Araujo wins PCCT championship

Jesse Araujo captured the 132-pound championship to lead three place-winners for West Milford High School in the Passaic County Coaches Tournament on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 25 at home.

Araujo earned a 13-6 decision over Christopher Ahlborn of Pompton Lakes in the 132-pound final.

Nick Triverio also reached the finals but bowed to James Conklin of Passaic Tech, 16-1, in the 157-pound championship bout.

The other place-winner for the Highlanders was Tyler Martinez, who was fourth at 113 pounds.

West Milford finished eighth of 15 competing schools with 74.5 points. Wayne Valley won the event with 183.5 points.

The Highlanders (4-13) will wrestle at New Milford at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31 before wrestling at North Warren at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 1.

Here’s how other West Milford teams fared last week:

Indoor track

Ciara Clinton won the 3,200-meter run in 12:26.81 and was second in the 1,600-meter run in 5:39.54 to pace the Highlanders at the Passaic County Indoor Championships on Monday, Jan. 20 at the Ocean Breeze facility in Staten Island, N.Y.

Emma Carson was ninth in the shot put with a throw of 28-4.75, and Bridget Henkel finished 11th with an effort of 26-6.

Kyle Gloria was second in the pole vault with an effort of 11-6. Teammate Massimo Balestrieri was third in the event with an effort of 10-6 and also 12th in the 800-meter run in 2:16.97.

Tyler Meier was third in the high jump with a leap of 5-10, fifth in the triple jump with a leap of 41-4 and 14th in the long jump with a leap of 18-1.

Julian Pierre was sixth in the high jump with a leap of 5-6 and seventh in the 400-meter dash in 53.54. Colby Scott was eighth in the triple jump with an effort of 40-7, 10th in the 200-meter dash in 24.18 and 12th in the long jump in 18-8.25.

Evan Lynch was fifth in the 800-meter run in 2:08.69 and ninth in the 1,600-meter run in 4:50.64. Szymon Krempaski was eighth in the 55-meter hurdles in 9.25.

Girls basketball

Laurel Space collected 12 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists; Adison Arciniega totaled 12 points, three rebounds and two assists; and Amanda O’Brien added 10 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks to power West Milford to its eighth straight victory: a 52-27 decision at Pompton Lakes on Jan. 25.

The Highlanders are 11-2 this season and 4-0 in the Independence Division of the Big North Conference.

Space is averaging 11 points per game and 8.9 rebounds, with O’Brien averaging 8.4 points and 9.6 rebounds and Sarah Benowitz averaging 9.9 points.

West Milford was set to play at Ramapo at 4:15 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30.

Boys basketball

Ognjen Ljusic netted 22 points, Tyler Liguori added 10 points and Cole Stillman dropped in none points to lead West Milford to a 55-39 victory over Kinnelon there Jan. 25.

The Highlanders have won three straight games and five of the past six games, improving to 9-5 this winter.

West Milford will play at Paramus at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4.

Ice hockey

Joe Barroquerio scored twice and Matt Montena made 25 saves but the Highlanders dropped a 6-2 decision to Wayne Hills on Sunday night, Jan. 26 at the Ice Vault Arena in Wayne.

Barroquerio leads the team in goals with 15 along with 13 assists.

West Milford (6-11-1) will conclude its regular season with two games at the Ice Vault Arena against Passaic Tech at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31 and a clash with Newton at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2.

Bowling

Colton Hardison had a high series of 556 and a high game of 193 to lead West Milford to a 4-3 victory over Hackensack on Friday afternoon, Jan. 24 at Holiday Bowl in Oakland.

Other bowlers for the Highlanders included Jaden Foster (526 series), Kyle Frommelt (470 series) and Glenn Dawson (456 series).

West Milford will meet Wayne Hills at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4 at T-Bowl Lanes in Wayne.