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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2012
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THE TIMES LEADER www.timesleader.com
DISTRICT 2 WRESTLING
PENGUINS
Rookie nearly topples Crunch Goalie Patrick Killeen comes in for the Penguins following an injury to Scott Munroe. By TOM VENESKY tvenesky@timesleader.com
WILKES-BARRE TWP.—With Brad Thiessen in Pittsburgh, starting goaltender Scott Munroe hobbling off the ice in the second period and the game scoreless, the Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Penguins pinned their hopes for a win on a netminder who a total of 19 minutes of exCRUNCH perience in the American Hockey League. Rookie PaPENGUINS trick Killeen, 21, did manage to keep the Penguins in Saturday’s matchup against the Syracuse Crunch, but they couldn’t muster a win. The Crunch scored twice on Killeen in the second period to defeat the Penguins 2-1. The loss drops the Penguins to 32-17-2-5 and into second place in the East Division, two points behind the Norfolk Admirals, who defeated Hershey on Saturday. After an evenly-matched first period that saw both teams go scoreless, adversity struck the Penguins when Munroe exited the game with an injury three min-
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third straight District 2 Class 3A crown beating Wallenpaupack’s Chase Gallik, 7-3 in the finals. The Patriot senior held off a late rally by the Buckhorn’s freshman to claim the trifecta, an accomplishment not many in district history can claim. “I’m just happy I got to spend it with my family and they got to see me go out on a good note in my senior year,” Scarantino said. “It’s a huge accomplishment, not as huge as 100 wins I got throughout the season, but it’s huge.” Scarantino picked up his third title, but four other Wyoming Valley Conference wrestlers, in addition to Hammerstone, picked up their first district title. Hazleton Area freshman Larry Romanchik became the latest ninth-grader to win a gold medal, defeating top-seeded Bob Gray from Crestwood, 7-5 in the final. His teammate, Chad Hoffman, a returning state placewinner, pinned Delaware Valley’s Matt Wagner in 1:33 for his first title at 195. “I enjoyed it. I’ve been working for it and I finally got a district title, but the ultimate goal is to get back to states and get a medal and get on that state podium,” said Hoffman, who tallied three wins all by fall in the tournament. Coughlin’s Brad Emerick, who also claimed his first gold medal, followed in Hoffman’s steps with a first-period fall in the finals. Emerick, who extended his unbeaten mark to 36-0 this season, defeated Pittston Area’s Chris Wesolowski for the fourth time this season with the finals pin. Like Hoffman, Emerick also had all pins in the event, except his three were all in the first period. Hoffman went into the second period once. “I’ve been working for this all year and it’s real special for me,” Emerick said. “I just look to go out there on the mat and get off.” Romanchik trailed Gray 2-0 early, but scored five unanswered points to close out the first period and he never looked back. “I wasn’t expecting him to come out as hard as he did and it kind of woke me up, him coming out that hard,” Romanchik said. “I knew I couldn’t let that two points get to me early. I had to work my way back little by little.” Wyoming Valley West’s Derrick Simms (138 pounds) also became the newest district champion for the WVC. The junior, who entered the bracket as the No. 4 seed, won his
PETE G. WILCOX/THE TIMES LEADER
Penguins’ Ryan Craig (22) ties the game at 1 on a power play goal in the second period, scoring on Syracuse goalie Antero Niittmaki.
utes into the second period. Killeen entered the game for the Penguins, making only his first appearance of the season. Entering a scoreless game near the halfway point wasn’t an easy thing to do. “I don’t have a lot of experience in the American League and it’s always tough when you come in halfway through a game,” said Killeen, who has played in 33 games for Wheeling in the ECHL. “Anytime your going in it’s a little bit of nerves, but mostly excited. You want to pick up where (Munroe) left off and give the team a chance to win. Killeen did just that, but he got off to a rough start. On the first shot Killeen faced, Syracuse connected during a two-
on-one when Dan Sexton deposited a cross-ice pass into the far side of the net for a power play goal to make it 1-0. Killeen wasn’t rattled. “You can’t dwell on a goal like that. I was kind of aware that it would’ve been a tough save, but I had to move on and stay confident,” Killeen said. The Penguins tied it up minutes later when Ryan Craig swiped home a loose puck in front during a power play to make it 1-1. With eight seconds left in the period, Killeen had a shot skip over his leg to give Syracuse a 2-1 lead. The goal turned out to be the game-winner, and it’s one that Killeen would like to have back. “The second one was a tough
one,” he said. “I know it wasn’t great, and unfortunately it’s what cost us.” The Penguins and the soldout home crowd held their breath in the third period when Killeen was shaken up after making a series of saves during a scrum in the crease. If Killeen had to leave the game, head coach John Hynes said the team didn’t have an emergency goaltender to take his place. “Hopefully I could come up with something good,” Hynes said. “(Goaltender coach Mike) Bales is here. We’d have to get him on a PTO quick.” Despite a Syracuse defense that had been stingy all night, the Penguins generated a ton of pressure late in the third period, narrowly missing on a Jason Williams shot from the slot with three minutes left, followed by a Colin McDonald swipe at a loose puck near the post. Crunch goaltender Antero Niittymaki stayed cool in net to keep the Penguins off the board in the period and finished the game stopping 35 of 36 shots. After the game, head coach John Hynes didn’t have an update on Munroe’s status but said the team would be able to find another goaltender, if needed, by today’s 3 p.m. matchup against Norfolk. If Killeen gets the nod, he said he’s prepared to make his first AHL start. “It’s usually easier (to start). You know what’s coming,” he said. “I’m just going to be ready to go. I’ve been playing hockey my whole life. It’s nothing different. I just have to be ready for it.”
title knocking off Coughlin’s Frankie Mahmoud. He grabbed a takedown with just 16 seconds left in the match and didn’t let Mahmoud out at the end to clinch the win. The Spartan advanced to the final in one of the most exciting semifinals, defeating top-seeded Aaron Kennedy from Honesdale 11-10 in the final seconds. “I was just looking for whatever I could find,” Simms said about the final takedown versus Mahmoud. He then went on to praise his finals opponent. “I grew up with the kid and he’s a great athlete. He’s a tough kid and it was a tough finals match. He’s a hard worker and he really deserves some credit too.” Notes: Delaware Valley’s C.J. Palmer, who earned Outstanding Wrestler, joined the elite group of four-time District 2 champions with a 9-7 win over Valley West’s Kyle Krasavage. It was also his 150th career win and he’s just the second wrestler in Lackawanna League history to accomplish the four-time feat joining Scranton’s Dave Morgan…The Warriors FRED ADAMS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER claimed their first District 2 title with 232 points, their last district Delaware Valley’s C.J. Palmer tries for a single leg take down on championship came in 1980 Kyle Krasavage of Wyoming Valley West in a 126-pound match. when they were part of District – Palmer (DV) tech fall Senuk (AH) 18-3, 170 – Garrett Zeiler (Wall) pinned Dan Stuckart 12. The 232 points also broke the 4:15;126Krasavage (WVW) tech fall Kennedy (Hon) (Scr) 2:31 182 – Tom Smulowitz (WVW) won by forfeit Class 3A record for most points 19-1,1325:54 – Palmer (DV) maj dec Carr (AH) 12-2; Lau195 – Ian Moran (WVW) maj dec Tyler Ohl (Ber) 13-5 scored in the tournament, break- bach (Ber) dec Bakradze (Scr) 4-0 138 – Simms (WVW) dec Kennedy (Hon) 11-10; 220 – Taylor Schermerhorn (Haz) pinned Patrick ing Coughlin’s previous record of Mahmoud (Cou) maj dec McNally (Scr) 13-4 Kearney (AH) 2:28 145 – Lussi (PA) dec Inguilli (Wall) 10-4; Hankin285 – Kameron Van Wert (WS) pinned Nick Maf218.5 in 1992. son (Cre) dec Markowitz (DV) 14-7 fei (DV) :39 District 2 Class 3A Championships
(at Hazleton Area) Outstanding Wrestler: C.J. Palmer, Delaware Valley Coach of the Year: Lou DeLauro and staff, Delaware Valley Jr. High Coach of the Year: Jim Hoffman, Hazleton Area WVC Sportsmanship Award: Jay Konigus, Crestwood LL Sportsmanship Award: Paul Fox, West Scranton Team Scores: 1. Delaware Valley (DV) 239; 2. Wyoming Valley West (WVW) 132; 3. Pittston Area (PA) 128; 3. Pittston Area (PA) 128; 4. Crestwood (Cre) 118; 5. Coughlin (Cou) 115.5; 6. Honesdale (Hon) 111; 7. Wallenpaupack (Wall) 105.5; 8. Scranton (Scr) 93; 9. Hazleton Area (Haz) 88; 10. Abington Heights (AH) 84; 11. West Scranton (WS) 75.5; 12. Berwick (Ber) 70; 13. Tunkhannock (Tun) 63
Finals
106 – Jamie Scarantino (PA) dec Chase Gallik (Wall) 7-3 113 – Larry Romanchik (Haz) dec Bob Gray (Cre) 7-5 120 – Tom Hendry (WS) dec Frank Carozza (DV) 3-0 126 – C.J. Palmer (DV) dec Kyle Krasavage (WVW) 9-7 132 – Jalen Palmer (DV) dec Kevin Laubach (Ber) 6-2 138 – Derrick Simms (WVW) dec Frankie Mahmoud (Cou) 4-3 145 – Kyle Hankinson (Cre) dec Angelo Lussi (PA) 8-3 152 – Matt Hammerstone (Cre) dec Michael Carr (AH) 11-6 160 – Mark Granahan (Scr) tech fall Zach Smith (Hon) 16-0, 3:28 170 – Marc Wagner (DV) dec Charlie Generotti (Tun) 5-3 182 – Martin Strenk (DV) dec Roger Legg (Cre) 4-2, OT 195 – Chad Hoffman (Haz) pinned Matt Wagner (DV) 1:33 220 – Victor Steffen (Wall) dec Jack Fagan (DV) 3-2 285 – Brad Emerick (Cou) pinned Chris Wesolowski (PA) 1:50
Semifinals
106 – Scarantino (PA) dec Hawkins (Cou) 6-0; Gallik (Wall) pinned Pascale (AH) 5:43 113 – Gray (Cre) pinned Koslower (DV) 3:04; Romanchik (Haz) dec Poray (Cou) 9-2 120 – Carozza (DV) pinned Ciprich (Cou) 2:38; Hendry (WS) dec Lutecki (PA) 7-4
152 – Carr (AH) default Kobrynich (WS); Hammerstone (Cre) tech fall Dwyer (WVW) 19-3, 5:55 160 – Granahan (Scr) tech fall Masteller (Ber) 16-1, 2:26; Smith (Hon) pinned Favaro (DV) 1:53 170 – Wagner (DV) dec Cowman (WVW) 9-2; Generotti (Tun) dec Zeiler (Wall) 3-1 182 – Strenk (DV) dec Olson (Cou) 6-1; Legg (Cre) pinned Wehrmann (Wall) 1:45 195 – Hoffman (Haz) pinned Baress (WS) 2:14; Wagner (DV) dec Wehrmann (Wall) 3-0 220 – Fagan (DV) pinned Kearney (AH) 1:41; Steffen (Wall) dec Schermerhorn (Haz) 4-0 285 – Emerick (Cou) pinned Drake (Tun) 1:41; Wesolowski (PA) dec Berardelli (AH) 3-1, OT
Third Place
106 – Greg Pascale (AH) dec Jake Lang (DV) 5-1 113 – Bill Poray (Cou) maj dec Richie Koslower (DV) 11-1 120 – Tyler Lutecki (PA) dec Ed Ciprich (Cou) 6-2 126 – Evan Kennedy (Hon) dec Dan Ritz (Cre) 3-0 132 – Matt Evans (Hon) dec Nathan Cheek (WVW) 8-4 138 – Aaron Kennedy (Hon) dec James McNally (Scr) 4-3 145 – Cody Cordes (WVW) default Pat Inguilli (Wall) 3:00 152 – Tim Russell (Hon) dec Shane McTiernan (Scr) 4-2 160 – Dan Favaro (DV) dec Sam Falcone (PA) 6-3 170 – Trey Cowman (WVW) dec Paul Cole (Cou) 5-3 182 – Pat Nallin (PA) pinned Ethan Wehrmann (Wall) 4:39 195 – Joe Barress (WS) dec Jared Wehrmann (Wall) 3-2 220 – Jake Jola (Ber) dec Brandon Baird (WVW) 2-1, 3OT 285 – Casey Drake (Tun) dec Dylan Berardelli (AH) 2-1, 3OT
Fifth Place
106 – Bobby Hawkins (Cou) pinned Stephfen Caple (WS) 2:18 113 – Dave Deleo (PA) dec James Fayocavitz (AH) 6-4, OT 120 – Peter Talanca (Ber) pinned Mike Pavlichko (Tun) 4:01 126 – Nick Senuk (AH) dec Josh Mussoline (Haz) 9-5 132 – Niyaz Bakradze (Scr) forfeit Matthew Carr (AH) 138 – Kevin Wesolowski (PA) forfeit Anthony Colletta (DV 145 – Lucas Markowitz (DV) dec Ben Siegel (Tun) 7-4 152 – Brian Dwyer (WVW) forfeit Jon Kobrynich (WS) 160 – Will Masteller (Ber) dec Andrew Brodginski (Cre) 7-3
Consolation Semifinals
106 – Lang (DV) tech fall Stonier (Tun) 16-0, 5:00; Caple (WS) dec Rutledge (Hon) 1-0 113 – Deleo (PA) dec Jennings (Scr) 7-5; Fayocavitz (AH) dec Tirko (WVW) 7-5 120 – Pavlichko (Tun) maj dec Egger (Wall) 10-2; Talanca (Ber) dec Vopava (Haz) 8-6, OT 126 – Ritz (Cre) dec Lovallo (Scr) 8-2; Mussoline (Haz) dec Kroptavich (WS) 6-0 132 – Cheek (WVW) dec Masters (Haz) 2-1; Evans (Hon) dec Smith (WS) 3-0 138 – Colletta (DV) pinned Slocum (AH) 3:34; Wesolowski (PA) dec Geroski (Cre) 4-2 145 – Siegel (Tun) dec Talanca (Ber) 4-3; Cordes (WVW) dec Lill (Hon) 4-2, OT 152 – Russel (Hon) pinned Wagner (DV) 2:29; McTiernan (Scr) maj dec Fredmund (Haz) 17-9 160 – Falcone (PA) dec Biesadesky (Haz) 3-2; Brodginski (Cre) dec Wright (Tun) 3-1 170 – Stuckart (Scr) pinned Dexter (Cre) 2:40; Cole (Cou) pinned Dailey (Hon) :59 182 – Nallin (PA) dec Carrasco (Tun) 2-0; Smulowitz (WVW) dec Borkowski (Hon) 6-4 195 – Ohl (Ber) dec Robbins (Scr) 4-3; Moran (WVW) pinned Quinn (Hon) 1:58 220 – Jola (Ber) dec Phillips (Cou) 2-1; Baird (WVW) dec Benson (Hon) 3-0 285 – Maffei (DV) dec Pajalich (Wall) 10-7; Van Wert (WS) pinned Kowalczyk (Hon) 2:42
Consolation Finals
106 – Lang (DV) maj dec Hawkins (Cou) 16-7; Pascale (AH) maj dec Caple (WS) 9-1 113 – Koslower (DV) pinned Deleo (PA) 1:25; Poray (Cou) tech fall Fayovavitz (AH) 15-0, 2:49; 120 – Ciprich (Cou) dec Pavlichko (Tun) 9-8; Lutecki (PA) dec Talanca (Ber) 9-4, OT 126 – Ritz (Cre) dec Senuk (AH) 5-2; Kennedy (Hon) dec Mussoline (Haz) 7-2 132 – Cheek (WVW) default Carr (AH); Evans (Hon) dec Bakradze (Scr) 4-2, OT 138 – Kennedy (Hon) pinned Colletta (DV) 3:51; McNally (Scr) dec Wesolowski (PA) 6-3 145 – Inguilli (Wall) dec Siegel (Tun) 11-8; Cordes (WVW) dec Markowitz (DV) 2-1, 2OT 152 – Russell (Hon) forfeit Kobrynich (WS); McTiernan (Scr) dec Dwyer (WVW) 5-3 160 – Falcone (PA) dec Masteller (Ber) 4-3; Favaro (DV) dec Brodginski (Cre) 4-3 170 – Cowman (WVW) pinned Stuckart (Scr) 1:58; Cole (Cou) dec Zeiler (Wall) 4-3 182 – Nallin (PA) forfeit; Wehrmann (Wall) pinned Smulowitz (WVW) 2:51 195 – Baress (WS) dec Ohl (Ber) 5-2; Wehrmann (Wall) pinned Moran (WVW) 2:45 220 – Jola (Ber) pinned Kearney (AH) 3:59; Baird (WVW) dec Schermerhorn (Haz) 6-3 285 – Drake (Tun) pinned Maffei (DV) 1:50; Berardelli (AH) dec Van Wert (WS) 6-1
BILL TARUTIS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER
Meyers’ Vito Pasone, top, wrestles Lake-Lehman’s Jimmy Stuart on his way to win the District 2 Class 2A title in the 113-pound bout in Lehman Township on Saturday night.
Lake-Lehman wins Class 2A team title
Black Knights finish one point ahead of Dallas thanks to Hanover Area wrestler. By MATTHEW SHUTT For The Times Leader
like an absolute brawl” said Schutz. “It feels really good to get the win though. I’ve been training really hard and I’m going to be training ever harder to try my best to get a fourth. That’s a goal of mine and I really want to try and get after that next year, but, for now I’m going to focus on regionals.” Pasone’s win made him just the fourth wrestler in school history to take home a district title every year and just the twentythird in the entire district. “It’s a really nice feeling to be up there with the others who have done in from Meyers,” said Pasone. “Hopefully I can achieve as much as they did when it’s all over.” If the Pasone continues wrestling and winning in the style he did all weekend, he may have some more hardware to add soon enough. The senior won his three matches this weekend by technical fall and never by less than 15 points. As a result, Pasone also took home the tournaments Outstanding Wrestler award. “He wrestled solid, he really wrestled the way he wanted to,” said Meyers coach Ron Swingle, who was awarded Coach of the Year at the end of the tournament. “He was very prepared and that’s what I wanted to see from all the kids this weekend. We had a good tournament. We came in with eleven and seven are going on to next weekend. We just have to regroup and get ready for next weekend and I think we’ll be ready.” Of those moving on from Swingle’s squad is Darren Stucker, who scored a pin at 145, rounding out the list of local winners. Hanover Area’s Brad Glazenski, Meyers’ Justin Elick and Jeff Nealon, Dallas’ Zach Macosky and Kris Roccograndi and Nanticoke’s Pedro Bracero will all also be moving along to Williamsport for the Regional tournament after taking home second-place finishes.
LEHMAN TWP. – As Hanover Area’s Steve Radzwilla was turning Dallas’ Garrett Artsma onto his back during their match the cheers started to rise from the crowd, encouraging the Hawkeyes 185-pounder to finish Artsma. When the referee slapped the mat to signal a pin for Radzwilla, a minor frenzy broke out behind the scorers table – courtesy of wrestlers from Lake-Lehman. Artsma’s second-place finish ensured that Dallas would not overtake Lake-Lehman in points and, by a margin of one point, the Black Knights came away with the team title in the District 2 Class 2A wrestling tournament. “I didn’t even see the match,” said Lake-Lehman head coach Tom Williams. “I was watching it for a minute but then I had to go into the locker room for something and one of the kids came running in to tell me what had happened.” “I feel really good for the kids, though,” said Williams. “It’s been a bumpy road but the kids have worked hard. We’ve only been on the mats at practice two days out of the last fourteen, but, they never quit.” Lake-Lehman was pitted against Dallas in three matches coming into the final round of Saturday’s action, with each team having earned a separate, fourth match. Just getting to the point of needing Radzwilla’s win to make a difference meant that the Knights had to win all three of those matches. Jake Winters (138), Bryan Carter (152) and Nick Shelley (160) all won by decision for the Knights after Dallas’ Dominic DeGraba started the day with a win at106. Shelley’s win – which earned him a second district ti- Team Scores 1. Lake-Lehman 182.5; 2. Dallas 181.5; 3. tle – came against another for- Meyers 162.5; 4. Western Wayne 159; 5. Lackawanna Trail 118; 6. Wyoming Area 79; 7. Hanover mer district champion, the Area 78; 8. Valley View 77; 9. Nanticoke 68; 10. GAR 56; 11. Blue Ridge 53; 11. Elk Lake 53; 13 Mountaineers’ Bill Dixon. Scranton Prep 29; 14. Montrose 10.5 “I knew it was going to come down to conditioning, that it Championship Round was going to come down to that 106 – Dominic DeGraba (DAL) dec. Brad Gla(HAN) 12-0 third period but I just had to zenski 113 – Vito Pasone (MEY) tech. fall Jimmy Stuart (LL) 24-7 keep pushing myself,” said Shel120 – Zach Edwards (BR) dec. Justin Elick 5-4 ley. “This win today feels strict- (MEY) 126 – Austin Harry (LL) pinned Josh Allabaugh 5:18 ly awesome. It’s great to get this (NAN) 132 – Andy Schutz (WA) dec. Jeff Nealon (MEY) 10-4 win as a team.” 138 – Jake Winters (LL) dec. Zach Macosky At his match at 126 pounds, (DAL) 5-2 – Darren Stucker (MEY) pinned Manny Mithe Knights’ Austin Harry did ralih145 (WW) 3:46 152 –Bryan Carter (LL) dec. Kris Roccograndi his best to give his team a (DAL) 4-0 chance, pinning Nanticoke’s 8-4 160 – Nick Shelley (LL) dec. Bill Dixon (DAL) 170 – Marvess Rosiak (LT) Garrett Enslin Josh Allabaugh. (WW) 182 – Steve Radzwilla (HAN) Garrett Artsma “It’s the best feeling in the (DAL) world,” said Harry of winning 195 – Pedro Bracero (NAN) Conner Rosensweet (WW) his second district title in a row. 220 – Eric Laytos (LT) Matt Rosensweet (WW) 285 – Mike Gallantini (VV) Ben Lehman (LT) “I just stuck to my game plan and in the third period I think Consolation Finals (Allabaugh) just got a little tired 106 – Sean Bergold (MEY) pinned John Tomasurea (LL) 4:03 and I was able to get the pin.” 113 – A.J. Luton (GAR) dec. Klimovitch (DAL) While Harry and Shelley be- 7-4 120 – Carmen Mauriello (WA) dec. Patrick came repeat winners, some fel- Creedon (SP) 6-1 126 – Kashif Alston (MEY) pinned Matt Judge low Wyoming Valley Confer- (VV) 4:15 132 – Morgan Fuller (WW) pinned Billy Lee ence products also added to (LT) 3:33 138 – Tom Maby (BR) dec. Dominic Vitale (HA) their district title totals. 3-2 – Derrick Smith (EL) pinned Ryan Fillipiak Wyoming Area’s Andy Schutz (WA)1454:18 152 – Beau Fuller (WW) pinned Michael Cipiadded his third title with his win lewski (VV) 2:22 160 – Johntae Nelson (MEY) dec. Lucas Karat 132 over Meyers’ Jeff Nealon nick (WW) 7-6 and the Mohawks Vito Pasone 170 – Connor Martinez (DAL) dec. Jamaar (GAR) 3-2 took home his fourth district Taylor 182 – Caleb Darling (LT) dec. Troy Uhrin (VV) 5-3 crown with a 24-7 technical fall OT 195 – Ryan Monk (DAL) pinned Curt Barbacci (LL) 1:54 of the Knights’ Jimmy Stuart. 220 – Zac Faust (GAR) pinned Dillon Ropietski “It’s the third one and it never (HAN) 3:25 285 – Joseph Ingaglio (WW) dec. Carl Zielinski gets easier. Today’s match felt (WA) 2-0