® must be The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Thursday, May 16, 2002 THE DALLAS POST Section 2 From the bullpen Timothy J. Raub Today's athletes students first The day and age of going to college to major in a sport is fast disappearing. Today's colleges and universi- ties are stressing academics for all students, and are not mak- ing exceptions that once were made for student-athletes. While at Kutztown University, I saw a transformation in the athletic department. Director of Athletics Clark Yeager intro- duced his academic plan for the entire athletic department, which stressed the importance of recruiting the strongest pos- sible student-athletes. The results were staggering. The men’s track and field team had the top grade point average in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, and with the hiring of Dave Keeny as head football coach, the school’s grid program saw total turnaround. Keeny said at a press confer- ence upon his hiring, “We don’t just want to recruit the best athletes. We want to recruit the best student-athletes. The days of players flunking out of school after only a year or two are go- ing to be a thing of the past.” And for the most part, they have become just that. The Golden Bears have seen a significant turnaround in a foot- ball program that was accus- tomed to nothing but losing, to compete for the PSAC Eastern Conference title in each of the last three seasons — much to the credit of the strong student- athletes who have been able to stay eligible, and help the team on the field as much as possi- ble. Kutztown has seen similar re- sults in a number of other sports programs at the universi- ty, and let's not forget they are a member of the State System of Higher Education and are not a private school. But the Golden Bears are not part of the minority of colleges and universities stressing acad- emics. Many colleges, and rightly so, have begun to stress the impor- tance of a strong education in a floundering job market. Little Johnny may want to play football, baseball or soccer on a professional level, but the chances are greater that Little Johnny will be working in busi- ness or the medical field after graduation. Parents always say they want the best for their children, and a good college education is probably the best they could ever ask for. Butcofski update Rich Butcofski blocked a field goal in the Wilkes-Barre /Scran- ton Pioneers’ 57-52 loss to the Rochester Brigade Friday. The loss was the sixth consecutive for the Pioneers this season. Timothy J. Raub, a Post Staff writer, can be reached at traub@leader.net, or by phone at 674-4658. Send your sports reports by dallaspost@leader.net Steve Salavantis warmed up for the javelin throw during a recent meet. POST PHOTO/ JIM PHILLIPS Salavantis flirts with oldest record BY TIMOTHY J. RAUB Post Staff currently ranked among the state’s best in the Class 3A javelin. Steve Salavantis went out for the Dal- las track and field team with a little per- suasion from his father to stay in shape for football. But in a matter of only a few years, “I was actually surprised when I read that in the newspaper,” said Salavantis. “I came out and threw in junior high, but I did not expect to throw the dis- tances I have. I just picked up the javelin and throwing just came easy for the Mountaineer standout has moved pe.” from the track events to find a new home as a thrower — and for good rea- SOI. Only a junior, Salavantis has quickly become one of the top javelin and dis- cus throwers in the conference, and is Salavantis was ranked 15th in the state in Class 3A in the javelin by the Pennsylvania State Track and Field Coaches Association, but will face two of the state’s best at Districts in Justin Ryncavage from Coughlin High School and Andy Castanaro from Wyoming Area. That does not worry Salavantis. “Right now I have really have good competition in the javelin, and I would like to get into states,” he said. “I hope to throw well at the district meet, and qualify for states.” Salavantis can qualify for the state meet even if he does not win the event, if he throws the javelin at least 178 feet, a distance he feels is definitely within range. This has not been the easiest of sea- See SALAVANTIS, pg 10 Taroli, Arnaud power Astros Dan Taroli and Kyle Arnaud each went four-for-four with Taroli belting a triple and a double and Arnaud collecting two doubles as the Astros overwhelmed the Pirates 15-5. Mike Lipski added a double and two singles while teammates Wally BMT Simko, Mike Eckman and Justin Eimers each con- tributed two hits. Simko blasted a homer and a double while Eck- man had two doubles. Eimers and Arnaud combined to strike out eight batters. For the Pirates, Tom Horn and Rich Boris com- bined to fan five Astros. Baseball Orioles 15, A's 2 Ryan Urzen went five-for-five and Steve Meskers went 4-for-4 to power the Orioles to victory. Matt Alfano added two hits to the winning attack. Meskers struck out four A’s in gaining the victory. Zach Aciukewicz struck out seven batters in three innings on POST PHOTOS/JIM PHILLIPS There was plenty of action when the Astros and Reds met last Friday. In photos, clockwise from top: Mike Prater slid safely into home; Dan Taroli got to third before the throw, Prater concentrated on his pitch. SE Stampede claim Sport Dome litle The Back Mountain Stampede recently took first place and the championship at The Wyoming Valley Sports Dome, in the U-11 B division, for the Spring indoor season. Pictured from left: first row: Nick Latosek, Tyler Coleman, Jonathon Orlando, Shane Kitzmiller, Sean Dickinson and Keith Roberts. Second row: Brad Kabosky, Russ Jenkins, Andrew Besecker, Graham Speace, Joe Osick, Booby Peron, Jackie Ellis and Tommy Youells. The team is coached by Tom Youells and Dave Coleman. Lambacher receives Sportsmanship Award Erik Lambacher, son of Harald Lambacher, of Wilkes-Barre and Darlene Lambacher of Shavertown, recently received the Sports- manship award for the Ebenezer Faith Christian School boys bas- ketball team. Annual Cheerleading Clinic at Dallas The Dallas High School Cheer- leaders will be holding their an- nual cheerleading clinic for stu- dents from kindergarten through 8th grade. The clinic will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday, June 10 through Thursday, June 13 each day. At 11 a.m. Thursday, the students will put on a performance for their parents. Registration for the clinic will be held in front of the Senior High School from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 28 and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, June 2. Fee for the clinic is $35. Each student will receive a Dallas Cheerleading Clinic t-shirt and a plain white t-shirt that they will be tie-dying. Snacks and juice will be provided. Lake-Lehman Football Club to meet The Lake-Lehman Football Club will meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday May 16 at Grotto Piz- za. All parents of new football players and cheerleaders are en- couraged to attend. Plans will be made for the upcoming sea- son. the mound for the A’s. Red Sox 7, Dodgers 6 Cody Plesnar smacked two doubles while Kevin Little col- lected one double as the Red Sox nipped the Dodgers. Little fanned six Dodgers in three innings of pitch- ing. David Luksh led the Dodgers with a triple and | two singles. Tom- my Oswalt added | two singles. Mike Sesson and Os- walt combined to strike out seven batters in a los- ing cause. Yankees 4, Rangers 2 Myer Messinger and Josh Shaver | combined for 16 strikeouts as they shut down the Ranger offense. Shaver smashed three hits as teammate Scott Skammer collected two hits. For the Rangers, Josh Backes and Kevin Engler each belted a double. Matt Ruch pitched three strong innings, striking out six and allowing only one hit. Red Sox 12, A’s 6 Kevin Little blasted a three-run homer and Joe Kaiser added a solo shot as the Red Sox downed the A’s. Kaiser added two singles and Little contributed one. Cody Plesnar smacked a triple, double and single and Tommy Youells collected two singles for the winners. For the A's, Derrick Martin stroked three hits and Zach Aciukewicz and Nick Lombard added two apiece. Aciukewicz and Martin each doubled. Aciukewicz, Martin and Joe Hayes com- bined to fan six Red Sox. Cardinals 13, Phillies 0 Mark Covert and Ryan Phillips combined to strike out eight batters and toss a one- hitter for the Cardinals. Casey Judge led the offense with two doubles and a single. Jason Neare, Pat Murray and Covert each collected two hits, including one double apiece for Neare and Murray. For the' Phillies, Hunter Englehardt and Tom Go- lightly combined to strike out seven batters. Rangers 11, Indians 2 Matt Ruch was the winning pitcher, with eight strikeouts in three innings, as well as the leading hitter, with a double and three singles, for the Rangers. Kevin Engler added a double and two singles for the win ners. Engler and Preston Bolavich com- bined to strike out three batters in three in- nings on the mound. Darius Fetchko smacked a triple for the Indians. Mike Kravitsky and Jordy Thimot combined to fan nine in a losing cause. Astros 15, Tigers 0 Mike Eckman tossed a four-inning one- hitter as the Astros shut out the Tigers. Kyle Arnaud led the Astro attack with a triple and three singles. Mike Llpski smacked two doubles and a single while Justin Eimers collected a double and a sin- gle in a winning cause. Eckman added a triple for the Astros. P. J. Precone fanned seven batters for the Tigers. See BMT BALL, pg 10 POST PHOTO/JIM PHILLIPS Mounts sweep Crestwood The Dallas boys volleyball squad had to work for it, but swept visit- ing Crestwood 15-6, 16-14 Monday. In photo, B.J. Lewis and Ryan Chlubicki blocked a Comets spike. Chlubicki had 13 blocks in all and Lewis had 33 assists.
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