Nolan places 12th at state championships

Katelyn Nolan placed 12th with a time of 20:06 and Reece Wilson was 104th with a time of 19:45 to pace the Pope John girls and boys cross country teams, respectively, at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public A championships on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 9 at Holmdel Park.

Other girls who were place-winners: Bella Metternich (16th in 20:22), Julia Ireland (25th in 21:03), Audrey Higgins (98th in 24:37), Evangeline Pabalan (107th in 25:20), Perri Cofrancesco (131st in 27:28) and Allison Carlucci (145th in 32:18).

Other boys who were finishers: Nick Boyanowski (110th place in 20:05), Dylan Simonelli (118th in 20:33), Patrick Robinson (121st in 20:49), Declan Brown (123rd in 21:00), Nick Mizzoni (131st in 22:16) and Frank Marucci (134t in 27:15).

Here’s how other Pope John teams fared recently:

Boys soccer

Miles Masone shone in goal, making 16 saves, but the 11th-seeded Lions bowed to third-seeded St. Peter’s Prep in the quarterfinal round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Non-Public A tournament on Friday afternoon, Nov. 8 in Jersey City.

Pope John (7-12-1) had advanced with a 2-0 victory over sixth-seeded DePaul in a first-round game Tuesday, Nov. 5 in Wayne.

Nicholas Acito scored both goals, and Masone earned the shutout with a 10-save performance.

Acito (14 goals, nine assists), and Travis Heller (12 goals, two assists) led the Lions in scoring.

Girls soccer

The 12th-seeded Lions dropped a 1-0 decision to fifth-seeded Paramus Catholic in the opening round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Non-Public A tournament there Monday, Nov. 4.

Abigail Talmadge made seven stops in goal for Pope John (4-11).

Jaidyn Falcone totaled five goals and four assists to lead the Pope John offense.

Field hockey

Evelyn Gerald was stellar in the cage, making 17 saves, but 11th-seeded Pope John dropped a 5-0 decision to sixth-seeded Morristown-Beard in the first round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Non-Public tournament there Nov. 4.

Pope John (6-13-1) was led offensively by Katherine Klebez (eight goals, three assists) and Brooke Fox (four goals, seven assists).

Girls volleyball

Pope John, seeded ninth, bowed to top-seeded and No. 11 ranked Immaculate Heart Academy, 25-6, 25-14, in the quarterfinal round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Non-Public A tournament Nov. 9 in Washington Township.

The Lions (6-19) had advanced with a 24-26, 25-16, 25-19 victory over eighth-seeded Newark Academy in a first-round match Thursday, Nov. 7 in Livingston.

Pope John was paced in that win by Stella Scardigno (22 assists, four digs), Kasey Dugan (20 digs, six assists, two kills), Christina Lipka (three kills, two blocks, one dig, one assist), Avery Griffin (12 kills, seven digs, four aces), Casey Carney (four kills, two digs, one block, one assist, one ace), Catherine Daly (six digs, three aces, two kills), Reagan Daly (seven digs, five kills), Emily Syer (one dig, one kill), Madison Dugan (one dig) and Nora Marino (one kill, one dig).