When it comes to the local sports scene, March Madness isn’t restricted to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
College and high school basketball, high school wrestling and pro boxing are all staging prominent events this month.
In college basketball, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference will be holding its men’s and women’s tournaments at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall this week. It marks the seventh straight year the MAAC will be coming to Atlantic City and the various parties recently reached a deal to extend the partnership five more years to 2031.
The schedule was altered this year in order to increase national exposure and avoid butting heads with other college tournaments. The men’s championship game will be held Tuesday, March 10 and will be televised on in primetime on ESPN or ESPN2.
The women’s title game will be on Monday, March 9 and will be aired nationally on ESPN+ or ESPNU.
Merrimack (20-10, 16-3), the MAAC’s most surprising team, enters the men’s tournament Thursday as the top seed after winning the regular season title.
In the women’s tournament, Quinnipiac (19-1, 24-5) and Fairfield (19-1, 25-4) dominated the conference’s regular-season race.
Because of the MAAC tournament changing its schedule, there has been some chatter about the state individual wrestlng tournament possibly seeking another venue in the future, but there’s almost no chance of that happening.
Boardwalk Hall and city officials, and representatives of the NJSIAA are all in agreement that it should stay put.
And rightfully so. In the last 30-plus years, Boardwalk Hall has established itself as an iconic venue for the tournament. Every high school wrestler dreams of ending his or her season in that arena, competing for a state title in front of 10,000-plus fans.
It’s not going anywhere.
This year’s wrestling tournament will be held March 12-14 and will once again feature the top boys and girls wrestlers in the state.
There should once again be a strong local contingent. The top three winners in each weight class at this weekend’s eight region tournaments being held throughout out the state will earn trips to Boardwalk Hall.
The high school state basketball tournament is already in full swing. As of Tuesday, several Cape-Atlantic League teams were in contention to win South Jersey championships and perhaps even state titles. In boys basketball, Atlantic City (Group IV), Ocean City (Group III), Lower Cape May Regional and Middle Township (Group II), and Holy Spirit (Non-Public B) earned wins in the early rounds.
Atlantic City (20-9) has reached the semi-finals for the first time since 2020, when they won the South Jersey title. The fourth-seeded Vikings played top-seeded Cherry Hill East on Tuesday.
Defending Group III champion Ocean City (21-6), seeded third this season, will play at second-seed Toms River South on Wednesday in the semifinals.
In Group II, third-seeded Lower Cape May (23-5) reached the semifinals for the first time in eight years. The Caper Tigers had a daunting task in the next game, however, with a game at perennial power Camden on Tuesday. Middle Township (16-11), seeded fourth, was its fourth straight trip to a sectional final when it took on top-seeded Haddonfield Tuesday.
Third-seeded Holy Spirit (19-6) will meet second-seeded Holy Cross Prep Thursday in the Non-Public B semifinals.
On the girls side, Egg Harbor Township (Group IV), Hammonton (Group III), Middle Township (Group II), Wildwood (Group I), and Wildwood Catholic (Non-Public B) are still challenging for sectional titles.
In Group IV, second-seeded EHT (21-8) played Howell in the semifinals Tuesday. In Group III, fifth-seeded Hammonton (23-6) will take on second-seeded Cherry Hill East Wednesday.
Middle Township (24-4), the three-time defending champion and top seed in Group II, played Haddonfield on Tuesday. In Group I, second-seeded Wildwood (21-7) will play third-seeded Audubon on Wednesday.
Third-seeded Wildwood Catholic (19-8) will play at second-seeded Gloucester Catholic Thursday in the semifinals.
Boxing returns to Trop Saturday
Margate boxing promoter Larry Goldeberg of Boxing Insider Promotions will be staging his seventh card over the past three years at Tropicana Atlantic City on Saturday.
Atlantic City super-welterweight Justin Figueroa (14-0, 11 KOs), a Holy Spirit High School graduate and former Atlantic City lifeguard, will take on Gilbert Venegas, Jr. (11-2, 7 KOs), of Des Moines, Iowa, in the eight-round main event.
Millville super-bantamweight Edgar Joe Cortez (9-8, 1 KO) will meet John Leonardo (12-1-1, 6 KOs), of Manalapan Township, in an eight-round co-feature.
New York heavyweight Josh Popper (5-0, 5 KOs), a Holy Spirit grad, will take on Dillon Pumphrey (1-1, 1 KO), of Clarksburg, West Virginia. Pleasantville lightweight Julio Sanchez III (3-1, 2 KOs) will face Christopher Williams (0-1), of Rochester, New York.
David is a nationally recognized sports columnist who has covered Philadelphia and local sports for over 40 years. After 35 years with The Press, he has served as a columnist for 973ESPN.com and created his own Facebook page, Dave Weinberg Extra Points. Send comments to weinbergd419@comcast.net.
