December 30, 2010
Matt Purdue - Ocean City SportsPerson of the Year
By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist
Through the years, the Ocean City SportsPerson of the Year has been recognized for
numerous reasons. There have been athletes – like Brett Johnson, Brittany Sedberry,
Chad Severs, Kevin Sinclair and Pat Lynch. There have been championship coaches –
like Dixie Howell, Fenton Carey, Pat Dougherty, Mike Naples and Trish LeFever. Some
were saluted for a lifetime of work – like Dick Grimes, Walt Tucker, Larry Blohm, Drew
Breckenridge and Rich Tolson. Others largely for their support of youth programs – like
Joe Fagan, Greg Donahue, Jean Campbell, Naz Costanza and Bob French.
This season, our 48th Sportsperson Of The Year is recognized for the immediate impact
he has had as a coach, accomplishing something no other Raider coach has ever accomplished
in any sport.
Matt Purdue has only coached the OCHS boys cross country team for three seasons.
But what seasons they have been!
His teams were 27-1, winning three straight South Jersey titles, a first for an OCHS coach.
Brett Johnson led the way the first year, winning his second straight individual South
Jersey title. Miles Schoedler was the individual champ the last two seasons. And Erik
Johnson is waiting in the wings.
Purdue, who is also the OCHS boys track coach and has won three straight county titles
in that sport, had been honored by more than one organization for his work as an official
in both track and cross country before stepping in to coach at OCHS.
He has developed an interest in track among the school’s top athletes and has been able to
convince some of the top runners in his spring track program to give cross country a try
with impressive results.
His record-breaking accomplishments in his first three seasons of boys cross country have
advanced the sport’s success and more than maintained the level of competiveness achieved
under the three coaches who preceded him.
For the most successful first three seasons in Ocean City High School sports history and
a lifetime of dedication to cross country and track, Matt Purdue is the choice as Ocean City’s
2010 SportsPerson of the Year.
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As we put up our new calendars, it is always a good time to look back on the top local sports
stories of the previous year. As is our custom, here are the 10 sports stories that seemed to
generate the most interest among Ocean City fans in 2010:
1. The first Cape-Atlantic League playoff championship by the Raiders in boys basketball, a
double-overtime thriller over Lower Cape May.
2. The first South Jersey baseball championship in OCHS history and a march all the way to
the state final.
3. The retirement of Trish LeFever after her field hockey team had won a seventh state
championship.
4. The impressive debut of Cory Terry as the new field hockey coach, winning her first 21
games and a South Jersey championship.
5. Miles Schoedler’s second straight South Jersey cross country championship, leading the
Raiders to a fourth straight team title, and his return to the NJSIAA Meet of Champions.
6. The beginning of Raider Nation, an exciting OCHS cheering section that has continued
into this school year.
7. The conclusion of Dan Barrus’ record-setting career in boys tennis, leading to an undefeated
championship of the American Conference, the first such championship ever by an OCHS
tennis team. They became the first team of Raiders to finish the regular season undefeated
since 1975 and only the third in school history.
8. John Bruno’s 277th career victory, tying Dixie Howell’s school record.
9. A second straight district wrestling championship by Coley O’Brien.
10. A fifth straight division championship in girls basketball.
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