Eagles give host Caseys closer meet than expected Sophomore Laura Flath leads Eagles to strong performance
By chris kelly Staff Writer Eagles give host Caseys closer meet than expected Sophomore Laura Flath leads Eagles to strong performance CHRIS KELLY Middletown South’s Jenny Fox performs a press hold during her balance beam routine in a meet at Red Bank Catholic High School last week. It’s generally a tough assignment going into a high school gymnastics meet against a team who consistently scores over 100 points. But while the possibility of beating such a team remains slim, teams can use such matches as a means of building confidence and serving notice that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. The Eagles of Middletown South traveled to Red Bank on Thursday to take on the Red Bank Catholic Caseys, one of the Shore Conference’s top teams, in just such a situation. Facing a talented Caseys squad, the Eagles performed admirably, giving the host team a stiff challenge, only to return home with a tough 105.65-93.525 defeat. Middletown South starting strong on the vault with a 24.85 team score, but faltered on the other three apparatuses. The Eagles were outscored 26.825-21.925 (uneven bars), 26.475-23.425 (balance beam) and 26.7-23.325 (floor exercise). Leading South in their uphill battle against the Caseys was Laura Flath, who scored 31.65 points through out the meet. Flath, a sophomore, began the meet with a third-place, 8.55, on the vault for her rendition of a “Yamashita,” which features a blind landing. After posting a 7.6 (second place) on the uneven bars, Flath included a back-tuck, a strong round-off, in her balance beam routine for an 8.0. She capped off her efforts with a 7.5 on the floor. In high school gymnastics the team score is the sum of your best three scores. Posting scores that were added to Flath to give the Eagles a fighting chance were: vault, Nikki Marciniak (8.1) and Truly Chin (8.2); uneven bars, Jenny Fox (7.275) and Julianne Toto (7.05); balance beam, Chin (7.9) and Toto (7.525); and floor, Toto (7.725) and Marissa Leston (8.1). Others scores awarded to the Eagles were Molly Gorman (vault, 7.35), Megan Doherty (vault, 7.6), Chin (uneven bars, 6.1), Marciniak (balance beam, 6.75), Fox (balance beam, 6.8), Shawna Dempsey (floor, 7.1) and Andrea Emanuele (floor, 6.2).
Good things happen when you least expect them. Just ask hurdler Aubrey Herring. FARRAH MAFFAI Members of the Middletown High School South cross country and track and field teams pay tribute to their teammate and friend, Casie Kerr, at the Holmdel International Track and Field Meet on June 12. Herring came to the Holmdel International Track and Field Meet on June 12 at Holmdel High School not expecting very much. He was nursing a sore hamstring and wasn’t sure how it would hold up under the stress of a race. He was also facing the marquee name at the 16th annual meet — Dudley Dorival of Haiti, one of the world’s leading hurdlers. Dorival was a bronze medalist at last year’s World Championships and was a finalist at the 2000 Olympics. While all eyes were on Dorival in the middle of the Holmdel High School track, it was Herring, from lane one, who stole the show. He was out of the blocks quick and beat everyone to the first hurdle. Herring had everyone playing catch-up from that point, and when he ran errorless for the rest of the race, the field was unable to catch him. He was first in a new personal best and meet record in the Harrison Dillard 110-meter high hurdles, 13.36. “I got out pretty good and relaxed,” said Herring, a 23-year-old graduate of Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Ind. “It’s important to me to have a good start so that I don’t have to press. “I ran clean,” he added. “I was high over the hurdles because I was concerned about my hamstring. I’m shocked at the time.” In addition to beating an Olympian and world championship medalist (Dorival was second in 13.61), Herring bested the meet record held by two-time Olympic gold medalist Roger Kingdom, who ran a 13.38 in 1998. This is Herring’s first year out of ISU and running on his own. He currently lives in Cherry Hill where he is coached by one of the great hurdlers of all time, Jack Pierce, who has a pb of 12.94, making him one of the few men in the world who have broken 13.0 for the high hurdles. Herring trains in Philadelphia with Pierce and said he was looking for a meet to run in before this weekend’s USATF National Championships. Holmdel provided him with just what he wanted. Herring was fifth at last year’s national championships and is headed to Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., this weekend a much more confident hurdler. “All of the hard work of the past year is paying off,” he said. “I’m stronger and faster than I was last year.” With a 13.42, Herring ranked 21st in the world last year. Already with a 13.36 under his belt, Herring is moving up in the world rankings. He is also well aware of where he and Dorival (who he trains with in the winter at Princeton) stand head-to-head. “I evened the score today,” he said. Herring and Dorival are 2-2 this year and will likely meet up again this summer in Europe at the premier summer meets there. With the Holmdel International being held on the Bob Roggy Memorial Field, the Bob Roggy javelin is the highlight event. The late Roggy was a 1974 graduate of Holmdel. He went on to gain international fame in the javelin winning a National Collegiate Athletic Association title, setting an American record and ranking No. 1 in the world in 1982. The javelin tradition continues at Holmdel through Craig Percopo, the senior who is headed for Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa. Percopo, who won the Monmouth County title this spring and qualified for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Meet of Champions, reached the final in this open competition and had a best throw of 52.74 meters. “I’m here to show respect for Bob Roggy,” said Percopo. “Everyone in the school knows about him. The javelin he set the American record with is on display, and we watched videos of him throwing the javelin. “He’s an inspiration,” the Hornet senior added, “to know that someone from Holmdel did that well in the javelin.” Percopo said he will be concentrating on the decathlon at Lehigh, but the javelin will always be special for him. He improved his personal best from 168 to 185-10 this year and won the county title. “I wanted to do 180 this year,” said Percopo. “I trained hard and went to camps. I had a good year, throwing consistently in the 180s.” The javelin was won by Tim Releford from Princeton, who reach 61.20 meters (200-1). Proving just how big the javelin is at Holmdel, the women’s javelin went to Hornet Dana Hoffman, who was first with a throw of 34.91 meters. Hoffman is a junior and qualified for the MOC this year. Monmouth University’s all-American, Jon Kalnas, dusted the field in winning the men’s Al Blozis Memorial Shot Put at 18.30 meters. Kalnas recently took fourth at the NCAA Division I championships with a school record throw of 19.41 (63-8 1/4). The senior has earned all-American honors three times during his remarkable career, twice this year. Another big name appearing at the International was the University of Connecticut miler Dan Wilson. Wilson, who anchored the Huskies to a Penn Relays title and is a Big East champion, picked up his second win in the Eamonn Coghlan Mile in 4:07.21. The Chrissy D’Alessandro-Shaheen Memorial Women’s Mile was won by Emily Enstree in 4:47.28. TheHerring’s meet record highlights Holmdel International Monmouth University’s Kalnas takes shot put By tim morris Staff Writer Casie Kerr Memorial Girls’ High School Mile produced a meet record 5:02.36 by Jennifer Croghan. The old mark was 5:02.79 by Leslie Burr in 1993. There was a very moving moment after the seeded section of the high school mile as members of the Middletown High School South cross country and track and field teams ran a mile in tribute to the late Casie Kerr, who would have graduated this month. The girls ran four laps around the Holmdel track together with letters spelling out Casie Kerr’s name painted on their stomachs. Kerr was killed in an automobile accident two summers ago, and this was the Eagles’ way of letting everyone know Kerr is still with them and always will be. Sheila Ernst, who will be attending James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va., in the fall, received the 2002 Casie Kerr Memorial Scholarship. “I loved her so much — she was my sister and best friend,” said Ernst. “We ran this for her.” One of the things that Ernst remembers most about Kerr is her sense of humor. “Casie used to laugh at everything,” she said. “If we were running a hard workout, doing repeats of the bowl at Holmdel Park, she’d be laughing. She’s looking down, laughing now.” Connecticut’s Mike Cummings won the Vince Cartier High School Mile in 4:29.34. High schooler Olivia Kalinowska, a native of Poland, continues to be the ground-setter. The sophomore at Pinelands Regional, won the Don Bragg Women’s Pole Vault at 3.35 meters, beating Georgetown’s Erica Derrickson on fewer misses. Kalinowska won the first-ever Shore Conference girls’ pole vault last season and ended her first year in the United States by winning the Meet of Champions state title with a vault of 12-0. Duncan Littlefield won the men’s pole vault at 4.40 meters on fewer misses. Marlboro High School’s T.J. Meagher was fourth at 3.95. Red Bank Catholic’s Shannon Gillespie, one of the country’s top junior racewalkers and a member of the RBC cross country team, won the women’s 800-meter racewalk (4:42.3) while the men’s winner was Billy Wiches (4:18.6). Other winners included Kesnick Frazer, Frank Budd Men’s 100-Meter Dash (10.6); Orville Taylor, Johnny Gibson Men’s 400-Meter Dash (46.12); Tim Kober, John Woodruff Men’s 800-Meter Run (1:50.0); Jim Carney, Marty Liguaori Men’s 500 (14:34.34); Juliette Poussot, Wilma Rudolph Women’s 100-Meter Dash (12.17); Carmen Douma, Joetta Clark Women’s 800-Meter Run (2:07.62); and Allian Pompei, John Moon Women’s 40-Meter Dash (53.21).
BY TIM MORRISStaff Writer The two-year wait was well worth it. The Freehold Township Little League Junior League all-stars (ages 13-14) finally got to experience a World Series, and it was everything they were hoping it would be. “We waited two years to get here,” pitcher Shawn Purves said. “It was our goal this year. “It was awesome,” he added. “We had a great time playing baseball and meeting other kids from around the country. It’s been amazing. Not many kids get to do this.” Two years ago, playing in the Little League (ages 11-12) tournament, the all-stars lost in the Eastern Regional, one step away from a World Series trip. That experience fueled them throughout the summer as they looked to take the next step this time around, which they did in capturing the Eastern Regional title. Purves said that when the team arrived at the Taylor (Mich.) Little League Complex, host of the Series, he first realized the magnitude of it all. “When we got off the plane, a bus took us to the field, which was pretty amazing,” he said. “When we got our uniforms that had EAST written on them, I was thinking ‘this is great,’ ” he said. Shortstop Anthony Cirillo Jr. said the series lived up to expectations. “It was everything and more,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. They treated you like royalty, giving you jackets and uniforms, and having you sign baseballs. It was a great experience.” Freehold Township’s juniors distinguished themselves rather well in their first venture to the World Series, finishing in fifth place. The 2005 Eastern Regional champions beat Orleans LL form Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 6-1, in the fifth/sixth place consolation game on Saturday. As manager Anthony Cirillo Sr. sees it, fifth place in the world isn’t all that bad. “Three-thousand teams started out and the 10 best in the world were here [Taylor, Mich.],” he said. “To finish fifth in the world, to me is an accomplishment. “Every team here is good,” he added. “We saw some amazing baseball. We played great.” Freehold Township established itself as one of the teams to watch in Taylor out of the gate, beating an undefeated West Side Little League team (Southwest Regional champion) from Texas, 7-0. Chris Bresnahan pitched the shutout for Freehold Township and had as many hits himself, three, as Texas got. Cirillo Jr. led the attack with a two-run home run. Cirillo said that after playing the East Regional at Freehold Township, which is 390 to dead center field, the Taylor complex was a welcome sight to hitters, with its dimensions of 310 to center and 280 down the lines. Losses to Pearl City, Hawaii (West), 11-5, and East Lake (South), 3-1, followed, but Freehold Township bounced back with a 10-5 win over Fort Wayne (Central), to finish pool play at 2-2, and as the third-place team in the U.S. pool, got to play in the consolation game for fifth place. Cirillo Jr. was 4-for-5 against Fort Wayne and Purves was 3-for-3, scoring two runs and driving in two. John Morrill had three hits and scored twice. Pitchers Matt Cadigan and Cirillo Jr. combined for a three-hitter (all five runs were unearned). They then beat Canada, 6-1, Saturday in the fifth/sixth-place consolation game to finish at 3-2 in the tournament and end the season with one more win. “It was good to come home with a win and nice to have a winning record,” Cirillo said. Freehold Township’s finish is the best-ever by a New Jersey team at the Junior League World Series. Vineland had previously had the best finish, going 2-2. Cirillo Jr. said that the World Series experience put the Eastern Regional title in a different perspective. “We didn’t realize how much we had accomplished when we won the regional,” he said. “We knew we were good, but we didn’t think we were one of the best teams in the world. It showed us that we can compete with anyone.” The defense and pitching depth that had made such a difference for Freehold Township in earning its trip to the World Series was on display in Taylor, as the all-stars proved they can play with the top junior teams in the world. Freehold Township’s juniors finished the summer with a 13-2 record. The 2005 Eastern Regional champions and fifth-place World Series team are: Nathaniel Androski, Chris Bresnahan, Matt Cadigan, Anthony Cirillo, Jr., Mark Dolan, Dan Klinsky, Chris LeRoy, Mike Miranda, John Morrill, Gerry Plescia, Shawn Purves and Stephen Talbott. Glen Purves and Anthony Piccola are the coaches on Cirillo’s staff. BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer Team goes 3-2, beats Canada in consolation game 
By Justin PalmerPremier League strugglers Crystal Palace ended manager Neil Warnock’s brief second spell in charge on Saturday following a dismal run of one win in 12 games, the club said in a statement.A 3-1 home defeat by Southampton on Friday left Palace in the relegation zone, third from bottom on 15 points from 18 games. Warnock, appointed in August, is the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season.“Crystal Palace Football Club can today confirm that Neil Warnock has been relieved of his duties and is no longer first-team manager,” Palace said on their website (www.cpfc.co.uk).“The club would like to put on record its thanks to Neil for all his hard work and energy over the past four months.”The London club have lost three and drawn three of their last six games, their last win coming against Liverpool on Nov. 23. Palace make the trip across London to face Queens Park Rangers on Sunday with Keith Millen taking charge as caretaker manager.Warnock, 66, returned to Selhurst Park after Tony Pulis, who had steered them to an 11th-place finish against the odds last season, departed two days before the start of the current campaign.Warnock left Palace in 2010 after they went into administration, joining Queens Park Rangers and taking them into the Premier League before being sacked eight months later, in January 2012.The following month he was appointed manager of Leeds United, only to be fired just over a year later.Warnock has managed 13 clubs, starting in non-League football almost 35 years ago.
By Mike CollettJamie Vardy became the first player to score in 11 consecutive Premier League matches when he gave Leicester City the lead in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United at the King Power Stadium on Saturday evening.Vardy broke the record established by United’s Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2003 when he struck in the 24th minute.He timed his run perfectly to go past the visiting defence before firing an angled shot past David de Gea.United equalised in first-half stoppage time when Bastian Schweinsteiger powered in a header.The result meant Manchester City, who returned to the top of the table earlier in the day by beating Southampton 3-1, remained there on goal difference ahead of Leicester.Both teams have 29 points from 14 matches with United third on 28 points. Arsenal, who play at Norwich City on Sunday, are fourth with 26.
By Ed OsmondLiverpool substitute Adam Lallana struck deep into stoppage time to snatch a 5-4 win over shell-shocked Norwich City in an extraordinary Premier League game at Carrow Road on Saturday.The visitors had fought back from 3-1 down to lead 4-3 after 90 minutes but Norwich central defender Sebastien Bassong’s fierce drive looked to have earned the home side a point before Lallana bundled the ball into the net with seconds remaining.Liverpool took the lead after 19 minutes when Roberto Firmino’s scuffed strike found the corner of the net but Dieumerci Mbokani equalised with an audacious back-heel after Liverpool failed to deal with a corner on the half-hour.Steven Naismith, making his Norwich debut after joining from Everton, beat Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet with a fierce shot from a narrow angle before halftime and Wes Hoolahan converted a penalty to give the hosts a two-goal cushion.The unmarked Jordan Henderson then pulled one back for Liverpool with a low shot and Firmino’s deft finish from Lallana’s cross levelled the scores before James Milner slotted in following a dreadful back pass from Russell Martin.“A strange afternoon. I was just delighted to get the three points in the end,” Lallana told BT Sport.“When they scored you just think it’s going to be one of those days. A massive three points for us.“That goal was one of those moments in your career that just happens, you go with the flow.”Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp celebrated wildly with his players after the final whistle and his glasses were accidentally knocked off by Christian Benteke in the melee.“Unbelievable game,” Klopp said. “We had a lot of problems today but we played football and scored beautiful goals.“I think we were the deserved winners in a spectacular game. Of course we were lucky, but we were not too lucky when they equalised in added time. It is very emotional.”It was only the fourth Premier League match to finish 5-4.“Defensively, it was very poor and that is what cost us,” Naismith said. “If 11 men can’t defend their goal for two minutes, then you will get punished.”
Results from the US Open Men’s Singles Round 1 matches on Monday:Steve Darcis (Belgium) beat Jordan Thompson (Australia) 5-7 3-6 7-6(5) 6-4 7-5Nicolas Almagro (Spain) beat Marton Fucsovics (Hungary) 6-1 6-4 7-6(7)31-Albert Ramos (Spain) beat Julien Benneteau (France) 3-6 6-3 6-3 2-6 6-1Sergiy Stakhovsky (Ukraine) beat Gastao Elias (Portugal) 6-1 3-6 2-6 6-3 7-6(4)Ernesto Escobedo (U.S.) beat Lukas Lacko (Slovakia) 6-4 4-6 4-6 6-3 0-0 (Lacko retired)Andrey Kuznetsov (Russia) beat Thomaz Bellucci (Brazil) 6-4 3-6 6-1 7-6(6)7-Marin Cilic (Croatia) beat Rogerio Dutra Silva (Brazil) 6-4 7-5 6-1Guido Pella (Argentina) beat Bjorn Fratangelo (U.S.) 6-3 6-4 6-4Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) beat 28-Martin Klizan (Slovakia) 6-2 6-1 6-1Kyle Edmund (Britain) beat 13-Richard Gasquet (France) 6-2 6-2 6-3 Results from the US Open Women’s Singles Round 1 matches on Monday:Yulia Putintseva (Kazakhstan) beat Sabine Lisicki (Germany) 6-1 6-2Naomi Osaka (Japan) beat 28-CoCo Vandeweghe (U.S.) 6-7(4) 6-3 6-4Catherine Bellis (U.S.) beat Viktorija Golubic (Switzerland) 6-2 6-3Shelby Rogers (U.S.) beat 27-Sara Errani (Italy) 6-4 7-6(3)Christina McHale (U.S.) beat Mona Barthel (Germany) 6-2 6-29-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Francesca Schiavone (Italy) 6-1 6-2Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (Croatia) beat Alize Cornet (France) 6-4 6-1Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) beat Taylor Townsend (U.S.) 4-6 6-3 6-4Cagla Buyukakcay (Turkey) beat Irina Falconi (U.S.) 6-2 6-12-Angelique Kerber (Germany) beat Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 6-0 1-0 (Hercog retired)Andrea Petkovic (Germany) beat Kristina Kucova (Slovakia) 7-6(3) 6-324-Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) beat Samantha Crawford (U.S.) 6-7(6) 6-3 6-414-Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) beat Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) 7-5 6-3Carina Witthoeft (Germany) beat 30-Misaki Doi (Japan) 6-4 6-17-Roberta Vinci (Italy) beat Anna-Lena Friedsam (Germany) 6-2 6-4
They lost to a strong team, Northern Ireland, 47-35 in Singapore late yesterday.Kicking the match off to a great start, Pepes demonstrated a mix of swift passes and astounding team play in split seconds, propelling their score to a huge lead of 11-4 by the end of the first quarter.Solid team play between Northern Ireland’s goal shooter Jenna Bowman and goal attack Sarah Montgomery helped escalate their count to 19-9 by the end of the second quarter.The third quarter saw both Northern Ireland and Papua New Guinea engaged in a heated and jittery affair as both teams roughed it out on the court to boost their nearly even scores.With Northern Ireland’s goal shooting position now helmed by Jenna Bowman the Irish team pulled through and narrowly closed the game with 12-9 in their favour in the third stanza.In the final quarter, Pepes seemed more motivated to advance their team score upon realizing that their Irish counterparts were leading the match.Goal shooter Herronie Daera showed her dexterity and scored 3 goals out of 3 attempts, but formidable defensive play put up by Irish captain Gemma Gibney enabled her team shooter Jenna Bowman to shoot at ease, with the Irish ending the match with 47-35.Pepe’s top scorer was Daera, who finished the match with the highest 96% shooting accuracy, scoring 23 out of 35 goals for her team.
Despite talks about hosting the finals at the Taurama Indoor complex, due to the venue cost, the association has moved their finals back to the PNGEI courts.Fairfax Volleyball Association president Kila Dick told Loop PNG: “We have now confirmed and decided to bring the games back to the PNGEI courts as it is too costly to host at the Taurama Indoor complex.”The grand final is set for October 22.Game draws are as follows;GAME 1 9.30 AM UNDER 21 BOYS Raukele vs Nasosbe 2GAME 2 11.00 AM MEN’S A GRADE Raukele 1 vs Raukele 2GAME 3 12.30 NOON WOMEN’S A GRADE Snipers vs Raukele 1GAME 4 1.30 PM WOMENS PREMIER Raukele vs JP SharksGAME 5 2.30 PM MEN’S PREMIER Free Way Hoks vs Raukele
SP Hunters coach, Michael Marum added two academy players – Joseph Mocke (Northern) and Thompson Yakumbu (Highlands) – during the Goroka camp.The pair will join two Southern academy players Aidan Arusa and Muka Peter Kula when the Hunters pre -season training resumes in Port Moresby next week.The nine players released after the Goroka camp were Andrew Ipi, Benjamin Hetra, Joe Frank, John Grand Arime, Mafu Kalas, Nixon Borana, Philemon Kimisive, Tau Fitzgerald and William Mone.Marum said the players will return to their Digicel Cup teams and can make their way back into the Hunters team depending on their performances.Marum said a final 27 or 28 man squad will be finalised in the next two weeks to take part in the 2017 Queensland Intrust Super Cup competition.“We will keep a few positions open to allow for these players who will play good football in the Digicel Cup to be included in the Hunters team during the season,” said Marum.The 33 man squad to go into camp in Port Moresby on January 3, 2017 are: Adex Wera, Aidan Arusa, Anderson Benford, Ase Boas, Bland Abavu, Radley Bawa, Butler Morris, David Loko, Eddie Dafa, Edward Goma, Enoch Maki, Esau Siune, Henry Wan, Ismael Balkawa, Israel Eliab, Joseph Mocke, Junior Rop, Karo Kauna Jnr, Lawrence Tu’u, Moses Meninga, Muka Peter Kula, Nixon Put, Noel Joel, Sailas Gahuna, Stanton Albert, Stargroth Amean, Thompson Yakumba, Wartovo Puara, Watson Boas, Wawa Paul, Wellington Albert, William Aquila and Willie Minoga.