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May 21
Triumph on the track

Afternoon full of surprises as AH defends D2 titles

Adam Roberts Abington Journal Staff

SCRANTON - It takes a certain level of surprise to pull off the famous ritual of dousing a winning coach with water, but the cold ice bath Abington Heights track coach Frank Passetti received late on Thursday evening was hardly the most shocking part of the day.

Abington’s Jordan Hoyt, center, leads a field of runners in the 200 on Thursday, May 15. Hoyt’s 25.25 finish was one of several record breaking performances at the District 2 Class AAA championships. For more photos from the event, visit www.theabingtonjournal.com.

Abington Journal photos / Stephanie Walkowski

Justin Passetti attempts a 6-7 high jump on May 15. Passetti took first in the event, clearing 6-5, a personal best.

Tyler Cuneo reacts as he crossed the finish line during Abington’s win in the 400 relay.

Abington JOurnal photo / Stephanie Walkowski

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MORE PHOTOS: District 2 Class AAA track championships

On a day filled with record breaking performances, unforeseen heroes and unexpected injuries, both the boys and girls of Abington Heights cruised to District II AAA championships, putting the lid on an undefeated season.

The boys notched 91 team points finishing ahead of Dallas who had 74 � and Crestwood who had 70. The Lady Comets won even more convincingly with 161 points to the 62 of Hazleton and the 51 � of Crestwood and Holy Redeemer.

Tenacity wins day

On the second leg of boys 400 relay, Eric Ofcharsky let out a pained scream and began to stumble just before making the handoff to his brother Paul. The yell was a result of what Ofcharsky later described as a ping pong ball popping in his hamstring. Fighting through the pain, Ofcharsky made the handoff.

“I was right there so I thought I might as well give it (the baton) to him and see if we could place,” Ofcharsky said.

The team, which also included Bobby Polizzano and Tyler Cuneo, did place. In fact they won the event in 44.31 seconds.

Ofcharsky exemplified what Coach Passetti called “his heart and dedication” as he jogged the finals of the 200 to earn the team a single point. Chris Dailey of Dallas won the race with 22.54 seconds, but Ofcharsky’s 1:06 time also had an impact.

In a phone interview Monday, Ofcharsky said his hamstring was sore, but he still expects to compete in the 400 relay at the PIAA state championships this weekend in Hershey

‘Took care of business’

Relays have been the Comets’ stronghold all season, but when senior Bill Cooney came up with an apparent torn meniscus in his left knee four days prior to districts, questions arose about the 3200 relay.

With encouragement from Cooney, sophomore Randy Kreulen joined Warren Acker, Mike Bruno and Tyler Subasic to win the relay with a time of 8:15.74.

“I was obviously nervous but there are three great runners ahead of me. A lot of credit goes out to those guys because I had a huge lead,” said Kreulen, who ran anchor.

“They all ran what they could, hit their marks and took care of business,” said Cooney.

Prelims sometimes enough

Due to a scheduling conflict that arose just one day before districts, senior Delia Riggi thought she would have to choose between the Lackawanna League Division I softball playoff against rival Delaware Valley or competing in the triple jump. After some debate, Riggi’s father volunteered to drive her from the meet in Scranton to the game later that evening at Mid Valley.

The arrangement was still a compromise as Riggi was only able to register her three preliminary jumps, forcing her to miss the finals. Her preliminary triple jump of 34-6.25 was enough to put her in fourth place without taking her other attempts. The jump was also good enough to earn Riggi the school record.

Riggi’s exit for the softball game also paid off as the Lady Comets won 2-1 to claim the Lackawanna League Division I title.

“I was already on a high from the game and that was the icing on the cake,” said Riggi who learned of her fourth place medal after the softball game.

Following the softball victory, Riggi returned to Scranton High School with eye black still on her cheeks to celebrate with her team, completing what she called a “fabulous” evening.

Throwing past expectations

Kaitlyn Roberts expected to medal in the shot put. She came into the event seeded fifth and believed she could finish in the top six. As she thought, Roberts advanced to the finals. There she threw 34-6.75 which was enough to place her at the top of the podium.

Roberts said the day’s energy fueled her performance. She was among several Comets who rose to the challenge and came out a winner.

“Our track team was going crazy,” she said. “We were on fire.”

Roberts will now compete in state competition. She comes in seeded 22nd, but has her eyes set on a top ten finish.

Record setting afternoon

By the time the six hour event was finished, several records including personal, school and meet marks were in the dust of gutsy performances by Abington athletes.

Kaitie Notarianni was able to register a 5-3 high jump shattering a personal average of five feet and beating the school record of 5-2. Likewise, Justin Passetti set a new personal mark of 6-5 in the high jump for gold. “It feels good. I was stuck at 6-4 a lot this season. It’s good to come away at districts and pull a personal best.” Passetti attempted to break a school record of 6-7 set in 2007 by Mat Burke, but came up short. “I have two more years to try to get it,” he said of the record.

On the track Jordan Hoyt set a new 200 record with 25.25 seconds, pushing aside Abington’s Brook Coyer who ran a 25.84 in 1999.

The event was also a special one for sophomore Danielle Wasilewski who earned gold in the 400 relay, the 1600 relay and the 100.

Wasilewski, along with Notarianni, Kim Meyer and Nicole Smith set a meet record of 4:01.79 in the 1600 relay to best their 2007 record and put themselves just shy of their season goal to push their time below four minutes. The 400 relay team, which also included Tara Tulaney, Jordan Hoyt and Kristi Polizzano, won in 49.57 seconds.

“We always try our hardest to push each other,” said Wasilewski of her relay teams.

Wasilewski, a sophomore, also came close to with Coyer’s 1999 100 meet record of 12.34 with her time of 12.36.

In the pole vault, Mattie Conaboy fell just shy of recording a personal best in her farewell event as a Comet.

Conaboy said she caught her shoulder on a 9-6 attempt, which would have broken her season-long personal best. While her high school career ended Thursday, she said she plans to continue running as a student at Millersville University.

Staff writer Christopher J. Hughes contributed to this report.

How the Comets finished

Team score: 91. 3200 relay: Warren Acker, Mike Bruno, Tyler Subasic, Randy Kreulan, first, 8:15.74. Discus: John Price, eighth, 130-3. Long jump: Alex Johnson, seventh, 19-7.75. High jump: Justin Passetti, first, 6-5. 110 hurdles: Justin Passetti, sixth, 16.28. 100: Tyler Cuneo, seventh, 11.57. Javelin: Eric Martin, seventh, 151-11. Triple jump: Justin Passetti, third, 41-2.25. 400: Dylan Grunn, sixth, 52.04. 400 relay: Bobby Polizzano, Eric Ofcharsky, Paul Ofcharsky, Tyler Cuneo, first, 44.31. Pole vault: Pat Callahan, first, 13-0; Eric Martin, second, 12-0. Shot put: Gordon Draper, fourth, 44-2.75. 800: Mike Bruno, sixth, 2:02.61. 200: Eric Ofcharsky, eighth: 1:06.15. 3200: Tyler Subasic, fourth, 9:53.60. 1600 relay: Dylan Grunn, Warren Acker, Bobby Polizzano, Paul Ofcharsky, first, 3:24.72.

How the Lady Comets finished

Team score: 161. 3200 relay: Kim Meyer, Eileen Voges, Nicole Smith, Brittney Martin, first, 10:01.27. Discus: Hannah Parish, fifth, 95-10. Long jump: Alex Lalos, second, 16-2.5. High jump: Kaitie Notarianni, first, 5-3. 110 hurdles: Krista Matsko, third, 15.82; Alex Lalos, fifth, 16.11; Erin Barry, sixth, 16.36. 100: Danielle Wasilewski, first, 12.36; Mattie Conaboy, sixth, 13.04; Kristi Polizzano, seventh, 13.11. Triple jump: Delia Riggi, fourth, 34-6.25. 400: Nicole Smith, second, 59.32; Kaitie Notarianni, third, 1:00.18. 400 relay: Tara Tulaney, Jordan Hoyt, Kristi Polizzano, Danielle Wasilewski, first, 49.57. Pole vault: Mattie Conaboy, third, 9-0. Shot put: Kaitlyn Roberts, first, 34-6.75. 300 hurdles: Krista Matsko, second, 46.70; Alex Lalos, fifth, 48.78; Erin Barry, eighth, 49.55. 800: Kim Meyer, second, 2:24.86; Brittney Martin, third, 2:25.94. 200: Jordan Hoyt, first, 25.25; Tara Tulaney, sixth, 27.20. 3200: Eileen Voges, sixth, 12:07.19. 1600 relay: Kim Meyer, Nicole Smith, Kaitie Notarianni, Danielle Wasilewski, first, 4:01.79.

-Christopher J. Hughes