The calendar is reporting that it is that time of the year when championships will be determined locally and then the bid to achieve the ultimate prize ——a New Jersey state title ——has just begun.
While the state tournaments in all spring scholastic sports are in the early stages, there are still some county and conference championships to be settled.
Here are plenty of options to spend the following days and enjoy watching our local scholastic athletes.
The Greater Middlesex Conference Boys’ Volleyball Tournament final is May 21 at J.P. Stevens High School in Edison. East Brunswick High School and St. Joseph’s of Metuchen are the top-seeded clubs that will battle out for the championship.
East Brunswick Vo-Tech will serve as the host to the Greater Middlesex Conference Baseball Tournament semifinals on May 21.
East Brunswick, South Brunswick, St. Joseph’s of Metuchen and J.P. Stevens are the four semifinalists.
The track and field venue this week is Central Regional High School in Bayville where the highly competitive Shore Conference Championships are being held on May 21.
This will be the final tune-up for Shore athletes before the state sectionals are run on May 27-28,
The Shore Conference Baseball Tournament moves into the Round of 16 on May 21. Top seeds Christian Brothers Academy and Middletown South have A North Division rematches at home that could be tricky. It will be the third meeting between the rival clubs.
The top seed, CBA, plays Manalapan and No. 2 Middletown South gets Howell.
The SCT semifinals are May 25.
The Shore Conference Softball Tournament begins with games on May 20 and 21. On May 20, Raritan is home to Colts Neck, and on May 21, Mater Dei visits Ocean Township in two of the featured games in the field.
Jackson Liberty and St. John Vianney are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively.
On the state level in NJSIAA Boys’ Volleyball Tournament action, No. 5 Christian Brothers Academy takes on No. 12 West Windsor-Plainsboro South in Lincroft and No. 6 Old Bridge is home to No. 11 J.P. Stevens in the opening round of the Central Jersey sectional on May 24.
East Brunswick, the No. 1 seed, has a bye.
In state lacrosse action, on May 23 the top-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven’s girls are home to Delran in the South Jersey, Group II quarterfinals. Red Bank Catholic, the No. 4 seed, is playing Haddonfield in Red Bank of May 23.
In North Jersey, Group IV, the fifth seed, North Brunswick, travels to No. 4 Hillsborough on May 23 for its quarterfinal.
For the boys, Monroe, the No. 3 seed in South Jersey, Group IV, plays Kingsway at home on May 21 in the quarterfinals.
The No. 7 seed, Freehold Township, visits No. 2 Lenape on May 21 in Burlington County.