Vikings advance to H/W/S semifinal

Senior Alex Fessel scored 21 points and sophomore Dan Decker added 12 to lead the Vernon Township High School boys basketball team, seeded third, to a 52-42 victory over sixth-seeded Voorhees in the quarterfinal round of the 15th annual Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament at home Saturday afternoon, Feb. 8.

Vernon (12-7), the defending champion, will meet seventh-seeded Hackettstown in a H/W/S semifinal at 5:15 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15 at Phillipsburg High School. Before that game, top-seeded Phillipsburg will face fourth-seeded Delaware Valley in the other semifinal at 3:30 p.m.

The tri-county championship game will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21 at Centenary University in Hackettstown.

Also contributing for Vernon against Voorhees were Dylan Heykoop (seven points), Michael Pecoraro (five points), Ryan Ajamian (five points) and Tyler Dobrzynski (two points).

Fessel had 12 points, five steals and four assists; Pecoraro totaled 11 points, seven steals, four rebounds and three assists; Ajamian had eight points and three assists; Heykoop collected four points, six rebounds and five assists; Decker collected four points, six rebounds and two assists; and Dobrzynski added five points and five rebounds as Vernon defeated 14th-seeded Newton, 54-35, in a H/W/S second-round game at home Feb. 4.

Fessel, who was the Most Valuable Player in the tournament last year, is averaging 22.9 points this winter to lead the Vikings.

Here’s how other Vernon teams have fared recently:

Girls basketball

Monica Curry had 16 points and three steals; Grace Dobrzynski collected 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals; and Grace Duffy totaled three points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals as 12th-seeded Vernon dropped a 55-37 decision to fifth-seeded Delaware Valley in the second round of the H/W/S Tournament there Feb. 4.

Curry had 17 points, seven steals, six assists and three rebounds and Dobrzynski added 15 points, four steals, two rebounds and two assists as Vernon defeated 17th-seeded South Hunterdon, 52-33, in a H/W/S first-round game at home Jan. 31.

Ice hockey

Jake Chromcik scored all three goals and Klaus Harthaus stopped 43 shots as Vernon bowed to Paramus Catholic on Sunday, Feb. 2 at the Ice House in Hackensack.

Chromcik, a senior forward, has 33 goals and four assists this season while Harthaus, a freshman, has an incredible total of 1,006 saves for Vernon (1-18).

Girls wrestling

Lily Henderson and Caitlin Hart each won individual championships as the Vikings placed second on the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Championships at home Feb. 1.

Vernon finished second with 97 points while the co-op squad of Newton/Kittatinny won the 20-team event with 158 points.

Henderson defeated Kameko Sibblies of Newton/Kittatinny, 3-0, in the 109-pound final, and Hart pinned Abby Paglia of Newton/Kittatinny in 1:35 in the 237-pound final.

Other place-winners for Vernon included Rowan Waite (second at 187), Melodie Guzik-Upchurch (third at 134) and Kaelen Hague (fourth at 102 pounds).

Indoor track

Micah Dalelio placed 10th in the 1,600-meter run in 5:45.96 and 12th in the 3,200-meter run in 12:49.20 and Brooke Schneider was 13th in the 800-meter run in 2:34.82 and 22nd in the 400-meter dash in 1:06.85 to pace the Vernon girls at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey, Section 1, Groups 1 and 2 championships Feb. 8 at the Bennett Center in Toms River.

Jack Turner was the highest-placing Vernon boy, clocking a time of 5:01.75 in the 1,600-meter run. He was followed by Aiden Velez, who was 17th in the same event with a time of 5:02.20.