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Bu The Dallas Post
Dallas, PA
Wednesday, February 21, 1996
Wrestling
‘(continued from page 11)
' senior Jake Santee missed the
‘last few meets and was unavail-
‘able for the post-season due to a
‘back injury.
Matt Raczkowski advanced to
sthe 112 pound finals after pin-
‘ning two opponents. He and Rich
.Uslin of Meyers were knotted at
‘four early, before Matl put his
‘experience and endurance to good
.use. Raczkowski dominated the
:second and third periods and reg-
sistered a technical foul, 24-8
(5:41).
. It was the third district cham-
‘pionship for Raczkowski, the first
‘two coming at 103.
. “This one felt weird, only be-
‘cause I'm used to being the first
‘one out there,” said the energetic
‘Lehman senior.
Alter placing second at 112 the
‘past two years, Dallas senior Mike
‘Metz figured the third time would
‘be the charm at 119. He had
‘defeated his opponent, Bill Breha
‘of Lehman, in each of their previ-
‘ous two meetings. The Lehman
L,
junior had other ideas.
5
K
* Breha scored his points early,
jumping out to a 4-1 lead in the
~ lirst period. Defensively he re-
fused to let up, keeping the pres-
sure on throughout for a 6-3 deci-
sion and his first district champi-
onship.
+ “Before the match I tried to
focus more than I have all year,”
Breha said. “It paid off.”
! Asa freshman ayear ago, Eric
Maciejczak was an integral part of
Lehman's interchangeable line-
up. He missed the post-season,
but made up for it by winning the
130 pound championship in ‘96.
While the AAA bracket was taking
abreak, all eyes in the house saw
aciejczak post an exciting over-
time victory over Hanover's Jesse
artinez.
i Eric fell behind quickly 5-0 in
the first, but managed to tie up
the bout before the opening stanza
ended. With the score board read-
ing 7-7 and 17 seconds remain-
ing, the Lehman sophomore used
all his strength to keep Martinez
{rom escaping.
! In the extra period, Maciejczak
just barely avoided a takedown
and made a nifty five-point move
of his own for a 12-7 victory.
! "This feels pretty good,”
Maciejczak. “After getting behind
just got all of my confidence back
~ and was determined to beat him."
t Not to be outdone in terms of
ramatics, teammate Brian But-
I pulled areverse on Mike Smith
of GAR with 2-seconds left in the
Very next malch, The move gave
Butler a 6-4 victory in the 135
pound championship.
a
4
=
ty
“It happened so quick, I don't
know how to explain it,” said the
senior of his first district champi-
onship. “I just relied on what the
coaches taught me.”
Lehman's fifth and final cham-
pionship of the night was also
very gratifying. Mike Pitcavage
took gold at 152 with an easy 10-
2 major decision over Bishop
O'Hara's Tim Donahoe.
“This is very satisfying,”
Pitcavage said. “I got bumped out
of the line-up last year; to come
back and win districts is great.”
As a sophomore Pitcavage
placed second at districts before
being edged out in wrestle-offs as
a junior. He'd never faced
Donahoe before Saturday's bout.
“That usually works in my fa-
vor,” said Pitcavage who explained
that a better wrestler can worry
about technique and not ven-
geance.
Joe Halowich finished atop the
125 bracket as a sophomore. This
year he came up just a little short
wrestling at 140. Halowich lost a
hard fought battle to Dave
Solomon of Meyers 6-2.
After spending most of the sea-
son at 160, Ned Walsh made a
good run after moving down two
weight divisions. At 145, he fell to
one of the conference's best in
John Crispell, on the way to a major decision victory. He finished
‘fourth on Saturday.
1]
‘Chris Kuderia, in his trademark crouch agains Joe Ha owich.
‘Halowich won, but Kuderka came back for a 4th place finish ‘Saturday.
‘Halowich finished in second spot at 140 Ib.
i
ric Maciejczak scored a pin Friday, and went on to take first at 130 Ib.
Brian Hilbert. Walsh lost an 11-
4 decision to the Meyers star.
Tony Tereska fought Jon Davies
(GAR) to a 1-1 tie during regula-
tion. The referee tied up the score
at 2 after calling a double stall in
overtime. Tereska then chose
bottom and couldn't escape nor
reverse Davies in 4 tries. Davies
was awarded a 3-2 win via a ride-
out.
Freshman Nick Raczkowski
was most impressive during his
first district performance. His
only loss was a pin at the hands of
Bishop Hoban's Shane
Jerominski, the tournament's out-
standing wrestler. The younger
Raczkowski bounced back in the’
103 consolations with a 3-0 win
over Mike Slusser of Meyers.
Pat Rogowski lost his first
match on Friday, but came all the
way back though the losers’
bracket to finish third at 160. He
edged out Matt Gingo of Dallas 3-
2 in the consolation final.
Gingo, just a freshman, opened
some eyes with his performance.
He took number one seed, Jason
Croughn of Nanticoke into double
overtime before losing a ride-out,
4-3. He also won three consecu-
tive bouts in the losers’ bracket
before meeting Rogowski.
Mountaineer teammate John
Crispell finished fourth for the
second consecutive year. He
finished 2-2, losing to Butler 6-4
and Gino Mercandante of Meyers
8-0. The 135 pounder showed
tremendous courage battling
through a rib injury suffered late
in the second period of his conso-
lation bout with Mercandante.
Chris Kuderka also finished 2-
2 and will make the trip to pre-
regionals. In the consolations he
lost to J.T. Arnone of Bishop
O'Hara 5-0.
Lehman's Sam Saylor also fin-
ished fourth, losing his consola-
tion bout, 3-2 to Hanover Area's
Matt Potsko. It was most disap-
pointing since Saylor opened the
tournament with an 11-6 win over
Potsko.
The four remaining Dallas wres-
tlers are practicing with their Back
Mountain rivals this week. Lipski
indicated preparations for the
Black Knights won't be much dif-
ferent, since 11 of them are still
eligible.
“We’llbe doing more of the same
this week," added co-coach Tom
Williams. “We'll also get together
with some AAA kids. We're asking
our guys to step up again.”
Shortly after winning his third
consecutive district title, Matt
Raczkowski was already thinking
about this weekend.
“I'll be working hard at getting
my weight back down and con-
tinue shooting for number one,”
said Raczkowski who remains
undefeated on the season.
Following this weekend's pre-
regional tournament, the Black
Knights hope to defend their Class
AA Northeast Regional crown in
Indi~.
Williamsport March. 2.3,
viduals will need a top three finish
in Billtown to qualify for a trip to
Hershey and a chance at a state
medal.
Ned Walsh worked toward a pin Friday. He was runner up at 145 Ib.
Luke Shook had a grip on Harry Hazletine, but Hazletine would turn it
around to post a pin.
Nick Raczkowski's debut was a winner, when he beat the Mounts’
Randy Evans with a technical tall.
POST PHOTO/ANN BELL
Score 500 for her
Bridget Narcum was flanked by parents George and Ann Marie,
when she was honored for scoring 500 points in Gate of Heaven
basketball. At far right is her coach, Trish Carr, and in front is
younger sister, Kristine Narcum.
POST PHOTO/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK
A grand score
Brad Feleccia was honored last week for scoring 1,000 points in
his Gate of Heaven basketball career. Above, from left, Jim
Keiper, left, presented a commemorative ball as parents Rob
and Arlene Feleccia looked on.
Kaufman
(continued from page 11)
including the desire to win.”
Rachel's biggest accomplish-
ments have been in the class-
room. A member of the National
Honor Society as well as Who's
Who Among High School Stu-
dents, Kaufman is currently
among the top two in her senior
class. Her favorite subjects have
always been the sciences. Next
fall she'll begin work toward an
engineering degree at either
Lehigh of Lafayette.
“I plan on using my college
experience as a guide to the fu-
ture,” said Kaufman. “I'll defi-
nitely pursue a job in a science
field; I've always been inclined
toward the sciences.”
She also hopes to continue play-
ing basketball, if not varsity, then
at the intramural level. While
she's looking forward to making
8th grade girls record 12th, 13th wins
The Gate of Heaven Gators Girls' 8th grade varsity had its 13th game
of the season Feb. 19 against St. Nick's-St. Mary's of Wilkes-Barre at
home. Gate of Heaven won by a score of 51-30 which takes their record
to 12-1. The high scorers for Gate of Heaven were Maria Wright with
18 points and Veronica McRipley with 14 points. Gia Jackson had 12
points for St. Nick's-St. Mary's. The Gators next game is Thursday,
Feb. 22, against Holy Child of Plymouth at Gate of Heaven.
The Gate of Heaven Gators Girls' 8th Grade Varsity won their 12th
game of the season Feb. 15 against St. Peter & Paul of Plains at home.
High scorers for Gate of Heaven were Maria Wright with 16 points,
and Bridget Narcum with 15 points. Bridget Narcum also scored her
500th career point for the Gators.
7th grade girls take championship
The Gate of Heaven 7th grade girls varsity clinched the Champion-
ship of the Wyoming Valley Catholic League with a record of 16-0.
The Lady Gators closed their season out with a convincing 47-28 win
over St. Mary's Assumption of Pittston.
A trio of Gator starters hit double figures against St. Mary's: Chelsey
Ostrowsky, 12; Katie Guntli, 12; and Shannon Leary, 12. Shannon
Lupien finished with five points.
Awesome performances off the bench were contributed by Ali Hutch,
Jocelyn Kozick, Jessica Holton, Samantha Leandriand Laura and Beth
Charnick.
This is the first time after five years in the league that the Lady Gators
have been able to secure first place. What is more impressive is that
new friends and learning to live
independently, she's going to miss
her present familiar surround-
ings.
“I'm going to miss the school
community,” Kaufman said. “At
Lehman I know everyone in my
class, we're a close-knit group. I'll
miss my personal relationships
with the teachers. Ido like meet-
ing new people, so I'll adjust.”
Meanwhile there's still time to
be spent in a Lehman uniform.
Rachel will be a midfielder for the
spring. She's also involved with
peer tutoring and serves as a
member of student council.
Rachel is the oldest of three
children. She has a teenaged
sister, Rebecca and a brother,
Andrew.
all the girls are in 7th grade. St. Mary's had strong performances from -
Walsh with 12. The Lady Gators are coached by Ed Ostrowsky and Joe
Leary.
JV boys swamp St. Nick's
Gate of Heaven JV boys team beat St. Nick's 63-33 on Feb. 14.
The GOH team was led by J.C. DeRojas with 24 points and Andrew
Lohin with 22 points. Their record is now 13-0.
Boys varsity squeaks out win
The Gate of Heaven Varsity team beat St. Nick's in a close game 58-
52. GOH was led by Mike Regan with 29 points and Brad Feleccia with
12 points. Feleccia scored his 1000 point and was awarded a ball. The
team’s record is 6-7.
GOH 6th grade girls take two wins
Gate of Heaven 6th grade girls defeated St. Peter and Paul's of Plains
and St. Nick's Purple of Wilkes-Barre. High scorers in the St. Peter &
Paul game were Courtney Dombroski, Sarah Armand, Monica Latosek
and Katie Delaney. In the St. Nick's game, Ce-Ce Williams-Moen, Sarah
Armand, Katie Delaney and Kim Celusniak provided the scoring.
Rebounding were Lauren Davis and Laura Krakosky. The defense was
led by Jennifer Bjelich, Paula Wasluck, Jeanne Herman and Chrissy
Carboni.
Grade 7-8 boys win two, drop one
Gate of Heaven 7-8 grade boys defeated St. Mary's of Nanticoke in an
away game, and at home last week. Gate of Heaven also lost to Plains.
Leading the scoring in the first St. Mary's game was P.J. Spigarelli with
16 points, Mike Kashnicki, 13, and Bryan Wagner five.
In the second St, Mary's game, Mike Kashnicki scored 17 and Lorne
Trapani 10.
In the Plains loss, C.J. Adamchak scored 15 and Mike Kashnicki 11.
The Green team has 13 wins.
Lady Knights soccer team in the