As the Winter Season approaches the halfway point, the Roselle Catholic teams are continuing to keep the fire going. As we start to look at the upcoming Union County Tournaments for each sport, the teams have their eyes set on making some moves.
The RC keglers have been rolling along, picking up a pair of wins over Hillside, and a big victory over St. Mary’s. The team has been led by the solid play of Juniors Terrell Dukes and Brian Gutierrez. In their most recent win over Hillside, the team needed a big final frame, and got it to capture a 3 point win in the 3rd set to win the overall game. The team is ready to get the Union County Tournament underway next Monday, January 28 at Jersey Lanes.
The Lions Track program continues to stay the course, as the team has competed in the Union County Relays as well the NJSIAA State Relays recently. The team continues to make their mark, and are gearing up to compete in the upcoming Union County Championship meet on Saturday.
The RC Cheering squad has had a lot to cheer for with both basketball teams coming up with victories in big home games recently. The team looks sharp in their new uniforms, which they showed off at home when the Boys team faced American History this past week.
The Lady Lions basketball team took home a 2nd place finish in the annual RC Holiday Tournament, falling short of victory against the NJ.com #8 West Orange team. The team has played a tough schedule thus far, but has maintained a 6-5 record. The team has competed in some high profile events, including a big win for their opening day over King’s Christian in the Hearts 2 Hands Invitational at RC, another victory over Curtis (NY) in the Coaches Choice Showcase at the College of Staten Island, and their most recent win in the Say Yes To Success invitational held in the Bronx over Pingree (Mass). Most notably, the team recently defeated local rival and perennial powerhouse Patrick School on Coach Hagan Court in the Lions Den. The team has been led by the outstanding play of Jenissa Encarnacion (14.6 ppg, 4.4 apg) and Taniya Hanner (13.9 ppg, 9.1 rbg). Hanner, who netted her 1000th point this past week at Westfield, is headed to UAlbany in the Fall. The team looks to move past Cranford on Tuesday and Oak Knoll on Saturday, both on the road.
The RC Boys Basketball team has had an amazing start to their season as well. Starting off 14-0, the team captured big national wins over Our Savior Lutheran (NY) on a buzzer beater putback by Kahlil Whitney in the Kyrie Irving Nike Invitational at the Barclays Center, and back to back victories over Eleanor Roosevelt (MD) and Salesianum (DE) in the Slam Dunk to the Beach in Delaware. The team headed to the Cancer Research Classic in West Virginia and defeated First Love Christian (PA) before defeating Archbishop Stepinac (last year’s NY #1 team) in the Empire Invitational in the Bronx. Locally, the team has had big wins over strong teams including Trenton Catholic, East Orange, Linden, and American History all in the Lions Den, while defeating Montclair Immaculate, Patrick School and St. Marys on the road. The team is gearing up to head to Linden on January 22 before taking part in the final weekend of the 3 part Hearts 2 Hand Invitational with games vs Gill St. Bernards on Jan 25 (at Gill) and vs Camden on Jan 27 (at Kean). The team’s dynamic duo of Kentucky bound Whitney along with future UNLV Runnin Rebel Josh Pierre-Louis have helped push the Lions throughout the season. Those two along with fellow senior Colby Rogers were all recently nominated for inclusion in this year’s McDonald’s All American game. Juniors Richie Greaves and Cliff Omoruyi have contributed greatly to the team’s success, as well as the guard play of fellow junior Ahmad Robinson.
Be sure to keep up to date with all the Lions action via our twitter (@RCLionsDen) or our facebook page (Roselle Catholic Lions Den)
GO LIONS!!!