BHPRSD Sports Week in Review and Look Ahead

The 2011-12 winter sports season kicked into full gear over the weekend as the boys’ and girls’ basketball and wrestling teams at , and opened their campaigns.

Each wrestling team took something positive out of its opener, while five of the six basketball teams saw their season get off to a losing start.

Below is a look back at the week that was, and a glance into what this week’s schedule holds.

WRESTLING

Timber Creek’s Ricky Carter and Robert Shade had a strong start to their respective seasons, reaching the quarterfinals of the Beast of the East tournament in Delaware. On Friday, Carter, a No. 4 seed, reached the quarters at 120 pounds with two decisions and a pin, while Shade, a No. 10 seed, had two pins and a decision at 170. Both grapplers lost in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Highland opened its season with a tri-meet split on Saturday. The Tartans fell to Pitman, 36-31, but had no problems with Palmyra in a 72-6 win.

Triton, hoping to have a bounce-back season, found success at the Gator Tournament at Gateway on Saturday, capturing second place in the eight-team tournament. Chris Bucceroni won a pair of matches before falling in the finals of the 118-pound weight class. Wes Baker also took second at 132.

BOYS' BASKETBALL

The new-look Chargers had a rough start to their season, falling 61-36, to Cherry Hill East Friday. Timber Creek came out of the gates slow, falling behind 18-6 after the first quarter. Eric Church and Brandon Cornelius led the team with seven points each.

The Mustangs also had a difficult time in their opener, losing to Paul VI, 80-46. Like Timber Creek, it was a woeful start that doomed Triton. Paul VI built a 17-4 lead after the first eight minutes and never looked back. Dylan Daniluk led the team with 11 points, while Brian Keller added 10.

Highland got its season off to a strong start, defeating Tri-County Royal Division rival Williamstown, 47-44.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Williamstown’s Haley Parks stormed out of the gate with a set of threes in the first quarter to lead the Braves to a 47-27 win over Highland. Jasmine Miranda and Ayanna Williams each scored five points to lead the Tartans, who trailed 19-5 after the first quarter.

Triton’s Dominique Budds scored a game-high 10 points but it wasn’t enough to keep the Mustangs from dropping its opener to Paul VI, 51-34. Deja Bullock scored eight points in the loss.

Timber Creek dropped its opener to Cherry Hill East, 58-54. Freshman Brittany Martin paced the Chargers with a team-high 23 points.

SWIMMING

The Highland swimming team is off to a perfect start. The Tartans defeated Deptford, 110-60, last week to improve to 3-0. Sarah Jahanbakhsh was dominant, winning the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke, while also swimming on the winning 200 medley and 400 freestyle teams. Michael Lombardo and David Stucke each won an event and competed on the winning freestyle team.

THIS WEEK

- The Chargers wrestling team starts its run at a conference title Wednesday at home against Paul VI, at 6 p.m. The Triton wrestling team opens its regular season at home on Tuesday against Pennsauken, while Highland has a stiff test at Kingsway on Wednesday.

- The Highland boys’ basketball team will look to build off its season-opening win when it hosts Kingsway on Tuesday, starting at 4 p.m., and travels to take on Clearview on Thursday.

- The Timber Creek boys’ and girls’ basketball teams each have just one game this week, each taking on Camden Catholic today.

- The Triton boys’ and girls’ basketball teams take on Bishop Eustace today and Woodrow Wilson Wednesday.