For the second time this season, Monmouth University’s Brad Brach has been named the NEC Pitcher of the Week. The sophomore from Freehold Township pitched a complete game, three-hit shutout in the Hawks’ 7-0 win over Sacred Heart in a Northeast Conference tilt. He was also tabbed by the New Jersey College Baseball Association Pitcher of the Week for the second straight time and fourth overall for the 2006 season.
With the win, Bach improved to 5-0 in NEC play. All of his NEC wins have been complete games, and he’s pitching to a stingy 0.77 earned-run average.
Overall, Brach is 6-1 with 64 strikeouts and a 2.06 ERA. He leads the Hawks in all three categories.
Monmouth is in first place in the NEC with a 13-2 record. Overall, they are 28-13.
Freehold’s Kery Little received Rowan University’s Athletic Director’s Scholar Athlete Award for 2005-06. The award goes to the male and female athletes with the highest GPA. Little, a sophomore who plays on the women’s soccer team, had a 3.96 GPA majoring in biological sciences.
Little is a graduate of Freehold Borough High School, where she helped the Colonials win a Central Jersey Group III state sectional title and advance to the Group III state final.
Colts Neck’s Amy Karaniewsky, a sophomore at Rowan, made the Cross Country Coaches Association Women’s Academic All-American Team for the fall of 2005.
Karaniewsky, a graduate of Colts Neck High School, is majoring in elementary education/Spanish at Rowan.
Manalapan’s Allyson Rosen ran the recent New Jersey Marathon, run along the Jersey Shore in Long Branch, in 3:35:42 to finish second in the women’s age group 20-24. More importantly, Rosen qualified for next year’s Boston Marathon.
Chris Raniere, a junior a Alvernia College in Pa., is having an outstanding season for the baseball team. The St. John Vianney graduate, who lives in Manalapan, is batting .401 with 20 doubles, four home runs and 47 RBIs. His slugging percentage is .619. He recently won the college’s Sportsmanship Award.
Alvernia plays in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference. The Crusaders finished the regular season 27-11 including 15-6 in PAC play. They were seeded No. 3 for the upcoming conference tournament.
Gymnasts from the Wilton Academy of Gymnastics in Howell competed at the Level 5 USA Gymnastics N.J. State Championships, on April 22 and 23, held at Henderson’s Gymnastics in Edison. In age 9 competition, Shani Weiss finished 11th in the all-around (36.525), after placing fourth on the beam (9.55), eighth on the bars (9.35) and ninth on the floor (9.3). Tory Wilton took 11th on the vault (9.05), en route to a 35.425 AA score. Aliyah Slocum took fifth on the vault (9.275), en route to a 35.075 AA score.
In age 10 juniors competition, Julia Fronc was 15th in the AA (35.85), after placing 12th on the beam (9.225). Jessica Cataldo was 16th on the beam (9.175), en route to a 34.975 AA score. Alex Havens also performed well, scoring 32.95 in the AA.
In age 10 seniors competition, Samantha Gormley was fourth in the AA (37.1), after placing fourth on the floor (9.525) and vault (9.45), and ninth on the bars (9.15); while Elaina Vasile was fifth in the ages 12-and-up AA competition with a score of 36.55, taking third on the beam (9.3), and fourth on the bars (9.4) and floor (9.25). This Level 5 team came in eighth place in the state.
At the JOGA Level B State Championships held recently at Envision Gymnastics, in Easthampton, Heather Kravitz from Manalapan placed second in the 15-and-over age group on the uneven bars with a score of 7.625.
The Manalapan Parks and Recreation department is accepting applications/
rsums for adult coaches to be involved with its travel youth basketball program. Applicants must have coached in the Manalapan Recreation Youth Basketball program for two seasons and must have successfully completed the Rutgers Volunteer Coaches training program. Additional basketball experience is helpful.
Travel teams for the fall/winter of 2006-2007 include both boys and girls teams for the following age groups:
Fourth grade (born between Aug. 1, 1996, and July 31, 1997); fifth grade (born between Aug. 1, 1995, and July 31, 1996); sixth grade (born between Aug. 1, 1994, and July 31, 1995); seventh grade (born between Aug. 1, 1993, and July 31, 1994); and eighth grade (born between Aug. 1, 1992, and July 31, 1993).
Games and practices take place on weeknights and weekends from early September through February. Teams participate in the Mid-Monmouth and Monmouth Youth Leagues (depending on team age). Interested applicants should contact the Parks and Recreation office, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at (732) 446-8355 for an application. Rsums can be faxed to the main office at (732) 792-1943.