Sunday, March 3, 2013 Tue DALLAS POST PAGE 7 SPOrts i Season comes to end for three BMT cage teams By TOM ROBINSON Fer The Dallas Post High school basketball sea- son cam¢ to an end in the Back Mountaia in the District 2 Class AAA quirterfinals when three teams were eliminated. The Dallas and Lake-Lehman girls and Lake-Lehman boys all lost and had their seasons end in theirsecond district playoff game. The Dallas boys had lost in the fist round. Despie the playoff losses, the three teims had varying degrees of success. Dalla; won the Wyoming Val- ley Corference Division 1 girls champinship with an incred- ible effort in a playoff game for: e title. In addition to a shock- ing 74-44 rout of Pittston Area for the division championship, the Lady Mountaineers also handed Scranton Prep its only regular-season loss. Both Lake-Lehman teams posted winning records. For the girls, that included a 72-63 upset of rival Dallas behind a 33-point outing by sophomore Cayle Spencer. After going two decades with- out a winning record, the Lake- Lehman boys now have two straight winning seasons, even in a year where they moved up in classification. The season ended Feb. 23 when defending champion Hon- esdale topped Dallas, 74-68, and top-seeded Scranton Prep, the Lackawanna League Division 1 champion, stopped Lake-Lehm- an, 54-39. Dallas finished 18-5 and Lake- Lehman went 15-9. The Lake- Lehman boys ended their 12-11 season the night be- fore when they were beaten by Crestwood, 56- Johnson 44. Talia Szatkowski scored 18 points and Ashley Dunbar add- ed 17 for the Dallas girls in the loss to Honesdale. The Lady Mountaineers fought back from a double-fig- ures deficit but fell short. Dallas remained a threat in the game because of its ability to run and push the pace with a pressure defense and a strong rotation of players off the bench. That formula is the one that overwhelmed Pittston Area in the division championship game. “It's a faster-paced game,” Dallas coach Kelly Johnson said after claiming. the regular-sea- son title. “We're forcing teams to run with us. We have the per- sonnel to do that. “That constant in-your-face pressure has to be frustrating over the course of a game and I think that was to our advan- tage.” The Lady Mountaineers were stronger because of the variety of weapons they had. “If you don’t have the person- nel, it’s hard to play that style,” Johnson said. Senior point guard Ashley Dunbar, who was named Player of the Year in Division 2 last season, was the Division 1 Most Valuable Player in all-star voting by Wyoming Valley Conference coaches. Szatkowski, a sophomore who led the defensive pressure with her energy, and Jess His- cox, a senior who was the top outside shooter, were both first- team division all-stars. Senior post player Tanner Englehart was a second-team choice. Katy Comitz, who came off the bench for 15 points in the division playoff game, was selected to the third team. Johnson was named Coach of the Year for the division. Spencer, who averaged 20 points per game, had 14 in the season-ending loss to Scranton Prep. Emily Sutton added 13. Spencer was named first-team division all-star. Sutton, a junior, and Danae Sutliff, a sophomore, were picked for the second- team. The Lake-Lehman boys fell behind 15-7 after one quarter against Crestwood and could not recover. Pete Borum, who gave the team an inside force throughout the season, led the way with 17 points. Adam Dizbon had 15. evening. By TOM ROBINSON For The Dallas Post The Dallas football program horored 10 individuals for ther performances in the 2012 season during its banquet Feb. 24. & Kris Roccograndi was named Most Valuable Player, Ryan Za- potcky was named Offensive Plarer of the Year and Zach Ma:osky was named Defensive Player of the Year. Buddy Shutlock, Logan Bull- ock, Jason Simonovich, John Murray, Ryan Monk, Justin Mucha and Ryan Kozloski were also recognized. A look at each of the awards: e Shutlock received the Tony Lucidi Memorial Award. The two-way tackle and team captam was selected for the award, which was created in 2002 to recognize passion, conmiftment and dedication to the Dillas football program. e Bullock, a two-way line- man, (received the Unsung Hero Award. e Simonovich was named Impad Player of the Year. “We asked so much of him,” | first: coach Bob Zaruta & said d Simonovich. “We used him as wide receiver, tight end and in motion as a lead block- er. We switched him from de- fensive back to defensive end and le made so many huge playsfor us.” e Murray, a safety, was the MostImproved Player. e Monk, a sophomore, re- ceived the Strong Man Award as peund-for-pound the stron- gest player on the team. “It is amazing what he does in the weight room,” Zaruta said, ® Mucha, another sopho- more, received the Mr. Athlete Award. “He has incredible versatility and speed,” Zaruta said of Mu- cha, who was used as a receiv- er, running back, quarterback, cornerback, punter and kick returner. “He can catch, throw and run.” e Zapoticky, the quarter- back, ac- ne : . counted for It ISamaz- «Oe ing what downs while : passing for he does In nearly 1,400 the weight runs and run- room.’ ning for al- Dallas coach Most 500. Bob Zaruta ® Macosky on Strong Man led the team Award winner with 105 Ryan Monk tackles and intercepted three passes. “He’s the kind of player who is all over the field,” Zaruta said. “He gave offensive coach- es nightmares.” e Roccograndi produced more than 1,000 total yards, al- most 1,000 of it on the ground, while also making big contri- butions as an inside linebacker and on the special teams. “He was instrumental in our running game when we put our seven-game winning streak to- gether,” Zaruta said. eo Kozloski received the Climb Award, which signifies character, loyalty, integrity, Mountaineering and believe. “When we were 0-3 and the noise and a lot of distractions were there, his leadership and interactions with his team- mates were a big reason why the entire team was able to handle the adversity and turn it into a successful season,” Za- ruta said. DHS gridders honored for individual performances Head coach Bob Zaruta, left, recounts a play by Strongman Award winner Ryan Monk at the Dallas football banquet on Sunday Defensive Player of the Year Award winner Zach Macosky shakes the hands of the assistant coaches after receiving his award at the Dallas football banquet on Sunday evening. Offensive Player of the Year Award winner Ryan Zapoticky walks back to his seat after accepting his trophy. BILL TARUTIS PHOTOS / FOR THE DALLAS POST PETE G. WILCOX PHOTO / FOR THE DALLAS POST Josh Winters of Lake Lehman (left) and Ryan Filipiak of Wyoming Area battle in the 145-pound weight division during last Friday's District Class 2A wrestling tournament at Lake Lehman High School. Filipiak won by decision, 9-7. Lehman grapplers win goal - a District 2 championship By TOM ROBINSON For The Dallas Post At Lake-Lehman, the wres- tling season typically begins with the goal of ultimately win- ning the District 2 Class AA Tournament championship. For the second straight year and the 22" time in school his- tory, the Black Knights accom- plished that goal when they won the team title on their home mat Feb. 22-23. Lake-Lehman wrestlers col- lected their individual medals, including four golds and five silvers, when the tournament came to its usual Saturday eve- ning conclusion. The team title essentially was decided, however, when that day’s activities began. Lake- Lehman opened the second day of the tournament by going 9-1 in the semifinal round, earning its nine championship round berths and the points neces- sary to separate from Western Wayne. “Winning nine of 10 in the semis is huge,” Lake-Lehman coach Tom Williams said. “Ba- sically, where we sealed it was with the really strong semifinal performance.” Lake-Lehman has a total of 10 wrestlers in action at this weekend’s Northeast Regional Class AA Tournament, trying to earn spots in the Pennsyl- vania Interscholastic Athletic Association championships in Hershey. Although team scores are still kept, the large number of schools involved and the pres- tige of participating in the state tournament turn the emphasis to individual performances at this stage. The Black Knights were still thinking about team goals last weekend, however. Lake-Lehman and Western Wayne went head-to-head three weeks earlier with the District 2 Dual Meet Championships at stake. The Wildcats won that battle of teams who went un- beaten in their divisional reg- ular-season schedules, taking the Dual Meet championship, 28-28. The Black Knights immedi- ately set out for their original goal and a measure of revenge in the rematch. “Once we got beyond the team tournament, we set our sights on this one,” Williams said. “We worked hard to make it happen. “We have a good number of kids who are pretty battle tested in tournament settings.” In dual meet competition, teams go head-to-head, match- ing their entire lineups just as they do in a regular-season meet. At the tournament, wres- tlers work their way through separate brackets in each weight class, scoring points for the team with each win and with their final placement. “I think we have a pretty strong tournament team,” Wil- liams said. “We have several strong individuals who are like- ly to place.” Those individuals combined for a 216-197 team advantage over Western Wayne. Wyoming Area, which matched the four champions by Lake-Lehman but did not have any other finalists, was a distant third with 139.5 points. “We didn’t match up very well with Western Wayne as a dual- meet team,” Williams said. “It’s all in how you match up and we didn’t match up well, particular- ly at the lower weights.” As a tournament team, the Black Knights proved to have more top-end wrestlers. Lake- Lehman led Western Wayne, 4-3 in champions, 9-7 in finalists and 10-8 in regional qualifiers. Austin Harry (132), Derek Dragon (170), Brady Butler See WRESTLE, Page 8
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