FRHSD teams shine in super weekend

The past weekend was quite a weekend for Freehold Regional High School District athletics. On Saturday, three area teams captured Shore Conference championships in what was one of the finest days in local athletic history.

At Neptune High School's Memorial Field, teams from the FRHSD dominated the girls and boys Shore Conference Tourna-ment soccer finals.

The day started with Freehold High School's 2-0 win over Red Bank Catholic in the girls final and culminated with Manalapan High School beating Toms River East 4-2 in the boys final.

The Colonials and the Braves each won their second SCT crown.

The conference championship was especially meaningful and a fitting conclusion to the outstanding career of Free-hold coach Heshy Moses, who is stepping down after 34 years on the soccer sidelines at the high school.

Moses preaches team defense, and his teams are always great practitioners of that philosophy. The Colonials did not surrender a goal during four games in the conference tournament. It is quite an achievement for a smaller school going up against the best teams from the biggest conference in the state.

The Manalapan Braves were a team on a mission. They had lost the Shore Conference A North Division crown to Howell during the regular season and felt they had something to prove.

By beating the No. 1 seed Howell, 2-1, in the semifinals and the No. 2 seed Toms River East in the final, the Braves left no doubt as to which team was the best in the conference this fall.

Coach John Natoli takes pride in the fact that his Braves are known for playing hard for every second of the match. They did that to perfection in the Shore Conference final.

The Howell boys soccer team's advancement to the tournament semifinals meant one half of the final four was from the FRHSD, and the Rebels are to be congratulated as well for their fine season.

Meanwhile, over at Brick Memorial High School, Howell High School was leaving its imprint all over the Shore Conference gymnastics championships.

The Rebels' score of 109.350 edged out Red Bank Catholic (109.125) for the title. Colts Neck was third (108.250) and Marlboro was sixth (103.250).

Only six schools qualified for the team competition and half of them were from the FRHSD - a compliment to the level of gymnastics talent and dedication among athletes and coaches in the district.

Howell's sophomore sensation Austyn Fobes won the Shore Conference all-around championship with a meet record score of 38.250. She also set a meet record on the uneven bars (9.725), and she and teammate Brianna Ecklof shared the title on the floor exercise with a new meet record of 9.725.

Colts Neck's Lindsay Diamond was the champion on the vault (9.8) and second in the all-around (37.50). Ecklof was third in the all-around (37.10) and Marlboro's Lauren Jack was fourth in the all-around (37.00).

With the top four finishers in the all-around competition, the FRHSD can rightfully state that it is home to the most outstanding gymnasts in the conference.

The New Transcript congratulates all of the coaches and athletes who represented their schools and the district so well this past weekend. With state tournaments starting this week, more championships could be on the way for our shining stars.