BY ELLA BROCKWAY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ’17
This is the ninth edition of the Buc Sports Weekly, your recap of the week in RBR sports.
Girls’ Basketball (10-5)
The Lady Bucs took home three big wins this week and stretched their win streak to six games. The girls opened the week with a 45-30 win on Tuesday over Holmdel at home. Senior guard Grace Dengler scored a team-high 10 points, and senior guard Emma Keegan added nine points all from the three-point line. The Bucs outscored the Hornets 12-11 in the third quarter, and closed the game on an 18-8 run. The team then headed on the road to Matawan on Thursday night, and took home a 33-32 win over the Huskies. Junior Meghan Murray scored 12 points, while Dengler had 10 points and senior forward Meme Paterno added six. The Bucs closed out the week back at home with a 54-37 win against Manalapan. Paterno had her best performance of the season against the Braves, scoring 14 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter. Dengler scored 10 points, and leads all scorers on the team thus far with 138 points on the season. The girls have a big week coming up: They’ll face one of the top teams in the state in St. John Vianney at home on Tuesday, and then head on the road to Freehold Township on Thursday.
A Central rank: 3rd
Central Jersey Group 3 rank: 6th
From the court: “We had a great week moving forward in the season with three more wins under our belt. We’re looking forward to the challenges that the next few weeks present as we reface some of the top teams in the conference!” – senior forward Meme Paterno
What’s next: vs. St. John Vianney (1/24, 6:30 PM); at Freehold Township (1/26, 5:30 PM)
Boys’ Basketball (6-6)
The Bucs started the week with a 44-39 win on the road at Holmdel. Junior guard Devin Cooper scored a game-high 22 points and senior Nasir Williams added nine. The boys went on a 16-8 run in the fourth quarter to seal the win. The Bucs headed back on the road on Thursday night as they headed to Matawan. The Huskies ran away with a 47-38 win over the Bucs, but Cooper had another strong performance, this time scoring a team-high 18 points. Cooper leads the team with 178 points on the season. Sophomore forward Liam Joyce and senior guard Connor McLoone added six points each. The Bucs will look to take home some big wins this week against divisional rival St. John Vianney on Tuesday and Freehold Township on Thursday to push back up into 2nd place in the A Central.
A Central rank: 3rd
Central Jersey Group 3 rank: 11th
From the court: “We had a good start to the week but had a rough game against Matawan. (We’re) looking forward to getting back on track against SJV Tuesday.” – senior guard Connor McLoone
What’s next: at St. John Vianney (1/24, 4 PM); vs. Freehold Township (1/26, 6:30 PM)
Boys’ Swimming (7-0-1)
The Bucs took home two big wins this week to keep their undefeated season going. The boys opened up with a 106-64 win over Wall on Tuesday. Andrew Hall, Cole Bardinas, and Patrick Sullivan swept the top three places in the 100 breaststroke, and Christian Galindo and Ian Birn took home first and second respectively in the 100 butterfly. Hall also finished first in the 200 IM (2:24.93), and Galindo finished first in the 100 backstroke (1:07.84).
The Bucs then took home a 114-55 win over Ranney on Thursday. Hall finished first in the 200 IM and the 100 butterfly against the Panthers. Jack Krupinski (100 free, 1:04.09), Matthew White (500 free, 4:49.35), Christian Galindo (100 backstroke, 1:11.78), and Cole Bardinas (100 breastroke, 1:19.03) also all took home first in their events.
Central Group C rank: 2nd
What’s next: vs. Red Bank Catholic (1/24, 4 PM); @ Middletown South (1/26, 4 PM)
Girls’ Swimming (8-0)
The Bucs kept their undefeated season alive with two big wins this week. The girls opened the week with a 104-66 win over Wall on Tuesday. Freshman Claudia Kelly finished first in both the 50 free (30.19) and the 100 butterfly (1:15.59), and senior Kelsey Ballard took home first in the 500 free (5:04.50). Juniors Maeve Kelly and Laura Neff also finished first in the 100 freestyle (1:05.97) and the 100 IM (2:46.63), respectively. The Bucs picked up another 135-15 win on Thursday over Ranney. The times and finishes from the Ranney meet on the girls’ side weren’t immediately available. The Bucs have what is shaping up to be their biggest week of the season ahead, with two meets against crosstown rival Red Bank Catholic and Middletown South on the schedule. Both the Caseys (#7) and the Eagles (tied for #1) finished in the Top 10 of the Monmouth County Championships earlier this month.
Central Group C rank: 1st
From the pool: “The boys’ and girls’ teams are both really excited about being undefeated and hope to win the division this upcoming week by winning our RBC and Middletown South meets.” – junior Laura Nagle
What’s next: vs. Red Bank Catholic (1/24, 4 PM); @ Middletown South (1/26, 4 PM)
Bowling (Girls: 10-20, Boys: 15-24) (records in terms of games, not matches, won and lost)
On the boys’ side, the Bucs took home a win over Shore on Thursday. Freshman Teddy Purdon bowled his first career 200 game and finished with a score of 202 in the win. Brandon Vuong (234) and Colin Baker (219) had the two top game scores on the team in matches against Shore and Middletown North. The Bucs finished in fifth place this week out of the seven high school teams that play at Harmony Bowl, with 18 points won and 27 points lost. The girls also finished in fifth place out of six teams this week, with 13 points won and 23 points lost. Beth Sullivan (162) and Catina Schneck (159) had the top two game scores on the girls’ side this week.
Girls’ North B rank (by win %): 5th
Boys’ North B rank (by win %): 5th
What’s next: @ Middletown South (1/24, 3:45 PM at Harmony Bowl); @ Monmouth Regional (1/26, 3:45 PM at Harmony Bowl)
Ice Hockey (6-9-2)
The Bucs had another tough week as they headed on the road for another pair of road games. The team opened the stretch against Manasquan on Tuesday night, but the Warriors ran away with a 12-4 win. Page Lootsma scored one goal on a power play for the Bucs, while Will Spencer finished with two assists and Will Spencer with 35 saves in goal. The Bucs then made another away trip down to face Freehold Boro on Saturday night. The team built a 4-0 lead by the first period with goals from Frank Taddeo (1), Dan Wagner (2) and Patrick Murphy (1). Taddeo was knocked out of the game with an injury in the second period, and we’re all sending our well wishes his way for a speedy recovery. The Bucs held on to beat the Colonials 4-0. The Bucs’ streak of six straight road games comes to an end on Saturday, as the team heads back to its home ice at the Armory to face Central.
A South rank: 6th
What’s next: vs. Central (1/28, 8 PM at Red Bank Armory)
Indoor Track
The Bucs headed to the NJSIAA Relay Championships Group III on Friday. Junior thrower Tiaunna Macon has best performance of the day on the girls’ side, finishing in 4th in girls’ shot put finals with a score of 37. Senior Julia Nijnens, who committed earlier this season to Sacred Heart for track, finished in 19th in the girls’ high jump finals. The boys’ team finished in 22nd place overall. The 4×800 relay team finished 17th overall with a time of 8:37.05, and the distance medley relay had the best performance of the day on the boys’ side with a 4th place finish at 10:53.49. Trey Soya also finished 9th overall in the high jump finals with a score of 5.08.
From the track: “It was definitely a tough meet with great competitors in every event. We tried our best and we will continue to strive for better results with events to come!” – senior high jumper Julia Nijnens
Wrestling (4-4)
It was a busy week for the Bucs on the wrestling mats. The team opened up with a 40-35 win over crosstown rival Red Bank Catholic on Wednesday. Finn Smith (120), Moises Aguilar (152), and Edison Quesada (220) all pinned their opponents and picked up wins, while junior Sam Goldzweig (152) won his match by a major decision (which refers to a win by 8 to 14 points.) Quesada was named a Shore Conference Wrestling Hero of the Week by nj.com; check out the link to the story here. The Bucs then headed on the road to a Quad tournament at Raritan on Saturday. The boys went 1-2 on the day, taking home a 45-25 win over Monmouth Regional thanks to pins from Quesada (220), Rey Elcano (113), Smith (126), Luke Devine (132), and Goldzweig (152) before falling to Raritan 78-0 and to Donovan Catholic 51-27. The Bucs picked up points in the loss to the Griffins from Alex Peregrina (5-1, 120), Smith (pin, 126), Sheridan Torres (forfeit, 132), Quesada (pin, 220), and Justin Gooding (forfeit, 285.)
A Central rank: 5th
From the mat: “We had a solid week of wrestling this week. We had a great win against RBC on Wednesday. We had a tough Quad meet on Saturday, but we are hoping to bounce back and do well in this upcoming week. Everyone is starting to catch their stride and we are really coming together as a team.” – junior Finn Smith
What’s next: Quad vs. Asbury Park, Keyport, Newark Collegiate (1/25, 4:30 at Red Bank Regional); Quad at St. John Vianney vs. Holmdel, Rumson-Fair Haven, St. John Vianney (1/28, TBD)
The Buccaneer 