Ne @ * . Inthriller | Section 2 Wednesday, February 19, 1997 Oliver's eager for 1st spring training By CHRIS BELL Sports Correspondent DALLAS - Groundhog Day has come and gone and for baseball fans, that can only mean one thing. Spring training isn’t far away. For former Lake-Lehman High School athletic standout Johnny Oliver, it means time to get back to work. Actually, Oliver has been work- ing harder than ever in prepara- tion for his first spring training camp with the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds’ first-round draft choice last June, Oliver has participated in a vigorous off-season training program of lifting weights, run- ning, hitting and throwing. While major league pitchers and catchers will be reporting to spring training within the next week, Oliver plans to leave for the Reds’ spring training facility in Plant S City, Florida, March 7. “I'm pumped up and ready to go,” said Oliver. “I've been work- ing extremely hard on my strength and conditioning to prepare my- self for my first full season of professional baseball.” Oliver expects to play right field for the Class A Charleston Reds in the South Atlantic League this Dallas girls stand out in By BRIAN BAYER Sports Correspondent DALLAS - In only their third season, the Dallas Mountaineers girls swimming team has an ex- ceptional winning percentage. Their record going into Tuesday's meet with Wyoming Seminary was 11-3, good enough for third place in Division AA. “It has been all hard work,” said third-year head coach Matt Stretanski. “The girls noticed that they were a little bit successful, then they wanted to do better.” 8th grade * boys win playoff By DAVE DOMZALSKI Sports Correspondent DALLAS - The Dallas Middle School 8th grade basketball team ended itsregular season atop their division, advancing in the playoffs after a last-second victory over Crestwood. The team is coached by Larry Evans. The day is Wednesday, Feb. 12, the place the Dallas Middle School gym. Dallas’s opponent is Crestwood. The teams met earlier in the season, with Dallas win- ning by a narrow 39-32 score. Dallas received a first round bye, and Crestwood advanced into the second round by defeating Bishop Hafey. Before the game got under way, the Dallas team experienced a tem- porary coaching change. Due to jury duty for Evans, John McNeil, Dallas 9th grade basketball coach, filled in as the head coach. Coach Evans arrived in time for the start of the third quarter. Dallas started off the first quar- ter by going to their big men in- side, while Crestwood countered with outside shooting. At quarter's end Dallas’s big men, Paul Dougal, Matt Eyet and Mike Domzalski, accounted for all of the team’s 14 first quarter points. Struble and Dorzinski scored Crestwood’s eight first quarter points. The second quarter was much the same, with Dallas using their inside game and Crestwood on the perimeter. Dallas outscored Crestwood 13 to 11 in the quarter to take a 27-19 lead at halftime. Crestwood regrouped in the third quarter, and outshot Dallas 12 to 4, to tie the game 31-31 at Since the start of the season in December, the team has relied on their depth. Many of the 26 girls on the team have stepped up and prospered. The team begins train- ing with workouts during the week, with double workouts every other day. “With all of this work and prac- quarter's end. Crestwood again got a fine shooting and defensive performance from Struble and Dorzinski. Fourth quarter scoring went back and forth with each team making key baskets and playing tough defense. With the game knotted at 42 and Dallas in pos- session, the game it seemed, would P The Dallas Post orts\Week Sixers top Heat to take i regular season crown 1 season after spending his rookie season with the Princeton (W.Va.) Reds in the Appalachian League. “I'm not sure if I'll be in center or right this season,” he said. “I re- ally like right field and would pre- fer to play there.” Oliver is listed by the Reds as one of their top 16 minor league prospects, but a recent issue of : POST PHOTO/RON BARTIZEK Johnny Oliver has spent the off season working out at Ernie's Fitness, adding 15 pounds of muscle in the process. He's shown with Ernie Baul, trainer. Baseball America, which didn’t mention him among that group, has provided him with extra mo- tivation. “I was named among the top prospects in the organization in a report which came directly from the Reds,” he explained. “That makes me feel good that See OLIVER, pg 10 third swimming season tice, they really improved and have been impressive,” said Stretanski. “Jill McGinley (assistant coach) and I had just taught what we know from the start to prepare the girls and they have taken their talents from there. They are all good athletes and they want to be competing in matches. Most im- portant, we are all having fun.” Stretanski pointed out three senior girls who have been with the team since its inaugural sea- son in 1994-95 and have stood out; Alisa Harris, Michele Molesky, and Emily Schweitzer. come down to Dallas taking the last shot. Dallas put up a shot with 10 seconds to play, but it bounced off the rim into the hands of Crestwood’'s Zaborney, who passed to Dlelich who was fouled by Dallas's Matt Eyet, with six seconds left on the clock. Dallas quickly called time out. Crestwood was in a two-shot “They have been there from the start and have added quality lead- ership,” Stretanski said. On Fri., Feb. 28, several swim- mers from the girls and boys teams’ will participate in the Dis- trict meet at the University of Scranton. Each swimmer com- petes to win their event and they earn points for their team. “We want to be among the top three teams in AA,” added Stretanski. From the districts, the top two finishers in each event will go to State College to compete in states. Dallas Youth Basketball 7th & 8th grade league, wrapped up its regular season play, with the Sixers alone at the top, with a narrow 36-34 win over the Heat. HORNETS 44 - WARRIORS 18 In the first game of the after- noon, the Hornets crushed the Warriors by a 44-18 score. The Hornets held a 6-2 lead after the first quarter. The Hornets outscored the Warriors by 17 to 5 in the second quarter to put the game out of reach. The Hornets kept up the pace by outscoring the Warriors 12-3, on a well bal- anced attack led by Ryan Morgan and Andrew Dale. The fourth quarter was much the same with the Hornets scoring at will. The Hornets’ offense was led by John Simonitis with a game high 16 points, followed by Pat Barnard with 14 points. The Warriors offense was led by Jonathan Schneider with 9 points. The Hornets record goes to 3-9 and a sixth place finish, while the War- riors finish the season 0-10. H CELTICS 51 - BULLS 46 In the second game of the after- noon, the Celtics defeated the. Bulls 51-46 to finish in second | place. The loss puts the Bulls in * the third spot. The first quarter « had both teams testing their . strengths and weaknesses. The * Celtics outscored the Bulls in the - first quarter by a slim 7 to 6 margin. The Bulls turned up the pace in the second quarter and * outscored the Celtics 16-12 to . take a 22-19 halftime lead. The third quarter went to the Celtics * on fine plays by Matt Eyet and « Jared Karalunas. The Bulls tried to muster up a comeback but fell short, and the Celtics came away with a hard fought victory. The Celtics offense was led by Matt Eyet with 16 points, followed by Jared Karalunas with 15 points * and John Lukasavage with 13. points. The Bulls offense was led . by Paul Dougal with a game high 29 points, followed by Lloyd Drop- pers with 13 points. The Celtics See 7-8 BALL, pg 10 DALLAS YOUTH BASKETBALLS5-6 ST. JOHN'S 48 - MIAMI 38 David Lohin scored 25 points to lead St. Johns over Miami 48- 38. Chase Susko scored 24 points for Miami. With the victory, St. Johns clinched the top seed for the playoffs. HALL 36 - NOTRE DAME 14 Ryan Gryskewicz scored 12 points to lead Seton Hall over Notre Dame 36-14. Jeff Pace and Bobby Hadzor scored 6 each for Notre Dame. G'TOWN 47 - U CONN 30 Greg Mascioli scored 18 points and Curtis Kieper 8 to lead Georgetown to a 47-30 victory over U. Conn. Todd Kerestes had 8 points for U. Conn. HALL 48 - SYRACUSE 26 Jeff Dickson scored 13 points and Matt Pietrzak 10 as Seton Hall topped Syracuse 48-26. Christian Cobleigh has a season « high 21 points and 9 rebounds fo the Orange. MIAMI 46 - VILLANOVA 18 g Donny Murray had 19 points - and 10 rebounds to lead Miami over Villanova 46-18. Stephen Luksh had 10 points for the Wild- + cats. by SYRACUSE 29 - PITT 28 Syracuse edged Pittsburgh 29- 28 as Sean Jones scored 6 points with 3 rebounds. Eric Baltimore had 4 points and 3 rebounds for Syracuse. Pitt was led by Tyler Droppers with 12 points and Brad Hubbard with 8. Opening round playoffs are Tuesday with U.Conn playing Notre Dame and Syracuse play- ing Pittsburgh. POST PHOTOS/RON BARTIZEK Josh Katyl (31) and Matt Eyet battled a Crestwood player for a rebound (top photo). John Nackley (left top), played tough defense against Crestwood. Jared Karalunas (left, bottom), hustled for a loose ball. He scored the winning basket with three seconds on the clock. foul situation, and took the op- portunity to plan their strategy if Dlelich’'s shots were made or missed. Dlelich sank his first free throw to give Crestwood a 43-42 lead. Dallas positioned four of their five players in the foul area, with Jared Karalunas setting up at the other end of the court. Dlelich studied the basket and released his second shot, which bounced off the front of the rim and into the hands of Domzalski, who passed to teammate Danny Fetko, who took the ball down court. When a Crestwood defender left Karalunas to come out and inter- cept Fetko, Fetko passed to Karalunas with three seconds re- maining. Karalunas's layup sealed the victory for Dallas. The Dallas offense was led by Paul Dougal with 16 points, fol- lowed by Matt Eyet with 11 points and Mike Domzalski with eight points. Crestwood’s offense was led by Struble with 16 points, followed by Dorzinski with 10 points. Dallas will continue in the playoffs and will next face Berwick. No PR EN RG A Nh, WRN IN x 7 A JR ER a PR
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers