Sports

JV BASKETBALL TEAM RECENT PLAY: The Livingston High School boys’ junior varsity basketball team recently split two games. The Lancers defeated Newark Collegiate, 45-30, on Tuesday, February 7. The Lancers then suffered their first loss of the season, losing to Orange, 48-46, on Friday, February 10. Shown above, left, against Newark Collegiate, Lancer guard Ben Langer, #24, scores from underneath against the Panthers. Above, right, Lancer forward Kodey Freeman, #1, drives the lane to score.

RECREATION BASKETBALL CHAMPS: The Mercury are the Livingston Recreation fourth grade basketball champions. Shown here are, front, Lilian LaVie, Emily Laskaris, Carly Nacht, and Amelia Schiffer; and rear, coach Neil Rome, Jade Rome, Abby Rein, Elyse Pomeranc, Jordyn Skidds, and head coach Jan Michael Skidds. Also on the team is Ella Herhskin.

SENIOR CHEERLEADERS HONORED: The Livingston High School senior cheerleaders were honored on Senior Night, Friday, February 10. Shown here are Ilanni Hill, Sophia Kasson, Vivian Turner, Alyssa Galasso, and Brooke Vorona. Don Schwartz Photo

SYNCHRONIZED SKATERS WIN HONORS: The Skyliners Synchronized skating team, which includes a number of Livingston residents, recently captured the Eastern Championship title in three divisions. All the Skyliners’ qualifying lines ended up on the podium; the novice and intermediate lines earned gold, and the juvenile line captured the silver. In the two developmental levels they entered, the Skyliners placed first and second in the Pre-Juvenile Championship and third and fourth in the Preliminary Championships. Shown above, Livingston members include, front, Chloe Ren, Ivy Yang, Julia Karpov, Olivia Siu, Sophie Chen, Sophia Karpov, and Chelsea Li; and rear, Carolyn Qiao, Jessica Liu, April Wei, Isabelle Gao, Jenny Xu, and Bella Wu. Left, Chelsea Peng won the gold medal in the Mozart Cup in Austria on behalf of Team USA Skyliners Junior.

STATE SECTIONALS: Livingston High School’s boys’ and girls’ track and field teams competed in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Sectionals on Friday, February 10. Three Lancers took first place during the meet. Shown above are Coach Eugene Asimou and shot put sectional champion Jessica Oji after her number one state throw. Below, left are are Chase Kaufman (center) sectional champion in the 55-meter; Luke Petryna (left), second place finisher; and William Sun (right), the third place finisher; below right are sectional champion Ray Oji and second place finisher Matthew Ho.

The Livingston High School wrestling team competed in the Essex County Tournament, held at Codey Arena on January 25 and 26. The Lancers had six wrestlers make it to day two, including Rory Subarsky (who placed fifth at 157 pounds); Chris Taddeo (sixth at 126 pounds); Alex Diorio (seventh at 144 pounds); and Joe Jean Marie (seventh at 175 pounds). Among the six wrestlers were also finalists Phenol Morlan (second at 150 pounds) and Jason Quirk (first at 138 pounds).

JV SPLITS HOME GAMES: Livingston High School’s junior varsity girls’ basketball team was defeated by West Essex, 33-27, on Tuesday, January 31. They next defeated Newark Academy, 38-14, on Thursday, February 2. Above, left, Lancer guard Samantha Stecklow, #5, hits the corner jump shot against the Knights of West Essex. Above, right, Lancer forward Alexa Kay, #12, drives the lane to score against West Essex. Don Schwartz Photos

Livingston High School’s wrestling team challenged the Kittatinny Cougars, Westfield Blue Devils and Old Tappan Golden Knights in a tri-match on Saturday, January 28, at the Fitness and Wellness Center. The Lancers were defeated by Old Tappan, 39-36; Westfield, 48-25; and Kittatinny, 51 -14. The Cougars defeated all three opponents and won the tri-match.

In the 106 weight class, Jonathan Rotolo of Old Tappan pinned Lancer James Bonardi at 0:42. Jack Drucker of Old Tappan pinned Lancer Christopher Belcuore at 1:12 (113). Daniel Olivo of Old Tappan pinned Lancer Salvatore Rosa at 1:08 (120). Sam Bodnar of Old Tappan pinned Lancer Noah Pantaleon (126). There was a Livingston decision, 10-8, over Timothy Lee of Old Tappan (132). Lancer Jason Quirk pinned Justin Morrissey of Old Tappan at 2:47, (138).

Livingston High School’s boys’ track and field team competed in the Essex County Championships on Sunday, January 29. The Lancers were up against 30 other teams from the county.

Lancers’ varsity hurdlers, co-captain Matt Ho, Ray Oji and Nick Siao, competed in a qualifying race. Oji’s 8:07 time brought the team to the final race with a 7:92 second-place finish. Sophomore Ricky Romero ran a season’s best time of 4:45.64 to place ninth overall in the 1,600-meter. Shane Lyons (5:00.70) and Kyle Viteri (5:04.63) also ran in the same race.

Next in the infield was the 55-meter dash. The sprinting squad included Chase Kaufman, Luke Petryna and Ethan Wang, who ran in the eightathlete final. Kaufman, who recently broke the school’s 55-meter record, placed second with a time of 6:60; followed by Petryna in fourth at 6:66; and Ethan Wang in seventh with his personal record of 6:77.

VARSITY BOYS’ BASKETBALL TAKES EIGHTH WIN: Livingston High School’s varsity boys’ basketball team defeated West Orange, 43-42, and Science Park, 31-30, improving their record to 8-6. The Lancers traveled to West Orange on Tuesday, January 17, defeating the Mountaineers and hosted the Chargers on Thursday, January 19,to reorder their eighth victory of the season. Above, left, Lancer guard Luke Cohen, #1, soars and scores against the Chargers. Shown above, Lancer guard Nate Nussbaum, #0, drives the baseline against the Science Park Chargers. Don Schwartz Photos