Diodonet wins gold medal

Noah Diodonet earned a gold medal in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.25 and Peyton Lowenstein was second in the javelin with a throw of 107-3 and third in the shot put with a heave of 34-5 to lead the West Milford High School outdoor track team at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 Championships on Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17 at Vernon Township High School.

Ciara Clinton was fifth in the 1,600-meter run in 5:20.42 followed by Amanda Harvey in seventh place in 5:31.81.

In the 3,200-meter run, Harvey finished ahead of her teammate, finishing second in 11:27.26 followed by Clinton in third in 11:39.61.

Abigail Highers was seventh in the pole vault in 7-6 and Sarah Foley was 10th in the 400-meter dash in 1:01.69.

On the boys side, top 10 finishers included Lorenzo Andrade, who was second in the 400-meter hurdles in 55.79 and sixth in the 200-meter dash in 22.99; Julian Pierre, who was eighth in the 400-meter dash in 51.70 and fourth in the high jump in 5-10; Zachary McDowell, who was 10th in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:00.87; Tyler Meier, who was sixth in the high jump in 5-10, ninth in the long jump in 20-2 and ninth in the triple jump in 40-6.75; and Aydin Deane, who was seventh in the javelin in 143-3.

The 4x400-meter relay team of Andrade, Pierre, Kyle Gloria and Diodonet was fourth in 3:29.20; the 4x100-meter relay foursome of Pierre, Jaxon Neubig, Meier and Gloria was sixth in 43.89; and the 4x800-meter relay squad of Daniel Bauer, Diodonet, Evan Lynch and Massimo Balestrieri was sixth in 8:31.02.

The top six place-winners in each event advance to the NJSIAA Group 2 Championships on May 30-31 at South Plainfield High School.

Here’s how other West Milford teams fared last week:

Baseball

The fifth-seeded Highlanders were limited to just four hits in a 13-0 five-inning loss to top-seeded DePaul in the semifinal round of the Passaic County Tournament on May 17 in Wayne.

West Milford had advanced with a 5-4 victory over fourth-seeded Wayne Hills in a PCT quarterfinal there May 12.

The Highlanders led, 5-1, after their at-bat in the top of the fourth before holding on for the one-run decision.

West Milford, which benefited from five walks and three errors, was led by Kyle Schwarzlow, who singled, walked and drove in two runs; Chris Timmins, who went 2-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base, an RBI and two runs; Chase Tyburczy, who singled, stole two bases and drove in a run; and Dane Wells, who walked twice, drove in a run and scored once.

The Highlanders (14-8) were scheduled to play at Caldwell at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 22.

Softball

Bella Kling hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the second inning and Brodie Loveland, who was 2-for-3, singled in a run in the third to help West Milford to a 4-3 victory over Lakeland at home Thursday, May 15.

Cassy Rubinski singled and walked three times and Alyssa Kral singled and scored for the Highlanders.

West Milford (5-11) snapped a seven-game losing streak with the win.

Boys lacrosse

Vincent D’Andrea and Ryan Czeczuga each scored twice; Max Gorny added a goal and an assist; and Jake Kelshaw and Jeffrey Papienuk each connected for one goal as West Milford outlasted Tenafly, 7-6, there May 12.

Junior goalie Tyler Acanfrio matched a career-high in saves with 23 stops for the Highlanders (8-10).

Girls lacrosse

The Highlanders (1-14) were scheduled to close out their 2025 regular season slate with a home game against Pequannock at 4:30 p.m. May 22.

Vivian Sirnik (23 goals, eight assists), Adison Arciniega (21 goals, 12 assists), Sarah Benowitz (20 goals, seven assists), Lily Kreutzer (22 goals, four assists) and Julia Plewa (11 goals) lead the team in scoring.

Boys tennis

Lucas White (first singles), John Parkin (second singles), and Brendan Garcia and Chris Rosner (first doubles) each won in straight sets and Ethan Garcia (third singles) and Max Ilynski and Brent Telesmanich (second doubles) won by forfeit as the Highlanders blanked Paterson Kennedy there May 15.

West Milford completed its 2025 season with a 7-9 mark, including a 4-6 record in the Independence Division of the Big North Conference.