y wr p in / 2 . oe. a ————— - i= £3 WTR TET TET ETRE TE TERT TRE ET TVR "NE TI TRC TI TT TTA VRE A e TE TRV RETR RE TE TU TT § The Dallas Post The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, March 9, 1994 9 SportsWeek E] School news HB Calendar Hl Classified J eam performance lands Lehman district mat title "Dallas will send four wrestlers to regionals By DAVE KONOPKI _ Sports Writer . On paper, the Lake-Lehman ‘Black Knights probably didn't “belong in the same sentence with "Meyers High School when one talked about the favorite to win the District 2 Class AA wrestling championship. But, as everyone knows, cham- \pionships are not won on paper, they're won on the field or, in the sport of wrestling, they're won on “the mat. _ And because of that, Lake- “Lehman once again can be called : “champions.” @® The Black Knight wrestlers, Ww who lost four outstanding wres- Dallas girls come up * \ «Short in playoff tilt By DAVE KONOPKI Sports Writer Before the season began, no- body expected the Dallas girls’ @ basketball team to make it into “the District 2 playoffs. But before fheir season ended, the Lady Mountaineers made some noise “zand sent a strong message that they'll be back in the near future. (. The Lady Mountaineers dropped a 64-43 decision to Wal- © tenpaupack last Friday night in ~ Dunmore in the opening round of. Dallas en- 4 "the district playoffs. tered the game struggling a bit | 1 (after winning the Wyoming Valley (Conference Division II first-half «title, but they gave the Lady Buck- ‘horns, who entered the contest “with a record of 15-7 all they *eould handle for three of the four ¢ 7 quarters. 4 Dallas trailed by just one, 13- & —12, after one period and took a 24- 4-18 lead in the second period be- fore ‘Paupack ran off nine unan- ’ “swered points to close out the half »- and take a 27-24 lead at Intermis- ¢ sion. The third quarter proved to be the difference as the Buckhorns outscored Dallas, 20-7, to take a 47-31 lead. But the Lady Mounts were not to go out without a fight, outscoring their opponents, 22- 17 in the final quarter. ‘Paupack held Dallas standout Robin Suda in check for the game, « holding her to just four points. But the season was a great one for ¢ the sophomore, who won the WVC i Division II scoring title, averaging *-nearly 17 points per contest. \ Therese Paxton led the Lady ! Mounts Friday with 12 points, : including a trio of three-pointers. « Kelly Janosky and Stacey Suda i- also played a solid game, scoring * 11 and 10 points, respectively “while teammate Holly Baseski & “added seven, including a three- pointer. Dallas earned a trip to the post- season with an impressive 43-27 win over backyard rival Lake- Lehman, led by Kelly Janosky's season-high 24 points. The Lady Mounts broke open a close con- test in the final period, outscoring Lehman 16-2 in the fourth quar- ter. The Lady Mounts ended the regular season with a record of 9- 7. Dallas head coach Kim Bar- bacci did not return calls and was unavailable for comment. TW WE TR TR TN RE TL a DALLAS BOXSCORE G FTAFTMTP 7 Baseski* 3 0.0 R. Suda 1 2 3 4 Janosky 4 3701 S. Suda 3 4.1.5 10 Paxton*** 4 1 2 12 Barlow 2 1 1 5 Kosakowski 1 Qi-0 2 Camp 0 2 4 2 Totals 18 13 22 53 * 3-point goal tlers over the last five weeks of the season, met nearly every chal- lenge they encountered during the three-day tournament last week- end on the way to winning the District 2 Class AA crown. Lehman edged Meyers by one point in the final team standings, 186-185. Crestwood finished third with 173.5 points while Dallas finished fourth with 88. The Black Knights claimed four. individual championships in Matt Raczkowski at 103 pounds, Mike Stuart (125), John Wood (145) and Vito Pilosi (Hwt.) and will send nine wrestlers to the North- east Regional Tournament at Williamsport High School on Fri- day. With Lehman trailing Mey- ers by three points, 185-182, entering the heavyweight final, Pilosi posted a last-second 6-3 decision over Crestwood's Bill Langin enabling Lehman to cap- ture the crown. Four team points are given for each regular deci- sion in the finals. Dallas will send four wrestlers to the regional tournament. The Mountaineers advanced three wrestlers to the district finals but couldn't get a break in any of the matches, losing all three. Fresh- man Mike Metz grabbed a second place at 103 pounds while senior Mike Vavrek (135) and Aaron Gingo (145) also captured district runner-up honors. In addition to the four champi- ons, Lehman will send Joe Ha- lowich (112), Burt Morgan (130), and Mike Pitcavage (140) who all finished second in their respec- tive weight classes during dis- tricts. Also third place winners John Morgan (119) and Mike Budzak (189) advance to region- als. Dallas 140-pounder Chris Kuderka will join Metz, Vavrek and Gingoat regionals. The sopho- more overcame incredible odds by defeating second-seeded Nick Artemik of Crestwood, 3-1, in the consolation finals for third place. Kuderka entered districts with a record of 4-15 but had an out- standing tournament. Last month the Black Knights were dealt a severe blow when they lost the services of Tim Sayre, Ryan Gold, Brian Gizenski and Mike Pitcavage, the first three Super Sonics take travel tournament The Back Mountain Super Sonics took first place in the 1993 Northeast Travel Soccer Tournament with a 3-0 victory over East Mountain. The U-11 boys ended their season with a 6-1-1 record. The team is also participating in various tournaments throughout the state. Pictured are, first row, from left, Kevin Callahan, Josh Katyl, Brook Kryston, T.J. Dougherty, John Isaac, J.B. Bucha, J.C. DeRojas, Paul Shiber. Second row, Colin McHale, Pat Barnard, Ed O'Dell, Andrew Lohin, B.J. Lewis, John Nackley, Keith Sprau, Clinton Barnes. Third row, Assistant Coach, Ed O'Dell and Coach, Duane Sprau. Send your sports reports to The Dallas Post 45 Main Road Dallas, PA 18612 Young Knights made playoffs By DAVE KONOPKI Sports Writer They entered the season with- out a returning starter in their lineup. Then, with travel bag in hand, they opened the season by playing all of their pre-season games on the road. And finally, when it seemed as though they were playing their best basketball of the season, Mother Nature stepped in and played a cruel joke. So how did the Lake-Lehman High School boys’ basketball team respond to this adversity? They just went out and exceeded every- one’s expectations, that's all. The Black Knights capped off a successful season by earning a spot in the District 2 Class AAA playoffs. Berwickended Lehman's season with a 68-52 win in a special playoff for the fifth spot, but not before the Black Knights raised a few eyebrows by just making it to the dance. Rodger Bearde's troops lost four of their five starters to graduation from last year's record-setting team which advanced to the east- ern state semi-finals and lost starting guard Will Woronko when he opted to concentrate on base- ball this winter. But according to Bearde, hard work eventually helped overcome the team's lack of experience. “These kids really hung in there, they really worked hard,” said Bearde, who is assisted by Clar- ence Ozgo. “We lost all of our starters from last year and all of the kids this year played a fall sport. There were times this year when the kids could have just thrown in the towel and called ita season. But they didn't quit and Dallas Middle The ski racing team from Dal- las Middle School braved 25 mph winds and 10 degree tempera- tures to win first placey in the Montage 3rd Annual Interscho- lastic Championships on Feb. 27. they always tried to improve indi- vidually, and as a team.” Against Berwick, a Wyoming Valley Conference Division I team which entered the contest with an overall record of 17-7, Lehman threatened to post one of the season's biggest upsets. Led by Dave Fosko's 19 first-half points, the Black Knights jumped out toa 22-16 lead at the end of the first period and led the Bulldogs, 34- 28 at intermission. : But Berwick exploded in the third period, outscoring Lehman, 24-7, to take a 52-41 lead before outscoring the Knights 16-11 in the final quarter. Fosko closed out his career at Lehman in fine fashion, racking up a game-high 29 points, iricluding five three- pointers. Tim Waslick and Tim Brislin added 10 points apiece for the Knights. The Black Knights were play- ing competitive basketball at the midway point of the first halfwhen Mother Nature took over and dumped a record snowfall which played havoc with the schedule and practice time. “We went 15 days without get- ting into the gym,” explained Bearde of the consequences of the - horrid weather. “And at the time, I thought we were playing pretty good basketball. But once again, the kids continued to work hard when we got back into the swing of things and it showed, because, in the tight games, we played very hard.” Lehman earned the right to play Berwick in the special playoff game by defeating Dallas, 62-61, in an exciting contest during the last weekend of the season. Dallas, which had stuggled during the second half of the season, put together a gutsy performance against the Knights and nearly knocked them out of the playoffs. “The fact that two Back Moun- tain schools were playing for the final playoff spot made for an exciting game,” said Bearde. “It was fun to have those two schools playing in a meaningful game at the end of the season with a play- off spot on the line. It was a great way for us to top off our season.” The veteran head coach had nothing but praise for his players, especially his pair of seniors. “Dave Fosko had a great sea- son,” said Bearde of his floor general, whose play this year should merit all-conference con- sideration. “He was our leader. Nick Staub, our other senior, showed a lot of heart and came through when we needed him. They gave us a lot of leadership this season.” Bearde also praised the efforts of underclassmen Dave Raspen, Waslick, Brislin, John Oliver and Ray Bartosh. “This year should be a learning experience for our underclass- men,” concluded Bearde. “Waslick was one of the best three-point shooters in the league. Brislin proved he could rebound with anyone in the league, Raspen came around as the year went on, Bartosh did a great job coming off the bench and John Oliver proved he could be a key performer in the league before his career at Lehman is over. I think the kids gained the respect of the people in the league. But now that they've gained that respect, they have to work hard to continue to improve. We should go into the next year on a positive note.” School ski racers take first Preliminary competitions on Dec. 26 and Jan. 16 enabled 72 athletes to return for the final race of the series. Six area teams contested in the Middle School Division. Chris Nattress won the Individ- ual Male category while C.J. Tyrrell skied to a second place finish. The Dallas team consists of Chris Nattress, Chris Schneider, C.J. Tyrrell and Stacy Wagner. suffering season-ending injuries. All four wrestlers were considered serious contenders for the district championships at their respec- tive weight classes. But thanks to a depth and an outstanding feeder system, the Knights overcame those losses and still captured the crown. “Our depth really carried us,” said co-coach Tom Williams, who shares the head coaching duties with Phil Lipski. “It's a credit to our kids and our entire program, from the junior high right up. We've been blessed with good kids and large numbers every year. When we lost those guys, winning a district championship was the last thing on our minds. But when we regrouped, we felt we had an outside shot at winning the tournament. “When you win a tournament like this by one point, it's hard to single out one person or one match,” explained Williams. “Everyone did their share, we got at least three team points in every weight class. The kids really came through for us. There were times when we felt like a boxer who keeps getting knocked down to the canvas but keeps getting back up.” Despite the tough luck his wrestlers encountered in the fi- nals (Metz and Vavrek each lost by one point), Dallas head coach Steve Kaschenbach remained positive. “You can't get caught up in all the negative aspects of sports,” said Kaschenbach, whois assisted by Bill Janosky. “We have to concentrate on the positives. But See DISTRICT TITLE, pg 10 Mount runners make all-state By DAVE KONOPKI Sports Writer The Wyoming Valley Confer- ence 1994 spring outdoor track season begins in just a few weeks. But for the Dallas High School track team, the season won't begin soon enough. The Mountaineers under head coach Bill Kvashay, capped off an incredible indoor track season last Saturday at Lehigh University with a spectacular showing at the Pennsylvania Indoor Track and Field Championships, setting three school records and earning All-State honors in the 4 x 200 relay. Only the top 24 individuals and teams in the state were selected to participate in the championships. The schools were chosen based upon performance during the indoor track season. Dallas, a Class AA school, was one of the smallest schools represented in the championships. Most of the schools which competed were large, Class AAAA schools and non-PIAA schools from Philadel- phia and Pittsburgh. The Dallas 4 x 200 relay team, made up entirely of underclass- men, stole the show by earning all-state honors, finishing in fifth place. Juniors Sean Callahan, Greg Hodne, Joe Ankenbrand and sophomore Bob Lorah finished the event in a school-record time of 1:35.67. Overbrook High School, of Philadelphia, won the event in an incredible time of 1:31.51, a new state record. The Mountaineers finished ahead of Chester High School and Roman Catholic High School in the final heat. Chester and Roman Catho- lic are two of the largest school districts in Pennsylvania. In addition to the relay team, the Mountaineers got outstand- ing individual performances from Callahan and Ankenbrand. Cal- lahan, who qualified for the 400- meter run, finished eighth in the event with a time of 52.36, a new Dallas record. Erich Davis of Wissashickon won the 400 in a state-record time of 50.12. Ank- enbrand, who qualified for the 200-meter run, set a Dallas in- door record of 23.82, good enough for 18th place. Harvey Johnson of Strath Haven won the 200 in a state-record time of 22.42. Needless to say, Kvashay was delighted with the performance of his athletes. “I'm very, very proud of these kids,” said Kvashay, who began the indoor track program at Dal- las seven years ago. “They ran very well and their performance says a lot about the talent of these boys. I'm very fortunate to have four pretty quick kids who have worked very hard to achieve what they have accomplished.” Kvashay felt his relay team had an outside chance to earn All- State status (the top six teams earn All-State honors) if things went right. The Mountaineers easily won their first heat, over- coming a slight problem on one of the baton handoffs. Ankenbrand got off to a fast start as Dallas took the lead in their winning heat and Lorah kept Dallas ahead in the second 200. Hodne then took over, running his personal best 200 of the season, setting the stage for anchorman Callahan. “Basically, we took the lead and had it the whole way,” Kvashay said of his team’s winning heat. “We had a little problem on one of the exchanges but it didn't cost us. Greg (Hodne) ran very well. It was his best time this year. After that heat, I knew we had a great chance to finish in the top six. Before the meet, I thought we had an outside shot for all-state if the they certainly did.” Kvashay began the indoor track program seven years ago in hopes of keeping his team in shape during the winter months in preparation for the outdoor spring season. The move paid huge divi- dends. Former Dallas track stand- outs Hugh Mundy and Steve Ol- iver used the indoor track season as a stepping stone for outstand- ing careers. Mundy ran track at the University of Notre Dame while Oliver ran for Penn State Univer- sity. Now, the veteran Dallas coach is hoping the experience they've gained will pay off for this year's edition of the Dallas track and field team. “We're going to shoot for some medals at states during the out- door season,” explained Kvashay, who also hopes to take his team to the prestigious Penn Relay's in Philadelphia in April. “Of the 24 teams who qualified for the in- door championships, we'll see only one team, Milton Hershey, in the state meets. These kids have a lot of talent and ability and we want to see them develop their poten- tial. But we're going to have to work hard if we're going to suc- ceed.” Here is a partial listing of re- sults in which Dallas track stars participated in during last Satur- day's event: 4 x 200 RELAY 1. Overbrook 1:31.51 2. Strath Haven 1:31.93 3. Simon Gratz 1:32.45 4. Ben Franklin 1:35.00 5. Dallas 1:35.67** 400 - METER RUN 1. Erich Davis, Wissashickon 50.12". 2. Antwon Rogers, Truman50.42 3. Melvin Raymond, Strath Haven 51.05 4. Taikwan Cureton, Simon Gratz 51.25 8. Sean Callahan, Dallas 52.36* 200 - METER RUN 1. Harvey Johnson, Strath Haven 22.42" 2. Hassan Smith, Overbrook 22.87 3. Mark Fields, Hatfield-Horshan 22.95 18. Joe Ankenbrand, Dallas 23.82** * New state indoor record ** New school record Mini-Mounts seeking volunteers The Dallas Mini Mountaineer Cheerleaders and football teams are in search of enthusiastic, energetic and dedicated volunteers to be advisors/coaches for the 1994 season. Volunteers should be over 18. Applications will be available at registration, Sunday, March 13, from 1-4 p.m. American Legion, Dallas, or by contacting 675-6459. AM AS LS SL Be Ll} II ETL ETE Se TR a A Lede A rT er a a Ca ¥ EE a I oi -. LL: == = IR RGE SPN CIE NS pi
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers