feb 2015“i think he gets it from playing all the time, you get that confidence. we’re a 3-ball...

Feb

201513

Vol. 2, Issue 9

GLORY DAYS MAGAZINE FEB. 13, 2015

Glory Days staffPublisher: Dave O’Sullivan/609-788-4294/[email protected] Editor: Giuseppe Ungaro/609-788-4294/[email protected] of Advertising: Bill Lynskey/609-788-4294/[email protected]: 609-788-4294/[email protected] design: Amy D’Adamo/[email protected] photography: Ben Hale/Benjamin Hale Photography

have a story idea?At Glory Days Magazine we love doing stories on qual-ity, inspiring people who are making a difference for their team, school and community. We also aim to high-light student-athletes who are doing good things on the field, in the classroom and with community service. If you have a story idea, please email [email protected] at any time!

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About the cover

When we heard that the Cedar Creek boys swimming team had won the first Cape-Atlantic League National Conference championship in school history, and learned a group of quadruplets played a big part in bringing the Pirates that title, we knew we had to get to know these boys a little better. What makes it even more unique is that the Librizzis are the second set of quadruplets in as many years to star in athletics at Cedar Creek. Last year, the Stefanski sisters helped lead the Pirates’ girls basketball team to a berth in the state championship game.

In getting to know the Librizzi boys, we realized what an outstanding family they come from. Parents Tom and Trish have done a great job raising not only good athletes, but also quality students and young men. Every great team has strong leadership, and every solid family has parents who can run the ship with equal parts love and discipline. Trish said that, looking back now, she doesn’t know how she and Tom handled the boys’ younger years, and there may have been more broken windows than the boys let on, but somehow they got through all the chaos that comes along with having four boys at once. They have raised some fine young men, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them do great things as they move forward in life.

Dave O’Sullivan, Publisher

FEB. 13, 2015 GLORY DAYS MAGAZINE PAGE 3

Cheerleader profileKylie ClearkinSchool: Ocean City High SchoolGrade: Senior Hometown: Ocean CityParents: Michael and Cheryl ClearkinNumber of years cheerleading: 8High school achievements: Honor roll, fall and winter cheerleading, and manager of the boys lacrosse team.Community service: I volunteered at the Ocean City half marathon, choreo-graphed Mr. OCHS, Junior Miss Ocean City 2012, andorganized a breast cancer awareness fundraiser in honorof a previous cheerleader’s mom. College choice: Stockton College What I like most about cheerleading: Being able to bondwith my teammates and cheer on the players to encourage them to do their best.The person I admire most is: I admire my parents the most because they are always there for me. They encourage meto do my best at all times and to never give up.My most memorable sports moment is: Becoming a captain my junior year. Why my school is the best: My school is the best becauseit is full of spirited and supportive students. My favorite sports team is: Philadelphia Flyers My favorite music is: Country Quote I live by: “Remember who you are, what you are,and when in doubt, say no.”


Living life at warp speedBy DAVE O’SULLIVANPublisher

If you ask Oakcrest senior basketball player Trevor Little for a ride to school, you better be outside on the porch waiting when he arrives. If

not, better mosey on down to the bus stop, because Trevor isn’t going to wait for you. Little lives life at full throttle all the time, and while that hyperactivity might annoy some people, it definitely works to the Falcons’ benefit on the basketball court.

Little is a manic defender, flying all over the court trying to disrupt opponents. Oakcrest coach Frank Brown said he has no idea how Little has any legs left to be one of the Cape-Atlantic League’s best 3-point shooters when the Falcons are on offense.

“That’s what surprises me. With all the defense he plays he can still come back and knock down threes. In some of our games he winds up playing 28 min-utes, which is about four minutes more than we want him to play. I’m thinking about his legs and his shot, trying to keep him fresh. He plays a lot of defense and does a lot of running around trying to get open for threes,” Brown said.

“He’s a real good athlete. He does it all. In bas-

ketball, he’s our top defender and one of the leaders in the CAL in 3-pointers made. The kid never stops. He works very hard,” Brown continued. “If you saw him at practice he’s the same way, he never throttles down, it’s always 100 miles-per-hour. He’s the type of kid you to try to push everybody else. No one wants to play him at practice because he will run you crazy.

“You have to tame him down, he can’t sit still. When he’s on the bus he’s jumping off the walls. We try to go into a classroom and have some quiet time and Trevor will be hanging off the ceiling. It’s very hard to calm down. He’s very hyper and can’t stay still. He won’t stop.”

“I can’t slow down. I never calm down, I’m always energetic,” said Little, an 18-year-old from Mays Landing.

Oakcrest came into this week sporting a 10-7 re-cord, in fourth place in the Cape-Atlantic League National Conference, but the Falcons do have some quality wins under their belt. They beat Wall Town-ship 55-52 in the quarterfinals of the Score at the Shore tournament at Southern Regional on Dec. 27, and also have beaten Ocean City and Cedar Creek.

Wall Township currently is 13-5 and one of the better teams in the Shore Conference.

“We beat Wall this year and they only have a few losses,” Little said. “That was a great win that no-body was expecting, but we knew we could do it. That’s definitely been the best moment so far of this year.”

Brown said confidence is the key ingredient any good shooter must have, and Little doesn’t lack for confidence. He’s a 3-sport athlete who also plays soc-cer and lacrosse, and he’s one of the more popular students in the school. He recently was nominated for many of the year-end awards that the yearbook committee works on. He thinks he has a pretty good shot at being voted “most athletic.”

“He’s quiet, but he’s a kid who will have some fun with you. He’ll talk a little bit of junk. If you back up off him, he’ll say ‘you shouldn’t have done that’ and hit a 3-ball on you. He’s one of those types of kids, he’s not afraid of anything. We play some teams that will put (a tall player) on him and I’ll say, ‘Trevor, you’ve got a 6-foot-5 player guarding you.’ And he’ll be like, ‘I don’t care, it doesn’t make a difference. Give me space and he’s in trouble,’” Brown said. “I think he gets it from playing all the time, you get that confidence. We’re a 3-ball shooting team, so our 3-point shooters all have confidence. They’re going

Oakcrestsenior guard

Trevor Little isleading the

Cape-Atlantic League in

3-pointshooting and

also is oneof the best

defenders the Falcons have.

He’s also a 3-sport athlete

and varsity scholar,

carrying a3.5 grade-point

average.Glory Days

Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan

Oakcrest 3-sport athlete Trevor Little rarely has a day off,but when you are wired like he is, you don’t need one

See Little, page 5


to shoot the ball even if they are off. They are still going to come out and jack it, and if they are falling, we can play with anybody.”

But confidence is a two-way street. If Brown didn’t have confidence in Little’s ability to be a great 3-point shooter, Little likely wouldn’t attempt as many long-range shots as he does.

“My coach really keeps me going. I could be 0-for-3 then hit my next three in a row. He just tells me to keep shooting,” Little said. “If my coach and team-mates weren’t helping me out I’d be embarrassed (when I miss a lot of shots), but they all tell me to keep shooting. If you think maybe you won’t make it, you won’t. You have to have 100 percent confidence every time.”

With any teenage boy as athletic as Little is, some-times school work can become an afterthought among the constant practices, games and travel ball. But Little said his mother, Linda, has been instrumental in helping him become as good a student as he is an athlete. Sure, it can get tiresome hearing mom get on your case all the time about hitting the books, but Little said he has come to realize why she has been so tough on him. He has turned himself into a varsity scholar and carries a 3.5 grade-point average.

“My mom is always on my case. It’s kind of an-noying sometimes, but if it wasn’t for her I probably wouldn’t have the grades I have right now and be a varsity scholar,” Little said. “My mom keeps me in check. She’s always keeping an eye out for me.”

His mom certainly has the right basketball coach to keep the hyperactive Trevor in line during the hoops

season. Linda and coach Brown are former class-mates at Middle Township High School.

“He’s a great kid, goes to church, he’s a great role model and leader in school. Everybody looks up to him. He’s a great student-athlete,” Brown said. “He keeps his grades up and you always see him in the hallway helping people out. I’m proud of him.”

Little said there have been times during his high school career when he has felt a little bit burned out playing three sports and working hard to keep his grades up. But that’s the kind of high school career he has wanted, and said he has enjoyed every minute of it.

“Every year, for every sport, we’ve become like a family. We all hang out after school and at pasta par-ties. During my high school career I’ve loved sports and everybody that’s been involved with them,” Lit-tle said. “That’s pretty much 90 percent of my life. I go to school, do my work, go to my sport, come home and do my homework, take a shower and go to bed. Then I get up the next day and do the same thing. As soon as soccer season ends, then it’s basketball, and when basketball ends it is lacrosse season. That’s my life, but I love it. I wouldn’t change any of it.”Contact Dave O’Sullivan:[email protected];on Twitter @GDsullysays

Little, from page 4

Glory Days Magazine file photo/Dave O’SullivanLittle is the starting goalie on the Oak-crest soccer team, and also plays varsity lacrosse.

“You have to tame him down, he can’t sit still. When he’s on the bus he’s jumping off the walls. We try to go into a classroom and have some quiet time and Trevor will be hanging off the ceiling.”

Oackrest basketball coach Frank Brown


Wrestling updateWho’s hotTommy McGrail, Egg Harbor Township: Hey, he might not have many wins this year, but he came up with the biggest of the season for the Eagles in their first-round state playoff match-up against Eastern Regional. McGrail, a senior and first-year wrestler, scored a first-period pin at heavyweight to give the Ea-gles a 24-22 lead they would not relinquish in a 36-30 win over the Vikings. Shane Stack, Ocean City: Stack, a 145-pounder, showed some serious toughness when he outlasted EHT’s Jason Kaenzig 5-4 in the Red Raid-ers’ 29-25 loss to the Eagles last week. He scored a reversal in the second 30-second overtime to grab the victory, then followed that up with a 4-1 win on Feb. 9 to help the Red Raiders beat Seneca in the first round of the state team playoffs and give head coach Dave Castellini his 100th win. St. Augustine Prep: The Her-mits scored what might be the biggest win in program history on Feb. 7 when they took down Don Bosco, the second-ranked team in the state, 32-31 on cri-teria. Jim Brady’s major deci-sion clinched the match for the Hermits, who came in ranked 17th in the state by nj.com. St. Augustine couldn’t follow that up with a win against Paulsboro, but it was still a monumental vic-tory for the Hermits.

Young EHT squad proving itselfThe Egg Harbor Township wrestling

team might only have three seniors in the lineup, but the underclassmen are hungry to keep alive the tradition of tough wrestling the Eagles have built during the past couple of decades un-der head coach Mike Caiazza.

On Feb. 9, the Eagles took down Eastern Regional 36-30 in the first round of the South Jersey Group 5 playoffs for their single-season school record 20th victory.

“We have eight sophomores and one freshman in the lineup, so we’re pretty young,” Caiazza said. “We knew early on that we would have a little bit of trouble getting kids where they needed to be in the lineup, but we kept preaching it and the kids finally bought into it. Now they are having a hell of a lot of fun.”

Egg Harbor Township picked up a huge win over Ocean City on Feb. 4, edging a very good Red Raiders team 29-25, a great confidence builder for a very young team.

“Coming into this year, we didn’t know what to expect, but we knew we had a good group of kids,” Caiazza said. “But we knew they were young and weren’t tested on the varsity level.”

One wrestler who has been particu-larly impressive has been sophomore 106-pounder Terrell Coleman. He has an array of moves and generally makes quick work of less experienced wrestlers.

Connor Agostino, another sopho-more, has been giving EHT some solid outings in the 195-pound weight class. He’s a fullback on the football team, and brings a certain attitude to the wrestling mat that teammates

seem to feed off of. Jerry Vo, Hunter Thomas and Hunter Coombs give the Eagles depth in the lower weights, and Jason Kaenzig has had a solid sea-son despite a tough 5-4 loss to Shane Stack of Ocean City at 145 pounds in the match last week.

The Eagles’ team playoff bracket

was a tough one, featuring Brick Me-morial, Howell, Southern Regional and Cherokee, but don’t be surprised if Egg Harbor Township crowns a couple of district champions this season. Cole-man and Kenny Kleshick have a good chance to accomplish that.


Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’SullivanEgg Harbor Township sophomore Terrell Coleman is one of the top 106-pounders in the Cape-Atlantic League and could be a contender for district and region titles this season.


Boys basketball updateCAL StandingsAmerican ConferenceAtlantic City 13-4 (8-0)Holy Spirit 14-4 (8-1)Mainland Regional 10-9 (5-4)Egg Harbor Township 10-7 (5-5)Vineland 6-12 (3-4)Absegami 5-12 (1-7)Millville 0-20 (0-9)National ConferenceSt. Augustine Prep 18-1 (7-0)Middle Township 12-6 (6-1)Bridgeton 12-6 (4-3)Oakcrest 10-7 (3-4)Ocean City 7-10 (1-7)Lower Cape May 4-11 (0-6)United ConferenceWildwood Catholic 16-5 (9-0)St. Joseph 8-7 (5-2)Buena Regional 8-9 (4-4)Cedar Creek 9-9 (4-4)Pleasantville 9-9 (4-5)ACIT 3-11 (1-5)Cape May Tech 3-13 (0-7)*Standings through Feb. 9

Don’t miss itAtlantic City at Holy Spirit, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m.: If you want to see this highly anticipat-ed rematch, you’ll have to buy a ticket in advance. That’s not a misprint. Contact Holy Spirit for more information. The gym will be packed, and the host Spar-tans will be out for some pay-back after the Vikings beat them in January. First place in the Cape-Atlantic League’s Ameri-can Conference is on the line.

A.C. starting to put it togetherAtlantic City doesn’t have the type

of star players it had two years ago when it won the South Jersey group championship, and there are only four seniors on the Vikings’ roster.

But what the Vikings do have is a large supply of quality players who are nearly interchangeable, which gives coach Gene Allen the unique ability to play pressure defense throughout an entire game.

Against Middle Township in last weekend’s Shoot Down Cancer Clas-sic at St. Augustine Prep, the Vikings went 10 players deep in a win over the Panthers, and probably could have run more players out onto the floor at any given time.

That type of depth, coupled with improved efforts from seniors such as Kevin Allen and Laceon Redfurn, has Atlantic City hitting its stride at just the right time.

“We’re getting better. Our best as-set right now is our depth. We can just keep pressuring,” coach Allen said. “That’s always been our forte. Guys are starting to know their roles and just do their job, and I think that’s been our greatest asset.

“We can only get better. I see a lot of room for growth with this team.”

Now, it’s not as if the Vikings have been an also-ran through the first two months of the season. They came into this week sitting atop the standings in the Cape-Alantic League’s American Conference and have some impres-sive wins, including one over rival Holy Spirit that gave them a lead over the Spartans in the conference race.

With Kevin Allen beginning to as-sert himself in the post, the Vikings

are becoming a more dangerous team to face with each passing week. Allen pumped in 24 points in the win over Middle Township, had six rebounds, and attempted 16 free throws, making 11 of them.

His ability to force opposing de-fenses to respect Atlantic City’s in-side game is opening up outside shots for guards such as Redfurn, Lamar Thomas, Jamir Prevard and Jamal Williams.

The Vikings will not be an easy team to get past in the upcoming Cape-Atlantic League tournament. Making history

When it comes to the Shoot Down Cancer Classic at St. Augustine, Cam-den Catholic has been unbeatable.

Well, until this past weekend, that is. The Irish came into their matchup

with Holy Spirit sporting a 14-0 re-cord at the tournament during the past 14 years, but this year the Spartans fi-nally broke up that perfect mark with a grueling 41-37 victory.

The Spartans’ strategy was to slow down its offense to a snail’s pace and take possessions away from Camden Catholic’s high-powered offense. Coach Jamie Gillespie also went to a zone defense for much of the game, which frustrated Irish big men Bren-dan Crawford and Demola Onifade, who were limited to just five points combined. The Irish also shot just 30 percent from the field.


Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’SullivanSenior Kevin Allen has stepped up his game recently, pour-ing in 24 points in the Vikings’ win over Middle Township last Saturday.


CAL StandingsAmerican ConferenceHoly Spirit 14-3 (7-2)Mainland Regional 14-4 (7-2)Atlantic City 11-5 (6-2)Absegami 11-6 (5-3)Millville 6-12 (3-6)Egg Harbor Township 5-12 (2-7)Vineland 4-15 (0-8)National ConferenceOcean City 16-2 (7-0)Lower Cape May 17-1 (6-1)Bridgeton 13-5 (4-4)Middle Township 13-6 (3-4)Oakcrest 2-15 (1-6)OLMA 3-14 (0-6)United ConferenceCedar Creek 12-6 (8-0)Wildwood Catholic 15-4 (6-2)St. Joseph 7-9 (4-2)ACIT 12-6 (4-2)Buena Regional 6-10 (2-5)Cape May Tech 3-9 (2-5)Pleasantville 0-16 (0-9)*Standings through Feb. 9

Don’t miss itWildwood Catholic at Cedar Creek, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 5:30 p.m.: To have any hope of claim-ing the Cape-Atlantic League’s United Conference title, Wild-wood Catholic has to win this game. The Pirates are 8-0 in conference play, but the Cru-saders came into this week hot, having won three straight. Both teams also are fighting for posi-tion in the upcoming CAL tour-nament, which should be pretty intense.

Conference titles not assured yetIt looks as though the Cape-Atlantic

League conference seasons will come down to the wire, in all three sections of the league.

Mainland Regional looked to have the upper hand when it beat Holy Spirit earlier this month, but the Spar-tans have climbed right back into it, and coming into this week the teams were tied atop the American Confer-ence with identical 7-2 records. And Atlantic City, which also beat Holy Spirit, was hot on their heels, just a half game behind.

The National Conference is just as tightly contested between No. 1 Ocean City and No. 2 Lower Cape May. The Red Raiders handled the Caper Tigers with relative ease in their first meeting and are in the driver’s seat, but Lower sits just one game behind. That will be a two-team race to the finish, as third-place Bridgeton came into this week already with four losses.

Ocean City has been dominant when playing South Jersey teams. Their only two losses have come to North Jersey powers Shabazz and Franklin, and the only two South Jersey teams that have really tested the Red Raiders so far have been Shawnee and Abse-gami.

In the United Conference, Cedar Creek controls its own destiny as Wildwood Catholic trails the Pirates by two games. These teams face off on Tuesday at Cedar Creek, and the Crusaders’ last gasp at a conference championship will come down to whether or not they can score a road win against a tough opponent.

The Pirates go as Casey Thomas goes. She is one of the leading scor-

ers and rebounders in the league, and the only thing that can really stop her is foul trouble. She got into some foul trouble in a loss to Mainland Re-gional, and the Pirates had a tough time matching up with Mustangs post players Megan Stafford and Melanie Malcolm.Surprise teams

The Bridgeton Bulldogs came into this week with a 13-5 record, due in large part to the play of Destiny

Thompson. Thompson averages near-ly 16 points per game and is leading the league in rebounds. She even had 26 in a recent game against Vineland.

ACIT has hung tough in the United Conference behind the play of Yas-meen Nelson. You might recognize the last name. Her brother is Sa’eed Nelson, St. Augustine Prep’s out-standing point guard who might be one of the best players in the state.


Girls basketball update

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’SullivanCedar Creek’s Casey Thomas has been one of the best play-ers in the Cape-Atlantic League this season, averaging nearly 16 points and six rebounds per game for the Pirates.


Me and my pet

Nicole Piergross is a junior on the Ocean City High School girls basketball team. She loves her dog, Chip, who is 9 years old and was diagnosed with cancer last year. Nicole is happy to report Chip went through treatment and is doing better than ever! She says Chip is extremely friendly and energetic, and loves to take things that don’t belong to him.

Want to be featured in “Me and my pet”? If you are a local high school athlete, coach, or parent of an athlete or coach, or a former high school athlete, email your photo and a brief description of your pet to [email protected].


Cedar Creek High School quadruplets

Photo by Ben Hale/Benjamin Hale PhotographyThe Librizzi quadruplets, from left, Curtis, Billy, Danny and Anthony, helped lead the Cedar Creek swim team to the first Cape-Atlantic League National Conference championship in school history this year.

4-for-1By GIUSEPPE UNGAROManaging Editor

Few can imagine what it would be like to be one of four siblings — let alone being a quadruplet — like Cedar Creek High School seniors An-

thony, Billy, Curtis and Danny Librizzi.Outsiders may envision a household run amok

with temperamental teenagers being ultra-compet-itive with one another, fighting for attention, argu-ing about whose turn it is to drive, and about what to watch on TV.

However, nothing is further from the truth when it comes to the Librizzi quadruplets.

“We mesh together pretty well,” Danny said. “We have a lot of common interests. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we are brothers and get in disagreements here and there, but for the most part we get along really well. We don’t have a ton of fights or arguments or yelling in the household. We pretty much mesh well together.”

If there’s any truth that the behavior of children is the reflection of their parents, then Tom and Trish Li-brizzi could probably teach a class on parenting. The Galloway residents may have been overwhelmed at

first with the task of raising quadruplets, but by all accounts, their sons are thoughtful, sincere, polite young men.

The brothers are accomplished athletes, natural leaders and standout students, setting a positive ex-ample in and out of the swimming pool.

“They are great all-around young men,” Cedar Creek swim coach Scott Ferguson said. “They are al-ways respectful and courteous. I’ve never seen them in a bad mood.”Special bond

The brothers understand the interest and attention that comes with being quadruplets.

Being a quadruplet is rare, but an M.I.T. professor may be needed to figure out what the odds are for two sets of quadruplets to walk the same high school hallways.

The Librizzis shared the honor of being quads for three years with the Stefanskis, who graduated last June after successful girls basketball careers.

“It was cool seeing them in the hallway and say-ing, ‘hey, quad,’” Curtis said.

Other than the Stefanskis, not many can understand

what it is like for the Librizzis. They genuinely enjoy the experience and wouldn’t have it any other way.

“You have three other people around you all the time,” Anthony said. “We have great camaraderie. We are really close. You always have someone to look out for you and to look out for. It is such a great experience to always have someone with you and be close with.”

In school, on the cross country course, in the pool, at home or a weekend night at Costello’s in Smith-ville, the Librizzis seemingly are always together.

“It’s really rare and it’s really cool having three best friends to hang out with,” Danny said.

The brothers may share many common interests, but with four distinct personalities, disagreements are bound to happen. They may not always agree, but they do know how to compromise, a valuable skill when you are a quadruplet.

“The majority rules,” Anthony said. “If three want to go out to dinner with friends, we all go. If someone wants to do something on their own, it’s their choice, but we almost always agree on something to do. We

Getting the Librizzi quadruplets has been quite a deal for the Cedar Creekswim team, as the boys helped the Pirates win their first conference title

See Quads, page 13



AnthonyFavoritesFood: Pasta; Swimming event: 100 backstroke; Music: Classical; Movie: Jurassic Park; Book: Air-man; Class: Pre-Calculus; Sport to play: Swimming; Pro sports team: Ealges; Hangout: Costello’s In Smithville; Dream car: Tesla Model S; Facebook or twitter: Twitter, but I don’t have any social media

BillyFavoritesFood: Lasagna; Swimming event: 200 free; Music: Pearl Jam, Nirvana; Movie: The Fugitive; Book: Blood of Olympus; Class: Psychology; Sport to play: Cross country; Pro sports team: San Antonio Spurs; Hangout: Costello’s in Smithville; Dream car: Any convertible; Facebook or Twit-ter: Twitter

CurtisFavoritesFood: Pasta; Swimming event: 200 IM; Music: Nirvana, Green Day and a mix of Rock; Movie: Alien; Book: Harry Potter series; Class: Phys-ics; Sport to play: Swimming; Pro sports team: Eagles; Hangout: Costello’s in Smithville; Dream car: Jeep; Facebook or Twitter: Definite-ly Twitter

DannyFavoritesFood: Pizza; Swimming event: 400 free; Music: Coldplay, Lumineers, Aerosmith; Movie: Shawshank Re-demption; Book: Harry Potter series; Class: Spanish; Sport to play: Swim-ming; Pro sports teams: Phillies, Eagles, Flyers; Hangout: Costello’s in Smithville; Dream car: A convertible; Facebook or twitter: Twitter

like to go out and do the same thing.”They also agree on what sports to

participate in. All four are on the cross country team and the swim team.In the pool

The brothers’ success in the swim-ming pool began when they all took lessons as 5-year-olds. It was an ac-tivity all four took to right away and enjoyed. They learned the sport and gained experience as part of the Brig-antine Greenheads, based out of the Brigantine Aquatic Club.

It was there the Librizzis established the foundation of their success, which in turn became the foundation of the Cedar Creek swim program.

The program started in 2011, the first time the quadruplets walked the halls of the high school. Despite being fresh-men, the brothers brought experience

and credibility to the program right away.

Many of the other swimmers never swam competitively before joining the squad. The brothers, accustomed to team swimming, were immediate lead-ers.

In four years, Cedar Creek went from a newly-formed team to conference champions. The brothers made major contributions to the title, which was clinched when the Pirates toppled an established Middle Township team.

“It’s just a really good mix of sea-soned veterans who have been doing it for a couple of seasons, and good, fresh talent,” said Billy, who studies the times of his teammates and oppo-nents to see where his squad can gain an edge. “It’s a good mix of depth. We have kids who can win races, and we don’t have a dropoff. We have kids that can win and we have twos, threes and fours, who give us points in close

meets. That has helped us out. Having people that can go win a race, but also guys that can get third over fourth and fifth over sixth. That really has helped us out.”

The 109-61 win was the first Cape-At-lantic League National Conference title for the Pirates. Curtis won two individual events — the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke — and was part of two relay wins. Billy was part of the win-ning 400 freestyle relay.

Cedar Creek finished the season with an 8-2 record and its first appearance in the state playoffs. The Pirates’ first playoff meet ended with a heartbreak-ing 80-76 loss to Gateway.

However, the loss can’t overshadow what the Librizzis and the Pirates did in the pool. They led Cedar Creek to its finest season thus far, and will leave behind a culture of success.

For the brothers, it was even more special because they did it together.

“Being (quadruplets) is definitely a different but cool experience,” Curtis said earlier this season. “We have all been swimming our entire lives, and all the work we put in up to this moment, it’s great to share this together. It’s a great experience.”

“It’s been special all season,” Billy said. “Not only the first year we won, but it’s with my brothers. We have been swimming so long and we have always been on the same team, and are doing it together and for each other, so it’s big.”

It may be difficult for the Pirates to replace the Librizzi brothers, but be-cause of them the team knows what can be accomplished. Establishing a winning program takes time. Cedar Creek got a taste of it in just four years in part because of the Librizzis.

Through their dedication, effort and experience, Cedar Creek reached a

Quads, from page 12

See Quads, page 14



Stefanskis say their bond remains strong By GIUSEPPE UNGAROManaging Editor

Before the Librizzis hit the local sports scene, it was the Stefanskis who grabbed the headlines. Mercina, Mikila, Monique and Morgan made

their mark in elementary school gymnasiums before eventually taking the Cedar Creek girls basketball team to a state championship game.

The Stefanskis, who graduated last June, are now in college. Mikila and Morgan suit up for Goldey-Bea-com College in Delaware. Mercina and Monique are enrolled in Caldwell University, where they chose not to continue playing. Anthony, Billy, Curtis and Danny Librizzi are another set of quadruplets at Cedar Creek. They currently are seniors who recently led the boys swimming team to a Cape-Atlantic League United Con-ference championship.

The Stefanski duo at Goldey-Beacom are adjusting to being college athletes, and all four sisters are adjusting to college and being away from two sisters for the first time in their lives.

“That’s the hardest adjustment I face, just being away from family,” Mercina said. “It feels like a piece of me is missing. The Librizzis are the only people who can understand that. The four of us talk about it. But it feels like a piece of me is not there. It feels like something is off.”

“I miss them so much,” Mikila said. “We do what we can. They had a whole month off (for winter break), and myself and Morgan only had about a week. It was re-ally nice to be home. I didn’t want to leave. We can do FaceTime or text, but it’s not the same.”

The Librizzis are now facing the same future as the

Stefanskis. After being together for 18 years, compet-ing together on athletic fields and in pools, and being in the same classrooms, the brothers face the prospect of heading to college without at least one brother and maybe all three.

The Stefanskis had to make tough choices, but knew they were the right choices for them.

“The advice I would give them is that a lot of people may say it’s time to branch off and go and be your own person,” Monique said. “But I didn’t want to go to col-lege by myself. I wanted to go with a sibling. Go right ahead and grow along with them.”

“It’s so tough,” Morgan said. “I just got off FaceTime

with them. It’s the first time we have been apart, but we are dealing with it. I’m lucky to have Mikila with me and the other two have each other.”

Mikila and Morgan are both coming off the bench for Goldey-Beacom, which in itself is a challenge after star-ring on the hardwood for so long.

“It’s very different from high school because here everyone is a champion and everyone is a 1,000-point scorer (in high school). It’s a different environment.”

She added: “That’s probably the most difficult part for me. It’s the pressure every day to work hard. It’s like a tryout every day to get playing time. When you get on the court you want to make plays and get teammates involved.”

They are both playing as freshman and expect to see their playing time increase as their college years prog-ress.

Mercina walked on to the Caldwell team, but left the team a month into the season to focus on academics. If she stayed on the team, she could have played against her sisters, as the two programs are scheduled to meet on Feb. 14 in Delaware.

The sisters at Caldwell are making the trip South to cheer for their siblings.

“I’ll be there,” said Mercina. “That’s going to be a tough one because I go (to Caldwell), but I want my sisters to win no matter what. No matter who they play, I want a Stefanski to win.”

Distance and different schools are not going to break their sibling bond.Contact Giuseppe Ungaro:[email protected];on Twitter @GDgisepu

Submitted photoThe Stefanski quadruplets, from left, Miki-la, Morgan, Mercina and Monique helped lead Cedar Creek’s girls basketball team to a berth in the state championship game as seniors last winter.

new level of success. The Pirates are a playoff team. It may be up to others to keep them at that level, but the Librizzi brothers helped lay the foundation.

“I think they are a great group of boys,” Ferguson said. “It has been a pleasure to coach them the past four years. I got to know them well, and it will be sad to see them go when they graduate. They have established such a strong tradition for the swim team.”The next chapter

When the brothers are not in the pool or running cross country, they are hit-ting the books. As much as they enjoy athletics, all four boys expressed that academics come before sports.

In fact, their accomplishments in the classroom are even more impressive than their athletic achievements.

“We are all good students,” Anthony said. “We are all in the National Hon-ors Society and we all have As. We all

have really good GPAs and are taking (Advanced Placement) classes.”

“Academics are the main thing,” Billy said. “You get that done and then have swimming on the side. Even in our club swimming days it was like, ‘hey Mom, we have a lot of work to do, we can’t go to practice.’ Academics has been the main thing and swimming comes after that. Academics is what drives us.”

With their main focus on academics, the brothers are considering what col-lege is right for them.

For any high school student, choos-ing a college is a difficult process. There’s plenty to consider, including location, cost and what academic pro-gram is the right fit.

Anthony is tech-savvy and is look-ing to major in computer science while Billy wants a career in civil engineer-ing. Curtis plans on being a physical therapist, and Danny is going to focus on Spanish, possibly becoming a Span-ish teacher.

The brothers are looking for the right college to fit their needs, but they have the added challenge of contemplating being separated from one, two or even three brothers they have been with for 18 years. After all, Anthony and Billy, and Curtis and Danny, have shared rooms all their lives.

What would it be like not to have a brother close by? That is one of the many questions the brothers are con-sidering when picking a college.

“We have been going to school together our entire life,” Curtis ex-plained. “Now we are at the time where we may have to go our sepa-rate ways. We will see how it goes. Honestly, I think we are all ready for it. It may have a weird feel the first few weeks of college not being able to see each other every day, but once we get used to it, it will be cool to catch up with each other and see how we are doing.”

“I have taken time away to think about that,” Danny said. “You are with

a group of guys for 18 years, your whole life. College is a new experience in itself. There is time you have to go out and see what is out there for your-self. You are still family and brothers are always going to be there for you, but you have to take time to discover what you want in life and what is the right career path for me.”

Despite the differences in their potential majors, there is always a chance some of the brothers will land at the same school. Several have Rowan on their list of potential schools. Even if they do go in differ-ent directions the next four years, it won’t change their relationship to one another.

“I can’t really imagine my life with-out it. It’s a part of who I am,” Billy said. “There’s no getting around that. I’m always going to have that with me.”Contact Giuseppe Ungaro:[email protected]; on Twitter @GDgisepu

Quads, from page 13



Parenting four boys at same time has been a fun experience for Tom, Trish By DAVE O’SULLIVANPublisher

The last 18 years have been a wild ride for Tom and Trish Librizzi. Both Atlantic City High School graduates, Tom and Trish were first-

time parents when Trish gave birth to FOUR boys at the same time. Thus started the journey of the Li-brizzi quadruplets, Anthony, Billy, Curtis and Danny. Today they are seniors at Cedar Creek High School, and recently helped the swim team capture its first Cape-Atlantic League conference championship when the Pirates took down Middle Township.

“They were club swimmers at the Brigantine Aquatic Club, and that was a nice segue into high school because they had that experience going into their first year (at Cedar Creek). It was great, we’re really proud of them,” Tom said of the conference title. “We kind of got caught up in it because they were so excited about it.”

“That’s why the win they got was so huge, because a few years ago you had some kids on the team who never even swam before, and there they were winning a title. We were thrilled,” said Trish.

Looking back now, Tom and Trish, Galloway resi-dents, say they are still in awe of how they managed to raise four children at the same time.

“It wasn’t typical because they were so premature, so they were in the hospital for a couple of months and came home one at a time. Of course, we were swarmed upon by our family. We had family who lived nearby and they would pop in all the time and help us. You just kind of fumble through it. I don’t know that we did it great, but we did it,” Trish said. “We had great family and friends who would scour the sales at local stores for clothes. It became kind of a community thing. At the time we lived in Absecon, and everyone was so supportive. It was before this explosion of multiples, so it was new to everybody.”

“It was great. We weren’t worried about how we were going to do it, but we were first-time parents so maybe we didn’t know any better,” Tom said. “I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but it turned out to be really good. The first year and a half is prob-ably the hardest because you are doing everything for the kids, but it’s been great. Sometimes you think back to the good ol’ days, but these are the good ol’ days. Life just keeps getting better.”

Trish said the key to having four rambunctious tod-dlers running around was to create one child-proof room in which they could all jump around and play. Keep the chaos contained, was how she explained it.

“We lived in a ranch and we had a child-proof room that we gated off. We’d look from the kitchen and they would be crawling all over each other. They really couldn’t get hurt aside from maybe a tumble

off the couch at like 12 or 13 months, but who hasn’t done that? We look back on videos and we think to ourselves, ‘how did we do that?’ They’re pulling bottles from each other, pushing each other down. But that was how we did it, there was one baby-proof room where they hung out,” Trish said. “One of the questions we got back then was, ‘what do you do when they are all crying at once?’ I said that I pop in a Barney video, and they would just drop to their butts and watch the floor model television. That was sort of our crowd control.”

Growing up, the boys showed athletic ability, but never really took to traditional sports such as base-ball, basketball or football. Trish said she and Tom got the boys into swimming when they were about 5 years old, mostly because it made things easy be-cause they could cart the boys to one location every time there was a practice or meet.

“We wanted to get them into a sport, but we really couldn’t be taking them in four different directions. Swimming seemed to be the sport where they could all be together,” Trish said.

“They weren’t the traditional athletes. They grew up playing basketball, but they didn’t really like that, and they didn’t like football,” Tom said. “We got them into the swim program when they were about 5 years old. We never intended it to turn out to where they would be on the high school swim team years later.”

The boys, who also are a part of the cross coun-try program in the fall, played an integral role in the Pirates capturing their first conference swimming crown, and they also have become model students and citizens at Cedar Creek High School. They are all in the National Honor Society and all plan to fur-

ther their education at the college level. Trish said her boys — ALMOST always — are well behaved, and that they have set a good example for their team-mates.

“We’re born-again Christians, that’s our back-ground, so they came into high school with a good moral foundation and that has kept them centered. They are popular with their group of friends who are similar to them, and of course sports gives them a nice, wide circle of friends. We have kids at the house all the time here. It’s loud and busy,” Trish said. “They are good kids. That’s another big thing about sports, it keeps them busy and focused and disciplined. With their high school preparation and experience, I’m so confident with them going to college because they have juggled so much. They’ve had to juggle a lot of courses and sports, and they’ve managed to have a nice social life and church life, so I think they are kind of ready to jump out of the nest.”

“Academically, they have gone above and beyond what I thought they would do, National Honor Soci-ety and all that,” said Tom.

One thing most high school boys pay a lot of at-tention to are high school girls, but mom said she has tried her best to keep her boys focused on sports and academics rather than teenage romances.

“Yeah, they come around,” mom said of high school girls. “But we try to keep them focused. I, personally, don’t feel like high school is the right time for them to be having relationships because kids are immature and there’s a lot of heartbreak. You have friends who end up not being friends because of a little romance. I hate to say it, but I discourage it. But I think there is a lot we don’t know about, let me put it that way. But the girls who do come around are always very nice.”

Soon, the boys will be leaving home and heading off to college. Trish said she and Tom are trying to savor all the moments of their senior year.

“You just have to enjoy every stage because it does go by so quickly. This high school experience has been great, and now we are getting excited about them going off to college. We’re proud of them for all wanting to go to college and picking majors that are going to marketable. It’s exciting,” Trish said. “The camaraderie they share is a special thing. It doesn’t happen to many people. We’re looking forward to where they are going.

“I think they are turning out to be nice people that I like hanging out with. You get to the point where your kids turn out to be your friends and companions, and we’re getting to that point. They are pretty nice kids.”Contact Dave O’Sullivan:[email protected];on Twitter @GDsullysays

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’SullivanTrish and Tom Librizzi said it wasn’t easy raising quadruplet boys, but that they have enjoyed watching their sons develop into quality students and athletes at Cedar Creek High School.


Breaking down the CAL boys, girls basketball tournamentsCommentary

The Cape Atlantic League basketball tournament is right around the corner. The tournament commit-tee considers games played up to and including

Friday, Feb. 20. Higher seeds will host quarterfinal games on Monday, Feb. 23. St. Augustine will host the girls semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 25, with Absegami host-ing the boys semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 26. Stockton College is set to host the championship round on Satur-day, Feb. 28.

Here are my predictions on the field and seeding for the CAL tournament:Boys1. St. Augustine (National Conference automatic qualifier) — The Hermits are undefeated against New Jersey competition. Of course that includes a perfect

record against CAL oppo-nents. Sa’eed Nelson has emerged as one of the top point guards in the state, and sophomores Justyn Mutts and Austin Kennedy continue to improve almost every game. St. Augustine is young, but as deep as high school basketball teams come. A no-brainer at No. 1. 2. Atlantic City (American Conference automatic quail-ifier) — The Vikings may not have the same offensive

firepower they’ve had the last few seasons, but as always, Gene Allen’s team is as tough as nails on defense. Leon Daniels has been an instant contributor since his trans-fer from Holy Spirit became official earlier this month. Kevin Allen provides the muscle inside, while Lamar Thomas can shoot the lights out from distance. 3. Holy Spirit (American Conference automatic quali-fier) — The Spartans suffered close losses to both St. Au-gustine and Atlantic City, so the Spartans earn the three seed. John Middleton and Co. can’t wait for a rematch with the Vikings, plus a showdown with A.C. and/or Prep in the CAL tournament. Spirit has played a brutal sched-ule, and should be battle-tested for the postseason. They knocked off South Jersey’s No. 1 team, Camden Catholic, at the recent Shoot Down Cancer Classic. 4. Wildwood Catholic (United Conference automatic qualifier) — Dave DeWeese has done a masterful coach-ing job in what was originally thought to be a rebuilding year for the Crusaders. They are undefeated in conference play despite missing their only inside force, Will Bell, due to injury. The Crusaders can stroke it from the out-side with brothers Trey and D.J. Smith. Kevin McWade might just be the best defender in the league. 5. Middle Township (National Conference automatic qualifier) — What could have been a lost year turns into another solid Panthers season. Trai Greer is out with a knee injury, but younger brother Corey has picked up the slack. Tim Toney and Michael Feraco are proven scorers as well. 6. Bridgeton (At-large qualifier) — Barring a complete meltdown, the Bulldogs should be a lock for an at-large bid. Marquis Wilson has emerged as one of the better players in the league. Nazir Williams is a double-double machine down low, and super sophomore Markquese Bell can almost jump out of the gym. 7. Egg Harbor Township (At-large qualifier) — The Silver Eagles have been flying under the radar this sea-son, but are in a great spot to take the other at-large big.

Point guard Omar Dixon runs the show and Quanif Ames is a great complement at shooting guard. Carmine Fiore is a hard-working forward who does the dirty work down low. Their 1-3-1 defense can give teams fits. 8. St. Joseph (United Conference automatic qualifier) — The Wildcats are in the driver’s seat to qualify from the United conference behind Wildwood Catholic. St. Joseph has taken a few lumps against some top teams, but has pulled off a few upsets as well. B.J. Mitchell is the best athlete in the league, but will need scoring help if the Wildcats hope to make a CAL tournament run. Girls 1. Ocean City (National Conference automatic quali-fier) — The Red Raiders are undefeated in CAL play, in-cluding a blowout win over a very good Lower Cape May team. Grace Sacco, Olivia Briggs and Nicole Piergross all have big-game experience, and team up to form the best backcourt in the league. The Red Raiders are the favorite. 2. Lower Cape May (National Conference automatic qualifier) — The Caper Tigers’ only loss came against Ocean City, and Lauren Holden and her teammates will have a chance to avenge that loss before the tournament. Holden is considered the top player in South Jersey and one of the best players in the state. She averages close to 30 points per game. Maddie Gibson complements Holden on the inside. 3. Holy Spirit (American Conference automatic quali-fier) — This is where things get very murky on the girls side. The Spartans get the nod with a slight lead at the top of the American Conference, and an outstanding overall record. Amanda Reale is very reliable in the paint and Audrey Wil-son is a veteran presence at the guard position. 4. Atlantic City (American Conference automatic qualifier) — Like so many of the teams near the top of the American Conference, the Vikings could go from an

automatic qualifier to out of the tourney altogether. Alexis Harris is incredible with the dribble and a creative fin-isher in traffic as well. Alyvia Essex is one of the CAL’s top rebounders. 5. Mainland (At-large qualifier) — If the Mustangs don’t earn an automatic spot, they are still in great shape for an at-large bid. Recent wins over Holy Spirit and Cedar Creek should help their case either way. Melanie Malcolm and Shea Scannell can score in bunches. 6. Cedar Creek (United Conference automatic quali-fier) — The Pirates lost a ton of pop from a South Jersey Group II championship team a year ago, but Casey Thomas has led Cedar Creek to an undefeated record in conference play. The Pirates certainly have enough talent to pull off a first-round upset. 7. Wildwood Catholic (United Conference automatic qualifier) — Like Cedar Creek, the Crusaders lost many of their top players from a year ago. Olivia Rulon has put this team on her back this season, averaging close to 20 points per game. Head coach Steve DiPatri knows how to get the most out of his teams come playoff time. 8. Middle Township (At-large qualifier) — The second at-large spot on the girls side could end up going to a number of different teams, including ACIT, Absegami or Bridgeton. I give the nod to Middle Township be-cause the Panthers have played such a difficult schedule. Middle is very young, but after a slow start has really come on this season. Bridget Ruskey leads a balanced Panthers scoring attack. Mike Frankel, formerly of NBC-40, is the host of the South Jersey Sports Report on Saturday morningsfrom 9 to 11 on 97.3 ESPN FM. He’ll be providingcommentary on Cape-Atlantic League high school sports in every other issue of Glory Days Magazine throughout the school year.

Mike Frankel


Sprained ankles more common now among cheerleaders,but right plan for treatment can limit time out of action

(Dr. Brian Sokalsky, DO, is at the helm of Jersey Shore Sports Medicine in Ocean City and is a board certified family physician with special training in sports medicine. Once per month, Glory Days Maga-zine publisher Dave O’Sullivan will talk with Dr. So-kalsky about various sports injuries, treatments and prevention methods.)

Competitive cheerleading and gymnastics has ex-ploded in popularity during the last decade, with high school cheerleaders and gymnasts trying ever-more acrobatic stunts to wow the crowd. This, Dr. Sokal-sky said, has led to a spike in ankle sprains among these types of athletes. He said he has been seeing a lot of sprained ankles among cheerleaders and gym-nasts this winter, and the way he goes about treating them is a little bit different than the average family doctor.

“For the most part they are similar to basketball in-juries. They are what we call inversion sprains, where they roll the ankle, like when a basketball player lands on another player’s foot. With cheerleaders and gym-nasts, instead of landing on someone’s foot they land awkwardly off tumbles or jumps,” Sokalsky said.

“For the younger ones, instead of spraining their ankle they get a fracture through their growth plate. That takes a little bit longer to heal. It is a fracture through the growth plate, so the x-rays are typically

normal, but they have pain or tenderness on the bone itself instead of the ball of the ankle itself.”

Dr. Sokalsky specializes in sports medicine, there-fore, he understands the mentality of the athlete who wants to return to competition as quickly as possible.

With that in mind, he said he prefers aggressive physical therapy as opposed to simply immobilizing the ankle and waiting 4 to 6 weeks for it to heal.

“I believe in early movement, so I avoid immo-bilization and things like boots and casts as often as I can. We have a very high success rate. It de-pends on the severity of the sprain, but I can typi-cally get the patient back to play rather quickly with an aggressive course of bracing and physical therapy,” Sokalsky said. “I think doctors who work primarily with athletes have a better understanding of the motivation of athletes and the pressures of a season. For a high school kid, their season is only two or three months, so if they are put in a boot for four weeks they’ve already lost half their season. So we understand the time frames of season. We work with the athlete around their schedule to get them prepared for whatever competition they are focusing on.”

Dr. Sokalsky said the key to returning to competi-tion quickly, and successfully, is movement. He said it’s important to strengthen the ligaments around the

ankle as the healing process is taking place, so that when it’s time for the athlete to return to competition they have already begun the rehab process.

“The vast majority of ankle sprains don’t need sur-gery. Working as a sports medicine doctor, I tend to be more aggressive in treatment and rehab, so I typi-cally do not put them in a fracture boot or cast. I don’t immobilize the ankle, I try to keep the ankle mov-ing so they don’t develop stiffness,” Sokalsky said. “Then, as the pain subsides, I like to get them into physical therapy quickly to regain the stability of the ankle to prevent recurrence of the injury.”

Dr. Sokalsky said the thing for parents and coaches to be on the lookout for is whether or not their ath-lete is having discomfort with the ankle. If they are favoring the ankle that wasn’t sprained, or limping in any way, Sokalsky said that is a sign the athlete isn’t ready to return.

“The most important thing is, if the athlete is not able to significantly support weight or if they have any tenderness over the bone, you want to get the an-kle checked out and make sure there is no fracture,” Sokalsky said. “When you’re talking about getting back to play, you can safely return when you can run, jump, cut and all those things at full speed. If they are still favoring the ankle they aren’t ready to go back to competition.”


Spartans put faith in Wilson to lead way

By DAVE O’SULLIVANPublisher

It seems as though the Holy Spirit High School girls basketball team spent the majority of the first half

of this season searching for a new leader. Summer Crilley, a 1,000-point scorer and the heart of the Spartans last year, graduated last spring and now is playing basketball at Rowan Univer-sity. Head coach Dennis Smith wasn’t worried about who would fill that void. He knew he had the right person all along, it just took a while for everyone to figure it out.

Audrey Wilson, an 18-year-old se-nior from Absecon, is the perfect play-er — and person — to fill the void left by one of Holy Spirit’s all-time greats. She’s a top-notch student, a team play-er, humble and intense. And being a player who can score 15 to 20 points on any given night, and shoot around 90 percent from the free-throw line, doesn’t hurt either.

Wilson would never take all the credit, as she’s quick to point to fellow seniors Amanda Reale and Cass Galla-gher as key players who help share that leadership role.

“It was difficult,” Wilson said of re-placing Crilley. “We knew we weren’t going to have that one person who we could rely on, but we’ve stepped it up as a team to be able to fill her shoes. Me, Amanda and Cass all take a lot of responsibility in filling (Summer’s) shoes, not just one of us, but all three of us leading the way for our team.”

Smith said that Wilson is a very emo-tional player, and sometimes people get the wrong idea about her true mo-tivations.

“We did need her to step up and it’s been awesome to watch her progres-sion, not just from last year to this year, but if you go all the way back to her freshman year and see her as a senior now and how much she has grown up and matured, she’s been much calmer on the floor than when she was a fresh-man. She’s always been one who plays with her heart on her sleeve, but she’s done a much better job of controlling that,” Smith said. “She was named a team captain through her play and the things that she does, and she deserves that. I could not have been happier and

expected her to do any more than she has this year. She’s been huge for us in trying to replace summer.”

Wilson has a strong faith and spends the majority of her time worried about other people and not herself, Smith said. This past fall, she went on a church mission to Haiti to help build housing for families in need.

“It was life changing. It’s hard to put into words the experience, it was so humbling to know that people were giving up their beds for us to sleep in,” Wilson said of that trip. “We had three night guards who literally stayed up for four days straight. It was amazing to see they were willing to sacrifice to make sure that we would be safe. That was amazing.”

“If there is somebody I’m going to hold up off the court (as an example), Audrey is special. She’s in the top 10 of her senior class and she’s worked so hard academically to get to that point. She is driven. The fact that she went on a mission to Haiti to build housing during the soccer season, it’s amazing what she has done. She is selfless,” Smith said. “Some people knew her when she was younger and they saw her as a hothead, they thought she was a ‘me’ person, and I can’t dispel that quick enough. She is all about the team and other people. She will put every-body else first ahead of her. I tell the younger kids to look at her and how she does things, because how she does things and the way she goes about pre-paring for games, and how she goes about preparing for academics in her life, she’s preparing for life and it’s something they can take a lesson from. That’s really refreshing to see, espe-cially among teenagers today.”

Holy Spirit came into this week with a 14-3 record, in first place in the Cape-Atlantic League’s American Confer-ence and a contender for the top seed in the CAL tournament. That is due in large part to Wilson. In mid-January, the Spartans suffered back-to-back losses to Middle Township and At-lantic City. Against Atlantic City, the Spartans blew a 10-point lead by be-ing outscored 20-3 in the third quarter. After that, Holy Spirit ripped off six

Senior guard has made an impact at Spiritthrough a strong work ethic, determination

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’SullivanAudrey Wilson, an 18-year-old senior from Absecon, helped lead Holy Spirit to 14 wins in its first 17 games and is one of the top guards in the Cape-Atlantic League.

See Wilson, page 21


Dalzell has blossomed into leader for ’StangsBy DAVE O’SULLIVANPublisher

When Winter Storm Juno hit the Jer-sey Shore in late January and school was cancelled, Mainland Regional se-nior basketball player Drew Dalzell was trying to find a local church that would open up the doors to its gym-nasium so he could get in an hour or two of shooting practice. When you’re a prolific 3-point shooter, you don’t want to take a day off. That’s just the kind of player Dalzell is, a gym rat who wants to spend as much time as pos-sible working on his game.

“When I started, he was a sophomore. He’s the one who would call all during the season and ask if I could come and open up the gym. He’d be over here at 6 a.m.,” said Mustangs coach Dan Wil-liams. “He’s in there constantly shoot-ing. When we had those games can-celled and had no school he was calling around to local churches to see if there was a court he could get into to shoot.”

“I definitely like to get in the gym and shoot a lot. I like to get in about an hour of shooting before we play,” Dal-zell said. “Just having a couple days off, sometimes it feels like you haven’t

shot the ball in a while, so I always try to stay in line and keep shooting every day so I don’t lose my stroke.”

Dalzell’s sweet stroke from the out-

side has helped turn around Main-land’s basketball program. When he was a freshman, the varsity team went 2-22. But last year, as a junior, Dalzell

helped lead the Mustangs to a berth in the South Jersey Group 3 champi-onship game, where they lost by one point to Delsea Regional.

“I think I’ve been pretty lucky. I’ve always had a good surrounding cast and I love the guys I’ve played along-side, never had any problems with my coaches,” Dalzell said. “I really couldn’t have asked for more. I had the best opportunity I could have to win a championship. Unfortunately, we came up one bucket short, but that’s still an opportunity that not everyone gets.”

That team featured stud big men Dar-ius Jerkins, who now plays at Stockton College, and Kenny Randall. Dalzell said this year’s team has a different look, but he also said this season — al-though the Mustangs have been hov-ering near the .500 mark — has been equally rewarding because guys such as himself, Matt McLaughlin and Dean Deveney have had to work that much harder to stay competitive in the very tough Cape-Atlantic League American Conference.

“Last year’s team was so much fun

Senior spotlight

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’SullivanDrew Dalzell helped lead the Mustangs to a berth in the section-al championship game last year, and is one of the top 3-point shooters in the league as a senior this season.

See Dalzell, page 22


straight wins before a loss to Mainland Regional.

“After those two heartbreaking losses we’ve really stepped it up as a team. We don’t want anything like that to happen again. We’re excited. We’re hitting a good stride and hopefully that will con-tinue,” Wilson said.

“Last year, when Summer was there, we would all stand around and wait for Summer to do what she does. And for the most part it worked for us, but there were times when teams would take her out and you’re looking around for some-body else to step up. This year, they fig-ured it out pretty early. I said, ‘there’s no Summer here to bail you guys out, so you guys have to figure it out amongst yourselves. Everyone has to contribute.’ They figured it out, she’s figured it out and she’s really stepped into that role for us,” Smith said. “There was a six-game span there where she was absolutely on fire. After we lost to Middle Township

and Atlantic City, we all had to go back and look at ourselves, and coming out of that Atlantic City game she absolutely rededicated herself to becoming the best player and leader that she could be. That was so enjoyable to watch, and I think the other girls really fed off of that.”

Wilson, who plans to attend Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., next fall,

said she takes her role as a team leader seriously, and wants to leave a good im-pression on the program for the under-classmen.

“It’s something that I’ve taken into a lot of consideration,” Wilson said. “Now that I’m a senior, people automatically look up to me, but I also hope to lead them to be good sports and hopefully

I’m an influence with my work ethic at practice. Hopefully that inspires them to work just as hard.”

Smith said the example Wilson is set-ting is sure to make the intended impres-sion.

“The girls we have in our program are awesome and they are always looking out for each other. That’s the one thing that makes it so much fun. We are a fam-ily, and Audrey leads that charge, not only with her faith but with the things that she does. She leads by example and that’s the big key. Some teams pay lip service when they say they are a family, but she makes sure that we are a family on a daily basis,” Smith said. “Audrey is one of those types of kids who is a spe-cial kid. I’ve only said this about four or five other players that I’ve coached in my 16 years, if my daughters emulated what she did I would be beyond proud. Audrey falls into that category for me.”Contact Dave O’Sullivan:[email protected];on Twitter @GDsullysays

Wilson, from page 19

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’SullivanWilson is one of the most intense players in the CAL, and coach Dennis Smith said she spends hours watching film to prepare for upcoming opponents.


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and I love those guys to death, but there were times when if a couple guys weren’t playing well we kind of relied on Darius and Kenny as our inside presence and they would carry us. Whatever we couldn’t give, those guys would pick up our slack,” Dalzell said. “This year, it takes every guy, one through 10, to win. It takes every sin-gle person and there is no room for er-ror. But in the end it is fun because you are putting in more work than you’ve ever had to.”

Williams said for a basketball pro-gram to be successful it needs to have guys like Dalzell. Guys who love the game, put the work in, and develop into leaders once they become upper-classmen.

“He’s been great for the program. He’s really our leader this year in a lot of ways, and that really started last year, too. Drew is the most vocal and outgoing of the group. When I need to get something out to the team I talk to Drew and he gets the word out to the guys,” Williams said. “With him, it’s not so much the scoring, but the intangibles that he does for us that really make a difference.”

Dalzell said he has become more ac-customed to his role as a team leader, es-pecially this year since he is one of just four seniors in the program.

“After you’ve been in the program for four years you get more confident and you feel more comfortable. I’ve been playing varsity minutes for a couple of years, so I’m more comfortable,” Dalzell said. “There are plays I’m making now

that last year or the year before I didn’t have the confidence to make.”

Williams said what also makes Dalzell such a valuable player to have is the fam-ily he comes from. Williams said Dal-zell’s parents, Stan and Barb, and sisters Lauren and Kelly are very supportive of Mainland basketball.

“His family is great. His mom and dad, his sisters. I can’t remember a game they didn’t attend,” Williams said. “Pasta dinners, they help out with fundraisers. Through and through they are very solid. It’s appreciated, and I hope I let them know that enough.”

Dalzell knows that at 5-8 he isn’t exactly a big-time Division I recruit, but says he is OK with that and is looking forward to col-lege simply to enjoy that experience. He’s already been accepted to West Chester and Florida Atlantic, but said his top choice would be San Diego State. He said he should hear by early March whether he got accepted to that school.

“I’ve really clamped down on my aca-demics and I’ve really enjoyed my time at Mainland. It’s gotten me very prepared for college, which I’m very excited for. It’s just been a really good experience,” Dalzell said.

He said no matter what happens next, he will remember his days at Mainland very fondly.

“I love Mainland a lot. It’s a real tight community,” Dalzell said. “We all really like each other and it’s been an awesome experience. I couldn’t imagine going to any other high school.”Contact Dave O’Sullivan:[email protected];on Twitter @GDsullysays

Dalzell, from page 20

Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’SullivanDalzell has been averaging more than 10 points per game this season for Mainland Regional.


Snapshots: Battle By The Bay, A.C. vs. Pleasantville

feb 2015“i think he gets it from playing all the time, you get that confidence. we’re a 3-ball...

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