By TOM WILLIAMS

Ocean City High School won the Ed Byrnes Memorial All-Sports Award for the 2022-23 school year. The award is displayed by the school that wins the most Cape-Atlantic League and NJSIAA championships.

The Raiders won in another close battle with Mainland for the Byrnes Award. In fact, over the 33 years the award has been presented, either OCHS or MRHS has won or tied for it 27 times. You can see more details about the Byrnes Award HERE.

Three OCHS seniors were among the 24 finalists (12 boys, 12 girls) for the Billy Schoppy Memorial Awards, presented to the athletes with the best four-year CAL sports careers. Riley Gunnels and Jack Hoag (left) were boys finalists and Tori Vliet (right, with Tony Surace) was a finalist for the girls award.

More about the Billy Schoppy Award is available HERE.

In addition to winning championships, Ocean City athletes and coaches set or tied school records 26 times in 2022-23. The composite won-loss record of the 20 varsity teams was 239-111-7, a .683 winning percentage. A 21st team – girls volleyball – becomes a varsity sport this fall.

Here is a sport-by-sport summary of the last 10 months.

Football (3-8): Jack Hoag and Jon Moyer were CAL all stars and were joined by Rick Wetzel, Luke Holmes, Nick Layton and Duke Guenther on the Independence Division All Stars in the West Jersey Football League. Kevin Smith’s Raiders played a very tough schedule that included three NJSIAA sectional champions and injuries made it even tougher. The game results, season stats and video links are HERE. The West Jersey Football League standings, South Jersey rankings and stat leaders at CAL schools are all available HERE. The CAL and WJFL all stars are HERE.

Boy Cross Country (9-0): Matt Purdue coached his 12th undefeated team in his 15 seasons, improving his career record to 134-3, a .978 winning percentage that is likely the best by any CAL coach in any sport. Senior Nick Scarangelli won the county meet by more than 45 seconds, finished first in the CAL Meet, third in the South Jersey Meet and sixth in the state meet. The Raiders won the county meet for the 38th time in its 45 years.

Scarangelli, senior Chris Sardy, junior Matt Hoffman and sophomore Ethan Buck were CAL all stars. The cross country season log and school records are HERE.

Girls Cross Country (9-0): Sophomore Maeve Smith finished second in the county meet, leading a pack of six across the finish. Pretty much the same thing happened in the CAL Meet and Smith was seventh in the South Jersey Meet, second among sophomores. Smith, junior Frankie Ritzel and sophomore Chloe Care were CAL all stars. OCHS won the county meet for the 34th time in its 37 seasons. Their cross country season log and school records are HERE.

Field Hockey (14-4-2): The Raiders won the CAL Tournament, beating Hammonton in the final, and advanced to the semifinals of South Jersey Group 3 before losing to Clearview, the eventual champion. Junior Julia Neff led the scoring with 20 goals and senior Tricia Nicoletti added 18. Neff, Nicoletti and senior Andi Helphenstine were CAL all stars. The field hockey season log and school records are HERE.

Boys Soccer (12-4-1): Ocean City won the National Conference championship but lost to St. Augustine, 2-1, in the CAL Tournament semifinals and to Cumberland, 1-0, in the Group 3 first round. Senior Jon Leap led the team with 14 goals and nine assists. Sophomore Anthony Evans added 12 goals. Senior Paul Tjoumakaris was a CAL all star. The boys soccer season log and school records are HERE.

Girls Soccer (15-0-4): These Raiders did not lose a game, though they lost the shootout in two of their four ties – both to Shawnee, in the Coaches Tournament and the Group 3 Tournament. The Raiders defeated Mainland in overtime to win the CAL Tournament. That gives Coach Lisa Cuneo a 47-1 record after three seasons, plus six ties. Sophomore Naomi Nnewihe (left) led the team with 16 goals. Senior Emily Benson had a team-high 11 assists. Nnewihe, senior Tori Vliet, senior Riley Fortna, junior Ashley Rhodes and junior McKenna Chisholm were CAL all stars. The girls soccer season log and school records are HERE.

Girls Tennis (7-11): The Raiders defeated Timber Creek in the first round of Group 3 but lost to Shawnee in the quarterfinals. Junior Alexis Allegretto, playing No. 1 singles, was a CAL all star. The girls tennis season log and school records are HERE.

Boys Basketball (15-13): The Raiders played one of their most challenging schedules and did it with starters missing a combined 21 full games. An opportunity opened during the Group 3 Tournament and they took advantage, winning three straight to reach the South Jersey final, where they lost to Moorestown. Two school records were broken – Coach John Bruno increased his own record for career wins and senior Omero Chevere (right) broke Mike Ludwig’s 27-year old school record for career three-point shooting accuracy. Four players averaged scoring in double figures for just the fourth time in school history – Chevere, senior Sean Sakers, junior Kori Segich and junior Dylan Schlatter. Chevere was a CAL all star and Segich received honorable mention. The season log, stats, video links and school records are HERE. Final CAL standings, stat leaders and rankings are HERE.

Girls Basketball (23-7): These girls rallied late in the season, running off four straight wins in Group 3, including one at Mainland in the South Jersey final. It was the school’s 10th South Jersey title in girls basketball and the 112th in all sports. Senior Avery Jackson averaged 10.1 points per game, sophomore Maddie Adamson got 8.5 and Tori Vliet added 8.3. The trio also combined for 104 three-pointers. Jackson was a CAL all star and Adamson got honorable mention. The season log, stats, video links and school records are HERE. Final CAL standings, stat leaders and rankings are HERE.

Boys Swimming (9-4): This team had three losses entering post-season, to powerful teams St. Augustine, Egg Harbor Township and Cherokee. They then finished first in the South Jersey Invitational and second in the CAL Meet. They reached the South Jersey final where they lost a controversial 87-83 decision to Mainland when two of their relay teams were disqualified. Senior Pat Armstrong had a great season, setting four new individual school records and swimming on two relay teams that also set records. His brother Tom, a sophomore, also set one individual record and one relay record. The season log and school records are HERE.

Girls Swimming (5-6): Ocean City battled around .500 most of the season but finished fourth in the CAL Meet and knocked off Toms River East in the NJSIAA Tournament before losing to Cherry Hill West in the second round. Coach Ian Keyser improved his school record for career wins by a coach. The season log and school records are HERE.

Wrestling (11-11): These Raiders also were around .500 most of the year, though they ran off five straight wins in January. They lost to Lacey Township in the Group 3 Team Tournament and finished fourth in the District 30 Tournament. Junior Nick Layton (right) was third in the district and third in the region. Layton was a CAL all star and sophomore Tom Grimley received honorable mention. On the female side, junior Olivia Guy and sophomore Danna Ramirez-Castaneyra were both named CAL all stars. The season log and school records are HERE.

Baseball (13-11): Andrew Bristol’s team played virtually the entire season without ace senior pitcher Duke McCarron, who pitched less than four innings because of a shoulder injury. He was given all star honorable mention as a designated hitter, however.

But sophomore Evan Taylor (left), a CAL all star and Carpenter Cup selection, had the big season. He broke Matt Dice’s 42-year old school record for batting average in a season and also set a new record for RBIs and tied the record for doubles. The season log and school records are HERE. Final CAL standings & stat leaders are HERE.

Golf (13-4): The Raiders won the Ralph Carson Memorial County Tournament and qualified for the NJSIAA Tournament. They won their last five dual matches of the season. Sophomore Alex Bayham, who has had low average on the team the last two seasons, was a CAL all star along with senior Cam Yoa. Sophomore Sam Ritti received honorable mention. The season log and school records are HERE. Final CAL averages are HERE.

Boys Lacrosse (13-7): The Raiders continued their CAL domination, stretching their win streak in the league to 33 over five seasons. They defeated Lower Cape May in the CAL Tournament final but lost to Moorestown in the South Jersey semifinals in two overtimes. Six of their seven losses were to team’s ranked in the state Top 20. Junior Pat Grimley (right), a CAL all star, broke Marty Cattie’s school record for career goals and is 10 assists away from Jake Schneider’s school mark in that category. Senior Dylan Dwyer, senior Paul Tjoumakaris, senior Jack Davis, junior Charlie Schutta and junior Jon Moyer joined Grimley as CAL all stars. Senior Winfield Dunn received honorable mention. Coach Joe LaTorre extended his school record for career victories. The season log and school records are HERE. Final CAL standings & stat leaders are HERE.

Girls Lacrosse (16-5): The Raiders stretched their CAL win streak to 67 games over seven seasons, including a win over Holy Spirit in the CAL Tournament final. They lost to Moorestown in the South Jersey semifinals. Senior Andi Helphenstine, senior Madi Wenner, junior Delainey Sutley, junior Julianna Duff and junior Gracie Pierce were CAL all stars. Senior Maddy Monteleone received honorable mention. Sutley (left) scored 64 goals, second most in the CAL. The season log and school records are HERE. Final CAL standings & stat leaders are HERE.

Softball (20-9): The Raiders won their first conference championship since 1983 and Coach Carrie Merritt tied the record for wins in a season accomplished twice by Roland Watson and once by Gina Zappariello, all in the 1980s. Freshman Jessica Mooney (right) broke Shannon Garrity’s 34-year old record for doubles in a season and, as a pitcher, broke Sondra Reeves’ 40-year old record for strikeouts. Senior MacKenzee Segich broke her sister Arianna’s school record for hits in a season. And senior Gabrielle Bowen broke two painful records – most times hit by a pitch in a career and a season. Both Mooney and Segich were CAL all stars and freshman Brooke Douglas received honorable mention. The season log and school records are HERE. Final CAL standings & stat leaders are HERE.

Boys Tennis (18-3): The Raiders were conference champions for just the second time in 40 years (they also won in 2010) and won nine straight before losing to Moorestown in the South Jersey semifinals. Junior Charles DiCicco (above) won the CAL singles title and was joined on the CAL all star team by senior Pat Lonergan and junior Jackson Barnes for doubles. DiCicco became the sixth OCHS player to win 20 matches in a season at No. 1 singles. The season log and school records are HERE.

Boys Track (6-3): The Raiders won the county meet for the 42nd time in 50 years and the 15th straight time under Matt Purdue. They lost their first three dual meets and never lost again. Junior Luke Halbruner broke Walt Buganski’s 28-year old school record in the 400 meters and tied the record for 100 meters. Senior Nick Scarangelli was a CAL all star in the 3200 meters and Halbruner received honorable mention. The season log and school records are HERE.

Girls Track (8-1): At the start of the season very few people knew about Sophia Curtis. By the end of the season, she was all OCHS fans talked about. The junior transfer from Delaware (left) broke Shelley Solheim’s school record in the 400 meters, Carla Roberts’ record in the 400 hurdles and Allie Zelinski’s record in the triple jump. Her triple jump was one of the longest in the country. She went on to win the event at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions, becoming the fourth OCHS girl to win at the MOC (joining Brittany Sedberry, Lauren McHale and Megan Hartman).

Senior Elaina Styer also set a school record, bettering Sophia Gresham’s mark in the long jump. Curtis and Styer (right, with Coach Tim Cook) both qualified as All-Americans at the New Balance Meet in Philadelphia. In addition to Curtis and Styer, sophomore Maeve Smith was a CAL all star in the 3200 meters and freshman Callie Duff got honorable mention. Coach Tim Cook also kept the Raiders’ record perfect – 39-0 – in the county track meet. The season log and school records are HERE.

Coaches: Aside from Purdue, Cuneo, Bruno, Keyser, LaTorre, Merritt and Cook – who are mentioned above – there were other accomplishments by OCHS coaches. Aaron Bogushefsky had his 10th straight winning season in boys soccer during which the Raiders won seven championships. Ed Ritti moved past Ralph Carson and now has the highest winning percentage in OCHS golf history. Stephanie Gaitley became that rare Ocean City coach to win a South Jersey title in her first season as head coach. It also ended Gaitley’s losing streak – she had been in three South Jersey finals as an OCHS player and lost all three. Samantha DiMatteo maintained her status as the girls tennis coach with the highest won-lost percentage, just two percentage points ahead of the legendary Phil Birnbaum. And Tim Kelley (with assistant Mike Cappelletti), whom almost everybody knows are very effective and caring coaches, now have the highest winning percentage in boys tennis in OCHS history.

There, basically, is a summary of the Ocean City High School sports year – a year that brought the Ed Byrnes Memorial All-Sports Award back to the Raiders’ trophy case.