Sports roundup: Ireland is third in cross country meet

Julia Ireland clocked a time of 20:12.48 to place third and Reece Wilson was 19th with a time of 17:42.75 to lead the Pope John XXIII Regional High School girls and boys, respectively, at the first Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) cross country batch meet Tuesday, Sept. 16 at Greystone Park in Morris Plains.

Also placing in the top 20 for the girls was Gwendolyn O’Hearn, who was 12th with a time of 21:24.25. Other boys place-winners finishing in less than 20 minutes were Nicholas Katsgiannis (61st in 19:19.71), Nick Mizzoni (73rd in 19:44.99) and Declan Brown (76th in 19:46).

Here’s how other Pope John teams have fared recently:

Boys soccer

Teo Fedullo and Boban Kovacevic each scored, and Matthew Rivera made 10 saves, but Pope John suffered a 3-2 loss to Morris Knolls at home Wednesday, Sept. 17.

Pope John (3-3) has been led offensively this season by Kovacevic, a senior, who has 10 goals.

The Lions will play host to West Morris at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26 before playing at Morristown at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29.

Girls soccer

Pope John will seek its first victory of the season at 4 p.m. Sept. 26 when it travels to play at Mendham before returning home to host Mount Olive at 4 p.m. Sept. 29.

Field hockey

Kaitlyn Honig scored a first-period goal and Evelyn Gerald made 16 saves, but Pope John bowed to Lenape Valley, 2-1, in overtime at home Friday afternoon, Sept. 19.

Honig leads the Lions (0-6) in scoring with three goals and three assists this season.

The team will play host to High Point at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25.

Girls tennis

Julia Tarkowska (first singles), Ava Duda (second singles), Yana Saluja (third singles), and Emily Fuchs and Grace Skalupa (first doubles) all won in straight sets to lift Pope John to its first victory of the season, 4-1, over Roxbury, at home Thursday afternoon, Sept. 18.

Pope John (1-7) is slated to take part in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament beginning at 8 a.m. Sept. 25 at Pingry.

Girls volleyball

Catherine Daly totaled four digs, three service points, two kills, one assist and one ace; Stella Scardigno collected four service points, three assists, two digs, one kill and one ace; Nora Marino added five digs, four kills, one ace and one service point; and Casey Carney had two kills, two blocks and two service points, but Pope John bowed to Morris Knolls, 25-16, 25-16, at home Sept. 19.

The Lions (0-5) were scheduled to play host to DePaul at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24.