Athletes of the Month-March

The Catholic Star Herald highlights the Diocese’s student athletes who stood out during the month of March.        

Azanah Campbell

Paul VI High School, Haddonfield

Basketball

It can be tough to stand out on one of the deepest, most balanced-scoring teams in the state, but Azanah Campbell did just that.

Campbell, a junior at Paul VI High School, was her team’s top scorer this season with 240 points, and she received MVP honors in the South Jersey Invitational Basketball Tournament with a 16-point effort in the Eagles’ championship win. The 5-foot-9 forward led a pack of nine players in scoring that rotated into Paul VI’s offense each game — a strategy that helped the program reach the South Jersey Non-Public A championship game for the third straight season. 

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Cameron DeLeo

Saint Augustine Preparatory School, Richland

Ice Hockey

Cameron DeLeo played a huge role in one of the wildest high school state championship games in the history of New Jersey as Saint Augustine Preparatory School defeated top-seeded Don Bosco Prep, 10-6, to win its second straight Non-Public state title on March 4. 

DeLeo opened the scoring less than five minutes into the game and ended up with a hat trick at the Prudential Center in Newark that day. DeLeo’s shorthanded goal midway through the second period gave the Hermits a 6-3 lead, and his hat trick goal 1:11 into the third period stood as the game-winner in the Hermits’ third state championship in school history. DeLeo, a sophomore, finished the season with 11 goals and 12 assists with six of his goals coming in the playoffs.

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Alyce Lehman

Bishop Eustace Preparatory School, Pennsauken

Swimming

Alyce Lehman saved her best performance for when it mattered most. The Bishop Eustace Preparatory School sophomore swimmer broke a pair of school records at the State Meet of Champions on March 3 while receiving All-American considerations for her times in both events. 

Lehman finished second overall in the state in the 100 butterfly in a time of 53.92 and fourth overall in the 200 individual medley in a time of 2:02.16. In addition to Lehman’s pair of school records, she also holds career top-10 Bishop Eustace times in the 100, 200 and 500 yard freestyle events as well as the 100 breaststroke. She received All-South Jersey honors from the South Jersey Interscholastic Swimming Association in the 100 butterfly.

More on Alyce: Backed by team, family, faith, swimmer breathing easy

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Michael McCarthy

Saint Augustine Preparatory School, Richland

Swimming

Already a known name around South Jersey swimming pools, Michael McCarthy proved he was one of the best distance swimmers in the entire state by finishing second overall in the 500 yard freestyle event at the Meet of Champions on March 3. Despite swimming a season-best time of 4:28.34 that day, McCarthy, a junior at Saint Augustine Preparatory School, finished 1.6 seconds behind state champion Charles Schreiner, a senior from Egg Harbor Township. McCarthy, who helped Saint Augustine Prep win its second straight team state title this year, earned 1st Team All-South Jersey “Wild Card” recognition by the South Jersey Interscholastic Swimming Association in the 500 freestyle.

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Sammy Spaulding

Camden Catholic High School, Cherry Hill

Wrestling

Halfway through his high school wrestling career, the best could be yet to come for Sammy Spaulding. The Camden Catholic High School sophomore wrestler is already a two-time District and Region champion and placed fourth in the state at 126 pounds on March 2.

Spaulding helped Camden Catholic bring home its 24th District team title on Feb. 17 before winning an individual Region 8 title and earning the No. 1 seed in the 126 pound bracket at states. Although Spaulding fell short of winning the state crown in his weight class, he finished with 26 pins on the season, which was just one shy of the most in South Jersey this season.

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Isaiah Thomas

Paul VI High School, Haddonfield

Basketball

The Paul VI High School boys basketball team enjoyed a renaissance season that included its first South Jersey title since 1988. At the

top of the scoring list was junior Isaiah Thomas, who knocked down 441 points, for a 14.7 average. Thomas hit the 20-point mark seven times this season, including a 21-point effort in a 61-52 victory over Christian Brothers in the South Jersey Non-Public A semifinal. He then added 13 more, as the Eagles defeated Union Catholic, 53-25, on March 4 to win his school’s first sectional championship in 36 years. Thomas will enter his senior season with 681 points under his belt.