Ending The Winter Season On A Winning Note

Spring sports practice has begun for high school baseball, softball, lacrosse, track, golf and tennis teams but for some the winter sports season is still front and center. 

Count the Lakewood boys and Point Pleasant Beach girl’s basketball teams among them and last night both added sectional championships to a growing list of accomplishments.  For the second straight year the Piners ended Manasquan’s season with a 62-49 win over the Warriors in the Central Jersey Group II finals at

John “Pott” Richardson Gym as Tyrice Beverette and Jared Craddox combined for 30 points and 17 rebounds.  Now 26-2, Lakewood will meet South Jersey champion Medford Tech in the state group semifinals Wednesday night at Perth Amboy High School.

While winning championships on the basketball court is nothing new at Lakewood it certainly is at Point Beach where the Garnett Gulls claimed their first-ever girls sectional title last night thanks to a 62-47 win over Shore Regional.  The 1-2 punch of Katelynn Flaherty & Marina Mabrey accounted for all but two of Point Beach’s points with Flaherty’s 40-point effort allowing her to surpass the 2000 point mark in her career with another full season to go.

It was just last week that Mabrey went over the 1000 point mark as a sophomore and the duo have propelled the 23-1 Gulls into Wednesday’s state Group1 semifinals against Gloucester City at Williamstown High School.  Point Beach students will pack their gym again tonight when the boys host Bound Brook in the Central Jersey Group 1 finals at 6pm.

Two other Ocean County girl’s teams play for sectional crowns tonight as Point Boro hosts Rumson in an all-shore Central Jersey Group II Final and defending champion Jackson Memorial visits top-seed Rancocas Valley in the South Jersey Group IV title game.

Toms River South’s B.J. Clagon and Mike Russo of Jackson Liberty were awarded overall top seeds in their respective weight classes for this week’s NJSIAA Wrestling Championships at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.  Clagon, who won at 138 pounds last year, is the top seed in a very competitive 145-pound weight class while Russo, who is only a sophomore grabs that spot at 106 pounds but is clearly not the favorite.  Seeds are largely based on previous state tournament experience.

The tournament runs Friday through Sunday. Check out our video on Clagon at shoresportsnetwork.com.