Se ok a ® Heavy training By SHEILA HODGES Staff Correspondent John and Andrea Isaac are a couple of good sports who have participated in a number of events, but this year are branching out into something new. This year, the Back Mountain couple will enter the Wyoming Valley Back Mountain Triathlon on Sat- urday, Aug. 27. This event, the second of its kind held in the Back Mountain, con- sists of a one-mile swim at bike ride, followed by a 10- mile run. The three events are expected to take the leaders a little over three hours and will be the cul- mination of many months of training. For the Isaacs, partici- pation in the triathlon has meant training five or six nights a week, and for many hours at weekends. They have been swimming all through the winter and spring at the YMCA, run- ning and biking at every opportunity, and generally keeping fit. “It has been very good for us both and I feel a great deal better because of it,” John said. “It is very hard to motivate one- self to go out after an eight-hour day at work, but that -is part of the training,” added Andrea. As part of their training and as a lead into this Back Mountain Triathlon, the Isaacs took part in a smaller triathlon at Towanda earlier in the summer. The distances were shorter, but the biking part of it was very hilly. Last year, as spectators at the Back Mountain event, they really whetted their interest. They were host to. some relatives from New Jersey who were taking part. “The day was very cool the water temperature must have been terrible. We certainly hope it is warmer this year,” said John. : 1984 Immediate Availability Bank Financing HONDA NORTHEAST Rt. 6 Scranton 347-9436 There were approxi- mately 120 triathlon entrants last year but almost 400 are expected this year. Both John and Andrea have been oriented towards sports for some years as they both played a variety of sports in both high school and college. In addition to the Triathlon sports, they ski, play golf and tennis. They both find that individual sports suit their current lifestyles better than team sports. Both were closely involved in the Back Mountain Youth Soccer Program for its formative years. They have coached soccer and John has beer. coach and head refere2 but has now handed those duties over in order to program. “When I was involved in soccer, there were so many other people relying on my being in a certain place at a certain time and I would never have been able to compete in any- thing like Triathlon if I had stayed in soccer,” he said. “I am still a referee as I do enjoy the program, but I wanted to move on to other things.” Andrea’s first experi- ence in soccer was with the Back Mountain Soccer Association, as assisted John as a coach before taking her own team. She also played and had hoped that a women’s team would be able to be formed. However, there was not enough support and she left soccer. With all this activity, the Isaacs do not find they have the time or the enthu- siasm for sedentary hob- bies but they do like tc travel. They have both travelled in ‘central Europe and enjoy travell- ing in the United States. After the triathlon, they Students WRANGLER Blue Jeans e Straight Leg ® 14 3/4 oz. denim ® Pre-washed ® No-Fault ® 100% Cotton Full 1-year Warranty Reg. $17.98 $1498 Waist Sizes 25 to 30 Store Hours Daily ’til 5 p.m. ‘Mon. & Thurs., Fri. 8 p.m. Sunday Noon to 4 p.m. ADAM'S Clothes Back Mt. Shopping Ctr. Shavertown, Pa. p plan to visit Washington, D.C., spend some time in Florida and, in the winter, ski in Vermont. After that, it will be time to start training all over again for next year’s triatholon. ' The Isaacs foresee Tri- athalon as a growing sport as it ties in with. the life- style of many Americans in keeping fit. They both urge the public to support the Triathlon participants this Saturday. ACS Will Benefit The Second Annual Back Mountain Triath- lon, scheduled for Sat- urday, Aug. 27, will benefit the Wyoming Valley Chapter of the American Cancer Society. The triathlon will con- sist of a one-mile swim at Harveys Lake, a 37- mile bike ride through the Endless Mountains and a 10-mile run through the Back Moun- tain. The Times Leader is the major sponsor of the event which is expected to draw nearly 400 entrants. LEWIS- DUNCAN merase vss LEW 1S -DUNCAN INE | cw iS- DUNCAN 676-1130 Wilkes-Barre Fats The local scholastic foot- ball season officially opened last week and both Dallas and Lake-Lehman are preparing for the coming season in the heat of August. Dallas mentor Ron Rybak was pleased with his initial week and has 59 prospects participating in double sessions. “We're not going to have the size in the lines like we had in previous years and we don’t have any real outstanding individuals. We've got a hard working group of scrappers. If we can improve from week-to- week over the course of the season, we should be able to hold our own,” Rybak said. The Mountaineers will be a young team and will have a solid group of underclassmen expected to play prominent roles at key positions. Meanwhile, Rybak received a blow when QB candidate Tim = Lyons showed up with a frac- tured foot from a swim- ming accident. Young Lyons has shown progress and figured highly in Rybak’s plans. He’s expected back in a couple of weeks and has been attending drills. Bernie Walsh, a starter over the last five games last season, is expected to be at the helm when the Big D lads open against Crestwood. Walsh has demonstrated confidence in generating the offense. Ken Thompson will be pushing for playing time and he has shown recently he can run with the foot- ball. Another QB prospect who has impressed thus far is Mark Konopki. He i$ around 5-4, but possesses a heap of athletic ability and could be a real contributer down the road. Before the Big D lads open their season with the Comets of Coach Sam Elias, they will ‘bump heads with Hazleton and Williamsport. Says Rybak, ‘‘Both Hazleton and Williamsport are pretty solid programs and should give us a true indication of just what areas we’ll have to = UNCAN (X28 a 7 i Sizes 1 to 15, Colors; White, Black, Blue, High & Low cut Sweat Shirts Sweat Pants Field Hockey Sticks Field Hockey Shoes Majorette Boots (90 ~ oN - a BINT Cr > 7 . Bs RN >> NS >> RS Fo 3 LEWIS-DUNCAN MasterCord 5 $3.99 NVONNG- SIA meen NVONNG- SIMI) pnesesesmmes NVONOG SIMI] improve in if we’re to compete in the WVC.” expected to play a major role in the Dallas attack is running back A.J. Bittner. His dad, Clark, was a very good athlete at Dartmouth. Elsewhere, GAR will be the defending Double A Champs and Coach Carlie Fick indicated to me last week the Hilltoppers will be most competitive again. GAR has a rather. small squad of 40 players, but the interesting part is that only five are seniors. Several coaches around the WVC have mentioned Greg Skrepenak’s name to me. When I asked Fick, he had a big smile. “Greg is only 13 years old, but he’s 6-5 and tips the scales at 230 pounds. He’s only going to be a freshman, but he’s got a lot of natural ability,” said Fick.