Sports roundup: Chromcik, Harthaus lead ice hockey team

While the Vernon Township High School ice hockey team’s season that just concluded was lacking in victories, it certainly wasn’t short on talent.

The Vikings boasted two of the area’s most prolific players this winter.

Senior forward Jake Chromcik scored 36 of his team’s 42 goals this season, and freshman goalie Klaus Harthaus averaged 51.5 saves per game while finishing with an incredible total of 1,030 saves.

“While the season didn’t go the way we wanted it to, there was never any sense of frustration, especially with Jake and Klaus,” said head coach Nicholas VanDerlofske.

“Jake was a huge part of our leadership and also a really good student. He’s headed to Ramapo, and I’m sure he’ll excel there.

“And Klaus is just a student of the game and is very detail-oriented and seems years beyond his age. He really took to the sport from day one, and I can’t remember a freshman playing this well at his position.”

Chromcik had 10 multi-goal games this season, including seven hat tricks, one four-goal game and one five-goal output.

The 5-11 Harthaus, who had a 0.853 save percentage, began his career with a 57-save effort in his first game and had seven games of 60 saves or more, including an 81-save effort in a 9-1 loss to Morris Catholic on Dec. 21.

Harthaus made 36 saves and Chromcik connected for three goals as Vernon won the rematch against Morris Catholic, 4-2, on Jan. 29.

Other Vernon offensive standouts this season were Lucca Bracchi (two goals, two assists), CJ Vigiletti (two goals), Mason Heilmann (one goal, five assists), Zach Crozier (one goal, three assists), Nate Kouretas (four assists), Joshua Henderson (three assists), Ben Parra (one assist) and Jayce Wilczewski (one assist).

Here’s how other Vernon teams fared recently:

Boys basketball

Vernon, seeded fourth, came up just short of earning the first sectional championship in program history as it bowed to second-seeded Glen Rock, 55-49, in overtime in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 title game there Monday, March 10.

The Vikings (18-11) were appearing in the sectional final for the second straight season after reaching it for the first time a year ago, when they dropped a 42-38 decision to Ramsey.

Against Glen Rock, senior guard Alex Fessel scored a game-high 26 points, including a 3-pointer in the waning seconds of regulation that knotted the game, 47-47, and forced overtime.

Fessel ended his season averaging 22.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.5 steals and made 71 3-pointers. He finished his stellar career with 1,697 points, good for an average of 16.3 points per game. He also made 242 career 3-pointers.

A year ago, Fessel was named the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament Most Valuable Player as he led Vernon to its first tri-county championship. He scored 30 or more points six times this season, including a career-high 38 in a 65-62 loss at Wallkill Valley.

The Vikings also were led this winter by Michael Pecoraro (8.2 ppg, 4.5 rebounds), Dylan Heykoop (5.6 ppg, 3.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists). Dan Decker (7 ppg, 4.4 rebounds), Tyler Dobrzynski (5.7 ppg, 4.7 rebounds) and Ryan Ajamian (4.3 ppg).

Girls basketball

The Vikings (11-10) were seeded eighth for the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 tournament and dropped a 54-31 decision to ninth-seeded Westwood in a first-round game Feb. 27 at home.

Grace Dobrzynski (21 points), Monica Curry (eight points) and Chloe DeBonta (two points) paced Vernon, which trailed, 23-5, after the first period.

Vernon (12-11) was led this season by Monica Curry (13.7 ppg, 5.3 steals), Dobrzynski (13 ppg, 7.3 rebounds, 3.1 steals), Grace Duffy (4.1 ppg, 5.6 rebounds) and Vanessa Curry (4 ppg, 2.9 rebounds).

Monica Curry, a junior guard, will enter her senior season needing 292 points to reach the 1,000-point milestone, while Dobrzynski, a senior guard, ended her career with totals of 865 points, 495 rebounds, 218 steals, 110 assists, 67 blocks and 74 3-pointers.

Bowling

The seventh-seeded Vikings did well to reach the semifinal round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 tournament, where they bowed to third-seeded Pascack Valley, 2-0, on Feb. 19 at Bowler City in Hackensack.

Vernon (12-8) was led by Zachary Stevens (410 high series, 219 high game), Vinny Loeffler (370 series, 200 high game), Joe Mancini (292 series, 154 high game), Matt Torres (286 series, 148 high game) and Johnny Pecca (271 series, 157 high game).