Rebuilding Wildwood, Wildwood Catholic teams to square off at Boardwalk Classic

WILDWOOD – A pair of rebuilding area high school basketball teams will renew their annual rivalry Saturday evening at the Boardwalk Basketball Classic when Wildwood meets Wildwood Catholic in the Andrew Alameno Memorial Girls Island Championship Game.

The contest is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. WCZT-FM 98.7 Radio will broadcast the game live.

Wildwood and Wildwood Catholic both enter the Boardwalk Classic at 1-1. Both teams feature young lineups, with just one senior each among the starters.

Wildwood Catholic, which upset Wildwood in last year’ Alameno game, 39-30, is led by junior guard Emily Whissell, senior forward Maggie Senatore and sophomore forward Laura Martin.

Wildwood will turn to junior guards Loretta Kelly and Katie McWade and junior forward Shaniqua Roper.

Wildwood Catholic enjoyed a winning season a year ago, qualifying for the state playoffs and finishing 14-13 overall. Wildwood put together a magical run in the state playoffs last year, winning its fifth South Jersey Group I championship this decade and advancing to the state championship game in a 21-8 campaign.

In addition to bringing together the players from the two island high schools, the game also pits two of South Jersey’s winningest and most respected coaches. Wildwood’s Dave Troiano enters the contest with 559 career victories, while Wildwood Catholic’s Fran St. John, who brings 425 career victories as a high school coach, is the only coach in Cape-Atlantic League history to win at least 100 games as both a boys and girls coach.

The game is named in memory of Andrew Alameno, a 1982 graduate of Wildwood Catholic High School and a former member of the Wildwood Crest Bach Patrol who was killed in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001.

More information about the game, including a box score and recap that will be posted moments after the game ends, can be found online at www.bbclassic.net.

—BRIAN CUNNIFF