Washington Township High School,529 Hurffville-Cross Keys Road, Sewell, NJ

XC winsGlou Co title

The PatriotJune 2010Vol. XV, Issue 6 Extra

2009-10 Sports HighlightsFall

First known as a gym teacherin 1971, entering a new soccerprogram at age 22. Now known as alasting coaching legend at Wash-ington Twp.

Times have changed.Patterson—who has been the

only soccer coach in WTHS’shistory—retired this past April.Compiling a record of 380-250-70over 39 seasons, Patterson led theMinutemen to four conference titlesin 1979, 1983, 1994, and 2007.

Although he had manyillustrious seasons, 2007 was hismost successful one. TheMinutemen won the South Jerseytitle, backed by goalie KevinMcMullen ’07 and midfielderDwayne Dove ’07.

“It was the first time in schoolhistory that we ever won. That wasone of my top moments as a coach,”

Patterson told The Patriot before the2009 season.

With Patterson exiting theprogram, Mr. Shane Snyder has beenappointed as the new Varsity coach.

“I picked up some things from[Patterson],” Snyder said. “I’mgoing to try to throw my own styleinto it. Each coach coaches to adifferent personality. My person-ality is going to be a little moreexcitable.

“I’m excited to be [Varsity headcoach]. It’s a little weird withoutfreshman sport, but I’m getting moreand more excited the closer we get.”

Along with other sports, thefreshman sports program has beencut so it makes it tougher for athletesacross the board.

Junior Varsity and Varsity willbe split between each WTHS wing.

Now it’s up to Snyder toevaluate talent and begin to improvethe soccer program to a new level.

Courtesy of Mr. Fred Ruberti

Coaching legend retires after 39 years

Coach Patterson was 380-250-70 in his career at WTHS.

Field Hockey

Senior Stardom

Football

Record: 3-2Coach: Mr. Rich BostwickStandouts: Chris Bucci ’10,Anthony Dentino ’11, Tom Gallaher’10, Dan Gresh ’11, Adam Krause’10, Sean Reeve ’10,

On point with county Coachof the Year, Rich Bostwick—whotook over for Mr. Bill Albertson—the Minutemen added cross countryto their fleet of foot repertoire. Run-aholic and Meet of Champs inviteeDentino paced a team under theirfirst year cross country coach andwon Gloucester County Meet.country crossing miles aided theMinutemen in their indoor season.Future: Dan Gresh ’11, JordanFraction ’11, Randy Smith ’12,George Dwyer ‘11

Record: 19-3Coach: Mrs. Jeannine O’ConnorStandouts: Steph Gardner ’10,Kaitlyn Grabert ’12, Lisa Patrone’10, Laura Rose ‘10

The Washington TownshipMinutemaids, one year removedfrom a historic win over rival Eastern,recorded yet another winningseason. This year, however, Easternhad their number, winning allcontests against the Minutemaids.Township was second in OlympicConference and in South Jersey, onlyto, well, you know. Senior captainsPatrone, Rose, Sam Miller ’10, andErin Hills ’10 guided theimpressionable underclassmen byshowing what Varsity, winning fieldhockey is like.Future: Kaitlyn Grabert ’12,Lindsey Hatch ’11, Caitlyn Taulane‘11

Record: 12-5Coach: Mr. Rich FlemmingStandouts:Janel Eldridge ‘12 (16-8), ChristinaLiuzzi ’10 (16-7), Ali Salkowski ‘10(20-8)

The Girls’ Tennis teamcaptured their fourth consecutiveGloucester County Tournamentcrown—first in doubles play withErica Venuti ’10 and Angelea Umali’11. Also, Gabi Muller ’11 and Ave

Parraggio ’13 placed right behindtheir top doubles tandem.

Following a very productivefour year Varsity career, Salkowskiwas able to take second in thetournament.

To Flemming, their threegraduating seniors—Salkowski,Liuzzi, and Venuti—will be hard toreplace.Future Players: Janel Eldridge, AveParraggio, Gabi Muller

Layout and reportsby managing editorKevin Whitehead

phillynut.com

Record: (8-2)Coach: Mr. Mark WechterStandouts: Robert Dim ’10, AdamMarcucci ’10, Nick Valori ’11, RyanWillz ‘11

The Minutemen—in the firstyear of their novel spread offenseimplemented by Wechter—saw howathleticism and speed can change afootball game. With a plethora ofpremier targets, quarterback Valorihad little trouble finding a receiverand delivering a strike on a line.

“I thought last year was a greatfirst year in our offense,” Wechtersaid. “We were productive, we were8-2, and we scored point exceptagainst Cherokee. We’ll be ready forthat change-up.”

A lone blemish in the 2009season was a 35-0 loss on a rainyHomecoming night. Wechter thoughtthe Minutemen were “over matchedin some areas”, however, this yearis different.

“We’ll be ready this year. We’llbe ready for that kind of stuff,”Wechter said. “We’re definitely astep ahead just because of theoffense. We have the under-classmenthat have played last year and theyare very good football players.”Future: Chalie Huff ’11, RyanWillz ’11, Cordell McInnis ’11,Jordan Parra ’12, Lee Robledo ‘11

The Patriot - W.T.H.S. June, 20104 - Sports Year in Review

Minutemen claim South Jersey Group IV titleSpring

Eric Sommermann ’10 wassummoned from the bullpen by headcoach Mr. Bill Alvaro in the seventhinning of a 7-4 Minutemen leadagainst the Lenape Indians in theSouth Jersey Group IV Champ-ionship.

Three more outs to continue analready remarkable fun as the No. 13seed. Two outs with runners at thecorners. Sommermann induced a popto centerfielder Dan Simnor ‘11 forthe victory.

“It’s wonderful [to help theteam], but this isn’t what we want.We still have two wins. Two wins tothe ultimate goal,” Sommermann saidafter the game.

Unfortunately for Washington Twp., theywere stymied one win short of their secondchampionship in four years by JacksonMemorial—the Central Jersey winners. Howmuch their low seed and mediocre record wasgrossly overplayed in the papers (not this one)did not affect the will of these underdogs.

The Minutemen finished at a 18-12 clip,that was led by every senior—Nick Favatella,Adam Warburton, Ryan Dougherty, Sean Nolan,

Mike Connors, Brandon Rempfer, John Kurucand Chris Lawrence.

Though they were two wins shy from theirultimate goal, Nolan felt satisfied.

“It’s been one of the best times in my careerfor baseball and high school,” Nolan saidfollowing their loss to Jackson. “It didn’t turnout how I wanted to but I wouldn’t change anyof it.

“Everyone on my team wasmy family.”

The Minutemen ralliedaround a timely hitting group and aleft-handed arm attached to AdamWarburton ’10. Warburton—whofinished the season 9-3—dominated,winning every game for theMinutemen in their playoff run notnamed Jackson Memorial.

A lineup that featured aNolan-Favatella-Warburton-MarkJank-owski ‘11combinationpropelled the Minutemen to theirSectional crown.

“This senior class wasunbelievable for us. They may notbe the most talented senior class

we’ve ever had, they worked harder than anyother class we’ve ever had,” Alvaro said.

To go this deep into a tournament sets anice example for underclassmen. Players likejuniors Jankowski, Nick Valori , Jonny Morad,and Dan Simnor got their feet wet and knowwhat it takes to win.

It also takes guts.“I [gave] myself up for this team because I

just want to win,” Warburton said.None has gone unnoticed.“To be one of only four teams in school

history to say they’ve won a Sectional title andgotten this far is just an incredible accom-plishment for these guys.”

Run Forest Run!

Promising Future for Lacrosse

win against Cherokee in dramaticfashion—Xavier Fraction ’09 thenMorrone. Their anchor legepitomized their season—out-kicking, out-striding, and out-working their opponents until shortof breath.

Carter and Morrone won Stateevents 110 hurdles and 800 meter,respectively. They were alsoinvited to the Meet of Champions.Future: Drew Balkenhol ’13,Jordon Fraction ’11, RyanLawrence ’11, Larry Porter ’12,Tyler Stumm ’11, Randy Smith ’12

Eldridge claims Conference honorsEldridge anchored their

squad, always playing eachteam’s number one singlesplayer.

“It was tough going into[each match] because youcan always expect their bestno matter the circum-stances,” Eldridge said.

“The top players rarely have lapsesin their game.”

He was 9-13 in singles thisyear which capped a respectable 50-42 career.

Weston Eldridge‘10—who has playedtennis for seven years—was appointed secondteam All-Olympic Con-ference and led the teamin all facets of tennis.Guiding a team thatstruggled with Conferenceelites—Cherokee, Cherry Hill East,and Lenape who were the top threeseeds in State play—eight of theMinutemen’s ten losses were toConference foes.

Record: 5-0Coach: Mr. Rich BostwickTop Performers- A.J. Ashton ’12,Devon Carter ’10, Anthony Dentino’11, Jon Feigin ’11, Steve Morrone’10, Royal White ’10

Continuing from their indoorsuccess, Boys’ Spring Track andField made even more news, mostnotably Morrone and Carter. As ateam, Washington Twp. won theOlympic Conference title for thefourth year in a row. Also, for thesecond year in a row, the Minute-men capped their season by a 4x400

Photo courtesy of Ricky Dunn ‘10

Eldridge

KEVIN WHITEHEAD ‘10/The Patriot

The Minutemen pile senior reliever Eric Sommermann afterrecording the last out against the Lenape Indians.

Record: 18-4Coach: Ms. Sandy StocklStandouts: Taylor Faussadier ’11, StephGardner ’10, Megan Tiernan ’12, Erin Waller’11

With captains Nicole Kovacs ‘10, SantinaMazzola ‘10, and Erin Waller ’11, the Minute-maids won the Gloucester County Cup champ-ionship in overtime versus Clearview. Stocklcalled the season a “great success”. In 17 yearsof Washington Twp.’s Girls’ Lacrosse existence,only one team has surpassed 2009’s win total.

Ricky Dunn ‘10kills a ball in aregular seasongame. Boys’

Volleyball went8-11 overall

Chapman

First-team OlympicConference junior

captain SteveChapman led the

Minutemen in goalsin 2010.

All teams who replied to thereporter’s queries appear in

this issue.

The Patriot - W.T.H.S. June, 20102 - Sports Year in Review

Winter

Bowling Wins StatesRecord: 60-12Coach: Mr. Mike HudockTop Performers: JohnBartosiewicz ’10, Captain NickMaccarone ’10, Matt Lucich ’10,Steve ’11 and Jason ’13 Pavlinko

In past years, bowling hasrolled under the radar as a sportoffered at WTHS. This year’s teammade their presence felt and hasaccomplished feats that Wash-ington Twp. has not seen in theirlanes’ past.

The bowling team won theirConference, South Jersey final, andultimately the State title.

“It was a good way to go out,just to go out with a bang,”Maccarone said.

Maccarone provided leader-ship and also performed when his team needed it.

“I kept the team up and led off the frames on agood note,” he said.

Cheerleading wins 11thstraight Conference

Coach: Mrs. Chelsea FerriStandouts: Steph Catudella ’11, SamHersch ’10, Ashlee Mericle ’10,Demitri Pleasant ’10, Dana Villasin’10

The Washington Twp. Cheer-leaders, again, salvaged theirperennial title. Led by their captainsand guidance by coach Ferri, they

were able to dominate during Con-ference play and also take secondplace at the Battle at the Capital—where the Minutemaids took first

place there a year ago.They will purse their 12th

straight title with the void of theirtop performing seniors.

Winter T

rack

domina

tes sta

te,reg

ionWashington Township bowling enjoys best season yet

Sniping Sarinsnatches record

Amidst the pursuit of centerEddie Sarin’s ’11 championshipaspirations, he was able to breakWashington Twp.’s single seasongoals and points records held byFred Brewer since 2002. Sarin had50 goals, 39 assists for 89 points.Brewer had 76 points in 2002

Though Sarin was pleased withhis performance, he felt that hisseason ended too quickly.

“It feels good to have [therecord], but I want the champ-ionship more than anything. It’s niceto have it, but it’s not the best feelingin the world,” Sarin admitted.

Mr. Jim Macchione has re-signed from head coach and has beenreplaced by Mr. Mike Glick. Sarinis confident Glick’s system andhopes to surpass last year’s success.

“My [2009-2010] line mate,John Smith [‘12], is on a differentline. [Glick] is separating our bestplayers so the whole team can dowell, but I would love to break myown record,” Sarin said.

1000!Giedemann, Lopez reach milestonesThis year guard Ashley Giedemann ’10 and center Matt Lopez ‘10 were able to eclipse

the 1000 point mark and place themselves amongst the best to sport a Twp. unifom.Giedemann is the second leading scorer all-time and exits the girls’ basketball program witha glimmering record.

“It’s definitely a great feeling to represent Washington Township and be up on thatbanner,” Giedemann said. “I think it’s a big accomplishment and I’m proud to achieve that

“I always wanted to be a scorer, always wanted to be the person to go to on the court,and be there for my team,” Giedemann said.

The La Salle bound 6’10” center played an integral role in the Minutemen’s success andhopes to be an impact for the Explorers.

“I chose LaSalle because it’s a great school in a great conference,” Lopez told ThePatriot, “I’ll also get serious professional looks if I excel on the court.”

In season play, Steve Pavlinko and Bartosiewiczlit up their lanes with perfect 300s.Future Players: Steve and Jason Pavlinko

Photo couresy of Mr. Mike Hudock

Steve Pavlinko and Bartosiewicz each bowled perfect games.

Entering the 2009-10 winter season theMinutemen had a glaring question—How canyou replace sprinter Tim Carey ’09 and longdistance Xavier Fraction ’09?

Answer: Steve Morrone ’10 and DevonCarter ‘10

“We did it. Next year it might be [Anthony]Dentino [‘11] and [Jon] Feigin [‘11]. We mightnot have that state champ next year, but ourrelay teams are going to be stronger,” Bostwicksaid. “These guys were already contributors onthe team, I can only assume they are going to getbetter.”

(left to right) JonFeigin (200m),Steve Morrone(800m), DevonCarter (400m),and UriahBrickhouse(200m), won theSprint Medley atICAHN with atime of 3:30.30

Courtesy of Mr. Dale Biebel

...they were able to dominate duringConference play and also take secondplace at the Battle at the Capital

The Patriot - W.T.H.S.June, 2010 Sports Year in Review - 3

Basketball runshardwood

Record: 17-11Coach: Mr. Robert ByattStandouts: Seniors - Chuck Clark,Nick Favatella, Chris Grabbe, MattLopez, Adam Marcucci

Byatt and company broughtyet another productive season to thehardwood, notching their sixthconsecutive winning season whileremaining in the Top 20 all season.The Minutemen were ChristmasTournament Champions. Due in partby a senior starting spread, theMinutemen had a lasting impressionon Byatt, saying they had “greatcareers”. Lopez reached a 1000 pointmilestone, making him the secondconsecutive senior to eclipse thatrecord (Ricky Hudson ’09). Lopezwill take his success to LaSalle andplay for the Big 5 Explorers.Future Players: - Mark Jankowski‘11, Kaevon Pleasant ‘13, BenMaffet ‘11, Jason Melfi ‘11, SeanSmith ‘12

Lacovara sweeps12 Varsity letters

Sports? Check.Brains? Check.Lauren Lacovara ’10 is the

epitome of excellence in and out ofthe pool, on oroff the track,and even out-side of the hillyterrain.Lacovara hasearned a dozenVarsity lettersover her fouryears at WTHS—that’s aVarsity letter in

every single season.Perfect.Her keys to success are easier

said than done.“Hard work, time management

skills, and the drive to compete[really helped me],” Lacovara said.

These skills and efforts for fouryears did not go without recognition.Lacovara was one of 20 studentathletes who were rewarded for theiracademic proficiency and sports

savvy. She was awarded at thesecond annual Courier-Post/KiwanisScholar-Athlete Awards Banquetalong with classmate Nick Favatella’10.

Lacovara will be taking hersuccess to St. Joe’s University whereher well-rounded scholastic careerwill continue.

Lacovara applied to Penn State,University of Maryland, andUniversity of Delaware, but decidedlast-second that St. Joe’s was rightfor her. She also was given anacademic scholarship from herschool of choice.

“I got a lot of money aca-demically from them so I decided Iwanted to run [track and crosscountry]. So I talked to the coach somaybe next year I can get money[for athletics]” Lacovara said.

The Hawks are enrolling one ofthe premier student athletesWashington Twp. has ever had.Furthermore, she will have thoseletters, those skills in her backpocket.

Swimming season highlights

Wrestling wins Sectionals

Dual-sportstandouts

Record: 23-3Coach: Mr. Ralph Ross, Mr. BrettFetty, Mr. Mark Manchio, Mr. DaveTomasetteStandouts: James Higgins ’10,Chalie Huff ’11, Ricky Carter ’12,Colin Walsh ’10, Matt ’12 and ChrisSalera ’11

With 2009-10 Coach of theYear, Mr. Ralph Ross, at the helm,

Record: 5-5Standouts: Eric Emmerson ’13, Kyle Hill ’12, Sal Liberto ’11, Keith Marr’10, Nick Schillaci ’13Coach: Mr. Bill Albertson

Township’s swim team was able to win the Gloucester County meetand also added key wins against Conference rival Cherokee and BishopEustace Prep.

Marr, a four-year starter, led Washington Township as one of six seniors.“I feel the swim program has a lot to offer. I got a lot of experience and

saw what kind of swimmers will be out there,” Marr said.Marr feels he led his team well.“It made me a better swimmer and it was tough to keep everyone

motivated. Whatever helped the team,” Marr said.

VarsityPoint Guard,

Shortstop

VarsityQuarter-

back, Leftfielder/Catcher

Nick Favatella ‘10

Nick Valori ‘11

the Minutemencaptivated manyteam and in-dividual honors andrecords—winningOlympic Con-ference, SouthJersey Group IV,and also ending theseason as the

second ranked team. Hig-gins became the all timewins leader, Huff andCarter were ranked fifthand sixth in the state,respectively. Walsh passedthe 100 win plateau of hiscareer. The Minutemen lostto Jackson which endedtheir season.

James Higginsset school recordof 139 wins.

MARIA BRASCO ‘10/The Patriot

Lacovara

Adam Marcucci ‘10

VarsityFootball -

WideReciever,

Basketball -Forward

Craig Boznjak ‘10

VarsityFootball -

WideReciever,Basketball- Forward

VarsityRunningBack,

Wrestled130 lbs.

Chalie Huff ‘11