Sports Shorts

TheManalapan Flamethrowers U11 travel baseball team, routed the Little Silver Firebirds, 12-0 onMay 18 to gain its second consecutive victory.

Zach Koenig was the winning pitcher - he pitched four scoreless innings, striking out five batters and allowing one hit and no walks. The Flamethrowers were powered by first baseman Steven Knable, who hit a two-run inside-the-park homer and a double. Along with key hits coming from Nick Sigismundi and Kyle Glickson, who each doubled twice in the contest. Sigismundi and William Meany each scored three runs for the Flamethrowers.

Aaron Brookhart, a three-year letter winner on the varsity lightweight/ heavyweight crew teams and a member of Rutgers class of 2001, died suddenly May 9.

Brookhart was an accomplished oarsman who was a key performer at Rutgers. He was undefeated and EARC Champion as a freshman heavyweight, and grand finalist at the EARC Sprints as a second varsity heavyweight as a sophomore. In his junior and senior years, he was a member of the Varsity Lightweight 8, and competed at the Royal Henley Regatta in England in 2000.

Brookhart came to Rutgers after competing for the crew team at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio. Following his graduation from Rutgers, Brookhart rowed for the U.S. National Development Team in the lightweight category, and coached for Westerville Crew, a high school rowing team serving communities in the northeastern Columbus (Ohio) area. Most recently, he was finishing a dual MBA-law degree at Capital University (Ohio).

Relatives and friends are invited to his Memorial Mass Sunday, June 1, at St. Mary's Chapel of St. Ignatius High School at noon (1911 W. 30th St., Cleveland). Memorial contributions may be made to the Aaron J. Brookhart Scholarship Fund, Charter One Bank, 34601 Ridge Road, Unit 9, Willoughby, OH 44094.

Wagner College sophomore Damian Csakai was named to the ESPN The Magazine/College Sports Information Directors of America All-Academic Team for District I. The 2006 Freehold Township High School grad was selected to the second team.

Csakai has a double major, math and computer science, at the Staten Island, N.Y., college. He had a 3.85 GPA.

Playing center field for the Seahawks, he played every inning of every game this spring and led the Northeast Conference in stolen bases (27). He led all Wagner players with 53 hits and also had a team-high 34 runs scored. He's batting .285 and played an errorless center field for the 23-25 Seahawks.

Csakai led Freehold Township High School to Shore Conference A North Division titles in baseball and basketball during his scholastic career. He was also a member of the Freehold Township Little League Senior League team that won the World Series.

The Battle of Monmouth U13 girls soccer team (a new team for 2008-09) will be holding tryouts on Tuesday and again on June 3 at the Wemrock Field on Wemrock Road, Freehold Township, from 6-8 p.m. Registration starts at 5:30 p.m. each day. For additional information, contact the team at bomu13girlstryouts@ yahoo.com.

The Howell Touchdown Club will be sponsoring its 10th annual Golf Outing at Gamblers Ridge Golf Course in Cream Ridge on June 7. A fee of $100 per golf will include breakfast, golf, cart, gift per golfer and barbecue after the 18th hole. There will also be a gift for the longest drive and closest to the pin. All proceeds will go back to the football program. Anyone who can't make the golf outing but would like to support it may do so by sponsoring a hole for $100.

For additional information, contact Billy LaBruno at 732-276-5303 or send to Howell Touchdown Club, 40 Muirfield Road, Jackson 08527.

The eighth annual Be the Best Youth Football Camp for players ages 7- 15 will be held at Old Bridge High School from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 14-18.

For additional information, contact Bob DeMarco, head football coach at Old Bridge, at 732-845-3376, by e-mail at BeTheBestYFC@ol.com or on BeTheBestYFC.com.

The Freehold Area Running Club will begin its 26th annual Summer 5K Race Series on June 25. The races will be held Wednesday evenings through July 30 at the Battlefield State Park, Route 33, Manalapan. Onsite registration begins at 5:45 p.m. and the race goes off at 6:45 p.m. Awards go to the top finishers in the various age groups. Registration fee is $5 ($3 for club members) with students at $1.

Accompanying the 5K races are the Kids Summer Nights Running Series, which will begin its 15th year. The series consists of five races - 25-yard Toddler Trot for children 18 months to 3 years, 50-yard dash for 4-year-olds and up, 100- yard charge for 5 years and up and both half-mile and one-mile races. Ribbons and ice pops are awarded to all finishers. The first race goes off at 6 p.m. with registration starting at 5:30 p.m.

For more information on the Freehold Area Running Club, call the hotline at 732-431-2627 or visit www.farcnj.com.

Holiday Credit made it three wins in three starts when Ron Pierce piloted the colt to the winner's circle in the $185,000 Dexter Cup Final at Freehold Raceway on May 10. Holiday Credit was never challenged en route to a 1:56.3 win. This was the 49th edition of the Dexter, which made its debut at Roosevelt Raceway in 1960. Freehold Raceway has hosted the race since 1992.

The race is named after Dexter, the world champion trotter who was sired by Hambletonian. He won 46 of his 59 career starts from 1864-1867.

The Manalapan Bulldogs (U12 fall 2008), a boys MAPS travel team, seeks a few dedicated players and a keeper for its roster for fall 2008. Players born after Aug. 1, 1996, are eligible. Tryouts will be held at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 27, and at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 29, at the Manalapan Recreation Center (field D). The Manalapan Recreation Center is located at Route 522 and Taylors Mills Road. In addition, the team practice sessions will be open to all those players who are interested in joining the Bulldogs for the 2008-09 soccer seasons. These sessions will take place the week of June 1. For more information on the tryout schedule or the training sessions, contact Coach Mike at 732-887-2430 or Bulldogsocr@gmail.com.