Barry, DeCaro win silver at states
NEWTON. Ramos places fourth in state wrestling tournament.
Newton /
| 11 Mar 2025 | 04:24
Newton's Avery Eigner leaps during a shot in the game against Leonia on Feb. 27. The Braves lost, 51-40, in the first round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 tournament. Eigner scored eight points and grabbed 12 rebounds. (Photos by George Leroy Hunter)
Newton's Sophia May leaps during a shot. She scored 14 points.
Newton's Olivia May scored one point.
Newton's Sophia May leaps during a shot from the foul line.
The Newton High School cheerleaders perform during halftime.
Junior Eva Barry (138 pounds) and senior Paige DeCaro (165) of the Newton/Kittatinny co-op squad each took home a silver medal from New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) state wrestling tournament Saturday, March 6 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Barry, who also was the runner-up at 138 last year, dropped a 12-6 decision to St. Thomas Aquinas senior Saniyah Queen. Barry had defeated Julia Fongaro of Boonton, 10-8. She also had defeated Fongaro by fall in 5:22 at the North Jersey, Section 1 District/Region championships Feb. 23.
DeCaro (38-3) was defeated by Paterson Kennedy’s Solaris Paul, 7-1, in the 165-pound final. DeCaro, seeded 10th, defeated second-seeded and defending state champion Liliana Alicea of Central Regional, 7-6, in the quarterfinal round, then bested third-seeded Kamila Castro of Ridgewood, 11-6, in the semifinal round.
Stella Ramos did well to place fourth at 152 pounds after wrestling back to win three times after losing in the quarterfinal round.
Boys wrestling
Layne Smith (106 pounds), Keegan Murtagh (126), Joey Melillo (144), Mason Bucci (150), Tyler Morodan (157), Aaron Stone (165) and Sean Brown (285) all competed in the Region 1 tournament for the Braves on March 1, but none placed to reach the state tournament.
Boys basketball
Maxwell Maslowski scored a team-high 24 points and Nick Kurilko added 11 points, but 16th-seeded Newton bowed to top-seeded Pascack Valley in the opening round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 tournament Feb. 27 in Hillsdale.
Maslowski, a senior guard, finished the season averaging 20 points a game. He ended his career with 1,119 points - good for a 15.8 scoring average.
Newton finished the season with an 11-15 record but was 6-4 - good for a third-place finish - in the Colonial Division of the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC).
Girls basketball
Sophia May and Caitlyn Pokrywa each scored 14 points and Avery Eigner added eight points and 12 rebounds, but the Braves, seeded fifth, dropped a 51-40 decision to 12th-seeded Leonia in the first round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 tournament at home Feb. 27.
The loss ended Newton’s season, which concluded with a 17-6 overall record and a perfect 10-0 mark in winning the NJAC’s Colonial Division.
Juniors Pokrywa (12.3 points per game, 4.7 rebounds) and Jordyn Young (7.5 ppg, 4.6 rebounds), senior May (10.6 ppg, 7.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists) and sophomore Eigner (8.7 ppg, 5.3 rebounds) led the Braves in scoring.
Ice hockey
The Braves finished the season with a 5-18 mark, led by Ty Dellicker (19 goals, 11 assists), Arsenni Pastukh (nine goals, 15 assists), Joey Gallucci (seven goals, 10 assists) and Sean Lockwood (seven goals, nine assists).
Goalies Adam Yacuk (420 saves) and Patrick Boden (345 saves) anchored the defense.
Indoor track
Kyle Dickson placed eighth in the high jump with an effort of 5-10 and John Porada was fourth in the shot put with a throw of 47-9.25 to pace the Newton boys at the NJSIAA Group 1 championships Feb. 23 at the Bennett Center in Toms River.
Dickson had advanced by placing first with an effort of 6-2 and John Porada was second in the shot put with a throw of 43-8.5 at the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 championships Feb. 8 in Toms River.