets, 10-5, early, but bounced back behind their balanced scoring. The Bayshore cagers had five players in double figures led by Gary Foster’s 26 and Carl Durand’s 16. A trapping defense helped the Bandits slow down the Hornets who had scored 95 points in their semifinal win over Linden. The Bandits are Carl Durand, St. Joseph’s, Keyport; Gary Foster, St. James, Red Bank; Tony Ganter and Brendon Rashley, St. Rose, Freehold Borough; Brian Nerney, Matt Rivers and Danny Miller, St. Mary’s, New Monmouth; Patrick Keenan and Garret Thiel, Thompson Middle School, Middletown; Kyle Vitali, the Ranney School; and Michael Slater, St. Agnes, Atlantic Highlands. Jim Nerney and Bill Thiel are the coaches. The National AAU Tournament is July 13-20 in Cocoa Beach, Fla. On May 31, cyclists from around the area will gather at Brookdale Community College to participate in the Jersey Shore Tour de Cure to raise $100,000 to support research for a cure for Diabetes. They will join 17,700 other cyclists and volunteers at nearly 72 sites throughout the nation this spring. The Jersey Shore Tour features a variety of routes planned for both the novice and experienced cyclist, including 11-mile, 25-mile and 62.3-mile distances. Registration times for each distance is as follows: The Coastline Cruiser — 62.3 mile route: 7 a.m. check-in time, 8 a.m. start time; the Oceanside Oasis — 25-mile route: 8 a.m. check-in time, 9 a.m. start time; the Scenic Farmlands — 11-mile route: 9 a.m. check-in time, 10 a.m. start time. The following are the weekend’s results from Mac’s Funball Basketball League at Waloo Park in Middletown. On Friday, Dave Koch and Kyle Thompson led the Lions to an 89-48 victory over the Colts, and Tim Witingham led the Hornets to a 48-42 win over the Titans to clinch second place. Jim Garrison had 10 rebounds for the Titans. On Saturday, Bret O’Brien’s 10 points and seven rebounds led the Colts to a dramatic double-overtime win over the Eagles, 48-42, while the Rockets beat the Titans 86-74 behind the strong play of Sean Mulhern and Brian Murphy. Summer basketball league sign-ups for boys ages 15-19 will be held May 30 and 31 from 4-5 p.m. at Waloo Park The fee is $75 for new players. The league runs from June 27 to Aug. 9.
Month: May 2020
Waltrip to host at least 13 of NASCAR’s greatest drivers
Waltrip to host at least 13 of NASCAR’s greatest drivers WALL TOWNSHIP — Two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip will host at least 13 of NASCAR’s all-time greatest drivers when they visit Wall Township Speedway on June 12. The event, “Michael Waltrip presents Racing’s Greatest Night of Champions,” will give fans the opportunity to settle an age-old argument. For years, NASCAR fans have debated about the talents of the sports legendary drivers compared to those of racing’s current-day stars. Fans will have the opportunity to settle that argument once and for all when at least 14 NASCAR stars, both retired and current, visit Wall Township Speedway. The event will feature legendary and current-day NASCAR stars in interviews, autograph sessions and racing action on the third-mile high-banked paved oval. Representing the current-day stars will be Kevin Harvick, Sterling Marlin, Bill Elliott, Kenny Schrader, Jimmy Spencer and Kerry Earnhardt. The list of NASCAR legends that will participate is just as impressive with Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Buddy Baker, Harry Gant, Ernie Irvan, Dave Marcis and Dick Trickle already announcing their involvement. In addition to the on-track action for the legends and current-day NASCAR stars, Spencer said he will return to his racing roots during the evening, and drive a Modified stock car during the regularly scheduled racing program. Schrader, who is famous for his love of racing whatever is available, plans to compete in a Truck Series racer during the evening. Tickets are now available for “Michael Waltrip presents Racing’s Greatest Night of Champions” by calling the speedway office at (732) 681-6400. Tickets are available at $50 for adults and $25 for children. VIP tickets, which will include a meet-and-greet session with the racing stars, are offered at $300 per ticket or two VIP tickets for $500. In addition to “Michael Waltrip presents Racing’s Greatest Night of Champions,” Wall Township Speedway presents NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series auto racing action every Saturday at 6 p.m.
Top Gun squad takes aim at Pony Nationals
BY SHAWN LAYTON Staff Writer BY SHAWN LAYTONStaff Writer EDISON — The Top Gun 18-and-under softball team of Edison is competing in the Pony Nationals, one of the country’s premier softball tournaments with 160 teams in action, this week in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The opening ceremony at Dolphins Stadium, home of the 2003 World Series Champions Florida Marlins, kick-started the tournament Tuesday night with teams from all over the country in attendance. Prior to the Pony Nationals, Top Gun’s 18-under and 16-under teams competed in the Rising Star Tournament among 82 other teams. Also held in Florida, the Rising Star Tournament is another high-profile tournament with teams from California and Texas making the trip. The 18-under team went 3-3 at Rising Star, while their younger counterparts finished at 3-2-1. The 16-under team plays in the National Fast Tournament this week, yet another Sunshine State competition. “The purpose of these tournaments is to showcase the kids in front of college coaches,” Top Gun head coach Tony Houck said. “Coaches from North Carolina, Georgetown, George Washington and Swarthmore were in attendance, and even more are expected at Pony Nationals.” At Rising Star, the 18-under team opened the tournament with a 6-1 win over Texas Select, but lost the next, a 6-3 defeat to the Massachusetts Mud Dogs. Top Gun lost its second in a row 2-0 to First Coast out of Jacksonville, Fla. The team turned things around to win its next two, a 6-3 win over the Tampa Spartans and a 3-0 win over the Jacksonville Titans. Top Gun lost its final game at Rising Star to the San Jose Slammers 3-0. J.P. Stevens graduate Christine Sendelski and Chrissy Yard, a graduate of Hillsborough High School, are two of the many stellar players on the 18-under team. “Christine had a really good tournament at Rising Star, and brings a good attitude and good speed to the field,” Houck said. “Chrissy pitches and plays first base and was named the Somerset County Player of the Year this spring.” Sendelski is off to Swarthmore in the fall, while Yard will join the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers this year. Another Yard, Chrissy’s younger sister, Katie, is turning heads at the Florida tournaments and looks to be another standout player in Somerset County. “Katie plays third base and she’s really hitting the ball well,” Houck said. “Hillsborough has something to look forward to with her coming through their program.” Another sister duo of Katie and Kim Eder from St. John Vianney, Holmdel, make Top Gun even stronger. Katie adds another high-profile player of Chrissy Yard’s caliber, as she was named to both All-Parochial and All-State teams this spring. Katie went into Rising Star batting .387 and she doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. Kim, a soon-to-be sophomore, plays the infield and outfield, and has fully recovered from some arm trouble she developed in the spring. “She’s back into the swing of things,” Houck said. “She had three hits in her first seven at bats to start Rising Star.” Colleen Cyriak and Trish Alluto joined the team on Friday to finish out the Rising Star Tournament and will compete at Pony Nationals. Cyriak is off to Farleigh Dickinson in the fall, while Alluto will attend Pace University. “Since they are already committed to colleges we had them come down Friday,” Houck said. “They bring a lot to the team and we expect big things from them at Pony Nationals.” A pair of players from Pingry is also expected to be major contributors this week. Kristin Maletsky and Caitlyn Fitzgerald will return to Pingry this fall for their senior year. Both Maletsky and Fitzgerald scored over 2200 on the SATs and are sure to have the interest of many coaches this week. “Caitlyn is coming off a torn ACL she suffered in March and is still playing with a brace,” Houck said. “Despite the injury she continues to hit the ball well and has been moved over to second base from shortstop to limit some of her lateral movement until fully healed.” Maletsky’s speed allows her to cover a lot of ground in the outfield and run well on the base paths. “Kristin hits to all fields and is a very good bunter,” Houck said. “She brings a lot to the team because of her quickness.” This summer was the second year Top Gun competed at Rising Star and the fifth year at Pony Nationals. “We play a very competitive schedule,” Houck said. “Our goal is to get our kids into college whether they play softball or not. That’s why we take them to tournaments, where they can be seen by the most coaches.”
Hawks’ teams picked to win NEC crowns
Men aiming for third straight BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer BY TIM MORRISStaff Writer Monmouth University mens and womens indoor track and field teams start the 2006-07 as the preseason picks to repeat as Northeast Conference champions. Coach Joe Compagni’s squads, both rich in area talent, have been the conference’s marquee teams in recent years. The men are looking for their third straight title undercover, while the women are going for their third crown in the last four years. The Hawk men were a unanimous choice to repeat by the coaches. “We are flattered that the league’s coaches feel that strongly about our men’s team,” said Compagni. “Knowing the quality of the competition in the NEC is as strong as ever, we know that we will surely face serious challenges from several teams this winter.” The defending champions are led by junior Chris Keller (Matawan) and senior Fabrice St. Elme (Rahway), who were both First Team NEC selections in 2006. Keller competes in the shot put and weight throw for the Hawks while St. Elme is a sprinter. Keller was recently tabbed as the NEC’s Male Field Athlete of the Week after his performance at the Princeton Invitational. Keller placed third in the weight throw, surpassing 60 feet. He was first among collegiate throwers in this open competition that include Olympic Trials hopefuls. He was also fifth in the shot put (14.99 meters). Second Team All-NEC performers who are returning from last year are sprinter Chris Vuono (Christian Brothers Academy), middle distance runner David Gaines (Colts Neck) and thrower Nick Williams, all of whom are seniors, and juniors Jude Rene (Hamilton North), who is a sprinter/jumper, and Ed Skowronski (Raritan), a thrower. The conference got a peek at Monmouth’s depth at the season-opening Seton Hall Open when Compagni held many of his veterans out, sending a small squad to the meet. Ryan Connell (St. Peter’s Prep) won the weight throw, and Kyle Hirschklau (Morristown) won the shot put and was fourth in the weight throTop 5 in the high jump led by Rene taking first (6-2) and Kyle Adriance (Montrose, Pa.) and Mike Buccheri (Raritan), fourth and fifth. The Hawks should get a lift in the distance department by fifth-year senior Craig Segal, the Holmdel High School grad who transferred from Villanova. He had an outstanding cross country season earning All-NEC in the fall. Monmouth’s women, second in the NEC last year, will get a big boost from the return of Ashley Huffman (Ward Melville), the two-time Most Valuable Performer, who missed all of 2006 with an injury. Huffman made her return at the Seton Hall Open, where she was fourth in the high jump, fifth in the 60-meter hurdles and eighth in the shot put. Her versatility was sorely missed last year. The Hawks also have Second Team All-NEC pole vaulter Nikki Zwartjes (Burlington) who won the NEC title last winter with a school record 10-10. Sprinters Latasha Dickson (Matawan), Deanna Paulson (Washington Township) and Illiana Blackshear (West Orange) are outstanding individually and as a relay team. Dickson was named the NEC’s Female Track Athlete of the Week for her efforts in Princeton. She ran an ECAC qualifying time in the 500 meters (1:15.74) in finishing second, and she anchored the 4×400-relay team to a first place in 3:57.35. “We were disappointed to come up two points short of a women’s title last year,” said Compagni, who’s women have won five of the last conference titles. “LIU and several other programs will make our quest for a title in 2007 very challenging, but, that is certainly our goal.” Although the Hawks are the preseason choice of the coaches, it was close with Monmouth getting six first-place votes and Long Island University, five. This year’s NEC Championships are Feb. 10-11 at the Prince George County Sports and Learning Complex in Landover, Md. The Hawks travel to the New York Armory on Friday for the Fordham Collegiate Open.
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Former Shore area standout Brodeur wins AP 5K
Ex-MU standout Nelson wins women’s race Josh Seba (l), 9, of Tinton Falls steps on the starting line as he gets ready for the Aug. 11 Asbury Park 5K. More than 1,000 runners of all ages braved the heat and humidity to compete in the 5K race through the streets of Asbury Park. FRANK GALIPO PHOTO Andrew Brodeur, who was a Shore Conference cross-country champion while attending Brick Memorial High School, won the Asbury Park 5K when he returned to the area on Aug. 11.Brodeur, who was an NJSIAA Meet of Champions runner-up and Foot Locker Nationals qualifier in high school before starring at Duke University, toured the 5K course in Asbury Park in 15:38.45. Brodeur showed the form that made him an All-ACC and All-NCAA Southeast Regional harrier for the Blue Devils. He finished ahead of New York’s John Trautman (16:30.04), a 1992 U.S. Olympian at 5,000 meters. Trautman was recently inducted into the Georgetown University Athletic Hall of Fame.Fair Haven’s Geoff Harrison, who coaches the Brookdale Community College cross-country teams, was third (16:47.65).Jennifer Nelson won the women’s race in 17:49.86 and she was 11th overall.Cheyenne Ogletree of Garfield (18:07.55) and Dactilla Booth of Long Branch (18:43.51) were second and third, respectively, behind Nelson and 16th and 21st overall.Nelson, a Barnegat High School graduate, had a distinguished college career, too. She was named Monmouth University’s 2012 Female Athlete of the Year. She won five NEC championships for the Hawks. Rounding out the overall Top 10 in the Asbury Park 5K were Nick Fogarty, Livingston (17:01.91); Mark Battista, Livingston (17:11.19); Sean Rath, Atlantic Highlands (17:22.61); Joe Verro, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (17:34.16); Tyler Gillies, Howell (17:36.37) and Chris Russo, Morris Plains (17:46.06).Completing the women’s Top 10 were Sophia Barnathan, Brooklyn, N.Y. (19:25.96); Amanda Scheer, Wall (19:25.97); Lisa Namath, Wall (19:33.42); Amy Bernstein, East Windsor (19:39.87); Brianna Feerst, Brick (19:58.85); Dawn Wilcox, Little Silver (20:05.47) and Meghan Decarlo, Saddle Brook (21:12.32).More than 1,000 runners completed the race.The Asbury Park 5K was the fourth of five races that make up the 2012 Jersey Shore Golden Grand Prix series, which is sponsored by McLoone’s. Runners earn points in each race of the series, with the runners who gain the most points being awarded the overall men’s and women’s titles.The overall and age group winners will be decided in the fifth and final race, the Pier House 5K in Long Branch on Sept. 3.Neither of the series co-leaders, Robert Cavanaugh of West Long Branch and Tim Mulligan of Whiting, ran in Asbury Park 5K. Both runners have 294 points.Booth added to her points lead in the women’s standings with her third place finish.The Pier House 5K will start at 8:30 a.m. For more information, go to pierhouse5k. jsrc.org.
No love lost as managers face title showdown
By Toby DavisIt is hard to imagine two more different characters than Jose Mourinho and Manuel Pellegrini, so it is no surprise that the Chelsea manager and his Manchester City counterpart seem to rub each other up the wrong way.Their simmering rivalry is set for another chapter in Saturday’s top-of-the-table Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge, with a potentially pivotal three points on offer.Should Chelsea claim the spoils, they will lead the champions by eight points, while a City success would leave them just two points adrift with 15 games to play.The bragging rights, however, also count double in battles between two coaches whose spiky relationship stretches back to their stints in charge of Real Madrid.Pellegrini had only one season as coach at the Bernabeu, where, having failed to come out on top in the habitual two-horse race with Barcelona, he was replaced by Mourinho.The Chilean joined Malaga and Mourinho taunted him on the way out.“If Madrid were to fire me, I wouldn’t go to Malaga. I’d go to a top-level team in Italy or England,” he said.The normally unshakeable demeanour of Pellegrini, one of football’s most sombre coaches, is clearly ruffled by the in-your-face ebullience of the self-styled “Special One”.The corresponding fixture at Stamford Bridge last season ended with Fernando Torres scoring a late winner, Mourinho diving into the crowd and Pellegrini refusing to carry out the usual post-match etiquette.“I didn’t want to shake his hand,” he said tersely when asked whether he had gone to Mourinho at the final whistle.While that battle went Mourinho’s way, the war was won by Pellegrini, who claimed the Premier League title and League Cup as the Portuguese ended the campaign empty-handed.Saturday’s game, however, could be decided by which players are absent as much as who is on the pitch.After a gruelling League Cup semi-final against Liverpool, Chelsea are likely to be without injured midfielder Cesc Fabregas and defender Filipe Luis, while league top scorer Diego Costa faces suspension after being charged by the FA for stamping on an opponent.City, who have not won in the league since Jan. 1, will have to discover how to beat teams without midfielder Yaya Toure whose involvement in the African Nations Cup has hit them hard and he will again be missing on Saturday.Among the weekend’s other fixtures, Manchester United take on Leicester City and Liverpool play West Ham United on Saturday. Arsenal host Aston Villa on Sunday.
High-flying Leicester bid to turn screw on slumping Newcastle
A hair’s breadth separated Leicester City and Newcastle United at the end of the relegation battle last season but a 36-point chasm and a gulf in confidence exists between the sides ahead of Monday’s Premier League clash (10pm).With Leicester’s title challenge showing no sign of wilting as the inevitable pressure of the run-in continues to mount, Newcastle’s season is seemingly skidding towards the abyss.Newcastle’s manager Steve McClaren is still in the dugout for the game at Leicester’s King Power Stadium with his immediate future up in the air.A scheduled meeting with managing director Lee Charnley did not take place on Wednesday, according to media reports, with former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez strongly linked to the role should the club decide to end McClaren’s stay at St James’ Park.Despite spending heavily in the transfer window, Newcastle are 19th in the table having been in the bottom three for 146 days this season.On paper they should be little more than cannon fodder for Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester, who have won five of the last seven to open a five-point lead at the summit as their more-fancied rivals have all stumbled.Confounding their doubters on a weekly basis, Leicester, who finished 14th and two points above Newcastle last season, are looking more like champions every match they play.They came through a testing February when they played Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal and now need only to keep their heads over the final nine games to claim one of the most remarkable title triumphs in English football history.They could find their lead cut to two points, however, by the time they take the field against Newcastle as second-placed Tottenham Hotspur visit doomed bottom club Aston Villa on Sunday (6pm).Spurs, who faced a testing trip to Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League on Thursday, need to get back to winning ways swiftly if they are to maintain their pursuit, having taken just one point from their last two league games.It is a similar story for Manchester City, whose fading title hopes probably could not survive a defeat at Norwich City on Saturday (2.45pm).City bounced back from a 3-0 defeat by Liverpool with a thumping 4-0 victory over Villa, but still trail Leicester by 10 points, although they do have a game in hand.Third-placed Arsenal, whose challenge has fallen away in recent weeks after three games without a victory, are likely to drop further behind as they play Watford in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.
New Caledonia swimmers cap supremacy with open water double
as the receding tide meant the water was more shallow than was ideal.Thibaut Mary (NCL) won the men’s race and Charlotte Robin (NCL) led home the women to give New Caledonia the sweep, but it was the delay in the race start that caused some complications.FINA safety officer John West said that stormy weather conditions the night before the race meant that organisers were unable to place the course buoys, making the early start time a challenge for organisers as they scrambled to set out the course.Organisers ultimately decided that the race would go ahead, but over three kilometres, rather than the planned five.Women’s gold medallist Robin said the conditions made the race more interesting.“It was a good race, and a fun race because of the weather,” Robin said. “The conditions were hard, but I like these conditions with waves and currents, so I liked this race.”Head of race medical services, Dr Ivan Ravu (PNG), said his team treated seven injuries, five of which were cuts to the hand, due to the outgoing tide leaving swimmers in shallow waters at the finish.“There are a lot of rocks near the shore, so when the sea started to recede, athletes with longer arms touched the ground,” he said.“The seabed was full of stones which resulted in a lot of hands being cut and bruised.”Ravu said that all the injuries were minor and treatable with “basic first aid” and he thought that medical arrangements at the island venue were sufficient.But Loloata Island resort owner, Richard Knight, was not so positive.“I would like to see it a bit better organised – a lot of things done now may have been done yesterday,” he said after the race.But winners are grinners, with both Mary and Robin making the best of the situation on their way to gold.“Here I don’t think I could have finished five kilometres, so it was an advantage to only swim three,” said Mary.
India-Australia decider washed out
Around 30,000 fans were in attendance to see the sides battle for supremacy after Australia levelled the scores at 1-1 in Guwahati.The downpour prevented the tourists taking a measure of revenge for their 4-1 defeat in the 50-over series.Australia now turn their attention to next month’s Ashes series.Meanwhile, India continue with white-ball cricket against New Zealand, with both the ODI and T20I series live on Sky Sports Cricket.