Tag: Jim Hague

In each of the last two high school wrestling seasons, Christian Colucci found himself in the same exact location, on the outside, looking in. “I was sitting in the stands [at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall] and watching the finals [of the NJSIAA state tournament],” Colucci said. “I knew in my heart right then that this …

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When Nick Mariniello arrived at Hudson Catholic High School six years ago to become the new boys’ basketball coach, he had no idea what the future held. After all, the Hawks were certainly not an intimidating factor before Mariniello’s arrival. At best, they were an average team, a mediocre program that considered a .500 record …

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In each of the last two seasons, the Secaucus High School basketball team had high hopes in the Hudson County Tournament, but fell to the same team both times. The Patriots had a tough overtime loss to Lincoln two years ago in the title game. Last year, it was more of the same in the …

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They entered the world one minute apart 17 years ago – and have been that close ever since. Connor Burkert came first, then Ryan a minute later. And unlike many fraternal twins, the Burkert boys do everything together. “We share the same interests,” said Connor Burkert, a senior and a key member of the St. …

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When the boys’ high school basketball season was still in its infant stages and the Soaring Eagles of Union City were holding a 5-5 record, veteran head coach Drew Morano didn’t panic one iota. Morano knew that his team was better than the record they produced early on. It was only a 10-game sampling. After …

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It wasn’t the way the St. Peter’s Prep wrestling team dominated the NJSIAA District 16 championships for a seventh straight year that startled most. It was that the Marauders could actually win seven straight District team titles that was frankly amazing. “I guess it’s just consistency,” said Prep head wrestling coach Anthony Verdi. “We’ve had …

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It was about a month or so ago when St. Anthony legendary Hall of Fame basketball coach Bob Hurley said that his team didn’t have sufficient senior leadership on the floor. Those were words that hit home for talented senior forward Markis McDuffie. True, McDuffie has never been the most outgoing or vocal player. The …

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The late Vince Ascolese, the legendary North Bergen football coach who died last December after a long battle with cancer, used to always profess to his gridiron warriors that they needed the “Heart of a Bruin” to get through the day. Ascolese, one of the best pre-game motivational speakers to ever grace high school sports, …

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The aspiring professional boxing career of Julian Rodriguez continues to ascend, when the 20-year-old North Bergen native fights as the headliner on a card Feb. 28 in the Tampa Sun Dome in a junior lightweight battle against Raul Tovar of Mission, Texas. Rodriguez, now 8-0 with seven knockouts as a pro, is under the watchful …

Continue reading “TASTY TIDBITS North Bergen native Rodriguez’s aspiring boxing career

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And you thought what Crystal Ortiz did during the cross country season was remarkable and outstanding? Sure, how many times does a Hudson County girl get to win an NJSIAA state cross country championship? It’s very rare. It hadn’t happened in over 30 years, before Ortiz, just a freshman at Hudson Catholic, won the NJSIAA …

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