Field hockey: Voorhees picks Hughes as head coach

Voorhees has a new head coach after a four-month-long search.

Shannon Hughes, a former star player at South Plainfield and Rider University, was approved as the program's eighth head coach during a Board of Education meeting on Tuesday.

Vikings athletic director Brian Baumann confirmed the hiring via text message on Wednesday.

Hughes succeeds Taylor Webb, a star player at Voorhees and the Hunterdon County school's head coach the previous seven seasons. At South Plainfield, Hughes played for her mother, Cheryl, who succeeded longtime coach Fran Flannery. Shannon's sister, Caity, shattered every South Plainfield scoring record before graduating in 2017.

Shannon Hughes enjoyed a stellar playing career -- scoring 28 goals with 23 assists her senior season in leading South Plainfield to a 20-4 record and its second straight appearance in the North 2, Group 2 sectional final. Upon graduation in 2014, Hughes shared the Middlesex County school's all-time point record with Meghan Schweers before Caity Hughes broke it her junior season in '15. Another sister, Meghan, also played for the Tigers.

At Rider, Shannon Hughes, a forward, led the team in assists this past season with seven and finished with career totals of 11 goals and 13 assists in 77 games (36 starts). The Broncs finished 8-11 in 2017 and lost in the opening round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament.

Webb, 33, a former midfielder and considered one of the school's greatest players, guided her teams to an overall mark of 112-31-4, including a 14-6 campaign in 2017. The Vikes captured four Skyland Conference division titles as well as a Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament title (2012) and a sectional championship (2016).

Baumann, who has been on the job for two years, admitted during a December interview that finding Webb's successor wouldn't be an easy task.

"You're not going to replace her knowledge and love for the game ... it's a huge loss," he said.

Voorhees, which has had just three losing seasons in its 43-year history and none since 2004, has long been one of the state's most successful and storied programs. Webb played under former coach Ann Bonavita, who built the program into a powerhouse during her 11 seasons from 1992-2002.

Bonavita's final season as head coach -- she also served as Webb's assistant for a few seasons -- culminated with a North 2, Group 2 sectional title before dropping a tough 2-1 decision in overtime to eventual Group 2 champion West Essex in the state semifinals. Webb, who still owns the Vikes' all-time assists record (58), went on to play at the University of Iowa before transferring back home to finish her career at Rider.

Webb became Voorhees' seventh head coach in 2011, succeeding Beth Stocker, who continued the program's winning tradition in her eight seasons from 2003-10. Under Stocker, the Vikes went 130-29-9 and captured the North 2, Group 3 title in 2006, falling 1-0 to Moorestown in the Group 3 title game -- the Hunterdon County school's second and last appearance in a state final.

Voorhees went nine seasons after that postseason loss without winning a sectional title until a 1-0 win in overtime against Hackettstown secured the North 2, Group 2 championship in what would be Webb's second-to-last season.

Wrestling: Sbriscia tabbed as Warren Hills coach

Warren Hills' search for a new head wrestling coach is over.

Dave Sbriscia, a former wrestler for the Warren County school and an assistant on former Blue Streaks coach Jarrett Hosbach's staff, accepted the position on April 17, pending approval by the Board of Education. His hiring was not on Tuesday's agenda, and the next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, May 8.

Former PIAA state qualifier Josh Nordmark, a Stroudsburg High School alum who also is employed in the district a science teacher at Warren Hills Middle School, was also a finalist for the job. He and Sbriscia had final interviews on Monday.

"I'm very excited. Dave was very prepared and has a plan in place," Warren Hills athletic director Geri McKelvey said on Tuesday.

Longtime area coach Rick Thompson, along with former Delaware Valley and Voorhees assistant coach Steve Barkman, former Paramus coach and Wilson Area High School star Steve Klass and former Camden Catholic coach John Denuto also had recently interviewed for the job, which opened when Hosbach resigned after 13 seasons following the 85th State Championships in Atlantic City earlier this month. It was immediately speculated that Sbriscia would be a candidate to become the 81-year-old program's eighth head coach.

The advertisement seeking fall and winter coaches was posted on the school's web site on Feb. 28. McKelvey, who originally had no timetable to fill the head wrestling position, recently said she felt it was necessary to expedite the hiring process with scheduling and offseason commitments hanging in the balance.

Sbriscia, a 2006 graduate and a three-year wrestler for Warren Hills, going 78-22 overall, won two district titles and was a two-time region placewinner -- winning a Hunterdon-Warren Tournament championship at 215 pounds in his senior season. He is a Health and Physical Education teacher at the middle school.

Nordmark, who has been running his own club -- Ring of Fire in Monroe County, Pa. -- since 2006, wrestled for longtime coach Ron Spinner at Stroudsburg before graduating in 1996. Nordmark, the only candidate with no prior high school coaching experience, qualified for the state tournament in Hershey, Pa., his junior season, going 29-8 and finishing third in the Northeast Region at 130 pounds in '95. He went on to wrestle and graduate from Bloomsburg University.

Klass and Thompson were the only candidates with previous head coaching experience.

Klass, a PIAA Class AA state runner-up at Wilson as a senior in 1993 under legendary coach Dave Crowell, did a fine job in his nine seasons at Paramus. Klass, who amassed 119 career wins for the Warriors, guided his teams to six sectional final appearances and the North 1, Group 3 title in 2015. The Spartans were the Group 3 runners-up in '15, after defeating Sparta, 29-24, in the sectional final. Klass, who resides in Easton, Pa.,  and is still employed at Paramus as a biology teacher, is currently on Crowell's staff at Nazareth.

Thompson, 62, who stepped down after nine seasons as the head coach at Bangor Area High School in Pennsylvania following the 2016-17 campaign, also has made stops at Mountain High School (Orange, N.J.), Hackettstown, Franklin and Voorhees in addition to his three successful stints at Phillipsburg, where his teams went 268-59-1 overall and captured 15 sectional and seven state championships -- the most under any Stateliner coach.

Overall, Thompson, a Slippery Rock University graduate, is 471-231-4 -- going 124-81 in his most recent stint at Bangor. An accomplished wrestler, Thompson won two state titles (1971 and '73) and placed third ('70), while winning four district and three region championships for the Stateliners.

Hosbach's teams at Warren Hills finished 165-135 overall, including a 7-13 campaign this season. The Streaks advanced to the North 2, Group 3 sectional semifinals, dropping a 48-25 decision to champion Voorhees.

Wrestling: WH set to interview coaching candidates

Warren Hills appears to be close to hiring its next head wrestling coach.

Open Mike has learned Dave Sbriscia, a former wrestler for the Warren County school and an assistant on former Blue Streaks coach Jarrett Hosbach's staff, is among six candidates slated for interviews to be conducted on Thursday and Friday.

The others, according to multiple sources, are: longtime area coach Rick Thompson, along with former Delaware Valley and Voorhees assistant coach Steve Barkman, former PIAA state qualifier Josh Nordmark, a Stroudsburg High School alum and a science teacher at Warren Hills Middle School, as well as former Paramus coach and Wilson Area High School star Steve Klass.

The sixth member of this group, who has New Jersey ties, has yet to be identified.

"We will have a better grasp [of who the best candidate is] by the end of the week," said athletic director Geri McKelvey, who would neither confirm or deny whether any of the names above were on the scheduled interview list. The next Board of Education Meeting will be held on Tuesday, with another slated for Tuesday, April 24.

"By the end of April, we will have all of our [fall and winter] head coaches. Then they can pick their assistants."

Hosbach, who guided the Warren Hills program for the past 13 seasons, officially submitted his letter of resignation following the 85th State Championships in Atlantic City earlier this month. It was immediately speculated that Sbriscia would be a candidate to become the 81-year-old program's eighth head coach.

The advertisement seeking fall and winter coaches was posted on the school's web site on Feb. 28. McKelvey, who originally had no timetable to fill the head wrestling position, said on Tuesday that she felt it was necessary to expedite the hiring process in recent days with scheduling and offseason commitments hanging in the balance. Another factor limiting the candidate pool is the unknown with regards to potential teaching positions becoming open for the next school year, but McKelvey feels they will be scarce with the current budget.

"I don't want to hurt kids' opportunities," McKelvey said. "I don't want to make those decisions without the coach's input. Right now, there is no coach as a contact for the out of season [events]."

McKelvey outlined her criteria for hiring the next coach earlier this month.

"I'm looking for someone who will take control of the program, someone with managerial know-how, and will look out for the best interests of our kids," she said. "There are a lot of things, not just the knowledge of the sport."

The second-year AD also formed a committee to help with selecting the next coach.

"We have a lot of people with head coach-mentality on the panel," she said. "Whoever we hire has to have that mentality, and they'll know whether [that candidate] can handle it."

Sbriscia, a 2006 graduate and a three-year wrestler for Warren Hills, going 78-22 overall, won two district titles and was a two-time region placewinner -- winning a Hunterdon-Warren Tournament championship at 215 pounds in his senior season.

Thompson, 62, who stepped down after nine seasons as the head coach at Bangor Area High School in Pennsylvania following the 2016-17 campaign, also has made stops at Mountain High School (Orange, N.J.), Hackettstown, Franklin and Voorhees in addition to his three successful stints at Phillipsburg, where his teams went 268-59-1 overall and captured 15 sectional and seven state championships -- the most under any Stateliner coach.

Overall, Thompson, a Slippery Rock University graduate, is 471-231-4 -- going 124-81 in his most recent stint at Bangor. An accomplished wrestler, Thompson won two state titles (1971 and '73) and placed third ('70), while winning four district and three region championships for the Stateliners.

Barkman, who is involved with the Hunterdon Hills Wrestling Club, served on Dave Gaunt's staff at Del Val for two seasons in the mid-1990s. Barkman, a district champion at Hunterdon Central and an NCAA Division I qualifier at Indiana State, won a gold medal at 63 kilograms in Greco-Roman at the 2015 Veterans World Championships in Greece -- just the seventh U.S. wrestler to do so at the time.

Klass, a PIAA Class AA state runner-up at Wilson under legendary coach Dave Crowell, did a fine job in his nine seasons at Paramus where he led his teams to six sectional final appearances and the North 1, Group 3 title in 2015. The Spartans finished as the Group 3 runner-up in '15, and defeated Sparta, 29-24, in the sectional final. Klass, who still teaches at Paramus, is currently on Crowell's staff at Nazareth.

Hosbach's teams at Warren Hills finished 165-135 overall, including a 7-13 campaign this season. The Streaks advanced to the North 2, Group 3 sectional semifinals, dropping a 48-25 decision to champion Voorhees.