What a fitting way to end one of the most successful Allentown Redbirds Pop Warner seasons. On Jan. 29, the Allentown Redbirds Pop Warner held their Annual Awards Banquet at the Forsgate Country Club. Among the 520 attendees were guest speakers Rutgers defensive tackle Ramel Meekins and offensive lineman Darnell Stapleton. Dennis Todd, former President of the Redbirds board of directors, was the first recipient to receive the Dennis Todd Volunteer of the Year Award for his unconditional support of the Redbird's organization since 1994. Todd, surrounded by his family and fellow board members, received a standing ovation, as Jim O'Rourke, 2007 Board President, presented him with the Lifetime Achievement Award. During the dinner, the attendees watched the video "A Season to Remember" highlighting the 2006 season, from the Memorial Day parade to the Upper Freehold Township Recognition of the Central Jersey Division Champions - the peewee cheer and midget football and cheer teams

Each participant of the 2006 season was presented with an individual trophy for an outstanding season. Division jackets were awarded to the midget football and cheer teams, as well as the division, regional, and third-place national champion peewee cheer squad. Midget football player Devon McKenna was awarded the Steven Reid Award, along with teammate Matt Burke who received the 2006 Football Sportsmanship Award. On the cheer side, midget Cheerleader Kristie Golla was chosen by her coaches as the recipient of this year's Redbirds Spirit Award and Caitlyn Reyes received the 2006 Cheer Sportsmanship Award after being nominated by her fellow midget teammates. For more information on the Redbirds Pop Warner program, you can log onto www.allentowncentralredbirds.com.

On Jan. 27 the Millstone Middle School wrestlers entered the Monmouth County District tournament. Andrew Marr, Chris Dowdy, Dillon Denardo and Jonathan Merritt finished in first place. Lenny Gigatano took second while Justin Miller finished third and Danny Frezzo, Justin Duffy and Dominic Coletti finished fourth.

The four first-place winners moved on to the Monmouth County Tournament of Champions held on Jan. 29. Winning that round was Marr, Dowdy and Merritt, which advanced them to the Monmouth/Middlesex County Tournament of Champions the following night. By winning that, Andrew Marr and Jonathan Merritt set a new school record by advancing further than any other previous wrestlers. Entering into the final competition on Feb. 1, Andrew Marr took it a step further by winning again, and becoming Millstone's first-ever Tri-county champion.

Elsewhere on the mat, on Jan. 14, seven Millstone wrestlers entered the Lacey Mat Rat Classic, including Nick Stefanchik, Jon Merritt, Andrew Derosa, Anthony Bliss, Frank Juba, Zach Turner and Jack Giglia. Finishing in first place was Giglia, Turner, and Bliss. Derosa took second while Merritt and Juba finished third.

On Jan. 21 and 28 some of the wrestlers braved into the NJ State Qualifiers. Finishing in the top three earns them a spot in the state tournament in March, where each wrestler will be bracketed with the 24 best wrestlers in the state, for their weight class. Earning spots so far are Andrew Marr and Jack Giglia, finishing first, while Zack Turner and Brian Foley took second.

There are more qualifying tournaments to follow for the wrestlers who have not qualified yet.