TOM WILLIAMS COLUMN: The OCHS 2018 Team of the Year – Girls Cross Country
January 2, 2019
VIDEO: More trouble, but a win, for Crusaders in Cape Tech gym
January 3, 2019

TOM WILLIAMS COLUMN: Top OCHS Athletes of 2018 – Brandon Lashley & Maggie Wallace

You don’t have the success that Ocean City High School’s sports teams had in 2018 without having some pretty good athletes.

The Raiders shared the Ed Byrnes All Sports Award for the 2017-18 school year and had a terrific fall season to start the current school year.

Among females, there was Mickey Baker, an all star runner in track and a key basketball player. She contributed to three straight South Jersey basketball champions, a rarity. 

Senior Danielle Donoghue, who is the key player on the Raiders in basketball team, was an all star in both basketball and lacrosse, where she was one of the best in New Jersey in draw controls.

Ryann Styer, now at to the University of South Carolina, was a swimming all star for four years and one of the best freestyle swimmers in New Jersey.

Alexa Weber, now at St. Joseph’s, was one of the best distance runners in South Jersey and a multiple season all star in cross country and track.

Junior Abbey Fenton is that three-sport athlete who reached a high level of success – she played in South Jersey championship games in all three seasons during the 2017-18 school year.

Senior Tori Rolls is another three-sport athlete who, like Donoghue, hopes to make history this basketball season by playing on a fourth South Jersey champion.

Sophomore Alexa Palmieri was the South Jersey champion in cross country, only the second OCHS sophomore to achieve that, and is one of the area’s top distance runners.

And senior Anna Devlin, a multiple all star in field hockey and lacrosse.

Among the top male athletes were Issac Robertson, now at Susquehanna, a key performer in basketball and a starter in baseball.

Senior Bill Kroeger, a winner on the wrestling mats, strong two-way player in football and one of the best in the state in winning lacrosse faceoffs.

Dan Nunan, one of the state’s top pitchers, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 12th round. He was 5-0 with a 1.49 earned run average. The 6-foot-6 lefthander struck out 74 in 37 innings.    

Senior Ian Aungst, who is currently playing basketball, erased most of the OCHS single-season passing records in football.

Seniors Joe Sacco and Luke Varallo are both key players on the boys soccer team and the boys basketball team.

And senior Nate Hays has continued to set new school records in swimming.   

These are some of the special athletes who were big reasons for the Ocean City success. But there are two more.

Maggie Wallace – a graduate now swimming for the Indiana Hoosiers, where she has recorded the second fastest 1650-meter freestyle and third fastest 1000 freestyle – was the best girls swimmer in New Jersey last winter. She set meet records in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions and the state group finals. Wallace holds 11 Ocean City High School girls swimming records.

And senior Brandon Lashley, committed to Stony Brook University for baseball, was sixth in the Cape-Atlantic League with a 1.60 earned run average, was second in fewest hits per seven innings (3.53) and struck out 12.36 batters per seven innings, second best to Nunan. In the football season he set school records and led Cape-Atlantic League teams as a pass receiver and set a school record with a 105-yard TD run with an interception, which gained national attention..         

There were a lot of good athletes representing Ocean City High School during the year that ended this week. Maggie Wallace and Brandon Lashley were the best of them.

The 56th annual Ocean City Sportsperson of the Year will be announced next.