Chase Comiskey of Dallas competes in the Class 3A Boys 1600 run, where he finished in second place.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wilkes-Barre Area’s Kevon Creech looks up at the board to see the results of the Class 3A Boys 100 dash.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Tunkhannock’s Brandon Carter competes in the Class 3A Boys high jump.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wilkes-Barre Area’s Timothy Leonard, the anchor of the winning Class 3A Boys 400 relay.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Crestwood’s Elijah Zeneski, a state qualifer, wins the Class 3A Boys 110 hurdles finals and reacts to his winning finish.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
SCRANTON — Everywhere you looked on Tuesday, the Dallas boys were there. Whether it be the track, the jumping pits or the field for throwing events, the Mountaineers were well-represented.
The last stop of the day for the Dallas boys? The top of the medal stand with a District 2 championship plaque in hand.
Hunter Pitcavage’s gold in the javelin was the highlight of a big medal haul for Dallas as they held off Wallenpaupack to win the District 2 Class 3A Boys team championship at the district championship meet at Scranton Memorial Stadium.
Of the 12 events contested on Tuesday, Dallas had a medalist in 10 of them. Though they weren’t able to rack up as many wins as teams like Wallenpaupack or Wilkes-Barre Area, the Mountaineers spread themselves out and covered all the bases to win the team title with 100 points to Wallenpaupack’s 84.5 points.
“It’s exhilarating, a lot of work went into this,” Dallas head coach Ed Radzinski said after completing a victory lap with his team. “I thought maybe what we were building might not happen until next year, but about two weeks ago I started thinking that we could do it this year.”
Pitcavage had the two best finishes of the day for Dallas, winning the javelin and placing second in the high jump.
His gold medal throw in the javelin sailed over 214 feet, blowing away the rest of the field to win the title. Fellow Dallas thrower Owen Oldt finished fourth to add another medal, and Oldt’s throw was still good enough to meet the qualifying standard for the state championship meet.
“We’re building such a good team right now, we’re all still young,” Pitcavage said. “It’s awesome to see that we’re able to compete at this level.”
In terms of winning gold, Wallenpaupack had the best day in the Class 3A competition with five wins on Tuesday, helping them climb all the way into second place.
Wilkes-Barre Area was right behind them with three wins, owning the sprint portions of the meet with wins in the 100 dash, 200 dash and the 400 relay.
The loudest of those three wins for Wilkes-Barre Area was the relay win, also shattering the meet record with a time of 42.55 seconds.
Timothy Leonard was at the center of it all for the Wolfpack: he won the 100 and 200, then ran a blistering anchor leg to run down the record in the 400 relay.
“I was just running to make sure we came in first, I wasn’t thinking about the times or records,” Leonard said after the relay. “I’m happy that we got it, and I’m happy we got the gold, too.”
Leonard’s Wolfpack teammate Kevon Creech pushed him in the 200 dash, and Creech’s silver-medal time of 21.93 seconds was fast enough to secure him a spot in the state meet alongside Leonard in the 200.
Two more WVC athletes won gold to round out the conference’s winners on Tuesday: Crestwood’s Elijah Zeneski in the 110 hurdles and Wyoming Area’s Luke Kopetchny in the long jump.
Additionally, a few more athletes met the state qualifying standard in their events despite not winning: Pittston Area’s Lucas LoPresto and Tunkannock’s Caden Newswanger both qualified in the javelin, while Hazleton Area’s Joel Vasquez and Wyoming Area’s Ben Gravine both made it through in the discus.
The Class 2A competition was dominated by Lackawanna League schools on Tuesday, with Dunmore winning five events to run away with the Class 2A team title.
Lake-Lehman had the strongest showing of the WVC schools in the classification, finishing in fifth place as a team.
The Black Knights didn’t have any wins on Tuesday, but they will send three runners to states after a strong showing in the 800 run.
Bodhi Cronin took the silver with a time of 1:55.26, his brother Finn Cronin was in third at 1:58.03 and Stephen Martin finished seventh in 1:58.50 — all better than the state qualifying standard time of 1:59.30.
Holy Redeemer’s Joshua Cackowski finished fourth in the 800 run, and will join the Lake-Lehman trio at states after meeting the qualifying standard. The Royals finished 11th in the Class 2A team standings.
District 2 Boys Class 3A Track and Field Championships
Team — 1. Dallas (DAL) 100, 2. Wallenpaupack (WAL) 84.5, 3. Hazleton Area (HAZ) 72, T4. Wilkes-Barre Area (WBA) 66, T4. Crestwood (CRE) 66, 6. Abington Heights (AH) 47, 7. Wyoming Area (WA) 43, 8. Pittston Area (PA) 35, 9. West Scranton (WS) 33.5, 10. Scranton Prep (SP) 32, 11. Valley View (VV) 31, 12. Honesdale (HON) 26.5, 13. Delaware Valley (DV) 19.5, 14. Tunkhannock (TUN) 18, 15. North Pocono (NP) 17, 16. Berwick (BER) 6, T17. Scranton (SCR) 2, T17. Wyoming Valley West (WVW)
110 Hurdles — 1. Elijah Zeneski (CRE) 15.22, 2. Amari Michael (VV) 15.91, 3. Brian Wolff (NP) 16.25, 4. Anson Jumper (CRE) 16.34, 5. Ishmael Turner (VV) 16.41, 6. Colin McGarvey (DV) 16.61, 7. Nick Logan (PA) 16.81, 8. Matt Laboranti (NP) 17.09.
100 Dash — 1. Timothy Leonard (WBA) 10.84, 2. Deondre Miller (PA) 11.26, 3. Charlie Speicher (SP) 11.32, 4. Gavin Oprishko (VV) 11.32, 5. Kevon Creech (WBA) 11.32, 6. Trevor Slavinski (DAL) 11.48, 7. Matty Burke (HAZ) 11.51, 8. Jack Gravine (WA) 11.63.
1600 Run — 1. Aiden Janowicz (WAL) 4:27.14, 2. Jack Shoemaker (AH) 4:27.53, 3. Chase Comiskey (DAL) 4:29.67, 4. Caden Boettger (PA) 4:36.08, 5. Seamus Wallace (WS) 4:38.02, 6. Caleb Kane (WS) 4:38.27, 7. Christian Matos (HAZ) 4:38.42, 8. Rowan Dietrich (CRE) 4:40.81.
400 Relay — 1. Wilkes-Barre Area (Samuel Kouevi, Kevon Creech, Jacquemart Leonard, Timothy Leonard) 42.55, 2. Valley View 43.26, 3. Dallas 43.39, 4. Berwick 43.70, 5. Crestwood 44.05, 6. Hazleton Area 44.42, 7. Scranton Prep 44.43, 8. Abington Heights 44.92.
400 Run — 1. Bryce Pagano (WAL) 49.85, 2. Quincy Mosley (WS) 50.09, 3. Joey Nocito (DAL) 50.43, 4. Dawid Mrowka (WAL) 50.74, 5. Jazaiah McCoy (WBA) 51.14, 6. Nolan Paulino (HAZ) 51.30, 7. Santiago Alvarez (WVW) 51.76, 8. Tyler Kolshorn (HON) 51.96.
800 Run — 1. Aiden Janowicz (WAL) 1:55.24, 2. Caden Boettger (PA) 1:58.89, 3. Abe Hobson-Tomascik (DAL) 1:59.52, 4. Gavin Adams (HAZ) 2:00.18, 5. Benjamin Hodne (DAL) 2:00.55, 6. Joseph Grad (AH) 2:00.73, 7. Jordan Bermudez (WAL) 2:01.64, 8. Christian Matos (HAZ) 2:02.88.
200 Dash — 1. Timothy Leonard (WBA) 21.64, 2. Kevon Creech (WBA) 21.93*, 3. Gavin Oprishko (VV) 22.10, 4. Charlie Speicher (SP) 22.71, 5. Izael Rodriguez (WAL) 22.95, 6. Matty Burke (HAZ) 23.00, 7. Bryce Pagano (WAL) 23.20, 8. Trevor Slavinski (DAL) 23.20.
1600 Relay — 1. Wallenpaupack (Izael Rodriguez, Aiden Janowicz, Dawid Mrowka, Bryce Pagano) 3:20.49, 2. Wilkes-Barre Area 3:24.79, 3. Dallas 3:26.72, 4. Valley View 3:27.81, 5. Hazleton Area 3:28.60, 6. Crestwood 3:31.92, 7. West Scranton 3:34.69, 8. Scranton 3:35.14.
Long Jump — 1. Luke Kopetchny (WA) 22-4.5, 2. Christopher Burgette (CRE) 22-2, 3. Maddox Johnson (HON) 22-1, 4. Daevon Underwood (WBA) 21-8.5, 5. Logan Geskey (DAL) 21-7.25, 6. Braydon Kerpovich (DAL) 21-5.25, 7. Ty Wilkerson (BER) 21-1.25, 8. Dawid Mrowka (WAL) 20-11.
Javelin — 1. Hunter Pitcavage (DAL) 214-7, 2. Lucas LoPresto (PA) 189-4*, 3. Caden Newswanger (TUN) 179-9*, 4. Owen Oldt (DAL) 178-8*, 5. Josh Mruk (WA) 175-7, 6. Forrest Paxton (TUN) 173-2, 7. Forrest Paxton (TUN) 173-2, 8. Cole Belcher (DV) 157-10.
Discus — 1. Ryan Vargo (WAL) 176-4, 2. Joel Vasquez (HAZ) 166-1*, 3. Ben Gravine (WA) 154-3*, 4. Anthony De Los Santos (SP) 154-3*, 5. Kenny Martin (DAL) 143-3, 6. Evan Huber (WAL) 139-3, 7. Derek Williams (AH) 138-0, 8. Ryan Benson (HON) 137-7.
High Jump — 1. Maddox Johnson (HON) 6-3, 2. Hunter Pitcavage (DAL) 6-3, 3. Jayden Skros (HAZ) 6-1, T4. Calvin Rosar (HON) 5-11, T4. Savva Danilovich (DV) 5-11, T4. Nicholas VanBuskir (WAL) 5-11, T4. Kazual Colbert (WS) 5-11, 8. Shawn Algermon (WAL) 5-11.
Class 2A Track and Field Championships
Team — 1. Dunmore (DUN) 124, 2. Elk Lake (ELK) 87, 3. Riverside (RIV) 76.3, 4. Mid Valley (MV) 66, 5. Lake-Lehman 62.3 (LL), 6. Montrose (MON) 53, 7. Holy Cross (HC) 50, 8. Western Wayne (WW) 49.3, 9. Lakeland (LAK) 37, 10. Susquehanna (SUS) 29, 11. Holy Redeemer (HR) 23, 12. Blue Ridge (BR) 22, 13. Mountain View (MV) 14, 14. Lackawanna Trail (LT) 7, 15. Wyoming Seminary (SEM) 2.
110 Hurdles — 1. Weston Yannone (DUN) 14.74, 2. Xavier Burke (DUN) 15.58, 3. Carmelo Barnett (RIV) 15.68, 4. Ryan Galeas (MV) 15.74, 5. Evan Lonzinski (LAK) 15.84, 6. Brody Crisman (ELK) 16.51, 7. Ashton Petrilak (LAK) 18.50, 8. Preston Wolf (SUS) 23.52.
100 Dash — 1. Weston Yannone (DUN) 11.21, 2. Maximus Kuwaye (MON) 11.25, 3. Carmelo Barnett (RIV) 11.61, 4, Zander Schaeffer (HC) 11.62, 5. Aiden Matthews (WW) 11.70, 6. Luis Pereira (RIV) 11.74, 7. Martin Kasungu (SEM) 11.75, 8. Mason Vinansky (MV) 11.79.
1600 Run — 1. Kendel Jones (ELK) 4:14.84, 2. Cody Adams (ELK) 4:21.10*, 3. Mikey Schimelfenig (RIV) 4:22.14*, 4. Maxx Kelly (SUS) 4:22.70*, 5. Jamison Myers (MON) 4:27.35, 6. Matthew Repecki (MV) 4:29.19, 7. Jacob Borrelli (MV) 4:30.08, 8. Caden Moreck (HR) 4:30.24.
400 Relay — 1. Montrose (Carl Nolt, Gabriele Blasi, Nicolo Christian, Maximus Kuwaye) 43.70, 2. Mid Valley 44.74, 3. Riverside 44.78, 4. Lake-Lehman 46.09, 5. Lakeland 46.30, 6. Dunmore 46.43, 7. Mountain View 46.67, 8. Lackawanna Trail 47.66.
400 Run — 1. Jacob Costanzo (DUN) 48.88, 2. Nicolo Christian (MON) 49.39*, 3. Brent Drost (ELK) 50.69*, 4. Aiden Willson (MV) 51.75, 5. Matthew Stilp (HR) 51.75, 6. Nick Fisichella (WW) 52.83, 7. Gabriele Blasi (MON) 52.93, 8. Avery Thorne (LL) 53.93.
800 Run — 1. Kendel Jones (ELK) 1:54.86, 2. Bodhi Cronin (LL) 1:55.26*, 3. Finn Cronin (LL) 1:58.03*, 4. Joshua Cackowski (HR) 1:58.09*, 5. Maxx Kelly (SUS) 1:58.36*, 6. Trevor Upright (ELK) 1:58.46, 7. Stephen Martin (LL) 1:58.50*, 8. Michael Connor (RIV) 1:59.79.
200 Dash — 1. Jacob Costanzo (DUN) 22.29, 2. Nicolo Christian (MON) 22.49*, 3. Maximus Kuwaye (MON) 22.89, 4. Zander Schaeffer (HC) 23.19, 5. Keagan Hogan (LL) 23.33, 6. Brent Drost (ELK) 23.44, 7. Matthew Stilp (HR) 23.94, 8. Mason Opalka (SUS) 24.03.
1600 Relay — 1. Dunmore (Ryan Mecca, Carter Sload, Weston Yannone, Jacob Costanzo) 3:25.20, 2. Lake-Lehman 3:28.60*, 3. Elk Lake 3:29.23*, 4. Western Wayne 3:29.59*, 5. Susquehanna 3:30.21, 6. Riverside 3:32.95, 7. Montrose 3:35.92, 8. Holy Cross 3:36.03.
Triple Jump — 1. Kevin Vincent (HC) 44-6, 2. Jacob Ficarro (MV) 43-6, 3. Josh Dudick (DUN) 43-0, 4. Chance Davis (BR) 42-1.5, 5. Kyaire McLean (HR) 41-11, 6. Carter Sload (DUN) 41-8.5, 7. Brent Drost (ELK) 41-1, 8. Noah Maynard (MON) 39-4.
Pole Vault — 1. Robert Carrelle (WW) 14-0, 2. Aiden Matthews (WW) 13-0, 3. Wyatt Youngblood (MV) 11-6, 4. Anthony Yannone (WW) 11-6, 5. Kaylon Purdy (DUN) 11-0, 6. Giovanni Annesi (BR) 10-6, 7. Jackson Harding (DUN) 10-0, 8. Adam Pezanowski (MV) 10-0.
Shot Put — 1. Branden Fadl (HC) 54-2, 2. Robert Mattioli (MV) 48-4.5, 3. Tomas Olmos (RIV) 47-10, 4. Leland Wudarski (HC) 45-2.5, 5. Chris Serra (SUS) 42-9.5, 6. Exavier Pelton (RIV) 42-4, 7. Bobby Gregor (LL) 41-7.5, 8. Devon Albee (LL) 41-3.
Local journalism matters, and your support makes it possible. You can help sustain this work by making a donation or choosing one of our subscription options. Subscribers enjoy valuable benefits, including full access to our e-edition, a reduced ad experience on timesleader.com, and more.
Your support helps ensure independent, high-quality local news remains available today and for future generations. Thank you for standing with local journalism.