By David Weinberg
Happy New Year, everyone!
From lifeguard racing to the Eagles, from boxing to the Phillies, the local sports landscape was filled with fantastic performances by various teams and athletes.
From a personal perspective, it’s been a pleasure to chronicle some of these achievements for you since joining Shore Local a few months ago. I’m looking forward to bringing you more stories about the events and achievements that take place in 2023.
Before we look ahead, however, let’s take a look back. Here’s one opinion, in reverse order, of the top 10 local sports stories of 2022.
10. Margate ends Longport’s reign: The Margate City Beach Patrol ended Longport’s impressive winning streak by winning the team title at the 75th South Jersey Lifeguard Championships on Aug. 13. Longport had won the previous five events. Chris Spiers led Margate with a victory in the singles row. Bob Bechtel and Chuck Gowdy placed second in the doubles row and Zac Vassar took second in the swim to give Margate its first South Jersey crown since 2014.
Brothers Sean and Rick Blair of Atlantic City won the doubles row while Avalon’s Dolan Grisbaum earned a victory in the swim.
9. Surf’s Up: Manager Jeff Ball and the South Jersey Surf won the South Jersey South Shore Baseball League championship by beating the manager Jim Kurtz and the Buena Blue Dawgs for the second straight year. Outfielder Monny Strickland led the Surf while pitcher/DH Denny Brady was Buena’s top player. The league will get a boost in 2023 when the Margate Hurricanes join it after a long and successful run in the Atlantic County Baseball League.
8. Stockton reaches Sweet 16: Stockton University’s men’s basketball team enjoyed a fantastic season in 2021-22. The Ospreys, coached by Scott Bitner, advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Men’s Division III tournament in Marietta, Ohio. First-team All-American and NJAC Player of the Year D.J. Campbell (Vineland) led the Ospreys, averaging 19.9 points per game. Kyion Flanders (Wildwood) was the NJAC Defensive Player of the Year. The Ospreys are off to a 9-2 start this season.
7. Ask and ye shall receive: No New Jersey high school football player has ever caught more passes in one season than Holy Spirit senior wide receiver Gavin Roman. The senior finished the year with 112 receptions, breaking the state record of 111 set by Butler’s Mike O’Brien in 1997.
6. MAAC Attack: Saint Peter’s University from Jersey City won the 2022 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, then embarked on an enthralling run in the NCAA Division I tournament. The Peacocks became the first-ever 15th seed to reach the Elite 8 before losing to powerful University of North Carolina. Fairfield won the women’s MAAC tournament before losing to Texas in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The tournament returns to Boardwalk Hall in 2023 from March 7-11.
5. Buddy system: Buddy Kennedy (Millville) made his Major League debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks in late June and his first home run wound up being a grand slam. Kennedy became the sixth former Cape-Atlantic League player to reach the majors in the last 12 years, following Vineland’s Darren Ford (Giants 2010), Millville’s Mike Trout (Angels 2011), Lower Cape May Regional’s Matt Szczur (Cubs 2014), Atlantic City’s Brett Kennedy (Padres 2018), and Oakcrest’s Cody Stashak (Twins 2019).
4. Boxing packs a punch: Atlantic City hosted its first world championship boxing match in two years on January 22 when Mark Magsayo upset Gary Russell, Jr. to win the WBC featherweight title at Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa. It was the first world title bout held in town since Claressa Shields won the women’s WBC and World Boxing Organization welterweight belts by beating Ivana Habazin at Ocean Casino Resort on January 10, 2020. The last time a men’s championship fight had taken place in Atlantic City was November 24, 2018, when World Boxing Association light-heavyweight champ Dmitry Bivol beat Jean Pascal at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
3. ShopRite Classic was a classic: The area’s top local sports event – the annual ShopRite LPGA Classic – featured an exciting rally this year. Brooke Henderson rallied from four shots behind entering the final round to finish in a tie for first after 54 holes, then defeated Lindsey Weaver-Wright on the first playoff hole at Seaview Golf Club in Galloway Township to earn her 11th career LPGA Win. The tournament returns to Seaview in 2023 on March 5-11.
2. Eagles flying high: Coach Nick Sirianni has the Eagles in contention for another championship. The Birds entered their Christmas Eve game at Dallas as the NFL’s top team at 13-1 and they appeared on track to win the NFC East and earn the top seed in the upcoming NFC playoffs. Quarterback Jalen Hurts recently suffered a shoulder injury, but is still among the leading candidates for NFL MVP. Seven other Eagles were selected to the Pro Bowl.
1. Ring the bell: The Phillies turned Philadelphia into a baseball town again during a magical run through the postseason. The Phils entered the playoffs as a wildcard, but knocked off St. Louis, Atlanta and San Diego to advance to the World Series for the first time since 2009. Whenever the Phils needed a hero, someone emerged, capped by Bryce Harper’s epic, eight-inning home run in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Padres.
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. He can heard on 97.3 ESPN on Wednesday with Josh Hennig and on Newstalk 1400 and 92.3 WOND on Monday and Thursday as part of Off the Press with Scott Cronick.
