Hart wins gold in district championships
VERNON. Three other girls earn medals at the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, District/Region championships.
Vernon /
| 25 Feb 2025 | 12:16
Amanda Scarpati of Lakeland Regional High School and Kameko Sibblies of Newton/Kittatinny compete in the 109-pound weight class in the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, District/Region championships Sunday, Feb. 23 at Vernon Township High School. (Photos by Maria Kovic)
Thiara Nunez of Leonia and Ingrid Vazquez of Passaic compete in the 100-pound weight class in the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, District/Region championships Sunday, Feb. 23 at Vernon Township High School.
Emilia Tylki of Garfield and Kate Machleder of Old Tappan compete in the 114-pound weight class.
Alison Benitez of Lodi and Sidney Figueroa of Boonton.
Amanda Scarpati of Lakeland Regional High School and Kameko Sibblies of Newton/Kittatinny.
Thiara Nunez of Leonia and Ingrid Vazquez of Passaic compete in the 100-pound weight class.
Alison Benitez of Lodi and Sidney Figueroa of Boonton
Next stop: Atlantic City.
Senior Caitlin Hart captured the 235-pound title and three teammates also earned medals to lead the Vernon Township High School girls wrestling team at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey, Section 1, District/Region championships Sunday evening, Feb. 23 at home.
Lily Henderson reached the finals and placed second at 107 pounds, while Natalie Tucker (114 pounds) and Rowan Waite (185) each placed third in their respective weight classes.
The Vernon quartet advances to the NJSIAA state tournament March 6-8 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Hart wrestled at 185 pounds in the first three years of her varsity career and placed fifth in the state as a freshman, third as a sophomore and fourth last year.
On Sunday, she scored three wins by pin, including a fall in 2:14 over Caroline Biegel of DePaul in the 235-pound final.
Henderson lost by fall in 3:39 to Fair Lawn’s Gianna Bonaccorso in the 107-pound final.
Tucker claimed third place at 114 pounds with a pin in 3:13 over Boonton’s Kaylee Hughen, and Waite earned bronze at 185 pounds with a 3-0 decision over Brianna Murray of Newton/Kittatinny.
Tucker and Henderson also will be making return trips to Atlantic City after Tucker placed sixth at 132 pounds and Henderson finished eighth at 107 last year.
Here’s how other Vernon teams fared recently:
Boys wrestling
Daniel Rendon placed second at 190 pounds and Zyon Taylor was fourth at 285 to pace the Vernon boys at the NJSIAA District 3 Tournament on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 22 at Kittatinny.
The Vikings finished eighth in the nine-team tournament. Bergen Catholic, ranked No. 9 in the state, won the event with 11 finalists and seven individual champions.
Rendon reached the 190-pound final and lost by a 21-4 major decision to Sparta’s Luke Brown.
Rendon advances to the NJSIAA Region 1 tournament Feb. 28-March 1 in West Milford.
The top four place-winners in each weight class in each of the state’s eight regions advance to the NJSIAA state tournament March 6-8 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Boys basketball
Alex Fessel scored a game-high 31 points and Michael Pecoraro added 14 points to pace Vernon to a 60-59 victory over West Milford at home Feb. 22.
Fessel, a senior guard, is averaging 22.5 points this season for the Vikings and has totaled 1,599 points for his career, good for an average of 15.9 points.
Vernon (15-10) is seeded fourth for the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 tournament. The team is scheduled to play host to 13th-seeded Dumont in the first round at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27.
Girls basketball
Monica Curry had a double-double with 18 points and 10 steals and Grace Dobrzynski added eight points, five rebounds and two blocks to pace Vernon to a 39-34 victory over Veritas Christian there Feb. 17.
The Vikings (11-10) are seeded eighth for the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 tournament. They are slated to play host to ninth-seeded Westwood in a first-round game at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 27.
Ice hockey
Senior forward Jake Chromcik (36 goals, four assists) and freshman goalie Klaus Harthaus (1,030 saves, 0.853 save percentage) were the bright spots for the Vikings (1-19) this season.