Cougars Edge Woodbridge on Senior Night, Wrestling Team Earns Road Win at Voorhees

January 22, 2026

Nicholas Mistretta

MHS ’79 Cougar Sports Correspondent

SKILLMAN— It was a strong night for Montgomery High School athletics, as the Cougars girls varsity basketball team celebrated Senior Night with a dramatic 55–52 home win over Woodbridge, while the boys varsity wrestling squad earned a 46–30 road victory at Voorhees.

Girls Basketball: Senior Core Leads Cougars to 55–52 Senior Night Win

In front of a strong home crowd, Montgomery (7–6) honored its five graduating seniors before tip-off, then leaned heavily on that veteran group in a hard-fought victory over Woodbridge (8–4).

The program recognized Seniors, Captain #1 Ryane Riddell, #4 Abby Schwartz, #13 Sophia Lehmann, #20 Aliza Schulberg and #24 Anushka Patil during a pregame ceremony that highlighted their years of contribution and leadership. Once the ball went up, that experience showed.

Woodbridge opened quickly, putting up 18 first-quarter points to take an 18–14 lead. Montgomery responded in the second quarter with more disciplined defense and improved execution, outscoring Woodbridge 13–9 to cut the deficit to 27–26 at the half.

The turning point came in the third quarter. The Cougars erupted for 20 points while holding Woodbridge to 9, flipping the game and building a 46–36 advantage entering the fourth. Woodbridge mounted a late rally, closing the gap with a 16–8 fourth-quarter surge, but Montgomery’s seniors and backcourt steadied the team in the final minutes to secure the 55–52 win.

Aliza Schulberg led all Cougars with 18 points, including five three-pointers, and added 4 rebounds, an assist and a steal, providing consistent perimeter scoring.

Schwartz, one of the five seniors honored, delivered a standout all-around performance in her final regular-season Senior Night. She finished with 7 points, a game-high 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals, controlling the boards and facilitating the offense throughout.

Riddell chipped in 2 points and contributed on the perimeter, helping stabilize the rotation and set the tone defensively on a night centered around the senior class. The remaining seniors also factored into Montgomery’s energy, depth and composure, as all five helped anchor a veteran group that refused to let the game slip away late.

Montgomery’s effort was boosted by strong performances across the lineup:

Alia Johnson posted 11 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 8 blocks and a steal, impacting every phase of the game.
Sophia Lehmann hit three three-pointers for 9 points and added 3 rebounds and 4 assists.
Anya Saini contributed 6 points (including a three-pointer) and 4 rebounds.
Virginia Herring added 2 points, 6 rebounds, an assist and a steal, while Anushka Patil came off the bench to grab 3 rebounds and record a block.

As a team, Montgomery hit 11 three-pointers and totaled 38 rebounds, 19 assists, 9 blocks and 7 steals — numbers that underscored both the Cougars’ ball movement and defensive presence.

For the five seniors, closing Senior Night with a win over an 8–4 Woodbridge team provided a fitting tribute to their tenure in the program and pushed Montgomery back above .500 heading into the stretch run of the season.

Wrestling: Cougars Storm Back to Top Voorhees on the Road

On the mat, Montgomery’s wrestling team (7–5) overcame an early deficit to defeat Voorhees (1–10) by a 46–30 margin in a dual meet on the road.

Voorhees grabbed early control at the lightweights. Pins at 106 pounds (over Benson Chen) and 113 pounds (over Christopher Zacarias-Colindres) staked the home team to a 12–0 lead.

Montgomery’s comeback began at 120 pounds, where Gavin Fong delivered a dominant technical fall over Cole Dahl, 16–1 at 5:00, putting 5 team points on the board for the Cougars. Voorhees answered with another pin at 126, but Montgomery responded with a surge that ultimately decided the match.

At 132 pounds, Andrew Medina-Ortiz secured a 15–0 technical fall over Paul Pasquarella at 5:42, cutting into the deficit. A forfeit win awarded to Derek Bravo at 138 pounds added six more team points.

After a Voorhees pin at 144 over Mursal Maulenuly, Montgomery took control in the middle and upper weights:

At 150 pounds, Anjin Tsuchihashi earned a 9–2 decision over Peter Galladay, adding three more team points.
At 157, Elior Mezhericher followed with an 8–2 decision over Jaxon Garner, further closing the gap.
At 165, Aiden Shakirov delivered a pivotal pin over Caden Cookson at 2:20, giving Montgomery its first lead of the night and a surge of momentum.
At 175 and 190 pounds, Jahkee Carr and Cayden Drumbor each received forfeit wins, quickly stretching the Cougars’ advantage.

Voorhees briefly answered with a pin at 215 over Petre Zhuravskiy, but Montgomery sealed the team victory at heavyweight, where Aryan Ahmad collected a forfeit at 285 pounds to close out the 46–30 final.

Anchored by bonus-point victories from Fong and Medina-Ortiz, a critical pin by Shakirov, and a series of wins in the middle and upper weights, the Cougars turned a 12–0 early deficit into a comfortable team win.

Photo Credit: Nicholas Mistretta/headlinenewsmontgomery.com