WILKES-BARRE — Paul Flowers had a year and a day to think about Monday night’s 100-yard breaststroke in the District 2-4 Class 3A subregional swimming championships.
Up until just months ago, Hazleton Area teammate Tony Goulstone could not picture himself in the 500 freestyle.
Flowers and Goulstone had different preparation times, but each found the form needed to win gold medals as the weather-delayed subregional meet came to a conclusion.
Hazleton Area joined the Wyoming Valley West boys, with Josh Zawatski and Ivan Volynets, in each producing two individual gold medals on the night.
Delaware Valley swept the team titles, dominating on the girls side and edging District 4 member Williamsport, 275-261, in boys.
The Wyoming Valley West boys and Hazleton Area girls led WVC teams, each placing third.
Hazleton Area’s Flowers and Wyoming Valley West’s Zawatski each added their second gold medal of the meet after also winning races Saturday night.
Flowers improved on a third-place finish when he won Saturday’s 200 individual medley. Monday, he put to rest any nagging feelings that remained from falling 9-hundredths of a second short in last year’s subregional breaststroke race.
“I didn’t get any wins last year and this really shows me how my training has been going and how much I’ve improved over the past year,” Flowers said. “I’ve been thinking about this race for an entire year.
“Exactly one year ago, I thought about these races and it came out beautifully. I couldn’t ask for a better result.”
It was not easy.
Flowers finished in 1:00.78, beating Delaware Valley’s Liam Naturale by less than a half-second and Scranton’s Nick Drouse by less than a second
“I knew it was going to be close through every stroke,” Flowers said. “Every stroke was neck-and-neck through the whole way.
“It was pretty much who had more heart through the last couple strokes and luckily I got my hand on the wall first.”
Goulstone, a freshman, entered high school swimming thinking of himself as a sprinter. His coaches had a hunch they saw a distance swimmer.
“At the beginning of the season, I was terrified of the distance events,” Goulstone said. “I always wanted to be a sprinter.
“My coach (Michele Yakubowski) threw me into the 500 one meet and that’s where it all started. I had a really good time coming off my first one and they just trained me for it from there.”
With the top six swimmers combining to take nearly 50 seconds off their seeding times, the top-seeded Goulstone was tested, but started and finished strong to beat Delaware Valley’s Luke Stevens by more than 2 ½ seconds in 4:55.43.
“It took everything I had in me to go out and get it,” Goulstone said. “I have so much respect for Luke. He swam a really good race as well.
“And, everyone else in the race did, too. I know they took off a lot of time.”
Zawatski added the 100 freestyle title to the 50 freestyle that he won Saturday. His brother, Purdue University swimmer Eddy Zawatski, holds the meet record in both events.
“It just means the world to me,” Josh Zawatski said. “I love following in my brother’s footsteps.
“It’s a huge honor.”
Volynets won the 100 backstroke, an event he finished fourth in a year ago.
Each of Saturday and Monday’s winners earned spots in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Championships, scheduled for March 14-17 at Bucknell University.
“I’m really excited about that,” Volynets said. “Here, of course, is great competition, but down there, it’s a different world.
“You get to meet people that are 10 times better than you and you have such a great opportunity to learn so many new things. I’m really excited about it.”
The night’s top finishes by WVC girls, both belonged to Hazleton Area.
Maggie Yannes was second in the 500 freestyle.
Megan Llewellyn and Alissa Platukis finished 2-3 in the 100 breaststroke to briefly move the Lady Cougars into second in the team standings.
Ivan Volynets of Wyoming Valley West won the 100-yard backstroke in 57.89 at Monday’s Class 3A final at Wyoming Valley CYC.
Hazletons Megan Llewellyn finish second in the 100-yard breaststroke behind Karolina Baranowski of Delaware Valley at Monday’s Class 3A final.
Hazletons Maggie Yannes makes a turn in the 500 freestyle during Monday’s 3A final. Yannes finish second behind Cailin Campbell of Wallenpaupack Area.
Josh Zawatski of Wyoming Valley West won the 100-yard freestyle in 47.20 during Monday’s Class 3A final at the Wyoming Valley CYC.
District 2-4 Class 3A Championships
GIRLS
Standings – 1. Delaware Valley (DV) 321; 2. Williamsport (WIL) 239; 3. Hazleton Area (HAZ) 236; 4. Abington Heights (AH) 157; 5. Wallenpaupack (WAL) 135; 6. Scranton (SCR) 87; 7. Wyoming Valley West (WVW) 84; 8. Pittston Area (PA) 63.
100 Free – 1. DV Sierra Gillan 53.59; 2. WAL Isabelle Griswold 54.87; 3. DV Esther Lee 57.97; 4. HAZ Sarah Lloyd 30.92; 5. WAL Annie Rosenow 59.42; 6. DV Julia Weinreb 59.75; 7. DV Taylor Ristaino 1:00.48; 8. AH Sarah Bath 1:01.26; 9. PA Kaitlyn Connors 1:01.65; 10. WVW Alba Trillo Izquierdo 1:03.02; 11. AH Kyra Sladicki 1:03.10; 12. PA Kiersten Grieco 1:03.78.
500 Free – 1. WAL Cailin Campbell 5:23.06; 2. HAZ Maggie Yannes 5:37.23; 3. WIL Elisa Dinicola 5:48.11; 4. DV Andi Loihle 5:54.71; 5. WIL Cecilia Fink 5:58.75; 6. HAZ Bridget Reed 6:05.89; 7. WVW Sydney Bruno-Beck 6:11.26; 8. DV Sophia Fouse 6:16.38; 9. DV Caroline Toomer 6:18.76; 10. HAZ Stefany Malaga 6:19.10; 11. PA Taylor Maas 6:27.51; 12. DV Morgan Liebson 6:31.85.
100 Back – 1. DV Miranda Murray 1:02.75; 2. DV Shannon Deignan 1:03.93; 3. HAZ Marina O’Hara 1:05.50; 4. AH April Sokalsky 1:05.60; 5. SCR Claire Brier 1:06.05; 6. DV Julia Weinreb 1:07.75; 7. DV Hannah Grathwohl 1:07.93; 8. PA Juliet Lawler 1:09.06; 9. AH Sarah Bath 1:09.77; 10. HAZ Stefany Malaga 1:09.86; 11. WIL Ella Meckley 1:13.85; 12. SCR Abigail Eckenrode 1:13.86.
100 Breast – 1. DV Karolina Baranowski 1:11.03; 2. HAZ Megan Llewellyn 1:11.34; 3. HAZ Alissa Platukis 1:13.24; 4. AH Abby Brock 1:13.49; 5. WIL Lydia Smith 1:14.09; 6. SCR Claudia Pitts 1:15.95; 7. WIL Sarah Waltz 1:18.05; 8. AH Peyton Gualtieri 1:18.38; 9. WAL Mary Harmuth 1:18.46; 10. DV Jordan O’Connor 1:18.51; 11. DV Autumn DeBlock 1:21.41; 12. DV Laura Bogert 1:21.49.
400 Free Relay – 1. WIL (Annie Rosenow, Elisa Dinicola, Lydia Smith, Isabelle Griswold) 3:46.08; 2. DV (Esther Lee, Miranda Murray, Julia Weinrub, Karolina Baranowski) 3:50.31; 3. WAL (Mary Harmuth, Claire Carfora, Kara Campbell, Cailin Campbell) 3:53.90; 4. HAZ (Alissa Platukis, Stefany Malaga, Maggie Yannes, Bridget Reed) 4:00.62; 5. SCR (Abigail Eckenrode, Krysta Bernold, Claudia Pitts, Clair Brier) 4:10.04; 6. AH (Abby Brock, Kyra Sladicki, Lucy Earl, Peyton Gualtieri) 4:19.07; 7. PA (Juliet Lawler, Olivia Norwillo, Morgan Gromelski, Kiersten Grieco) 4:21.07; 8. WVW (Stephanie Sepko, Alexis Schweizer, Sydney Bruno-Beck, Alba Trillo Izquierdo) 4:25.92.
BOYS
Standings – 1. Delaware Valley (DV) 275; 2. Williamsport (WIL) 261; 3. Wyoming Valley West (WVW) 186; 4. Hazleton Area (HAZ) 173; 5. Abington Heights (AH) 160; 6. Scranton (SCR) 154; 7. Wallenpaupack (WAL) 72.
100 Free – 1. WVW Josh Zawatski 47.20; 2. SCR Aidan Drouse 47.65; 3. WAL Matthew Beard 49.31; 4. DV Damian Baranowski 49.37; 5. AH Josh Przekop 50.48; 6. AH Jarred Ocwieja 50.88; 7. SCR Jason Ardan 51.67; 8. WAL Riley Hockman 51.81; 9. DV Evan Dong 52.68; 10. HAZ Dylan Gould 53.93; 11. DV Daniel Ocasio 53.95; 12. WAL Owen McCabe 54.98.
500 Free – 1. HAZ Tony Goulstone 4:55.43; 2. DV Luke Stevens 4:58.06; 3. WVW Maxim Kowalski 5:04.66; 4. AH John Frantz 5:06.96; 5. WIL Quinn Serfass 5:08.84; 6. WIL Jack Beattie 5:08.84; 7. WIL Zachary Swoyer 5:13.87; 8. HAZ Brandon DaGrosa 5:17.13; 9. DV Marc Mireau 5:19.93; 10. AH Jack Wasko 5:43.73; 11. AH Sloan Seid 5:50.97; 12. WIL Matthew Getgen 5:51.32.
100 Back – 1. WVW Ivan Volynets 57.89; 2. SCR E.J. Mundia 58.35; 3. HAZ Justin Reyes 59.32; 4. WIL Justin Downs 59.82; 5. DV Steven Schermerhorn 1:00.12; 6. HAZ Tony Goulstone 1:00.13; 7. WVW Jared Zawatski 1:02.05; 8. DV Ryan Mrozinski 1:05.02; 9. DV Robert Riccio 1:06.13; 10. HAZ Cody Manherz 1:06.46; 11. AH John Graham 1:06.80; 12. AH Brandon Beck 1:07.33.
100 Breast – 1. HAZ Paul Flowers 1:00.78; 2. DV Liam Naturale 1:01.26; 3. SCR Nick Drouse 1:01.45; 4. WIL Joshua Bonislawski 1:03.10; 5. DV Lucas Santiago 1:05.64; 6. WAL Justin Romeo 1:06.23; 7. DV Brandon Ciralli 1:08.38; 8. WVW Logan Siliekus 1:10.07; 9. AH Sloan Seid 1:13.82; 10. SCR Justin Grier 1:14.88; 11. AH Connor Ocwieja 1:20.24; 12. HAZ Matthew Hartz 1:22.79.
400 Free Relay – 1. SCR (Aidan Drouse, Nick Drouse, Jason Ardan, E.J. Mundia) 3:21.87; 2. WIL (Joshua Bonislawski, Samuel Hillman, Quinn Serfass, Matthew Beard) 3:22.93; 3. HAZ (Paul Flowers, Brandon DaGrosa, Justin Reyes, Tony Goulstone) 3:23.21; 4. DV (Damian Baranowski, Evan Dong, Liam Naturale, Luke Stevens) 3:25.04; 5. AH (Josh Prezkop, John Frantz, Jack Wasko, Jarred Ocwieja) 3:25.27; 6. WAL (Thomas McCabe, Stephen Kober, Owen McCabe, Justin Romeo) 3:43.49; 7. WVW (James DeCosmo, Jared Zawatski, Illia Volkovinsky, Logan Siliekus). 3:48.86.
