¢ Y) \ The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, January 6, 1993 SPORTS . Cheerleaders going to national championships : By DAVE KONOPKI ,. Sports Correspondent When the Dallas High School “' cheerleaders pack their bags to “sal Cheerleading Association Na- - - “begin their journey to the Univer- tional High School Cheerleading Championships in Florida next month, they won't be packing one of their biggest assets. They don't need to. They carry it with them everyday. In a sport where presentation “and rapport with the crowd is “ nearly as important as athletic ability, the Mountaineers have hit By DAVE KONOPKI Sports Correspondent Though they're hesitant to admit ~it, Roger Bearde and Paul Brown v know theyre on the verge of something special. For the first time in nearly a decade - basketball games between Dallas, » under the direction of Brown and " Lake-Lehman, under veteran head coach Bearde, will be played for something more than pride. The first sign of that came last it appears that the, the jackpot. When the squad received a cri- tique after performing in qualify- ing for nationals, two words jumped right off the page: “Killer smiles”. The Dallas cheerleaders will take those killer smiles to the champi- onships in Orlando, Florida. The squad will leave on Thursday, February 18 and will return on Tuesday, February 283. Dallas won the Eastern Pennsylvania Regional Championship on November 21. “These girls have good natural ability,” said cheerleading coach Shelia Bonawitz. “They know how to work the crowd and that is very week when the Black Knights defeated Dallas, 60-54, in the finals of the 13th Annual Crossin Basketball Tournament. But both coaches know that game was just round one of the battle of the Wyoming Valley Conference Division II heavyweights. There will be at least two more and the winner of those fights could walk away with the championship belt. “It was a big win but we know we'll have to face them at least two important. Sometimes you have to teach a squad how to smile. But not these kids. “This is a very young squad,” said Bonawitz, of her team which has just one senior member. “We lost seven seniors from last year's squad and we couldn't believe how the young girls developed such precision. Even though though they're young, they're very strong.” Before the squad is able to compete in Florida, they'll have to defeat another opponent: a lack of funds. Because of the rising nrice of airline tickets, the cost of the trip more times,” said Bearde, whose Black Knights were led by tourney MVP Jessie Martin and leading scorer Rich Davis. “It's going to be tough playing them again. We told our kids that once conference play began last Saturday, we were all O- 0. But it was a nice win and it put us on a positive note going into conference play.” Brown entered the contest with great respect for Bearde and his Black Knights and left with even more. will be $613 for each member. The group has been holding various fundraisers and will be holding a raffle this month. They will also be sending out letters to local busi- nesses asking them to either pur- chase raffle tickets or make a donation. According to Bonawitz, who is assisted by Ann Marie Danna, the experience is a once-in-a-lifetime event, “From the moment you step off the plane the people (from the association) are there,” said Bonawitz, who has been involved in the Dallas cheerleading pro- “Going into the game I had a lot of respect for Lake-Lehman, from coach to substitute,” Brown said. “My respect for them has increased. Roger is an excellent coach. They played avery good game, especially on defense. We just hope we stay competitive in the league until we play them again.” Both coaches said the possibility of two Back Mountain teams competing for the title could be great for the community. “I think the best thing that could gram for more than 15years. “Your feet never hit the ground again. The girls get a tour of Universal Studios and then they are at the competition at Sea World on Sat- urday and Sunday.” Squads from all over the United States will compete in the compe- tition with the top 10 finalists being shown on ESPN. Squads are judged in cheering, gymnastics, stunting and dance. By qualifying for the nationals, the team's senior mem- bers are eligible for scholarship money that will be awarded based upon merit and community in- volvement. happen is for both teams to be in it at the end,” Bearde said. “I think it would be great. But we going to have to play hard. There are some tough teams in our division. We were the last team to beat GAR for the division championship. To have Lehman and Dallas playing for the title would be a great thing.” Although he hasn’tbeen around therivalry aslong as Bearde, Brown has noticed an increase in the intensity this year. “I felt something in the air,” Bonawitz said the squad, which will be joined by at least 15 family members on the trip, has received much support in their effort, in- cluding cards and stuffed animals from the football team and coaches. Members of the squad include: Senior captain Sara Cuba, co- captains Laura Selenski and Jen- nifer Bryant; juniors Michelle Si- var, Bridgette Ziminski and Christy O'Bryant; sophomores Kim Jones, Vanessa Wysocki, Jennifer Cutter and Joan Bednar and freshmen Melissa Prokopchak, Christy Francis, Beth Ann Wagner, Julie Haas and Mary Ann Selenski. Conference basketball title could be won here ® \ Brown said of the first meeting between the two teams. “It (the rivalry) is the most intense in the three years I've been here. I think it's going to be great for the community.” Davis led all scorers in the title game with 16 points. Martin added 13 while Chris Ziomek and Wil Woronko added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Dave Fisher led the Mounts with 14 points, including four three- pointers while Todd Paczewski and Brian Brady eached tossed in 13. League and Major League. 15; Big League, ages 16-18. League only. Back Mountain Baseball will register Saturday Back Mountain Baseball will hold registration Saturday, Janu- ary 9 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Dallas Middle School. All ages can register, and players must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. First time players must bring a copy of a birth certificate. The following leagues will register: Little League Baseball - boys and girls, ages 6-12. T-ball, Minor Girls’ Softball - Little League, ages 8-12; Senior League, ages 13- Boys’ Senior League - 13-year-old league; 13-15-year-old league. Boys eligible for Seniors are those whose 13th birthday is before 8/1/93 or whose 16th birthday is after 7/31/92. There will be.a second registration Saturday, January 30 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., also at the Dallas Middle School. Both registrations are for Back Mountain Little League and Senior Note: residents of Lake Twp. should register with Harveys Lake Little League; Franklin Twp. and Kunkle with Bob Horlacher League; and Ross Twp. with Northwest Little League. Sports roundup MOUNTS BLAST SETON CATHOLIC 69-47 Dave Puz and Charlie Siglin combined for 43 points as Dallas opened their Wyoming Valley Conference regular season with an 89-47 win over host Seton Catholic ondJanuary 2. Puz finished with 22 points and Siglin 21 for the Mounts, who jumped out to a47-23 halftime lead. Todd Paczewski added 13 counters for the Mounts. DAVIS, MARTIN LEAD KNIGHTS TO WIN Rich Davis and Jesse Martin scored 56 of their team’s 74 points to lead Lake-Lehman to a 74-52 win over Northwest in the WVC opener for both teams on January 2. Davis led all scorers with 34 points while Martin added 22, including a pair of three-pointers. LADY BLACK KNIGHTS LOSE TO O'REILLY The Lake-Lehman girl's basketball team ran into a buzzsaw in the form of Bishop O'Reilly as they dropped a 61-34 decision in the finals of the Yozwiak Holiday Tournament on December 29 on the winner's floor. Debbie Coslett led the Black Knights with 11 points while Miller and Cherub Honeywell added nine and eight points, respectively. NORTHWEST EDGES LADY KNIGHTS The Lady Black Knights dropped their WVC opener, a tough 36-32 decision to host Northwest on January 2. Cherub Honeywell tallied 11 points for Lake-Lehman while teammate Debbie Coslett added nine. LADY MOUNTS CAN'T HOLD OFF SETON Seton Catholic posted a 43-33 come-from-behind win over Dallas in girl's basketball action on January 2. The Lady Mounts, led by Kelly Janosky, took a 21-17 halftime advantage. Janosky finished with 12 points while Suda added seven for the Lady Mounts. FINNEGAN, SAYRE TAKE WRESTLING WINS The Lake-Lehman wrestling team captured two individual championships in the finals of the Tunkhannock Kiwanis Tournament on December 30. Rich Finnegan and Tim Sayre took the titles at 103 and 119 pounds, respectively for the Black Knights, who finished fourth in the team standings. Finnegan decisioned Moody of Wyalusing, 5-2, while Sayre decisioned Shutts, also of Wyalusing, 11-6. Burt Morgan and Mike Stewart each captured third place honors DALLAS GRAPPLERS EDGE MOUNTAIN VIEW The Dallas wrestling team got pins from Mike Heffron, Harry Phillips and Mike Vavrek in posting a 36-33 win over Mountain View on December 30. The back-to-back pins by Heffron and Phillips enabled the Mounts to jump out to an 18-0 lead. Glenn Ellsworth registered a pin for the Mountaineers while Rick Hodle, Chris Snyder and Aaron" Gingo posted decisions. Commonwealth Telephone Company: Providing More Than Telephone Service For nearly a century, Commonwealth Telephone Company has played a major role in the communities we operate in. For example: *Commonwealth Telephone Company - presents the "Choices" program to area high school students to encourage them to stay in school - donates telephones to the needy through the "Friendship Phones" efforts - Sponsors numerous community organizations and events, such as little leagues, charitable events, 9-1-1 education, telephone fraud education, etc. *Commonwealth Telephone Company is a top contributor to the United Way through- out Pennsylvania. Through not only the contributions of our employees but also as a We are strongly committed to the communities we serve. Just as we are committed to providing our employees with a fair and reasonable package of wages and benefits. There's beenalot of publicity about Commonwealth Telephone Company this past year. Contract negotiations between the company and unionized employees have been going on for more than 14 months. All this publicity may have you confused or concerned. The facts, however, speak for themselves. result of a corporate gift, the company is committed to making our communities better. : yaa Sah by 2 Commonwealth Telephone Company's final offer to unionized *Commonwealth Telephone Company also contributes to: employees would: | - fire and ambulance units in our operating territory - Chambers of Commerce ; 0 - Red Cross blood drives *Compensate Employees Fairly - local colleges and universities The company proposed a wage increase that would bring the weighted average rate to - scout troops $14.84/hour, or $30,867 annually. Furthermore, the current top rate for unionized i - cultural events employees is $16/hour, or $33,280 annually, not including benefits or overtime. - child and family welfare organizations | | *Protect Employees Health Benefits | The company proposed to continue paying the far greater share of increasing medical | and dental insurance premiums for employees and their dependents. The company has I asked for contributions of 17%, 20% and 25% over the next three years. For the same 1 three years, the company would contribute 83%, 80% and 75%. Not bad when you i consider the current value of all company-paid benefits for the average employee is ! more than $14,000 per year. i *C-TEC Corporation , the parent company of Commonwealth Telephone Company, was recently chosen as the Wilkes-Barre "Employer of the Year" by United Rehabilita- tion Services, for employing URS clients. *As an employer, we are contributing to the local economy by providing jobs and paying taxes. In fact, in 1991 the total payroll for Commonwealth Telephone Company amounted to over $20 million -- dollars that support the economies of the commu- nities where our employees live and work. Also, as a corporation, we are proud to say that, despite the economy, we are still actively recruiting and hiring employees to fill vacancies in our ever-expanding operations. We hope this information reassures all parties concerned that Commonwealth Telephone Company is firmly COMUON ean | ] di ] ] ] ] or its shareholders, to | committed to providing quality services and products for its customers, to creating value fa , Saber De IL JER eT ETI | contributing to the communities in which we operate, and to securing the welfare of all our employees. C A; yy / COMPANY t
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