Sparta chess team shines in states

The Sparta Chess Team maintained their position as the best public school chess program in New Jersey with their results in the recent NJ State Scholastic Chess Championships. The Primary Team placed fourth in the NJ Primary Championship. Lucas Rendina and Reilly Kasabri led the effort, and were assisted by Sam Esposito, Christopher Johnson, Brittany Brannigan, Alexis Lee, Ian Manske and Vaiden Pollard. Vaiden was cited for excellent play among the kindergarteners. The Elementary Team placed third in their tournament behind private school powerhouses Princeton Day and Princeton Charter. Keith and Evan Johnson had three wins each. Zabrina Branning, Tyler Struble,Anthony Esposito, Christopher Hakkenberg, Kayla Melgarejo, Alex Schimpf, Daniel Lane, Morgan Kasabri, Ryan Ryersen, Thomas Blake and Daniel Bacon comprised the rest of the team. Keith Johnson earned an individual award for superior play as a fifth grader. Travis Kasabri turned in his best performance in leading the Middle School Team to a seventh place finish. Conor Smetana, Kyra Schluter, and Thomas Wolfe aided in the effort. Led by AJ Thomas’ four wins, the High School team finished tenth in the Varsity event. Eryk Banatt played first board, followed by Adam Banatt, Alex Dominguez, Austin Kasabri and Thomas. Bergen Academy won the title followed by High Tech. Sparta lost to both of these schools. Sparta placed fifth in the Reserve Division, being the only team to defeat the tournament winner, Columbia. Both Ian Clark and Rob Tessier received individual recognition. Colin Casey and Natasha Sica were also on the team. The entire team is preparing for the National Scholastic Championships in Nashville, Tennessee and Dallas, Texas.