Crane wins 3 silver medals

Senior Ashley Crane brought home three silver medals to highlight the Sparta High School boys and girls indoor track squads at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 and 3 championships on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 10 at the Bennett Center in Toms River.

Crane took second in the 800-meter run in 2:26.58, second in the 1600-meter run in 5:23.38 and second in the 3200-meter run in 11.59.90.

Other top 10 finishers for the Spartans were Isabella Frattura, who was third in the high jump with an effort of 5-0; Ava Barone, who was fifth in the 3200 in 12:07.89 and eighth in the 1600 in 5:41.28; and Emma Westervelt, who was 10th in the 1600 in 5:46.09.

For the boys, Remson Jarrell was second in the 1600-meter run in 4:34.21, followed by Julian Laznik-Moraghan, who was fifth in 4:36.74 in the 1600 and ninth in the 3200 in 10:39.85.

The Sparta 4x400 meter relay team was eighth with a time of 3:44.74.

The state group championships will be held at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17 at the Bennett Center.

Here’s how other Sparta sports teams fared last week:

Girls basketball

Despite receiving a game-high 18 points from Molly Chapman, the sixth-seeded Spartans bowed to second-seeded Voorhees, 45-36, in the semifinal round of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament on Feb. 10 at Wallkill Valley Regional High School.

Sparta, which was seeking its fourth straight tri-county championship, trailed by just three points, 31-28, after three quarters before Voorhees closed with a 14-8 fourth-quarter showing.

Brooke Shust added eight points for Sparta (8-14), which is scheduled to play at Mendham on Thursday, Feb. 15.

Boys basketball

Leshem Little had a game-high 20 points, Chrystian Grubbs added 15 points and Shane Hoover scored nine, but Sparta dropped a 70-61 decision to Chatham on Thursday, Feb. 8 at home.

The loss was the fourth straight for the Spartans, who fell to 9-13 this winter.

Wrestling

Sparta, seeded sixth, came up just short of reaching the sectional final as it bowed to seventh-seeded Wayne Valley, 30-28, in the semifinal round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3 tournament Monday, Feb. 5 at River Dell High School.

The Spartans trailed, 30-13, but rallied to win the final four bouts of the evening, including three by major decision.

Connor White (285 pounds) started the four-bout streak with a 7-0 decision over Diego Cruz, followed by majors by Johnathan Petelicki (106), Peter Donnelly (113) and Patrick Bruseo (120).

Sparta (19-4) had defeated sixth-seeded Pascack Valley, 39-33, in the quarterfinal round, also Feb. 5. White’s pin in 3:09 over Ennis Feratovic with two bouts remaining clinched the win for the Spartans.

Bowling

The Spartans, seeded 12th, are scheduled to meet fifth-seeded Bergen Catholic in the first round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3 tournament at Bowler City in Hackensack at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14.

Sparta (6-10) defeated Hopatcong, 5-2, on Feb. 5 at Sparta Lanes led by Evan Miller (510 high series, 193 high game), John Ferrara (450 series, 181 game), Nicholas Vasquez (347 series, 132 game), Karen Maasbach (335 series, 145 game) and Matthew Trela (330 series, 128 game).