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South Jersey Track & Field Hall of Fame Inducts Two Members from the Ocean City Community

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William Moreland

OCEAN CITY, NJ- Ocean City High School’s William Moreland and John Richardson are being inducted into the South Jersey Track & Field Hall of Fame Class of 2016 for their excellent achievements in athletics.

On March 20th, 2016, the South Jersey Track & Field Hall of Fame will hold a banquet for newly initiated members at Lucien’s Manor in Berlin, NJ. The banquet starts with a reception at 4:30PM, followed by dinner at 5:30PM. Each inductee will be introduced by the Master of Ceremonies and have the opportunity to give a short speech. New members will receive a Hall of Fame ring.

The association was formed in 1970 to support high school track & field and cross country organizations in South Jersey. They organize South Jersey school competitions for cross country, indoor and outdoor track, as well as sponsor end-of-year season awards banquets. The Hall of Fame was founded in 2005 in order to honor the incredible athletes, coaches, officials, and supporters in the South Jersey track & field and cross country community. There are currently 109 members instated in the Hall of Fame, which holds an initiation banquet every year with around two to three hundred guests in attendance.

William “Bill” Moreland, a recently retired teacher and coach, is known for his dedication and talent for developing some of South Jersey’s finest runners (John Richardson, Brett Johnson and Mile Schoedler, Brittany Sedberry, Renee Tomlin, and Devon Grisbaum) and winning many State Sectional and State Group titles. Graduating from Abington High School, he later attended Elizabethtown College for his Bachelor’s degree and the University of Delaware for his Master’s. He began teaching mathematics and coaching spring and winter track and cross country at Ocean City in 1979. For his 35 years of employment there, Bill never once took a sick day. He has also never missed a day of running in the past 40 years. Bill retired in 2008 and is married with two daughters. He can still be seen running the island every morning.

John Richardson graduated from Ocean City High School in 2003 and is one of the greatest middle distance runners in South Jersey history. While running for Ocean City, he achieved an unmatched double victory in the 800 and 1600 at the 2003 New Jersey Spring Meet of Champions. He also took home a victory at the Penn Relays High School

Mile in April 2003. He continued his success at the University of Kentucky, becoming the third South Jersey runner to run a sub-four-minute mile.

Ocean City has had three other members previously inducted into the Hall of Fame. Archie Harris (Discus 1937) was inducted in the Class of 2008, while Coach Mike Naples and Melody Sye O’Reilly (Middle Distance 1984) were seen in the Class of 2011.

To attend the South Jersey Hall of Fame Banquet, contact the Committee Chairman, Bill Collins, at (856) 381-7763 or wcolls@gmail.com to make a reservation. Reservations are required. The cost is $50 per person, or $20 for children under 12.

John Richardson