North Bergen girls’ basketball coach Dan Reardon doesn’t believe his team has the upper hand against Bayonne in the Hudson County Tournament finals, even though the Bruins already have a 39-30 victory over the Bees this season.
“We really aren’t thinking about that,” Reardon said. “As far as what happened last week against them, it really doesn’t matter. We’re playing well. That’s all that matters. I don’t see that game as an advantage or disadvantage. If you have to get some sort of motivation to play in a county championship, then there’s something wrong. They can always play that up, that we beat them the first time.”
Reardon said that his team has its own motivation.
“We’ve been waiting for this chance for a year,” said Reardon, whose team lost to Lincoln in the county semifinals last year. “Ever since we lost that game, we’ve been waiting for another chance.”
The Bruins hit the title game on a torrid streak, having won 18 games in a row and getting good balance from all their players.
“For the last month or so, Ashley Heredia has played very well,” Reardon said. “She’s clearly our most improved player and teams can no longer focus on [Ashley] Vazzona.”
The Bruins did suffer a tough setback last week, when standout senior Alyssa Arroyo suffered a serious knee injury and will be lost for the season.
“One of our strengths all season has been our depth,” Reardon said. “We just have to cut down on our fouls and turnovers. They’re a good team. We’re a good team. It will all come down to execution.”…
Jersey City native and North Bergen resident Danny McDermott spent the last 11 months outside of the boxing ring, working on taking care of his family and two young children. The 31-year-old McDermott has been a construction worker during the day and doubling as a personal trainer at night.
“I feel a little like Jimmy Braddock,” McDermott said, referring to the former heavyweight champ of the world from North Bergen who was featured in the movie, “Cinderella Man.”
“I have to support my family.”
Through it all, McDermott has found the time to train again a boxer.
“I do a lot of hard workouts three times a week,” said McDermott, who now trains at the Global Boxing Gym in North Bergen. “I’m trying to be in as good of shape as possible. Every time I walk into the place, I feel like a professional. It’s a state-of-the-art facility. I’m really happy with the people at Global Boxing. The way I look at it, this is the second half of my career. It’s cool to be back.”
McDermott now trains with former Marist High School standout athlete Dominic Scibetta.
McDermott’s comeback plans hit a snag last Saturday night, when he lost a six-round unanimous decision to Osnel Charles in a lightweight bout at Essex County Community College in Newark, as part of a card that featured North Bergen-based heavyweight Mariusz Wach.
McDermott put on another gritty, tough show, but fell a little short for the second straight time. On the other hand, Wach, a product of Poland who also trains at Global Boxing, improved to 24-0 with a third-round knockout of Jonathan Haggler. Wach has been training with former heavyweight champion Michael Moorer….
Two promising Polish heavyweights from Hudson County? Not a bad thing at all. Tomasz Adamek will return to the ring April 19 at the Prudential Center. We’ll have more on that fight next week…
It was an impressive showing, maybe the most dominating performance ever, for the St. Peter’s Prep wrestling team at last weekend’s NJSIAA District 16 tournament.
The Marauders captured an astounding eight individual championships, the most ever recorded by one school at the long-standing District 16 tourney. Alexander Richardson (135 pounds) led the Marauder parade of champions, followed by James Kellner (140), Brian Merkel (145), Francisco Colom (152), Devin Ruiz (160), Anthony Pafumi (171), James Fox (189) and Ryan Medina (heavyweight). The Marauders won an amazing seven weight classifications in a row.
North Bergen crowned three champions, namely Luis Gonzalez (103), Anthony Giraldo (112) and Julian Quintero (130). Secaucus had one champion, Adam Swift at 125 pounds.
Quintero won his fourth straight district championship and continues to be ranked among the top wrestlers in his weight class. Richardson, Swift and Pafumi all won for the third straight year.
The Marauders won the team title for the third straight year. All of the aforementioned wrestlers moved on to the Region 4 tourney this weekend…
Several local competitors will head to the NJSIAA Indoor Meet of Champions this weekend, headed by Najee Glass of St. Peter’s Prep, who is the top seed in the 400-meter dash.
Jose Veras, the Dickinson wunderkind, will compete in three events, the high jump, where he’s the third seed, the 800-meter run and the 4×400-meter relay. Teammate Edwin Young has also qualified for the 800-meter run.
Prep will send Charlie Bates (1,600-meter run), Tyrell Gibbs (55-meter hurdles) and Demetrius Cross (55-meter dash), while Snyder’s Timoy Malcom (dash), Bayonne’s Travis Gallardo (shot put) and Hudson Catholic’s Matt Cerbone (55-meter dash). It’s not known when the last Hudson Catholic athlete qualified for the M of C.
St. Dominic Academy will send four athletes, namely Cecelia Sabbers (800-meter run), Taylor Allen (hurdles), Sarah Sisk (high jump) and Madeline Feeney (shot put). McNair Academic will send Amira Dardir and Georgia Hillmer, both of whom will compete in the high jump, with Dardir an outside chance of collecting a medal…
Speaking of McNair Academic, prayers go out to long-time McNair Academic soccer coach John Barulich, who suffered a stroke last week and is hospitalized at JFK Hospital in Edison. Barulich, who was the only person to coach both the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams at the school, will require a lot of rehabilitation, so cards and letters of encouragement and get-well wishes are requested….
It’s been a great season for the New Jersey City University men’s basketball program, which advanced to the New Jersey Athletic Conference championship game for the first time in seven years. The Gothic Knights were scheduled to face Montclair State for the NJAC title and the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.
The Gothic Knights, now coached by Marc Brown, the son of legendary NJCU coach Charlie Brown, have enjoyed a resurgence this season thanks to Jersey City natives Walik Albright and Keith Williams, two former Hudson Reporter All-Area standouts who played at the now defunct CREATE Charter, helping to lead the Crushers to a Group I state sectional title a few years ago. Williams is the Gothic Knights’ leading scorer, averaging 11.1 points per game. Albright is averaging 7.9 points….
Hudson Reporter Boys’ H.S. Basketball Top Five: 1. St. Anthony (24-0). 2. St. Peter’s Prep (19-5). 3. Marist (17-5). 4. Hudson Catholic (19-5). 5. Memorial (18-5).
Hudson Reporter Girls’ H.S. Basketball Top Five: 1. North Bergen (23-2). 2. Bayonne (22-3). 3. Secaucus (21-3). 4. Holy Family Academy (17-6). 5. St. Dominic Academy (16-10).
After getting some encouragement from friends and family members, we’ve decided to join the wonderful world of the Internet with a daily blog. I promise to update it on a regular basis with thoughts of the day, even more than just Hudson County sports. It gives me the chance to write about other things that might get lost in this sports section. Please log on to www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com to see more of the blog… –– Jim Hague