Pope John wins district wrestling title

Dalton Weber won his fourth district title to lead a contingent of seven individual champions as the Pope John High wrestling team easily captured the NJSIAA District 15 team title on Saturday afternoon at Watchung Hills High in Washington Township.

Pope John, ranked 13th in the state, had nine finalists and two bronze medalists in amassing 248.5 points to easily outdistance Watchung Hills, which had 169 points, in the 11-team field.

Pope John’s Mark Piotrowski, who has guided the Lions to an 11-3 record and a berth in the NJSIAA Non-Public, Group B final, was named the District 15 Coach of the Year.

Weber, who won at 113 pounds as a freshman, at 126 as a sophomore and at 132 last year, earned a 20-2 technical fall over Colonia’s Joshua Parks in the 126-pound final on Saturday.

Other champions for the Lions were Jacob Campbell (113 pounds), Daniel Arroyo (150), Braydan Lombreglia (157), Lukas Katsigiannis (165), Cole Dunham (175) and Nick Mignone (215).

Sal D’Arco (132 pounds) and David Thomson (190) each placed second, Frank Spagnola (138) and Michael Morelli (285) each placed third and Matt Farley (144) took fourth.

The top three place-winners advance to this weekend’s Region 4 tournament at Union on March 6-7.

Sparta Wrestling

Kellen Shearer, Finn McGurrin and Ryan Hrenenko each captured individual titles for Sparta as the Spartans placed third overall at the District 2 tournament on Saturday at Jefferson High in Oak Ridge.

Hrenenko, a senior, won his third district crown by recording a 16-0 technical fall over Wallkill Valley’s Alekos Reinle at 144 pounds in 4:03.

Shearer earned a 19-5 major decision over Lakeland’s Rafael Torres for the 106 pound title with McGurrin earning the 120-pound crown with a 27-12 tech fall over top-seeded Luca Perillo of Don Bosco Prep in 4:59.

Sparta also had three wrestlers take third, including Patrick Bruseo (132 pounds), Trevor Ekeland (165) and Liam Hassloch (215).

The six Sparta wrestlers will next compete at the Region 1 tournament in West Milford on March 6-7.

The top four place-winners at each weight class at each of the state’s eight regions will advance to the NJSIAA state tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on March 12-14.

Pope John Boys Basketball

Quinn Klebez scored 14 points and Patrick Black added eight points, but 10th-seeded Pope John bowed to seventh-seeded DePaul, 71-48, in the first round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Non-Public A tournament on Thursday afternoon in Wayne.

Pope John (8-17) was led offensively this season by Jayden Crocker (14.3 ppg.), Klebez (9.6 ppg.) and Trent Houser (8.9 ppg.).

Sparta Boys Basketball

The 14th-seeded Spartans fell to third-seeded Northern Highlands, 58-46, in the first round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3 tournament on Friday night in Allendale.

Senior LeShem Little, who led the team this season averaging 16.0 points, ended his career with over 1,100 points.