Sports

VOLLEYBALL DEFEATS BLOOMFIELD: The boys’ varsity volleyball team opened the season with a 2-0 victory over Bloomfield at a home game on Monday, April 3. Ryan Lee led the Lancers with eight kills. Shown here, Lancers Neil Ahlawat (right) and Jon Hong (left) soar to thwart the Bloomfield scoring attempt.

The Livingston High School boys’ tennis team opened its 2023 season with a loss to Montclair, 4-1, in a Super Essex Conference match. Livingston senior Jake Einzig lost first singles, and freshman Arjun Bansal lost third singles both in straight sets.

This was Bansal’s first varsity match. Second singles and both doubles were three set matches. At second doubles, Montclair’s Teddy Ogden and Matthew Vincente defeated junior Jacob Goldstein and sophomore Jared Melamed 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.

Rainen Solomon of Montclair defeated senior Atiksh Kotikalapudi 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 at second singles.

Livingston’s Holden Baris, senior, and Jake Hershkin, junior, fought off match points in the third set tiebreaker to defeat Max Korenbaum and Jasper Spoor 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (119). The 2023 Lancer tennis captains are Baris, Einzig, and Kotikalapudi.

BASEBALL DEFEATS NUTLEY: The varsity baseball team scrimmaged Jonathan Dayton High School and Morris Knolls High School prior to the season opener. The Lancers defeated Nutley, 10-0, on the road on Monday,April 3.According to sports photographer Don Schwartz, Lancer season opener highlights included pitcher Jon DePalma’s four strikeouts and shutout, Miles Seid’s home run, Julian Schultz’s five RBIs and Robbie Lynn’s two runs. Clockwise, from above, Lancer hurler Daniel Levine delivers a fastball against Morris Knolls; Lancer base runner EJ Frayne dives back to first base avoiding a pickoff; and Lancer Julian Schultz works a walk to open the game against Morris Knolls. Don Schwartz Photos

SPRING SPORTS OPEN: Livingston’s Lancers spent last week training for the start of their respective sports season. The girls’ lacrosse team scrimmaged the Montville Mustangs on Thursday, March 23, at the turf. Shown above, left, girls’ lacrosse Lancer attack player Casey Conklin controls the ball during an offensive charge. Above, right, player Delia Lederman protects the ball before passing for a goal setup. Don Schwartz Photos

The Livingston High School ice hockey team recently finished a successful season, according to head coach David Conklin. The Lancers ranked 21st in the state for both private and public schools. The team also finished second in the State Public A division. Its record is 14-6-4.

The Lancers advanced in the state tournament with wins against Southern High School 6-0 and Monroe High School 6-1, before a semifinal showdown with State Champion winner, Ridge High School. Livingston lost against the team during the Public A state Championship semifinals at Codey Arena.

The Lancers’ defense was led by senior assistant captain, Brett Conklin. Seniors Reed Plotnick, Alex Selvin, junior assistant captain Ryan Zales and sophomore Mitchell Friedman helped support senior goalie Justinas Sanders, who finished the year with six shutouts and a .929 save percentage.

Spring sports tryouts are underway at Livingston High School, specifically for softball, baseball, girls’ and boys’ lacrosse, tennis, volleyball, and girls’and boys’track. Each team will open its season on Monday, April 3.

The softball and baseball teams will host Nutley in the home opener. The girls’ lacrosse team will play at Jefferson, while the boys’volleyball team will host Bloomfield. The boys’ varsity tennis team will compete against Montclair in a home match, and the boys’lacrosse team will play a home game against Lenape Valley. The girls’and boys’track teams will each compete against East Orange and Montclair.

The Livingston Jr. Lancer Wrestling team competed in the state tournament on March 11 and 12.

Three of the team’s wrestlers placed in the top eight in their respective weight classes at the tournament. Manuel Escalante, in the 215-pound weight class, finished in fourth place. Jacob Bagolie, also 215, finished in eighth. Andrew Strulson, 75 pounds, also finished eighth in his weight class.

Also competing at the state tournament were Eli Levinson (60 pounds), Hunter Lee (65), Ryan Strulson (80), Matthew Ferdinand (85), Haokai Liu-Duan (100), Giancarlo Tauro (100 pounds), Michael Giordano (135), and Giorgio DeCorso (90).

STATE AND DISTRICT CHAMPS: Jayden Rogers, David Weinrib, Eli Wheeler, and Ryan Korn, shown left, will be representing the Atlantic District after winning the 14U-AA State and District Championships. All four freshmen currently attend Livingston High School and play ice hockey for the Montclair Blues 14U-AAclub hockey team. The team has qualified to compete for the 2023 USA Hockey National Championship. The tournament will be held in Denver, Colorado from March 29 to April 3.

The Livingston High School (LHS) varsity wrestling team recently finished its season.According to LHS sports photographer Don Schwartz, prominent highlights include a state sectional semi-finalist appearance; three district champions: Aidan Carmody, Jason Quirk and Rory Subarsky; seven regional qualifiers: Carmody, Quirk, Subarsky, Phenol Morlan, Joseph Jean Marie, Chris Taddeo and Sal Rosa.

Carmody earned district outstanding wrestler, regional champion, regional outstanding wrestler, came fourth in the state finish and became a 100-win club wrestler. Carmody finished his career as a four-time state qualifier, three-time state medalist, placed in fifth, sixth and fourth. His final record is 101-26.

Leah Gurfinkel placed fourth in the region, which made her top 16 in the state. This is the furthest a Lady Lancer wrestler has ever advanced.

Chris DiIanni earned district and regional assistant coach of the year.

BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS: The Livingston fifth grade travel basketball team defeated Glen Ridge, 55-50, at Heritage Middle School on Thursday, March 9. The championship victory enabled Livingston to finish the season undefeated with a 16-0 record. Shown above, the champions and their fans celebrate the victory. Below is the Livingston team: (back row) Coach Ryan Gillock, Brady Resnick, Jonah Cohen, Blake Simon, Matthew Gillock, Ryan Rosenberg, Madden Mandelbaum, Coach Pete Cullen (front row) Shane Manoff, Ryan Traub, Jacob Epstein, Dylan Weaver, Bryce Cullen, and Trevor Adelman. For additional information, see the article on page A-7. Don Schwartz Photos