SJ Sports: Inside Mt. Laurel Sports

Mt. Laurel Sports Make An Impact
Mt. Laurel Baseball continues to grow each spring. The local town program kicked off another season last month. While doing so, the township continued to emphasize the importance of community involvement as well as balls and strikes. The program wants kids to experience more than just baseball on game day.

Opening weekend took place in the first week of April with the annual team parade followed by full slate of games. Mt. Laurel Baseball Director Steve Schwartz continues to be happy with the program's progress and has watched the number of teams grow each season. "We try to emphasize certain things with the kids and the parents," said Schwartz. "We want them to be good neighbors. That's the theme we had going in on opening day." The opening day parade featured guest appearances by the Phillie Phanatic and Boomer, the Trenton Thunder mascot. The local NBC affiliate Channel 10 sports anchor, and former Philadelphia Eagle, Vai Sikahema was also in attendance and served as the master of ceremonies. It is the fifth straight season the league has started the season with a parade.

Mt. Laurel Baseball features a wide variety of age groups. The youngest players are in an instructional league at age five. The older players are 18-year olds who participate in the American Legion program. "The kids continue to move up after their time in the instructional league," Schwartz said. "Kids in the 6-7 age group move on to T-ball. The parents then decide whether or not to move them up into our rookie league, which has a machine pitch. The 9-10 level is the minors and the 11-12 is the majors." When players remain with the program after the major level, they have the option of playing for the Babe Ruth prep and Babe Ruth leagues. The Legion teams start at age 13 and work in conjunction with Lenape High School's Lenape Partners. The Lenape Partners is a group that organizes fundraisers and promotes baseball in the community. "They help promote baseball at Lenape," said Schwartz. "They work on field improvements and continue to improve baseball at the high school."

Schwartz is looking forward to another exciting season of baseball on the field. By the end of May, there will be champions crowned in each league. However, Schwartz knows that it's more than just championships that makes Mt. Laurel Baseball successful. "We have stressed the importance of coming together," Schwartz said. "We wanted to promote baseball in the town as much as we could. The result has been a solid community. We're still trying to do more, but we're happy with what we've accomplished for the kids."

The mission statement of Mt. Laurel Baseball is clear. Their objective is to develop good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage and respect for authority. So far, it has been mission accomplished for one of the most respected youth programs in all of South Jersey.

Track Them Down
It did not take long for Monica Finley and Tiffany Barbour to make their mark in South Jersey track and field this spring. The pair of Lenape athletes took first in the javelin competition at the Burlington County Hall of Fame Meet in the first weekend of the season. The top throw of the day from the Lenape tandem was 179-9. Finley and Barbour are performers that could bring plenty of individual success to Lenape this spring. The Indians will have a difficult time picking up wins against division rivals such as Cherokee, Eastern and Shawnee. All three are in the top five in South Jersey, so the Indians will have their hands full. However, don't be surprised to see Lenape improve as the season goes on.

Mixed Emotions
Sometimes it isn't easy to root for success for a Lenape graduate. Such is the case in girls lacrosse, where a former Indian is now the head coach of one of the Indians' top rivals. Dana Latona graduated from Lenape in 1996. She is now the head coach of the rival lacrosse team at Cherokee and has her team off to a fast start this spring. Latona has Cherokee playing with plenty of confidence this season and many believe the Chiefs could be the surprise team in South Jersey. Latona is in her second year as head coach at Cherokee, but the former Lenape star is quickly establishing a strong coaching reputation.

Another former lacrosse star at Lenape has emerged as one of the top players in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. Former Indian Kristen Miskey is now a senior midfielder for Montclair State. Miskey has 16 goals and an assist in six games for the Red Hawks and also leads the team in draw controls. She now has 75 goals and 20 assists in her three years at Montclair. Miskey came to Montclair State three years ago and has started in every game she has played in.

Hall Finds Fame
The baseball team at Indiana State is trying to climb back into contention after a 12-12 start. If the Sycamores do make a title run at the end of the month, Chris Hall will be a big reason why. The Lenape graduate and junior third baseman is hitting .300 on the season while playing in 23 of Indiana State's 24 games. He is third on the team in doubles with seven and fourth in RBI's with 11. Hall has started in 120 of 123 games for the Sycamores in his three years with the program. He hit .273 last season, but had a .321 average in Missouri Valley Conference games. Hall hit nine home runs in each of his first two seasons at Indiana State. Hall was named to the All-South Jersey team during his junior and senior seasons at Lenape. He also set a school record his junior season with seven home runs.

Content provided by South Jersey Sports Club.

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Author: SJ Sports Club-Ed Benkin