Southern Cape May County Alumni Notebook

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

Catching up with some former Cape May County high school athletes now competing at the college level:

Caleb Fields (sophomore-Bowling Green basketball-WCHS) played in 29 games (28 starts) and averaged 6.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in 2019-20. He finished tied for second on the team with 276 steals and third on the team in minutes per game at 26.2. Bowling Green finished the season at 21-10 overall, 12-6 in the Mid-American Conference. The Falcons were slated to be the No. 2 seed for the MAC Tournament before the event was canceled due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19. …

Jenna Durbin (sophomore-Marywood lacrosse-LCMR) started all five games for the Pacers before the season was canceled due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19. She was tied for second on the team in both ground balls with 10 and turnovers caused with eight. Marywood had won four of its first five games before the season was ended.

Gary Nagle (sophomore-Ursinus wrestling-MTHS) finished 25-17 at 174 pounds for the Bears this season. He recorded nine pins and six major decisions among his victories. Teammate Romeo Rodriguez (freshman-Ursinus wrestling-MTHS) posted a 20-16 record while competing at both 125 and 133 pounds. He finished second on the team with 12 pins. Ursinus finished 9-3 in dual meets, finished fourth at the Centennial Conference Championships and placed 10th at the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Championships. …

D.J. Smith (junior-Cabrini basketball-WCHS) averaged 9.0 points, led the team in free-throw shooting percentage at 85.7 and was second on the team in three-point field goals with 56 for the Cavaliers in 2019-20. Smith had 13 points in Cabrini’s 91-86 loss to Immaculata in the first round of the Atlantic East Conference Tournament. The Cavaliers finished 9-17 overall. …

Austin Cominsky (sophomore-Wilkes wrestling-MTHS) finished 8-10 while wrestling at heavyweight for the Colonels. Teammate Dawson Tallant (freshman-Wilkes wrestling-MTHS) went 5-22 at 184 pounds. Tallant also placed fourth at the Northeast/Mideast Futures Tournament. Wilkes finished 11-10 in dual meets and placed 10th out of 20 teams at the season-ending Southeast Regionals Tournament. …

Dej’hanee McNeal (junior-Alvernia basketball-LCMR) saw action in 11 games and averaged 1.3 points and 1.3 rebounds for the Golden Wolves. Alvernia finished the season 9-16 overall, 3-12 MAC Commonwealth. …

Kyion Flanders (sophomore-Stockton basketball-WHS) was named a first team New Jersey Athletic Conference all-star after averaging a team-best 14.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the Ospreys in 2019-20. He made 36.3 percent of his three-point attempts (37 for 102) and shot 74.8 percent from the foul line (98 for 131). Flanders also led the team in steals with 46. He scored a team-high 17 points in the team’s 75-60 loss to The College of New Jersey in the NJAC title game. Stockton finished the season 18-9 overall, 14-4 NJAC. …

Lauren Moretti (junior-Delaware Valley basketball-WCHS) averaged a team-high 13.4 points, made a team-best 47 three-pointers and was tops on the team with 50 steals for the Aggies in 2019-20. She posted 4.6 rebounds and was second on the team in assists with 52. Moretti was also named to the MAC Sportsmanship Team, which recognizes student-athletes who exemplify great character and demonstrate the act of sportsmanship on and off the field or court. Delaware Valley finished 1-24 overall. …

Olivia Levin (sophomore-Washington College basketball-LCMR) played in 15 games and averaged 1.7 points per game for the Shorewomen. Washington College finished 10-15 overall, 7-13 Centennial Conference. …

Patrick Holden (sophomore-Widener basketball-LCMR) averaged 8.4 points, 2.5 assists and 2.1 rebounds and was one of three players to start all 27 games in 2019-20 for the Pride. He also shot 38.9 percent (35 for 90) on three-point shots. Widener finished 19-8 overall, 12-4 MAC Commonwealth. …

Mackenzie McCracken (junior-Widener basketball-WHS) started 25 of a possible 27 games and 3.4 points and 2.9 rebounds for the Pride. Widener finished the 2019-20 season at 21-6 overall, 13-3 MAC Commonwealth. …

Maddie McCracken (freshman-Stockton basketball-WHS) played 14 games, with four starts, after transferring into Stockton after the first semester. She averaged 6.6 points and 3.6 rebounds and shot 74.2 percent from the foul line (23 for 31) for the Ospreys. Stockton finished the season 10-15 overall, 5-13 New Jersey Athletic Conference. …

Rakim Coyle (sophomore-Rowan track-WCHS) earned All-Atlantic Region honors from the U.S. Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association for the winter season in the long jump. He finished second in both the long jump (22-9 ¾) and the triple jump (46-8 ¾) at the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships, helping Rowan win the team title. He went on to win the All-Atlantic Region title in the long jump with a leap of 23-7 ½, again helping Rowan win the team championships. Coyle and Rowan qualified for the NCAA Division III national championships but the event was canceled due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19. …

Jimmy Versage (senior-St. Thomas Aquinas baseball-MTHS) was hitting .281 with nine hits in 32 at bats while seeing action in 10 of 14 games before the season was canceled over concerns about the spread of COVID-19. He had posted four doubles, five RBI and five runs scored. Division II St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.) was 5-9 overall when the season was halted. …

Ashley Lamey (senior-Jefferson lacrosse-LCMR) saw action in two of four games for the Rams before the team’s season was canceled over concerns about the spread of COVID-19. Jefferson was 0-4. …

Cole Blackley (senior-Kean lacrosse-LCMR) had recorded five goals and two assists through three games, helping the Cougars to a 3-0 record before the season was halted due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19. Blackley ended his career with 68 goals and 18 assists in 54 games played. …

Emily Cimino (freshman-Lehigh softball-WCHS) started all 17 games for the Mountain Hawks before the rest of the season was canceled due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19. She was hitting .346, good for second on the team, while leading the team in home runs with four, RBI with 15 and total bases with 35. Cimino was named Patriot League Player of the Week on March 3 after posting nine hits, three home runs, nine RBI and seven runs scored over a three-game span the previous week. Lehigh was 8-9 overall at the time the season was stopped. … 

Chris Mormile (senior-Lynn baseball-WHS) was 4-0 with a 3.12 earned run average in six appearances (four starts), with 18 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched for the Fighting Knights when the season was canceled due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19. He allowed just one earned run, five hits and one walk over seven innings in a 19-2 win over Caldwell in his final action on March 8. Lynn was 14-7-1 overall, 4-2 Sunshine State Conference at the time the season was stopped. …

Quinn Bithell (senior-Rider track and field-LCMR) won the gold medal in the high jump with a leap of 1.65 meters at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships in late February. She later placed seventh in the same event at the ECAC Indoor Championships and joined three teammates in breaking a 16-year-old program record with a time of 3:51.50 in the 4×400 relay. … 

Carson Denham (sophomore-Arcadia baseball-CMTHS) had posted a 2.45 earned run average in 7.1 innings over three relief appearances for the Knights when the season was halted due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19. He had seven strikeouts. Arcadia was 5-7 when the season was canceled. …

Bridget Ruskey (junior-LaSalle lacrosse-MTHS) and Allison Hunter (junior-LaSalle lacrosse-MTHS) each scored three goals and posted an assist in the Explorers’ 18-6 win over Long Island University in the team’s final action before the 2020 season was ended due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19. Ruskey had recorded 17 goals and nine assists and Hunter had registered 13 goals and three assists through seven games. Ruskey (25) and Hunter (13) were also second and third, respectively, in draw controls. LaSalle was 3-4 overall at the time the season was halted. …

Maggie Slavin (sophomore-Nyack lacrosse-MTHS) had played in one of two games as goalkeeper when the season canceled due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19. She recorded four saves in a loss to Barton.

(Have info on other Cape May County athletes now competing at the college level? Send an email to brian@coastalbroadcasting.com.)