SJ Sports: Inside Mt. Laurel Sports

In Burlington County's opening 11-10 win over Mercer County, Mignogna, was 0 for 2, but had a run scored an an RBI. During an 8-6 second round victory over Berks County, Mignogna went 1 for 3 and played his usual flawless defense in center field. Rella was 1 for 1 with two runs scored in the win. "It was an amazing experience," said Mignogna. "My family grew up in South Philly, so I had a huge cheering section there. My mom and dad used to go to the Vet when they were kids, so it was a really nice atmosphere." Added Rella, "I played catcher all season but was asked to play first base. It was easy to adjust to the high hops on the turf." Rella said he is reminded of the Carpenter Cup whenever he sees the Phillies on the tube. "I was watching the Phillies on TV the other night," Rella continued, "and I couldn't believe that I had played on the same field."

Mignogna played in the Carpenter Cup as a junior, when Burlington County lost a 13-10 first round game to Ocean/Monmouth. In defeat, Mignogna was impressive, going 2 for 3 with a run and a triple and four RBIs. He was happy to get to play three games in this past Carpenter Cup. "It has to be a team effort to win games in the Carpenter Cup," Mignogna said. "Everybody gets to play, so you need contributions from everyone. That's what our team got all week." The game also gave a chance for Mignogna and Rella to see some of their formal rivals in the same dugout.

Players from schools such as Shawnee and Cherokee were also playing for Burlington County, so Mignogna and Rella had the chance to play with some of the same players they had battled against for four seasons on Lenape turf. "I really got to know all of the players I played with," Rella said. "That was a great team we had at the tournament. Even if the guys from those other schools are nice guys, you're so used to playing against them and trying to beat teams like Shawnee and Cherokee. This was a chance to get to know those guys off the field."

Both players will be back on the field in college next spring. Mignogna will play baseball at Radford University while Rella will play for The College of New Jersey. Both were part of a Lenape team that was forced to play several young players this season. However, both Mignogna and Rella are confident that new head coach Jack Swain has the high school program on the right track. "It was definitely a transition year," said Mignogna. "But I think the program is headed in the right direction. We lost eight games by a run, so Coach Swain has the program heading in the right direction."

"Coach Swain did all that he could do," said Rella. "He wanted a whole new look for Lenape baseball and he did a great job in his first year. He got the program back on its feet." Mignogna and Rella should be able to excel at the college level. Even if their baseball days come to an end after college, the Lenape graduates will always remember what it was like to take the field at a major league stadium.

Two More
The list of Lenape sports programs has grown by two. At the end of the high school sports season, the local high school announced the addition of two sports programs. Lenape will add boys lacrosse and girls volleyball to its long list of sports teams. Boys lacrosse will begin play in the spring of 2003. Girls volleyball will get underway in the fall of 2003. Lenape's sister schools, Shawnee and Cherokee, will also be adding the two new programs.

Lenape athletic director Mike Bauer knew there would be room to add two more sports, but he wanted the students to choose the ones they wanted. "We decided to do a survey," said Bauer. "We wanted to see what the students were most interested in. Boys lacrosse and girls volleyball came out on top." Lacrosse and volleyball are two of the fastest growing sports on the high school level in New Jersey. Boys lacrosse is becoming more and more popular each year with several North Jersey schools having fielded teams for quite some time. With girls lacrosse growing every year in the region, a host of boys programs seemed inevitable. It has been the same story for volleyball, where both boys and girls programs are increasing in numbers.

With the timeline for both programs in place, the next challenge for Bauer will be to make sure everything is in place by opening day. "We've already started to put everything together," Bauer said, indicating the level of commitment by the high school. "There is going to be a lot of equipment needed, especially for boys lacrosse. We need pads, helmets and sticks in addition to the uniforms. We're going to work together as a district to make sure all of the teams are ready."

The girls volleyball team will join an Olympic Conference that already contains familiar rivals from other sports such as Washington Township and Cherry Hill East. Boys lacrosse will join Shawnee, Cherokee, Washington Township and Eastern in a newly created division. Bauer expects all of the teams to receive plenty of support from the communities. "It's an expansion of our athletic programs in our community," said Bauer. "All of our programs have plenty of support from our communities. They have programs for all of our other sports in the town and we expect the same for our newer sports."

Another sport may be on the horizon at Lenape. Bauer confirmed that a boys volleyball program might be added in the near future.

Content provided by South Jersey Sports Club.

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