Winter HS Athletics Newsletter
January 13th, 2025
Boys Basketball off to a 8-1 start to the season
The Boys Basketball Team has started the season off playing some great basketball. The team is currently 8 and 1 and 2-0 in division play. The team started off the season by knocking off last year's SJ G4 sectional champions Lenape by a score of 60-48. The team made it to the WOBM Christmas Classic Championship game but fell to Manasquan 28-30 on a last second shot. The team had a huge win against previously unbeaten Red Bank Regional in the Hoops Group Boardwalk Classic 57-49. This week, the team will travel to Toms River South and Brick Memorial then host Donovan Catholic and Monroe on Saturday in the Jimmy V Coaches vs. Cancer Showcase at Central Regional.
Jaycen Santucci leads the team average with 16.4 points a game. Both Jayson King and Royalty Riley are averaging 10 points a game. Derek Roth, Aiden Graham, Elijah Reeder, and Luke Denning have all been contributing quality minutes.
Girls Basketball looking to improve in second half of season
The Girls Varsity Basketball Team started the season with a tough schedule. The team hopes to find success within the division as they currently are 1-1 within divisional play. This week they will host divisional opponent Toms River East and non divisional opponent Brick Memorial and finish the week off traveling to divisional opponent Donovan Catholic and non divisional opponent Howell. Leading the team is Emma Christensen as she is averaging 11.5 points a game and 7.3 rebounds. Vita Kelyman is averaging 9.1 points a game, while Brianna Nelson has scored 52 points and leads the team with 22 steals on the year. Ava Schmidhauser, Addison Nolan, and Alexandria Veltri are all showing senior leadership and playing quality minutes along with Jaelynn Witte.
Boys Wrestling having solid season with an 11-6 team record
The boys wrestling team is having a bounce back season after a disappointing season last year. The team is currently 11-6 and 1-1 in divisional matches. The team is being lead by Senior Nick Staniero, Junior Mason Lugo, Junior Joe Dunne, and Sophomore Christian Ardile. The team is coming off a big weekend in which they defeated Vineland and Mainland.
Outstanding performances include:
Mason Medina with a dominant win by fall in both his matches at 285 lbs.
Mason Lugo pinning his opponent in only 1:09 at 113 lbs.
Luke Condello with an impressive technical fall victory, 15-0, at 120 lbs.
Ethan Kiernan securing a hard-fought 7-4 decision at 144 lbs.
Christian Ardiles with two quick pins at150 lbs.
Michael Hawkes with an incredible technical fall, winning 19-4 at 132 lbs.
Joseph Dunne earning a win by fall in just 1:49 at 165 lbs.
Alexander Setaro dominating with a pin in only 1:10 at 175 lbs.
Deklan McLaughlin with a lightning-fast pin in 1:01 at 190 lbs.
Rhys Santarsiero with a strong pin in 4:45 at 215 lbs.
Girls Wrestling embarking on a historical season.
The Golden Eagle girls wrestling team is currently 6-1. They wrestled amazingly at the Queen of the East tournament at Jackson Liberty HS earlier in the year. The team took home 3rd place out of a whopping 40 teams in the tournament. JayAnna Hahn took third place at 132 lbs. while Liliana Alicea and Jade Hahn became champions at 165 lbs. and 185 lbs. respectively. Liliana Alicea won the upperweight Most Outstanding Wrestler as she defeated the 2024 165 lb. State 2nd Place wrestler from Cherry Hill East with a pin in the second period. A few weeks later the Central Regional girls wrestled another amazing tournament at the Rumble in the Pines. JayAnna Hahn (132) and Jade Hahn (185) took home the championship. Liliana Alicea (165) took 2nd, Layla Heinze (120) took 6th, Grace Ostapovich (126) took 4th, and Liliana Comstock (145) took 6th. The team took home the team championship with 165.0 points. The first girls team tournament championship in history.
Girls Bowling making noise in the tough "A" South Division
Being in one of the toughest divisions in the state can be challenging but CR hopes it will prepare them for the upcoming post season tournaments they will qualify for. Central currently sits at 4-6 but has a 155.81 game average. At their latest in season tournament, the CR girls bowling placed 5th place in a competitive statewide field of 22 teams. Captain Morgan Hawks, placed 2nd for high series (597) & high game (226), while Rachel Crick (555 series, 204 HG) & Emma Poggioli (182 HG) bowled big on the day.Going into this week leading the team were Rachel Crick, who is averaging a181.40 game and Morgan Hawks, who is averaging a 172.17 game.
Boys Bowling quietly having successful season
The Boys Bowling team currently has a record of 4-6 in the tough "A" South Bowling Division of the Shore Conference. They captured the 2024 Rule the River in season Baker Games tournament as Aaron Patti, Chrystian Kozak, Santino Gisondi, AJ Piszel, Brandon Rasmussen, and Joshua Sommers all had amazing performances. Senior Josh Sommers leads the team with a 198.73 game average while Chrystian Kozak is 2nd averaging a 188.93 game. The team's average going into today is 180.13.
Ice Hockey improving as season continues.
The Golden Eagle Ice Hockey team is a young energetic team. They continue to improve each game and are lead by goalie Joey Matos who already has made 302 saves. Leading the team offensively are freshman Chris Lash with 4 goals and 5 assist, Junior Kyle Maguire with 5 goals and 4 assist, Sophomore Tucker Powderly with 3 goals and 5 assist, and junior Noel Acevedo with 5 goals and 2 assist.
Boys and Girls Swim teams have huge day at Ocean County Swim Championship
The swim teams came into the Ocean County Swim Championships this past weekend undefeated and placed 2nd (boys) and 3rd (girls) at the county meet. Prior to this weekend, both teams defeated Lacey, Cedar Creek, Toms River East, and Pt. Boro. We had 3 individuals win a gold and 2 relay teams win gold on that day. At the meet, Senior Drew Westhoven was voted most outstanding swimmer for the boys meet as he was the only athlete to win 4 gold medals, as he won the 100 and 200 freestyle as well as being part of both relay teams. Ella Westhoven became the county champion in the 100 Freestyle and placed 2nd in the 200 Freestyle. Chase Corbett won the county championship in the 500 Freestyle and 3rd in the 100 Butterfly. The relay team of Adian Wenzel, Kaden Stout, Chase Corbett, & Drew Westhoven took gold in the 200 Medley Relay and 400 freestyle relay. Also winning medals on the day were Graceanna Rizzo placing 2nd in the 200 IM AND 3rd in the 500 Freestyle, Danica Barron placing 4th in the 500 Freestyle and 100 Breaststroke, Amelia Wenzel on placing 8th in the 100 Freestyle, Kaden Stout on placing 3rd in the 100 Breaststroke and 4th in the 50 Free, Aidan Wenzel on placing 2nd in the 100 Backstroke and 3rd in the 200 IM, Kam Schlueter on placing 8th in the 500 Freestyle, Dylan Olmeda on placing 5th in the 50 Freestyle and Matt Ricciardi on placing 7th in the 50 Freestyle
Ella Westhoven, OCEAN COUNTY CHAMPION in the 100 Freestyle AND 2nd place in the 200 Freestyle
Graceanna Rizzo on placing 2nd in the 200 IM AND 3rd in the 500 Freestyle at the Ocean County Championships
Danica Barron on placing 4th in the 500 Freestyle AND 100 Breaststroke at the Ocean County Championships!
Amelia Wenzel on placing 8th in the 100 Freestyle at the Ocean County Championships
Adian Wenzel, Kaden Stout, Chase Corbett, & Drew Westhoven for placing 1ST in the 400 Freestyle Relay and 200 Medley Relay at the Ocean County Championships
Chase Corbett, COUNTY CHAMPION in the 500 Freestyle AND 3rd in the 100 Butterfly at the Ocean County Championships
Drew Westhoven, COUNTY CHAMPION in the 200 Freestyle AND 100 Freestyle at the Ocean County Championships
Kaden Stout on placing 3rd in the 100 Breaststroke AND 4th in the 50 Free at the Ocean County Championships
Aidan Wenzel on placing 2nd in the 100 Backstroke AND 3rd in the 200 IM at the Ocean County Championships
Kam Schlueter on placing 8th in the 500 Freestyle at the Ocean County Championships
Dylan Olmeda on placing 5th in the 50 Freestyle at the Ocean County Championships
Matt Ricciardi on placing 7th in the 50 Freestyle at the Ocean County Championships
Graceanna Rizzo, Danica Barron, Amelia Wenzel & Ella Westhoven for placing 2nd in the 400 Freestyle Relay and 3rd in the 200 Freestyle Relay
Dylan Olmeda, Tristan Rodriguez, Kam Schlueter, & Matt Ricciardi for placing 7th in the 200 Freestyle Relay
Winter Track team starting the season off in the right direction.
The boys and girls winter track teams had a busy Winter break, competing in multiple meets over the two week stretch. Nnaemeka Amaechina is currently top 10 in the state in long jump with a mark of 22 feet. Alana Napolitano is currently top 20 in the state in shot put with her throw of 36 feet. Dom Prasad is currently 13th in the state in high jump with his jump of 6-2. Sam Boyle has had an incredible start to her season carrying the team in the hurdles and high jump. At Ocean County Relays, medals were won by the boys Distance Medley relay, Sprint Medley relay, 4x400 relay, 4x200 relay, and high jump relay. The girls medaled in the Shuttle Hurdle relay, Distance medley relay, 4x200 relay, 4x400 relay, and high jump relay. Great start to the season! They will be traveling to Virginia this week to compete at the Virgina Showcase.
Staffulty Appreciation from the Winter Student Athletes
Coach Stout and Coach Sullivan inducted into the OCC Hall of Fame
Two of our teachers/coaches at CR were honored for their amazing accomplishments at Ocean County College and inducted to their Athletic Hall of Fame. Steve Stout coached the swim team at Ocean County College for numerous years and in 2009 they claimed the Non Scholarship National Championship for mens and womens. Mary Kate Sullivan was honored for her stellar career at Ocean County College where she was named All American in 2013 and 2014. In 2014, she was voted Junior Colleges Women's Soccer Player of the Year. Great job guys and congratulations again.
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This past weekend former coach Rob Bechtloff was inducted to the NJSIAA coaches hall of fame. In the picture left to right are John Scran (Athletic Director) Christian Dryer (former player), Pat Lynch (former assistant coach, J.T. Liss (former player), Troy Vanhise (current head coach and former player, as well as Shane Cranstoun (former player and current assistant coach)
Athletic Signings
Vin Berardi on his commitment to continue his education and baseball career at Montclair State University
Samantha Demarco on her commitment to continue her education and girls lacrosse career at University of Umass Boston.
Sydney Azzarone on her commitment to continue her education and cheer career at Monmouth University.
Nick Dinicola on your commitment to continue your education and baseball career at Elmira College
Ice Hockey Team continues to give back to the community.
Over the break the CR Hockey team made their yearly visit to a local shelter. Sr Captain Patty Florek was and outstanding Santa and with a team full of Elves they were able deliver 60 gifts and stocking stuffers on the visit. The team was not finished their as a couple of weeks later the CR Hockey Team held their annual Holiday skate with the special needs at winding river park.
Great work coach Joe Pelliccio and the entire staff and team.
Tackle Depression teams up with CR Basketball
Tackle Depression teamed up with Central Regional High School to hand out 50 basketballs ahead of their Central Regional Boys Basketball opening night win against Lenape. Thank you Coach Bill Kvahleim for putting this event on at Central Regional.