Ice hockey team wins Halvorsen Cup

Adam Stefancik and Logan Winslow each scored twice and Braydon Sisco also registered a goal to lift the top-seeded Kinnelon/Jefferson/Sparta United tri-op ice hockey team to a 5-2 victory over third-seeded Mendham in the championship game of the Halvorsen Cup on Thursday, Feb. 15.

The title is the first for KJS United, which had reached the title game last season but bowed to Mount Olive/Hopatcong/Hackettstown, 5-1.

KJS United held a slight 2-1 lead after two periods before striking for three goals in the final stanza at Mennen Arena in Morris Township.

Winslow scored both of his goals in the third, with the first coming just 1:13 into the period.

Stefancik then provided KJS United with a 4-1 lead when he connected 3:25 after Winslow, who added his second goal with 8:12 left in the third period.

Anthony Prunty totaled two assists for KJS, with Alex Roslan, Aiden Parlapiano and Cormac Gibbons each adding one assist.

Rylan Gibbons anchored the defense with 20 saves.

Members of KJS United from Sparta include Stefancik, Winslow, Parlapiano, Joey Kopec, Cooper O’Neil, Anthony Pandiscia, Michael Pandiscia, Rylan Gibbons and Cormac Gibbons.

After starting the season 3-3, KJS reeled off 11 straight victories. KJS also went a perfect 8-0 in winning the Halvorsen Division of the Morris County Secondary Schools Ice Hockey League under head coach Jeff Myhren.

KJS (15-4) is seeded second for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Public Co-Op North tournament and is scheduled to play 15th-seeded Mount Olive in a first-round game Tuesday, Feb. 20.

The sectional quarterfinal round is slated for Friday, Feb. 23, with the semifinals Feb. 27 and the championship game Feb. 29 at Codey Arena in West Orange.

Here’s how other Sparta teams fared last week:

Wrestling

Led by five finalists, including three individual champions in Ryan Hrenenko (126 pounds), Logan Hrenenko (138) and Luke Brown (190), Sparta finished third among nine schools Saturday, Feb. 17 at the NJSIAA District 4 championships at High Point in Sussex.

Brown, a junior and the third seed at 190 pounds, defeated top-seeded Mason Mericle of High Point, 3-1, when he scored a takedown with 15 seconds remaining in overtime.

Peter Donnelly (113 pounds) and Connor White (215) placed second, with Johnathan Petelicki (106), Eugene Donnelly (132), Sean Brown (144) and Anthony Petrock (150) each finishing fourth.

Indoor track

Ashley Crane finished seventh in the 1600-meter run with a time of 5:18.08 and was ninth in the 3200-meter run in 11:52.93 to pace Sparta at the NJSIAA Group 2 championships Feb. 17 in Toms River.

Isabella Frattura was 14th in the high jump with a leap of 4-10 and Ava Barone was 16th in the 3200-meter run with a time of 12:10.91.

For the boys, Julian Laznik-Moraghan was 16th in the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:39.94.

Boys basketball

Leshem Little scored a game-high 18 points, Chrystian Grubbs added 17 points and Brandon Joefield dropped in 10 points to power Sparta to a 58-46 victory over Sussex Tech on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at home.

The Spartans finished their regular season with a 10-13 record and were led offensively by Little (13 points per game) and Grubbs (12.9 ppg).

Girls basketball

The Spartans are seeded 11th for the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3 tournament and are scheduled to play at sixth-seeded Northern Highlands on Thursday, Feb. 22 in a first-round game.

If Sparta wins, it would advance to the sectional quarterfinal round against third-seeded Ramapo or 14th-seeded Wayne Valley on Tuesday, Feb. 27.

Molly Chapman leads the team in scoring with a 9.7 average.

Bowling

Sparta, seeded 12th, bowed to fifth-seeded Bergen Catholic, 2-0, in the first round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3 tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at Bowler City at Hackensack.

Evan Miller (610 high series, 242 high game) and Khalil Masri (632 series, 234 game) helped lead the Spartans (6-11) this season.