JANUARY 20
1970
High School
            Hamilton let a 16-point lead shrink to three before rallying for an 81-64 win over Notre Dame. Jack Burness had 20 points, Dan Tyler 18, Bob Rossi 17 and Gene Webb 15 and all hit key free throws down the stretch. “We stopped pressing” a flu-ridden Charley Ross said. “And then we seemed to go cold I was going to have them hold the ball but I figured we’d get sloppy.”
            Steinert took a 68-27 win at Madison in Old Bridge, making the ride home in a snowstorm seem like nothing. Bob Hutchinson and Bruce Witkowski (12 points) combined for 20 rebounds while “Nifty” Nate Palmer, as he was called in the story, had a season-high 24 points.
1980
Recreation Leagues
            In today’s Trentonian Neighbors section the Hamilton Little Lads Cadet wrap-up tells us that Warren Smith and Bob Barrett had 13 and 12 points respectively as Yardville Supply beat Cook AA, 37-19. Pete McGrath added eight points and Steve Halko played strong defense. Joe Barnaba and Mike Risoldi had eight each for Cook. Conti Realty topped Hugh Maguire, 28-22 as Jonathan Hohl had 17 and Brian Maglione scored nine. Hugh got 15 from Bill Berish.
            Rafferty’s got its first win of the year, 19-17, over Hamilton PAL as Robert Marino and Tony Tucker led the way. Kevin Kiernan had nine for PAL. Roma Savings topped Hamilton Service Center, 37-29, as Jason Duval had 24 points and Sean Fitzpatrick tallied 20 for the Hornets.
            In the ABA, the White Horse Lions nipped Mercerville Shell, 13-10, as Tom Farrell had nine points. Nate’s Pub got 12 from Brian Fuller and nine from Dave Piotroski for a 32-7 win over Budget Rent-A-Car.
            In Senior play, Bob Tarver’s 21 carried Tree King Plant Mart to a 54-45 win over Hamilton PAL. Tom Nadoiny added 11 for the winners while Todd Wilson (4), Mike Dye and Eric Muench (11 each) paced PAL. The Knights of Columbus topped Lawrence Brook Savings & Loan, 42-34 as Bryan Barbalacci scored 11 and Bob Thomas had eight points and six rebounds. Joe Fritz had 10 points and Bill Bound seven rebounds for Lawrence Brook. Gary Foy had 18 points, Joe Ganci added 11 and Brian Scenzi tabbed nine as Cook AA beat Sports World, 62-38. Dom Mangine had eight for Sports World.
            Lori McGarrigle (14), Colleen Mulryne (10) and Trish Monte (8) led St. Raphael to a 46-7 win over Holy Angels in CYO Girls Grammar School play. In High School play, Elyse Eichman had 14 and Barb O’Hara 17 as St. Raphael beat Villa Victoria, 38-20.
            In street hockey, Bob Ziegler’s three goals gave him 19 for the season as Three Seasons topped Mufflex, 9-0. Frank Krause notched the shutout in goal.
            In CYO boys play, St. Raphael beat Our Lady of Sorrows, 51-46, in the battle for first in the Large School Northern Division. Frank Zsenak had 19, Pat Tuffy 16 and Jim Naples 12 for SR, while Tom Hoffman had 26 for OLS.
            In Mercer Major Soccer, Alex Tordai had two goals and Chris Fallon one as Trenton Panorama took a 3-0 win over Mayas SC. Tony Astore, Jerry Sydor, Toby Hankins and Jim Hoey all shared time in the goal. Post 313 topped Central Portugese SC, as Dave Patton, Tom Kane and Ken Andres had goals.
            In Hamilton Junior Soccer play, the Hamilton Rec 65’s took a 5-2 win over East Windsor in Division II as Mike Sanverdine and Jim Baudreau had two goals each and Rich Mahon scored one. Todd Such’s two goals gave the Hamilton Rec 64’s a 2-0 win over the Hamnett 65’s.
            In Junior Division II play, GAK Gold took a 5-0 win over the West End Cosmos as Frank Oliveti had two goals and Dave Alito, Terry Bellinger and Nick Wiener added one each. Dave Long’s hat trick and John Hauser’s solo goal gave Hamilton Fury a 4-2 win over GAK White. Mike Britton had two GAK goals. The Hamilton Rowdies took a 7-0 win over Hamnett’s II as Rob Colton had three goals, Joe Donigan two and Dan Maher and Bob Tartaglia one each. Liberty Thriftway Juniors took a 2-1 win, their first of the year, over Hamnetts 1 as Randy Wolensky and Mike “Mitty” Fox scored. 
1990
Recreation Leagues
            The Trentonian Neighbors section had today’s lengthy Hamilton PAL girls basketball wrap, and here you have it:
           In Junior Division play, Lisa Pugh and Erin Maguire provided clutch shooting and great defense as Trophies Unlimited took a 16-9 win over Olden Pharmacy. Nicole Ehret and Jodi Comfort made some big plays for Olden. Sainte Marie Cleaners took a 20-10 win over Legal Beagles as Jessica Walter and Jen Addonizio combined for 12 while Jessie Szostak had eight. Beagles got stellar play from Elizabeth Tedford, Cheryl Bencivengo and Nicole Rogers.
           Kerry Roche, Danielle Cooper and Katie Roche provided the scoring and Karla Ostrowski had a big all-around game as Terry Pratico took a 22-15 win over Gothic Lodge. Rachel English, Jackie Beers and Danielle Martin were strong for the Lodge. Heritage T & I Realty took a 12-10 win over mercer Locker Room. Jill Peach, Tammy Scheer and Kristin Cicale led a balanced attack, while Kristine Bucchino, Jen Hutchinson and Stefanie Clerkin excelled for Mercer.
          In Senior Division play, Jem Trophies took a 50-31 win over Busy Bee Travel as Liz White, Jen Tandy and Brandy Barefield led the way. Lori Reali and Lori Blood had 10 each while Sandy Walker finished with six. Caleb Marketing cancelled Grimm Insurance, 26-11, as Jen French, Dona Kondash and Jamie Clerkin were the scoring stars. Jen Hanlon and Bernadette Baldino played well for Grimm. Brock’s Embroidery took a 44-28 win over McCay Insurance as Melany Furda had 16 and Michelle Maguire scored eight. Kim Walter had 14 and Michelle Jones and Allison Williams combined for 14 for McCay.
High School
            In wrestling, Nottingham’s Mike Neely had a 24-second pin, his 10^th of the year, in Nottingham’s 65-6 win over Lawrence. In a 57-14 win over Holy Cross, Mike Gobin, Mike Thames, Jeff Saia, Kip Harrison, Dan DeLorenzo, Tom Agugliaro and Neely all pinned as Neely, Saia and Agugliaro raised their combined record to 35-4.
            Steinert topped Northern Burlington 38-28 on pins by Jason Ullrich and Kevin Decker, while Eric Schwartz won by decision. In a 39-12 win over Trenton, the Spartans got pins from Tom Shoenfelt, Jason Hart and Rob Goleniecki.
            In track, Hamilton took second in the mile relay at the NJSIAA Group III Relays, as the team of Brian Parks, Kareen Wade, Dan Varner and Mike DeCavalcante clocked a time of 3:52.7.
            In JV hoops, Larry Holt had 20 and Brian Turner 18 as Hamilton beat Hillsborough, 64-53.
            George O’Gorman had a feature in today’s Trentonian that Steinert’s Marc Rossi is reconsidering his verbal commitment to play football at Rutgers.
            “He was pretty well set with Rutgers,” said coach Frank Lugossy, himself an RU graduate. But the fact Marc’s a good player, some big people came in and started selling their school. They told him ‘You owe it to yourself’ to look at all the offers.” Lugossy reports that Pitt, Penn State, Syracuse, Clemson, Villanova, North Carolina State, Nebraska, Purdue, Indiana and Rutgers are on top of a growing list. “I think he can play anywhere,” Lugossy said. “All the schools that have seen him have been impressed.”
JANUARY 19
Here's how the boxscores looked after the Hamilton-Burlington battles 50 years ago today. For those who don't speak 1960 lingo, "Bows" means games. Yeah. . .different world.
1960
High School
            In boys basketball, Burlington rolled to an 87-56 win over Hamilton as the Hornets dropped to 3-5 while the Burl Boys moved to 8-1. Hamilton actually led 10-0 before the Blue Devils got on a roll. Jim Spence had 24 for Hamilton while Walt Antosiewicz added 10.  In the JV game, Ron Matta had 12 for Hamilton in its 57-27 loss to Burlington.
            It was just a bad day to play the Blue Devils if you were a township team, as Ewing took a 51-48 win over Steinert. The Spartans were up 48-45 but Ewing scored the final six as Steinert’s Bob Zarr and Don Huggins fouled out with six minutes to go. The two had combined for 23 points before exiting, while Rick Danser added 11 for the Spartans. It was Ewing’s fourth straight win. In the JV game, Bill Davies and Jim Vitangeli scored 14 points each as Steinert took a 49-43 win. 
1970
Recreation Leagues
            Jim Donahue scored 20 as Tub City took a 55-54 win over Snyder’s in the Hamilton Township Service League. Jim Rando had 15 as Ivy beat Hamilton, 43-32, while John Constantino scored 25 in Cook’s 62-47 win over the Bombers.
Junior High
            Kim Hohman had 19 points and Pete Larkin scored 14, but Reynolds dropped a 58-57 heart-breaker to Fisher when Fritz Sickles hit a last-second jumper.
1980
Recreation Leagues
            In Hamilton Junior Soccer League Division action, Bob Tartaglia’s goal gave the Mercer Rowdies a 1-0 win over Hamnetts, while West End Cosmos topped Liberty Thriftway, 2-0, on goals by John Steinman and Rick Kramer.
            In Divisoin II, Andy Maraffa had three goals and Scott Starks one in the GAK Falcons’ 4-0 win over the Hamnett 65s. West End Green beat East Windsor, 2-1, on goals by Don Cogsville and Dave DeCoff. The Hamilton Rec 65s got goals from Tom Michaud and Jack Baudreau in a 2-1 win over the Hamilton Rec 64s.
High School
            Hamilton dropped a 34-27 wrestling verdict to Ewing although once-beaten Pete Novelli notched a first-period pin at 101. Other Hornet pinners were John Baldwin (135) and Mark Williams (170), while Charles Page (141) won by decision. 
1990
High School
            A revitalized Nottingham boys basketball team defeated Steinert, 55-43, to raise its record to raise its record to 6-7. “They outscored us, they out-hustled us, they beat us to every loose ball,” said Steinert coach Roger “Hi C” Bigos of coach Pete “Doctor Dutch” Leonard’s team. “Pete’s kids played hard and we didn’t. That was the difference in the game.” Ryan Lopez, who had 13 points for Nottingham, said “We’ve played better in other games, but we’re getting close to the states now and we want to keep winning.” Dan Clark had 15 for Nottingham while Chris Barnes added 14 and Steve Miranda had eight. Jason Cromwell (12) and Dominic Pisapia (10) led Steinert.
            West Windsor-Plainsboro put Hamilton in a precarious situation by taking a 64-52 victory. The Hornets (4-8) must win their next four games by Jan. 30 to qualify for states. Raul Figueroa had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets while Mike Brown added 15 points and 10 boards.
            In girls hoops, Kim Derrico’s 10 points and 16 rebounds powered Steinert to a 65-15 win over Nottingham. Lisa Cesaro and Sue Scheer had 15 each as the Spartans improved to 8-3. Diane Mazukewicz scored 15 points and drained several clutch baskets as Hamilton beat West Windsor, 49-47. Rhoda Masella had 13 points and a steal and a layup with 17 seconds left that gave Hamilton a 49-46 lead. “Tonight we had confidence in ourselves,” Mazukewicz said. “I worked a lot on my foul shots and as a team, our passing game was much better.” The Hornets improved to 7-4.
            In JV boys play, Hamilton beat WW-P, 38-14 as Jamont Richardson had 14 and Brian Turner nine. The Hornet freshman team also beat the Pirates, 44-41, as Justin Swain had 17 and Mike Belfiore added 10.
            In wrestling, Hamilton topped Princeton 49-41 as Prime Molina, Ed Cook, Mike Karas and Alex Constance had pins and Jeff Quick recorded a major decision. 
2000
Recreation Leagues
            In CYO basketball play, Eric Maldonado had 12 points as St. Raphael Gold topped Holly Cross, 56-15, while Andy Larkin’s 10 led OLS past St. Raphael Blue, 42-21, and Jimmy Collins’ 11 helped St. Greg’s White to a 40-12 win over Incarnation. In JV play, St. Greg’s White topped St. Paul, 51-42 as Kyle Goodwin had eight. Bill Picatagi tabbed 10 in St. Raphael’s 38-9 win over Incarnation.
             In varsity play, St Greg’s beat St. Mary’s 30-0 as Arielle Collins had eight points (Webmaster note. . .this is the third time Collins has appeared here, and each time her name appeared in these write-ups it was spelled wrong. Was that any way to treat the future all-time scoring leader at Steinert?) OLS topped St. Paul’s 30-18, as Ashley Stillitano had nine.
            Hamilton PAL Senior girls hoops saw Prior Nami Business top Robert Jewell Electric, 37-35, as Serena Fleming had 15 points and Nicole Kasian had 13 in defeat. Jess Rios and Marty Beth Stevens had 12 each as Arena Dance Apparel topped Miller Equipment, 29-12.
            Olden Pharmacy got 12 points from Bridget Law in a 45-44 win over Classic Vending. Gothic Lodge topped Crestwood Construction, 43-25 as Amy Peroni had 12 for the winners and Samantha Klein had 11 in defeat.
            In Junior competition, Jillian Crouse had six points in the Greedy Fox’s win over Web’s Girls. Monti’s Café topped Oral Surgery Associates, 24-21, as Jackie Sasko had 10 points. Barrett’s Girls topped Bonaparte Insurance, 20-17, as Jeanette Bell had 10 points.
            CJ Auto Parts topped Aztec Graphics, 16-12, as Emily Napolitano had eight. Trophies Unlimited beat First Union Bank, 27-11, as Patty Foley had eight for the winners and Melissa Hodge scored nine for First Union. Tim’s Auto Body got six pints from Victoria Yu in a 16-4 win over Milano Restaurant. 
High School
            Nottingham topped Trenton, 57-15, as Tom Stevens topped defending Mercer County Tournament champion Isaac Bethea, 14-9, in the 171-pound bout. Mark Cuniglio’s 10-second pin at heavyweight helped spark Steinert to a 62-12 win over Hightstown.
JANUARY 18
1960
Recreation
           In Hamilton Township 20-year-old play, Pica’s Pizza won its 14^th straight, 27-15, over Wilbur A.C. Ron Stanik had 18 points for the winners and Dick Peterson 14 for Wilbur. Harold Kelly had 20 points in the Trotters 50-49 win over Nottingham Canteen, while Tom McDowell had 31 as Little Mike’s beat Bossert’s, 61-44.
High School
            In freshman boys basketball, Steinert upset Notre Dame, 63-51. The Irish had a 9-1 record and the Spartans had only played two games. The story was humorous to me, in the fact that in the second paragraph, it said “Notre Dame opened the scoring on a foul shot by Pete Pietras. . .” There were 114 points scored in this game, and the article felt the need to tell us who scored the first one? I guess that must have been a key play in some hidden way. Anyway, Bill Smith had 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter for Steinert, while Gerry Migliacci had seven of his game-high 21 in that time. Tom Cavinelli added 14 for the Spartans.
1980
High School
            Kate Larkin had 27 points and Kelli Williams added 22 points and 23 rebounds as McCorristin took a 60-45 win over Notre Dame.  “Some people might think that Kate hade a tough night shooting-wise,” Mikes coach Kevin Gallagher said. “But when you have an All-America player it’s easy – you tell her to keep shooting the ball and you look like a genius.”
            The Hamilton girls won their third straight by beating Steinert, 47-36. Cindy Astore had 12 points, Elyse Eichman netted 16 and Angela Ellis had 14 points, 12 rebounds, two steals and three blocked shots for the Hornets. “Elyse and Cindy did a good job getting the ball into the middle to Angela” coach Mickey Kessler said. Terry Jennings had 12 for the Spartans.
            In boys hoops, Steinert struggled past a 2-10 Hun team, 53-42, as Tom Matlock had 16 points, Darryl Reaves 13 and Kenny Edwards 12 points and 10 rebounds. “This was the worst game we played all year,” Steinert coach Ken Sullivan said. “The only good thing was we won the game.”
            McCorristin edged Notre Dame, 46-43 as Ralph Chiarello scored 16. Tom Keefe, the pride of Brandywine Way, had 12 for the Irish.     
1990
High School
            In today’s Trentonian high school wrestling leaders, Nottingham’s Mike Bogin, Brian Hughes, Anthony Cannuli, Jeff Saia, Steve Barnacz, Kip Harrison, Tom Agugliaro, Dan DeLorenzo, Phil Kempisty, Mike Neely and Harry Schulz are all included, along with Hamilton’s Lamar Gore, Ed Cook, Bob Sciarotta, Matt Martens, Spencer Cunningham, Russ Tyndale, Jeff Fell, Jeff Quick, Alan Constance and Steve Novatkowski. Listed for Steinert are Jason Ulrich, Joe Woodard, Eric Schwartz and Rob Goliniecki. Hughes, Woodard and Fell are all undefeated.
            In boys basketball, Tom Caldwell had 21 points and 11 rebounds and Blitz Wooten added 21 points and 10 rebounds as McCorristin topped Ewing, 95-63.   
         In girls hoops, Terri Beach had 18 and Erin Wingerter added 10 as Nottingham beat Burlington Township, 48-15.
2000
High School
            Jacqui Nami won the 100 free in Steinert’s 118-52 swim loss to Lawrence. The boys fell 120-50, although John Proniewski won the 200 IM and 100 breast. Hamilton took a 100.5 to 69.5 co-ed win over South Brunswick as Kyle Schulke won the 500 free and 100 back, Christina Dooling won the 100 fly and Andrew Capers won the 50 free.
            In girls hoops, Steinert beat Princeton, 49-36, as Kelly Pugh had 14 points, five assists and six steals and Kim Schmidt had 14 points, four steals and seven rebounds. Jaime McCormack had 12 points in Hamilton’s 63-39 loss to Trenton.
            In boys play, Trenton beat Hamilton, 89-55, despite 17 from Jason Ramos and 16 from Jason Malloy. Notre Dame beat Nottingham, 58-46, as the Northstars got 16 from Jeremy Coleman and nine from Brian Jenkins. Steinert topped Princeton, 67-51, as Dennis McCabe had 20 and Corey Nojemko added 12.
JANUARY 17
1960
Recreation Leagues
            In Hamilton Little-Bigger Soccer, Post 313 took a 3-0 win over DAV as Joe Suosso scored two goals and Lee Cook added one. DAV came back for a 5-1 win over VFW 3525 as Jack Herrity had three goals and Joe Burns and Ed Cartlidge scored one each. Jack Bodolowski had one for VFW. John Griffith scored twice and Al Reyeysey once as Carella’s took a 3-0 win over PAL.
1990
High School
            Hamilton’s wrestling team (7-2) took a 46-18 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro as Ed Cook (112 pounds), Jeff Fell (145), Jeff Quick (152), Alan Constance (160) and Steve Novatoski (189) all had pins while Lamar Gore (119) won by decision.
            Nottingham (7-3) rolled past Steinert, 54-16, on pins by Mike Thames (112), undefeated Brian Hughes (119), Anthony Cannuli (125), Dan DeLorenzo (152), Tom Agugliaro (160), Mike Neely (171) and Harry Schulz (189). Once-beaten Jeff Saia (130) earned a t-fall. Jason Ulrich (103) won a major decision and Joe Woodard (135) moved to 9-0 and a 24-second pin.
2000
Recreation Leagues
            In Hamilton Little Lads play, Wes & Sons topped Tree King, 36-19, as Marcus Ponder had 21 points. Wes & Sons then topped Sports World, 30-21 behind Peter Kelly’s 16 points.
            In Mercer County Community College indoor soccer, the U-11 Hamilton United topped the West Windsor-Plainsboro Enforcers, 2-0, on goals by Ryan Gilligan and Dylan Smith. Steve Coluccio had the shutout in goal. In their second game of the day, the United tied the YMS Wildcats, 1-1, as Gilligan scored the goal.
            The U-10 Hamilton United beat the Robbinsville Raptors, 2-1, and topped the Cranbury Rangers, 3-0. Charlie Nocera and Dylan Smith scored against Robbinsville, while Jimmy Fitzgerald had two goals and Ken Ridge added one. Mark Ketterner had the shutout.
High School
            The Trentonian’s Jim Davis reports today that talented boys basketball player Dave Peterson, who left McCorrstin due to hardship reasons, may be headed for Steinert and eligible to play right away without waiting 30- days. Davis says “Nothing is official yet, but Peterson would be a welcome addition to a Steinert array that just had its second leading scorer, Joe Hernandez, quite the squad.” 
            Davis goes on to write “The next step for the senior would be enrollment at Steinert this week. Stay tuned.” 
JANUARY 16
1970
Junior High 
            Jim Spedding’s 31 points and 13 from Phil Brand helped Nottingham to a 71-33 win over the Hopewell Valley freshman team. Cathedral topped Reynolds, 75-52, despite 17 points from Rich Craynock, 10 from Kim Hohman, six from Brent Reed and five each from Greg Reed and Pete Larkin. Grice got 17 from Jerome Walker in a 48-46 loss to St. Anthony.
High School
            Joe Logue, the greatest high school sports writer in Mercer County history, wrote a preview of tonight’s Steinert Hamilton game that said something about paper bullets being deadly. I loved Joe and admired him, but I had no idea what he was talking about in this one. But the story went on to tell us that Steinert enters the game having lost four straight and having scored just 71 points in the last two games. “I can’t put my finger on what’s wrong,” Spartan coach Jim Wilno said. “Maybe we’ve lost a little confidence after getting off to a 5-1 start and slumping like this.” Wilno plans on switching Al Hutchins from the forecourt to the wing, where he will start along with Bob Hutchinson, Bruce Witkowski, Mike Rasimowicz and Nate Palmer.
            That night, the switch paid off as Hutchins scored the go-ahead basket off a pass from Palmer and the Spartans rolled to a 51-44 victory. Hutchins had 10 of his 12 points in the second half, while Hutchinson had six of his 10 in the final four minutes. Palmer finished with 11. Bob Rossi led Hamilton with 15 points.
1980
High School
            Hamilton’s boys basketball team went man-to-man in the second half and rolled to a 68-57 win over Steinert. John Stenczi had 16 points and 12 rebounds, Randy Peterson added 13 points and Troy Stevenson had 12, while Rob Riley (17), Darryl Reaves (13) and Joe Ebeling (12) led Steinert. The Spartans shot just 6-for-31 (19 percent) in the second half after being tied 33-33 at halftime. “I think one of the big changes we made was switching to the man-to-man in the second half,” said Hornets coach Charley “Boss” Ross, whose team scored the first eight points of the third quarter and never looked back. “In the first half they were penetrating our press and zone and getting the easy shot. We had to do something defensively.” Steinert coach thought it was more a case of missing shots. “It was a miracle it was that close,” Sullivan said. “We were getting the shots in the second half, we just weren’t making them.”
            In girls play, Elyse Eichman exploded for 20 of her 36 points in the fourth quarter as Hamilton topped Trenton, 57-47. “Her job on this team is basically to generate offense,” Hornet coach Mickey Kessler said. “Tonight she even broke the press by dribbling through it.” Hamilton was missing five of their top seven players.
            In Wrestling, Steinert won its first of the year, 41-23, over Hamilton (1-5). Kory Burtnett won for the Spartans after being bumped to 148. The Hornets 101-pounder, Pete Novelli, moved to 11-1 with a win.
1990
High School
            Steinert won its sixth straight, 43-37, over Hamilton as Lisa Cesaro scored the game’s final five points to finish with 21 points. According to coach Bob Hutchinson, Cesaro did more than that as he continues to evolve into a point guard. “It’s because she is a great student of the game,” Hutchinson said. “She reads the position and knows it well. If she had a little more height she’d probably be a great center. Steinert never trailed and took the lad for good on first-quarter buckets by Sue Scheer, Cesaro and Amy McGrath. Derrico had nine and Scheer eight, while Rhoda Massella tallied 21 for Hamilton. “It’s another game we could have won,” Hornet coach Mickey Kessler said. “All four losses were ‘could’ve been’ games.”
            McCorristin got 12 points from Candie Crusen to defeat Trenton, 50-43. Lisa Striegel and Vicky Renelli also had key minutes. “I felt we came into this game prepared,” coach Joe Smiegocki said. Nottingham fell to Ewing, 79-22, despite 13 points and six rebounds by Terri Beach.
            In boys play, McCorristin won the “Game of the Year” with an 80-54 win over Trenton High. Blitz Wooten had 21 points and 14 rebounds while Bryan Caver had 14 and Mark Bass 13. “The kids played defense, that was the bottom line,” said coach John Castaldo, whose team went to 11-0 while Trenton slipped to 10-2.
            In JV hoops, Justin Swain’s 20 gave Hamilton a 59-56 win over Steinert. Mike Belfiore had eight rebounds for the Hornets.
            Jason Cromwell had 12 rebounds and scored nine of his 27 points in the two overtimes as Steinert took a 49-46 win over Hamilton. Mike Comfort added nine for the Spartans, who won for the fourth time in five games. Tony Valez (11) and Raul Figueroa (10) led West.
2000
Phillies announcer
            A sad day for Hamilton Township Phillies fans (well, all Phillies fans really), as legendary Hall of Fame broadcaster Byrum Saam passed away at age 85. Of course this has nothing to do with Hamilton sports, but hey, it’s my website, I liked By Saam so I wanted to pay my respects.
Recreation Leagues
            In Hamilton PAL basketball 10/12-year-old action, Evan Manukas had eight points while David Broach and John Boccanfusco added six each as the Lakers beat the Bucks, 34-16. Broach added 17 while Phil Charles and Kyle Goodwin added six each in the Lakers 45-7 win over the Bucks.
            In Hamilton YMCA 6/7-year-old division, Bryan Watts had 14 points, John Howley scored 10 and PJ Lucci had eight points and five steals as Asia Brothers Fire & Safety took a 34-19 win over Safe Lock.
High School
            Dave Stout, Jay Rizzo and Scott Bleazy had two goals apiece while Frank Doroba added five assists as Steinert’s hockey team took an 11-1 win over Montgomery.
            In indoor track, Hamilton West’s boys amassed their first-ever points in the distance medley relay as Tylik Patterson ran a 2:01 anchor to help the team of himself, Steve Nevhof, Kevin Latham and Matt Werner to a sixth-place time of 11:15.09. Patterson also anchored the fifth-place sprint medley relay, which ran a 3:48.3.
            For the girls, Tina Johnson jumped 5-feet in the high jump to help Hamilton to a sixth-place height of 9-6. Nottingham finished seventh at 9-4 as Joan Tafrow jumped 4-10.
            In wrestling, Dave Jennings’ technical fall helped spark Steinert to a 76-6 win over McCorristin. 
JANUARY 15
1960

High School
            After the big game was promoted in the afternoon Trenton Times (above), it played out at Steinert’s gym in the evening.     
         Bob Zarr scored 18 points before fouling out in the third quarter to power Steinert to a 58-43 victory over Hamilton, giving the Spartans three straight wins over their crosstown rival since the school opened a year earlier. Bob Muciarelli played smothering defense and also scored 14 points while Don Huggins bombed from the outside and on driving moves to the basket to tally 13. Jim Spence had 16 and Ray Staub 12 for Hamilton, which lost both point guard Jerry McNeil and big man Ed Butscu due to fouling out. The outcome left both teams 3-4.
            In the JV game, the Hornets took a 645-53 win as Ron Matta scored 22 and Tom Fowler added 15. Wayne Huston led the Spartans with 11.  
1970
High School
            John Smith won the 200 and 400 freestyle races as Steinert took a 66-29 win over Lawrence.
1980
High School
            McCorristin’s girls basketball team took a 68-42 win over West Windsor as Kate Larkin scored 29 and Kelli Williams had 22. Afterward WW coach Dan Hussong said “We seemed to be caught up in their mystique.”
            In boys hoops, Steve Brown’s 12 and Jim Smiegocki’s 12 helped McCorristin take a 51-46 win and survive an upset bid by West Windsor (1-7).
1990
Recreation Leagues
            In Hamilton Little Lads Cadet play, Kivler & Halper topped Continental Title Insurance, 37-14, as Ray Procaccino had 13 points for the winners and Chris Argenti scored eight for CTI. The Mercerville Lions took a 41-15 win Hamilton PAL as Ryan Zegarski and Geoff Bigos had 10 points each. The Whitehorse Lions topped Commercial Printing, 23-14, as Nick Farrara had 11. Jason Sandow scored nine in B&E Service’s 20-6 win over Rafferty.
            In Lads play, Kevin McKinney’s 24 powered Crestwood to a 5138 win over Bob’s Roofing. Jack Williams led Bob’s with 13. Nitti Subaru took a 52-37 win over Gervasio’s as Jarred Broach scored 13. John Brovak had 10 in defeat. Sports World got 18 from Len Warnez in a 51-35 win over Mercerville Shell. Chris Virona had 11 for Shell.
            In Senior play, Andrew Lzuczuks’ 16 points helped G&E Auto Body to a 50-45 win over Hamilton PAL. Tom McCormick scored 15 for PAL. Tree King beat Sneaker Seller, 53-40, as Matt Haluska had 19. Seller got 19from Matt Rebelli. Hamilton Civitans beat Knights of Columbus, 62-41 as Felix Mivera had 21 points and Vince Mangine scored 12 in defeat.  
            Junior Division play saw Hamilton GOP take a 38-36 win over Bagel Junction as Alan Rue scored 25. Kevin Bainberger had 13 in defeat.
High School
            Steinert grad “Doctor” Don Hess is named the new Hightstown High School track & field coach.

JANUARY 14

Tom "Fritz Fink and the MJ Kicks crew were the stars of the day 20 years ago, according to The Trentonian.
1960
Recreation Leagues
            In a Hamilton Basketball League game, M&M Architects beat the Hamilton PAL Lakers, 61-35, as Vince Ardery had 16 points, Jimmy Welsh added 13 and Jerry Moran 10.
1970
Recreation Leagues
            Bill Seiler scored 14 points as OLS beat Immaculate Conception, 49-42 in CYO High School Basketball League action.
1990
Recreation Leagues
            Tom "Fritz" Fink had a goal and two assists as unbeaten M.J. Kicks moved to 9-0-1 with a 3-0 win over Hightstown FC in the Mercer Men’s Soccer League. Art Napolitano and Toby Hankins also scored for Kicks. The Hibernians took a 3-0 win over Jamesburg SC as Jon Such, Jim Keegan and Willie McKee had goals and Don Lenox Jr. had the shutout in the nets. Duncan McNeill and Kurt Meck had two goals each while Dave Andres, Jim Bowen, Gordon McNeill and Bobby Cummings added one apiece as Gersh’s beat Design Form, 8-1.
            In CYO Basketball JV action, St. Gregory’s took a 25-22 win over Holy Angels as John Donnelly, Ray Procaccini and Bryan Rogers had five points each. 
2000
High School
            In boy’s basketball, Hightstown beat Steinert for the first time in nine games, taking a 59-53 victory. Mike Conover had 19 points, nine rebounds and four blocks for the Spartans while Jerel Smith had 13 points.
            Nottingham extended Trenton into overtime before dropping a 55-47 decision to the 8-0 Tornadoes. Brian Jenkins had 11 points for the Northstars. “That team scores me,” Trenton coach Randy Morrison said. “They have seniors, they have guys with real talent, they hit the boards.”
            In girls hoops, Steph Burrell had eight points in Steinert’s 42-38 loss to Hightstown, Jaime McCormack had 16 and Melissa Baksany 11 in Hamilton’s 59-43 loss to Notre Dame and Vickie Jenkins had 12 in Nottingham’s 75-31 loss to Trenton.
            In wrestling, Robert Hope and Joe Hope had first-period pins to spark Nottingham to a 70-8 win over Burlington City.
JANUARY 13
1970
Junior High
          Grice rolled past Anthiel, 69-32, as Jerome Walker scored a school record 40 points. Nottingham defeated the St. Anthony freshman team, 64-42, as Jim Ricketti had 18, Jim Spedding scored 14 and Phil Brand had 13.
High School
            Trenton’s boys basketball team rolled to a 66-60 win over Hamilton West as the Hornets dropped to 6-4 but earned praise from Tornadoes coach Jim Schlimm. “They’ve got a fine ballclub, better than what most people think. I’m glad to get past them, especially (at Hamilton).” Kirk Taylor and Dan Tyler each had 14 for the Hornets, while Gene Webb scored a dozen.
             Steinert fell victim to a Pennsbury slowdown and lost 42-39. The Spartans never led in the game, in which Bruce Witkowski led the way with 14 points.
            In JV play, Hamilton topped Trenton, 73-64 as Cotis Hicks had 23 and Phil Hilton added 18. The Steinert JV moved to 7-1 with a 48-22 win over Pennsbury. Wayne Hutchins had 14 and Doug Brooks added 13.
1980
Recreation
            In Hamilton PAL Basketball results, the 76ers moved to 6-0 in the 12/14 league by taking a 48-27 win over the Nuggets. Mike Dye and Todd Wilson had 16 points each. The Bucks beat the Celtics, 41-35, as Collins Kuklish hit 21 for the winners and Eric Murrow had 18 in defeat.
            Ken Napier had 25 and Ed Juniak 19 as the Bullets beat the Cavaliers, 42-33. Mack Young tallied 14 in the Royals 33-27 win over the Knicks.
            In 10/12 play, the Bulls moved to 6-0 as Chase Smith scored 10 in a 32-20 win over the Suns. The Sonics took a 26-24 win over the Hawks as Ken Durfee had 15 points. The Rockets beat the Lakers, 32-28 as Jack Barton scored nine points. Jerry Luz had 15 in the Warriors 24-6 over the Clippers.
            In Mercer Unlimited Soccer, Chris Fallon, Alex Tordai, Tom Moffat and Dan Hibbs tallied in Trenton Panorama’s 4-2 win over Jamesburg SC. Defenders Toby Hankins, Jerry Sydor, Charlie Farrutto, Carmine Posillico and Jim Hoey helped goalie Tony Astore to his sixth straight win.
           Post 313 took a 7-2 win over the Rum Runners as John Pasela had three goals and Andy Koufas scored two. Jim Poe and Denny Poe each scored for the Runners.
           In Hamilton Junior League soccer, the GAK Gold took an 8-0 win over Princeton SA Juniors as Bruce Bellinger scored five goals, Terry Bellinger added two and Dave Stettner added one. The Fury Juniors kept pace with GAK with a 9-0 win over Liberty Thriftway. Jim Metzger had three goals while Chris Snyder and John Antinoro had two each and Scott Markulec and Brian O’Gorman had one apiece.
            The GAK Falcons topped East Windsor, 5-0, in Division II play as Andy Varaffa and Scott Starks had two goals each while John Cardiciotto had one. Ted Such and Mike Mihavetz had two goals each in the Hamilton Rec 64s 4-2 win over the West End Green 65s.
            In CYO girls basketball, Lori McGarrigle had 12 points and Sue Ermi scored 10 as St. Raphael’s topped St. Mary’s, 53-16. Colleen Mulryne and Patty O’Connell had six each for St. Raphael’s. OLS took a 43-25 win over St. George’s as Amy Masonis had 13 and Barbara Hess and Theresa Abbott added eight each. Lisa Smith had 13 and Colleen MacCotter nine for St. George’s.
High School
           The Trentonian’s Jim Davis started today’s column as follows “A strange occurrence has been going on in the Hamilton basketball huddles during timeouts. . . the team is listening to the coach. It’s quite a change for coach Charley Ross. In the past, winking at female spectators, caressing water bottles or just plain ignoring the timeout talks was the rule rather than the exception at Hamilton. This year’s team appears to be different. Davis went on to write "A special pat on the back for that might go to Troy Stevenson, the only returning starter from last year’s squad that had gone undefeated as its goal. When it didn’t work, dissension set in. This team had the opportunity of forgetting about going undefeated after the first contest.” 
           In another column item, Davis ponders the arrival of the Colonial Valley Conference’s newest high school: Currently there are 2,755 students enrolled in Steinert, 2,251 at Hamilton. More than sufficient numbers for Group Four ratings. With the arrival of Nottingham as a third high school in the 1981-92 year, Hamilton’s projected enrollment is 1,043, Steinert’s 1,541 and Nottingham’s 1,330. Hamilton and Nottingham will probably fall to Group Three with Steinert remaining at the Four level. If that happens, will all three schools attempt to enroll in the CVC anyway? Stay tuned.” 
           (Looking back on it, could we ever even imagine all three schools not being in the same conference? I think not!)
1990
            Hamilton’s wrestling team became part of Mercer County history, but was kind of on the other end of the good part of it. Hopewell Valley’s Jeremy Romano became Mercer County’s all-time public school wins leader with a 3-1 decision over the Hornets Lamar Gore. Both 112-pounders were 9-0 entering the match, making it a truly memorable moment in county history. The win was Romano’s 83^rd, which broke the record that had been set by Nottingham’s Russ Terlecki a few seasons earlier. “I used to wrestle with Russ in Midgets,” Romano said.
            Speaking of Nottingham, the Northstars beat Admiral Farragut, 2-18 and fell to Manchester, 32-21. Nottingham’s undefeated Brian Hughes and Mike Neely pinned for Nottingham against Manchester.
2000
Recreation
            Arielle Collins scored eight points as St. Gregory's defeated St. Mary's, 30-0, in CYO basketball action. OLS topped St. Paul's, 30-18, as Ashley Stillitano had 18.
High School     
          Kyle Schulke won the 200 and 500 freestyle, Fady Bahaiem took the 200 IM and Andrew Capers won the 100 back as Hamilton West's swim team topped Trenton, 118-50.
JANUARY 12
1960
High School
            Jim Spence tallied 22 points and Hamilton snapped a three-game losing streak with a 74-53 win over Lenape in boys’ basketball. Co-captains Ray Staub and Jerry McNeill combined for 15 points in the second quarter when Hamilton expanded its 14 point-lead to 22 by halftime. Walt Antosiewicz and Ed Butscu controlled the boards and had 11 and 14 points respectively. In the JV game, Hamilton won 54-43 as Ray Kasa had 32 points.
1980
Recreation Leagues
            In Hamilton Junior Soccer Division play, first-place GAK Gold Juniors took a 5-2 win over Hamnetts 1 as John Antinoro had two goals while Mike Watson, Chris Snyder and Scott Markulec had one each. GAK Gold goals came from Bruce and Terry Bellinger as co-leader GAK Gold topped GAK White, 3-0.
            The West End Cosmos topped the Hamnetts II, 6-0, as Pat Murphy scored two goals and Chris Colavita, Steve Pagano, John Fink and Jim Tola had one each. Bob Smetanka, Walt Biddulph, Steve Vincent and Ben McMichaels tallied goals in the Mercer Rowdies 4-1 win over Princeton, while Angelo and Jerry Barbero and Eric Downs scored in Mercer United’s 4-1 win over Liberty Thriftway.
            In Division I play, Jim Heins and Mike Ignas traded goals as West End Green and Hamnett 65s tied 1-1. the Hamilton 64s topped East Windsor, 4-1, as Todd Such scored two goals and Mike Mihavetz and Kevin Conover had one each. Tom Michaud’s two goals helped the Hamilton 65s take a 5-2 win over the GAK Falcons.
High School
            Once-beaten 101-pounder Pete Novelli had a pin in 1:26 but Hamilton’s wrestling team got nothing else in a 58-6 loss to Bordentown. Charlie Page (9-1) suffered his first loss of the season.
1990
            Nottingham nearly upset Trenton in girls basketball, dropping a 48-44 decision to the Tornadoes. “If we can play with the intensity we had today, against teams we have a chance to beat, we’ll win some games,” said coach Leroy Peterson, whose team fell to 2-7. Erin Wingerter had 20 points for the Northstars and Terri Beach added 12. Peterson’s daughter, Adrienne Grant, had 19 points for Trenton. “It was a good feeling to see Adrienne do some of the things she did, even though I wanted to see my girls stop her,” Peterson said.
            Jeanne McDougal scored 17 points while Candie Crusen and Allison Yonkowski had 10 each as McCorristin beat Hightstown, 50-40. Steinert won its fifth straight, 60-41, over Hopewell Valley as Lisa Cesaro scored 17 points and had five rebounds and four steals. Sandy McNichol and Amy McGrath had 10 points each, while Sue Scheer and Kim Derrico had nine each. McGrath had six steals and Derrico grabbed 10 rebounds.
            In JV girls action, Lisa Serenelli had eight points while Cris Collins and Liz Phillips had seven each as Steinert took a 33-27 win over Hopewell Valley.
            In boys basketball, Hopewell Valley defeated Steinert, 70-62, despite 15 points from Scott Dickson, 12 from Jason Cromwell and Todd Jacobs and 11 from Mike Comfort. Steinert lost two players near the end of the third quarter after a bench clearing brawl. Ryan Lopez had 14 points in Nottingham’s 77-39 loss to Trenton.
          McCorristin got 22 points from Bryan Caver and 21 from Mark Bass in a 92-56 win over Hightstown. “One thing I can say about my kids, they’ve come to play every game up to this point,” said coach John Castaldo, whose team moved to 10-0. “We could have been looking past this team to Trenton, but we didn’t.”
2000
High School
            Nottingham rolls to a 45-9 win over Steinert, giving the Spartans (3-1) their first loss of the year. The Northstars (4-1) got pins from Dennys Delgado, Mike Kobylarz and Tim Adams while key decisions came from Dave Jennings, Joe Hope, Rob Hope, Paul Reres, Mike Loginow and Justin Schleider. “I give a lot of credit to my assistant coach (Classy Brian) Cassidy,” Nottingham head coach Dave Dempster said of the former Spartan mentor. “I get the guys to come out and Cassidy takes care of the teaching.” Dave Jennings and Sean Mattis won for Steinert.
JANUARY 11
1960
Recreation
            In Hamilton Little Bigger Soccer, Joe Suosso’s two goals gave Post 313 a 2-1 win over Carella’s. Al Heyeysey had the Carella’s goal. VFW 3525 got two goals from Joe Milacci in a 2-1 win over PAL. Wayne Huston had the PAL goal. Post 31’s John Webb and DAV 41’s George Bunce traded goals in a 1-1 tie.
1970
Recreation
            Tom Voyda scored 20 points as OLS beat St. Anthony’s, 40-17, in CYO Grammar School basketball.
College
            In a Trenton Times random notes column, it is reported that Steinert assistant football coach Frank Lugossy will replace Don Fudge on the Princeton University lacrosse coaching staff and probably work with the JV. Lugossy was a standout laxer at Rutgers and asked to work with the Tigers in order to remain in the game. In the same column, it is reported that former Hamilton soccer/basketball standout Jack Bell (right) is leaving his job as freshman coach at Trenton State basketball to do active duty with the New Jersey Air National Guard.
1980
High School
            Steinert’s boys basketball team held on for a 58-55 overtime upset win over Ewing, as Darryl Reaves sent the game in overtime with a jumper with 2:01 to go, then hit a foul shot and got a goaltending call with 29 seconds left in OT as Steinert beat Ewing for the first time since 1973. Reaves finished with 12, while Tom Matlock hit a career-high 22 points. Steinert had to battle back after blowing a nine-point halftime lead. “Yeah, I was concerned,” Matlock said. “We lost a lot of close games last year. We always seem to be full of fear when the other teams put on the pressure.” Reaves said “I knew we were going to win it. I could feel it before the game. We had to have it.”
            Hamilton took a 78-68 win over Princeton Day School in a foul-plagued game that saw the Hornets shoot 42 foul shots and the Panthers shoot 37. “Anytime you get something like that, it’s like the army.” Coach Charlie “Boss” Ross said. “They’re a good ball club but neither team got a chance to show it.” Craig Williams scored 12 of his game-high 30 in the third quarter as the Hornets went from seven down to 10 up. Troy Stevenson (21 points) made two foul shots with 38 seconds left to seal the game, although the Hornets missed 18 freebies on the night. “”As far as I’m concerned,” we will not play PDS again. We have nothing to gain and everything to lose by playing them,” Ross aid. “They have a fine club but some of those fouls down the end were uncalled for.”
            McCorristin beat Hopewell Valley, 81-38 as Ralph Chiarello had 22 and Jim Smiegocki added 17. The Mikes (5-3) were coming off a shellacking to Roman Catholic a few days early, prompting Chiarello to say “I was mad at myself the way I played in that game. I thought tonight was our biggest game of the year.” Added Smiegocki “We were dying to come out on the court to prove ourselves. We all wanted to come back.”
            In girls hoops, McCorristin took a 75-53 win over Hopewell Valley as Kate Larkin had 29 points, Kelli Williams added 16 and Marcela Friedman came off the bench for 11. “They tell me that someday soon Kate’s going to leave, sometimes I find that hard to believe,” coach Kevin Gallagher said. “She had a good chance to break the state record. That’s why even though the score may get out of hand, I let her play. I feel I owe it to her.”
1990
Legion
            The Trentonian’s S.J. Guidotti reports that Hamilton Post 31 manager Dave Searles was dismissed from his position. The story says his successor is expected to be previous Post 31 skipper Rick Freeman, whom Searles replaced the previous summer when Freeman stepped down for occupational reasons.
          “I was pretty excited about coming back, I can’t believe this happened,” said Searles, a former Steinert and Post 31 catcher. Searles said he learned of his possible dismissal at an October meeting that he thought was being called about equipment. “I asked what’s going on? What did I do (wrong)? They told me I did a fine job.” Searles said that no decision was reached at the meeting and they wanted to Freeman and him to work it out.
         When no decision was made, the committee voted to bring back Freeman. “Nobody had the guts to step up and say they didn’t like the way I managed the team,” Searles said.
         Post 31 athletic officer Al Cowell said “Dave wanted to give a short-term commitment. He wanted to be here one or two years. We wanted a longer commitment. He didn’t want to work with anybody, he wanted to be a one wolf. . . There was something lacking in the team but it was nothing personal. We owe Dave a lot.” (Webmaster note: In the end, Post 31 certainly got the commitment it was looking for as Freeman is still at the helm and one of the most successful managers in Mercer County legion history).
High School
            Hamilton point guard Chris Raba made two foul shots with six seconds left  to give the Hornets boys basketball team a 45-43 win over Ewing. “I knew it would seal the game,” said Raba, who finished with eight points. “I crossed everything else out of my mind.” Mike Brown finished with 27 points for the Hornets, who moved to 4-6. Raba set up his winning free throws with a steal and drive to the hoop. “I didn’t think they were gonna let me make the layup,” said Raba, who was tackled after driving the length of the floor. “We know we can play like this all the time. It’s a matter of executing coach’s game plan.” Ewing coach Emil Wandishin flashed a little wit when it was over, saying “This was a classic. . . .a classic case of us playing poorly.”
            Ryan Lopez had 19 points as Nottingham topped Solebury, 53-42, and Jason Cromwell, Mike Comfort and Scott Dickson scored 10 each as Steinert took an 83-48 win over MKSD.
            Girls basketball saw Steinert’s strong man-to-man defense power a 56-36 win over Bordentown. “We have some quickness on our team,” coach Bob Hutchinson said. “If we don’t go from a press back to a zone, we usually play straight man for man. We find we have a lot of success with it.” Sue Scheer had 12 points, four steals and three assists for the Spartans while Lisa Cesaro had 10 points. Kim Derrico scored 12 and had some key rebounds as the Spartans moved to 5-3.
            The Ewing girls topped Hamilton West, 57-43, giving the Hornets their third straight loss. Kim Walter had 10 points in the setback and Diane Mazukewicz added eight. “We didn’t play smart,” coach Mickey Kessler said. “We were able to break their press, but we played in spurts. We didn’t play smart from the neck up.”
            In swimming, Steinert’s boys beat Hamilton 90-82 and the Spartan girls won, 106-57. Andrew Parsons won the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke, while swimming on the medley relay team, and Jason Mandl won the 200 free, 100 back and was on the winning relay team. “This was the closest meet with Hamilton ever,” said Steinert coach Jim Barrett, who listed beating Hamilton as a season goal. “My second goal is to see what we can do in the state championships.” Barrett got throw in the pool when it was over and said “This is the only meet that I’ll allow them to do this to me.” In the girls meet, Jen Milano, Heidi Sawadski and Nicole Corteze swept the 100 butterfly. “For Hamilton, Robin Blair and Leon Hayduchok each won the diving event.     
            In golf, The Trentonian’s Craig Mysliwiec reports that Hamilton High coach Joyce Allen is stepping down after nine seasons. “My husband Joe, just retired and I’d like to have some extra time to play golf with him,” said Allen, who said her favorite memories were of coaching and developing Sean Taylor and Matt O’Connell. O’Connell was a two-time defending NJAC champion at the time of the writing and Taylor earned his first club title at Hopewell Valley in the summer. “Watching Sean and Matt play was great. Those were our best seasons,” Allen said.
            In JV hoops, Steinert beat Bordentown 4227 as Katie Tanfen had 13 points and Liz Phillips and Renee Woodley added eight each.
2000
High School
            Hamilton West basketball player Melissa Baksany was named The Trentonian’s Athlete of the Week and actually noted she was better in one area of the game than her idol, Shaquille O”Neil. “He’s the best at every aspect of the game except he can’t shoot free throws,” Baksany said. Baksany was shooting 5-for-8 (.625) from the line at the time of the writing and Shaq was shooting .449. “She’s developed a 12-foot shot,” Hamilton coach Linda Cyborski-Weise said. “Most of her shots used to be putbacks from rebounds or turnarounds down low. But she has really come on strong this season.” Baksany earned her honor after scoring 18 points in a win over Lawrence and 14 more in a win over Hopewell. “I definitely want to play in college,” the 6-foot senior said. “I don’t want to say where yet, but I definitely want to play.”
            Also in today’s Trentonian, George O’Gorman reports that Mary Mewherter is counting down the days to becoming eligible to play after transferring. “We can’t wait for Mary to join us,” Weise said. “It will give us another weapon in our arsenal.”
            That night, Hamilton topped West Windsor-Plainsboro, 43-39 as Baksany had 18 points on 9-for-15 shooting. Jess Kogel, who had nine points, made two foul shots with six seconds left to seal it. “I didn’t mind the pressure of being in that situation because I’m a goalie in soccer,” Kogel said. “This was all about gaining respect for our program in the county,” said Weise, whose team moved to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in the county.
            In girls swimming, Steinert’s girls fell to Hightstown, 87-83, despite wins by Jacqui Nami in the 200 IM, 100 breast and 400 free relay. The Spartan boys beat the Rams, 102-67, as Dan Seeth won he fly and back. Nottingham beat Trenton, 109-50, in a co-ed meet as James Grogan won the 200 and 500.
            In boys basketball, Mike Conover scored 24 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in Steinert’s 67-64 win over McCorristin, and also came up huge down the stretch. With Steinert trailing 64-62 he hit a jumper with 52.4 seconds left to tie it, then jammed a dunk with 25 seconds left for the lead. He then blocked a shot and hit the front end of a one-and-one to clinch it with 5.5 seconds left. Jerel Smith (14 points) also had two big baskets at crunch time to go along with three steals and two rebounds. “He’s my choice for player of the game,” Conover said. “He’s the one that was handling the ball, he was the one who was giving it to me.” Dave Peterson had 20 for the Iron Mikes.
            Hamilton dropped a 62-42 decision to West Windsor-Plainsboro as the Hornets dropped to 0-7. Willie Jackson scored 10 points and Brian Jenkins added nine as Nottingham took a 42-34 win over Hopewell Valley.      

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