Kiwanis Wrestling Roundup

Wyoming Seminary came into Monday's Tunkhannock Kiwanis wrestling tournament as a clear favorite.

Teams like Pittston Area, Wyalusing and Towanda did everything they could to keep things relatively close. Pittston even placed 10 wrestlers in the top 8, but still remained well behind the Blue Knights.

Backed by eight individual championship performances from Don Malone (103), Kyle Johnson (119), Simon Kitzis (130), Nicky Gordon (140), Justin Martinez (145), Donovan Sarno (152), Jay Wieller (171) and Joe McMullin (215), the Blue Knights ran away with the team title, outdistancing the second place finisher Patriots by 100 points (307-207).

Wyalusing finished third, Towanda was fourth and Elk Lake, which was the highest Class AA finisher in the 22 team event, placed fifth.

Weight-by-weight round-up

103 - Malone (W. Sem) easily dispatched Tunkhannock's Mike Forba in the championship match, winning by tech. fall.

112 - Pittston Area crowned its first of two champions as Michael Damorasky stuck Tunkhannock's Ray Yagloski.

119 - Kyle Johnson (W. Sem) edged Pittston's Matt McAndrew 3-2 to take the 119 pound crown.

125 - Returning state qualifier Zane McClaskey of Wyluasing pinned GAR's Morgan Luton in the third period.

130 - Simon Kitzis gave Wyoming Seminary its third crown after registering a first period fall over Lake Lehman's James Rosencrans.

135 - Cody Roccograndi gave Pittston Area coach Matt Giampietro his second title of the tournament, pinning Wyalusing Aaron Kenyan in 5:24.

140 - Returning champion Nicki Gordon met the same opponent he defeated in last year's Kiwanis final and had a similar outcome. Gordon stuck Chris Gugliottoi of Pittston Area in the third period.

145 - Justin Martinez of Wyoming Seminary made it four-for-four, knocking off surprise finalist Tommy Desir of Scranton, 7-6.

152 - The Blue Knights kept things going as Justin Martinez dispatched Elk Lake's Anthony Juser, 8-1.

160 - No. 6 seed Josh Popple capped off a memorable tournament performance, tilting Bryce Caiazzo of Wyoming Seminary twice en route to a 11-4 decision. Popple was the first wrestler of the tournament to defeat a Blue Knight in the finals. He also knocked off returning Kiwanis champion and No. 3 seed Jake Arnone of Honesdale in the quarterfinals. He then decisioned No. 2 Shane Stark of Lake Lehman in OT in the semifinals. As a result, Popple was named the tournament's most outstanding wrestler.

171 - Jay Wieller helped the Blue Knights back bounce after a tough loss, winning an entertaining 5-3 decision over Pittston Area's Kris Gratola.

189 - Dropping a weight from last year's Kiwanis tournament, Darin Rockwell of Towanda edged Donal McNiel of Wyoming Seminary, 3-2. Just the second of nine Blue Knights to fall in the finals.

215 - Joe McMullin (W. Sem) turned in a solid performance, reversing Towanda's Jesse Chesla in the closing seconds to win the 215 pound championship, 6-5.

285 - Returning state medalist Lance Moore of Lackawanna Trail had his toughest match of the tournament, a 4-2 decision over Travis Chesla of Towanda.

Crestwood edges WVW in Casey Cup championship

With less than a minute remaining in the game, the Crestwood varsity hockey team appeared to have things totally under control in its Casey Cup championship game against Wyoming Valley West.

Crestwood's 4-2 lead was totally erased when the Spartans scored back-to-back goals in under 23 seconds.

Sure would've been easy for the Comets to play back on their heels in the final seconds, with hopes of stopping the bleeding and seeing the game into overtime.

Jonathan Hirt, however, had other ideas.

Assisted by Brandon Hacken, Hirt slipped one past Spartans' goalie Brian Manley with :01.1 seconds left to give the Comets a 5-4 win and their fourth Casey Cup crown in the past six years.

The Comets had a dominant run throughout the Cup, outscoring opponents 23-3. The Spartans obviously gave the Comets their toughest test in the championship game, scoring more goals (4) in 45 minutes than every other opponent combined in the previous 180 minutes.

Crestwood varsity will be honored during the intermission of Sunday, December 28th's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins game at Wachovia Arena against the Binghamton Senators starting at 5:05 p.m.

Wyalusing back to winning ways

During the late 90's and early part of this decade, the Wyalusing wrestling team enoyed tremendous success in Class AA.

The Rams won back to back state titles in 1999 and 2000, crowning individual champions in Dave Patrick and Justin Millard. Even more impressive was the depth the Rams boasted. Zac Sheldon, Ross and Kent Muench, Scott Henry, Craig Fitzgerald, Mike Wulff, Justin Johnson, Josh Fisk and Bud Putnam gave legendary coach Walt Fisk more than enough weapons .. and in return, most of them came home with state medals.

Since those glory years, the Rams have been on a downward slope. Sure, they've been competitive in an always tough District 4, and even crowned a state champion in 2004 and 2005 (Matt Fisk, 119/125). Fact is, the Rams haven't been nearly as dominant as the 99-00' teams.

That was until now.

The Rams (6-0) came into last Thursday's match a slight underdog against returning 3x PIAA team qualifier Towanda.

The Black Knights (9-1) took a comanding 28-0 lead after the first six weights, but returning state qualifier Zane McClaskey got things rolling for the Rams at 125 pounds. McClaskey stuck Jevin Vanderpool in 4:33 to give the Rams their first points. Wyalusing wouldn't look back from there, reeling off eight straight matches (four pins, four decisions), to beat the Black Knights 36-28, and remain unbeaten.

Both the Rams and Black Knights will compete in the Tunkhannock Kiwanis tournament on December 29th and 30th. Both teams should finish in the top five of the 22 team event.

For a more in depth look at the Wyalusing/Towanda match please visit our spotlight page at: http://the570.com/Varsity/Story/47826/Wyalusing_knocks_off_highly_touted_Towanda

Lackawanna League boys basketball

Several teams have been in and out of the Times-Tribune Top 10 in the first two weeks of the season. One team that has been steady, however, is Holy Cross.

The Crusaders have jetted to a 4-0 start with a big early season victory over No. 2 ranked Abington Heights. On Monday, the Crusaders didn't let up, coming from behind to knock off WVC power Holy Redeemer.

Abington Heights also defeated Holy Redeemer to maintain the No. 2 position.

Scranton Prep, which was handed its first loss against District 11's Pocono Mountain West, is currently number three in the Scranton area rankings. West Scranton were not ranked a week ago, but boast a 5-0 record and have moved all the way up to No. 4.

Lackawanna League wrestling

DIVISION 1

Abington Heights - Fresh off a December 6th tournament win at home, the Comets improved to 6-0 with a 39-29 victory over Wyoming Valley West. Coach Keith Youtz will look to Gino Gagliardi for senior leadership to help guide the Comets to another Lackawanna League Division 1 title.

Delaware Valley -  Led by first place finishes from Marcus Sullivan, Jon Haber and Damon , the Warriors finished 3rd in a highly touted Pleasant Valley individual tournament. The Warriors are next in action against returning champion Abington Heights on December 17th.

Honesdale - So far this season, the Hornets have loaded their schedule with two tough individual tournaments in the Southeast Classic and the Keystone Invitational. Senior Luis Rivero led the Hornets with a silver medal performance at the Southeast Classic, then finished 5th at the Keystone Invitational. The Hornets will without question challenge both Abington Heights and Delaware Valley for the Division 1 crown.

Scranton - With a few studs out of the lineup, the Knights have yet to show their full potential. However, a second place finish at the Abington Heights dual meet tournament on December 6th definitely turned some heads. Led by returning district bronze medalist Steve Teaman, the Knights will keep things interesting in a tight Division.

Wallenpaupack - The Buckhorns have opened up the 2008/2009 campaign on a high note, storming out to a 5-1 record. Wins over Elk Lake and fellow AAA competitor Tunkhannock highlight the Buckhorns' young season. Coach Steve Krushnowski has a solid mix of young talent and experienced veterans.

West Scranton - Elliott Zackoski (125) and Cory Hendry (160) are the Invaders top talents. Both finished 2nd in the Pleasant Valley tournament, giving their team a 4th place finish directly behind Delaware Valley. At this past weekend's Keystone Invitational, Zackoski finished 4th while Hendry dropped to 152 lbs. and placed 6th.

DIVISION 2

Blue Ridge - The Red Raiders quite possibly have their strongest team since the early part of this decade. The Raiders return district placewinners in Tim Esposito, Stephano Griffen, Nik Decker and Alex Stanton. Elk Lake defeated the Raiders in an early season dual tournament at Wyalusing, 45-30, however Blue Ridge should stir things up in Division 2 this year.

Elk Lake -The returning champion Warriors are off to a 3-3 start and finished 13th in a 28 team field at the Keystone Invitational this past weekend. Led by seniors Derek Green, Anthony Juser and Brent Salsman, the Warriors are off to a strong division start with a 56-15 thumping of 2007 division champion, Western Wayne.

Lackawanna Trail - In the 07'-08' season, the Lions competed in Division 1. The Lions will look to rebuild a once powerhouse program behind solid individuals like Chris Dixon, Jon Lynn, Eric Laytos and Lance Moore.

Montrose - The Meteors took a hit to graduation last year, but return district runner-up Mike Rihl at 152 pounds. The Meteors are currently 1-3 this season, but should pick up their record as soon as division action begins.

Mountain View -  The Eagles lack numbers and will also have trouble filling all weight classes, mostly the upperweights. Pat Lamberson and Scott Martens will lead the Eagles in whatever success they'll have this year.

Scranton Prep - The Cavaliers were also in Division 1 last year, and with the numbers they possess this season, should be right in the thick of things with Elk Lake. The Cavs started their season off with a bang at the Abington Heights dual meet tournament with a fourth place finish.

Susquehanna - The Sabers' numbers are down this year and will have trouble filling all the weight classes this season. Two bright spots will be Garrett (171) and Carlos Cuevas (189). Both had big wins over division 1 power Wallenpaupack on December 10th.

Valley View - The Cougars numbers are sky high, but the number of experienced wrestlers isn't. The Cougars will look to returning district runner-up Pete Santarelli and John Joyce at 119 to do damage at the lower weights.

Western Wayne - The Wildcats are in a rebuilding phase in the 08'-09' season, but do show some talent in the lower and upperweights. The Wildcats finished 6th in both the Abington Heights dual meet tournament and the Dandy Mini Mart tournament hosted by Towanda. Josh Harrison (152) and Kadiem Wheatle (160) are both off to good starts for the Wildcats.