South Jersey Magazine - Cherry Hill / Haddonfield / Voorhees

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SJM_WinterAthletes_0223FINAL_REG3 . qxp_Feature 2 / 28 / 23 3 : 46 PM Page 3 DAVID Gheysens MOORESTOWN BOYS BASKETBALL click and work as a team . Obviously , there ball a lot . I watch the NBA , but I’m more of a A 6 - foot - 4 senior guard / forward , aregoing to be bumpy roads that we come college basketball guy . I love to watch Vil - Gheysensemerged as an integral across , but I saw the potential . Everybody on lanova play and I fee like it’s better basket - piece of the team as a junior and theteam has talent and we have a lot of ball and fun to watch those guys compete . this season is once again the depth.The sky is the limit for us — we just MarchMadness is my favorite time of the leading scorer for the Quakers have to work together and we can get year . along with providing defense and rebounding . He helped lead through anything . Moorestown to the Burlington SJM:What’s it like growing up with County Tournament title and the SJM:Have you played with a lot of these yourdad as the CEO of Wawa ? South Jersey Group 3 champi - guys for a long time ? Yourfriends must be jealous . onship , its first since 2019 . DG : I’ve probably played with more than DG : It’s a lot of fun but it comes half of the team ever since I was in travel , withtwo sides . Some kids will be SouthJersey Magazine : Winning the starting in fourth grade . Me , John Cwik , rudeabout it but most people are countytournament was a great accom - Josh Byrd and a lot of these guys are really really nice and respectful and say , plishment for the team this year . What close . It’s cool that we have a bond on and “ I love Wawa . ” The Lenape stu - did it mean to you , having grown up here off the court . dent section was chanting andknowing all the great competition in “ Wawa ” the entire game , but thearea ? SJM:Who’s the guy on the team who can honestly it fires me up , so I’m not DavidGheysens : It was a really good feel - makeeveryone laugh during a tough complaining . I actually kind of like ing . I’ve known a lot of these kids ever since I practice ? to hear that stuff . started playing travel basketball and after DG : I would probably say Wade Krisanda . He playing all of these years , to get the last win doesn’t play very much but he’s always at SJM:Do you visit Wawa a lot was kind of like putting our staple [ on the practice working hard and he’s always trying yourself ? program ] before leaving . It’s something that to contribute to the team the best that he DG : I would say I typically go once a makesyou feel special . can . He’s always making guys laugh and he’s day or once every other day for a a really big part of our team . quesadilla , that’s my go - to . SJM:Did you feel coming into the year that this team had potential ? SJM:Do you follow the game closely ? DG : I love this team . I thought we just had to DG : I definitely like to watch college basket - MAYA Hemo CHERRY HILL EAST GIRLS WRESTLING MH:Yeah , we actually have a team this year Citadel.Since middle school , I wanted to go After becoming the first female so it’s not just me . intothe military after high school , but then I wrestler in school history to wason the fence about whether I wanted to win a state title last year , Hemo SJM:Did you start wrestling as a freshman go.So I can go to a military [ college instead ] followed it up with a terrific becauseof your older brother’s influence ? and it has a major that I’m interested in , which senior season . She repeated as MH:Yes , and also I just got off soccer and nota lot of other colleges offer . It’s called in - region champion , advanced to neededsomething to do , so I gave it a shot . I telligenceand security studies — [ it entails ] the state final again and was met a friend who knew the head coach and analysisand national defense and all of that . preparing to defend her crown as of press time . sheintroduced me to him . SJM : What else do you like to do for fun ? SJM : Did you love it right away ? MH : I like going to the gym and I love eating . I SouthJersey Magazine : Your state ti - tle last year was such a big moment MH:Not really . The first year I was just there ; I also like playing with my dog and spending foryou and the school . Did you see it didn’tlove it or hate it . It was just an activity timewith her . I have a golden retriever and coming ? todo after school . I would definitely say it’s [ a hername is Lola . We got her in 2016 and MayaHemo : I personally didn’t see it passionnow ] . After my sophomore year , the she’llbe 7 in March . Hers is the only birthday I coming or think I could accomplish it , COVIDyear , my coach said , “ You can definitely remembered for the longest time — my sister butmy coach [ Steve Ascola ] did . We besomething in this sport . ” He started push - wasnot very pleased about that . call him “ Magic Man ” because he pre - ingme to go to the gym and get stronger , to dicts everything . He says , “ This is going go to outside clubs and get better . SJM:So your parents are both from Israel tohappen , that is going to happen , ” and andyou just recently visited . What’s it like then it happens . SJM:It’s one of the toughest sports at the tolearn more about the country and the high school level . Do you like that it’s such culture ? SJM:Canyou put into words the emo - achallenge and you get out of it what you MH : It was weird because I think the last time tionsyou were feeling at the moment arewilling to put in ? wehad gone was seven years ago , so seeing whenyou won the state title ? MH:That’s my favorite part . That’s why I fell familyagain and being in [ my dad’s ] child - MH : I didn’t even believe it . When they called inlove with it in the first place . It’s a grind and hoodhouse now that I’m grown and seeing the pin , it didn’t even register . There’s a photo whatyou put in , you get out . howsmall it actually is was weird . I don’t get ofme and I look shocked . My coach loves to tosee that side of the family a lot so it feels send it and make fun of me . It was surreal . SJM:Do you know what you’re doing next likewe’re missing out sometimes , but it was year ? also really nice to see them again and get to SJM:Do you feel like the sport is catching MH:I’mhoping and planning on going to The experiencepart of our culture . onwith more girls ? SOUTH JERSEY MAGAZINE volume 19 issue 11 SouthJerseyMagazine.com 40 |

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SJM_WinterAthletes_0223FINAL_REG3 . qxp_Feature 2 / 28 / 23 3 : 46 PM Page 4 SJM : What do your friends say when you talk about JESSICA Leonard EASTERN GIRLS BOWLING theseolder bands ? JL : My best friend who I’ve known since second grade , his SJM:What do you love about bowling ? Leonard led Eastern to a second - place mom is a huge Def Leppard fan , so he’s the only one I can JL : The people it’s introduced me to . I’ve made some very showing and finished in the top 10 at the sec - talk to about it . Otherwise , I don’t usually bring it up good friends through Eastern bowling and bowling in gen - tional championships this season to earn her around my other friends because they don’t understand . eral . Coach [ Eric ] Datis has known me since I was a kid and second straight trip to states , where she took as a joke he tried getting me to bowl my eighth grade year , 12th . During the regular season , she posted a high game of 265 and a high series of 665 as without even being in high school , because he was so ea - Eastern went 15 - 0 - 1 . ger for me to bowl for him . South Jersey Magazine : Last year was a breakthrough SJM:You had a high game of 265 this season . What’s season for you individually and you followed it up thebest you’ve ever had ? with another strong one . Are you happy with how you JL : Over Christmas break , I was breaking in a new ball and I have performed ? threw a 277 . That was just practice , but I have pictures so if Jessica Leonard : Yes , but I don’t want to give too much anyone asks , I can prove it [ laughs ] . credit to myself because some days I’m the one pushing the team up and sometimes it’s them pushing me up . But SJM:Do you feel like you’re capable of rolling a perfect I’m pretty happy with how it went . gamesomeday ? JL : If I can center my focus and not crack under pressure , SJM : How did you first get interested in the sport ? definitely . [ My family members ] have gotten close , but JL : My whole family bowls . I got thrown into it when I was not yet . 5 and I kept progressing from there . I went from using house balls and house shoes to getting my own stuff . My SJM:What else do you like to do for fun ? parents don’t bowl much anymore but I have three older JL : I like to work on softball , but if not I’m usually at the brothers who are all bowlers and they all came through gym or at home listening to music . Music is actually a big Eastern . part of my life . My parents raised me on stuff that would be unheard of today , like classic rock and all of that stuff . SJM : Do you play any other sports ? The Who and Van Halen are my top two [ bands ] . I’ve seen JL : I play softball . That’s more of my main sport and it’s The Who twice in concert and if they come back to Philly what I want to play in college . But I’m definitely getting again , I definitely recommend them . For newer artists , I more recognition for bowling now . saw Coldplay for my birthday last year and that was a good concert too . T Y Smith LENAPE WRESTLING could because I love competing and I love all Smith , a senior three - sport star who also types of sports . If I could play more sports in high plays football and lacrosse , has been a key school , I probably would . I always wanted to contributor on the mat all four years at focus on a sport , but I could never cut one out Lenape . He was a district runner - up as a of my life . junior , won the 175 - pound district title this season and took second at regions . SJM:What are you doing next year ? TS : I’m going to college and I’m going to play club lacrosse at a bigger school down south . It was hard SouthJersey Magazine : The wrestling postseason is deciding what I wanted to do , but I wanted to one of the best times of the year . How did you feel go to a bigger school and live the college going into it this season ? experience . Ty Smith : So excited . This year , I really felt like I locked in and focused on my craft because this is my SJM : What else do you like to do for fun ? last year wrestling , potentially forever . So I wanted TS : I like to snowboard . I picked it up a few years to make this the best year of all . ago and I really enjoy it . I also like riding around in my Jeep with the doors off and the top down . SJM:How did you get into the sport ? That’s really nice . TS:I’ve always wrestled with my brothers for as long as I can remember , but in fifth grade I had a friend in SJM : Have you always lived in this area ? my class who wrestled and my cousins were also re - TS : I’ve lived in Mount Laurel my whole life . ally good wrestlers , so I decided to try it out to see if I My favorite thing about Mount Laurel is that liked it . Ever since then , I’ve always wrestled . I can easily go to the beach , Pennsylvania or Philadelphia . I really like Lenape and I’m glad SJM : It’s pretty rare to see a three - sport athlete I got to go there because there are so many nowadays , since most specialize in one or maybe experiences and opportunities for me to two sports . Why did you choose to stick with all become the best person I can be . three ? TS : Everyone else picked one sport but I never SOUTH JERSEY MAGAZINE volume 19 issue 11 SouthJerseyMagazine.com | 41

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