Delsea Regional High School

Delsea Regional High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Elk Township (feeding into Delsea from Aura Elementary School, which serves grades PreK-6) and Franklin Township (from Caroline L. Reutter, which serves grades 5–6), in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Delsea Regional School District.^[5] Students from Newfield attend the district's schools as part of a sending/receiving relationship begun in September 2010 after Newfield began a process to end its prior relationship with the Buena Regional School District.^[6] The school district gets its name from its location just off Delsea Drive, which runs from Westville on the Delaware River to Wildwood on the Jersey shore, hence the name Del-Sea.

Delsea Regional High School
Address
242 Fries Mill Road Franklinville , Gloucester County , New Jersey 08322 United States
Coordinates	39.608903°N 75.066702°W / 39.608903; -75.066702
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1960
School district	Delsea Regional School District
NCES School ID	341545002630[1]
Principal	Fran Ciociola
Faculty	87.2 FTEs[1]
Enrollment	1,074 (as of 2022–23)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	12.3:1[1]
Color(s)	Scarlet and   white[2]
Athletics conference	Tri-County Conference[3] (general) West Jersey Football League (football)
Team name	Crusaders[2]
Newspaper	The Delsonian[4]
Yearbook	Janus[4]
Website	delsearegional.us/delsea-high-school/

As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,074 students and 87.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.3:1. There were 173 students (16.1% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 36 (3.4% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.^[1]

History

The Delsea Regional District was established and the high school opened in October 1960, before which high school students from Elk and Franklin townships had attended Clayton Middle/High School.^[7][8] The district celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2010.^[9]

A report prepared in 2004 for the Franklin Township Public Schools considered the options of forming a consolidated PreK-12 all-purpose regional district, establishing both Elk and Franklin Townships as separate PreK-12 districts and leaving the current situation unchanged. The report concluded that the greatest educational and financial benefits could be achieved through the creation of a consolidated PreK-12 district that would include all three existing districts.^[10]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 233rd-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology.^[11] The school had been ranked 235th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 246th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.^[12] The magazine ranked the school 202nd in 2008 out of 316 schools.^[13] The school was ranked 230th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.^[14] Schooldigger.com ranked the school 193rd out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 68 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the two components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA), mathematics (81.1%) and language arts literacy (90.1%).^[15]

Arts

Delsea Regional High School's Drama program has included The Little Mermaid (2017), The Wedding Singer (2016), Grease (2015), Shrek (2015), All Shook Up (2013), Legally Blonde (2012), Hairspray (2011), Annie (2010), Footloose (2009), The Wizard of Oz (2008), Beauty and the Beast (2007), Grease (2006), West Side Story (2005), Into the Woods (2004), My Fair Lady (2003), Oliver! (2002), Bye Bye Birdie (2001) and Annie (2000).

Athletics

The Delsea Regional High School Crusaders^[2] compete as one of the member schools in the Tri-County Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools located in Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.^[3] The conference is overseen by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).^[16] With 783 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 761 to 1,058 students in that grade range.^[17] The football team competes in the Independence Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconference^[18][19] and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group III South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 695 to 882 students.^[20]

Delsea was recognized by the NJSIAA as Group III winner of the 2009-10 ShopRite Cup, achieving first-place finishes in girls cross-country, football, both girls and boys indoor relays, girls indoor track and field, girls outdoor track and field, second place boys outdoor track and field, third-place finishes in softball (tied) and boys indoor track and field, with the addition of three points awarded for having no disqualifications during the winter season.^[21] The NJSIAA recognized Delsea again in 2010-11 as winner of the ShopRite Cup for Group III, awarded for first-place finishes in indoor track & field relays for both boys and girls, indoor group track & field for both boys and girls, and in girls outdoor track & field, second in football, third in wrestling (tied) and fourth place in girls cross-country, along with six additional points for having no disqualifications for the winter and spring seasons.^[22]

The baseball team won the South Jersey Group II title in 1961 and the South Jersey Group I title in 1962.^[23] The team won the South Jersey Group III championship in 2005 with an 8–6 win against Lower Cape May Regional High School.^[24][25]

The football team won the South Jersey Group II state sectional championships in 1976, 1982, 1984, 1986, 2008 and 2009, in addition to winning in Group III in 1979, 2000, 2005, 2012-2015 and 2017.^[26] The 1976 team finished the season with an 11–0 record after winning the South Jersey Group II sectional title with a 14–6 victory against Pleasantville High School in the playoff finals.^[27] A late touchdown gave the 1982 team a 20–12 win against Salem High School in the South Jersey Group II sectional championship game and a 10–0–1 record for the season.^[28] A 22–6 win against Woodstown High School in the championship game gave the 1984 team the South Jersey Group II title and a 10–1 record, with Delsea's only loss of the season coming six weeks earlier against Woodstown.^[29] The 1986 team finished the season with a 10–1 record after winning the South Jersey Group II state sectional championship with a 16–13 win against Clearview Regional High School in the tournament final.^[30] Despite playing no home games all season, the team finished the 2000 season with a record of 11–1, defeating Ocean City High School by a score of 35–22 to win the South Jersey Group III championship at Rowan University.^[31] The 2005 football team won the South, Group III state sectional title with a 21–6 win against Lacey Township High School.^[32] The 2008 Football team won the South Jersey, Group II title with a win over West Deptford High School by a 17–14 margin, after entering the final quarter down by a touchdown, and scoring 10 points to take the lead, capped off by the winning field goal which was kicked as the game ended.^[33] The 2009 football team went 11–1, won the South Jersey Group II title with a 40–22 win over Haddonfield Memorial High School and set the South Jersey all-time scoring record for points in a season with 510, breaking the record of 506 that had been set by Paulsboro High School in 2001.^[34][35] The team won its fourth consecutive title in 2015 with a 21–12 win against Camden High School in the South Jersey Group III tournament final.^[36] The team won the South Jersey Group III sectional championship in 2017, the program's 14th championship, with a 29–28 win in the playoff finals against second-seeded Woodrow Wilson High School, giving Delsea Coach Sal Marchese his 200th career victory.^[37][38]

The wrestling team won the South Jersey Group II sectional title in 1984, 1985, 1989–1991, 2008, 2009 and 2011–2014, and won the South Jersey Group III title in 2002 and 2015–2020. The team won the Group II state championship in 1991 and the Group III title in 2015.^[39]

The boys' basketball team won the Group II state title in 1991, defeating runner-up Hillside High School in the finals of the tournament.^[40]

Delsea won the girls' Group III state soccer championship in 1993 with a win in the tournament final over Ramsey High School.^[41]

The 1994 girls' basketball team won the Group III state championship with a 53–42 victory against Morris Knolls High School in the final of the tournament.^[42][43] The team advanced to the Tournament of Champions as the number-five seed and defeated fourth-seeded Middle Township High School by a score of 52–46 in the quarterfinals and beat top-seed Linden High School 55–54 in the semifinals before falling by a score of 52–45 to third-seed Mount Saint Dominic Academy in the finals.^[44]

The girls' cross country team won the Group II state championships in 2009.^[45]

The girls team won the NJSIAA spring / outdoor track Group II title in 2010 and in Group III in 2011.^[46]

The boys' track team won the Group II indoor relay championships in 2010, 2011 and 2020. The girls track team won the Group II indoor title in 2010-2012 and 2014.^[47] The boys' track team won the South Jersey, Group III sectional championship in 2017.^{[citation needed]}

The boys indoor / winter track team won the Group II state championship in 2011, 2018, 2020 and 2022.^[48]

The boys spring / outdoor track team won the state championship in Group III in 2018 and 2022, and won the Group II title in 2019.^[49]

Administration

The school's principal is Fran Ciociola. His administration team includes two vice principals.^[50]

Notable alumni

• Josh Awotunde (born 1995, class of 2013), world-ranked shot putter.^[51]
• Keith Braxton (born 1997), basketball player.^[52]
• Bryan Dobzanski (born 1995, class of 2014), baseball pitcher^[53]
• Eliot Marshall (born 1980), retired mixed martial artist.^[54]

References

1. School data for Delsea Regional High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
2. Delsea Regional High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
3. Member Schools, Tri-County Conference. Accessed November 18, 2020.
4. Student Handbook & Code of Conduct, Delsea Regional High School. Accessed March 20, 2022.
5. Local Schools, Delsea Regional School District. Accessed January 5, 2017. "This area of the web site provides parents and students with links to the sending schools from Franklin and Elk Townships"
6. Romalino, Carly Q. "Newfield's 'no' could hurt other districts", Courier-Post, November 4, 2015. Accessed February 1, 2017. "In 2012, Newfield ended its send-receive agreement with Buena schools in Atlantic County, instead sending its 400 elementary and 120 high school students to districts in neighboring Franklin Township. The send-receive agreement with Franklin Township Public Schools and Delsea Regional School District — which also educated Elk Township high schoolers — was touted as cheaper tuition than Buena."
7. "Delsea Regional High Will Open Tomorrow To Begin First Year", The Daily Journal, October 3, 1960. Accessed April 28, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Delsea Regional High School will open its doors for the first time at 8:05 tomorrow morning. A staff of 54 teachers will be present to greet pupils from Elk and Franklin Townships."
8. Shamlin, William S. "A sprawling rural township: 3 Landmarks in Franklin", Courier-Post, October 19, 2006. Accessed July 12, 2011. "1960 Delsea Regional High School opens accepting students from Franklin and Elk townships Prior to that children attend high school in Clayton."
9. Kephart, Bill and Mary. "A history of education in Gloucester County", Gloucester County Voices, September 12, 2010. Accessed July 12, 2011. "By the 1960s regional high schools were built. Clearview Regional High School was the first regional high school to open. The opening of Delsea Regional High School soon followed. This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the opening of both Clearview Regional High School and Delsea Regional High School."
10. A Feasibility Study for the Franklin Township, Elk Township, and Delsea Regional High School Districts Archived April 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Statistical Forecasting LLC for the Franklin Township Public Schools, March 2004. Accessed July 12, 2011.
11. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
12. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 24, 2012.
13. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 22, 2011.
14. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
15. School Overview; Click on "Rankings" for 2003-11 HSPA results, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 11, 2012.
16. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
17. NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
18. Delsea Crusaders, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023.
19. Home Page, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023. "The WJFL is a 94-school super conference that stretches from Princeton to Wildwood encompassing schools from the Colonial Valley Conference, the Burlington County Scholastic League, the Olympic Conference, the Tri-County Conference, the Colonial Conference, and the Cape Atlantic League. The WJFL is made up of sixteen divisions with divisional alignments based on school size, geography and a strength-of-program component."
20. NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
21. Seventh Annual ShopRite Cup 2009-2010 Final Standings Archived November 26, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
22. Eighth Annual ShopRite Cup 2010‐2011 Final Standings Archived November 26, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
23. Baseball Championship History: 1959–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated June 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
24. Pesyna, Matt. "Delsea wins sectional in eight innings", Daily Journal, June 6, 2005. Accessed July 30, 2007. "After waiting two extra days to play in the South Jersey Group III championship, the Delsea Regional High School baseball team had no problem staying patient for eight more innings. It's Delsea's first sectional baseball championship since 1990."
25. 2005 Baseball - South, Group III, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 30, 2007.
26. NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 1, 2022.
27. Shyrock, Bob. "Oberg 'picks up sticks' with 5th unbeaten year", Courier-Post, December 6, 1976. Accessed February 21, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Oberg and his crunching offense have been in the "sticks" for 17 amazing seasons. When his Crusaders bumped off Pleasantville, 14-6, Saturday to win the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 2 title and finish 11-0 in the school's finest hour, Oberg had his fifth unbeaten team and a career winning mark of 76 per cent."
28. Anastasia, Phil. "Delsea shades Salem on late pass play", Courier-Post, December 5, 1982. Accessed March 8, 2021. "Finally, with 3:25 to play yesterday, Mike Weichman snapped through a startled Salem secondary with a 64-yard reception of a touchdown pass from John Scavelli and Delsea emerged with a 20-12 victory in the championship game of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association sectional Group 2 football tournament. 'Thank God Mike made that play or we might have been out there all day and still be tied,' said Delsea Coach John Oberg, whose team finished with a 10-0-1 record and its third sectional title."
29. Iannuzzi, Sam. "Delsea snares title by jarring Woodstown, 22-6", Courier-Post, December 2, 1984. Accessed February 2, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Delsea High School's football team had two main objectives when it took on Woodstown yesterday: Avenge its only loss of the season and win the South Jersey Group 2 championship. The Crusaders accomplished both of those goals with an impressive 22-6 victory over the Wolverines in yesterday's title game. Woodstown, which finished 9-2, handed Delsea, 10-1, its only loss, 36-18, six weeks ago."
30. Wagner, Lee. "Delsea rallies to edge Clearview", Courier-Post, December 7, 1986. Accessed January 14, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Delsea High School came from behind to edge Clearview and win the South Jersey Group 2 football championship here yesterday. Senior quarterback Greg Bundens scored from one-yard out with 3: 19 left in the third quarter and Dave Krasowski caught Bundens' two-point conversion pass to spark a 16-13 win. The win was the 1 0th in 1 1 outings for Coach John Oberg's Crusaders, who a re No. 7 in the Top Ten Poll. And it was their fifth championship in the 12-year history of the current system."
31. "Delsea captures S.J. Group 3 title", Courier-Post, December 3, 2000. Accessed December 30, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "James Stevenson heard what his Delsea High School football coaches had been preaching. The sophomore defensive end went out and turned those words into action. Stevenson's 48-yard interception return in the fourth quarter sparked the Crusaders over two-time defending champion Ocean City 35-22 in the South Jersey Group 3 championship game Saturday at Rowan University.... The play helped Delsea, ranked No. 10 in the Courier-Post Top 20 Poll, finish its season 11-1. Every one of those games was played on the road due to construction at the Crusaders' Oberg Field."
32. 2005 Football - South, Group III, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 30, 2007.
33. Staff. "Delsea 17, West Deptford 14", The Star-Ledger, December 5, 2008. Accessed July 12, 2011. "Mike Straubmiller kicked the winning 23-yard field goal as time expired to lead Delsea to a 17-14 victory over West Deptford in the NJSIAA/Gatorade South Jersey, Group 2 championship game last night in Franklinville. Austin Medley scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter when Delsea scored 10 unanswered points."
34. Staff. "South Jersey Group 2 final: Delsea 40, Haddonfield 22", The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 4, 2009. Accessed July 12, 2011. "Sean McPherson's 5-yard TD run with 40.3 seconds left gave Delsea a 40-22 lead. Delsea set a single-season South Jersey record for scoring, with 510 points. The old mark was 506 by Paulsboro in 2001."
35. Staff. "Delsea 40, Haddonfield 22 (High school Football scores & results)", The Star-Ledger, December 4, 2009. Accessed May 1, 2016. "Running backs Austin Medley and Sean McPherson each ran for two touchdowns and quarterback Chris Jackson also picked up two scores as Delsea, No. 9 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, cruised to a 40-22 victory over Haddonfield in the NJSIAA/Gatorade South Jersey, Group 2 championship last night at Delsea."
36. Anastasia, Phil. 'S.J. football notes: Delsea embraces the expecations", The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 8, 2015. Accessed May 1, 2016. "'These kids deal with a lot,' Marchese said after Delsea won its fourth consecutive South Jersey Group 3 title with a 21-12 win over Camden on Saturday at Rowan University. Delsea has won 13 titles since the start of the state tournament in 1974, including seven in the last 11 seasons."
37. Evans, Bill. "Sal Marchese wins 200th game as No. 13 Delsea rallies to beat Woodrow Wilson, 29-28, in SJG3 final", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, December 2, 2017. Accessed December 6, 2017. "The Delsea Regional High School football team made two defensive stops in the final minutes to preserve a thrilling 29-28 victory over Woodrow Wilson in the South Jersey Group 3 championship game Saturday.... The Crusaders blew out second-seeded Wilson, 43-12, in late October and was coming off a 41-30 win over Timber Creek, ending the Chargers' 25-game winning streak.... The victory was Delsea's fifth title in six years and gave coach Sal Marchese his 200th win at the end of his 25th season."
38. "Football - 2017 NJSIAA South, Group 3 Playoffs", NJ.com. Accessed December 6, 2017.
39. NJSIAA Wrestling Team Championship History Archived October 20, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
40. NJSIAA Boys Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
41. NJSIAA History of Boys Soccer, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 1, 2022.
42. Girls Basketball Championship History: 1919–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated March 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
43. Newell, Kevin. "Delsea denies Morris Knolls", The Record, March 14, 1994. Accessed January 20, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Delsea Regional used that methodology Sunday to claim its first State girls basketball title, 53-42, over Morris Knolls of Rockaway in the Group 3 final at the Dunn Center. The Lady Crusaders of Franklinville used a 15-0 run that overlapped the first and second quarters to set the tone, then cashed in with a 7-0 spurt to pull away in the fourth. 'It's something the kids have gotten used to,' said Delsea coach Caroline Pellicano, whose team improved to 24-3."
44. NJSIAA Girls Basketball Tournament of Champions History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
45. NJSIAA Girls Cross Country State Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 1, 2022.
46. NJSIAA Spring Track Summary of Group Titles Girls, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2021.
47. History of the NJSIAA Indoor Relay Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
48. Boys Winter Track and Field Championship History: 1922-2023, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated November 2023. Accessed February 1, 2024.
49. NJSIAA Boys Spring Track Summary of Group Titles, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
50. Administrative Office, Delsea Regional School District. Accessed May 31, 2023.
51. Friedman, Josh. "Delsea graduate Josh Awotunde begins Olympic pursuit", Courier-Post, July 6, 2018. Accessed July 31, 2019. "Josh Awotunde entered the 2015 SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships believing he could leave with a gold medal. The 2013 Delsea High School graduate was in his redshirt freshman season with South Carolina and the meet was the most prestigious of his young collegiate career."
52. Keith Braxton, Saint Francis Red Flash men's basketball. Accessed July 31, 2019. "Played at both Lawrenceville School and Delsea Regional High...Named First-Team All-State, All-South Jersey and All-Conference as a senior...Helped lead Delsea to State title game in 2014, averaged over 22 points per game that season...Left Delsea as third on all-time scoring list at 1,601 points"
53. Friedman, Josh. "St. Louis Cardinals have promoted Delsea graduate Bryan Dobzanski twice in last two years", Courier-Post, July 15, 2019. Accessed December 29, 2021. "When Bryan Dobzanski was called into his manager’s office in June of 2017, he immediately thought the worst. The 2014 Delsea High School graduate was struggling in his first season with the St. Louis Cardinals’ Single-A affiliate, the Peoria Chiefs, going 1-5 with a 4.86 ERA and just 37 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings of work."
54. Coen, Jon. "Franklinville native Eliot 'The Fire' Marshall looks to ignite UFC career on Saturday", The Press of Atlantic City, September 17, 2009. Accessed May 25, 2017. "Marshall, 29, started karate at age 6 and then discovered Brazilian jujitsu when he was attending Delsea Regional High School."

External links

• Delsea Regional School District
• School Performance Report for Delsea Regional High School, New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Delsea Regional School District, National Center for Education Statistics
• South Jersey Sports: Delsea Regional HS