Shawnee

The Inquirer TOP 10     BOYS' LACROSSE Team   Record Records are through Tuesday. Last week's rankings in parentheses.   1. St. Augustine (1)   10-4 2. Moorestown (2)   8-4 3. Shawnee (5)   10-5 4. Haddonfield (3)   11-3 5. Lenape (4)   9-4 6. Eastern (6)   10-3 7. Kingsway (7)   11-4 8. Seneca (8)

Last season, the Burlington County League Liberty Division featured a two- team boys' basketball race between Willingboro and eventual champion Shawnee. More of the same is expected this season, with both teams given an equal chance to win the seven-team Liberty. This is one league that won't be able to brag about parity. After the big two, five teams will battle for respectability, but they don't appear to be viable conference title threats. The other teams, Holy Cross, Pemberton, Lenape, Cherokee and Rancocas Valley have all been decimated by graduation.

The Shawnee boys' soccer team won a sixth Group 4 state title last week, and the Renegades were also hoping to secure a place in South Jersey history. There has been quite a bit of discussion about whether this 26-0-1 team was the best in South Jersey history. With stars such as all-South Jersey forward Jamie Franks and reigning Inquirer player of the year Stephen King at midfield, this was clearly an all-star cast. The team that has been considered the best of all time was the 1988 Shawnee team that went 25-0-1 and won the school's first state title.

Sean Mulholland did not wait until the summer to fine-tune his game. The point guard at Shawnee ended his sophomore season with a spectacular 24-point performance in the Renegades' 74-72 double-overtime loss to Rancocas Valley in an epic South Jersey Group 4 championship game. He wound up averaging 11.5 points per game for the season. With the graduation of 6-foot-6 Chris Duckrey, he figures to have an even more prominent role on offense next season. Almost as soon as last season was over, Mulholland began preparing for his junior year.

Shawnee outrebounded Florence by 17 yesterday en route to its 14th consecutive victory, a 70-54 win over the Flashes at Burlington County College. The contest was the championship game between the division winners of the Burlington County League. Next year, the league will switch to three divisions. Shawnee (22-2) is No. 3 in The Inquirer's Top 10. Florence, which shared the Burlington-Freedom title with Bordentown, is 17-6. Shawnee's lead, which was up to 15 points in the third quarter, was reduced to 53-47 on a basket by Florence junior Carey Kessler with 5 minutes, 57 seconds left.

Shawnee junior goalie Mike Hartmann posted shutouts in his first two games over teams that were in The Inquirer's preseason South Jersey Top 10. The Renegades opened with a scoreless draw against Eastern. Monday, they earned a 2-0 victory over Cherry Hill West. "Mike is probably the best shot stopper I ever played with," Shawnee forward Kyle Franks said. In a year in which there are several top goalkeepers, Hartmann certainly should be on that list. "I think he is one of the better goalies around," Shawnee coach Brian Gibney said.

The Beach Ball Classic, considered high school's answer to March Madness, will have an all Philadelphia-area final tonight. Second-seeded Shawnee did its part in last night's second semifinal with an impressive 52-44 victory over Artesia, of Lakewood, Calif. The Renegades (4-0) will meet Simon Gratz, the nation's top-rated team and a 66-45 winner last night over Westover of Albany, Ga. "Gratz is awesome," said Shawnee coach Joe Kessler. "We're going to have to play real well to be in the game, but stranger things have happened.

When Tim Gushue first sat down with his assistants to discuss the boys' track and field season, the longtime Shawnee coach wasn't optimistic. "The outlook back in February was pretty bleak," Gushue said. "So I'm really pleased with the outcome. " That outcome, at least for the regular season, was finalized Monday when the Renegades clinched a share of their second division title. Going into the final day of dual-meet competition, Shawnee was tied with Eastern and Lenape atop the Olympic Conference American Division.

The last time Shawnee and Rancocas Valley met in boys' basketball, they produced one of the most memorable games in recent South Jersey playoff history. Rancocas Valley beat the Renegades, 74-72, in double overtime for last year's South Jersey Group 4 championship. The two will renew their rivalry at 1 p.m. tomorrow in a nonconference game at Shawnee. Last year, Shawnee lost just twice all season, and both losses were to Rancocas Valley. Beating the Red Devils will be no easier this year.

Eastern's field hockey team will not miss Shawnee's senior field hockey goaltender Danielle Vile when she graduates in June. Shawnee (18-0-3) blanked the visiting Vikings, 1-0, yesterday on Jenna Litwornia's second-half goal to win its second straight South Jersey Group 4 title and 12th in 19 years. Litwornia, who has now scored five of Shawnee's nine goals in three tournament games, scored with 26 minutes, 52 seconds left in the game with an assist from Casey Jiampetti. The 10-time Burlington County League Liberty Division champions will face Central Jersey champion Middletown South in the state semifinals on Tuesday at Hopewell Valley.

Both teams had already gone their separate ways. For the Moorestown girls' lacrosse team, it was another win in a flawless season. A 19-8 triumph over rival Shawnee in the South Jersey Group 3 title game. Another milestone, but not exactly something on the minds of the team's seniors immediately after Thursday's win. One group hug wasn't enough. Neither was a second, lengthier embrace. The 10 seniors decided to walk to the center of the field, lie down, and spend a couple of minutes pondering where the last four years have gone.

Highlights of Thursday's contests can be found at: www.philly.com/rally Baseball SOUTH JERSEY NON-PUBLIC B FIRST ROUND Moorestown Friends 9, Doane Academy 2 BURLINGTON COUNTY FREEDOM Palmyra 12, Maple Shade 1 CAPE-ATLANTIC LEAGUE AMERICAN Absegami 2, St. Augustine 0 CAPE-ATLANTIC LEAGUE NATIONAL Cedar Creek 10, Bridgeton 0 St. Joseph 7, Ocean City 6...

Jackie Pezzato issued one walk in an otherwise perfect performance, striking out 13 and pitching a no-hitter Friday as second-seeded Shawnee outdueled No. 7 seed Absegami, 3-0, in a South Jersey Group 4 softball quarterfinal. Pezzato, a junior righthander, has allowed eight hits over the Renegades' last four games - all shutout wins. Connor Gilligan knocked in one run and had two of Shawnee's three hits off losing pitcher Kelly Lupton, who fanned 15 and walked four. South Jersey Group 1. Kate Boulden scattered four hits and six walks in shutting down sixth-seeded Audubon, and No. 3 seed Gloucester scratched out runs in the first and third innings to win the quarterfinal, 2-0. South Jersey Group 3. Kate McCormick batted 3 for 5 and scored twice, and Lindsey Gaines went 3 for 4 with two RBIs to help fifth-seeded Cumberland hold off No. 4 seed Hammonton, 8-7. South Jersey Non-Public A. Anna Robinson's two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning gave sixth-seeded Gloucester Catholic a 2-0 triumph over No. 11 seed St. Rose.

Annie Johnson let out a sigh. "Yup," she said. "I get asked about this a million times a day. " Johnson holds the Shawnee girls' track record in five sprint events, all of which were set this spring. She enters Friday's South Jersey Group 4 meet all but assured of qualifying for a busy day at the state championships. In just her second year of running spring track, the senior just might be scratching the surface of her potential. And almost everyone who watches her compete agrees: She's destined for a special college career - playing softball.

Owen Demmerly said he wasn't counting toward 200 goals. His teammates took care of that for the Shawnee senior. "That's 199, Owen," Shawnee boys' lacrosse players yelled after Demmerly scored an unassisted goal early in the second quarter of Tuesday's state Group 3 tournament game against visiting Kingsway. Early in the third quarter, Demmerly became the first player in Shawnee history to score 200 goals. He added No. 201 for good measure in leading the Renegades to an 11-4 victory.

  BOYS' LACROSSE Team Record Records are through Tuesday. Last week's rankings in parentheses. 1. St. Augustine (1) 10-5 2. Moorestown (2) 11-4 3. Shawnee (3) 12-5 4. Kingsway (7) 13-5 5. Eastern (6) 12-5 6. West Deptford (9) 13-5 7. Haddonfield (4) 12-4 8. Washington Twp. (10) 8-9 9. Seneca (8) 11-4 10. Lenape (5)