Spring is approaching, so this is the time of the year when scholastic tournaments are in full bloom.
Basketball crowns to be determined locally
The Shore Conference Tournament championship is Feb. 25 at Monmouth University in West Long Branch. The girls will settle the tournament title at 5:30 p.m., followed by the boys at 7:30 p.m.
The Greater Middlesex Conference will also hold a championship doubleheader Feb. 24 at Rutgers University’s Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway. The girls will play for the crown at 6 p.m., and the boys will square off for the title at 8 p.m.
Next up for both boys and girls is the NJSIAA tournament, which kicks off the week of Feb. 20.
One more step in wrestling before heading to Atlantic City
The region tournaments will be the next step before the scholastic wrestling season settles all weight classes with individual championship in Atlantic City next month.
The regions will be wrestled at eight sites throughout New Jersey.
A major chunk of wrestlers from the area will compete at both Region 5 at Hunterdon Central Regional High School in Flemington and Region 6 at Brick Memorial High School. Region 7 at Pine Belt Arena in Toms River picks up a few local wrestlers as well.
The other regions are Region 1 at Bergen County Community College in Paramus, Region 2 at Mount Olive Township High School, Region 3 at West Orange High School, Region 4 at Union High School and Region 8 at Egg Harbor Township High School.
All eight regions will be launched Feb. 22, while quarterfinals will take place Feb. 24. On Feb. 25, the semifinals, consolation bouts and championships will be wrestled.
The top four finishers in each weight class from each region punch a ticket to the state tournament that will be staged from March 3-5 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Indoor track comes to an end
The Meet of Champions for boys will be Feb. 25, while the girls will bid for state titles Feb. 26. Both meets are at the John Bennett Indoor Athletic Complex in Toms River.
Dive into the state team finals of swimming
The state team championships are on the agenda for Feb. 25 and 26.
The pool at The College of New Jersey in Ewing will serve as the site for the boys’ and girls’ finals. The boys will swim for titles Feb. 25. The Public B finals starts at 9:30 a.m., followed by Public C at 11:30 a.m. The Non-Public B meet is slated for 1:30 p.m., and the Non-Public A will follow at 3:30 p.m. The day ends with the Public A finals at 5:30 p.m.
On Feb. 25, the girls will go for state titles, starting off with the Public A finals at 9:30 a.m. Public C will be next at 11:30 a.m. At 1:30 p.m., Non-Public B goes off, followed by Non-Public A at 3:30 p.m. The final team championship of the season will be settled at 5:30 p.m. when Public A is held.
The individual state championships are March 5 at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology in Sewell.
Skating to team championships
The quarterfinals in the state ice hockey tournament will be held Feb. 25-27.
From there, the semifinals for public schools and non-public schools will be held over a two-day period, March 1-2, at Codey Arena in West Orange. The tripleheaders each day will go off at 4:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
The finals for public schools and non-public schools — a total of three games — are scheduled for March 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark, which is the home to the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.
The Public A title game is set for 4:30 p.m., followed by the Non-Public championship at 6:30 p.m. and then the Public B finals at 8:30 p.m.