Sunday, February 17, 2013 Tue DALLAS POST PAGE 9 Sports By TOM ROBINSON For The Dallas Post Dallas High School athletes training in the field house next to the school’s football field will have new equipment with which to work, possibly as early as next week following the completion of - one stage of an improvement pro- ject. The Dallas Foundation for Ex- j cellence in Education has ordered ‘new equipment for the field _ house weight room that is used by the football, wrestling and track teams as well as other athletes at .the school. Nearly $20,000 was raised to obtain new equipment, replacing outdated items in some cases and adding to the available options in others. A similar second stage will attempt to raise close to the same amount of funds for a fur- ther update in the future. Bonny Mannello, a Dallas resi- dent who is a personal trainer and a foundation board member, said The Dallas Foundation was formed to provide support for the Dallas School District, its faculty and students through scholarships, improved facilities and support of educational, athletic and other extracurricular activities. Donations, which are tax-deductible, can be sent to The Dal- las Foundation for Excellence in Education, 1000 Wyoming Ave., Forty Fort, Pa. 18704. the fundraising went beyond the standard items that booster clubs for the teams tend to cover. She said the donors included “people who have graduated from the school and those who have sons or daughters who will use the equipment.” The foundation is attempting to create “the best high school fit- ness facility in Northeastern PA,” according to a flyer it produced seeking private donations. The equipment can help students be healthier and pursue their goals in athletic competition. Among the additions in the first stage are new power-lifting racks with adjustable benches, Olympic bars and weights, a back machine and a Kettlebell system for core training. The equipment was ordered through Fitness Headquarters, which helped de- sign the weight room. ew equipment coming fo Dallas weight room Much of the outdated equip- ment is being removed from the room. The existing leg extension, curt, bicep and tricep machines will be kept. The first stage of the project came together in less than a year. Formal discussions began last summer. “We’re not finished yet,” Man- nello said. The second stage would in- clude a cable cross machine, a sound system and other items like jump ropes and exercise balls. basketball programs are gearing up for action. By TOM ROBINSON For the Dallas Post The school basketball sea- sons are wrapping up, but those most dedicated to the game are : getting ready to move on to the their next season, playing Ama- teur Athletic Union (AAU) bas- ketball. Rock Solid Basketball, host- ed at the Rock Rec Sports Com- plex in Trucksville, completed tryouts in January and has put together a series of boys and girls teams to compete in tour- naments this spring. “We have kids that are above average players ‘on the level’ they're playing in,” said Doug Miller, the Dallas High School head coach who is the director of Rock Solid and coordinates boys AAU program. “They’re looking to get better for junior high basketball or the . junior high players are trying to ~ get ready for junior varsity and ~ varsity. “Our older high school kids are at the point where they are trying to be seen by colleges.” Rock Solid will have two boys teams for freshmen and - one each for eighth, seventh, sixth, fifth and fourth grade. Kathy Healey, the head coach at Pittston Area, coordinates . the girls program. It has a team sophomores, plus others for th, seventh, sixth and fifth - grades. Seventh grade and younger - play in four tournaments while . eighth grade and older play in . SIX “In the area we live in, within a 4-5-hour drive, you can play in ' some of the more competitive oi tournaments in the country,” Miller said. Don Hopkins, ‘who has been with Rock Solid since its debut in 2006, and Nate Francis will coach the separate ninth-grade teams. The team, coached by Fran- cis, includes Dallas students Spencer Bowanko, Tanner Gat- tuso, Suk Mathon, Adam Niz- nik and Ray Anthony Ostroski. Miller coaches the eighth- grade team and is assisted by Misericordia University student Jon Gimble. The team includes Dallas players Jason Anderson, Zach ton Gattuso, Collin Tertl and Ethan Szczecinski. Dallas seventh-grade coach Doug Chapman coaches the seventh-grade team, which has Jay Bittner, Alex Charlton, Da- vid Chopyak, Mason Gattuso, Nick Kocher, Andrew Kovalick, Nate Maransky, Matthew Math- ers, Ben OConnell, David Schuster and Brody Strickland, all from Dallas. Mike Luksic and Scott An- swini, Dallas Youth Basketball coaches, guide the sixth-grade team. Answini also coaches at BILL TARUTIS FILE PHOTO/ FOR THE DLALAS POST agers move on to next season Amateur Athletic Union Lake-Lehman's Cayle Spencer, left, is looking forward to playing Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball. Good Shepherd, which has Mi- chael Anderson, Derek Answi- ni, Collin Cook, Justin Fell, Hunter Landon, Michael Luk- sic, Tyler Mozeleski, Ethan Za- watski and Jack Ziemba on the team. Fred Berley, a Dallas Youth Basketball coach, leads the fifth-grade team. Eric Berley, a Wyoming Seminary student from Dallas, is on the squad; along with Sean Boland, John Cantando and Hunter Love from Good Shepherd; and Luke DelGaudio, Matthew Boland, Jack Farrell, Lenny Kelley, Jack Lukasavage and Brett Ostroski from Dallas. The fourth-grade team is still being finalized. Cayle Spencer and Emily Sut- ton of Lake-Lehman, Talia Szat- kowski of Dallas and Gabby Volpetti, a Wyoming Seminary player from Dallas, are part of the sophomore girls team that Healey coaches. Dallas Youth Basketball coach Chad Lojewski leads the eighth-grade girls team. It in- cludes Courtney Devens, Paige Evans, Maddie Kelley and Sara Lojewski from Dallas, as well as BILL TARUTIS FILE PHOTO/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Ray Anthony Ostroski, left, and Tanner Gattuso, both of Dallas, shown here during a Dallas Foundation Golf Tournament, are members of an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) ninth-grade bas- ketball team. Sarah Sabaluski from Lake-Leh- man. Kelly Johnson, the Dallas High School coach, leads the seventh-grade team. Hannah Johnson, Olivia Johnson and Kendra Saba of Dallas are on the team along with Makayla Adams of Lake-Lehman. Dallas freshman coach John- na Schickram coaches the sixth-grade girls. Her team in- cludes Laura Golden, a Susque- hanna Prep student from Dal- See CAGERS, Page 10 AM a RE Sh Dallas, Lehman oirls teams look toward playoffs By TOM ROBINSON For The Dallas Post The Dallas and Lake-Lehman girls basketball teams have had the look of title contenders dur- ing successful seasons. To contend for a championship in the Class AAA girls playoffs, however, they will have to make it through the toughest and deep- est of the eight District 2 basket- ball tournaments that begin play in the next week. “We are loaded,” Dallas coach Kelly Johnson said of the teams in the Class AAA field. Dallas handed likely top-seed Scranton Prep its only loss in the first 21 games. Lake-Lehman, one of nine Class AAA teams that entered the final night of the regular sea- son with wins in two-thirds or more of its league games, has not been as consistent as its rival. It does, however, have wins to its credit over Dallas and Crest- wood, two of the top three teams from Division 1 of the Wyoming Valley Conference. “Without a doubt, it should be an extremely tough tourna- ment,” said Lake-Lehman coach Charlie Lavan. “There are some quality, quality teams. “It should definitely be a tough, very challenging tourna- ment.” District 2’s return to open tour- naments on the Class AAA and AA levels this season leaves 18 el- igible teams, 11 of which were at .500 or better going into Thurs- day as teams fought for final seeding position. Abington Heights, which has won three straight district titles, including the last two at Class AAAA before dropping back down this season, is looking at a first-round game on the road with its .500 record. Dallas beat two of the three winning Lackawanna League Class AAA opponents it faced, topping Scranton Prep and West Scranton and losing to defending district champion Honesdale. “There are such good teams, even in the lower seeds, that you have to come ready to play every game or you could be knocked back on your heels,” Johnson said. Dallas was scheduled to play Pittston Area in a Friday division playoff game as of presstime. That game would determine the Wyoming Valley Conference Di- vision 1 title, as well as the likely third seed in districts since divi- sion champions are seeded above other teams. Scranton Prep appears headed for the top seed. The winner of the WVC Division 2 title in a play- off between Holy Redeemer and Nanticoke likely will be the sec- See PLAYOFFS , Page 10 PETE G. WILCOX/ THE DALLAS POST Emily Sutton, left, of Lake Lehman goes up for a lay up as Nanti- coke's Deanna Thomas takes a swat at the ball during a Wyoming Valley Conference high school girls basketball game in Nanticoke.
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