Central Regional High School is a four-year regional comprehensive

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

serving students in

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

through

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

s, located in the Bayville section of Berkeley Township in

Ocean County Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States, operating as part of the

Central Regional School District The Central Regional School District is a regional public school district in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, which serves students in seventh through twelfth grades from the municipalities of Berkeley Township, Island Heights, Ocean ...

. The high school serves students from the municipalities of Berkeley Township, Island Heights, Ocean Gate,

Seaside Heights Seaside Heights is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 2,887,Seaside Park. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,619 students and 108.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...

of 14.9:1. There were 433 students (26.7% of enrollment) eligible for

free lunch A free lunch is the providing of a meal at no cost, usually as a sales enticement to attract customers and increase revenues from other business. It was once a common tradition in saloons and taverns in many places in the United States, with the ...

and 118 (7.3% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Central Regional High School

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...

. Accessed December 1, 2022.

History

Students from the six constituent municipalities had previously attended the

Toms River Regional Schools Toms River Regional Schools is a comprehensive regional public school district primarily located in the quickly growing coastal community of Toms River, New Jersey, Toms River, located in Ocean County, New Jersey, Ocean County, New Jersey, Unite ...

, before the new district completed its school building that was constructed on a site covering at a cost of $1,430,000 (equivalent to $ million in ). The school opened in September 1956 as Central Regional Junior-Senior High School with students in grades 7-12 from the six constituent municipalities of Berkeley Township, Lacey Township, Island Heights, Ocean Gate, Seaside Park and Seaside Heights, along with students from Brick Township, who attended as part of a

sending/receiving relationship A sending/receiving relationship is one in which a public school district sends some or all of its students to attend the schools of another district. This is often done to achieve costs savings in smaller districts or continues after districts hav ...

. The formal dedication was deferred to late February 1957 due to construction delays. In October 1973, the

Lakehurst School District The Lakehurst School District is a community public school district serving students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from Lakehurst, in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprise ...

announced that its students would be shifted from Central Regional High School to the new

Manchester Township High School Manchester Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades in Manchester Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, as the lone secondary school of the Manches ...

, which opened in September 1976. Students from Lacey Township had attended Central Regional as part of a sending/receiving relationship, which ended when

Lacey Township High School Lacey Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Lanoka Harbor section of Lacey Township, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which opera ...

opened in September 1981.

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 239th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in ''

New Jersey Monthly ''New Jersey Monthly'' is an American monthly magazine featuring issues of possible interest to residents of New Jersey. The magazine was started in 1976. It is based in Morristown. In addition to articles of general interest, the publication fe ...

'' magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 264th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 257th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 273rd in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was the 272nd-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 316 schools statewide, in ''

'' magazine's September 2006 cover story on the state's ''Top Public High Schools''. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 240th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (an increase of 6 positions from the 2009 rank) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy and mathematics components of the

High School Proficiency Assessment The High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA, pronounced "hess-pah" (/ˈhɛspə/) or sometimes just "H-S-P-A") was a standardized test that was administered by the New Jersey Department of Education to all New Jersey public high school students in ...

(HSPA).

Athletics

The Central Regional High School Golden EaglesCentral Regional High School

New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...

. Accessed July 26, 2015. compete in Division A South of the

Shore Conference The Shore Conference is an athletic conference of private and public high schools in the U.S. state of New Jersey, centered at the Northern Jersey Shore. All schools in this conference are located within Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County ...

, an athletic conference comprised of public and private high schools in

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

and Ocean counties along the

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...

.Shore Conference Realignment for 2018-2019 and 2019-2020

. Accessed November 15, 2020. The conference operates under the jurisdiction of the

(NJSIAA). With 1,060 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 students in that grade range. For football, the school was classified by the NJSIAA as South Jersey Group IV for 2018-20.

Baseball

The 1984 baseball team, led by

Al Leiter Alois Terry Leiter (; born October 23, 1965) is an American former professional baseball player and current television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from to for the New York Yankees, Toronto Blu ...

, finished the season with a record of 25-5-1 after winning the Group III state championship by defeating Indian Hills High School by a score of 8-1 in the tournament final.

Field hockey

The field hockey team won the South Jersey Group III state sectional championship in 1986 before falling to

Northern Highlands Regional High School Northern Highlands Regional High School (NHRHS) is a regional public high school and school district in Allendale, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The school serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Allendale, Ho-Ho-Ku ...

in the Group III finals.

Softball

The softball team defeated

Paramus High School Paramus High School is an American four-year comprehensive public high school, located in Paramus, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Paramus Public ...

in the final of the playoffs to win the 1996 Group III state championship.

Football

Central Regional High School is coached by Jarrett Pidgeon, who replaced Justin Fumondo to become the school's football coach for the 2020 season. He is the 7th head coach in 15 years. Since 2015, the Golden Eagles have been playing on a FieldTurf home field. The Eagles were Class B-South co-champions in 1988, defeating arch-rival and state champion

, 18-15. They finished the '88 season with a record of 6-2-1. In 1994 the Eagles won Class B-South outright and played in the Group III, South Jersey state final vs.

Brick Township High School Brick Township High School is a four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Brick Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, operating as part of the Brick Public Schools. The school is one of two secondary schoo ...

. They finished the year 9-2 and ranked in the State Top 20.

Volleyball

Both the boys and girls programs are led by former professional volleyball player Jeff Mangold.

Soccer

The Central Regional boys' soccer program is coached by Troy Van Hise, Robert Bechtloff, and Cody Ertle. Coach Bechtloff had been the head coach for over 30 years before coach Van Hise took over the program in 2018. Both Ertle and Van Hise had played under Bechtloff during their high school careers. Bechtloff is now the varsity assistant coach, while coach Ertle runs the Junior Varsity program. Central's boys have found much success in soccer, winning Shore Conference divisional championships in 1993, 1998, 2007, and 2010. They won the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III sectional championship in 1980, 1988, 1994, and 1996. The girls' soccer program at Central is led by Meredith Parliman, who is assisted by Lauren Stoltzfus and Brianne Toomey.

Wrestling

The Central Regional wrestling team has enjoyed several successful seasons and has produced some outstanding individuals as well. In 1968, Alan Hess became Central's first ever New Jersey state medalist finishing in fourth place (out of four) without winning a match. In 1973, Mike Baeli became the first wrestler to win a match at the state level, finishing fourth after defeating Art Kubo in the first round. In 1985, Central Regional crowned its first NJSIAA state champion, the late Darnell Myers, under the guidance of coach Paul Mueller. Brothers Mark and Maurice Worthy won a combined five NJSIAA Championships, with Mark Worthy becoming one of only two dozen wrestlers to have won three state titles, winning in 1996 (112 lbs.), 1998 (140 lbs.) and 1999 (145 lbs.), while his brother Maurice Worthy won titles in 1996 (152 lbs.) and 1997 (160 lbs.) Maurice went on to a runner-up finish in the NCAA Division I Championships while attending the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

at West Point. The team had a successful run in the mid-1990s under long-time head coach Pat Lynch who crowned 4 Region Champions and was named Region Coach of the Year. Mike Bischoff, took over the reins of the program upon Lynch's retirement in 2003. For his efforts, Bischoff would twice (2006 & 2009) be recognized as District 24 Coach of the Year. In 2005, the team won its first ever South Jersey Group III State Sectional title in thrilling fashion over four-time defending champion

Kingsway Regional High School Kingsway Regional High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grade from five communities in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Kingsway Regional Sc ...

. The following season brought a second South Jersey Group III title after dispatching Kingsway for the second straight year, taking five of the final six matches to win 34-27. In all, the wrestling program has produced six state champions, 23 region champions, and 51 district champions. It has earned two South Jersey Group III state sectional championships (in 2005 and 2006 in South Jersey Group III), two district championships, and seven Shore Conference divisional championships in its 46-year history. Central's last state place winner was senior, Jalen Ramos (now wrestling at Rutgers), who placed 8th at the NJSIAA Championships at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall in 2012. Ramos's 126 career wins are second only to Hall of Famer, Mark Worthy's 128 victories.

Marching band

Central Regional High School's marching band, the Marching Eagles, are a Group II Band in the

Tournament of Bands The Tournament of Bands (TOB) is one of the largest competitive band organizations in the United States and is one of several major circuits in the mid-Atlantic states (other circuits include Cavalcade of Bands and USBands). TOB was founded in 1972 ...

circuit.

Administration

The school's principal is Irene P. Marousis. Her core administration team includes four assistant principals.

Notable alumni

* Pam Boyd-Petroski (born 1955, class of 1974), member of the 1984 United States Olympic women's handball team. *

Tom DeBlass Tom DeBlass (born May 14, 1982) is an American Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, submission grappler and mixed martial artist currently signed to ONE Championship. He has competed in the middleweight division for Bellator and the Ultimate Fig ...

(born 1982, class of 2000),

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

and

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

practitioner. *

(born 1965, class of 1984), former Major League Baseball pitcher who now serves as a television commentator. *

Mark Leiter Mark Edward Leiter (born April 13, 1963) is an American former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who had an 11-year career from to and in . Leiter grew up in Toms River, New Jersey. Leiter graduated from Central Regional High Scho ...

(born 1963, class of 1981), former Major League Baseball pitcher. *

Phil Longo Phil Longo (born April 17, 1968) is an American football coach who is currently the offensive coordinator for the Wisconsin Badgers. A practitioner of the air raid offense, he was previously the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Nor ...

(born 1968),

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach who is offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the

North Carolina Tar Heels football The North Carolina Tar Heels football team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the sport of American football or Gridiron Football. The Tar Heels play in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate ...

team. *

Megan McCafferty Megan Fitzmorris McCafferty (born 1973) is an American author known for ''The New York Times'' bestselling Jessica Darling series of young adult novels published between 2001 and 2009. McCafferty gained international attention in 2006 when nov ...

(born 1973, class of 1991), author best known for her series of books about

Jessica Darling The ''Jessica Darling'' books are a ''New York Times'' bestselling series of five young adult novels by Megan McCafferty, published between 2001 and 2009. Told from the diary-style perspective of character Jessica Darling, the series chronicles he ...

, a witty teenage heroine. *

Jeff Musselman Jeffrey Joseph Musselman (born June 21, 1963) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Mets from 1986 to 1990. Career Musselman graduated from Central Regional High School in Bayville, New J ...

(born 1963, class of 1981), former Major League Baseball pitcher.Golden Eagles Athletics Hall of Fame: Jeff Musselman ('81)
, Central Regional High School. Accessed February 12, 2012.

References

External links

Central Regional High SchoolCentral Regional School District
*
School Data for the Central Regional School District

DigitalSports Central homepage
{{Authority control 1956 establishments in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1956 Berkeley Township, New Jersey Island Heights, New Jersey Ocean Gate, New Jersey Seaside Heights, New Jersey Seaside Park, New Jersey Public high schools in Ocean County, New Jersey