Youth Sports Rack Up Wins

We’re back from the three-day weekend. I know a lot of people had fun, but we also had a chance to remember the important work of Martin Luther King Jr. and his commitment to peace and civil rights. Today I have some great sports news and a thank you to everyone who organized Monday’s MLK Day activities here in town.

Here’s what is going on About Town.

SEVENTH GRADE BOYS B-BALL WINS BIG

The Westfield White 7th grade boys travel basketball team started the second half of the travel season with a romping 48-26 victory over Matawan. In this Central Jersey League match-up, Westfield led most of the game with balanced scoring, pressure defense, and excellent rebounding. 

Pat McCormack led the scoring with 15 points followed by Liam Heimbokel with nine points and Mitchell Bryk with 8 points. The defense led by Owen Colwell, Sam Karnofsky and Rowan Oberman. The defense team caused a lot of turnover and blocked shots from the Matawan squad.

Michael O’Connor came up well with ball handling and Justin Yoon got rebounds that helped push the team to victory. Michael O’Brian got a three pointer in the first half and Michael Jeffrey scored a three pointer in the second half. Coaches said the boys showed great sportsmanship throughout the game.

The team’s current record is 7-3 with a 4-2 record in the Garden State League and a 3-1 record in the Central Jersey League. The team did a half-time scrimmage game at the Prudential Center when Seton Hall faced off against Richmond on Dec. 26. The team’s head coach is Michael O’Connor, with Brett Oberman and Brian Karnofsky serving as assistant coaches.

THANK YOU MLK DAY ORGANIZERS

Yesterday we paused to honor and remember the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr. and his commitment to peace, nonviolence and equality. There is a dedicated group of people here in Westfield who help honor Dr. King’s legacy and organized the activities in town yesterday. I want to recognize those who served on the committee for the events yesterday.

The committee was led by co-chairs Donnell Carr and Rev. Robert H. Taylor Sr. and they worked with committee members Sylvia Ballatt, Noel Brown, Rev. Ed Carll, Gladys Edwards, Patricia Faggins, Dolores Graves, Hattie Harris, Carol LaPierre, Claire B. Marsh, Carol Molnar, Pamela Brug Panton, Thelma Smith, Elizabeth A. Wolf, Lucy Arbes and Rosa Randall. The officers of the Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Westfield are president Rev. Robert H. Taylor Sr., vice president Donnell Carr, treasurer Patricia Faggins and secretary Elizabeth A. Wolf.

Elizabeth Wolf was the chairwoman of the essay, poetry and art contest judging committee and was joined by committee members Noel Brown, Sharilyn Broan, Rev. Edward Carll, Donnell Carr, Diana Collins, Patricia Faggins, Sue Fischer, Mercedes Fol-Okamoto, June Gleason, Dolores Graves, Adrianne Lake, Claire B. Marsh, Trista Pollard Nwokey and Pam Panton.

Thank you for your hard work!

GOOD JOB BOWLERS

Congratulations to the WHS varsity bowling team for winning the mixed division in the Brick Tournament last week. The team won with their highest three game total of the season, 2979. The three highest games for the team in the tournament were 997, 967, 1018.

Lucas Cruz, the team’s anchor had the highest three game series for an individual bowler with a 240, 257 and 256. He brought up top individual honors at Brick. He Cruz also had a 684 in three games last week against Governor Livingston in conference play.

Congratulations!

WRESTLING TEAM WINS BIG

Got even more sports news for you. The WHS wrestling team beat Piscataway, South River and Highland Park in a quad match Saturday. This was a day after they beat Scotch Plains at home! Way to go!

Congratulations to Erik Gozdieski who had three first period pins and a forfit in the match. He also set a new WHS record for fastest pin ever with eight seconds against South River. And this is after returning to the mat Friday after a serious shoulder injury.

Great job!