Ribitzki wins district wrestling championship

Spencer Ribitzki of West Milford High School stood tall in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) District 3 wrestling tournament.

The junior was the lone Highlander to garner a district championship Saturday afternoon, Feb. 18 as the second seed pinned his way to the heavyweight title at Dumont High School.

Ribitzki defeated top-seeded Bradley Maines of Sparta by a pin in 3:45 in the final round.

He also pinned John Handel of Pequannock in 1:47 in the quarterfinal round, then packed Cooper Struble of Lakeland in 2:18 in the semifinals.

West Milford finished fourth overall in the team race with 123.5 points.

Pope John, with six individual champions, won the title with 223 points followed by Sparta (147.5) and Newton (136.5).

The Highlanders also had three other wrestlers reach the finals but Benjamin Marchetto (113 pounds), Colin Menier (132) and Nicholas Carbone (150) came up short.

Justin Burke (106 pounds), Erik Reilly (126), Ryan Eckhart (138) and Shane Cooper (190) finished fourth.

Ribitzki, Marchetto, Menier and Carbone each qualified for the Region 1 tournament to be held at West Milford on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24-25.

The top four place-winners in each weight class at each of eight region tournaments across the state will advance to the NJSIAA state tournament March 2-4 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

West Milford, with head coach Taylor Pevny at the helm, fashioned an 18-5 record this winter, reaching the semifinal round of the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 tournament and winning the Independence Division of the Big North Conference with a 4-1 record.

Girls basketball

West Milford, the 13th seed, was scheduled to play at fourth-seeded Ramsey in the opening round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 tournament Tuesday, Feb. 21.

The Highlanders (11-13) have been led this season by junior Avery Vacca (9 points per game), sophomores Laurel Space (7.4 ppg) and Adison Arciniega (7.3 ppg), and freshman Sarah Benowitz (4.7 ppg).

Boys basketball

The Highlanders were seeded 16th and scheduled to play at top-seeded Ramsey in a NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 first-round game Tuesday, Feb. 21.

West Milford (7-19) has been led offensively by seniors Seamus Basket (17.9 ppg) and Wyatt Space (5.6 ppg) and sophomores Ognjen Ljusic (7.5 ppg), Dean Deaver (7.2 ppg) and Tyler Liguori (6.7 ppg).

Ice hockey

The West Milford/Lakeland Regional co-op squad finished 5-13-3 this season.

The offense was led by juniors Aiden Lindgren (14 goals, 14 assists), John Biegel (nine goals, 17 assists), Jake Pedicone (six goals, 10 assists), Matthew Watt (three goals, eight assists) and sophomore Kyle Gregory (12 goals, 13 assists).

Junior goalie Nick Lombardo anchored the defense with 431 saves.