By David Weinberg
When it comes to enjoying top sports events in our area, this is the best time of year for local fans.
This week is part of a four-week stretch that features an intriguing mix of high school, college and professional competitions in and around Atlantic City.
The best boys and girls high school wrestlers in New Jersey will gather at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall Thursday through Saturday for the State Individual Championships.
It’s always one of the most popular events in our area. Don’t be surprised to see crowds in excess of 10,000 filling the stands each day to watch some of the top grapplers in the country.
Three girls and 19 boy wrestlers from Atlantic and Cape May Counties are among the 592 competitors who will be vying for state titles.
Of the 144 girls who are wrestling, Absegami’s Lamiah Berry is the highest local seed, ranking third in the 132-pound weight class. Egg Harbor Township teammates Cami Bird and Samirah Durah are fourth and seventh, respectively, at 126 and 120 pounds.
Region 8 champions Chase Hansen of Lower Cape May Regional (138 pounds), Anthony DePaul of St. Augustine Prep (144), Tommy Grimley of Ocean City (165) and Max Adelizzi of Middle Township (190) top the list of 19 local wrestlers among the 448 in the boys field.
DePaul is among a whopping nine wrestlers from St. Augustine Prep in the tournament.
Boys and girls basketball is also in the midst of its state tournament. Several local teams entered this week as contenders to reach the South Jersey finals in their groups, which are scheduled to be held Friday and Saturday. The area is guaranteed at least one South Jersey champion, since Ocean City and Absegami played in a boys Group 3 semifinal Tuesday.
On the girls side, Middle Township is seeking its third straight South Jersey title as the top seed in Group 2.
As soon as the last state wrestling champ is crowned Saturday, Boardwalk Hall officials will be rolling up the mats and laying down a basketball court.
Next week, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) will be holding their men’s and women’s basketball tournaments at the short for the sixth consecutive year.
Quinnipiac is currently in first place in the men’s standings with an 14-4 conference record, followed by Marist (13-5) and Merrimack (13-6).
Fairfield leads the women’s standings at 18-0. Quinnipiac is second place at 16-2 and Siena is in third at 14-4.
Professional boxing makes its 2025 debut in town this Saturday, when promoter Alex Barbosa is scheduled to stage a card at Hard Rock Atlantic City.
Two weeks later, on March 22, Margate promoter Larry Goldberg of Boxing Insider Promotions returns to Tropicana Atlantic City with a card that includes Atlantic City super-welterweight Justin Figueroa (11-0, 9 KOs) and Smithville heavyweight Bruce Seldon Jr. (4-0, 3 KOs). In addition, Pleasantville welterweight Julio Sanchez III is scheduled to make his pro debut on that card.
Last week, I made my annual visit to the Atlantic City Boat Show at the Convention Center.
I go every year as an homage to my late father-in-law Charles Newton. Upon marrying his daughter, Karen, in 1982, I enjoyed several fishing trips off the coast of Cape May with him and his good friend the late John Bell aboard the “Shirley E.” which was named after my late mother-in-law.
I boarded a few yachts just to get a glimpse of how the other half lives, but my only purchase was three bottles of barbecue sauce sold by one of the vendors.
When it comes to actually boarding a vessel, I now stick to standup paddleboarding in the Cape May Harbor. It’s a hobby I started about 15 years ago and have never stopped enjoying it.
It’s just me, my SUP and some Jimmy Buffett music playing on my phone.
My favorite is, “One Particular Harbor.”
It fits.
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.
