Sports roundup: Pope John wins sectional title
SPARTA. The sixth-seeded Lions defeat top-seeded Montclair Kimberley Academy, 5-1, and will play in the NJSIAA overall Non-Public B championship Wednesday.
Sparta /
| 09 Jun 2025 | 10:38
Evan Johnson slides under the tag to score the first run for Pope John XXIII Regional High School in the game against Morristown-Beard on Wednesday, June 4. The Lions won, 6-3, in the semifinal round of the NJSIAA Non-Public North Jersey, Group B tournament. They will face Montclair Kimberley in the final round there at 4 p.m. Friday, June 6. (Photos by Glenn Clark)
Andrew Pami gets back to first base safely on a pick-off attempt by Morristown-Beard in the top of the fourth inning.
Second baseman Nick Struble throws to first to complete a double play to end the first inning against Morristown-Beard.
Shortstop Will Ryan goes to his left and pulls in a grounder in the bottom of the third inning against Morristown-Beard.
Pope John catcher Andrew Pami tags out Alex Hriczov at home while he was trying to score Morristown-Beard’s first run.
Alex Rakowsky squares around to bunt in the top of the second inning.
Starting pitcher Miles Masone.
Will Ryan scoops up a ground ball at shortstop in the bottom of the first inning.
Evan Johnson celebrates toward the dugout after putting Pope John on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning.
Starting pitcher Miles Masone.
Starting pitcher Miles Masone.
Sixth-seeded Pope John XXIII Regional High School struck for three runs in the top of the first inning, including a solo home run by Jack Portman, and never looked back.
The Lions earned a 5-1 victory over top-seeded Montclair Kimberley Academy in the championship game of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey, Non-Public B tournament there Friday afternoon, June 6.
The title is the first since 2011 for Pope John, which advances to the overall Non-Public B championship game against Gloucester Catholic at 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 11 at Veterans Park in Hamilton.
Pope John, which had its graduation ceremonies Friday morning, benefited from three MKA errors in the first inning. Will Ryan had reached on an error, stole second and third, and scored on a groundout by Evan Johnson. After Portman’s homer, Nick Struble singled, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Brody O’Hara, who was 2-for-4, including a double.
MKA scored an unearned run in the fourth, but the Lions answered when Andrew Pami, who was 2-for-4, singled in two runs in the sixth.
Beckett Weeks and Portman combined on a two-hitter with Weeks, striking out three and walking four in the. first five innings. Portman closed the door in the final two frames but had to wait out a 50-minute lightning delay in the final inning.
Portman, who also stole base and reached base via hit-by-pitch twice, finished with four strikeouts and one walk and didn’t allow a hit.
The Lions (13-13), who tied for third place in the American division of the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference with a 3-3 mark, have won all three of their post-season games on the road. They defeated third-seeded St. Mary’s of Rutherford, 5-4, in the quarterfinal round and second-seeded Morristown-Beard, 6-3, in the semifinal round.
Here’s how other Pope John and Sparta High School teams fared last week:
Sparta outdoor track
Isabella Frattura of Sparta ended her high school career in style.
Frattura, a senior, not only won the javelin event at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions for the second straight season, she set a personal record on her final attempt - with a throw of 150-3 - on Wednesday, June 4 at Pennsauken High School.
Frattura, who is headed to Liberty University in the fall, had clinched the M of C title with an effort of 141-2 on her first throw of the competition.
She won her first M of C crown in javelin a year ago with a throw of 139-3.
Le-Shem Little represented the Sparta boys at the season’s final event, placing 12th in the 200-meter dash in 21.92.
Nick Vannatta led Pope John at the M of C by placing fifth in the javelin with a throw of 177-1 and was followed by Jordan Perez, who had a heave of 169-5. Vannatta was seeking to repeat as javelin champion after winning as a junior last spring.
The girls were represented by Tessa MacMullin, who was 22nd in the triple jump with an effort of 35-1.25; Katelyn Nolan, who was 23rd in the 3,200-meter run in 12:20.64; the 4x800 relay team of Casey Carney, Tanya Makhija, Gwendolyn O’Hearn and Julia Ireland, who were 19th in 9:47.97; and the 4x400 relay team of MacMullin, Ireland, Makhija and Carney, who were 21st in 4:02.26.
Sparta boys lacrosse
Jace Stiansen (two goals, two assists), Eddie Brown (two goals, one assist), Danny Westervelt (two goals), Marco Aquino (two goals), Michael Pandiscia (one goal) and Jake Alliegro (12 saves) led third-seeded Sparta to an 9-8 victory over second-seeded West Morris in the semifinal round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Group 2 tournament there June 5.
Sparta (12-8) is scheduled to play at top-seeded Hopewell Valley for the sectional championship at 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 10.
Sparta girls lacrosse
Second-seeded Sparta received five goals and two assists from Uma Kowalski and Joey Roque to defeat third-seeded West Morris, 14-9, in the semifinal round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, group 2 tournament at home June 5.
The Spartans will meet top-seeded Mendham for the sectional title there at 3:30 p.m. June 10.
Moira Sweeney added two goals, an assist and 10 draw controls and Grace Johnson and Sophie Ku each registered once to aid the offense.
Sparta softball
The ninth-seeded Spartans saw their season conclude in an 8-1 loss to fifth-seeded Randolph in the semifinal round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3 tournament there June 4.
Emily Ciaburri singled and scored on an RBI single from Alexis Arpino to account for Sparta’s lone run.
Sparta had defeated 16th-seeded Wayne Hills, 14-4, in six innings in a quarterfinal game May 30.
Maya Laliker went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBI; Kiernan Moore was 2-for-4 with a triple and a home run, two RBI and two runs; and Ingrid Brevig went 3-for-3 with a walk, two RBI and three runs to key the decision.