Sports & Referendums

We saw again on Tuesday that when it comes to local elections every vote does indeed count. A special referendum in the Central Regional School District passed by just 18 votes with 1,582 voters in favor of the project and 1.564 against. The
$5.2 million referendum will allow the district to make roof repairs, install new windows, hook up to the municipal water system and do some badly-needed paving. Only 9% of the registered voters in Berkeley, Island Heights, Ocean Gate, Seaside Heights and Seaside Park cast ballots Tuesday.

Some sports notes worth mentioning:

Congratulations to Manchester Township High School Girls basketball coach Sweeney McKennan who collected his 300th coaching victory at the school when his Hawks beat Barnegat last night. McKennan is about as nice a person as you’ll meet plus he taught both my children how to drive.

Central’s girls’ basketball team is closing in on the school’s first division title in more than 20 years. The Golden Eagles topped Pinelands last night as Tiffany Williams scored 16 points and they are a perfect 7-0 in Class B South. A win over rival Lacey on Friday would give Central the division championship.

It has been a rough season for the Toms River East Boys basketball team but the Raiders won their second game of the season in dramatic fashion Tuesday when Vinnie Arminio hit a 3-point shot with two seconds left to give them a one point win over Southern.

I certainly don’t mention college track and field much but what Vincent Elardo has been doing at Monmouth University is worth noting. The former Lacey High School Track & Football standout was named Northeast Conference Field Athlete of the Week for the third time this winter. Elardo has won both the shot put and weight throw in his last six meets and his shot put toss of just over 60 feet is 10th in the nation among Division 1 athletes as he has qualified for the US Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico next month.

The Shore Conference Wrestling Tournament gets underway tonight with the top four seeds…..Jackson Memorial, Southern, Howell and Raritan the host sites for the 16-team event. In recent years those four were just about automatic choices to then advance to the semifinals but expect some upsets on the mat tonight.