High schools enjoy tourney wins, successes

Hermits Swim to state title

The Saint Augustine Preparatory School swim team won its second straight boys Non-Public A State championship as the Hermits defeated Bergen Catholic, 95-75, at Rutgers University on Feb. 25. For the undefeated Hermits (11-0), it was the eighth state title in school history and the first under new coach Nick Fondacaro.

During the championship match, Saint Augustine was winless after the first four events but turned the tide as Jonah Alvarez and Christian Shenk went 1-2 in the 100 butterfly. The Hermits then swept the 100 freestyle as Dante Buonadonna, Anthony Mortellite and Frank Ferzetti touched the wall in order to put the Hermits ahead by a commanding 12 points midway through the meet.

Michael McCarthy (500 free), Shenk (100 backstroke) and the 200 free relay team of Parker Lapsley, Mortellite, Ferzetti and Buonadonna captured first-place finishes down the stretch to seal it for the Hermits.

Camden Catholic enjoys big wrestling weekend

Camden Catholic High School wrestlers captured four individual regional championships and will send a school-record nine athletes to the state championships in Atlantic City from Feb. 29 through March 2. The top four placements in each weight class of regions advanced.

Sammy Spaulding, Austin Craft, Kage Jones and Jaden Simpson all finished atop the podium at the Region 8 championship at Egg Harbor Township High School on Feb. 24.

Spaulding, who wrestles at 126 pounds, remained perfect in the postseason with six pins in six postseason matches including three at Region 8, which followed the Irish’s District 30 team championship Feb. 17. Jones accomplished the same success at 157 pounds, with five pins in five attempts. 

Craft (150 pounds) and Simpson (175 pounds) won their respective brackets despite entering as the No. 2 seeds.

Michael Craft, who recently won his 100th career match, was the runner-up at 144 pounds, while Dom DiGiacomo (113 pounds) and Lazarus Joyce (120) both finished third in their weight classes. Chase Martino (106) and Eric Swanson (132) both punched their ticket in fourth place. 

Saint Augustine Preparatory School, which also competed at Region 8, will send five wrestlers to the state finals, including Region 8 champion Anthony DePaul at 138 pounds. He will be joined by Adrian Arbelo (second place, 126 pounds), Xavier Harvey (third place, 144), Ron Kraus (fourth place, 190) and Ed Vincent (third place, 215). 

In Region 7 action at Lenape High School, Paul VI High School freshman Anthony Jackson continued his impressive season by taking third place at 215 pounds. Jackson is now 17-1 on the season, with every victory coming by pin fall. His lone defeat was to two-time Region 7 champion Collin French of Southern Regional High School.

Holy Spirit’s Graffius makes history

In girls wrestling, Alex Graffius became the first wrestler from Holy Spirit High School to qualify for the girls state wrestling championships after she placed third in the South Region on Feb. 25 at Pennsauken High School. 

Graffius was seeded fourth in the 138-pound bracket and went 4-1 on the day with four pins, including a pin over No. 2 seed Amelia Bloomfield of Kingsway in the third-place match. Graffius will compete in the state championships in Atlantic City from Feb. 29 through March 2.

Bernhardt is new scoring champion at Our Lady of Mercy Academy

Madelynn Bernhardt scored 21 points in Our Lady of Mercy Academy’s first-round basketball playoff game against Union Catholic to break the school’s 35-year-old career scoring record.

Bernhardt’s team-high 21 points paced the Villagers to a 68-42 victory and raised their record to 22-5.

Bernhardt, a senior, now stands atop the all-time OLMA scoring list with 1,213 points, surpassing Jeanine Heil’s record of 1,212. Earlier this season, Bernhardt became the third OLMA player to reach 1,000 career points before teammate Savannah Prescott joined her as the fourth Villager to reach a 1,000.

Milestones galore in girls hoops

Holy Spirit High School junior Sabrina Little celebrated a grand moment Feb. 19 as she scored her 1,000th career point, becoming the 13th female in school history to reach the milestone. It came in a 61-28 victory over Cape May Tech as Little scored a career-high 33 points in the victory for the Spartans, who finished the regular season at 17-10.

Little wasn’t the only one creating headlines that day, as Wildwood Catholic Academy senior Kaci Mikulski drilled a trio of 3-pointers in a 68-49 victory over Woodbury. The win not only raised the Crusaders’ record to 23-3 on the season, but Mikulski, a Jefferson University commit, surpassed the 200 mark in career 3-pointers during the contest.

A day later, Bishop Eustace sharpshooting junior Giavanna Rogers delivered her 100th career 3-pointer in a 62-35 victory over Camden High School. Rogers hit three 3-pointers in the game in a 13-point effort and finished with exactly 100 3s heading into the playoffs with the 15-12 Crusaders.

Gloucester Catholic to induct 2nd HOF class

Gloucester Catholic High School announced its inductees for the second annual Hall of Fame Class Banquet, which will be held April 23 at Auletto Caterers, Deptford.

In sports, the school will honor Bernadette McGlade ’76 (girls basketball), Johnny Gaudreau ’11 (ice hockey), Joe Fields ’71 (football), and Trish McNutt-Green ’82 (girls basketball). Three teams (1971 Football Team, 2000 Baseball Team and 1998 Girls Soccer Team) will also be inducted. On the academics side, the Rams will induct Dr. William Peranteau ’93, Dr. David Coghlan (posthumous), Joe Gorman ’72 and Elizabeth Reilly, J.D., ’69; and a special recognition will be given to Patrick Peyton ’77.