Papienuk wins gold in district tournament

Junior Jeffrey Papienuk captured the 215-pound championship, and five teammates also placed to highlight West Milford High School’s performance at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) District 3 tournament Saturday afternoon, Feb. 22 at Kittatinny Regional High School in Newton.

The Highlanders placed sixth of nine teams with 81 points. Bergen Catholic won the event with 266.5 points and seven individual champions.

Papienuk pinned his way to winning his first district title, spending a total of just 5:50 on the mat in three bouts. He pinned Liam Hassloch of Sparta in the finals in 1:55.

Other place-winners for West Milford included Jesse Araujo (third at 132), Edip Oruli (third at 190), Tyler Martinez (fourth at 113 pounds), Nicholas Carbone (fourth at 150) and Owen Menier (fourth at 175).

The top three place-winners in each weight class in all 32 districts advance to the NJSIAA Region 1 tournament hosted by West Milford on Feb. 28-March 1.

The top four place-winners in each weight class in each of the eight regions then advance to the NJSIAA state tournament March 6-8 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

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

Girls wrestling

Jacqueline Sloan placed sixth at 132 pounds as West Milford participated at the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, District/Region championships Sunday afternoon, Feb. 23 at Vernon Township High School.

Ariana Canipe (138 pounds) and Taylor Keegan (145) competed but did not place.

Boys basketball

Ognjen Ljusic scored a career-high 27 points and Tyler Liguori added 20 points to spur a 58-45 victory over Passaic Valley there Feb. 18.

Ljusic, a senior forward, is averaging 15.9 points per game this season. In three seasons of playing varsity, he has totaled 835 career points.

West Milford (14-11) is seeded ninth for the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 tournament. The team will play at eighth-seeded Ramsey at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27.

Girls basketball

The Highlanders completed a perfect 10-0 mark in winning the Big North Independence Division championship with a 47-40 victory over Fair Lawn at home Thursday, Feb. 20.

Adison Arciniega had 17 points and three rebounds; Laurel Space added 13 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks, four assists and four steals; Sara Wardlaw had six points, six rebounds and two assists; Amanda O’Brien had two points, nine rebounds and two assists; and Ava Scrimenti collected five points, three rebounds and two assists to key the win.

West Milford (18-4) is seeded fourth for the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 tournament. It is slated to play host to 13th-seeded High Point in a first round game at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 27.

Ice hockey

The West Milford/Pequannock co-op squad, seeded 11th, is scheduled to play sixth-seeded Verona/Glen Ridge in the first round of the NJSIAA north Jersey, Public co-op tournament Monday night, Feb. 24.

The Highlanders (11-12-1) received four goals and two assists from Timmy Riche, two goals and three assists from Kyle Gregory, and one goal and two assists apiece from Derek Pizzariello and Joe Barroquerio in an 8-7 victory over River Dell on Feb. 18 at the Ice Vault Arena in Wayne.

Indoor track

Tyler Meier placed 11th in the high jump with a leap of 5-8 and Massimo Balestrieri was 14th in the pole vault with an effort of 11-0 to highlight the West Milford boys at the NJSIAA Group 2 championships Feb. 22 at the Bennett Center in Toms River.

Ciara Clinton represented the Highlanders, placing 14th in the 1,600-meter run in 5:31.78 and 14th in the 3,200-meter run in 11:53.74.