Memorial’s Chris Gehrsitz pitched a complete game shutout, giving up just four hits and striking out four.  Spencer Young was 3-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Mike Petrizzo came off the bench for Jackson to hit a two run home run making the score 4-0. Ed Guippone added an RBI single in the 4th inning.

On the other side of Jackson, Jackson Liberty defeated St. Rose with a single solo home run.  Danny Serreino went the distance on the mound for the Lions striking out eight.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, James Sofield hit his first home run, sending a 2-0 fastball from Brad Currao over the fence.

Liberty will play the tough number 2 seed, RBC on the road Wednesday.

Brick Memorial lost 1-0 to Wall.  CBA blanked Brick High School 9-0.

Toms River South’s Spencer Kapp broke a 3-3 tie wide open in the fifth inning with a two run double as the Indians defeated Monmouth 6-3.    On Friday, Toms River North defeated Central 5-3.  North and South will face each other Wednesday at North.

TOMS RIVER–For the record, record-setting pitcher Jordan Weed claimed the Most Valuable Player honor at the Ocean County Tournament after throwing her Toms River High School East team to a 10-0 victory over Toms River North in the championship game at Toms River South on Tuesday.

     But the honor could have gone to a number of people.

     And the person who wouldn’t have minded that the most was none other than Weed herself.

     “Before my name was mentioned, I was thinking it was Val Hirschfeld,” said Weed of her battery mate. “I called it … and I was wrong. But I give her a lot of credit for what she did.”

     Hirschfield is one of the younger “unsungs” on the East softball team. And while seniors like Weed and shortstop Sara Bencivenga get a lot of the notoriety, it’s the underclassmen who have made a big difference in this East team, according to Debbie Schwartz, who added on to her record total of nine championships as East mentor, including the last three and five of the last seven.

     “Jordan Weed had a hell of a tournament, but so did Val and she could have been MVP of the tournament,” Schwartz said. “Val stepped up in a big way and she helped to break this game open. It settled Jordan down. Kudos to Val, then the support on the defense — Jodi Bruno played well (at third base). Taylor Dziedzic had four hits and a nice catch in right field. (Second baseman) Cassie Varvaro made some plays over at first base and had three hits.

     “A lot of the kids have stepped up for us,” Schwartz added. “Our little freshman, Sam Lanzano, had some key runs in the game. Everyone stepped up.”

     By collecting 14 hits, East tied its own team record from beating Lacey in the 1994 championship, 9-5. And Dziedzic’s four hits tied her with East’s Amy Mullane in that same ’94 final for most hits by one player in the championship. As a matter of fact, the top two hitters in the East lineup — Dziedzic and Varvaro — were a combined 7-for-9 with five runs scored and an RBI. Hirschfeld was 2-for-4 with the back-breaking hit of the game in the third inning, a two-run single that turned into an error by right fielder Chrissy Ribaudo that allowed a third run to score on the play, taking the game from 1-0 to 4-0.

     All this happened while North coach Mary Ellen Tutzauer was forced to scramble after regular starter Ashley Hussey was not available to pitch. Tutzauer stuck junior varsity pitcher Ally Vandenberg, a freshman on the mound for this one and she did a good job in holding her own the first three innings. It marked the first time a pitcher ever started an OCT championship without throwing a single inning of varsity

     “She did a hell of a job for her first time,” said Weed of Vandenberg. Weed finished with a six-hit shutout, allowing three walks while striking out 10 Mariners. Weed became the first pitcher in OCT history to not allow an earned run in her four starts on the mound. Weed struck out 55 batters in four games, coming up two strikeouts short of the mark set by New Egypt’s Emily Bausher in the 2010 tournament.

     Like Weed on this night, Bausher led her team to the title and won MVP honors.

     “I give her all the credit in the world and I’m very proud of her and she has a great career at North ahead of her. I wish her the best,” Weed said. “She did her best against us and I’m sure that’s all the coach could ask of her.”

     “The biggest thing I can say about our team is we love the game and we respect the game and everything about it,’ said Hirschfeld, who completed her night by throwing out two would-be stealers on the basepaths. “Seeing a new pitcher makes it interesting and makes for a new experience. So we were excited to see what (Vandenberg) had and she’s an excellent pitcher coming in as a freshman. We respect our opponents every game.”

     “I had no knowledge of what happened (to regular starter Hussey),” Tutzauer said. “I wanted a backup pitcher because Ally is a freshman and she was with me all year long pitching JV. In this big showcase game, I didn’t know how she was going to do, so I had another freshman girl ready to pitch. Our girls rallied around Ally. To beat East, we know you’re not going to score a bunch of runs. So obviously we had to keep it close. I was proud of our kids and how they played. I have a young team. They’re going to be all right. They’re tough.”

     Though East put 10 up against Vandenberg, Weed really only needed one run in this one. The only run the Raiders needed came within the Dziedzic-Varvaro portion of the show in the first inning. Dziedzic skied a flyball to left field that missed being the first home run in an OCT final in eight years and ended up at second with a double. A wild pitch moved her to third and Varvaro connected for a single to center field to make it 1-0.

     North got two runners on base in the first inning as Sam Reilly delivered the first of her two hits and Taylor Ward singled. But Weed struck out Sarah Culp swinging to end the threat.

     It remained 1-0 until the third when No. 9 hitter Jodi Bruno walked to lead off. Dziedzic beat out an infield single. Varvaro sacrificed both runners up a base, but Sara Bencivenga’s hot grounder was snared by third baseman

Brielle Perrotta, who fired a strike to catcher Reilly to nail Bruno. But just as it looked as if Vandenberg was going to get out trouble, she walked Weed to load it up for Hirschfeld.

     On a 3-2 pitch, Hirschfeld drilled a shot to right field to score Dziedzic and Bencivenga and when the ball bounced off right fielder Chrissy Ribaudo’s glove for the first of two errors she made in the game, courtesy runner Alyssa Cenci came around to score, to, making it 4-0.

     “What I was really looking to do was put it into play and do what I can to help my team,” Hirschfeld said. “Coach (Schwartz) had to calm me down a little bit. I was amped up. But I was glad to help the team out in anyway. It felt good.”

     Down 4-0 to Weed, who two years ago tossed a no-hitter in East’s 2-0 championship game win against New Egypt, made things harder for the Mariners. In the bottom of the fourth, Culp blooped a single into left-center field with one out. Sam Saloman walked and both runners moved up on wild pitches after Weed struck out Brielle Cerchio. But with two runners in scoring position, Weed induced Ribaudo into a flyball that Dziedzic raced in on to make a fine catch and end the threat.

     East went from there, methodically adding on to its lead in the last three innings. A Varvaro single in the fifth turned into three bases for the junior when Ribaudo misplayed it into an additional two-base error.   Bencivenga walked and Weed delivered a squeeze bunt single to plate Varvaro, making it 5-0. After Hirschfeld forced out courtesy runner Cenci for the first out and moved Bencivenga to third, Lanzano hit a long flyball to left field that Brielle Iacobino appeared to have caught at the wall, but dropped for an error. Bencivenga scampered home with the run. Vandenberg avoided further damage when Ward snagged a Cassandra Anderson line drive and threw to Perrotta at third to double off courtesy runner Jenna Platten to end the inning.

     In the sixth, Dziedzic, Varvaro and Bencivenga all singled to load the bases with one out. Weed hit a sacrifice fly to score Dziedzic, Hirschfeld delivered another single to score Varvaro and Lanzano doubled down the left-field line to plate Bencivenga even though courtesy runner Platten was thrown out at third to end the inning.

     With one out in the seventh, pinch-hitter Cenci — who became the first player to be part of a two-generation OCT championship link (her mother, Cristy Iorio, was the starting shortstop of East’s 1989 championship team) — beat out an infield single. After Bruno grounded out to move Cenci to second, Dziedzic delivered her OCT-record tying fourth hit, another infield single just inside the third-base line, to get Cenci to third. Cenci would score on a wild pitch.

     Weed became the first pitcher in OCT championship history to win two championships via shutout, including the no-hitter in 2011 against New Egypt. Weed was on her way to an OCT championship as a pitcher in 2012 when her team’s final with New Egypt on North’s field was called in the fourth inning when a terrential downpour flooded North’s field and put the game on hold. New Egypt, having to play the state Group I championship two days later, decided it was not interested in finishing the game, meaning East took the forfeit win.

     “We thought we were the winners last year, so no, it didn’t take away any bitterness from what happened,” said Schwartz, whose team was winning that game 2-0 when the rains came. “We left that field with a 2-0 lead and I was pretty confident we earned that title. It was just a shame we didn’t get a chance to play it out.

     “Coming into this game, it was a new year, new drive, new start … all in.”

     Before the championship, a moment of silence was observed in honor of former tournament director Tim Osborn, the Jackson Liberty coordinator of athletics and football coach who suddenly passed away on April 13. Osborn had taken leadership of the tournament in 2012. After that, Bonnie Shapiro Dusza, who earned Top Hitter honors of the 1993 Ocean County Tournament when North stormed to the championship as a fourth seed, tossed out the first pitch to North catcher Reilly.

OCT CHAMPIONSHIP
At Toms River High School South
TR EAST                     TR NORTH
               AB R H RBI                    AB R H RBI
Dziedzic, lf       5   3  4   0   Reilly, c          4   0   2   0
Varvaro, 2b      4   2  3   1   Vuyovich, cf   1   0   0   0
Bencivenga, ss  3   3  1   0   Perrotta, 3b     3   0   0   0
Weed, p            2   0  1   2   Ward, ss          2   0   1   0
Cenci, cr           0   1  0   0   Culp, 1b          3   0   2   0
Hirschfeld, cf   4   0  2   3   Salomon, 2b    2   0   0   0
Platten, cr         0   0  0   0   Cerchio, dp      2   0   0   0
Branda, cr         0   0  0   0   Vandenberg, p 0   0   0   0
Lanzano, dp      4   0  2   2   Cuthbert, pr     0   0   0   0
Norris, 1b         0   0   0   0   Ribaudo, rf     3   0   0   0
DePalma, cf     2   0   0   0   Iacobino, lf     3   0   1   0
Coppinger, ph  0   0   0   0   TOTALS     23   0   6   0
Anderson, lf     3   0   0   0
Cenci, ph          1   1   1   0
Bruno, 3b         2   0   0   0
Platten, ph        1   0   0   0
TOTALS       31 10 14   8
TOMS RIVER EAST                   103 023 1 –10
TOMS RIVER NORTH               000 000 0–  0
E – Ribaudo 2, Ward, Iacobino. DP – Toms River North 2. LOB – Toms River East 7, Toms River North 7. 2B – Dziedzic, Lanzano. SB – Ward. CS – Cerchio, Ward, DePalma. S – Sharp, Anderson. SF – Weed.

TOMS RIVER EAST          IP  H   R  ER  BB SO
Weed, W                                  7    6    0    0     3   10
TOMS RIVER NORTH      IP  H   R  ER  BB SO
Vandenberg, L                         7  14  10    9     5    1
WP — Weed 2, Vandenberg 2.  Umpires — Home, John Bransley; First Base, Karen Hartnett; Third Base, Kevin Calver.

T — 1:44.

After pitching high to load the bases, Slagmolen settled in and struck out Nick Dabrio for the first out of the inning.   He then settled a score with Thaiss, striking University of Virginia prospect out.   With two outs and bases loaded, Spencer Young stepped up to the plate, but grounded to short stop for the final out of the game as the Mariners clinched their first OCT Championship in thirteen years.

After not having much success in recent years against Jackson Memorial, Coach Ted Schelmay said, “It’s about time we took care of business against Jackson.  We were seeded number two, but we had four games and four shutouts, I’m not sure that’s ever been done before in this tournament.”

Mariners’ starting pitcher Ron Marinaccio pitched 5 innings and gave up just 2 hits with 7 strikeouts.  Slagmolen came on in the 6th inning, struck out 3 and got his second save of the season.

Matt Guarino pitched 6 innings for Jackson and gave up two runs on five hits.  Spencer Young pitched in relief  for Jackson and retired the side in order.

Mariners’ Carl Blum went 2 for 4 and Carmen Sclafani went 2 for 3 with an RBI.

Brandon Janofsky and Matt Thaiss had the two lone hits for Jackson Memorial.

The OCT final may not be the last time these two face each other this season with high stakes on the line as there’s a strong possibility the two may go a few more rounds in the shore conference and state tournaments.

“That’s the way it’s been happening the past couple of years,” coach Schelmay.

FILE PHOTO: Bishop Memorial Library, Washington Street. Erik Weber / Ocean Signal

The following was submitted by Ward 3 Councilman Jeffrey J. Carr and is published unedited per our letters policy.

It hardly seems it but, spring has arrived. Along with it comes yard work, Little League baseball and the Toms River Food Fest.  The Toms River Little League season got underway on April 6th.  It was a chilly Saturday morning but, much better than the rain filled event of last year. Mayor Kelaher and I were on hand at the TRLL fields to throw in the first pitch. Councilman Whittmann, Councilman Manforti and Councilwoman Maruca attended opening day at the TRELL complex.

This year’s Food Fest was held on Saturday, May 4th. The weather was nothing short of perfect. The event officially began at 12 noon but, the streets were already getting crowed by 11:30 am.  The event was kicked off by the Toms River High School North Marching Band parading down Washington Street.   That was followed by an invocation by Father Scott Schaeffer of St Joseph’s Church and the singing of the National Anthem by Lisa Evans, a Toms River South aluminous. There were 78 vendors in attendance and an abundance of food and drink.  There was a dunk tank sponsored by the fire department and lots of games and amusement rides for the kids. Four different bands played throughout the day and into the evening.  There was literally dancing in the streets.  Township Administrative Staff, Recreation Department,  Department of Public Works(recycling), Parks Buildings & Grounds, Mayors ADA Advisory Committee, Mayors Council for The developmental Disabled, Police Department and Safety and Fire Districts Bureau of Fire Prevention  were there to assist and answer any questions for our Township residents. It was estimated that over 25,000 people were in attendance.

Toms River prides itself in our efforts to be environmentally responsible and to promote recycling within the Township. In 2012 we received a recycling grant in the amount of $177,138.44. We were the fifth highest grant behind Newark ($299,903.76), Jersey City ($278,748.03), Paterson ($238,701.00), and Clifton ($222,103.44).  Based on our increased recycling tonnage (40,000 tons) we anticipate a higher grant for this year.

As far as the Clean Communities grant, the amount estimated to be received this year for Toms River is $168,296.83.  This puts us first in the County and third highest in the state behind Newark ($322,905.58) and Jersey City ($297,747.90).
Our Senior Center is always filled with some great activities available to our senior residents. I recently had the opportunity to attend an art show and tea party held at the senior center. Some wonderful art exhibits created by our senior residents were on display. Friday May 24th is our Health Fair and Picnic, free to all seniors. The time is 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Friday, May 31st is the Grand Opening of the Nutrition Site at the Toms River Senior Center. The festivities begin at 11:00 am.

On Saturday, June 1st, Toms River Youth Services will be holding a Kids’ Spring Cleaning Flea Market from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.  Our Youth Summer Camp will begin on June 24th. Family Carnival Day will be held on July 12th. There will be food, fun, game trailers and rides.

Our rebuilding process continues to receive our utmost attention.  The Land Use Committee continues to meet regularly to review our ordinances to ease the building process and to help rebuild using sound planning. The Council recently introduced new ordinances to better define and regulate setbacks and the construction of decks. The footings at the Lord House Lifeguard Station are complete and underground utilities are being installed.   The 3rd Avenue parking lot is scheduled to be completed on or about May 24th.  It will include new pavement, light poles and temporary restroom trailers. The number of parking spaces has been increased from 132 spaces to 150 spaces.  This cost of this work will be reimbursed by FEMA.  The boardwalk reconstruction continues to progress with pile driving being over 75% complete.  Other work underway or in the bidding process include repair of Township bulkheads and the first phase of Ortley roads.

Changes have also been instituted in our Building Department to ease the process of obtaining building permits. The department now opens at 7:30am. That is one hour earlier than usual. they are also open until 6:30pm on Wednesdays. Normal weekday closing time is 4:30pm. Inspections are performed Monday through Saturday. The Building Department staff has also worked some Sundays when the demand requires it.  Clerical staffing has been supplemented by hiring three additional permit clerks and one phone clerk. This equates to a 60% increase in clerical staff. The clerical staff also works overtime and on Saturdays to keep up with the volume. Other Township departments have also lent personnel during peak volume periods. The finance and tax offices have helped out with processing permits and certificates. The clerk’s office has handled all OPRA requests for permit documents. Administration has provided personnel to handle periods of high phone call volume, as well as unwavering support. This help was offered by other departments in the spirit of a true team effort.

Inspection and plan review staff has been increased with one full time inspector. We have also supplemented our inspection crew with personnel provided by the NJ DCA. This program, put in place immediately after the storm by the DCA, has been extremely beneficial to our residents. We had as many as 15 DCA inspectors helping us out immediately after the storm. As the demand fluctuates,  personnel is adjusted as necessary.

The department has issued 5,746 permits since 11/01/2012. That is an increase of 218% (2,634 permits) for the same period a year ago. To assist residents and their contractors, permit forms are now available for pick up at the Township’s Ortley Beach annex.

As summer approaches, we will continue our efforts to rebuild our Community.  While these continue to be difficult times for many, we must also continue to serve all of our residents. I encourage everyone to take advantage of the many wonderful things our Township has to offer. There are many youth activities and sports programs available to our children. The senior center provides daily activities to our senior residents. And whether it’s a picnic, reading a book or a walk along a trail, our parks are a wonderful way to spend some time with family and friends. I wish everyone a safe and fun filled summer.  As always, I encourage you to send me your thoughts and comments to JCarr@TomsRiverTownship.com.  And don’t forget to visit our website at www.tomsrivertownship.com for more information about your town.

JACKSON–Jackson Memorial, the number one seed in this year’s Ocean County Tournament defeated Toms River East at home on Sunday 7-5.   Across town, Jackson Liberty lost a 1-0 game against Toms River South.   Liberty had runners in scoring position twice, but were denied by the Indians, including a close out at home plate to avoid a tie in the sixth inning.

Toms River North defeated Brick Memorial 3-0 and Monsignor Donovan shutout Brick 2-0.

Scores:

Toms River South 1 Jackson Liberty 0

Photo Gallery: on.fb.me/13b0mG3

Toms River North 3 Brick Memorial 0

Monsignor Donovan 2 Brick 0

Jackson Memorial 7 Toms River East 5

Semi Finals:

Toms River South @ Jackson Memorial
Toms River North vs. Monsignor Donovan

Infante grabbed the lead at the start of the first 20 lapper as John Stangle took up the chase. Fifth starter Sammy Piazza quickly raced into third as these three drove away from the field. Meanwhile 9^th starter Billy Pauch was quickly slicing thru traffic as he moved into the top five by lap 6 and was fourth at halfway. Infante raced 8-10 car lengths out in front as Stangle and Piazza charged after him but it was not meant to be as the all-time leader in Sportsman wins cruised to his first Modified triumph. Stangle and Piazza crossed the line next followed by Pauch who was right on Piazza’s rear bumper at the finish. Modified rookie Tim Apgar rounded out the top five.

The second feature found Jimmy Blewett grabbing the lead from his pole starting position as Godown and Pauch were hot on his heels. Blewett survived several restarts and looked like he may become the 7^th different winners in as many events, however before halfway Blewett fired too early as he brought the field to green and was put bacvk two positions, the standard punishment for going before the start area marked by two cones in turn four. This moved Godown and Pauch to the front row. Godown not only held off Pauch on the restart but he pulled away over the final 5 laps to take his second win of the 2013 campaign.  Pauch was second as he got back by seventh starting John Stangle with two laps remaining. Stangle appeared to finish third and be the overall best finisher on the night, however following the event he was 18 lbs. light at the scale and was DQ’d. Blewett settled for third, followed by 14^th starting David Van Horn and Neal Williams in fifth.

Jim Housworth passed race long leader Steve Davis with 4 laps to go and went on to win his first feature at New Egypt in the Sportsman division in the 20 lap event. Davis ran a very good race but had to settle for second. Third was Brian Roemer followed by Bob Lineman Jr. and defending champ Clay Butler.

Bill Liedtka captured his third career feature win in the 20 lap Street Stock feature. Liedtka also took the lead with 4 to go from 2011 champion Jason Saredy who was looking for his first ever victory. Saredy was strong the whole race but fell just short at the end and came home second. Billy Wroble finished third with two time winner Dan Collamer finishing fourth and Jarrod Burdge completed the top five.

Patrick Gold ran away and hid from the rest of the HCI/SpikeNGo Rookie Sportsman series event. Robbie Dunn scored his best finish coming in second and point leader Chuckles Stone was third.

Next Saturday May 12th it will be Mother’s Day Night as we celebrate all of the Mom’s at NES. The 358 Modifieds will headline the night, joined by the Fastrak Crate Sportsman, TSRS 305 Sprint Cars, the Fastrak Late Models and the HCI/SpikeNGo Rookie Sportsman. Racing gets underway 6pm, with gates opening at 4pm. For more information, call the speedway office at (609) 758-1900 or log on to www.newegyptspeedway.net. You can also follow NES on Facebook and Twitter.

NES RESULTS 5/04/13

MODIFIED RESULTS
1st Heat: 1. Sammy Piazza 2. Neal williams 3. John Stangle 4. Billy
Pauch 5. Tad Cox 6. David Van Horn
2nd Heat: 1. Tim Apgar 2. Rocco Infante 3. John McClleland 4. Jimmy
Blewett 5. Bob Drayton 6. Tommy Farrell

1st Feature (20 Laps): 1. Rocco Infante 2. John Stangle 3. Sammy
Piazza 4. Billy Pauch 5. Tim Apgar 6. Ryan Godown 7. Tad Cox 8. Jimmy
Blewett 9. Bob Drayton 10. Neal Williams 11. Tommy Farrell 12. John
McClleland 13. Willie Osmun 14. David Van Horn 15. Ron John Koczon 16.
PJ Oliver 17. Gary Butler 18. Rick Holsten 19. Chris Grbac 20. John
Pakenham 21. Mike Lyons 22. Doug Ostwald

2nd Feature (20 Laps): 1. Ryan Godown 2. Billy Pauch 3. Jimmy Blewett
4. David Van Horn 5. Neal Williams 6. Willie Osmun 7. Sammy Piazza 8.
Rocco Infante 9. Bob Drayton 10. Ron John Koczon 11. Rick Holsten 12.
Tommy Farrell 13. Tim Apgar 14. PJ Oliver 15. John Pakenham 16. Mike
Lyons 17. Doug Ostwald 18. Tad Cox 19. Chris Garbac 20. Gary Butler
21. John McClelland
DQ: John Stangle

SPORTSMAN RESULTS
1st Heat: 1. Jason Dunn 2. Steve Davis 3. Mike Howardson 4. Marty
Saxton 5. Alan Bleacher 6. Andy Visinski
2nd Heat: 1. J.T Trsensky 2. Jim Housworth 3. Mike Hendershot 4. Brian
Roemer 5. Mike Butler 6. Kevin Vaclavicek
3rd heat: 1. Bob Lineman Jr. 2. Rich Rutski 3. Ebby Ridge 4. Mike
Lyons 5. Clay Butler 6. John Cornell III

Feature (20 Laps): 1. Jim Housworth 2. Steve Davis 3. Brian Roemer 4.
Bob Lineman Jr. 5. Clay Butler 6. Rich Rutski 7. John Cornell III 8.
Mike Howardson 9. Mike Lyons 10. Alan Bleacher 11. Patrick Gold 12.
Joe Systo 13. Kevin Vaclavicek 14. Mike Henedershot 15. Marty Saxton
16. Jason Dunn 17. Mike Butler 18. Ebby Ridge 19. J.T Trsensky 20.
Andy Visinski DNS: Thomas McCoy

STREET STOCKS RESULTS
1st Heat: 1. Jason Saredy 2. Spider Ensiger Jr. 3. Marty Derr 4. Joe
Reid 5. Jarrod Burdge 6. Dennis Seeley
2nd Heat: 1. Bill Liedtka 2. Rich Mongueu 3. Dan Collamer 4. John
Capenter 5. Everett Taylor 6. Gary Klimeczak
3rd Heat: 1. Tom Princiotta 2. Billy Wroble 3. Jason Prater 4. Todd
Woodruff 5. Nick Keefe 6. Goop Mondelli

Feature (20 Laps): 1. Bill Liedtka 2. Jason Saredy 3. Billy Wroble 4.
Dan Collamer 5. Jarrod Burdge 6. Rich Mongueu 7. Gary Klimeczak 8.
John Carpenter 9. Tom Princiotta 10. Joe Reid 11. Jason Prater 12.
Dennis Seeley 13. Tod Woodruff 14. Earl Willetts 15. Goop Modelli 16.
Spider Ensinger Jr. 17. Everett Taylor 18. Nick Keefe
DNS: Scott Dugan, Marty Derr.

HCI/SPIKE N GO ROOKIE SPORTSMAN RESULTS
Feature (10 Laps): 1. Patrick Gold 2. Robbie Dunn 3. Chuckles Stone 4.
Jessie Rozycki 5. Aaron Weaver 6. Ryan Cox 7. George Gareis Jr. 8.
George Kohrman 9. Dean Conk Jr. 10. Justin Dunn 11. Joe Amato 12. JR
Fulper

LAKEWOOD–On Friday night, Philadelphia Phillies’  first baseman Ryan Howard hit a home run at the request of a blind 9 year old named AJ.    It was the slugger’s 5th home run of the season for the major league club, but at this point in the first half of the season in the single-A South Atlantic League, Howard’s magic probably wouldn’t be powerful enough to turn his former team’s season around.

East of Philadelphia, about an hour and a half drive down Route 70, the BlueClaws lost their 18th game of the season, a 6-0 shutout by the Charleston Riverdogs, a New York Yankees affiliate, ensuring their sole possession of the bottom of the SAL Northern Division.   On Saturday, the BlueClaws came back out on the field with more of the same, with an 8-0 loss to the Lexington Legends (KC).

The BlueClaws have not scored a run since the fourth inning on Thursday night against Charleston, a span of 22 innings.

The BlueClaws are now 9-19 in the first half of the season.

The team is lacking offensive power this season with a team batting average of .236 and just 8 home runs and 91 rbi through 28 games.  While they are average 3.25 runs per game,  their pitching staff has given up 167 runs, nearly doubling the BlueClaws run output.  The team also boasts the highest team ERA in the league at 5.20.

Greg McElroy awards a prize to a student at Midstreams School in Brick Township.

BRICK–The New Jersey Department of Agriculture representatives and New York Jets Quarterback Greg McElroy today took part in an informative and fun nutrition education program at Midstreams School in Brick Township – the school’s prize for being one of the past year’s winners of the Eat Right, Move More contest.

The program is a partnership between the Department of Agriculture, the New York Jets and the American Dairy Association & Dairy Council’s Fuel Up to Play 60 campaign, which encourages New Jersey school children to take advantage of healthy foods in their school cafeterias and become more active.  This year, the emphasis was on schools that offer breakfast in the classroom.  Additionally, school meal menus were reviewed and the schools had to show strong support and demonstrate efforts to improve nutrition and physical activity among their students.

“The Eat Right, Move More program encourages and rewards schools for reaching higher when it comes to nutrition and exercise initiatives for students,” said New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher.  “We are very proud of Midstreams School for its achievements and commitment to making breakfast available to more students on a daily basis.”

Earlier this year, Secretary Fisher and New Jersey Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf urged schools around the state to offer the federally-funded school breakfast after the start of the school day, ensuring them it could be considered instructional time.  Since then, many more schools have adopted the program.

“It’s an honor to be here today to recognize the Midstreams School,” said McElroy. “The commitment this school and its students have to this program is impressive and I applaud their efforts.”

Breakfast in the classroom was implemented at Midstreams School and throughout the Brick Township elementary schools last year.  Prior to then, about 20 students ate breakfast each day at Midstreams School.  Last year, that increased to 100 students – a 400 percent increase.  Breakfast participation increased 70 percent in the elementary schools as a whole.  Teachers have reported that students arrive to their class on time, are attentive and there is less disruption in instructional time than they originally thought.

“Good nutrition is absolutely important to our school,” said school principal Dr. John Billen.  “We have healthy habits that the students have learned to employ on a daily basis.  We take pride in the health of our students and feel we are a model school in this aspect.”

One of Dr. Billen’s top priorities when he became principal last year was to initiate a Health and Wellness Fair every spring.  Health professionals from the community set up booths to provide hands on experience and knowledge about various aspects of healthy living.  Included in these are interactive presentations where students can taste healthy smoothies, get their blood pressure taken or  talk with a chiropractor or a massage therapist. Healthy activities are provided for the students including a free trial of Zumba, yoga and other interactive healthy activities.

Billen said more than one-third of Midstreams students walk to school.  The school has participated in the New Jersey Safe Routes to Schools Program that promotes walking to school.  And, on the first day of each month, they sponsor a Walk to School Day in which students get prizes for walking to school.  In addition, there are lunchtime programs, including the “Recharge” program or mileage club.

The Eat Right, Move More grand prize winner was West New York PS #4, which received a $5,000 kitchen makeover grant and was honored on the field during a Jets game.  The other winning schools that received visits from Jets players were:  William B. Cruise School #11 in Passaic; George L. Hess Educational Complex in Hamilton; and Paterson School No. 2.

This is the seventh year of the Eat Right, Move More Program, with Jets Offensive Tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson as spokesman.  The campaign features posters of Ferguson in every school telling students, “Your school cafeteria offers a variety of healthy foods and low-fat milk to keep you going all day long.  Fuel your mind and body with nutritious foods like Jersey Fresh fruits and vegetables.  So, let’s get up and Eat Right, Move More!”

The New York Jets take great pride in a long-standing, year-round commitment to our community. Programs funded by the New York Jets Foundation touch the lives of countless young men and women in the tri-state area by promoting fitness, health, and education, particularly in disadvantaged communities. Over the past twelve years, the Jets and their charitable foundation have contributed more than $12 million to a wide range of community-based causes.

From fighting childhood obesity through the Eat Right, Move More initiative, to launching a football team at an urban high school, to urging students to be active for at least 60 minutes every day the New York Jets invest in programs that make a difference in the lives of others. In addition to our focus on youth development, the Jets support the efforts of the Alliance for Lupus Research, numerous established charitable organizations and causes sponsored by the NFL.

The Department of Agriculture’s comprehensive school nutrition policy covers pre-kindergarten through 12^th grade students.  The policy limits fat and sugar content in foods offered in a la carte lines, snack bars and vending machines, school stores and as part of on-campus fund-raisers.  More than 687,000 students in both public and private schools participate in the National School Lunch Program, administered by the Department of Agriculture.

For more information about the Department’s school nutrition programs, visit www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/fn/childadult/school.html.