3/1/2010 - What We Learned At H/W/S
What we learned.
This has become a common phrase in the sports media over the last few years. From ESPN to newspapers, the phrase is used to recap events in a most basic way.
So when it comes to the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournaments this winter, I think we learned a lot.
The first thing we learned was what a powerhouse Hunterdon Central is in swimming. The monster Group 4 school in Flemington put on quite a show at the H/W/S meet in January as the boys ran away with the team title, while the girls topped an outstanding Pope John squad by 14 points.
Pope John had dominated the Sussex County Interscholastic League Festival the last decade and the Lions found out that life outside the SCIL can be grueling.
But to a swimmer, the Lions I spoke with were not disappointed, but felt that it can only help them become better swimmers and that in the long run it would benefit the program.
That’s pretty solid thinking, in my opinion. But not surprising considering the fine student-athletes Pope John coach Ed Wynne produces every year. Jaina Lumkong paced the Lions with wins in the 200 free (2:15.16) and 100 fly (1:07.68) en route to being named the girls MVP.
The other thing we learned was the future is bright for Sparta swimming. The short-handed Spartans turned in a terrific effort as freshman Ryan Martin was only Sussex swimmer to earn a gold medal on the boys’ side as he posted a 2:25.58 in the 200 IM.
Classmate Holly Rudel also won a gold medal for the Spartans with an amazing swim in the 400 freestyle. The talented freshman shaved 21 seconds off her seed time to place first with a time of 4:45.94. She also placed second in the 100 backstroke (1:12.39).
It is going to fun to see how both of these swimmers progress over the years.
We also learned something we already knew about the crew that runs the event at Sussex Tech—it is outstanding. Debbie Schlesinger, the AD at Tech, Marguerite Mulcahy, the meet director, and the entire staff run an efficient and tight ship, not an easy task when you are dealing with so many swimmers.
But just like it did running the SCIL Festival, the group raised its game for a much bigger meet and it came through. It is an absolute pleasure coming to Tech to cover the meet and a big reason why is how it is run.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the wrestling tournament. Although I was not in attendance, the crew we sent from Mugs Media reported that the wrestling on the mat was outstanding, if you could see the mats.
Apparently, the view for all the mats at Hunterdon Central’s Field House was limited and it was tough to keep up on what was going on. Plus it was decided to have the finals contested on two mats, hence the reason we did not broadcast the finals on Channel 10.
I know it was a long day, but c’mon, two mats for the finals? The Sussex Mat Club runs a one-mat final and they have over 20 weight classes. Hopefully the powers that be in wrestling will take a look at how they ran it and work something out for next year because as I said, the action on the mat was outstanding with High Point winning the team title.
The bowling tourney provided us something that we already knew---Sparta bowling is the real deal. Jerry Carter’s crew can throw with the best in the state as the Spartans ran away from the pack and finished with 3,220 pins, almost 300 pins better than second-place Hopatcong.
The Spartans, who are having a dream season on the lanes, were paced by tourney MVP Jon Hawxhurst who finished with a 751 series on the day.
The H/W/S hoops tourney was an eye-opener. We learned that Phillipsburg and Warren Hills aren’t just wrestling schools and that the depth of talent on the H/W side was much deeper than we expected.
Warren Hills topped P-Burg 58-55 in the final behind the MVP-effort of junior Stanley Ogedegbe, who lit up Hopatcong earlier in the tourney. The Blue Streaks, who only beat Newton by two at the start of the season, got hot at the right time.
The other surprise was Hunterdon Central, although it really shouldn’t have been a surprise considering the Red Devils had dominated the former H/W tourney under Hall-of-Fame coach Brian Glennon.
The Red Devils came into the tourney with just four wins and were seeded eighth on the H/W side of the bracket. But HC knocked off Newton, 60-45, top-seed Vernon 61-49 and Hackettstown 52-49 before falling to Warren Hills 55-36 in the semifinals.
In my view, no way, no how, were the Red Devils a No. 8 seed. It was either one of three things. First, the H/W coaches wanted to sandbag the Sussex coaches and they seeded the Red Devils low. Probably not the case, but possible.
The second scenario was that the H/W coaches were sick of the Red Devils constantly winning the tourney and they now had an opportunity to seed HC so low due to its record, even if they knew the Red Devils were better than their record. You can make a case for that scenario.
And finally, the coaches just seeded strictly on record, and based on record, the Red Devils deserved a low seed. But if that was the case, then the Sussex coaches should have made Hopatcong with its then-15-5 record No. 1 over Vernon which was 9-9.
But the Sussex coaches knew that the competition that Vernon played and the quality wins the Vikings had posted gave them the nod over the Chiefs, who were seeded third behind No. 2 Sparta, which was 9-8.
We will never know for sure why HC was seeded so low, but it definitely raises some eyebrows.
The final thing we learned on the boys’ side was what a wonderful talent Kyle Hash of P-Burg is for the Stateliners. I watched him play twice and Gavin McCarney of Jefferson is the only other player in his league that I have seen this season.
On the girls’ side, the Sussex teams performed well, but the H/W side was just too deep. Wallkill Valley gave finalist Voorhees all it wanted before falling short, 57-50, and a very well-coached and balanced Delaware Valley squad proved to be too much for Newton, Vernon and High Point.
Voorhees and Del Val will hopefully play the girls final this week, but if either team makes a run in states we could end up with co-champs like we did in the fall with field hockey when Warren Hills and Newton shared the crown.
That is another thing we learned about the H/W/S tourney. The tourney can be planned out perfectly, but if Mother Nature gets involved, we know who wins that battle.
All in all, after two seasons of tourney play, I still like the idea of a tri-county tournament. I know there have been some glitches, but nothing that can’t be fixed.
I know some Sussex coaches would still rather have a Sussex tourney due to the realignment, but I like the H/W/S.
In fact, despite the three feet of snow on the ground in Vernon, I’m thinking about how much fun it will be to see Pope John or Sparta play state-power Hunterdon Central in baseball and in softball. It should be a blast. Let’s hope the snow melts by then.
That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.
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