It was a Runderful day in Asbury Park.
The famous resort city hosted the Asbury Park Santa Run, a 5K (3.1-mile) event.
The event benefited Lunch Break, a local charity. Each runner received a Santa Claus suit at registration in Bradley Park. A portion of the proceeds went directly to the charity. There was also a food drive and toy drive for families in need during the holidays.
A post-race party took place at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park. The facility was the site for live music, drink specials and food.
The overall winner and men’s leader was Richard Miller of Seaside Park. Racing to the women’s title was Beth Mayer of Bradley Beach.
Approximately 1,000 runners competed according, to event spokeswoman Kate McMahon.
In girls basketball:
Neptune leads the field: The Scarlet Fliers were seeded first at the WOBM Christmas Classic at a meeting of coaches at The Villa in Toms River.
Neptune will meet 16th-seeded Monroe in the opening round Saturday, Dec. 17 at 6:45 p.m. at the Pine Belt Arena in Toms River in a clash of first-year entrants.
The Scarlet Fliers return four key players, led by high-scoring senior guard Desiree Allen, from last year’s 23-5 team. The 5-foot-8 Allen, who has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the New Jersey Institute of Technology, led the Shore Conference in scoring last year, averaging 22.4 points per game.
The Scarlet Fliers also hope for strong play from senior guards Brianna Love and Alexis Bennett and senior forward Di’Avian Foster.
John Brown, Neptune’s 11th-year coach and an ex-Lakewood athlete, takes a 247-36 record at the helm of the Scarlet Fliers into this season.
In other first-round games, it will be No. 8 Colts Neck against No. 9 Red Bank Regional, No. 4 Manchester against No. 13 Freehold Township, No. 5 Point Pleasant Boro against No. 12 Toms River South, No. 3 Ewing against No. 14 Wall, No 6 Donovan Catholic against No. 11 Toms River East, No. 7 Toms River North against No. 10 Brick Memorial and No. 2 Sayreville against No. 15 Central Regional.
The quarterfinals will take place Dec. 26 at the Pine Belt Arena. The semifinals will be played Dec. 28 at the Pine Belt Arena. The championship game will tap off Dec. 28 at 5:30 p.m. at the Pine Belt Arena.
The pairings were announced Monday, Dec. 12 at a breakfast at the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center in Toms River. Rutgers University head wrestling coach Scott Goodale, a former Jackson Memorial mentor and athlete, was the guest speaker.
In boys basketball:
Schedule announced: Neptune interim athletics director Nick Pizzulli has announced the schedule for the Neptune Holiday Basketball Jubilee to take place Dec. 27, 28 and 30 at the home of the Scarlet Fliers.
Eighth-seeded Asbury Park will go against top-seeded Seton Hall Prep on Dec. 27 at 2:30 p.m in the quarterfinals. In other quarterfinals Dec. 27, it will be fifth-seeded Neptune against fourth-seeded Bloomfield Tech at 4:15 p.m., third-seeded Lakewood against sixth-seeded Long Branch at 11 a.m. and second-seeded Ewing against seventh-seeded St. Joseph at 12:45 p.m.
The winners will meet in the semifinals at 2:30 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. Dec. 28. The championship game will take place Dec. 30 at 4:15 p.m. The third-place game will begin at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 30.
There will also be a consolation bracket.
“In case of bad weather, the postponed games will be played on the next day following the same times,” Pizzulli said. “Awards will be given to the finalists along with several individual awards. A trainer will be present at all games. We look forward to a great holiday tournament.”
In girls bowling:
Ocean 3, Neptune 0: Dana Henry rolled a 243 and Jenn Ingulli added a 233, leading the Spartans past the Scarlet Fliers at Shore Lanes in Neptune City.
Henry prevails: Henry won the South Jersey Singles Classic and Ingulli finished among the top eight at the Finnigan’s Bowling Center in Lakewood.
The event consisted of 64 bowlers.
Ocean 3, Point Pleasant Boro 0: Ingulli rolled a 254-656 to lead the Spartans past the Panthers at Shore Lanes.
Manasquan 3, Neptune 0: Kayla Wolfe fired a 168-368 for the Scarlet Fliers in their loss to the Big Blue Warriors at Shore Lanes.
Point Pleasant Boro 3, Asbury Park 0: Tabitha Fauver rolled a 124-323 for the Blue Bishops in their setback to the Panthers at Shore Lanes.
Wall 2, Neptune 1: Despite a 166-466 by Julia Andretta, the Scarlet Fliers tumbled to the Crimson Knights at Shore Lanes.
Ocean 3, Neptune 0: Henry’s 243-629 propelled the Spartans past the Scarlet Fliers at Shore Lanes.
Andretta led Neptune with a 177-443.
Wall 3, Asbury Park 0: Kohori Martinez notched a 56-137 for the Blue Bishops as they succumbed to the Crimson Knights at Shore Lanes.
Central A Division standings through Dec. 12: Ocean 6-0, Manasquan 6-0, Wall 5-4, Point Pleasant Boro 3-3, Neptune 1-8, Asbury Park 0-6
In boys bowling:
Ocean 3, Point Pleasant Boro 0: Matt Redbord’s 254-650 led the Spartans past the Panthers at Shore Lanes.
Manasquan 3, Neptune 0: Sean Magauran rolled a 243-614 for the Scarlet Fliers as they fell to the Big Blue Warriors at Shore Lanes.
St. Rose 2, Asbury Park 1: With Luis Rodriguez rolling a 208-452, the Blue Bishops fell to the Purple Roses.
Ocean 2, Neptune 1: Logan Smith rolled a 268-677 to lead the Spartans past the Scarlet Fliers at Shore Lanes.
For Neptune, Jesse Kifner fired a 279 and Bill Flood added a 620.
Wall 3, Asbury Park 0: Rodriguez finished with a 156-435 for the Blue Bishops in their loss to the Crimson Knights at Shore Lanes.
Neptune 2, Wall 1: Magauran put a 267-663 into the book for the Scarlet Fliers in their loss to the Crimson Knights at Shore Lanes.
Point Pleasant Boro 3, Asbury Park 0: Despite a 169-435 by Rodriguez, the Blue Bishops suffered a setback to the Panthers at Shore Lanes.
Ocean 3, St. Rose 0: Redbord notched a 247-684 for the Spartans in their loss to the Purple Roses at Shore Lanes.
Central A Division standings through Dec. 12: Ocean 8-1, Manasquan 5-1, Wall 5-4, St. Rose 5-4, Neptune 3-6, Point Pleasant Boro 3-6, Asbury Park 1-8
Monmouth Regional 3, Shore Regional 0: The Falcons blanked the Blue Devils at Shore Lanes.
Long Branch 3, Monmouth 0: The Falcons fell to the Green Wave at Shore Lanes.
Middletown South 3, Monmouth 0: The Falcons succumbed to the Eagles at Shore Lanes.
In boys swimming:
Neptune 99, Brick Memorial 71: The Scarlet Fliers evened their record at 1-1 with a win over the Mustangs (0-3).
Neptune won every event except for the 200-yard individual medley.
John Maniace, Sam DiLiberto, Jon Cucci and Corey Hagerman won the 200 medley relay in 1:54.87. Hagerman captured the 200 freestyle in 2:00.42. Cucci won the 50 free in 24.77. Maniace copped the 100 butterfly in 1:02.27. Taylor Davis won the 100 free in 0:56.71.
Hagerman hit the wall first in the 500 free in 5:30.84. Cucci, Davis, Maniace and Chris Simon won the 200 free relay in 1:41.61. DiLiberto won the 100 backstroke in 1:02.62. Maniace sped to a victory in the 100 breaststroke in 1:12.54. Daniel Silva, DiLiberto, Hagerman and Davis pooled their talents for a win in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:49.59.
Wall 102, Ocean 66: The Spartans won three events in their loss to the Crimson Knights.
Adam Kawut, Max Hoyle, Ben Miller and Josh Pickney captured the 200 medley relay in 2:31.56. Kawut won the 500 freestyle in 4:50.34 and Hoyle took the 100 backstroke in 1:11.93.
In girls swimming:
Wall 105, Ocean 66: The Spartans (0-3) captured the 100 butterfly, 100 freestyle and the 400 freestyle relay in their setback to the Crimson Knights (2-0).
Gabby Zimmerman won the butterfly in 1:0558. Alex Ritorto took the freestyle in 1:05.58 and teamed with Zimmerman, Emily Marcy and Taylor Yim for honors in the relay in 4:42.26.
Neptune 93, Brick Memorial 77: The Scarlet Fliers pushed their record to 2-0, besting the Mustangs (1-2).
For Neptune, Kyleigh Harms, Marie Canencia, Caryn Sanclementi and Grace Maniace won the 200 medley relay in 2:01.99. Maniace took the 200 individual medley in 2:26.80. Canencia won the 50 freestyle in 27.70. Maniace won the 100 butterfly in 1:06.68.
Harms took the 100 breaststroke in 1:12.35. Ashley Farrington, Maniace, Canencia and Harms won the 400 freestyle relay in 4:39.17.
In ice hockey:
Manasquan 4, Ocean 2: The Spartans fell to 1-3 with their loss to the Big Blue Warriors (1-2).
Manasquan skated to a 2-0 lead in the first period and took a 3-1 advantage into the final session.
Ocean’s Ian Hendricksen scored off a Joe LaValle assist with 3:25 left in the second period, slicing the Spartans’ deficit to 3-1. Teammate Dylan Haar capped the scoring with 27 seconds left in the game off a Matthew Perri assist.
Ocean keeper Kevin Schoenberger turned back 32 shots. Manasquan’s Ryan O’Leary made 29 saves.
In boys cross country:
Gindi competes: Ocean senior Elliot Gindi placed 31st at the 38th annual Foot Locker National High School Cross Country Championships in 15:46.7 at Balboa Park in San Diego.
Gindi ran a 4:49 first mile, 5:13 second mile and a 5:15 third mile. The race, run on a 5,000-meter (3.1-mile course), consisted of 40 of the nation’s top high school distance speedsters. Gindi qualified with a fourth-place finish at the Northeast Regional after speeding to the Monmouth County, Shore Conference and NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III, state Group III and Meet of Champions titles.
In women’s basketball:
Bacons starring at Kean: Marajiah Bacon, a 5-3 sophomore guard out of Neptune, and Neptune product Miesha Bacon, a 5-4 sophomore guard, are two of Kean University’s top players.
Marajiah Bacon averaged a team-high 23.9 points per game through her first seven outings of the season, all starts. Bacon, who averaged 36.9 minutes per game, picked off 3.6 rebounds per game and added 13 assists 14 steals for second on the team and three blocks.
Miesha Bacon put up norms of 7.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game through her first seven games of the season and averaged 28.7 minutes per game. She was second on the team in assists (20) and third on the Cougars in steals (nine). She added one block and started in each game.
In a 79-54 loss to Brooklyn College, Marajiah Bacon scored 21 points and added four rebounds, one assist and two steals. She scored 20 points and added four rebounds and one steal in a 76-59 conquest of Alma College in the Kean Classic. Miesha Bacon added 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Marajiah Bacon erupted for 39 points in a 92-79 win over Lehman College in the Kean Classic. She connected on 13 of 25 shots from the field, including seven of 12 from downtown, and netted six of 10 free throws in 39 minutes. She added five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.
In an 83-51 win over Rutgers University-Newark, Miesha Bacon bucketed 12 points and added five rebounds, three assists and one steal.
In a 58-56 victory over The College of New Jersey, Marajiah Bacon burned the net for 37 points and added five rebounds, one assist and three steals She blazed away at a 14-for-26 from the field, including six of 12 from long range, and put home three of six free throws in 40 minutes.
Miesha Bacon added three points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal.
With Marajiah Bacon scoring 23 points, the Cougars bested New Jersey City University 86-65. She added three rebounds, three assists and one steal. Miesha Bacon contributed one point, two rebounds, seven assists and one steal.
Another former Neptune player on the Cougars’ roster is Alexa Vreeland. The 5-7 freshman guard was scoreless through her first two games of the campaign.
In men’s basketball:
Thomas on fire: One of the top players at Ocean County College is former Neptune player Corey Thomas, a 6-foot sophomore guard.
Thomas opened the Vikings’ regular season with 20 points, 11 assists and four rebounds in an 89-93 conquest of Rowan College at Gloucester County.
He connected on eight of 19 attempts from the field, including two of six from long range, and netted two of five free throws in 40 minutes.
The former Scarlet Fliers player powered the Vikings past Atlantic Cape Community College 107-94 with 33 points, one rebound, eight assists and one steal in 29 minutes as a starter.
Thomas buried 13 of 19 attempts from the field, including two of three from downtown, and netted five of eight free throws in 29 minutes as a starter.
Thomas put home 13 points and added eight rebounds and one assist in 39 minutes in a 79-72 conquest of Union County College.
In a 93-74 win over Middlesex County College, Thomas scored 21 points and added one rebound and seven assists in 32 minutes as a starter.
He netted eight of 13 shots from the field, including one of three from beyond the arc, and canned four of five free throws.
In an 80-67 loss to Rowan College at Burlington County, Thomas netted 14 points and added four rebounds, four assists and two steals in 30 minutes as a starter.