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Page 12 Thursday, April 22, 2010 The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains – Fanwood TIMES A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PUBLICATION A.D. Tranchina Has Served Westfield H. S. With Class CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 Devil’s Den By BRUCE JOHNSON Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times Journey Into the Past: A Look at WHS, 1960 (Note: This is the second of a three- part series on WHS sports history; Last week we looked at 1935, today it’s 1960, and next week will be 1985.) As Westfield headed into the 1960s, it had almost doubled in size, from just under 16,000 in 1930 to over 31,000 in 1960. And it was like much of America … seemingly peaceful, blissful, living the “Happy Days” era of the ’50s. But beneath that serene surface, there was much simmering. Here are just some of the goings-on of 1960: Adolph Coors, head of the famous brewing company, is kidnapped and later killed. … A Soviet missle shoots down an American spy plane, piloted by Francis Gary Powers. … “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a controversial book by Harper Lee, is released. … Richard M. Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge are the Republican president/vice presi- dent nominations. … The Beatles be- gin a 48-night run at a club in Ham- burg, Germany. … Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) wins the Olympic heavyweight gold medal in Rome. … The first televised presidential debate between J.F. Kennedy and Nixon is held. … Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe on a table at the United Nations in protest. … The first successful kidney transplant is performed in England. … Kennedy becomes the youngest American presi- dent, at age 43. … Wilt Chamberlain grabs 55 rebounds in one game. … The Supreme Court upholds a federal court ruling that Louisiana’s segrega- tion laws are unconstitutional. … Two planes collide over Staten Island, kill- ing all 128 passengers and crew along with six people on the ground. Births: Diver Greg Louganis, pro wrestler Kerry Von Erich, tennis play- ers Ivan Lendl and Yannick Noah, baseball’s Cal Ripken Jr. and Kirby Puckett, football’s John Elway, Jim Kelly, Howie Long, Marcus Allen, singers Bono, Joan Jett and Michael Stipe, actors David Duchovny, Sean Penn, Stanley Tucci, Kenneth Branagh and Hugh Grant, and John F. Kennedy Jr. Deaths: Jesse Belvin, Eddie Cochran, Lord Buckley, Clark Gable. Top movies: Psycho, Inherit the Wind, The Magnificent Seven, Exo- dus, Elmer Gantry. Best music: Cathy’s Clown (Everly Brothers) was no. 1 on the Billboard Top 100, and Stay, by Maurice Will- iams and the Zodiacs, was no. 98. In between, not much great. WHS had not been a very scary opponent in the 1950s. But the 1959- 1960 school year saw the beginning of a renaissance that would soon see Westfield become the state’s premier sports town. The Blue Devils’ combined record for 1959-1960 was 96 wins, 30 losses and 1 tie (a 76.2 win percentage). And 20 of the losses came in basketball and baseball. There were two county cham- pionships (swimming, golf) but no state team titles. Here’s a look at each of the nine GETTING TOGETHER AGAIN…Former WHS baseball players Joe Schurig, left, and Dave Kaplow get together prior to the recent three-game series between Susquehanna and Drew. Schurig (WHS, ’07) has a 3-1 record as a relief pitcher for 14-15 Susquehanna; Kaplow (’06) is hitting .250 as the designated hitter for 7-24 Drew. Devil of the Week Connor Hewett Lacrosse varsity teams that year. Football: Coach Les Zorge’s team went 5-4, beating A.L. Johnson, Roselle, Roselle Park, Bound Brook and Jonathan Dayton, while losing to Rahway, Columbia, North Plainfield and Plainfield. WHS’s single-wing attack consisted of Bob Mueller, Jerry Luebeck, Bob Duncan, Pete Braun, Bob Maltbie, Scott Ellis and Dave Reitze across the front, with Bob Wolfgang at tailback, Jim Kovacs and John Brownell at fullback, Ross Mannino and Dave Wilday at wingback and Dick Morash and Jack May at blocking back. Defensively, Morash, Mueller and Ellis were the ends, Maltbie, Larry Scanlon, Duncan and Greg Weiss were the tackles, with John Griner and Luebeck at middle guard. Braun and Brownell, along with May and Bill Bryant shared the line- backer shores, with Kovacs, Reitze, Mannino, Smitty Lanning, Wilday, Dwight Winn and Ron Viglianti in the secondary. Cross-country: Coach Lou Reccia’s final team went 8-2, losing to Colum- bia and Union. WHS was fifth at coun- ties and 19th at states. Basketball: The team finished 14- 11, with wins over SP-F and Holy Trinity. Jim Mowry (12.2 ppg) led the balanced attack that included Phil Van Kirk (9.6), Charles Hoppin (8.6), Gary Harnett (8.2) and Lowell Higgins (6.0). WHS won two county tournament games before falling to Elizabeth’s St. Mary, and also beat Thomas Jefferson in its state opener, before Perth Amboy knocked them out. Wrestling: Coach Gary Kehler’s second-year team went 10-2, losing to Cranford (25-20) in the opener and later Plainfield (24-21). A 20-19 win over Roselle Park on Jan. 22 “put us on the (New Jersey wrestling) map,” Kehler said. The lineup: Doug Wight (98), Barry Fritz and John Serijan (106), Skip Sims (115), Charles Wistar (123), Dennis Powers (130), Jeff Shapiro (136), Ron Viglianti (141), John Anderson and Jay Benedetti (148), Bob Mueller (157), Dick Morash (168), Bob Maltbie (178), Gene Barron (heavy). WHS was fourth at districts (Powers and Mueller won individual titles), while Powers be- came the school’s first state cham- pion. Swimming: Coach Joe Kursar’s jug- gernaut went 16-0, moving its win streak to 45 in a row. WHS won the county championship but was second to Columbia at states. County winners were: Bill Smart (100 back), Hank Marshall (100 breast), Dan Nichols (100 free) and Rick Wells (diving), along with the medley relay of Smart, Bruce Overbay, Rich Berkley and Jeff Hitchings. Nichols (50 free) and Wells (diving) also won state titles. Baseball: Coach John Lay’s team went 6-9-1, with captain Smitty Lanning and Pete Love doing most of the pitching. The infield included John Loepsinger (1b), Jim Wilday (2b), Dave Wilday (3b) and Charles Hoppin (ss), with Charlie Felter (left), Chuck Getter (center) and Ron Viglianti (right) in the outfield. Dick Myers was the catcher. Art Garvin (infield) and Ross Mannino (outfield) provided depth. The team had problems scoring runs, with Felter the leading hitter at .289. Future NBA star Rick Barry of Roselle Park threw a no-hitter at WHS on Memorial Day; a year later, Barry’s two-out single in the seventh inning cost Tony Reid a no-hitter. Lanning struck out a school record 21 in a 2-0 10-inning win over Rahway and Tom Hoagland in the county tournament. Golf: Coach Gary Kehler’s team was 15-0, won the county title at Ash Brook and tied for fourth at states. The lineup: Jim Grant, Barry Hardigan, Bob Michaels, Bob Daniels, Larry MacBean and Tom Pearsall. Tennis: Coach Sam Bunting’s squad was 14-1, losing to Fair Lawn in the second round of the state champion- ships. WHS won 63 sets and lost nine the entire year. The lineup: Bill Gilson (first singles), Bob Durgan (second singles), Dave Richardson and Jim Thomas (third singles), Jim McNamara, Henry Marshall, Bill Shaffer and Malcolm Sargent at doubles. Track: Coach Bob Duncan’s last team was 8-1, losing in the season finale to Bound Brook (60-57). WHS was third at counties, won the Watchung Conference, was fifth at Central Jersey and fifth at states. Bob Duncan (shot, discus) and Ed Miner (sprints) were the big guns. ‘T’ TIME It’s perhaps fitting that Ed Tranchina was known to most of his football players as “T.” Now that the former coach is about to become the former athletic director (he announced his retirement last week), you know there’s going to be a lot of “tee time” for “T.” Beloved by his staff and players, but misunderstood by many of the “ex- perts” who love to “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Satur- day and Sunday quarterback,” Tranchina brought a professional and classy touch to the often cut-throat world of high school sports. He had some outstanding football teams (87-90-5 in 19 seasons), coached some outstanding players and has maintained a staff of coaches that has kept WHS among the state’s elite pro- grams in most sports. WHS has only had four athletic directors in the past 80 years: Bob Duncan (1930-1963), John Lay (1964-1983), Gary Kehler (1984-1993), Tranchina (1994-2010). Among the all-state players “T” coached were: Paul Wampler, Dave Brown, Clint Factor, Jim Mozoki, Leroy Gallman, Lou Rettino, Tom Norton, Brian Cheek, Maurice Barnett, Seth Coren, Ron Mammano, Rasheed Hawks, Jason Osborne, Brandon Doerr, Tom Langton, Lamont Turner, Gabe Perez, Matt Daly and Jan Cocozziello. DEVIL OF THE WEEK This week’s winner of a free sub from Westfield Subs (261 South Av- enue East) is Connor Hewett. The senior attack had the last three goals of the game as the lacrosse team im- proved to 6-1, rallying from a 3-0, halftime deficit to defeat Randolph 5-4. The Devil’s Den appears Thursday in The Westfield Leader during the school year. Contact me with com- ments, complaints and suggestions at [email protected]. Win or not, WHS4EVR! we were 7-2,” Tranchina said. During the summer, he got involved with the Kehler Football Camp. “At that time, it was a high school camp. It was a week before the season started. We had a great staff [very notable area high school head coaches], and they all brought their teams,” Tranchina said. Tranchina became a “Blue Devil” once again when he accepted the po- sition of football Head Coach/Assis- tant to the Athletic Director job in 1985. “When this job opened up, Gary [Kehler] asked me to apply for it. I was obviously thrilled that he actu- ally asked me to apply,” Tranchina said. “It was probably the best job I ever had. He had so much wisdom.” When Kehler retired, Tranchina became Athletic Director in 1993, while still coaching. Jim Benedict became the head football coach the following two years. When Benedict left to coach at Rutgers University, Tranchina did double duty for nine years as football hCher, 98° head coach/athletic director until Jim DeSarno became head coach in 2006. During that second nine-year stretch, Tranchina, who was named Coach of the Year in 1997 and later named Athletic Director of the Year, had many memorable experiences as head coach. “In ’98 when we went to the Mead- owlands to play, that was so much fun. We had a great team, great par- ents. We lost that game but having the opportunity to be at Giants Stadium was a thrill,” Tranchina recalled. “How we got there was also a thrill. We were big underdogs against Parsippany Hills. I think like 21-point underdogs. We went out there an ab- solutely hammered them [44-13 – See The Westfield Leader, November 26, 1998 archives]. Even the game before that, West Morris Central! [Westfield won 30-6]. In between all of that, it was probably one of the best Plainfield games ever, because Plainfield [ranked no. 3] was unde- feated. They were playing in the state championships. We [ranked no. 18] had one loss. We were playing in the state championships, so you had two state playoff teams playing on Thanks- giving Day. It was actually postponed until Saturday, because they wanted to rest the quarterback’s [Darryl Kennedy] shoulder. [December 3, 1998 archives].” Tranchina also recalled a 7-0 vic- tory over hosting Morristown under peculiar circumstances on November 11, 2001. The game was scheduled for Saturday, November 10, but no referees showed up, so the game was bumped to Sunday – November 15, 2001 archives. Another memorable game was a 28-21 victory over Union after trail- ing 21-0. Jan Cocozziello was the Blue Devil quarterback – November 14, 2002 archives. “We were big underdogs up at Shabazz when they had Amir Pinnix. They were beating everybody, and we shut them down. There are so many memories,” Tranchina said. The “Devils’ Brigade” defense shut down Pinnix and won 10-6 – See October 10, 2002 archives. But as the fond memories mounted, so did the thought of retirement. “My wife [Susan] and I made the decision in the fall. I just knew that I had been the A.D. for 17 years, and I need some time for myself. I need time to exercise and eat right. Often times with this job, I don’t have the time to do that,” answered Tranchina. “I am excited about doing something. Help with football. I have been out a couple of years. I still love it. That’s why I got into this profession. I’ve had some offers to be an assistant coach some place. I don’t want to be a head coach.” Tranchina added that he has a lot of work to do around his house and will most likely help his sons, Nick and Derrek, with some construction work around their houses. “Nick and Derrek teach in the Long Branch system. They both are football coaches, and Nick is also an assistant wrestling coach. He’s also the head golf coach. I am a big wrestling fan. I’ve always loved that. I go out to a lot of Long Branch matches. I enjoy watching my sons coach,” he said. Additionally, his daughter Marisa just graduated from Penn State Uni- versity. “She’s a big Joe Paterno fan, so I will enjoy spending time with her,” he said. Tranchina also wanted to point out, “The Westfield Leader has always treated me exceptionally well, the way you cover all of our kids. It really means a lot to me.” Lady Blue Devils Trample Plainfield, Rahway in Track The Westfield High School girls track and field team began its regular season on the right foot by trampling Plainfield, 109-30, in Plainfield on April 7 and Rahway, 90-49, in Westfield on April 13. Sirena Van Epp with a distance of 31’8.5”, Kelly Irving at 31’5” and Claire Stevens-Haas at 29 feet swept the triple jump against Plainfield. Lisa Nehring at 2:39, Becky Castaldo at 2:43 and Leigh Heinbokel at 2:43.1 swept the 800 meters. Sophia Devita at 1:13.7, Daniella Ciampa at 1:15.3, Eileen Cook at 1:15.8 and Tierny Cummings at 1:28.4 swept the inter- mediate hurdles. Alyssa Hatch at 5:51.5, Shannon Mooney at 6:03.1 and Alana Basil at 6:22.4 swept the 1,600 meters. Katy Ponce at 59.4, Ashley Edwards at 1:00.3 and Irving at 1:03 swept the 400 meters. Alex Hawkins at 4’8”, Devita at 4’2” and Alexis Murphy at 4’0” swept the high jump. Edwards and Ponce with respective times of 26.0 and 26.7 crossed 1-2 in the 200 meters. Danielle Grimes at 13:41 and Hatch at 13:52.2 finished 1-2 in the 3,200. Nehring, Ciampa, Cook and Devita won the 4x400 relay with a time of 4:32. Grace Mustard with a toss of 71’1.5” and Caitlin Coleman at 63 feet took 1-2 in the discus. Elizabeth Penczak won the javelin with a toss of 84’4”. Stevens Haas with a height of 9’6” and Alex Kapadia at 7’0” took 1-2 in the pole vault. Stevens Haas at 16.8 and Murphy at 20.0 finished 2-3 in the 100 hurdles. Stevens-Haas at 15’5” and Devita at 14’4” placed 2-3 in the long jump. Kyla Grodzka placed third in the shot put with a shove of 28’4” Grodzka at 28’2.5”, Jill Pate at 25’1” and Oria Alexander at 23’4.75” swept the shot put against Rahway. Hatch at 12:45 and Grimes at 12:51 finished 1-2 in the 3,200. Mustard at 66’11” and Hannah Weeks at 62’6” took 1-2 in the discus. Stevens-Haas at nine feet and Kapadia t 6’6” took 1- 2 in the pole vault. Stevens-Haas at 15’3” and Devita at 14’11” took 1-2 in the long jump. Stevens-Haas also won the 100 hurdles at 16.9. Edwards and Hannah Kronick took 1-2 in the 200 with respective times of 27.1 and 28.3. Edwards and Ponce took 1-2 in the 400 with respective times of 1:00.4 and 1:00.9. Edwards crossed first in the 100 meters at 13.2. Devita won the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:11.6. Stevens-Haas took second in the triple jump with a dis- tance of 31’2”. Hatch finished sec- ond in the 1,600 at 5:38.5.Hawkins took second in the high jump with a height of 4’4”. Heinbokel finished second in the 800 at 2:41.6. Baseball Raiders Tap Union City Nine, 4-1 Mike Ridge ripped two hits and had three RBI, and Marcus Rivera had two hits and scored twice for the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School baseball team in a 4-1 victory over host Union City on April 17. Motown-Beard Stops Softball Raiders, 6-4 Morristown-Beard plated five runs in the bottom of the first inning and held on to defeat the Scotch Plains- Fanwood High School softball team, 6-4, in Morris Township. Christine Monroy had a pair of hits and an RBI for the Raiders. SPORTS SHORTS: Blue Devil Boys Rap Columbia Laxers, 8-6 The Westfield High School boys lacrosse team got three goals and two assists each from John Bohlinger and Sam Rosenburgh in an 8-6 victory over Columbia in Westfield on April 14. Jeff LaForge had seven saves for the 5-1 Blue Devils. Westfield Netmen Fall In Bennett Semifinals The Westfield High School boys tennis team defeated Dwight- Englewood, 3-2, in the first round and Millburn, 4-1, in the quarterfinals of the Bryan Bennett Memorial Tournament at Delbarton in Morris Township on April 17 before falling, 3-2, by eventual tour- nament champion Chatham in the semifinals on April 18. Westfield 3, Dwight-Englewood 2 First singles: Dan Shutov (D) d Justin Snyder, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 Second singles: Scott Bernstein (W) d Max Sacks, 6-4, 6-2 Third singles: Tom Kowalski (W) d Jason Katz, 6-2, 6-1 First doubles: Francis Loh and Eric Rosengart (D) d Graeme Stahl and Alan Chu, 7-6 (7-4), 1-6, 6-2 Second doubles: Josh Simmons and Scott Thompson (W) d Luke Sherman and John Enokida, 6-2, 6-2 Westfield 4, Millburn 1 First singles: Snyder (W) d Rob Xie, 6-2, 6-1 Second singles: Bernstein (W) d Ted Moskowitz, 6-4, 6-1 Third singles: Kowalski (W) d Jared Wishnow, 6-3, 6-3 First doubles: Stahl and Chu (W) d Dan Feldman and Nikhil Vohra, 6-1, 6- 2 Second doubles: Nicky Chen- Schmidt and Sebastian Chen- Schmidt (M) d Simmons and Thomp- son, 6-1, 6-3 Chatham 3, Westfield 2 First singles: Pat Monaghan (C) d Snyder, 6-0, 6-7 (1-7), 6-1 Second singles: Quentin Monaghan (C) d Bernstein, 6-0, 6-4 Third singles: Matt Romel (C) d Kowalski, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 First doubles: Stahl and Chu (W) d Matt Evans and Andrew Coppola, 6- 2, 6-3 Second doubles: Simmons and Th- ompson (W) d Chad Gildersleeve and Alec Weber, 6-2, 6-3 Blue Devil Bohlinger Makes Lax Top-20 Westfield High School boys la- crosse team captain John Bohlinget recently broke into the New Jersey top-20 in scoring. 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Transcript of Page 12 Thursday, April 22, 2010 The Westfield Leader and ...
Page 12 Thursday, April 22, 2010 The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains – Fanwood TIMES A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PUBLICATION
A.D. Tranchina Has ServedWestfield H. S. With Class
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11
Devil’s Den
By BRUCE JOHNSONSpecially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times
Journey Into the Past:A Look at WHS, 1960
(Note: This is the second of a three-part series on WHS sports history;Last week we looked at 1935, todayit’s 1960, and next week will be 1985.)
As Westfield headed into the 1960s,it had almost doubled in size, from justunder 16,000 in 1930 to over 31,000 in1960. And it was like much of America… seemingly peaceful, blissful, livingthe “Happy Days” era of the ’50s. Butbeneath that serene surface, there wasmuch simmering. Here are just someof the goings-on of 1960:
Adolph Coors, head of the famousbrewing company, is kidnapped andlater killed. … A Soviet missle shootsdown an American spy plane, pilotedby Francis Gary Powers. … “To Kill aMockingbird,” a controversial bookby Harper Lee, is released. … RichardM. Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge arethe Republican president/vice presi-dent nominations. … The Beatles be-gin a 48-night run at a club in Ham-burg, Germany. … Cassius Clay (laterMuhammad Ali) wins the Olympicheavyweight gold medal in Rome. …The first televised presidential debatebetween J.F. Kennedy and Nixon isheld. … Soviet leader NikitaKhrushchev pounds his shoe on a tableat the United Nations in protest. …The first successful kidney transplantis performed in England. … Kennedybecomes the youngest American presi-dent, at age 43. … Wilt Chamberlaingrabs 55 rebounds in one game. …The Supreme Court upholds a federalcourt ruling that Louisiana’s segrega-tion laws are unconstitutional. … Twoplanes collide over Staten Island, kill-ing all 128 passengers and crew alongwith six people on the ground.
Births: Diver Greg Louganis, prowrestler Kerry Von Erich, tennis play-ers Ivan Lendl and Yannick Noah,baseball’s Cal Ripken Jr. and KirbyPuckett, football’s John Elway, JimKelly, Howie Long, Marcus Allen,singers Bono, Joan Jett and MichaelStipe, actors David Duchovny, SeanPenn, Stanley Tucci, KennethBranagh and Hugh Grant, and John F.Kennedy Jr.
Deaths: Jesse Belvin, EddieCochran, Lord Buckley, Clark Gable.
Top movies: Psycho, Inherit theWind, The Magnificent Seven, Exo-dus, Elmer Gantry.
Best music: Cathy’s Clown (EverlyBrothers) was no. 1 on the BillboardTop 100, and Stay, by Maurice Will-iams and the Zodiacs, was no. 98. Inbetween, not much great.
WHS had not been a very scaryopponent in the 1950s. But the 1959-1960 school year saw the beginning ofa renaissance that would soon seeWestfield become the state’s premiersports town.
The Blue Devils’ combined recordfor 1959-1960 was 96 wins, 30 lossesand 1 tie (a 76.2 win percentage). And20 of the losses came in basketball andbaseball. There were two county cham-pionships (swimming, golf) but nostate team titles.
Here’s a look at each of the nine
GETTING TOGETHER AGAIN…Former WHS baseball players Joe Schurig,left, and Dave Kaplow get together prior to the recent three-game series betweenSusquehanna and Drew. Schurig (WHS, ’07) has a 3-1 record as a relief pitcherfor 14-15 Susquehanna; Kaplow (’06) is hitting .250 as the designated hitter for7-24 Drew.
Devil of the WeekConnor Hewett
Lacrosse
varsity teams that year.Football: Coach Les Zorge’s team
went 5-4, beating A.L. Johnson,Roselle, Roselle Park, Bound Brookand Jonathan Dayton, while losing toRahway, Columbia, North Plainfieldand Plainfield. WHS’s single-wingattack consisted of Bob Mueller, JerryLuebeck, Bob Duncan, Pete Braun,Bob Maltbie, Scott Ellis and DaveReitze across the front, with BobWolfgang at tailback, Jim Kovacs andJohn Brownell at fullback, RossMannino and Dave Wilday atwingback and Dick Morash and JackMay at blocking back. Defensively,Morash, Mueller and Ellis were theends, Maltbie, Larry Scanlon, Duncanand Greg Weiss were the tackles, withJohn Griner and Luebeck at middleguard. Braun and Brownell, along withMay and Bill Bryant shared the line-backer shores, with Kovacs, Reitze,Mannino, Smitty Lanning, Wilday,Dwight Winn and Ron Viglianti in thesecondary.
Cross-country: Coach Lou Reccia’sfinal team went 8-2, losing to Colum-bia and Union. WHS was fifth at coun-ties and 19th at states.
Basketball: The team finished 14-11, with wins over SP-F and HolyTrinity. Jim Mowry (12.2 ppg) led thebalanced attack that included Phil VanKirk (9.6), Charles Hoppin (8.6), GaryHarnett (8.2) and Lowell Higgins (6.0).WHS won two county tournamentgames before falling to Elizabeth’s St.
Mary, and also beat Thomas Jeffersonin its state opener, before Perth Amboyknocked them out.
Wrestling: Coach Gary Kehler’ssecond-year team went 10-2, losing toCranford (25-20) in the opener andlater Plainfield (24-21). A 20-19 winover Roselle Park on Jan. 22 “put us onthe (New Jersey wrestling) map,”Kehler said. The lineup: Doug Wight(98), Barry Fritz and John Serijan(106), Skip Sims (115), Charles Wistar(123), Dennis Powers (130), Jeff
Shapiro (136), Ron Viglianti (141),John Anderson and Jay Benedetti(148), Bob Mueller (157), DickMorash (168), Bob Maltbie (178),Gene Barron (heavy). WHS was fourthat districts (Powers and Mueller wonindividual titles), while Powers be-came the school’s first state cham-pion.
Swimming: Coach Joe Kursar’s jug-gernaut went 16-0, moving its winstreak to 45 in a row. WHS won thecounty championship but was secondto Columbia at states. County winnerswere: Bill Smart (100 back), HankMarshall (100 breast), Dan Nichols(100 free) and Rick Wells (diving),along with the medley relay of Smart,Bruce Overbay, Rich Berkley and JeffHitchings. Nichols (50 free) and Wells(diving) also won state titles.
Baseball: Coach John Lay’s teamwent 6-9-1, with captain SmittyLanning and Pete Love doing most ofthe pitching. The infield included JohnLoepsinger (1b), Jim Wilday (2b),Dave Wilday (3b) and Charles Hoppin(ss), with Charlie Felter (left), ChuckGetter (center) and Ron Viglianti(right) in the outfield. Dick Myers wasthe catcher. Art Garvin (infield) andRoss Mannino (outfield) provideddepth. The team had problems scoringruns, with Felter the leading hitter at.289. Future NBA star Rick Barry ofRoselle Park threw a no-hitter at WHSon Memorial Day; a year later, Barry’stwo-out single in the seventh inning
cost Tony Reid a no-hitter. Lanningstruck out a school record 21 in a 2-010-inning win over Rahway and TomHoagland in the county tournament.
Golf: Coach Gary Kehler’s teamwas 15-0, won the county title at AshBrook and tied for fourth at states. Thelineup: Jim Grant, Barry Hardigan,Bob Michaels, Bob Daniels, LarryMacBean and Tom Pearsall.
Tennis: Coach Sam Bunting’s squadwas 14-1, losing to Fair Lawn in thesecond round of the state champion-ships. WHS won 63 sets and lost ninethe entire year. The lineup: Bill Gilson(first singles), Bob Durgan (secondsingles), Dave Richardson and JimThomas (third singles), JimMcNamara, Henry Marshall, BillShaffer and Malcolm Sargent atdoubles.
Track: Coach Bob Duncan’s lastteam was 8-1, losing in the seasonfinale to Bound Brook (60-57). WHSwas third at counties, won theWatchung Conference, was fifth atCentral Jersey and fifth at states. BobDuncan (shot, discus) and Ed Miner(sprints) were the big guns.
‘T’ TIMEIt’s perhaps fitting that Ed Tranchina
was known to most of his footballplayers as “T.” Now that the formercoach is about to become the formerathletic director (he announced hisretirement last week), you know there’sgoing to be a lot of “tee time” for “T.”
Beloved by his staff and players, butmisunderstood by many of the “ex-perts” who love to “Monday, Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Satur-day and Sunday quarterback,”Tranchina brought a professional andclassy touch to the often cut-throatworld of high school sports.
He had some outstanding footballteams (87-90-5 in 19 seasons), coachedsome outstanding players and hasmaintained a staff of coaches that haskept WHS among the state’s elite pro-grams in most sports. WHS has onlyhad four athletic directors in the past80 years: Bob Duncan (1930-1963),John Lay (1964-1983), Gary Kehler(1984-1993), Tranchina (1994-2010).
Among the all-state players “T”coached were: Paul Wampler, DaveBrown, Clint Factor, Jim Mozoki,Leroy Gallman, Lou Rettino, TomNorton, Brian Cheek, Maurice Barnett,Seth Coren, Ron Mammano, RasheedHawks, Jason Osborne, BrandonDoerr, Tom Langton, Lamont Turner,Gabe Perez, Matt Daly and JanCocozziello.
DEVIL OF THE WEEKThis week’s winner of a free sub
from Westfield Subs (261 South Av-enue East) is Connor Hewett. Thesenior attack had the last three goalsof the game as the lacrosse team im-proved to 6-1, rallying from a 3-0,halftime deficit to defeat Randolph5-4.
The Devil’s Den appears Thursdayin The Westfield Leader during theschool year. Contact me with com-ments, complaints and suggestions [email protected]. Win or not,WHS4EVR!
we were 7-2,” Tranchina said.During the summer, he got involved
with the Kehler Football Camp.“At that time, it was a high school
camp. It was a week before the seasonstarted. We had a great staff [verynotable area high school headcoaches], and they all brought theirteams,” Tranchina said.
Tranchina became a “Blue Devil”once again when he accepted the po-sition of football Head Coach/Assis-tant to the Athletic Director job in1985.
“When this job opened up, Gary[Kehler] asked me to apply for it. Iwas obviously thrilled that he actu-ally asked me to apply,” Tranchinasaid. “It was probably the best job Iever had. He had so much wisdom.”
When Kehler retired, Tranchinabecame Athletic Director in 1993,while still coaching. Jim Benedictbecame the head football coach thefollowing two years. When Benedictleft to coach at Rutgers University,Tranchina did double duty for nineyears as football hCher, 98° headcoach/athletic director until JimDeSarno became head coach in 2006.
During that second nine-yearstretch, Tranchina, who was namedCoach of the Year in 1997 and laternamed Athletic Director of the Year,had many memorable experiences ashead coach.
“In ’98 when we went to the Mead-owlands to play, that was so muchfun. We had a great team, great par-ents. We lost that game but having theopportunity to be at Giants Stadiumwas a thrill,” Tranchina recalled.“How we got there was also a thrill.We were big underdogs againstParsippany Hills. I think like 21-pointunderdogs. We went out there an ab-solutely hammered them [44-13 –See The Westfield Leader, November26, 1998 archives]. Even the gamebefore that, West Morris Central![Westfield won 30-6]. In between allof that, it was probably one of the bestPlainfield games ever, becausePlainfield [ranked no. 3] was unde-feated. They were playing in the statechampionships. We [ranked no. 18]had one loss. We were playing in thestate championships, so you had twostate playoff teams playing on Thanks-giving Day. It was actually postponeduntil Saturday, because they wantedto rest the quarterback’s [DarrylKennedy] shoulder. [December 3,1998 archives].”
Tranchina also recalled a 7-0 vic-tory over hosting Morristown underpeculiar circumstances on November11, 2001. The game was scheduledfor Saturday, November 10, but noreferees showed up, so the game wasbumped to Sunday – November 15,2001 archives.
Another memorable game was a28-21 victory over Union after trail-ing 21-0. Jan Cocozziello was theBlue Devil quarterback – November14, 2002 archives.
“We were big underdogs up atShabazz when they had Amir Pinnix.They were beating everybody, and
we shut them down. There are somany memories,” Tranchina said. The“Devils’ Brigade” defense shut downPinnix and won 10-6 – See October10, 2002 archives.
But as the fond memories mounted,so did the thought of retirement.
“My wife [Susan] and I made thedecision in the fall. I just knew that Ihad been the A.D. for 17 years, and Ineed some time for myself. I needtime to exercise and eat right. Oftentimes with this job, I don’t have thetime to do that,” answered Tranchina.“I am excited about doing something.Help with football. I have been out acouple of years. I still love it. That’swhy I got into this profession. I’vehad some offers to be an assistantcoach some place. I don’t want to bea head coach.”
Tranchina added that he has a lot ofwork to do around his house and willmost likely help his sons, Nick andDerrek, with some construction workaround their houses.
“Nick and Derrek teach in the LongBranch system. They both are footballcoaches, and Nick is also an assistantwrestling coach. He’s also the headgolf coach. I am a big wrestling fan.I’ve always loved that. I go out to a lotof Long Branch matches. I enjoywatching my sons coach,” he said.
Additionally, his daughter Marisajust graduated from Penn State Uni-versity. “She’s a big Joe Paterno fan,so I will enjoy spending time withher,” he said.
Tranchina also wanted to point out,“The Westfield Leader has alwaystreated me exceptionally well, theway you cover all of our kids. It reallymeans a lot to me.”
Lady Blue Devils TramplePlainfield, Rahway in TrackThe Westfield High School girls
track and field team began its regularseason on the right foot by tramplingPlainfield, 109-30, in Plainfield onApril 7 and Rahway, 90-49, inWestfield on April 13.
Sirena Van Epp with a distance of31’8.5”, Kelly Irving at 31’5” andClaire Stevens-Haas at 29 feet sweptthe triple jump against Plainfield. LisaNehring at 2:39, Becky Castaldo at2:43 and Leigh Heinbokel at 2:43.1swept the 800 meters. Sophia Devitaat 1:13.7, Daniella Ciampa at 1:15.3,Eileen Cook at 1:15.8 and TiernyCummings at 1:28.4 swept the inter-mediate hurdles.
Alyssa Hatch at 5:51.5, ShannonMooney at 6:03.1 and Alana Basil at6:22.4 swept the 1,600 meters. KatyPonce at 59.4, Ashley Edwards at1:00.3 and Irving at 1:03 swept the400 meters. Alex Hawkins at 4’8”,Devita at 4’2” and Alexis Murphy at4’0” swept the high jump. Edwardsand Ponce with respective times of26.0 and 26.7 crossed 1-2 in the 200meters. Danielle Grimes at 13:41 andHatch at 13:52.2 finished 1-2 in the3,200.
Nehring, Ciampa, Cook and Devitawon the 4x400 relay with a time of4:32. Grace Mustard with a toss of71’1.5” and Caitlin Coleman at 63 feettook 1-2 in the discus. Elizabeth Penczak
won the javelin with a toss of 84’4”.Stevens Haas with a height of 9’6” andAlex Kapadia at 7’0” took 1-2 in thepole vault. Stevens Haas at 16.8 andMurphy at 20.0 finished 2-3 in the 100hurdles. Stevens-Haas at 15’5” andDevita at 14’4” placed 2-3 in the longjump. Kyla Grodzka placed third in theshot put with a shove of 28’4”
Grodzka at 28’2.5”, Jill Pate at25’1” and Oria Alexander at 23’4.75”swept the shot put against Rahway.Hatch at 12:45 and Grimes at 12:51finished 1-2 in the 3,200. Mustard at66’11” and Hannah Weeks at 62’6”took 1-2 in the discus. Stevens-Haasat nine feet and Kapadia t 6’6” took 1-2 in the pole vault. Stevens-Haas at15’3” and Devita at 14’11” took 1-2in the long jump. Stevens-Haas alsowon the 100 hurdles at 16.9.
Edwards and Hannah Kronick took1-2 in the 200 with respective timesof 27.1 and 28.3. Edwards and Poncetook 1-2 in the 400 with respectivetimes of 1:00.4 and 1:00.9. Edwardscrossed first in the 100 meters at 13.2.Devita won the 400 hurdles with atime of 1:11.6. Stevens-Haas tooksecond in the triple jump with a dis-tance of 31’2”. Hatch finished sec-ond in the 1,600 at 5:38.5.Hawkinstook second in the high jump with aheight of 4’4”. Heinbokel finishedsecond in the 800 at 2:41.6.
Baseball Raiders TapUnion City Nine, 4-1Mike Ridge ripped two hits and
had three RBI, and Marcus Riverahad two hits and scored twice for theScotch Plains-Fanwood High Schoolbaseball team in a 4-1 victory overhost Union City on April 17.
Motown-Beard StopsSoftball Raiders, 6-4Morristown-Beard plated five runs
in the bottom of the first inning andheld on to defeat the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School softball team,6-4, in Morris Township. ChristineMonroy had a pair of hits and an RBIfor the Raiders.
SPORTS SHORTS:
Blue Devil Boys RapColumbia Laxers, 8-6
The Westfield High School boyslacrosse team got three goals andtwo assists each from JohnBohlinger and Sam Rosenburgh inan 8-6 victory over Columbia inWestfield on April 14. Jeff LaForgehad seven saves for the 5-1 BlueDevils.
Westfield Netmen FallIn Bennett Semifinals
The Westfield High School boystennis team defeated Dwight-Englewood, 3-2, in the first roundand Millburn, 4-1, in thequarterfinals of the Bryan BennettMemorial Tournament at Delbartonin Morris Township on April 17before falling, 3-2, by eventual tour-nament champion Chatham in thesemifinals on April 18.Westfield 3, Dwight-Englewood 2First singles: Dan Shutov (D) d JustinSnyder, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4Second singles: Scott Bernstein (W)d Max Sacks, 6-4, 6-2Third singles: Tom Kowalski (W) dJason Katz, 6-2, 6-1First doubles: Francis Loh and EricRosengart (D) d Graeme Stahl andAlan Chu, 7-6 (7-4), 1-6, 6-2Second doubles: Josh Simmons andScott Thompson (W) d Luke Shermanand John Enokida, 6-2, 6-2
Westfield 4, Millburn 1First singles: Snyder (W) d Rob Xie,6-2, 6-1Second singles: Bernstein (W) d TedMoskowitz, 6-4, 6-1Third singles: Kowalski (W) d JaredWishnow, 6-3, 6-3First doubles: Stahl and Chu (W) dDan Feldman and Nikhil Vohra, 6-1, 6-2Second doubles: Nicky Chen-Schmidt and Sebastian Chen-Schmidt (M) d Simmons and Thomp-son, 6-1, 6-3
Chatham 3, Westfield 2First singles: Pat Monaghan (C) dSnyder, 6-0, 6-7 (1-7), 6-1Second singles: Quentin Monaghan(C) d Bernstein, 6-0, 6-4Third singles: Matt Romel (C) dKowalski, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4First doubles: Stahl and Chu (W) dMatt Evans and Andrew Coppola, 6-2, 6-3Second doubles: Simmons and Th-ompson (W) d Chad Gildersleeve andAlec Weber, 6-2, 6-3
Blue Devil BohlingerMakes Lax Top-20
Westfield High School boys la-crosse team captain John Bohlingetrecently broke into the New Jerseytop-20 in scoring. In seven games,Bohlinger netted 23 goals and 13assists.
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