Zaku-Ramos places second in state wrestling tournament

Liliana Zaku-Ramos of the Newton/Kittatinny co-op wrestling program was in an unenviable position on Saturday afternoon, March 4.

While the talented junior had reached the finals of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) 126-pound state tournament on center mat at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, the majority of those in attendance were focused on her opponent.

That opponent, Kira Pipkins of Bloomfield, went on to register an 11-1 decision over Zaku-Ramos, not only capturing the 126-pound title but becoming the first wrestler in state history to win four girls state championships.

Zaku-Ramos finished with a 25-4 mark this season, with three of those losses coming to Pipkins, who was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.

The first three rounds of the girls state tournament were held Feb. 26 at Phillipsburg High School, with the finals of all 10 weight classes in Atlantic City.

Zaku-Ramos, the second seed, received a bye into the quarterfinal round, where she pinned Natalie Tucker of Vernon in 2:49. She then pinned Jackeline Oviedo of Mainland in 2:27 in the semifinal round to reach the finals.

Other place-winners for Newton/Kittatinny were juniors Kailin Lee (fifth at 165 pounds) and Gianna Simeone (eighth at 107).

Newton boys wrestling

The Braves had two wrestlers competing at Boardwalk Hall: seniors Thaylor Sibblies (157 pounds) and Michael Melillo (138).

Sibblies earned a 6-2 decision over Middletown North’s Matthew Castelli in the preliminary round before suffering a 7-0 setback to Zander Silva of Christian Brothers in the pre-quarterfinal round.

Sibblies then pinned Liam Packer of Phillipsburg in 4:20 in the second round of wrestlebacks before dropping a 6-2 decision to Nicholas Delorenzo in the third round of wrestlebacks.

Melillo suffered a 7-2 loss in the preliminary round to Shawn Redfield of Warren Hills before beating Nate Fletcher of Point Pleasant Boro, 4-2, in the first round of wrestlebacks. He bowed to Mateo Sgambellone of St. Joseph of Montvale, 4-1, in the second round of wrestlebacks.

Kittatinny boys wrestling

Kittatinny also had two wrestlers participate at the state tournament: junior Reece Smith (144 pounds) and sophomore Ethan Darling (157).

Smith bowed to Ocean Township’s James Farina, 10-1, in the preliminary round before being pinned by Gov. Livingston’s Cristian Gioia in 37 seconds in the first round of wrestlebacks.

In Darling’s preliminary-round match, he suffered a 2-1 tie-breaker loss to Kingsway’s Benjamin Dryden before bouncing back to pin Gavin Merkel of Howell in 1:43 in the first round of wrestlebacks. He then bowed to Pitman’s Ryan Datz, 13-0, in the second round of wrestlebacks.