Sports Shorts

Craig Forys continues to excel for the University of Michigan men’s cross country team. Sunday, the freshman from Colts Neck High School finished 11th at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, helping the Wolverines share the team championship with Wisconsin with both teams scoring 68 points. Forys, who made All-Big 10 First Team his last time out for Michigan, turned in his best 10K of the year, 31:07.73. He was the Wolverine’s No. 2 scorer. It’s now on to the NCAA Championships on Monday in Terre Haute, Ind., at Indiana State University’s golf course. Forys, a two-time NJSIAA Meet of Champions winner, finished second at last year’s Foot Locker National Scholastic Cross Country Championships.

Howell’s Mike Krol has appeared in all 20 of Montclair State University’s men’s soccer matches this fall. The freshman midfielder, who started two games, contributed two goals and three assists for the Red Hawks, who won the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship for the second straight year. The Red Hawks beat New Jersey City University, 1-0, in the NJAC final, earning an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA Division III playoffs. Montclair State, 17-2-1, is ranked 13th in the country. At this time last year, Krol was leading Howell to an unbeaten regular season and the Shore Conference A North Division championship.

Marlboro’s Michael Friedman, 16, is a member of the Jersey Penguins, which won the bronze medal at the recent Can/Am Challenge Cup Tournament held in Lake Placid, N.Y. The team was awarded the Fair Play Award for the fewest penalty minutes. Friedman, a junior at Marlboro High School, was the leading scorer in the tournament with six goals and five assists in five games. The Jersey Penguins Midget 16-U team plays out of Dunellen. During the school year, Friedman plays for the Freehold Region Raiders.

Central Jersey Hawks AAU girls basketball will be having four age group tryouts at Rebounds in Neptune on Dec. 1 from 1-3 p.m. Each team is looking for talented players, and under the new AAU girls’ grade-based rule changes, this is the perfect tryout event. Players must bring a copy of their birth certificate to the tryout. For more information, visit the Hawks’ Web site at www.CentralJerseyHawks.org or call John Inman (U12 seventh grade) at (732) 742-6978; Tom Fontana (U11 sixth grade) at (732) 673-2161; John Graziano (U10 fifth grade) at (201) 264-2116, or John Canning (U9 fourth grade) at (732) 617-9917.

The Manalapan High School Football Alumni Dinner will be held Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. in the school cafeteria. All past and present Brave football players are welcome to attend the event for dinner and conversation. The Football Parents Touchdown Club presents the dinner. Contact the touchdown club via e-mail at [email protected] or (732) 604-2993 for additional information.

The Colts Neck High School boys freshman soccer team put together a memorable 2007 season. The Cougar ninth-graders shared the Shore Conference Freshman Soccer Tournament championship with Wall after the two teams played to a 1-1 tie in the title game. Wall struck first in the final but Mike Caruso tied it up in the second half.

The Cougars were 10-4-3 during the regular season, then defeated Brick Township, Toms River North and Marlboro to reach the tournament final. Their final record was 13-4-4.

The 2007 Colts Neck freshman soccer team members were Ryan Beaudoin, Alex Brown, Forrest Brunner, Michale Caruso, Derek Connery, Zach Dritsas, Thomas Fallacara, Bobby Fortunato, Adam Geiger, Brandon Kodf, Nathan Kramer, Mathew LaCava, Anthony Pistola, A.J. Ratto, Thomas Runko and Alexander Smith. Brian Sullivan was the coach.

U9 girls soccer goalie needed: Premier U9 team in Manalapan looking for dedicated, athletic goalkeeper to join a team for winter training and the spring season. Call (732) 446-2630 if interested.

The YMCA of Western Monmouth County will present the Curtis Ford Memorial Amateur Boxing Exhibition at its branch on East Freehold Road, Freehold, on Dec. 1. Imamu Mayfield, of Freehold, a professional boxer who has held IBF Cruiserweight championship titles and is a personal trainer at the YMCA, and Rogan O’Donnell, a member of the board of directors, are the event organizers. The event, sanctioned by New Jersey Association of USA Boxing, honors the memory of Curtis Ford, who was Mayfield’s trainer, and will raise funds for the YCares Financial Assistance Program. The weigh-in will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the exhibition will start at 7:30 p.m. with 10-15 three-round bouts. Tickets can be purchased at the front desk of the Y: $15 adults, $10 children 18 and under. Sponsorship opportunities are available.

For information contact Annie Stattel at (732) 462-0464, ext. 132 or e-mail [email protected].