Bits and Pieces 49

 December 7, 2001

Let’s take a look at how the winter high school sports season may shape up as the next few weeks and couple months unfold. Please keep in mind that this is compiled based on rumors, innuendo, and facts. Since there are times that I need to rely strictly on old information, some things might need to be adjusted after this is posted on the site (remember that this is more of a hobby than anything else.)

Boy’s Basketball

This would have been real easy had it not been for the transfer of a first-team all-stater from Hodgson this year. Art Bowers is apparently no longer in the house, or the state for that matter, so his absence along with the additional absence of Harry Saunders, who transferred to Glasgow, keep the Silver Eagles from beginning the year at number one. However, they only lost two players to graduation and return Ladaye Johnson, Malcom Tiller and Taurean Temple to fight for, and probably win, the Flight B title.

Anytime you lose a Manlove it can’t be good. William Penn lost Jamar Manlove (no relation) but also Devin Smith to graduation from last year’s championship team. They will struggle initially until a new nucleus can gel for them in the first couple of weeks, if there is no coagulation (look it up, it’s the word of the day), there will not be a repeat.

There is some buzz down in Delmar now that the Wildcats have won a second football championship in a row. There is some thought that since most of the basketball players also play on the football team that some of that championship spirit can carry over through the winter. They will be a little short and only have Demeris Cannon at 6’3" to deal with the state’s big men. But this team, now under the tutelage of Garland Hayward (who led the Cats to the 1985 championship game) will rely on its speed much as it did on the gridiron. Sean Hudson and Troi Handy (who really should be on a track team) will team up with Cannon, Vince Stewart, and perhaps even the freshman Brandon Hudson for this Henlopen Conference team.

The Sussex Central Golden Knights appear to be the favorite in the South even after losing James Cannon and four others to graduation. They even are rumored to be the favorite after losing the 6’7" junior Layton Wright to injury and 6’3" senior Jesse Makowski who is concentrating on his football future. The Golden Knights will ride the backs of the 6’3" junior Andrew Weatherly and the 6’4" Orlando Farrow.

Here are the key returning players for the Seaford Blue Jays: C.J. Scott, G; Larry Savage, F/G’ Marque Edward, F; Tyrone Matthews, F, and Virgil Greene, G.. Blue Jay fans think this team that didn’t make the tournament a year ago can make a run at a Henlopen Conference title this year. I think that….uh….well sure, anything can happen I guess.

The Wilmington Friends (like how this jumps around without any reason whatsoever?) Quakers lost an actual Prince from another country in Friedrich Ebede plus they lost everyone else over six feet tall from last year’s tournament team. The Quakers will need to call a few embassies for more assistance this year or hope that one of the four freshmen from last year’s roster had a mighty growth spurt over the summer.

The Brandywine Bulldogs lost five seniors from last year’s semifinalist team but they could come back right away and have a decent year on the hardcourt. They have some height with Na’Shawn Ellerbe, Mike Welch, and Kyle Guinivan, but will miss the fiery Blake Saunders and Brandon Owens. The real question for the Bulldogs this year is whether or not the Dog Pound will have competition from the possible creation of a Puppy Pound filled with the female Bulldogs fans who aren’t encouraged to sit in the Dog Pound to root for their team.

Eugene Thompson returns to coaching high school basketball and will lead the A.I. duPont Tigers, a semifinalist last year and the state champs from a year ago. Stacey Grady, Steve Bauer, Kendall Moon, Karl Riley, and Mark Williams might be on the returning Tiger roster for this winter, but it won’t be enough to lead the Tigers back to the Bob.

The Newark Yellowjackets fought their way into the finals last year behind Terry Alls, Lamont Davis and Bilal Goldsborough. They picked up Greg Collins from Archmere who was an All-Catholic Conference first-teamer, and return Davis and Goldborough. Should T.C. Warrington, Darrell Cephas, and Rasheme Waters develop enough to fill in the front court to support Collins, Davis, and Goldsborough, the Jackets will be tough once again.

The St. Elizabeth Vikings have a couple of trees in their front court in 6’5" Joe Scholz, and 6’6" Shane Sowden. There is no doubt that these two kids can ball but can they get enough help from the back court from Joe Hussey, or whoever will step in to run the offense? That’s the question. If they can, they will give a serious run to the Bob.

The Vikings could possibly run right into Sanford and Earl Miller, and the Warriors Twin Towers Joe Dyson and Will Sheridan (both 6’8"). Miller is arguably the best returning basketball in the state and this triple threat appears to be the biggest threat in the state.

With some of that in mind here is our preseason top ten.

1. Sanford
2. St. Elizabeth
3. Hodgson
4. Newark
5. Sussex Central
6. Glasgow
7. Brandywine
8. William Penn
9. Sussex Tech
10. Cape Henlopen

Girl’s Basketball

Oh those Seaford fans love their basketball teams. They definitely love their girl’s team more than the boy’s team this year and think that this is their year to go to the Bob. They might not be too far off with this prediction though. Shirelle Tingle and Elise Wynn give the Jays room to chirp and they have the 6’1" Kededra Brittingham to shag rebounds, so we’re going to give the nod to the Jays in the South.

But, the real ball will still be played up north again.

The two-time defending champion Spartans from St. Marks have lost their kindling to graduation. Michelle Albanese is gone now, but in her place might very well be one of the more underrated ballers in the state, Christine Armstrong. The 5’6" Armstrong has been a two-year varsity member who can do it all and may very well need to. Head Coach John Fiorelli will have Kristen Sullivan from the start of the season healthy this year (knock on wood.) Her absence during the first part of the season last year left a big defensive hole for the Spartans to fill. Once she returned to the everyday lineup, the Spartans cruised to the crown. Rounding out the roster might be Andrea Hochstuhl, Natalie Bizzarro, Erin Mahoney, Lindsay Olson, Sarah Sammons, Jenna Logan, and Melissa Rucci.

Every year at about this time, I used to give Joe Pennell a call and we would talk about Girl’s Basketball in this state for hours. His passing this year left a big hole in many lives and left me without someone to talk about this sport. Joe loved this game and loved his kids (as do all the other coaches) and the Caravel Buccaneers just won’t be the same without him. They wouldn’t be the same with him either though since Tiara Malcom graduated, but they have one of the two top returning players in the state in Davineia Payne. This should be Payne’s year to shine even though she shined brightly enough last year to land on the first-team all-state team. Payne should be joined on the floor with Jodie Otteni, Bonnie Mills, Courtnee Dickson, Andrea Donovan and Sarah Mills.

The Sanford Warriors may be a team to be mindful of over in the Independent Conference. They lost only person to graduation and return Senior Natasha Howard and Junior Courtney Kendall from the first-team all-indy conference. Just as their male counterparts the Warriors will be nicely sized and Kendall will do her team honor all year long.

The Hillers of Tower Hill will be interesting themselves. They will also have some size with Elizabeth Pierce (6’0) and Megan Mills who is taller than listed. Kelly Hocutt, a sophomore, and freshman Nikki White, who also cracked the varsity field hockey team’s lineup this year, join them.

The Glasgow Dragons had injury and grade problems last year and if that were not the case they had a legitimate chance to win the state title last year. Did the Dragons learn from their mistakes and are they healthy? Juniors Lindsay Dyal, Kristin Hines, and Markeda Hollingsworth team with Tinisha Chandler to make a formidable foursome but will they all be together? There won’t be a Dragon slayer around tough enough if so.

Junior Toni Jones will lead the entire Cape Henlopen team back into the state tournament this year. She will have to basically single handedly have to do so, but one of the state’s best all-around athletes Amanda Warrington is on this team too and that is a good thing for the Vikings. (Warrington will play Division 1 something in college and it’s time us sports fans start watching her closely.)

The Ursuline Raiders will be right back in the hunt this year with yet another Mills- Kate. Kate was a force all year, including the tournament, and I’ll go on record now and say she will win a player of the year honor in one or both of her last two years in school. Courtnie Hurley, Rachel Pawlikowski, Katie McMahon, Kelly Mark, Melissa Hoberg, and perhaps the freshman Sarah Williams who cracked the starting volleyball lineup this year as well will join her.

The Christiana Vikings (why are there three schools called the Vikings?) return all but one player from last year’s roster. A former high jump champion ShaRonda Johnson will help Katie Hickman make a serious run at Glasgow for the Flight A championship. It would appear on paper that the Vikes and the Dragons are the teams to beat in the Blue Hen A.

Caesar Rodney was the surprise team of the year last year reaching the semifinals at the Bob. Gone now is Erica Woods, the very tall center, but returning is the underrated Tricia Casarotto. Tricia was really the best player on the team last year, so the Riders shouldn’t fret the loss of Woods. Their test will again come early in the season when they play St. Marks on the 11^th.

State high jump champion Tyresa Smith leads Polytech High. But to where? They did make the tournament last year as the #8 seed and only lost two seniors, so keep an eye on John O’Connor’s Panthers early in the season.

Blue Hen Flight B is up for grabs with the Hodgson Vo-Tech Silver Eagles and Aisha Word laying early claim to the bragging rights. The Charter Force weren’t a tournament team last year, but that school’s entire athletic program bears watching as it is rocketing its way to the upper echelons…sort of.

With some of this in mind, lets take a look at the preseason top ten

1. Glasgow
2. St. Marks
3. Caravel
4. Ursuline
5. Christiana
6. A.I. duPont
7. Padua
8. Sanford
9. Seaford
10. Hodgson

Wrestling

Well plain and simple, it’s St. Mark’s year. Caesar Rodney lost their top five or six wrestlers plus they had a lightweight transfer to Lake Forest, so they will have a tough time even getting by Sussex Central let alone the Spartans or the William Penn Colonials.

The Spartans return two of the nations top wrestlers in Bobby Shaw and Andrew Donofrio. Throw in 2000-state champion Joe Ferrara and you’re off to 18 points right there in most matches. Now they will miss Patrick Atkinson until January who has a back problem, but until then Robbie Delcampo will take his place. Freshman Mike Moyer will fit into the 119 class. Moyer was the CYO champion last year.
A.J. Cessario will wrestle 160; Matt Axe at 171, Chris Collins at 135, Kyle Skinner at 140, Eddie Quinn (a St. E’s transfer) at 125, Brian Willis and Travis McKay at 189 and 215, and Chris Dinuzzo at Heavyweight formidably fill out the roster.

The Colonials of William Penn are a perennial wrestling power but they have now lost their legendary head coach Jack Holloway and most of their nucleus from a year ago. Ken Krygier was second in the state last year and he will be their number one man this year. Dustin Craighton was sixth in the state last year, and Kevin Burnett was a Blue Hen Conference champion in 2001.

The Hodgson Vo-Tech Silver Eagles have won five consecutive D2 Championships and there is no reason to think that they can’t win their sixth. This is, however, a bit of a rebuilding year and once teams get past Jordan Sianni (three-time state champ) at 135, Tyler Smith, Brian Welch, Joe and Larry Cylc, a lot could happen. Mark Boulden will miss the first half of the season and it is not clear if he will return in January. If so, Hodgson should walk away with another one of those big trophies.

The Newark Yellowjackets should cruise to the Flight A crown behind Chris Hudson, Mike Marra, and Brad Needham. The loss of state champion Jeff Hudson and second place finisher from 2001 Bram Walker will hurt a bit, but not for long.

Salesianum returns Chris Lazartic, a second place state finisher in 2001, and Zach Plerhoples who was fourth in the state at 140. Joe Sylvestri was fifth in the state and Mark Degliobizzi was the Independent Conference champion at 103. Though they will not get past St. Marks in the Independent schools tournament, they could very well make a serious run at the Dual Meet State Championships this year.

The Sussex Central Golden Knights will be the cream of the southern crop this year. Though they had a tough time with Hodgson in a preseason match, Raheim Brunskill, A.J. Rovillard, Orien Cameron, Joshua Lowe, Casey Strohmeyer, Jordan Lowe, and Sussex Tech transfer Wyatt Hall give the Knights seven solid grapplers who will be extremely tough in the middle weights. Rovillard was a Beast of the East place finisher a year ago and should cruise to the state finals where he could very well meet Hodgson’s Joe Cylc who beat him in that preseason match.

So, with this in mind here is a look at the preseason top ten.

1. St. Marks
2. Sussex Central
3. Hodgson
4. Newark
5. Salesianum
6. William Penn
7. Caesar Rodney
8. A.I. duPont
9. Lake Forest
10. Milford

Boy’s Swimming

Rory Connell and Salesianum make this preseason number one call an easy one. The Sals have set three consecutive state championship point records and although they will be hard pressed to pick up a fourth, they won’t have any trouble stroking their way to the top of the podium once again.

Other names of which to be aware: Dave Drysdale, A.I. duPont, Brett Molash, A.I. duPont, B.J> Gutenplan from Brandywine, Chris Kang and Brent Deputy from McKeam Joe Hitchcock, Garrick Grube, Jon Ellis from Newark, Scott Champagne from Tatnall, Tyler Grenda, Carl Bakomenko, Mike McCreary, Dane Grenda, and Keith Petka from Salesianum, Doug Fallon and Matt Kuczmarski from St. Marks, and Steve Earley from Middletown.

1. Salesianum
2. McKean
3. Newark
4. St. Marks
5. Archmere
6. Concord
7. A.I. duPont
8. St. Andrews
9. Middletown
10. Caesar Rodney

Girl’s Swimming

It would be insane to rank any team other than St. Marks at number one to start this season since they haven’t been beaten head-to-head in eight years, or something, capturing eight straight state titles.

But if there was any year there could be a new champion, it could be this one.

The Newark Yellowjackets return Cassie Connell, Sarah Zomchick, Amber Walker, Kristi Williams, and Stephanie Baird to the pool where they captured two relay championships and Williams broke the state record in the 100-meter butterfly. Connell held two state records for a while so she isn’t chopped liver herself. The trouble with this Newark team a year ago was that it lacked the depth necessary to pick up those points that are awarded for the 16 top finishers at states.

The Spartans return Katie Kuczmarski, Erica Gentilucci, Michelle Stephens, Mary Husty, Andrea Denney, Erica Iffland, Alesha Hruska (diving), and Austine Enderle as point scorers in the state meet last February. How head coach Rob Magerle fills in the slots behind these experienced swimmers will make the difference at states. But when the Spartans and the Yellowjackets swim off head-to-head, go to the pool just in case, because there could be an upset in the making.

The Mt. Pleasant Green Knights finished third overall behind Kaitlyn Brady, Amanda Savage, Lindsay Kegelman, and Camila Sato in 2001. Savage and Kegelman are gone, but Brady still is a state record holder and Sato compliments her well on the relay team so that the Knights can make another run at third place this year.

The Knights will have to hold off Brandywine, which has not performed very well when states rolled around the past two years. They have a combined 25-1 record in dual meets during the past two years but have finished just 4^th and 6^th overall when it counted. Alison Sanchez, Scandia DiSaverio, Noreen Favorite, Sabrina Kinard, Stacey Spencer, Sola Johnson, and Julia Sawicki are the swimmers that head coach Sandy Wood will need to rally in the battle for third place (which is really what the rest of the battle is for this year.)

A pair of great swimmers at Caesar Rodney lifted the Riders to 6^th place at states last year. Erin Courtney and Kristina MacLeish were the sophomores who scored the majority of points for CR. MacLeish broke the 17-year-old record in the 500-meter freestyle and also beat Cassie Connell’s 200-meter freestyle record. They will miss Rachel Wrede on the relay team but will return Leigh Askin.

Battling for state diving honors will be the returning champ from A.I. duPont junior Kim Rusk, sophomore Jenna Rastelli from Ursuline, junior Kateri Morton from Christiana, seniors Alesha Hruska from St. Marks, Jessica Carlson from Archmere, Emily Salas from St. Andrews, Joanne Hunt from Concord, and Caroline Krystapolski from Padua.

Other names of which to be aware are Adrienne Williams, sr, William Penn; Laura Goeller, jr, Tower Hill, Bonnie Plunkett, sr, Padua, Christina Ruggiero, fr, Ursuline, Lena Ewing and Holly Wilson, srs, Lake Forest, Laura Jane Penneys, jr, Archmere, Stacey Mack, fr, Ursuline, Marny Hearn, so, Concord, Chelsea Ademski, jr, Concord, Kelly McConnell, jr, A.I. duPont, Laura Bull, jr, Ursuline, Rebecca Neaton, jr, Dover, Brooke Matsanka, fr, Tower Hill, and Stephanie Woods, jr, A.I. duPont.

Here is our preseason top ten.

1. St. Marks
2. Newark
3. Ursuline
4. Caesar Rodney
5. Brandywine
6. Concord
7. Mt. Pleasant
8. St. Andrews
9. McKean
10. Tower Hill

Boy’s Winter Track

There could be a couple secret weapons that play a factor in this year’s indoor track championships but can secret athletes be effective enough to help a team to victory?

The team in question is the Glasgow Dragons and the runners in question are Matt Goff and Matt Scherr. Goff is a soccer star who has been on the swimming team for G-High, and he will attempt to make the Dragon 4x800 team a winning one with Laurens Maliepaard, Alan Pearson, and Scherr, who missed last year’s indoor season. The Dragons won the 4x800 last year as a team but only finished 6^th overall as a team. Goff and Scherr will have to contribute with great success in other areas for Glasgow to contend.

Maliepaard is a nice hurdler and will also compete in the 400 and 800. The 800 should be his main event, but we’ll see how the year unfolds under new Dragon head coach Alan Duncan.

The Dover Senators have Jason Lilly, Pierre Bowers, Donnell Eaddy, and James Moore all set to return to defend their 4x200 title. A disqualification in the 4x400 cost them the state championship as a team and William Penn took advantage of the Senators misfortune. But don’t bet on that happening again. Odun Balogun returns to the hurdles to defend his crown as well. Lilly holds a state record and we all know that Bowers is hard to catch on the football field. The only thing questionable about the Senators is their field team. So if they can hold their own at the shot, pole vault, high jump, long jump, and triple jump, this is a monster year for the Senators.

But William Penn and Salesianum won’t go quietly. Akeem Pierce and Robert Edwards return for the Colonials. They were 1-2 in the 55-meter dash a year ago. Robert Hill and Jonathan Fletcher lead the Colonials in the jumps and Carlton Rose and William Brown are both back to put the shot. They were 1-3 last year in that event.

The Sals strength is at the long distances as usual. The 800, 1600, and 3200 are the strong points, but Mike Zeberkiewicz and Alez McGinnis will steal points at the pole vault. Look for some of the same names that graced the cross country pages for the Sals to appear in these lists; Tom Lord, Ryan Hamill, P.J. Meany, and Dave Lobue.

Other names to watch include the Kisners Drew and Austin from Newark (and football fame), Trevor and Travis McLaurin from McKean (and football fame), Matt Orensky from McKean, Tsering and Themba Alleyne and Tim Bradley from Christiana, Kevin Lanigan and Steven Hakes from A.I. duPont, Tyrine Reams, Michael Downs and Wendall Raulston from Delcastle, Andrew Freeman from Cape Henlopen, Colin Dentil-Post and Patrick Ruff from Charter, Chad Darlington from St. Marks, Austin Knight from Newark, Ross Horsey from Woodbridge, Smyrna's Randy Faulkner, and Christiana's Matt Johnson. The last two should fight all year to set new standards in the pole vault.

So here are the preseason top ten.

1. Dover
2. William Penn
3. Salesianum
4. Glasgow
5. Newark
6. A.I. duPont
7. McKean
8. Charter
9. Delcastle
10. Christiana

Girl’s Indoor Track

This is one of my favorite winter sports so I saved it for last since I could on forever about it. Since it’s getting late and I’m beat, it’s best that I’m trying to get done with this.

Art Madric is no longer the coach of the Glasgow girl’s team. Art is now helping with the basketball team. We wish him success with that endeavor. His one-point victory last year was a good one with which to exit, at least for a while.

The Dragons will have Kamilah Salaam to score points and turn heads but the buck stops there. Kim Chase, former state champion, is not on the roster and neither is Melinda Borges. I don’t know how Alan Duncan will pull off fielding a competitive team, especially without Chase, and as a result look for the Bulldogs of Brandywine to earn what they nearly had earned a year ago.

The Bulldogs are deep once again. Aysha Gregory can sprint and throw the shot, an interesting combination, and their distance teams are clearly superior. They will miss Ashley Kirksey-Sullivan, and Abby Nerlinger, but  Hillary Taylor, Jenn Kutney, Leslie Wason, Bonita Mullen, and Jen Meier will help head coach Michelle Flanigan get to lug around the big trophy for the Dawgs.

Other athletes to watch are Concord’s Schachia Murphy, McKean’s Mandy Stille, Patrice Gear from Delcastle, Katherin De Villbiss from Cape Henlopen, Tara Boemmel from Sussex Tech, Susan Neuman from St. Marks, Leia Harris from Christiana, Rachel Salter from Glasgow, Brittany Hackett from Padua, Patricia Singleton form Hodgson, Jessica Schultz from Caesar Rodney, Julie Pike and Lisa Klein from Tower Hill, Erin Lord from Padua, Rebecca Singh from Sussex Tech, Kathleen McLaughlin and Julie Taylor from Ursuline, Enya Spence from Newark, Ashley Whitesell from Hodgson, Caitlyn White from St. Marks, Kyra Downing from St. Marks, Lashell Green from Dover, Greta Knapp from Seaford, Lauren Wallace from Padua, Caitlyn McGroerty from Seaford, Morgan Chandler and Lateefah Vaughn from William Penn.

So with this in mind, here is a look at the preseason top ten.

1. Brandywine
2. St. Marks
3. Concord
4. Padua
5. Caesar Rodney
6. Dover
7. McKean
8. Ursuline
9. Hodgson
10. Glasgow

So we will see how this all unfolds as the winter season begins Friday night.

Marshal Manlove