One year after devastating injury, Toranzo takes OW at Region 3 Championships

When Brandon Toranzo walked into West Orange High School for the NJSIAA Region 3 Wrestling Championships,…

North Arlington boys bowling wins first sectional title since 2019

When the bowling season got underway, North Arlington boys coach Dan Farinola didn’t fully know what…

Makayla David’s state tournament opener is one for the record books

For Makayla David, feeling nerves on the day of a game is nothing new, but on…

History is made at first Essex County Girls Wrestling Invitational

They came to wrestling with different athletic backgrounds, each with their own unique story of how…

Kearny-North Arlington-Secaucus hockey win McMullen Cup

With several key players back and healthy from the previous season, winning the McMullen Cup  was…

Athlete of the Week: Belleville’s Rocco Negron overcomes injury, wins OW at District 10

To understand how much wrestling means to Rocco Negron, all one has to do is look…

Sports for the Feb. 14, 2024, edition

WE GOT THE CUP! MetLife Stadium will host 2026 World Cup Final

The next FIFA World Cup is still more than two years away, but the New York-New…

Pizzuti sets school scoring record as Lyndhurst boys basketball advances in NJIC Tournament

As Anthony Pizzuti got closer to the Lyndhurst career scoring record, he started to learn more…

Lyndhurst-North Arlington wrestling exceeds expectations, qualifies for state tournament

A disappointing performance in a quad on Jan. 27, the last day before the cutoff for…

Thistle Team Black (U16) honored by NJ Youth Soccer

Nutley’s Toranzo repeats as Outstanding Wrestler at Essex County Tournament

For Brandon Toranzo, the only surprise of last week’s Essex County Tournament was the announcement of…

Lyndhurst girls turns County Tournament snub into winning streak

There was an understandable feeling of disappointment for the Lyndhurst girls basketball team last Monday when…

Kearny’s Baeza keeps winning, remains undefeated

Despite going 25-6 as a junior, last year was a struggle for Kearny’s Joshua Baeza. Competing…

With something to prove, Nutley girls basketball tops last year’s win total

There’s no denying that the Nutley girls basketball team has experienced plenty of growth over the…

Kearny boys basketball hopes depth leads to strong finish

Marc McCaffrey’s first season as Kearny’s boys basketball coach has seen its ups and downs through…

Athlete of the Week — Green’s a go-to scorer for resurgent Maroon Raiders

No one had to tell Anna Green before the season that she would need to establish…

Pizzuti becomes first Lyndhurst boys basketball player to score 1,000 points since 1987

Two years ago, when Anthony Pizzuti was a sophomore at Lyndhurst, the idea of him scoring…

Kearny girls track wins HCIAL Relay title

For a couple of years, veteran Kearny girls track coach Al Perez saw his team decimated…

Athlete of the Week — Stamm rewrites the record books for Kearny-North Arlington-Secaucus hockey

Aiden Stamm wasn’t initially sure if he was initially going to play high school ice hockey…

Young Nutley wrestling team comes of age after win at Bloomfield

With 10 underclassmen in the lineup, it is almost certainly the youngest roster Mike DiPiano has…

Lyndhurst’s Akar post big numbers in return to action

Statistically, the last two weeks have arguably been the best of Asya Akar’s career as she’s…

Kearny boys, North Arlington girls repeat as holiday tournament champions

The holiday tournament week has been a successful one for The Observer Area basketball teams as…

Benkert’s offensive outburst sparks Nutley-Bloomfield-Columbia hockey

Alex Benkert has never been afraid to be creative on the ice in an effort to…

The Top 10 Sports stories of 2023

It’s safe to say that 2023 was a memorable year for local sports. These last 12…

OVER THE HILL — Jody wins 400th game as KHS coach

Throughout her now 28 years as the girls basketball head coach at Kearny, Jody Hill has…

Summer work paying off for North Arlington boys basketball

The North Arlington boys basketball team had its own version of summer school this past June,…

Red Bulls announce new head coach, acquire Forsberg from RB Leipzig

The New York Red Bulls offseason overhaul continued this past week with two major transactions sure…

Lyndhurst T&F star Tozduman signs with Sacred Heart, eyes big senior season

Julia Tozduman saw most of the state’s top Track & Field athletes sign their national letters…

Lyndhurst girls basketball looks to progress with experienced core

It would be easy for the Lyndhurst girls basketball team to think big and look ahead…