Hawks Out Pinned, Crusaders Advance in State Tournament

The River Dell wrestlers (19-3) suffered their third loss of the season on Monday night and ended their run at a North I Group II title as the Golden Hawks were out pinned by the Lenape Valley Patriots 41-32. River Dell took to their home mat in Oradell as the number three seed but the fiesty Patriots (9-8) who entered as the sixth seed dominated across all weights. DJ Tirelli had a major decision 15-4 over Magnuson Velardi at 113 pounds; Brendan Campbell (138) pinned Michael Narangelo in 3:42; Cenzo Cariddi (145) had a 11-0 major decision over Joe Labell; Tyler Kallensee (160) pinned DJ Barrett in 3:47; Nick Baranello (182) pinned Craig Velard in 1:19; and Lenny Smith (220) pinned Dante Jones in 5:01. The Hawks went on to win a regular seaon match on Wednesday, 42-25 over the Demarest Norsemen with contributiosn from Tirelli, Danny Lynch, John McLaughlin, Cariddi, Kallensee, Andrew Pohl, Baranello, and Smith.

 Also competing in Oradell to advance in the state wrestling tournament were the second seeded Bergen Catholic Crusaders who picked up bonus points to advance 32-28 over Delbarton in the North NonPublic A bracket. Led by the upper weights, Bergen picked up two forfeit wins for Ginanni Hallick and Johnny Sebastian followed by Lukas Iorio, Christina Jenco, Hunter Kiselick and Carmine Goldsack staying on top. Connor Melde downed Delbarton’s Matt Davis, 7-0, in the final bout to clinch the win. The Crusaders will face top-seeded St. Peter's in the sectional final on Friday.

Down in Toms River for the North 1 Group 2 indoor track tournaments, the River Dell squads placed fourth (boys) and fifth (girls). The Lady Hawks (41.5 points) were led by Jamie Woods (2nd, 55HH), Emily Croonquist (5th, 1600M and 3rd, 3200M), the 1600 relay (4th), Bridget Brindley (3rd, Pole Vault), Laura Oh (4th, Shot Put) and Erin Smith (5th, Shot Put).  The boys team (26 points) took their lead from the 1600 relay (4th), Brandon Jurasin (5th, High Jump), Calvin Hartman (3rd, Pole Vault), Matt Koh (2nd, Shot Put) and Austin Berniger (3rd, Shot Put).

Despite taking an early lead, the Pascack Valley Indians came back to knock off the Golden Hawks on the court Tuesday night, 63-52. River Dell trailed 19-18 by half time but a 25-point spree on the Indians behalf led to the Hawks downfall. Tim Barnes (15) and John Budka (11) were the lone scorers to hit double digits.

After their amazing weekend spectacular in the , the Crusaders ran into a roadblock - the Hackensack Comets who came out on top 64-39 Tuesday night. Luke Cervinoe, Richie Deluca and Brian Ward stayed strong for Bergen from behind the arc, but Comets' Rashard Figures laid down 22 points during Hackensack's win.

Tough defense by the Lady Indians of Pascack Valley and a struggling second half on the Lady Hawks part led to River Dell falling 39-32 Tuesday night. The first half belonged to River Dell who was ahead 20-17 before the break but PV's Catherine Rodgers (20 points) and Michelle Garay (14) teamed up for seven three-pointers while Kate Brock (17 points) netted two shots from behind the arc and Jordan Bastable (5) had one.

The Green Wave of Delbarton washed over the Bergen Catholic Crusaders on the ice, 7-1. David Gerity (15 saves) and Gennaro Anzevino (8) split time between the posts but it was the offense that could not get a consistent effort together. Ryan Smyth fed Tucker James the puck for the long goal.